Koontz on King: Dean Koontz on his fave Stephen King film and the Maine-man’s contribution to horror

By Steve Newton Way back in 1988 I did a phone interview with Dean Koontz for a story I was writing on the film adaptation of his novel Watchers for Fangoria magazine. Watchers was an awesome book–especially if you like golden retrievers–but the movie, starring Corey Haim, turned out to be a piece of doggie … Continue reading Koontz on King: Dean Koontz on his fave Stephen King film and the Maine-man’s contribution to horror

Stephen King compares Donald Trump to his demagogue villain from The Dead Zone

By Steve Newton Stephen King is not only one of my fave alltime writers–right up there with Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, and Joe R. Lansdale–he’s also a fun guy to follow on Twitter. And lately he’s been cleverly putting the boots to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump–who King currently refers to as He Who Must Not Be … Continue reading Stephen King compares Donald Trump to his demagogue villain from The Dead Zone

Jeff Healey on playing a bar-band guitarist in Roadhouse and “marvellous” star Patrick Swayze

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 1, 1988 By Steve Newton Patrick Swayze may be one of the sexiest movie stars around today, but he can’t play mean blues guitar. Jeff Healey might not be your typical matinee idol, but he can play mean blues guitar–as anyone at the Town Pump will discover this weekend (July 1 … Continue reading Jeff Healey on playing a bar-band guitarist in Roadhouse and “marvellous” star Patrick Swayze

Tim Curry talks Pennywise on the set of Stephen King’s It: an Ear of Newt audio exclusive

By Steve Newton Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise, the evil clown in Stephen King’s It, has long been hailed as a major achievement in the realm of horror. Curry nailed it, most would agree. As the Vancouver correspondent for Fangoria magazine back in 1990, when the TV miniseries was shot, I got to go on … Continue reading Tim Curry talks Pennywise on the set of Stephen King’s It: an Ear of Newt audio exclusive

Alice Cooper talks heavy metal, sleazy horror, and getting back in the game with Constrictor

kevin statham photo ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON NOV. 7, 1986 By Steve Newton Alice Cooper’s early ’70s rock anthems captured my imagination as a teenager, and have stayed with me ever since. Not only was his image so horrifically new and different, what with the ghoulish makeup, wild costumes, and weird props–but his songs were so good. “Eighteen”, … Continue reading Alice Cooper talks heavy metal, sleazy horror, and getting back in the game with Constrictor

The Forest is long on jump scares, short on suspense

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JAN. 7, 2016 By Steve Newton The first scary movie out of the gate last year was the Jennifer Lopez thriller The Boy Next Door, which didn’t bode well for Hollywood horror in 2015. This year the first Tinseltown fright flick to hit theatres is The Forest, which–while vastly superior to that bogus J.Lo … Continue reading The Forest is long on jump scares, short on suspense

Newt’s Top 10 albums of 2016

By Steve Newton Please, God, don’t let any more of my rock heroes die this year. Jeff Beck Loud Hailer The world’s greatest living rock guitarist isn’t resting on his laurels at the age of 72. With Loud Hailer—another term for “megaphone”—Beck delivers a fresh-sounding blast of intense, politically minded rock. His fretwork has never … Continue reading Newt’s Top 10 albums of 2016

Entering the lair of Pennywise the Clown on the set of Stephen King’s It

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN FANGORIA #98, Nov. 1990 By Steve Newton As anyone who’s tackled Stephen King’s It can tell you, the 1986 novel of a shape-shifting, child-chomping monster is not a quick read–that is, unless you happen to be Evelyn Wood’s speadreading coach. Because it’s such an enormous tome, it seems apt that the location where … Continue reading Entering the lair of Pennywise the Clown on the set of Stephen King’s It

Searching for The Surgeon’s gore at Riverview Hospital in Vancouver

During my 13-year sojourn as a Fangoria correspondent I would often cover films that the producers didn’t want classified as “horror”.

Stephen King’s Pet Sematary recalled by “dead” cat’s return from the grave

sadly, this is not the work of Tom Savini By Steve Newton The film version of Stephen King’s terrifying 1983 novel, Pet Sematary, sucked the biggie. I reviewed it way back in the spring of 1989, describing it as “a dead dog that deserves no last rites.” But according to abc7.com, some cat named Bart from out Florida way just loved … Continue reading Stephen King’s Pet Sematary recalled by “dead” cat’s return from the grave

If you thought Stephen King’s Pennywise was creepy, get a loada this Clown!

Some people are really creeped out by clowns. The one that Tim Curry portrayed in the Stephen King mini-series IT freaked a few folks out, no doubt. Now here to give Pennywise a run for his kid-menacing money is the bozo in Clown, a new horror flick produced by Eli Roth, the frightmeister behind such gruesome efforts as Hostel and Cabin Fever. Here’s … Continue reading If you thought Stephen King’s Pennywise was creepy, get a loada this Clown!

Colin Linden says that Rockpile and the Clash influenced Blackie’s BARK

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JULY 31, 2003 By Steve Newton There’s a handful of CDs that have pretty well guaranteed placement in my personal top 10 of 2003. By the Grace of God, the stunning riff-fest from Swedish hard rockers the Hellacopters, has already copped a spot; likewise Trouble No More, the bare-bones, mostly blues offering … Continue reading Colin Linden says that Rockpile and the Clash influenced Blackie’s BARK

Analyzing psycho-killer Edgler Vess’s spider-eating ways on the B.C. set of Dean Koontz’s Intensity

By Steve Newton Back in ’97 I got assigned by Fangoria magazine to cover the filming of a FOX-TV miniseries called Intensity. Normally I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about a FOX-TV miniseries, but this one was based on a novel I really loved by Dean Koontz, so I was in. Here’s a shortened version of the story … Continue reading Analyzing psycho-killer Edgler Vess’s spider-eating ways on the B.C. set of Dean Koontz’s Intensity