Bill Cone only had one acting credit to his name, and that single screen appearance didn’t last very long, but it’s worth taking note of because it happens at the beginning of one of the best horror movies ever made, writer/director Don Coscarelli’s 1979 classic Phantasm (watch it Here). Cone plays a character named Tommy in that film, and it’s his death that gets the story rolling. Sadly, today we have to report that Bill Cone has passed away.
The news of Cone’s death was first shared on the official Phantasm Facebook page, where it was also revealed that he had contributed to the soundtracks of both Phantasm and Coscarelli’s earlier film Kenny & Company. Here’s the text from their post: “We are saddened to learn of the passing of one of the core Phantasm cast members, Bill Cone (aka Tommy from the...
The news of Cone’s death was first shared on the official Phantasm Facebook page, where it was also revealed that he had contributed to the soundtracks of both Phantasm and Coscarelli’s earlier film Kenny & Company. Here’s the text from their post: “We are saddened to learn of the passing of one of the core Phantasm cast members, Bill Cone (aka Tommy from the...
- 4/3/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
When Batman: Mask of the Phantasm hit theaters on Christmas Day, 1993, it had been set up to fail. Warner Bros. initially ordered the film as a direct-to-video release in the wake of the massive commercial and critical success of the first season of Batman: The Animated Series. But the studio abruptly shifted course with a theatrical rollout without extending the production timeline or planning a marketing campaign, all while expanding the budget. Despite costing a mere $6 million, the film, released during a creative and commercial resurgence for DC’s dark superhero, couldn’t even recoup its budget at the box office.
And yet, what by rights could have ended up as a mere footnote in the long history of Batman media now stands three decades later as a beloved crystallization of the series that birthed it and, for many fans, a canonical adaptation. Much of this can be attributed to...
And yet, what by rights could have ended up as a mere footnote in the long history of Batman media now stands three decades later as a beloved crystallization of the series that birthed it and, for many fans, a canonical adaptation. Much of this can be attributed to...
- 9/22/2023
- by Jake Cole
- Slant Magazine
In Bubba Ho-Tep Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness) "gives his greatest and most entertaining performance to date" (Premiere) as an aging and cantankerous "Elvis" in this "zinger-filled crowd-pleaser" (The Hollywood Reporter) from writer-director Don Coscarelli!
When mysterious deaths plague a Texas retirement home, it's up to its most sequined senior citizen to take on a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy with a penchant for cowboy boots, bathroom graffiti and sucking the souls from the barely living!
Bonus Content:
4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative
In Dolby Vision (Hdr 10 Compatible)
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Don Coscarelli and Actor Bruce Camp...
When mysterious deaths plague a Texas retirement home, it's up to its most sequined senior citizen to take on a 3,000-year-old Egyptian mummy with a penchant for cowboy boots, bathroom graffiti and sucking the souls from the barely living!
Bonus Content:
4K Scan from the Original Camera Negative
In Dolby Vision (Hdr 10 Compatible)
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Don Coscarelli and Actor Bruce Camp...
- 2/7/2023
- QuietEarth.us
Elvis has a lot of buzz this awards season, but Baz Luhrmann didn’t get the story right. The real Elvis Presley traded places with an impersonator in order to live a simple life as an impersonator himself before retiring to Mud Creek, Texas alongside John F. Kennedy, who was patched up and dyed Black after the assassination attempt.
Those are the facts according to Bubba Ho-Tep, at least.
The 2002 horror-comedy is based on the short story of the same name by Joe R. Lansdale (whose work would go on to be adapted into Cold in July and Hap and Leonard), first published in the 1994 anthology The King Is Dead: Tales of Elvis Post-Mortem. When cult filmmaker Don Coscarelli approached Lansdale about optioning the story for a film, the author tried to talk him out of it, as he believed it couldn’t be made.
Lansdale passed on writing the screenplay for the same reason,...
Those are the facts according to Bubba Ho-Tep, at least.
The 2002 horror-comedy is based on the short story of the same name by Joe R. Lansdale (whose work would go on to be adapted into Cold in July and Hap and Leonard), first published in the 1994 anthology The King Is Dead: Tales of Elvis Post-Mortem. When cult filmmaker Don Coscarelli approached Lansdale about optioning the story for a film, the author tried to talk him out of it, as he believed it couldn’t be made.
Lansdale passed on writing the screenplay for the same reason,...
