As a fan of The Walking Dead, I am always supremely excited to settle in to watch the midseason premiere of the show, since it means that my favorite series is back on the air, and the juicy plot line that the midseason finale left us with, is headed toward resolution. But this year, I have to admit that my excitement level for the show’s return was higher than usual. For ‘Evolution’ introduced us to the mysterious Whisperers, a twisted and powerhouse group of villains that brought about all kinds of trouble in the comics and considering how the last episode ended with the death of Jesus, it was obvious they were going to rattle this universe like never before.
 
Because their arrival provides the audience with a different kind of baddie, one that wishes to live amongst mankind’s biggest threat, and that makes them dangerous for so many reasons since they can blend in with the enemy, and clearly…they don’t answer to anyone or anything that humanity holds near. And that kind of villain is downright frightening and I was hoping that last night’s episode of the show, ‘Adaptation’, was going to take the time to teach us more about this mysterious group and well…it definitely delivered on that front. But what we learned was supremely disturbing and it’s clear that going forward, the Whisperers may prove to be the greatest challenge the groups have ever faced. 
 
One big reason for that, is something that I just made mention of, their ability to seamlessly blend in with the dead. Because it was extremely hard for Daryl and Michonne and everyone else to distinguish who was who in this particular tale. Which means that there is a real risk down the line that these individuals can simply sneak up on our heroes since they imitate the dead so well, and that ability forced Daryl to get creative in order to capture one of these twisted individuals and that quite frankly, was a disturbing moment in this particular tale. Because it’s just strange to hear a ‘walker’ scream in agony, and the see the real living dead react to a human in their midst. But Daryl’s plan was outright genius since he and Michonne were able to corner and capture a member of this disturbed group.
 
That capture, brought about some fascinating interactions between Daryl and the young prisoner, a woman who eventually identified herself as Lydia. Because this entire sequence more or less revealed the fact that Lydia and her people are as cunning as they come and will do whatever it takes to get out of a pickle and her ability to confuse everyone and gain Henry’s sympathy is evidence of that. And while Daryl was able to get some answers from her about her people and how they live, what she didn’t say matters more. For outside of informing us that her people live amongst the dead and roam where they roam, she did a fine job of misdirecting the conversation and Daryl is fully aware of the fact that she only gave him just enough information to keep him satisfied and it’s inherently obvious that she is not to be trusted in the slightest and is still hiding plenty of secrets… 

Yet, the mental cat and mouse games present in this story didn’t end with Lydia’s storyline, they actually extended to Luke and Aiden’s journey in this particular tale as well. For that particular duo were out and about the countryside, searching for the overdue search party, blissfully unaware that mostly everyone returned to Hilltop safe and sound and while they were meandering through the woods, they came to discover one of Yumiko’s arrows embedded in a tree. Which of course, prompted them to move on in order to catch up with the group, but eventually, they came to realize in disturbing fashion that these arrows were nothing more than bait to lure them into a trap, wherein the Whisperers captured the duo at gunpoint…
 
Yet while it was fascinating to learn how smart the Whisperers truly are, this episode had more to offer than mere chills and thrills. For season nine has been about character depth and slow burning growth and the fear that is present in just about everyone’s hearts was on display in this episode as well, since Aaron let Michonne know that he was ready to accept the fact that Alexandria should remain as isolated as possible so that people no longer risk an unnatural death and Daryl even used Hilltop’s and Alexandria’s xenophobia as incentive to get Lydia to talk, and it was just nice to see this episode continue to stick to important themes and notions that are likely going to evolve as the threat of the Whisperers grows.
 
Plus, this episode also managed to surprise us by throwing in a little redemption parable as well, since this story took the time to follow up on Negan’s not-so-thrilling escape from the Alexandria jail in the midseason finale and well…this storyline served as quite the pallet cleanser. For this segment of the story, finally allowed for Negan to face his past, and all of his mistakes, and come to realize that the Savior way and everything he made his lieutenants do was wrong, and that he deserved to pay for his crimes and it was just incredible to see Negan reach this point mentally and honestly, it should be supremely fascinating to see where his character goes from here now that he has made peace with yesterday and is now ready to move onto the next phase of his life.
 
