Rungano Nyoni‘s utterly captivating debut feature I Am Not a Witch centers on 8-year-old Shula (Maggie Mulubwa), a young Zambian girl who’s quickly accused of witchcraft after she shows up in a small village unannounced. A token trial follows; Shula is found guilty and sent to live in a barren, government-run witch camp, where she — like the other women interned there — is always tethered to a large, heavy spool of ribbon, to prevent her from flying off and (presumably) killing someone.

Once Shula decides to opt in on her new status as a witch — her other choice, according to those in charge, is to cut the ribbon and be turned into a goat — she’s embraced by the older women in the camp, who dote on her like a daughter/granddaughter. The affection and attention are nice, as is the status Shula earns when she’s taken to judge civil disputes and her decisions are taken seriously. But she must also face scorn, hostility, and disgust from the locals (and intrusive curiosity from visiting tourists), which ultimately outweigh the positive aspects of the witches’ community.

Viewed by Nyoni as a fairy tale, I Am Not a Witch nevertheless is based on the existence of actual witch camps in Africa; Nyoni, who was born in Zambia before moving to Wales as a young child, stayed in one in Ghana for a month that has been operating for more than 200 years. It’s clear that her research informed the film, which is richly observed and beautifully detailed.
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It’s also gorgeously filmed and full of realistic, lived-in performances, especially Mulubwa’s; her Shula is simultaneously defiant and vulnerable — every inch an old soul in a young body. I Am Not a Witch raises compelling questions about superstition and fear of “the other” and how they can lead to women being blamed for misfortune even in societies that value women and in many ways view them as equal to men. 

For more info, go HERE

Hulu has announced that its Stephen King anthology show Castle Rock will return for a second season. With its renewal, it will follow a brand-new storyline.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hulu says that Castle Rock is the streaming service’s most “most successful first-season original launch.” When exactly the show will return is yet to be announced.

Dustin Thomason, the show’s executive producer and writer, confirmed to THR that the show is, indeed, an anthology, which means that when the show does come back, it will do so with a new cast and storyline. He adds that it’ll take place in the same universe, true to the show’s impressionist feel:

“In terms of the anthology, each season is going to be its own self-contained story: beginning, middle and end. But I think that just as the books do, we want to surprise viewers with the ways in which the stories intersect. Just as the places the characters pop up in very unexpected ways throughout the books, that’s the kind of anthology that we would like to tell.”

Last October at New York Comic Con, the crew said that season 1 was designed to be a self-contained story, and any second season would “contain a completely new story and cast.”

The show is a bit of a mixtape of Stephen King tropes: the first season follows a nameless man (Bill Skarsgård), who mysteriously appears one day in an abandoned wing of Shawshank Prison, and the lawyer (André Holland) who returns home to try and unravel exactly what makes the town such a magnet for supernatural tragedy. Not only does it feature actors from previous King adaptations, like Skarsgård (Pennywise in the new Itmovies) and Sissy Spacek (Carrie in Carrie), it’s also brimming with Easter eggs for fans of his other books and films.
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King’s works are already set in a sprawling, connected universe (the town of Castle Rock is one of its focal points), so bringing familiar characters into the municipality for a new supernatural adventure is in keeping with both King’s written oeuvre and the show’s eclectic spin on it.

As reported by POLYGON, Mega Man: Fully Charged, the first animated series for the Blue Bomber since a two-season run from 1994-1995, is now fully available on Cartoon Network’s website. The first two episodes are free for anyone to view; the remaining eight require users to log in with valid credentials to a cable or satellite TV provider.

Cartoon Network gave a sneak preview of episode one, “Throwing Shade Part 1,” two weeks ago. In the series, Aki Light — a “regular, upbeat robot schoolboy,” — has the power to turn into Mega Man. He will take on the diabolical Sgt. Night and his Robot Masters with help from Rush the dog and others. The target demographic is school-age children, but nothing’s stopping older kids and kids-at-heart from tuning in.