- 2/7/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Some critics believe that “cult movies” no longer exist. After all, how do you define an underground cult following in an age when independent films are more easily accessible than ever and you can instantly discuss movies with anyone in the world? It’s now possible to stream nearly any picture at the touch of a button, so it makes sense that the days of underground screenings and traditional word-of-mouth are long behind us.
That being said, there’s an argument to be made about a modern-day equivalent to the cult classic. The fickle tides of online engagement mean that some truly great media often slips through the cracks of the distribution system, resulting in notable works of art becoming lost in online limbo because they didn’t please the all-knowing algorithm or were just released at the wrong place and the wrong time. Hell, some of these movies can...
That being said, there’s an argument to be made about a modern-day equivalent to the cult classic. The fickle tides of online engagement mean that some truly great media often slips through the cracks of the distribution system, resulting in notable works of art becoming lost in online limbo because they didn’t please the all-knowing algorithm or were just released at the wrong place and the wrong time. Hell, some of these movies can...
- 12/12/2022
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
Scream Factory is upgrading Don Coscarelli‘s Bubba Ho-Tep to 4K Ultra HD just in time for the film’s 20th anniversary, with a “vivid new 4K master” being promised by Coscarelli.
Scream Factory will release Bubba Ho-Tep on 4K Ultra HD on February 7, 2023.
Coscarelli teases, “On and off for the last few months I’ve been working at a film restoration facility meticulously reviewing the original camera negatives from the Bubba Ho-Tep shoot 20 years ago and overseeing their conversion frame by frame into a vivid new 4k master.”
You can pre-order a few different versions of the release from Scream Factory’s official website now, including deluxe editions with autographed posters and enamel pin sets.
Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness) “gives his greatest and most entertaining performance to date” (Premiere) as an aging and cantankerous “Elvis” in this “zinger-filled crowd-pleaser” (The Hollywood Reporter) from writer-director Don Coscarelli! When mysterious...
Scream Factory will release Bubba Ho-Tep on 4K Ultra HD on February 7, 2023.
Coscarelli teases, “On and off for the last few months I’ve been working at a film restoration facility meticulously reviewing the original camera negatives from the Bubba Ho-Tep shoot 20 years ago and overseeing their conversion frame by frame into a vivid new 4k master.”
You can pre-order a few different versions of the release from Scream Factory’s official website now, including deluxe editions with autographed posters and enamel pin sets.
Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness) “gives his greatest and most entertaining performance to date” (Premiere) as an aging and cantankerous “Elvis” in this “zinger-filled crowd-pleaser” (The Hollywood Reporter) from writer-director Don Coscarelli! When mysterious...
- 12/5/2022
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
We are big fans of Charles Band and his company Full Moon here at Arrow in the Head. We’ve been following Full Moon all the way from the VHS rental days to the present days of the Full Moon streaming service. So we figured it was time to compile a list of the Best Full Moon Movies – and you can see the results below. Did your favorites make the cut? Let us know which Full Moon movies you think rank among the best by leaving a comment below. Listed in no particular order, we have…
Trancers III: Deth Lives (1992)
The sci-fi action franchise Trancers started off at Charles Band’s previous company Empire Pictures (the first one is set at Christmas and should be part of any holiday viewing rotation) and continued with multiple – but not enough – sequels at Full Moon. The best of the sequels is Trancers III: Deth Lives,...
Trancers III: Deth Lives (1992)
The sci-fi action franchise Trancers started off at Charles Band’s previous company Empire Pictures (the first one is set at Christmas and should be part of any holiday viewing rotation) and continued with multiple – but not enough – sequels at Full Moon. The best of the sequels is Trancers III: Deth Lives,...
- 11/12/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
John Saavedra Oct 10, 2019
Batman writer Tom King tells us what we should expect from Batman/Catwoman, his most ambitious work with the Dark Knight to date.
"If you think Vision changed Vision forever, Batman/Catwoman will change Batman and Catwoman forever," writer Tom King says of the 12-issue limited series that will conclude his four-year run on the character. While King has spent 85 issues physically and emotionally breaking the Dark Knight, it's these final 12 issues that could very well define his run.
For those who haven't been paying close attention, King took over writing duties on Batman in 2016 during DC's Rebirth relaunch. It was no easy task, especially since King had some very big shoes to fill -- Scott Snyder had just finished a five-year run of amazing, fan-favorite stories with the character. But King soon made the book his own, turning his take on Batman inward in order...
Batman writer Tom King tells us what we should expect from Batman/Catwoman, his most ambitious work with the Dark Knight to date.
