2 Friends. Hordes of the Undead. 80s Style Comedy.

Harold and Kumar. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. The Blues Brothers. The world of film is full of buddy comedies that feature living, breathing best buds. But what about zombies? I mean, they can't ALL be mindless brain munchers... right? Introducing Deadheads, the first feature length film by brothers Brett and Drew Pierce. Having cut their teeth on the indie anthology, Secrets of Fenville, the brothers have set their sites on the zombie sub-genre.

Despite a rise in popularity for the "bullet sponges" in the past few years, it's hard for anything new to standout, but if this teaser trailer for Deadheads is any indication of the caliber of work that the Pierces can produce then horror and comedy fans have something to look forward to in 2011.

Deadheads a return to the great comedy/adventure films of the 80's like "Back to the Future" and the "Goonies". The story follows two zombie slackers, Mike and Brent, who find themselves surprisingly reborn from the dead amid a disastrous zombie outbreak. After discovering an engagement ring in his coat pocket, Mike enlists his new found zombie pal, Brent, to embark on a quest in search of his lost love.

What ensues is a hilarious cross country road trip as these two reformed flesh-eating pals hitchhike cross country as they are pursued by a team of zombie killin' bounty hunters!

The film is currently listed as being post-production which is promising for a 2011 debut. You can bet that this is one I'm keeping my eager eyes on.

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James Gunn Reveals 'Super' Release Date and New Images

If the name, James Gunn, sounds familiar that's probably because you run with the cool kids. As a Troma alum (he wrote and directed 1996's Tromeo and Juliet among others), Gunn also has SLiTHER, Dawn of the Dead (2004), Scooby-Doo and the phenomenally funny Humanzee! TV pilot to his credit.

So when I heard what the writer/director would be taking on next (a superhero-comedy), I instantly grew excited to see what form his madness would take. Surely, his time with Troma has endowed Gunn with a quirky storytelling sensibility that I can only imagine will result in an assortment of characters that will feel just as home in Tromaville as New York City proper. Not to even mention that it stars "Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, Linda Cardellini, and Andre Royo." I mean, come on!

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Preview 'Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale'

Tired of watching A Christmas Story ad nauseum every year on TBS? Well if you're lucky enough to live anywhere near New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Boston, Kansas City or any of the other theaters listed here than you're in luck! Those are the cities that will be premiering director Jalmari Helander's latest feature film, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale.

Based on a series of short films by Helander, Rare Exports Inc. (see above) and Rare Exports: The Official Safety Instructions, this feature length adaptation finds a band of Finland archeologists who inadvertently discover the "real" Santa Claus, a terrifyingly real (and most likely rabid) representation of 'ole Saint Nick. Unearthed by a reindeer hunter and his young son while searching for the cause behind a recent string of missing children, Santa doesn't take to kindly to being held captive and before long his elves come looking for him... and they ain't too jolly either.

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'Me and My Monsters' offers A Triple Dose of 'My Pet Monster'

Just to reaffirm how much cooler television is across the pond, BBC (more specifically their children division CBBC) has released a trailer for its newest show being co-produced by none other than The Jim Henson Company and Sticky Pictures: Me and My Monsters. A live action series about a family called The Carlsons, Me and My Monsters features "three out of control and hilarious monsters" (Norman, Fiend and Haggis) who have taken residence in their basement.

According to Henson's official press release,

It's a comedy that hinges on the relationship between the young boy in the family and the monsters. It's very visual and it's got that Henson look...

For my money it's got a sort of a My Pet Monster vibe to it combined with Henson's previous sitcom, Aliens in the Family. Having only recently premiered this past October chances are that it will be sometime before the series makes its way to our shores, but you can be sure it'll be one I keep my eye on.


Eddie Carlson with the monsters: Fiend, Haggis and Norman

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Lost Signals: Psychoville (2009)

With a bevy of content coming out in the U.S. alone, it's hard to remember that there's a whole world of strange kids out there creating content for mass consumption. Psychoville, for example, is a fun little black comedy from across the pond in England featuring a one half of the sketch-comedy quartet known as The League of Gentlemen (Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton). Having made it's debut last year, the series capped off it's first season with a Halloween special this past October and is scheduled for a second season in 2011.

Unfortunately, footage of the show is hard to come by here in the U.S. (even online), though if The Office or Doctor Who indicate any sort of trend, we might see a remake in the next few years. The show itself follows

five different characters from different parts of England: David Sowerbutts (played by Pemberton) is a serial killer-obsessed man-child who still lives with his mother Maureen (Shearsmith); Mr. Jelly (Shearsmith) is an embittered one-handed children's entertainer; Oscar Lomax (Pemberton), a blind millionaire who collects stuffed toy animals; Joy Aston (French), a midwife who treats a practice doll as if it is her real child; and Robert Greenspan (Tompkins), a panto dwarf in love with his Snow White who believes he has the power of telekinesis.

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New 'Splatterhouse' Art, Alternative Terror Masks PLUS New Footage

Well it seems that Namco still has some sneak freaks left for us Splatter-fans in preparation of the upcoming release on November 23rd. Perhaps the most exciting news being that there will apparently be alternative Terror Masks that you can unlock as depicted in the screenshots below. Alternative masks?! How freaking awesome!! It seems as though they're even referencing some of the original concept for the masks as well.

And if that's not enough to send you shrieking into the night like an excited lemming, Fearnet has some new footage with Dan Tovar discussing the game's Splatterkill system (see above) AND Namco has also released details about a Survival Arenas. According the official press release these are

unlockable 20 rounds of unending horror which enable players to take on ever increasing waves of grotesque monsters in a test of endurance and strength. Players start off with full health and an empty Necro Meter and must slay their way past each round, building their Necro Energy, purchasing Necro Moves, and relying on the Splatter Siphon healing ability.

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Printed Perversions: Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave #1

Writers
Kerry Gammill, Sam F. Park, James Farr, Rob Brown, Derek McCaw, John Cassaday, Joe Freire, Martin Powell, Gary D. Rhodes

Artists
Kerry Gammill, Chris Moreno, John Cassaday, Rafael Navarro, Joe Freire, Terry Beatty, Tom Smith, Brian Denham, Kez Wilson, Jeff Preston, Frank Dietz, Paul Garner, Kim Loh

Publisher
Monsterverse Entertainment

Release Date
Wed, November 3rd 2010

Halloween may be over, but that doesn't mean that all of the monsters have gone away. In fact, some of the best ones never die. Case in point, Kerry Gammill and Monsterverse Entertainment have resurrected the king of vampires himself, that grand ghoul, Bela Lugosi for a tome of terror tales that is sure to bring twisted grins to any self-respecting "crypt dweller."

The first issue of Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave begins with a bone-chilling tale of a mad scientist's obsession with immortality. Mix in some paranoia with a good dose of envy and Unpleasant Side Effects by Sam Park and Kerry Gammill offers a jaw-dropping introduction with a pitch perfect ending.

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Hold the iPhone... There's an "Evil Dead" App?!

Well, not quite yet... but there will be. According to the game's official site it will be coming soon however and it's got a trailer to prove it (see above). Not much else is available at this time, though you have to admit that the potential is there and while I'm not a fan of the Wii-based visual style of the characters the trailer itself is pretty funny. Add to that some teaser shots of zombies, bloodletting and the infamous tree rape scene and they might just have something here.

The site describes the game as allowing players to "take control of Ash and lead a group of friends to safety through a variety of locations while battling off Deadites."

Be sure to stay tuned for more details as they become available.

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