The Weekly Wrap-Up

Most notable this week was all the back and forth about Creepy's review of the "Killer Cut" of Friday the 13th 2009 (which generated more comments than we've seen around here in quite some time).

Memorial Day officially kicked off the summer movie season, but it's still several more months until 2009's most high-profile star-powered horror offerings like Zombieland, The Road, The Box, andThe Wolfman hit theatres in the late fall.

Anyone who questions the health of the horror genre just needs to see how many stories we've put up over the past seven days. A full six and a half pages worth with no sign of a slowdown in sight. And this week is far from unusual as the news has been rolling in at a healthy clip for quite a while now.

Instead of specific films, TV shows, or books, the April 26-May 2, 2009, edition of the Weekly Wrap-Up focuses on the men and women behind them. The unsung heroes who give us their blood, sweat, and tears to ensure we have a good time while watching the screen or reading the page. To them, this Woman says, "Thanks for your efforts! And keep 'em coming!"

Without a doubt the biggest story of the week of April 19-25, 2009, was the debut of the trailer for Rob Zombie's H2 -- just take a look at the number of comments it's gotten. Passions run high when a filmmaker tampers with a much beloved horror icon and the formula that made him so popular in the first place.

During the week of April 5-11, 2009, we made our first official mention of Twitter and Dread Central's presence on the rapidly booming social networking/micro-blogging site. Our man in the field Nomad reported in real time from the sets of both The Crazies and Rob Zombie's Halloween 2.

From the amount of genre news that's filtered through the site these past seven days, it's tempting to ask, "What recession?" But except for a very few high profile films, the majority of the projects currently in various stages of production are quite modest, whether they are indies or studio funded. And lucky for us, some sound quite promising. Which are the five that stood out during the week of March 29-April 4, 2009?

Looking over the news from the week of March 22-28, 2009, quite frankly, not much of it sparked a lot of enthusiasm. But there were a few items that made me go hmmmm, especially compared to the rest. First up is a low, but in an effort to keep things moving in a productive direction, the rest of the list are (cross your fingers) highs.

It's the first full day of spring, a time of rebirth and rejuvenation. It's also a time of another "re" word -- remake -- but I'm going to temporarily put that trend on hold (other than reminding you all to read Adam Gierasch's blog Creepy Mofos ... Creepy Movies, the first subject of which happens to be those pesky re-dos).

Aside from the obvious stuff like Halloween 2, Stephen King adaptations, Sam Raimi's celebrated return to the genre, and questionable award nominations, you just never know what's going to attract attention around these parts.

March definitely came in like a lion this year at Dread Central. We put up more news during the past week than in any recent period I can recall. Which is proof positive that despite the economic problems around the globe, the outlook for film projects -- including those of the horror variety -- is rosy and robust.

If, as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then The Weekly Wrap-Up has gotten me well on my way to Purgatory. The goal has always been to get something up each and every week, but too many times this year already there was so much going on that I had to forego my Wrap-Up duties.

Along with the theatrical premieres of both Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and Outlander (in some lucky markets), a slew of DVD's hit the street during the week of January 17-23, 2009.

Due to the holidays and our server migration just after the first of the year, the Wrap-Up has been on a bit of a hiatus. Well, we're back now -- a year older but still bigger and badder than ever. Let's take a look at what went down during the week of January 10-16, 2009.

In keeping with the holiday spirit, this week's Wrap-Up is being delivered in verse a la The Twelve Days of Christmas. If anyone else wants to throw out some ideas for The Eight Nights of Chanukah or The Seven Days of Kwanzaa in the comments section below, feel free.