Fire Man is the antagonist for the first two episodes, whose summaries say culminates with Mega Man adopting his abilities (naturally) to put him out.
​
Mega Man: Fully Charged premieres after years of discussion and delay. Plans were first revealed for the show, by Man of Action Entertainment (Ben 10, Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble) back in 2015. It was originally due to premiere in 2017.

As reported by Screen Rant, Neill Blomkamp has confirmed his forthcoming sequel RoboCop Returns will be R-rated. The original RoboCop is a glorious mix of genres, being a sci-fi action movie with large doses of satire, horror and even religious allegory. Director Paul Verhoeven managed to balance all those tones perfectly, and in between the pitch black humor and lashings of bloodshed, he provided a story with great characters and real heart.

Sadly, none of the sequels lived up to the movie’s promise. RoboCop 2 upped the gory violence, but outside of some inspired moments, it proved to be a major disappointment. RoboCop 3 infamously turned to turn the character kid friendly and watered the satire and violence down for a PG-13 rating; it killed the movie series for 20 years. A PG-13 reboot starring Joel Kinnaman and Gary Oldman arrived in 2014, but despite a strong cast and director at the helm, it was a little too neat and clean around the edges to leave much of a mark, and a planned sequel never arrived.

Now it’s been confirmed director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) will take the reins on RoboCop Returns, which will serve as a direct sequel to the 1987 original whilst ignoring the other movies. The script will be based off an unused RoboCop 2 draft from writers Michael Miner and Ed Neumeier, which will be rewritten by Justin Rhodes (Terminator 6). The lack of an R-rating was a huge point of continuation with the most recent RoboCop movies, but in response to a tweet from games designer Cliff Bleszinski, Blomkamp has confirmed the movie won’t be compromising on gore.

This is a small but comforting step since the original RoboCop was fundamentally an adult property. On the surface, Blomkamp is a strong choice for the material, since he’s steeped in love for the genre and all of his previous projects have mixed satire with R-rated violence to some degree. The director has also been flexing his creative muscles with a series of impressive short films from his own production company Oats Studios, including bleak alien invasion story Rakka and monster movie Zygote.

The series could also use a movie that restores the reputation of the character after one too many disappointing sequels, and while there’s no word on casting yet, it would be nice to see original star Peter Weller come back for RoboCop Returns also. Alternate sequels seem to be the hot new property in Hollywood right now, with Halloween 2018 and Terminator 6 both ignoring the mistakes of previous sequels to tell new stories.

RoboCop Returns doesn’t currently have a release date, but we’ll update you as more information arrives.

This special edition bust depicting a zombie-like GG Allin post-death is the first of its kind by Aggronautix.

Based on a illustration by Lou Rusconi, sculpted by Arlen Pellitier, and detailed by Eddie Bradley, this figure is it is hand-painted and limited to just 1000 numbered units. 

Standing at seven inches tall and made of high quality resin, this bust of GG is sure to give you bad dreams and torment all those who come in contact with it! 

The first 100 pre-orders receive exclusive "Live Fast Die" pin!

PRE-ORDER NOW 

​WWW.AGGRONAUTIX.COM

hillbilly, a new documentary film that explores the "hillbilly" stereotype and its role in America's current, heated cultural divide between rural and urban communities, is set to make its debut during the 17th San Francisco Documentary Film Festival on June 8th, 9:30 pm PT at the Roxie Theater, and a second showing on June 10th, 2:30 pm PT at the New People Cinema. To buy tickets for either of these showings, please click here.

Appalachia is no stranger to the complexity of media representation. hillbilly takes the viewer on a personal and political journey into the heart of Appalachia, exploring the role of media and culture in the creation of the iconic American "hillbilly," and examining the social, cultural, and political underpinnings of this infamous stereotype.

Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and and the National Endowment for the Arts, and filmed in California and across the South, hillbilly uncovers an unexpected community of artists, poets, activists, queer musicians, "Affrilachian" poets, and inter-sectional feminists---all unexpected voices emerging from this historically misunderstood region.

hillbilly is a timely and urgent exploration of how we see and think about poverty, southern, and rural identity in contemporary America, offering a call for dialogue between the historically divided populations of Urban and Rural, North and South.

