By Steve Newton I still remember the major buzz I got when I saw my first full-colour, three-page spread in famed horror mag Fangoria back in '88. It was for a Vancouver-shot movie called Watchers that I'd done a set-visit piece on, interviewing the director, stars, and FX artists--and later on, by phone, even author Dean Koontz … Continue reading Watching Dean Koontz’s beloved Watchers get trashed in Vancouver
Dean R. Koontz won’t be happy with how Watchers turned out
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 9, 1988 By Steve Newton When novelist Dean R. Koontz was asked, after reading a screenplay based on his book Watchers, how he thought the film would turn out, he said, "I think they've done a good job with the [scary] throat-clutching parts, but the rest of it I'm not sure … Continue reading Dean R. Koontz won’t be happy with how Watchers turned out
Fan Expo Vancouver boasts Bruce Campbell, Robert Englund, and the Twisted Twins
Vancouver horror freaks may want to scoop up their tix to the upcoming Fan Expo sooner than later, because the lineup of celebrity guests at the event--which runs April 18-20 at the Convention Centre--includes a number of fright-film faves. First off, you've got Robert Englund, the man behind Freddy Krueger's gnarly face in the Nightmare on … Continue reading Fan Expo Vancouver boasts Bruce Campbell, Robert Englund, and the Twisted Twins
Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1978
I'll always remember 1978 as the year I saw Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, when they were touring behind You're Gonna Get It. I'll also remember it for that time Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham took me backstage when the band opened for Styx at the Coliseum. Unfortunately, I'll … Continue reading Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1978
Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1977
Cheap Trick and David Bowie led the way in '77 with two albums each, and the blues was represented by Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters, and Roy Buchanan. Aja: Steely Dan ("Peg", "Deacon Blues", "Josie") American Stars n' Bars: Neil Young ("Hey Babe", "Will to Love", "Like a Hurricane") Bad Reputation: Thin Lizzy ("Opium Trail", "Bad Reputation", … Continue reading Ear of Newt’s Top 30 Rock Albums of 1977
Horror review: Alien–The Director’s Cut
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 30, 2003 By Steve Newton The first movie I can remember that set me on the road to becoming a lifelong horror fan was It! The Terror From Beyond Space. It was made on the cheap in 1958, and featured a guy in a hokey, zipper-up-the-back monster suit, but to my … Continue reading Horror review: Alien–The Director’s Cut
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is much more than just Jessica Biel in a tank top
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 16, 2003 By Steve Newton Let’s face it, Texas Chainsaw Massacre was brilliant. Not the 1974 film itself—although for its time it was quite groundbreaking—but the movie’s title. Has there ever been three words that so powerfully evoked the promise of celluloid carnage? Say it with me, slowly and with feeling: … Continue reading Texas Chainsaw Massacre is much more than just Jessica Biel in a tank top
House of the Dead is a tedious take on the popular arcade game
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT. 16, 2003 By Steve Newton One night a few years back, I was hanging with a few friends on Granville Mall, killing time before a concert, when we decided to saunter into a nearby arcade. After blowing a few bucks on the extreme road-race games, I found myself drawn to the … Continue reading House of the Dead is a tedious take on the popular arcade game
Horror review: Cold Creek Manor
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 25, 2003 I had high hopes for Cold Creek Manor being a decent suspense thriller. First off, the cast looked impressive. Sharon Stone, Dennis Quaid, Stephen Dorff, and Juliette Lewis have all done memorable work in the past. And Mike Figgis is no hack, having directed the Oscar-nominated … Continue reading Horror review: Cold Creek Manor
Horror review: Cabin Fever
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 18, 2002 By Steve Newton The promoters of Cabin Fever are using a quote from director Peter Jackson in print ads for their new horror flick. BRILLIANT! and FANTASTIC! are some of the adjectives attributed to the visionary filmmaker behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Now, this … Continue reading Horror review: Cabin Fever
Heath Ledger is wasted in The Order, a silly exercise in satanic nonentertainment
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 11, 2003 By Steve Newton Writer-director-producer Brian Helgeland attempted to turn the medieval action film on its ear with 2001’s A Knight’s Tale, which was best known for incorporating ’70s rock music into its 17th-century tale of an underdog jouster (Heath Ledger) out for love and glory. With The Order, Helgeland … Continue reading Heath Ledger is wasted in The Order, a silly exercise in satanic nonentertainment
Horror review: Jeepers Creepers 2
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 4, 2003 The first Jeepers Creepers movie (2001) started out promisingly, with suspenseful scenes involving a sinister character dumping bodies and a Duel-like truck-from-hell chase scene. But half an hour through it turned into a routine, monster-on-the-rampage gore flick about a winged man-beast that, every 23 years, has … Continue reading Horror review: Jeepers Creepers 2
Horror review: Gothika
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 27, 2003 I got my first hint that Gothika might be a bad movie from the hokey newspaper ad, which depicts a shocked and dishevelled-looking Halle Berry staring out from behind a pane of wet glass, the words not alone carved across the underside of her forearm. Then … Continue reading Horror review: Gothika