"If you think Vision changed Vision forever, Batman/Catwoman will change Batman and Catwoman forever," writer Tom King says of the 12-issue limited series that will conclude his four-year run on the character. While King has spent 85 issues physically and emotionally breaking the Dark Knight, it's these final 12 issues that could very well define his run.
For those who haven't been paying close attention, King took over writing duties on Batman in 2016 during DC's Rebirth relaunch. It was no easy task, especially since King had some very big shoes to fill -- Scott Snyder had just finished a five-year run of amazing, fan-favorite stories with the character. But King soon made the book his own, turning his take on Batman inward in order...
- 10/9/2019
- Den of Geek
By now, you don’t need me to tell you for the umpteenth time how Batman Beyond‘s popularity has endured long past its three-season run on television. In addition to fans the world over continuing to watch the beloved animated series on home video, DC has continued the legacy in the comic book medium. Heck, they’re even introducing a Batwoman Beyond this fall!
As it turns out, two bombshells were dropped during the retrospective panel conducted last week at San Diego Comic-Con. One, of course, was that Batman Beyond: The Complete Animated Series will arrive on Blu-ray this October. The other, however, is some pretty earth-shattering trivia.
Believe it or not, a second Batman Beyond direct-to-video film had been planned back in the day, but it never got off the ground because Return of the Joker didn’t meet sales expectations. According to Bruce Timm, this would’ve...
As it turns out, two bombshells were dropped during the retrospective panel conducted last week at San Diego Comic-Con. One, of course, was that Batman Beyond: The Complete Animated Series will arrive on Blu-ray this October. The other, however, is some pretty earth-shattering trivia.
Believe it or not, a second Batman Beyond direct-to-video film had been planned back in the day, but it never got off the ground because Return of the Joker didn’t meet sales expectations. According to Bruce Timm, this would’ve...
- 7/26/2019
- by Eric Joseph
- We Got This Covered
Flay
Stars: Elle Lamont, Violett Beane, A. Michael Baldwin, Kaylee King, Johnny Walter, Aaron Spivey-Sorrells, Dalton E. Gray, Emily Grace Dunn, Sarah Joy Byington, Noé de la Garza , Peggy Schott, Mike Dell | Written by Matthew Daley | Directed by Eric Pham
Name: Flay
Age: 2019
Appearance: CGI-laden ghostly horror, featuring a Slenderman entity, a haunted painting, a cursed chain, teenage angst drama and a cameo from A. Michael Baldwin, aka “Mike” out of Phantasm.
Not another Slenderman film?
With his faceless stare and fine suit, it looks like Slenderman but it’s actually the ghost of a murdered American Indian who went by the name of Flay.
So, why does he wear a suit and tie?
The film opens with a prologue set in the 1800s showing Flay refusing to wear western clothing and is tortured to death by having his face skinned whilst being chained.
Hence the cursed chains!
Yes!
And the faceless man!
Stars: Elle Lamont, Violett Beane, A. Michael Baldwin, Kaylee King, Johnny Walter, Aaron Spivey-Sorrells, Dalton E. Gray, Emily Grace Dunn, Sarah Joy Byington, Noé de la Garza , Peggy Schott, Mike Dell | Written by Matthew Daley | Directed by Eric Pham
Name: Flay
Age: 2019
Appearance: CGI-laden ghostly horror, featuring a Slenderman entity, a haunted painting, a cursed chain, teenage angst drama and a cameo from A. Michael Baldwin, aka “Mike” out of Phantasm.
Not another Slenderman film?
With his faceless stare and fine suit, it looks like Slenderman but it’s actually the ghost of a murdered American Indian who went by the name of Flay.
So, why does he wear a suit and tie?
The film opens with a prologue set in the 1800s showing Flay refusing to wear western clothing and is tortured to death by having his face skinned whilst being chained.
Hence the cursed chains!
Yes!
And the faceless man!
- 5/6/2019
- by Aaron Shakespeare
- Nerdly
An independent production company that successfully sued Sony over their attempts to stop their movie from being released has not only won the case but set a release date for the title.
Flay, originally due for release in 2017, tells of a young woman who goes up against a malevolent faceless spirit. Sony claimed Phame Factory’s film was a rip-off of the Slender Man legend, which the studio believed they had exclusive rights to. As a result of the messy legal tangle, writer and producer Eric Pham opted not to release the film until he met the studio in court.