If anything, this ended up being quite the midseason premiere since it packed in so much over the course of the hour and I really did appreciate how this story took the time to teach us plenty about the Whisperers in subtle fashion. Because every little detail was revealed in moments of silence or deception and well, it is inherently clear that the Whisperers are going to be downright terrifying when they come for Lydia and make no mistake about it…they will, and soon. And if that young woman is willing to lie when her life is seemingly on the line (because we all know Daryl wasn’t going to hurt her), her friends and family will go the extra mile to secure her freedom, and this was just a magnificent setup for a massive conflict to come and I cannot wait to see what chilling moments involving this new villain are waiting for us down the line. Until next time.

While we try to celebrate the best parts about whichever city we happen to live in, there's a dark side to our hometowns. For every hero and feel good story in our community, there are bad people out there that do bad things and sadly, that often times becomes the top story on the nightly news. Our best hope to counteract the ugly things in our city is to be the better man or woman and try our best to treat people with the respect they deserve. But sadly, we always have to keep our guard up, because you never know what will happen if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Krug has just been broken out of prison and is looking to restart his life from where he left off. With his squeeze Sadie, buddy Weasel and son Junior at his side he has put the group back together. Laying low in an apartment, Krug is starting to get a little bit itchy and when Sadie tells him that she will no longer be sleeping with him until she gets some female companions of her own, he knows that something will have to change. Sending Junior out of the room, he is able to come across a happy treat when Mari and Phyllis stop by to try and find some weed to smoke before going to a show.

Bringing the girls back up to get the goods, they are shocked to see that they are in the middle of something that was not expected. Being locked in, Phyllis is taken advantage of first by the group, but her nightmare is just beginning. Knowing that the group needs to move, Krug gets everyone, and everything packed up and head north, away from the police. But all is not well and good when the car breaks down in front of a house and now Krug has to make the best decision possible. Taking the girls down into the wooded area, he decides to have some fun with his new friends. Threatening to cut Mari every time that Phyllis does not do what he says, the two girls are forced into a life and death situation that they will not be able to escape from.

Not willing to go easily, Phyllis decides that she will try and escape the torment and on her word, she heads into the woods trying to provide Mari the opportunity to get home. Running by the river, Phyllis is able to get both Weasel and Sadie to follow her leaving Mari to deal with Junior. As the chase continues, Phyllis is able to see a road, but Krug is in her way to freedom. Killing off the stronger of the two girls, he returns to see that Mari is trying to escape as well. Carving his name into her chest, Krug finishes the job and is ready to return to the real world. Being invited into John and Estelle’s home, the group finds out that their daughter was their last victim. Their secret is short lived however since the two parents are very perceptive and hear about what the group has done to their daughter. All bets are off and now John and Estelle are ready to take revenge on their new guests in the worst way possible.

What can I say about this movie, other than it is a classic. Although it is pretty dated, you are able to get into the mind of a killer and see how everything is alright in his or her eyes. Throughout the torture scenes, you can see that the group is having fun causing pain to their victims and nothing will take that away from them. I love the soundtrack as it goes between a little bit of downer music to a whole bunch of uplifting melodies. It is unfortunate that the police in this story are not giving much attention to Mari’s missing person status, as they find out later in the story, but they became the biggest punchline in the movie. John and Estelle are the highlight characters in the movie since they are really the hero’s if you have to find one. You always wonder way fathers come to the door with a shotgun when you are taking their daughter out, you might want to try and cut them some slack after watching this movie. Stay Scared.

Finding a way to protect your children is a parent’s worst nightmare. After all, while parents often have ideas of what could happen to their kids, they never know what to prepare them for, much less what they can do if something actually happens.
 
When they get old enough and move out of the home, parents will wonder what things their children will be doing and worry about their well-being. A parent never stops worrying about their child, no matter their age or how good their life seems to be, there is always something that can go wrong and when it does, they always want to be there to help pick up the pieces.