Native Appalachian and Country music superstar Dolly Parton had this to say about the film’s release: “I'm happy to see somebody trying to cover us as we really are and not what some people think we are. It's wonderful the attention you've paid to so many areas that are so important to all of us. I'm proud to have been mentioned in the film a time or two.”

The film’s two directors Ashley York and Sally Rubin, both with Appalachian roots, made this film in order to offer the world a rich and varied point of view of this historically misunderstood region. On the film’s release, the two had this to say:

“We are so gratified to be finally releasing hillbilly, which represents the result of four and a half years of research, fundraising, production, and editing--and several decades of thinking about the issues in the film. Stereotypes about the South and the mountains are hurtful and divisive. We hope our film can ignite change around this issue.”

​Attending the screenings from the film's production team will be: Ashley York, Sally Rubin, Co-Directors/Producers; John Fee, Composer; Ben Caucci, Composer; Samantha Andre, Assistant Editor; Kayla Velloso, Associate Producer; Laurie Coyle, Story Consultant; and Ken Schneider, Additional Editor. 

To learn more about the film, its creators, funders, producers, and advisors please visit hillbillymovie.com or on the official Facebook page.

Severin Films Presents ZOMBIE 3 - The Infamous Fulci/Mattei/Fragasso Saga - Now In HD For The First Time In The US.

Limited Edition: First 3000 with Remastered Soundtrack CD of Music by Stefano Mainetti

Zombie 3
1 Blu-ray disc + 1 CD disc
Street: 5/29/18
All regions. Widescreen 1.85:1
Dolby Digital Mono
Production year: 1988
Director: Lucio Fulci, Claudio Fragasso, Bruno Mattei
Cast: Deran Sarafian, Beatrice Ring, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua
 
Shortly before completing the sequel to his classic ZOMBIE, the legendary Lucio Fulci became ill and left the Philippines-based production. But when director Bruno Mattei (SHOCKING DARK) and writers Claudio Fragasso & Rossella Drudi (TROLL 2) stepped in to finish, the result became the most "insanely enjoyable" (The Lucid Nightmare) zombie romp in EuroCult history.

After a deadly virus is stolen from a government facility, it will unleash a "wildly entertaining" (Realm Of Horror) combination of Fulci's signature extreme violence, Mattei/Fragasso-style surreal logic, and big bloody buckets of goo-spewing mayhem that must be seen to be believed. Deran Sarafian, Beatrice Ring (INTERZONE) and Massimo Vanni (RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR) star in this "total blast" (Bloody Disgusting), now featuring a 2k scan and uncut for the first time ever in America.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Last Zombies - Interview with Co-Director / Co-Writer Claudio Fragasso and Co-Writer Rossella Drudi
Tough Guys - Interview with Actors/Stuntmen Massimo Vanni and Ottaviano Dell'Acqua
The Problem Solver - Interview with Replacement Director Bruno Mattei
Swimming with Zombies - Interview with Actress Marina Loi
In the Zombie Factory - Interview with FX Artist Franco Di Girolamo
Audio Commentary With Stars Deran Sarafian and Beatrice Ring
Trailer

Severin Films Presents ZOMBIE 4: AFTER DEATH - From The Creators Of TROLL 2 and MONSTER DOG. Now In HD For The First Time Ever In America

Limited Edition: First 3000 with First Ever Official Release Soundtrack CD of Music by Al Festa

 
Zombie 4: After Death
1 Blu-ray disc + 1 CD disc
Label: Severin Films
Street: 5/29/18
 
In between the celebrated insanities of ZOMBIE 3 and TROLL 2, director Claudio Fragasso (here under the name 'Clyde Anderson') and writer/collaborator Rossella Drudi put the penultimate batsh*t nail in the coffin of the legendary ZOMBIE series. When a white scientist's cure for cancer enrages an island voodoo priest, it will unleash the ultimate plague of ninja zombies, exploding heads, appalling performances, eye-gouging, face-ripping, power ballads and big bloody mouthfuls of flesh-chomping havoc... And that's just the first 20 minutes.

