Ghastly Gatherings

The blokes and birds at Grimm Up North in Manchester, England, are hosting a "Samurai Splatter" double bill of Shogun Assassin and Baby Cart to Hades next Friday, February 17th, and we have all the details right here!

Get ready for some real magic, Orlando. Sure, Dwight Howard probably won't be in town when October rolls around, but what you can count on is another weekend of kick-ass horror movies at the 7th Annual Freak Show Horror Film Festival.

Hello, horror fans north of the Border. To all our Canadian gorehounds, genre fave Michael Biehn is headed your way to share two of his newest works of horror with you...in the flesh!

It's quickly approaching. Before you know it, the manufactured day of needless spending will be upon us to celebrate all that we love in life. Except of course saving cash, but still... Our significant others are worth that and more!

The 2012 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival runs March 9–17 in Austin, Texas, and now the full film program lineup has been announced. From a first glance at the list, it's pretty light on horror, but there are a few standouts.

Okay, Southwest Florida horror fans, this is your chance to show your love for the wild world of cult film as CultMovieMania.com brings a NYC 42nd Street Grindhouse vibe to Tampa, Florida, with the debut of its weekly Screaming Cinema Series on Thursday, February 9th.

As we frequently mention, the zombie apocalypse is not a matter of if, but when, and we're doing our best to be sure you beloved Dread Central readers are prepared to deal with it. It's a simple case of the 6 P's: Preparation and Planning Prevent Piss-Poor Performance. And when the shit goes down, that preparation is going to decide who's gonna survive and who's gonna be dead... or in this case undead. One great way to prepare is with Run for Your Lives 5Ks.

Some of you may not know that the San Diego Comic-Con has a little sister known as WonderCon, which is typically held in San Francisco, but this year things are going to be a bit different. Due to renovation work taking place at Moscone Center South, the Con's usual home, the powers-that-be have opted to relocate it to the Anaheim Convention Center for its 2012 run of March 16th-18th rather than cancel or postpone it.

Anne Rice has posted a new video on her YouTube page discussing her upcoming book The Wolf Gift, and one thing that caught our attention is that her protagonist's transformation isn't a painful ordeal, but rather a sensuous experience in which he enjoys his increased strength and heightened senses. And that's just the beginning of the new werewolf mythos she's created. Check it out for a lot more details, but first here's a list of cities added to her promo tour in support of the novel.

The celebrity guest list for the 2012 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) is starting to take shape with the announcement that Josh Gates will appear at the annual pop culture convention, where he will be the focus of a high profile panel and will also do a signing. C2E2 will take place April 13–15, 2012, in the North Building at the McCormick Place Convention Center.

Tired of seeing all the cool stuff happening in either New York or Los Angeles and wondering when your town might get something fun and horror related, too? Well, if you live in or near Pittsburgh, PA, wonder no longer! On January 15th indie flick Mortal Remains will have its first public screening at The Oaks Theater in Oakmont. And we have the film's poster and teaser trailer right here to help whet your appetite!

We're just about a month away from the release of Anne Rice's upcoming return to the supernatural genre, The Wolf Gift, and while we await word of just how extensive a book tour the beloved author might embark upon in support of it, we do know of one location where she'll be making an appearance and signing: Books Inc. in San Francisco's Opera Plaza.

Our good buddies across the pond at Grimm Up North in Manchester, England, are putting on two special screenings this month: SEVENTIES SCI-FI SPECIAL featuring John Carpenter’s Dark Star and a documentary on the film, Let There Be Light: The Legacy of Dark Star, followed a few days later by a double bill of Dario Argento’s Four Flies on Grey Velvet and Michele Soavi’s Dellamorte Dellamore.

Last night Dread Central was on hand at the Regal 14 Theaters in Los Angeles for the premiere celebration of Paramount Pictures' latest genre effort, The Devil Inside, which is set to terrify audiences everywhere today.

Aspiring indie horror filmmakers, take note - my hometown is doing our great genre proud by announcing a brand new film festival celebrating the world of independent horror movies this upcoming April.