Wade Vogel has been on the hunt for his runaway daughter for two weeks and has finally located her. In the quarantine wing of the hospital, Wade finds out that his oldest has been bitten and is now infected. Knowing the protocols about dealing with the infected, Wade is allowed to bring Maggie home, but will need to pay close attention to her transformation and when it is time, she will have to be turned back into the quarantine unit. With his current wife Caroline looking on, Wade tries to bring Maggie back into the family, but the attitudes between the two women have never meshed, hence why Maggie ran away in the first place.

Knowing that she only has a few weeks left, Wade tries to stay close to his little girl, but she is still a teenager and wants her own space. After her weekly ‘zombie’ checkup, Maggie is visited by her best friend and invited to hang out for the evening. Seeing her old boyfriend who is nearing the end of his infection time, Maggie wants to make the most out of it. But when she witnesses him being taken out of his home by the police, Maggie knows that she will be next. Developing more of the symptoms, Maggie is more fearful for what will happen to her and her father over anything else. Wade does not want to lose his little girl and shows how much he loves her, even when it means losing his wife in the process. With no medical way to stop the infected from turning into flesh eating zombies, could love be the answer that science has overlooked?

This is an interesting movie and more of a character study than anything else. With a couple of flashbacks showing the attack on Maggie, you don’t get to witness any attacks and the blood splatter that you would expect from a zombie movie. Maggie made up her mind to leave the house after her mother passed and Caroline moved in with her father, and even though the two never hit it off, Maggie’s step mother is trying her hardest to make it work, even with her infected step daughter. Wade will stop at nothing to keep his daughter safe from the world and even when he knows that she will die and start eating people, it is his only daughter and that love never escapes his grasp. With some beautiful shots and a good overall premise, this movie might not be for everybody, you just have to go in with an open mind and let the story play out. Happy Viewing and Stay Scared.

The screenplay as a whole does not receive the proper credit that it is often due. It is in essence the genesis of any motion picture and a wonderful draft of a script can serve as a powerful tapestry, filled to the brim with an engrossing world where incredible things happen that captivate the reader and eventually the audience when the story is translated to the screen. That's essentially what the original script of Day of the Dead was on paper, a stunning and sprawling story set at the end of the world and concepts and ideas from that script were about to come to fruition on the big screen as George A. Romero inched closer and closer to filming Land of the Dead. 

At this point in the process he had already re purposed and redesigned the world he created in Day by giving the new story an isolated world and incredibly advanced zombies when it came to their intelligence, but there was more for George to pilfer from the script, some of the characters that lay dormant and unused in the final cut of Day would finally find life in Land. For the most part, there weren't many left to adapt, since a fair chunk of them did make it into the 1985 finished product, but lo and behold there were a couple of minor characters, and one big one to say the least that would eventually become an important part of George's new story. If Day had made it to the big screen with George's original vision, we would have been introduced to a pair of interesting folks known as Spider and Diesel.

Spider was a deaf mute, one loyal to the cause who does everything within her power to help save lives on the island and Diesel, well he was nothing less than a force of nature, since he was essentially a man made of muscle, with a side of muscle and he was not a man to be messed with. These two characters both shared some important moments in the third act of the original script and clearly George thought they could find a home in Land as a transformed pair of people and they eventually evolved into Charlie and Pillsbury. While Charlie was clearly not a deaf mute, Romero still made the character a differently abled individual while keeping Spider's loyalty and drive alive in Charlie. It allowed for Charlie to be one incredibly like-able character in the finished product and one that we root for, since the man is a hero through and through. As for Diesel, well he became Pillsbury, and few changes came to this character. He was still a giant hulking man who could pummel anyone with the flick of his wrist, the biggest difference here is that Pillsbury was granted a sense of humor and some great comedic moments whereas Diesel was all business.

