Hood of Horror

I must have caught a contact high from watching the trailer because I really should’ve known better. The only good thing about of this horror anthology is the above average cast: Jason Alexander -- sporting a British accent, Billy Dee Williams, Ernie Hudson from “Ghostbusters”, Danny Trejo and Sydney Tamiia Poitier from “Grindhouse” just to name a few. Snoop is fine as our demonic-gangsta host and there’s a slick-looking anime at the begining but everything goes downhill from there. The three -- borderline four -- gory tales of greed and revenge just weren’t that interesting to me. More than anything, the film illustrates how difficult it is to come up with a good concept for a short and sustain it for 15-20 minutes.

Story Starters

Halloween comes a little early, folks. Thirteen (potentially) scary story starters...

Aspiring horror novelist suspected of killing and cooking girlfriend


Before Dracula, there was Lord Ruthven

Crystal ball sets fire to house

Dream leads woman to missing friend

"Extremely thirsty" patient at hospital drinks two vials of blood


Immigrants forced into prostitution with voodoo

Loch Ness Monster Sightings Dwindle

Mass Exinctions linked to hotter temperatures


New e-mail scam threatens N.J. man's life

Possible spontaneous human combustion case in California

Sex and Marriage with Robots by 2050


Woman finds a 7 foot python in her toilet

Would-be vampiress sentenced to ten years

I AM LEGEND

Speaking of Will Smith, the "I Am Legend" site is up...

Toothless

I’m surprised “30 Days of Night” made only 6 million on Friday. It probably won’t crack 20 million for the weekend. When you consider that Halloween is right around the corner and the huge marketing push, its box office is pretty darn disappointing. The mixed reviews probably didn’t help matters but most horror flicks are critic proof. I guess horror fans just aren’t interested in a new incarnation of the vampire. This doesn't bode well for Will Smith’s “I Am Legend”.

Interactive

I love mysteries. The Bermuda Triangle. Stonehenge. A “House on Haunted Hill” sequel... Seriously, what seems like your standard direct to video fare might be the future of interactive entertainment. The HD/BD version allows you to branch the story down different paths: pick who lives and who dies, who gets a gory death, etc. The disc boasts something like 39 alternate endings -- I have enough trouble coming up with one. It’ll be interesting to see how this sells.

Moonlight

Instead of giving a knee-jerk reaction to the pilot, I decided to wait a few episodes... so I waited... and waited... well, it sure ain’t “Angel” or “Forever Night” for that matter. “Moonlight” really doesn’t aspire to be those shows, it just wants to be a nice supernatural romance for the post “Ghost Whisperer” audience and it almost succedes. The cast is likeable, the leads have decent chemistry and -- oh, who am I kidding!? THIS SHOW IS LAME! Cheesy special effects -- vampire contact lenses? Shannyn Sossamon? Cliched stories. Shannyn Sossamon? Is this the best you could come up with Joel Silver? It’s also hard to believe that “Angel” co-creator David Greenwalt was briefly involved with this project. Vamps can walk around during the day because sunlight only makes them weak. Crosses and garlic don’t work but they like to sleep in the nude, inside freezers? A stake to the heart doesn’t kill, it only paralyzes. Everyone has a right to put their unique spin on the genre but these seem so... dumb. How about changing the dynamic a bit, female vampire and mortal reporter? Pulling any random script out of the slush pile couldn’t have resulted in a less original concept but the ratings have been decent (skews a much older audience than the network expected, especially after all the cast changes) so what do I know?

Heroes 10/8

Claire’s Dad has been hiding stuff, Peter is trying to figure out his powers, Nikki is about to do something bad, Hiro has an important mission to complete, someone from “Star Trek” joins the cast and Sylar is busy killing folks. Am I in a time warp to 2006 or didn’t we go down this road last season? I don’t mind the piecemeal storytelling but it seems like there’s been way too much rehash. What’s also interesting is how the show appears to follow the same structure as last season: everyone is dispersed, they’ll eventually come together by fate/coincidence to thwart some looming threat -- which hasn’t been established yet. We’ll see if it works a second time around...

Pushing Daisies

I’m shocked a show this quirky got past the gatekeepers. Can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard at people dropping dead. Really dug the whimsical Tim Burtonesque vibe with some "Wonderfalls" and "Dead Like Me" sprinkled in. Even more shocking news, “Pushing Daisies” won its time slot last night. It’ll be interesting to see if audiences come back for a second helping.