Adult film superstar Jeff Stryker, Candice Daly (THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) and Jim Gaines (ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD) star in this "ludicrously entertaining" (Ballistic Blood Bullets) Philippines-filmed schlock-fest, now scanned in 2k and uncut for the first time ever in America.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Run Zombie Run! - Interview With Director Claudio Fragasso and Screenwriter Rossella Drudi
Jeff Stryker in Manila - Interview With Actor Chuck Peyton
Blonde vs Zombies - Interview With Actress Candice Daly
Behind-The-Scenes Footage
Trailer
Link to trailer: https

Severin Films Presents SHOCKING DARK - The Most Infamous Mash-Up In EuroSleaze History - 
Now In HD For The First Time Ever!
 
 
Shocking Dark
1 Blu-ray disc
Street: 5/29/18
Color, 90 minutes in English
All regions. Widescreen 1.85:1
Dolby Digital Mono
Production year: 1989
Director: Bruno Mattei
Cast: Christopher Ahrens, Haven Tyler, Geretta Geretta

For director Bruno Mattei (VIOLENCE IN A WOMEN'S PRISON) and co-writers Claudio Fragasso & Rossella Drudi (TROLL 2), their final - and most notorious - collaboration went beyond brazen plagiarism to become a fearless act of deranged genius: In this bravura rip-off of both ALIENS and TERMINATOR, a team of badass marines, a tough female civilian and an orphaned girl battle monsters beneath the Venice canals while being chased by an indestructible killer cyborg.

Have we mentioned the overwrought dialogue, over-the-top performances and ultimate WTF twist ending? Geretta Geretta (DEMONS) and Tony Lombardo (RATS: NIGHTS OF TERROR) star in this "schlockfest of awesome" (Cool Target) - actually released outside the U.S. as TERMINATOR II and ALIENATORS and never before available in America - now scanned in 2k from the Director's Cut negative discovered in a Rome lab vault.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Terminator in Venice - An Interview with Co-Director / Co-Screenwriters Claudio Fragasso and Co-Screenwriter Rossella Drudi
Once Upon A Time in Italy - An Interview With Actress Geretta Geretta
Alternate Italian Titles

On May 1st at 3 PM EST, Fangoria Magazine will once again open for business. On that day interested parties can subscribe at Fangoria.com. The organization is exploring in-store options and single-issue sales, but for right now a one-year subscription is the only way to get the magazine.

Fangoria writes:
"It’s been a whirlwind of activity since our initial announcement, and we at Fangoria have been simultaneously encouraged and humbled by the amazing show of support. The message has been clear: Fango is missed, and Fango is needed. We take this responsibility very seriously, and we’re excited to bring you this update..." 

The organization then lists the following:

• Our goal is to present you with a Fangoria that has grown up with the reader, and with the genre. Fango is 40 years old next year; like it or not it’s an institution, and we’re going to treat it like one.

• As you might have heard, the new Fangoria will be quarterly. That means the reviews and news of the past are kind of out the window, but don’t fret: we’ve got some ideas to showcase upcoming releases that will retain the OG spirit.

• Leaving the news cycle to the internet frees up room for a richer reader experience: deep-dive retrospectives and longform analysis; juicy, exclusive set visits; gloriously gory FX-centric features. Most importantly, classic Fango had unprecedented access to horror filmmakers, and we’re excited to bring back those first-person points of view from the people who are shaping the genre today.
  
• Planned contributors to the first issue include Tim Lucas, Grady Hendrix, Matt Zoller Seitz, Russ Fischer, Ashlee Blackwell, Simon Abrams, S. Craig Zahler, Meredith Borders, Anya Stanley, Sam Zimmerman, Barbara Crampton, Jacob Knight, and lots - LOTS - more. 
  
• Cover to cover, the new Fangoria will be 100 pages. That’s 400 pages of Fango in your mailbox every year. It’ll be perfect-bound (Google it) and printed on collectible-grade quality stock.
  