But of all the characters from the original Day of the Dead script, only one comes to mind that was truly larger than life on paper, Governor Henry Dickerson, a.k.a. "Gasparilla". This absolute monster signaled a first for Romero when he first put him to paper; a true antagonist who dutifully and proudly made a point to make people's lives hell. In the script he was a stupidly rich man, drunk on power and a villain this wonderful simply could not go to waste, and he was transformed for Land of the Dead, into the enigmatic Kaufman. This new and improved version of the character was completely toned down when it came to Gasparilla's penchant to scream and shout. Kaufman is a reserved villain, one that observes and calculates his every single move, a true survivor and one that knows how to manipulate people to do his bidding. 

If anything, Kaufman is a true reflection of the times, a rich man who believes that preserving the old way of life is the only thing that matters and by keeping the status quo going, people remain in line. There are wages to be paid in his world, work to be done, all to keep the masses busy and content and while that may not seem to make him that bad of a villain, bear in mind he'll quietly remove anyone that gets in his way or disapproves of how he runs things. If anything, Kaufman is vastly superior to Gasparilla since he comes across as charming and business like whereas Gasparilla was nothing more than a loud and obnoxious slob who saw the end of the world as an opportunity to unleash his inner jerk. Much of this is thanks to Dennis Hopper's "Rumsfeld-esque" performance, something certainly relevant to 2005 but this final survivor of the original script, is the true gem of Land of the Dead. 

Of course, when all is said and done, a couple of questions remain. Did all of this work? Was pilfering the old script worth Romero's time? The answer to those questions is a resounding yes. Land of the Dead was not only a fascinating piece on post 9/11 America; it was also a grand and sweeping adventure, one that entertains on so many levels. It's poignant, powerful and has something for every horror fan out there. If anything, the best word to use to describe Land is to call it a masterpiece. This is the story that George wanted to tell, one that reminded us that the battle of good versus evil will never end when it comes to mankind unless we work together as a species to survive; and the fact that Romero gives us hope in the closing moments of this motion picture make it a special one in the franchise because it actually leaves you wondering...that maybe, just maybe...the disjointed humanity he presents to us in this universe will survive after all and that if there is hope for them...there's hope for us as well. 

Parents are often over protective of their children. Regardless what their kids are going through, parents are always there to make sure the journey goes smooth and without any bumps that can avoided. Although parents mean the best when doing this, some of their actions could hinder a child’s growth and not let them figure out things for themselves.

Jack and Melissa Vales are on their way to their new home with son Nathan. Nathan, ‘Nat’ is not happy about the move to the new area and in protest is refusing to speak to his parents. Although Nat is choosing not to engage his parents in everyday conversations, he will still let out a word or two when he feels it is important. Meeting up with Janice, the local welcoming committee and Nat, notice that their new address equals 11. With his parents taking little interest in this, they go about their duties of making their new house livable but notice there is a strange claw like marking on one of their walls. Calling in a local painter to do a touchup on the wall, he is scared away by the marks and ends up running into the street and getting hit by a car. Nat sees the entire event and neither Jack nor Melissa seem to understand what is happening to their only son.  

The Vales’ new neighbor, Annie, an older woman that seems to be a bit off of her rocker and is always looking for her cat, takes special notice in Nat. Interacting with the boy, the old woman finds out that he will be eleven years of age on November 11th of 2011, equating to: 11/11/11. Nat does not know what this means, but the rest of the neighborhood seems to be paying special attention to him as well and give him a new book that focuses on all of the events that happened on any day that had eleven on it. Nat’s parents do not think that there is anything wrong with the gift and allow Nat to go on and read it.

As they get used to their new surroundings, Melissa finds out that she is pregnant and is in danger of having a miscarriage due to all of the stress of the recent move. Being directed to go onto bed rest for the foreseeable future, the Vales’ have to find a nanny to take care of the normal duties around the house, along with Nat. Deciding on a young woman named Denise, Jack and Melissa feel comfortable with Nat being around her and what he will learn. What they do not know is that Denise did everything within her power to make sure she would be taking care of their son, along with preparing him for something much more dangerous.  

