By Steve Newton Don’t get me wrong: I’m a big fan of Stephen King. I’ve read a ton of his books, and some of the movies based on his works–like The Dead Zone, Misery, and Carrie–were outstanding. But as the in-house horror reviewer for a Vancouver newspaper from 1988 to 2018, I’ve suffered through my … Continue reading King-sized crap: the five worst horror flicks based on Stephen King stories
By Steve Newton Before he became an internationally bestselling thriller writer, Linwood Barclay spent many years in the journalistic trenches, first at the Peterborough Examiner and then at the Toronto Star, where he held such positions as assistant city editor, chief copy editor, news editor, Life section editor, and humour columnist. He figures that experience helped shape his future as an … Continue reading Bestselling thriller novelist Linwood Barclay says Ross Macdonald is still his favourite writer
La Chinga plays LanaLou’s By Steve Newton FRIDAY: Vancouver Rock Shop presents the Canadian Pink Floyd tribute show Comfortably Numb at the Vogue Theatre. FRIDAY: Comedy Here Often?‘s monthly standup showcase at 604 Studios features headliner Joe Hill from New York City and B.C. comics Cassidy Anhorn, Josh De Grandi, and Patti Savard. FRIDAY: triple-bill … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Metro Vancouver this weekend, March 24 to 27
David Spade plays the Vogue By Steve Newton FRIDAY: American comedian and actor David Spade performs standup at the Vogue Theatre as part of his Catch Me Inside Tour. Spade’s a funny dude. Maybe not Dana Carvey funny, but still. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: Capilano University Theatre presents performances of Carrie: The Musical, based on the horror novel by Stephen King, at … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Metro Vancouver this weekend, March 31 to April 2
Rock N’ Roll Circus plays Seymour’s Pub By Steve Newton FRIDAY: ’70s-style Vancouver rock band Rock N’ Roll Circus plays North Van’s Seymour’s Pub & Grill in celebration of singer Chris Woudstra’s 50th birthday. FRIDAY: screening at the Rio Theatre of the extended director’s cut of director William Friedkin’s supernatural horror classic, The Exorcist. FRIDAY: … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Metro Vancouver this weekend, Oct. 28-30
Tosin Abasi’s Animals as Leaders play the Commodore By Steve Newton MONDAY TO FRIDAY: Fright Nights: Resurrection is a Halloween-themed experience at Playland with seven haunted houses, over 15 rides, creepy décor, roaming monsters, and live performances. TUESDAY: screening at the Rio Theatre of director Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s bestselling horror novel, Carrie. TUESDAY: Symphony … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Metro Vancouver this week, Oct. 24 to 28
Horror director Gigi Saul Guerrero appears at the Rio By Steve Newton MONDAY: American indie-rockers Built to Spill, featuring singer-guitarist Doug Martsch, play the Commodore Ballroom, with guests Braided Waves and Anchorbaby. MONDAY: the Vancouver Canucks take on the red-hot Vegas Golden Knights in National Hockey League action at Rogers Arena. Blue Rodeo plays the … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Metro Vancouver this week, Nov. 21-25
Ryan Adams plays the Vogue By Steve Newton TUESDAY: Vancouver alt-country singer-songwriter Jay Gavin (“Got Myself a Harley”) performs at Guilt & Co. TUESDAY: North Carolina alt-country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, former member of Whiskeytown, plays the Vogue Theatre. Please don’t yell out “Summer of ’69”! All Quiet on the Western Front screens at the Rio … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Metro Vancouver this week, March 20-24
The Red Hot Chili Peppers play BC Place By Steve Newton MONDAY: the Rocket Revellers–vocalist Dennis Brock, guitarist Stephen Nikleva, pianist Mike Van Eyes, bassist Joseph Lubinsky-Mast, and drummer Paul Townsend–perform a mix of western swing, jump blues, and rockabilly at Guilt and Co. MONDAY: the 55-acre VanDusen Botanical Garden features over 7,500 plant species … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 things to do in Metro Vancouver this week, March 27 to 31
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 27, 1985 By Steve Newton Hendrix. Page. Beck. Clapton. Blackmore. Van Halen. Rhoads. Malmsteen. Malmsteen? That’s right, Malmsteen. The name might not be as familiar, but rest assured that in years to come it will gain a place beside those of rock’s biggest guitar heroes. At only 22 years of age, … Continue reading Yngwie Malmsteen takes the guitar world by storm at age 22
photo by narking/Wikipedia ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, FEB. 3, 1989 By Steve Newton In the book Kingdom of Fear, a collection of essays on the fiction of Stephen King, the top-selling horror author explained how he came up with the the pseudonym he used on novels like The Running Man and Thinner. Once … Continue reading Bachman-Turner Overdrive gig draws comparisons to the horror of BTO freak Stephen King
The Cabin in the Woods is #1 By Steve Newton #10. 1408 (2007). Directed by Mikael Håfström. Unforgettable haunted-house flicks are extremely hard to come by; the only two I can think of are 1963’s The Haunting and The Shining. The subgenre of haunted-hotel-room flicks is promising in that the number of hotel patrons passing … Continue reading Newt’s top 10 horror flicks streaming on Netflix Canada now
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC. 23, 1988 By Steve Newton Horror is big stuff nowadays. Why, just flick your TV on any night and chances are you’ll come across War of the Worlds, Monsters, Tales from the Dark Side, or Freddy’s Nightmares. Walk into most any video store and you just might find … Continue reading Clive Barker on making movies, writing books, and the state of horror in 1988
