‘New Horror Handbook’ in ‘Rue Morgue’

Hey gang. Those of you who’ve put off buying your copy of The New Horror Handbook (see me after class about that) can actually win a copy courtesy of Rue Morgue magazine. Subscribe to Rue Morgue through the latest issue (#95), and you could be one of 15 winners of a copy of the book packed with my blood, sweat and sleepless nights.

I also understand there’s a review in there of the book, though I haven’t seen it yet. Hopefully it’s a kind one, but Rue Morgue is more wittily, brutally honest than it is the type of magazine to coo softly in your ear, so you never know. If they torpedo the book, I’m sure they will at least do it in a clever way. I’m cool with that. So, what are you waiting for?

(Now, about that whole not-buying-the-book thing….)

Final Edits Begin This Weekend

The New Horror Handbook is just a few weeks from going to press; art director Pamela Norman is finalizing the last bits of design this week before your’s truly gets his mits on it.

Thanks go to all those who’ve so patiently given of their time, photos, and feedback during the writing of this book: Eli Roth, Karen Walton, Greg McLean, Joe Monks and so many more. The result is going to be one heck of a book!

Emily Hagins Take 2: The New Film

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year (and darn it, get your own rock -- this one's taken!), you will know that young filmmaking phenom Emily Hagins and her crew are putting the finishing touches on her second feature length effort: The Retelling.

The new -- and extremely polished -- trailer (above) went up just a few days ago, and looks pretty impressive. If this is anything to go by, the not-quite-16-year-old has really honed her cinematic storytelling abilities. It also suggests that some of the weaknesses of her first work, Pathogen, probably had more to do with the inherent pitfalls that all zombie movies face and the lack of a big special effects budget, and less with her actual movie-making abilities.

In the meantime, a small number of Pathogen DVDs have come on the market just a week or two before the Fantastic Fest premiere of the documentary about Hagins, Zombie Girl. (I believe that she, some castmembers from Pathogen, and the makers of Zombie Girl all will be in attendance at that event for a Q&A session.)

And of course, for an in-depth look at her work and what it all means in the larger scheme of modern horror, please pick up a copy of The New Horror Handbook in November.

‘Rogue’ Adventure Tours

Hats off to the folks in government and tourism in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Not so long ago there were plenty of shopworn jokes about OZ’s tourist boards cringing every time Wolf Creek director Greg McLean made a film. But recognizing the breathtaking views and romantic adventure comitted to celluloid in McLean’s recent killer croc film Rogue, those in charge of promoting tourism in the NT proudly trumpet the fact that this film was shot there.Best of all, they offer a ‘Rogue Adventure’ itinerary PDF, free for the downloading.

As McLean told me for The New Horror Handbook,

“The weird part about that part of the world is that each time there’s a widely publicized crocodile attack in Northern Territory, tourism actually increases in that area. [Tourists] get excited about the concept of controlled danger, of going on an adventure tour where there might be the possibility of something dramatic actually happening. It sounds really strange but apparently there’s been a 20 percent jump every time there’s been a widely publicized crocodile attack.”

So what are you waiting for? Get planning. Next vacation, YOU could be the lucky one!

‘Rogue’: McLean’s Follow Up to ‘Wolf Creek’ Hits DVD

Australian filmmaker Greg McLean seemed to come out of nowhere to grab horror fan’s attentions with his savage 2005 feature Wolf Creek. In the process he gave us one of the most unnerving twists on the serial killer formula ( and some much needed closure on the whole Paul Hogan/Aussie-invasion of the 1980s).

Now Dimension Extreme has unleashed the director’s follow up film: Rogue. Just as McLean breathed new life into the slash-by-numbers film, he has succeeded in doing the same for the Man vs. Nature genre.

The plot may be nothing new — a man-eating crocodile turns his teeth on a toothsome bunch of tourists in Australia’s badlands — but the execution is classic McLean. A fine artist by training, the director gives us one of the trademarks of the “new horror” movement: horrible events depicted in an achingly beautiful fashion.

Be sure to check out The New Horror Handbook for an in-depth look at Greg McLean and his work, based on an exclusive interview with the director.

Work Begins on Vincenzo Natali Chapter

Not a bad start: nearly 1,000 words on the director of that groundbreaking 1997 Kafkaesque tale Cube. Admittedly it’s a chapter that is a tad difficult to write when his next film, Splice, appears to be a promising work of even greater imagination, yet won’t arrive until 2009, after The New Horror Handbook is published.

Surprise Addition to ‘Handbook’ Lineup: Revealed

We’re pretty excited to spill the beans on this one. The New Horror Handbook will be carrying a section about this year’s DVD sensation: Inside (aka A l’interieur), featuring an exclusive interview with the writer/director team behind it: Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury.

Prepare to have all (well, many) of your questions answered about this groundbreaking, blood-soaked bombshell. You bring the knitting needles, we’ll bring the scissors!

Surprise Addition to ‘New Horror Handbook’ Lineup

I don’t want to announce anything prematurely, but I have to tell you that it looks like there’s another exciting interview in the offing for The New Horror Handbook. Part of our goal for this book is to have it as up-to-date as possible when it hits store shelves this October, and this interview will go a long way toward making that a reality. Stay tuned for details when they become available.