11/11/11 follows the Vales’ family as they have changed towns as Jack is taking over for a tenured professor at the university. Not knowing much about the town or what happened in their house a year ago, the family enjoys talking to their neighbors and come to the conclusion that they are all nice people. What they do not know is what their neighbors have planned for their son’s future. Being a group of satanic worshipers, the neighbors seem to be grooming young Nat for what will come next in his development. Only the crazy lady living next store seems to know what is about to happen but is only given a passing thought from Jack and Melissa as strange occurrences start to happen around the house and their new town.

A disturbing look into the inner thoughts of a father as his son is battling his own inner demons. With trouble around every corner it seems, Jack is faced with having to take care of his son, all alone. With his wife bedridden and not knowing who he can trust around the town, Jack has to find a way to make sense of things. Watching as Nat is being taught what is wrong, you can see what the group of neighbors has in store for him, along with why he starts acting out. Jack and Melissa love their son and will do any and everything within their power to protect him from whatever is coming his way, but what they encounter is more than they could possibly imagine. Stay Scared.

The year was 2002, and the landscape of the horror genre was a vastly different place. A market once ruled by the living dead was now a place where slasher films and splatter flicks reigned supreme. But something magical happened in '02, the dead came back to life. Resident Evil and 28 Days Later were released that same year and both films were well received by audiences and the box office alike and the success of those films paved the way for the domination that the living dead enjoy in pop culture to this day. But more importantly, they also set the stage for George A. Romero to return to the genre and make the next entry in his iconic Dead series in 2005; Land of the Dead. 

Following the release of Day of the Dead, Romero continue to work as a director, releasing a few films here and there over the years, but the dead were always on his mind. Somewhere along the way he had toyed with the notion of putting together the script for another film in the series, but despite his tinkering with a draft here and there...nothing idea wise quite jelled just yet. George wanted a film that was perfectly poignant to the times. One that truly reflected America and its society to a tee, and it wasn't until the early 00's that he finally found his angle and the opportunity to tell his tale when Universal pictures green-lit the production of Land.  It turned out the post 9/11 era of America would serve well to build this particular story, giving us a look at a disillusioned society shell shocked by the events of the end of the world.

But the commentary on where we were as a people in America at that point in time was going to be the easy part of telling the story, Romero's real challenge was to build a world that showed that while mankind had survived the end times in some form or fashion society as a whole had taken a step back to get by, reverting to a more feudal state to keep things simple and in order to accomplish this, he dusted off the original script for Day of the Dead to give new life to ideas that were in essence, long forgotten. The first resurrected concept that George re purposed for Land of the Dead was Gasparilla's Island. It was no longer practical or necessary to set this next film on a tropical island, so Romero did the next best thing...he created an urban one. By setting the film in Pittsburgh once again, George was able to use the city's natural setting of being surrounded by rivers to isolate the downtown area from the rest of the surrounding metro area with the construction of fences and barriers and raising up all the drawbridges.

In doing this, Pittsburgh had truly become an island unto itself, giving mankind a place where they could safely live away from the roaming hordes of walking corpses meandering about the countryside and once that part of this new world was put together, it was time to enhance this reimagined island a little further. One fascinating concept that George presented in the original script for Day was the return of the caste system on Gasparilla's Island. The former governor of Florida lived in a wonderfully comfortable place on the island where he was able to eat, drink and be psycho while the people he "saved" from a fate worse than death lived in nothing more than a filthy hovel where it essentially became a game of survival of the fittest. That extreme and disturbing concept in the film was in essence toned down for Land, but the core of it still remained. Kaufman (the new iteration of Gasparilla and a classier one at that) and his rich cronies would enjoy the high life in a high rise while the rest of the people of Pittsburgh would simply get by in whatever housing Kaufman left for them. It was a stunning new way to portray the have and have nots and oddly enough, this enhanced thematic concept is still relevant to this day.  

While it seems as though that should be enough to get a story going, George was in no way done borrowing from his old script, the living dead were going to get a facelift as well. The notion to make them smarter was always an evolutionary standard for Romero, but he saw a way to enhance that concept with another one from the original Day script...the notion of an army of the living dead. Obviously by isolating mankind it was no longer practical to train the dead to use weapons and fight as they were able to do in that distant draft of the screenplay. Instead Romero let evolution do all the work and allowed the dead to organize on their own. These advanced creatures could communicate and proved to be quite the lethal force when all was said and done and this next step for the Romero zombie was a disturbing one to say the least, truly going above and beyond anything that was featured in that original script since these beings embodied the age old Romero notion of 'they're us.'