• Fangoria will also be presented with limited advertising. Say goodbye to shitting up every other page with ads. From across the room, it’ll look like classic Fango, but in your hands this is gonna be a whole new experience. 
  
• Speaking of “in your hands,” this is not a drill: Fangoria Magazine will NOT have a digital version. It will not be available online. You’re gonna have to turn off the internet for a couple hours and READ A MAGAZINE, folks. We promise it’ll be worth it. The first issue of Fangoria lands in October - which gives you a hint as to what we’ll be covering in that issue… 
  
• A one-year subscription to Fangoria is $60 plus shipping & handling. That’s about 25% off the cover price of $19.79 (WINK) and gets you a PACKED new Fango in October, January, April and July (which, by the way, is our 40th anniversary issue - it’s gonna be epic).

RLJE Films, a brand of RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE), has acquired all North American rights to highly anticipated horror movie Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich.  The reimagining of the Full Moon Features cult classic stars Thomas Lennon (TV’s “Reno 911!”), Jenny Pellicer (TV’s “Cocaine Godmother”), Nelson Franklin (TV’s “Veep”), Charlyne Yi (This is 40), Michael Pare (Eddie and the Cruisers), and Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator).  The iconic Udo Kier (Brawl in Cell Block 99) stars as the titular character.  Written by S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk) and directed by Sonny Laguna (We Are Monsters) and Tommy Wiklund (Wither), RLJE Films plans to release the movie in theaters in August 2018.

Dallas Sonnier and Amanda Presmyk produced Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich for Cinestate, the Texas-based entertainment company that recently acquired Fangoria magazine.  This shall be the first feature released under the resurrected Fangoria label.  Sonnier and Zahler courted original franchise creator Charles Band for the right to produce an all new take on the idea, with Band serving as Executive Producer.

“We are incredibly excited to be able to bring the first film under the new Fangoria brand to audiences this summer,” said RLJE Films’ Chief Acquisitions Officer Mark Ward. “With an amazing script from S. Craig Zahler and performances from horror legends Barbara Crampton and Udo Kier, we know Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich will thrill fans of the original films and new audiences alike.”

In Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, recently divorced and reeling, Edgar (Lennon) returns to his childhood home to regroup his life. When Edgar finds a nefarious looking puppet in his deceased brother’s room, he decides to sell the doll for some quick cash at a small-town convention celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders. Girl-next-door Ashley (Pellicer) and his comic book shop boss, Markowitz (Franklin), join Edgar for the doomed road trip. All hell breaks loose when a strange force animates the puppets at the convention, setting them on a bloody killing spree that’s motivated by an evil as old as time. 

In addition to the talented cast and filmmakers involved in Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, the legendary Fabio Frizzi (Zombi 2, The Beyond) composed the score for the movie and two-time finalist of Syfy’s FACE-OFF, Tate Steinsiek, served as puppet creator/SFX artist.

Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich maintains all of the brutally inventive puppet kills infused with the comedic tendencies that made the original franchise so popular with fans, while expanding upon Toulon’s backstory and developing richer dialogue, characters, and narratives.

The original Puppet Master is an American horror movie franchise that focuses on a group of anthropomorphic puppets, each equipped with their own unique and dangerous device. Produced by Band and his Full Moon Features label, the series was established in 1989 with the eponymous first installment, which has since been followed by numerous sequels, comic books, collector's items and toys.

Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich was also produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (1492) and Mark Vahradian (Transformers).  It was executive produced by Adam Donaghey (A Ghost Story), Johnathan Brownlee (The Incident at Sparrow Creek Lumber), Wayne Marc Godfrey (The Foreigner), Robert Jones (The Usual Suspects), Rick Prince (Enuattii) and Red Sanders (A Bad Idea Gone Wrong).  Frequent Laguna & Wiklund partner David Liljeblad also produced.

Ward and Jess De Leo from RLJE negotiated the deal with Sonnier on behalf of Cinestate.