(FANGORIA memoirs will return in the next blog; meanwhile, here’s a taste of things to come…)

A kid with a shovel whacks the protagonist around the head, not realizing a zombie is shambling up the street toward them.

Gunfire.

The dead thing drops.

Breakfast in New York City with “Dapper” Dave:

So the first thing I do after sleeping on makeup FX artist Tom Lauten’s floor in his rented room in Larchmont, Long Island, is head into the Big Bad Apple to meet with Everitt, who has offered to take me to breakfast.

I am a huge admirer of European—specifically Italian—horror films. I love them for their decadence, for their wide-eyed, saturated melodrama, exaggerated violence and glorious music and sound design. And when I say “huge admirer,” what I’m really trying to articulate in a more respectable and somber manner is that I f**king worship Eurohorror so much that a great deal of my outlook on life is creatively informed by them. Pay attention to current and upcoming features in FANGORIA, and you’ll see me always carving out space for some of the greatest works and filmmakers behind them. Self-indulgent? You bet, but I know I’m not alone in my passions…

Yesterday, another casting announcement (actor Nico Tortorella) and character breakdowns were released for next spring’s return to Woodsboro. I thought with that relevant news I’d finally give a voice to the brainwaves that tell me, against my better judgment in a horror climate rampant with terrible studio output, I’m unabashedly excited for SCREAM 4.

For a few months now, we’ve been feverishly plotting away at bringing Miskatonic’s dream of becoming a real bricks-and-mortar institution to fruition, and I’m happy to say that starting in July, that dream becomes a reality. Along with fellow Fango scribe David Bertrand, I’m opening a microcinema in Montreal, Canada called Blue Sunshine (after the Jeff Lieberman film, of course).

You’ve probably been following the plethora of news items on this website in regards to our FANGORIA FrightFest program (see initial announcement here). Right? If not, please do. I gave up my job—editing the mag for nearly 25 years—to help bring these horror movies to you. The FANGORIA FrightFest is our version of After Dark’s 8 Films to Die For and Ghost House Underground. Luckily, as I’ve found out, there are plenty of good genre films to go around.

We horror fans know that scary movies come in all different flavors. Those of us who have taken the time to sample these flavors know that while delicious cinematic meals can be found at the fanciest of restaurants, they can also be found at the bottom of the dumpsters out back. The vast majority can appreciate the DEAD ALIVEs, and the like, but what about the SLEEPAWAY CAMPs, and other such garbage? The films even a mother has a hard time loving. We horror fans find a type of perverse satisfaction in reveling in these tragically horrible disasters that is akin to watching a clown car crash. Sure, they’re on fire and bleeding amongst the burning wreck, but they’re juggling and trying to extinguish the flames with seltzer bottles that keep spraying them in the face. We can’t help but stare and laugh. In other words, if you are going to make a horror film you need to make a choice. Either shoot for greatness, or aim for the toilet bowl. We simply do not have time or patience for anything in between.