Regardless, the heavy borrowing that George performed from that alternate version of Day of the Dead paid off in spades. He had a powerful villain coming to life in Kaufman. A world that made sense and fit with the times and he was even able to explore the horrors of putting together an army of the dead and take it one step further. Yet, despite laying down the framework for an incredible new entry in the series, Romero wasn't quite done yet. There were still a bevy of rich characters waiting for him in that old script that he could bring to life, and of course there was still one big question remaining, would all of this work when all was said and done. That's where we will pick up tomorrow in the final part of this series, with an in depth look at what characters survived and evolved from the old script and how all of these elements finally came together on screen in Land of the Dead. ​Until then.

One of the things that couples like to do is to show each other where they came from. It is a very safe practice of finding out who they are and where some of their special quirks come from and it ends up making the relationship stronger in the long run. As you are able to find out more about a significant other's past you are able to let the little things go and grow the relationship as you take it to the next step.

Emma and Scott are looking to take their relationship to the next level as they are slated to be married in a few months. Hearing the news that her grandfather has passed away, Emma thinks that going to his home to clean it out would make for a great couple's getaway. Inviting her old fling James and his girlfriend Lynne along for the ride, the four make their way to the remote town of Suffolk. 

James is videotaping the entire trip to keep a video journal for his past love Emma before she takes the leap and walks down the aisle. During their drive up to the old home, the group hits a fox but do not kill it. Looking around the area, Emma tells the group how much she really hated this place when growing up and points to a large tree in the distance. There is a legend about the old tree that had been standing in the same place since 1690 that a hooded figure would chase people that entered its hollow and drive them to their deaths.

As the group looks around Emma’s grandfather’s house, they find he uncovered a little more information about the area that includes couples committing suicide at the tree for many years. Trying to find out more for themselves, Emma questions the local preacher that has taken over her grandfather’s charge at the church to discover more about the legend. The preacher steps back from the questions and adds more mystery to the legend. The group tries to give it little thought but finds that they are drawn to the tree and an abandoned abbey nearby. The folklore of the region starts to play with the sanity of the group as strange things and thoughts start to invade their minds as their reality starts to change.

Hollow follows Emma and Scott’s relationship as they are about to wed. Being joined with a new budding relationship between James and Lynne, the couples are faced with what is really in their hearts. James is still in love with his childhood crush Emma but is not willing to admit it with his words but will let his film show her the truth. Although he has a good relationship going with Lynne, he is using her to make Scott’s eyes wander and make the ultimate mistake of cheating on Emma. When the group insults the haunted tree and inspects the abandoned abbey, strange events start coming their way, challenging their relationships along with endangering their lives.

This is another one of those first-person movies that have become a staple in horror films. Not being able to see what or where the real threat is coming from add to the scares that these films provide. As long as a proper storyline is provided along with the shaky camera, these films keep you on the edge of your seat until the resolution produces itself. Overall, this is a fun ghost story that plays on the fears of the group as they try to make sense of the local folklore and what really drives couples to kill themselves at a central location. Sometimes sharing your youth, your places along with your fear might be more dangerous than you could ever imagine. Stay Scared.

There was a time in horror history, when George A. Romero's Day of the Dead was considered an outright failure. Released in 1985 to mediocre fanfare, both fans and critics alike simply did not embrace the film, and for many years it was regarded as the weakest of the original Dead Trilogy. But time has a way of changing things and as the years have progressed, Day was essentially rediscovered by old fans and new fans alike and it now holds its weight as one of the finest films in the franchise. 

