By Steve Newton If somebody asked you what Mark Wahlberg's first film was, I bet you wouldn't know it's The Substitute. I doubt many folks have seen The Substitute. Heck, I haven't even seen it--and I spent hours on a Vancouver set doing interviews for a Fangoria story when it was shot here back in 1993. It was a … Continue reading Attending Kits High in 1993 to study the wicked ways of The Substitute
Tag: Horror in Vancouver
Hangin’ with Alien writer Dan O’Bannon on the Vancouver set of his 1992 Lovecraft flick
By Steve Newton Most of the Vancouver-shot movies I covered during my time as a freelancer for Fangoria magazine actually made it into theatres. One that didn't was The Resurrected, which was based on the H.P. Lovecraft novella, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. The movie--aka Shatterbrain--went directly to video, but that's okay with me. The main reason I wanted … Continue reading Hangin’ with Alien writer Dan O’Bannon on the Vancouver set of his 1992 Lovecraft flick
Bordello of Blood sets up shop on Vancouver’s old Expo 86 site
By Steve Newton So I was looking through my collection of old Fangoria magazines last night, searching for a story I wrote to post for Halloween, and came across a set-visit piece from back in '95 on the Tales from the Crypt movie, Bordello of Blood. Now, that vampire movie really sucked, but going on … Continue reading Bordello of Blood sets up shop on Vancouver’s old Expo 86 site
Interviewing Jeff Goldblum and Alicia Silverstone on the set of Dean Koontz’s Hideaway
By Steve Newton Vancouver has not been kind to Dean Koontz. First you had his awesome 1987 suspense novel, Watchers, being turned into a godawful Corey Haim vehicle up here in 1988. Then seven years later you had his fine 1982 supernatural thriller, Hideaway, becoming the type of B.C.-shot trainwreck he tried to sue to … Continue reading Interviewing Jeff Goldblum and Alicia Silverstone on the set of Dean Koontz’s Hideaway
Braving Vancouver’s seedy Granville strip for Midnight Matinee in 1988
By Steve Newton One of the first set-visit stories I did for Fangoria was back in 1988, when I went down to Vancouver's Granville Mall to cover a low-budget flick called Midnight Matinee, which is also known as just Matinee, not to be confused with Joe Dante's Matinee of 1993. The movie--which nobody bothered telling … Continue reading Braving Vancouver’s seedy Granville strip for Midnight Matinee in 1988
On the Vancouver set of the unfathomable sea-beast flick Deep Rising
By Steve Newton Back in 1997 I went on the set of the Vancouver-shot action-horror flick Deep Rising on assignment for Fangoria. I chatted with director Stephen Sommers and actors Treat Williams and Famke Janssen. The movie wound up sucking but, hey, it wasn't my fault. It shouldn't come as any real surprise, when you … Continue reading On the Vancouver set of the unfathomable sea-beast flick Deep Rising
Checking out Katie Holmes’ Disturbing Behavior in Burnaby
By Steve Newton Here's a story I did on the Vancouver-area filming of the 1998 Katie Holmes vehicle Disturbing Behaviour. It wasn't the worst horror flick I ever did a set-visit for. That would probably be Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. The X-Files recently deserted Vancouver after five seasons of shooting here, but that … Continue reading Checking out Katie Holmes’ Disturbing Behavior in Burnaby
Vancouver’s indie filmmakers make horror on the cheap
Here's my piece that ran as the cover story in the Georgia Straight's Halloween 2003 issue. By Steve Newton Ten years ago, Robert Rodriguez caused a sizable stir in the movie world when he managed to bring in his first film, El Mariachi, for a purported cost of US$7,000. That was an unheard-of sum for … Continue reading Vancouver’s indie filmmakers make horror on the cheap
The gorehounds of Vancouver make horror special (FX)
Here's my piece that ran as the cover story in the Georgia Straight's Halloween 1999 issue. By Steve Newton The first time I meet TOBY LINDALA, he’s indulging in one of his favourite pastimes, but we’re not talking a round of golf or model-building here: he’s gently dabbing blood on the exposed brain of a … Continue reading The gorehounds of Vancouver make horror special (FX)
X-Files alumni plot Rube Goldberg-esque deaths for Final Destination debut
By Steve Newton Back in 2000 a Vancouver-shot horror flick called Final Destination was released which depicted young people, having escaped death in an exploding plane, being hunted down by a determined Grim Reaper and offed in various violent ways. The film made money, so it became a franchise, where the big D would go … Continue reading X-Files alumni plot Rube Goldberg-esque deaths for Final Destination debut
Vancouver bug wrangler Brad McDonald loves cockroaches, fears babies
photo by Alex Waterhouse-Hayward Here's my piece that ran as the cover story in the Georgia Straight's Halloween 2000 issue. By Steve Newton The first time I sat down for a meal in a New York City restaurant, a cockroach scurried across the table. One of the people I was with, the managing editor of North … Continue reading Vancouver bug wrangler Brad McDonald loves cockroaches, fears babies
Michael Myers unmasked on the Vancouver set of Halloween: Resurrection
By Steve Newton Not everyone has managed to see both Jason Vorhees and Michael Myers in bloodthirsty action--and lived to tell the tale. But as the Vancouver correspondent for the world's best known horror magazine, Fangoria, I did. I encountered Vorhees while covering the shooting of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan in … Continue reading Michael Myers unmasked on the Vancouver set of Halloween: Resurrection
Feeling out The Crush with 16-year-old Alicia Silverstone in Vancouver
By Steve Newton Just before she started getting recognized for her appearances in a string of videos for Aerosmith power-ballads, Alicia Silverstone made her feature film debut in the low-budget 1993 thriller The Crush. The film was shot in Vancouver, so naturally I did the set visit for Fangoria magazine. I interviewed Silverstone, who had recently … Continue reading Feeling out The Crush with 16-year-old Alicia Silverstone in Vancouver
Helen Shaver gives demonic birth on the Vancouver set of Poltergeist: The Legacy
By Steve Newton When I was covering the Vancouver horror scene as a correspondent for Fangoria back in the '80s and '90s, I would normally make an effort to see the projects I'd previewed when they were finally released in theatres or on the tube. But it wasn't always fun. In fact it was often quite painful, … Continue reading Helen Shaver gives demonic birth on the Vancouver set of Poltergeist: The Legacy
Hangin’ with Kane Hodder on the Vancouver set of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason takes Manhattan
By Steve Newton As dedicated Vancouver horror fans know, the city has had its fair share of terrible flight flicks filmed here. Some were worse than others, of course. For example, the adaptation of Dean Koontz's Watchers was way worse than the adaptation of Stephen King's It. Then again, it was way worse than anything. Except maybe Uwe … Continue reading Hangin’ with Kane Hodder on the Vancouver set of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason takes Manhattan
Watching Dean Koontz’s beloved Watchers get trashed in Vancouver
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
Interviewing Tim Curry, aka Pennywise, on the set of Stephen King’s IT
By Steve Newton I just finished reading Stephen King's latest novel, Doctor Sleep, and to be honest--even though it was dedicated to Warren Zevon--I wasn't that crazy about it. Then again, as much as I adore King's early work and appreciate all he's done for the horror genre, I haven't been that crazy about a few of … Continue reading Interviewing Tim Curry, aka Pennywise, on the set of Stephen King’s IT