This newfound love for the film continues to spread, to the point where even a new book about the making of the motion picture hit the shelves a little while back as well. Yet, despite the fact that this movie has finally found a home in the hearts of the fans, few of us truly realize that Day of the Dead's lasting impact extends far beyond its legacy as a rediscovered masterpiece, it also happens to be a motion picture that inadvertently managed to influence a large chunk of the franchise's future...all by way of an original screenplay that was never produced, and over the next few days we are going to chronicle just how that script, helped give life to the next film in the series...Land of the Dead. 

But in order to fully understand how all of this came together, we'll need to take a trip down memory lane and head back to 1979, after the release of Dawn of the Dead. The film was enjoying incredible success at the time and because of said success, George A. Romero was able to secure a three-picture deal with the company that helped Dawn make it into so many theaters without an MPAA rating, United Film Distribution Company. This fantastic deal gave Romero some incredible creative license and during this time he gave life to a sweeping tale about nobility and dedication to a dream with Knightriders, and he and Stephen King were able to partner up and bring back the comic books that influenced them as children in Creepshow. These two motion pictures essentially gave Romero a break from the living dead similar to the one he took between Night and Dawn, allowing for a proper idea for the next entry in the series to percolate and with the three picture deal coming to an end...he set out to write what would have been a grand finale to the series in Day of the Dead.

This script was quite unlike any other that George A. Romero had written to date simply because of its power and scope, this was a movie designed to top Dawn in every single way with a unique and creative story the zombie genre had never seen. This alternate story took place on an island off the coast of Florida, where the former Governor of the state created a safe heaven/paradise for survivors of the end times...or so it would seem. Gasparilla's Island was nothing short of a nightmare in this draft, where the caste system of old returned in force and Gasparilla himself ruled the people he saved with an iron fist so that all lived in fear of the man. But to top it all off, the crazy governor turned despot commissioned some radical ideas; allowing for the scientists on the island and the military to work together to train the living dead to be soldiers, and well...it's simply a magnificent script. We won't spend a ton of time on the details of this screenplay, only the parts that apply to Land of the Dead. After all, taking the time to break this magnum opus down would be a series of its own and well...in the end it was never meant to be.  

For despite the fact that it could have been the definitive zombie motion picture, there was conflict to be had. The projected budget for this iteration of Day was coming in at around $7 million, which would have been at the time, an incredible budget for any horror film and UFDC had their reservations. For starters, Romero wanted this film to be released in the same way Dawn hit theaters, without a rating; something UFDC wasn't keen on at that asking price and well...Knightriders and Creepshow didn't quite deliver at the box office as UFDC hoped they would and eventually, both sides agreed to a pared down version of this screenplay, to be filmed with a budget of $3.5 million and the rest as they say is history. 

Day of the Dead would be released to tough reviews and a box office return less than its predecessor and well, in many ways this marked the decline of the zombie genre for many years. The slasher genre was going strong and the dead were quietly buried for almost twenty years and well...sometimes things happen for a reason. This gave George Romero plenty of time to let the next entry in the series cook in his mind and at the dawn of a new century, with zombies suddenly popular again, Romero was ready to return to the genre he created with a script in hand that was not only reflective of the times, but filled to the brim with concepts, ideas and updated characters from a script that was never supposed to see the light of day and it seems only appropriate that Romero would allow the best parts of this unused story to return to life at a later date and that's where we will pick up next time, with a look at what elements from the original script survived to build a new world for a new story. Until then.

Going to a secluded area may be a dream for some people as they want to get away from their everyday life. When there is no one around, there is time to sit back and focus on what they feel is important. Some researchers look for a way to keep their mind on their studies and need to be alone so their focus is not broken by anything or anyone.

In Antarctica, a group of researchers are trying to find out what happened in the world years ago. As ice traps and holds the secrets of the events of the world, the group is ready to drill and unlock those secrets. When their drill hits metal Mark and Paige uncover what appears to be a wing of a Nazi plane. Uncovering something so out of place the two are amazed with the discovery, but before they are able to call it into their base, they are captured by a group of Nazi storm troopers.

Without being able to call in, the group at home base starts to panic and heads out to the drill site. Finding a strange burn pattern on the ice, the group also discovers blood and a grouping of tracks leading away from the area. Lucas, Paige’s boyfriend, will not lose his love and follows the strange side by side tracks to a huge crack in the ice that leads down into the depths of the ice continent. Finding that there is warmth coming up the hole from further down, Lucas is not deterred from his search and travels deeper into the hole.

Agharia, an ancient world under the crust of the regular world has been discovered once again. During World War II, Hitler sent expeditions down to the South Pole to find this ancient land and it appears that his groups were successful, and this group of scientists have stumbled upon something that will change their lives forever. Especially when they learn that one of the top Nazi scientists has been keeping his men alive for years by utilizing the art of flesh transplants. Needing to find new donors to stay alive, the Nazis have made a deal with one of the head researchers in Antarctica to ensure their survival until they are able to make it back to the surface.

Nazis at the Center of the Earth follows a group of scientists stationed in the South Pole as they are trying to unlock the history of the world. Being led by their instructor, Doctor Adrian Reistad, into a trap, the group is caught up in trying to decide what they must do to survive. They could either work with the Nazis or chose to let their minds go to waste as they will be killed and skinned if they do not comply. As the scientists try to make their decisions, they are met with the greatest scientific mind from WWII and urged to make discoveries that are still well ahead of their time.

With plenty of horror/terror stories being based around one of the scariest things, Nazis, Nazis at the Center of the Earth is not a bad movie at all. With the Nazi race only wanting to survive and accomplish the goal set for them ages ago, they will not give up and will do anything within their power to make their dreams a reality. As they have never lost their power and drive, it is fun to watch as they keep their dreams alive by making a group of reluctant scientists do their bidding. Only focusing on their own survival, the group of scientists are forced with making a choice between helping the Reich return to power, or putting their personal preservation aside and taking the Nazis down before they can return to the surface. Stay Scared.

Sometimes beliefs get in the way of what is really happening. If you only believe the views you are taught or if you listen to everyone else’s opinions and don’t pay attention to what is happening right in front of your face, you may be grossly mistaken. As long as you are able to see and believe what is really happening right in front of you, you will be able to decide what is right for yourself and possibly others.

Young Hansel and Gretel have made a name for themselves over the years, first by slaying a witch that was trying to fatten them up and eat them. Now they are grown up and hunting those that were their greatest fear. Not knowing what happened to their parents many years earlier has left the two only depending on each other and they don’t allow anyone else into their mix and they would not have it any other way.  

Being called in to a small town with a witch problem, the two prepare for action as many children have been taken over the past months. Researching the lost children and hearing all of the stories from around the town, the two stumble across an ancient holiday called the Blood Moon that only occurs once every generation. Knowing how important this is for witches, the two need to find what this event really means for the town's missing children as the Blood Moon occurs in a few days.

The town’s Mayor believes in the two hunters, but his Sheriff does not as he has been shamed publicly by the two and he employs his own trackers to try to find the missing children and show up the brother and sister duo. But the Sheriff quickly finds that he does not have enough man power to defeat the threat in front of him. Hansel and Gretel are the only two that can save the town as they seem to be invulnerable to witch’s magic. But little do they know that they are in for one incredible battle since they are going up against a master that knows more about the brother/sister team then they know about themselves.  

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters follows Hansel and Gretel as they are hired by the town’s mayor to handle witch attacks and recover the children that have gone missing. However, the two are met with some opposition as the town’s sheriff is not happy that he has been overruled by the governing body and decides to lead the hunt himself. Making new friends as they come into town, Hansel and Gretel form a strong alliance with the locals, but do not know if this will be enough as they have never fought a witch as strong as their new foe Muriel.  

The old fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel has come to life if only briefly in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. With enough of the classic story being repeated and referenced, this is a fun way to see the two grow up. With some fun special effects along with some messed up witch makeup, this movie is very entertaining for the witch novice. As the witches seem to have the ultimate power at their back and know much more than the heroes in this movie, it makes for a fun ride as the brother/sister duo find out more about themselves then they ever knew before. More of an action flick than a horror picture, but you will get a fair amount of splatter as the witch’s powers are unleashed on the town’s people. Happy Viewing and Stay Scared!