Sony, whose Slender Man movie was coming up for release, argued that Phame Factory’s Flay character was too similar to Slender Man. Phame Factory claimed its promotion, distribution and advertisement of Flay didn’t infringe Sony’s trademarks and copyrights and the lawsuit was wrapped two weeks ago. Says...
Flay, originally due for release in 2017, tells of a young woman who goes up against a malevolent faceless spirit. Sony claimed Phame Factory’s film was a rip-off of the Slender Man legend, which the studio believed they had exclusive rights to. As a result of the messy legal tangle, writer and producer Eric Pham opted not to release the film until he met the studio in court.
Sony, whose Slender Man movie was coming up for release, argued that Phame Factory’s Flay character was too similar to Slender Man. Phame Factory claimed its promotion, distribution and advertisement of Flay didn’t infringe Sony’s trademarks and copyrights and the lawsuit was wrapped two weeks ago. Says...
- 3/8/2019
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
It’s now almost a hipster cliche to say that your favorite Batman movie is Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. After all, it’s the spinoff of a 1990s animated series that sank without a trace upon its small theatrical release back in December of 1993. However, in my opinion, it really is the best Batman movie made thus far.
For one, it tells a wholly original story about a mysterious masked figure killing off Gotham’s most prominent gangsters, while also showing a Year One style Bruce Wayne dealing with unexpectedly falling in love. The film finds him questioning whether life as a masked vigilante is really what his parents would have wanted for him, and the resultant story represents the high point of the Diniverse in terms of style, score and animation.
It’s also got some incredible voice acting, with the highlight being Mark Hamill’s Joker. The...
For one, it tells a wholly original story about a mysterious masked figure killing off Gotham’s most prominent gangsters, while also showing a Year One style Bruce Wayne dealing with unexpectedly falling in love. The film finds him questioning whether life as a masked vigilante is really what his parents would have wanted for him, and the resultant story represents the high point of the Diniverse in terms of style, score and animation.
It’s also got some incredible voice acting, with the highlight being Mark Hamill’s Joker. The...
- 12/25/2018
- by David James
- We Got This Covered
Full disclosure: Phantasm II is my least favorite Phantasm movie. Fuller disclosure: the Phantasm movies comprise my favorite horror franchise, making the first point irrelevant to anyone else except my feeble little mind. So, even though it sits last on my roster, it’s still one of ’88's best horror movies, loaded with non-stop action, top-notch effects, and another towering and glowering turn by Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man. This is the super-sized and slick Phantasm movie that a lot of folks turn to when they have to scratch that graveyard itch.
To be honest, I wasn’t even aware that a sequel was on the horizon when I opened my local newspaper that hot summer night in ’88 looking for something to watch on the big screen. Yet there it was in the ad: the unmistakable glare of Scrimm, two unrecognizable teens, and series mastermind Don Coscarelli’s name plastered all over it.
To be honest, I wasn’t even aware that a sequel was on the horizon when I opened my local newspaper that hot summer night in ’88 looking for something to watch on the big screen. Yet there it was in the ad: the unmistakable glare of Scrimm, two unrecognizable teens, and series mastermind Don Coscarelli’s name plastered all over it.
- 7/3/2018
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Cults. Devil worship. Vengeful ghosts. These tropes are so often seen in horror that it’s become hard to parody them. Director Joko Anwar proves that they still retain the power to scare, however, as long as they’re done well. A remake of the Indonesian remake of Phantasm, released in 1982 under the title Satan’s Slave, Anwar’s vision found impressive success in its home country last year, and a New Orleans screening at the 2018 Overlook Film Festival showed American audiences why this might be. The winner of the festival’s Jury Prize, Anwar gives horror fans something to be excited about—and scared of.
The family at the center of Satan’s Slaves is having a bad week. Their matriarch, a once-famous singer, hasn’t earned royalties in months—and on top of that, she’s bedridden with a morbid illness. Her death kicks off a chain of supernatural occurrences,...
The family at the center of Satan’s Slaves is having a bad week. Their matriarch, a once-famous singer, hasn’t earned royalties in months—and on top of that, she’s bedridden with a morbid illness. Her death kicks off a chain of supernatural occurrences,...
- 4/27/2018
- by Ben Larned
- DailyDead
The world of cinema has always been filled with dreamers, and a lot of those dreamers start out with nothing more than a Super 8 or 16mm camera, all the way up to the latest iPhones; little backyard excursions with friends and sisters or parents to fill out the cast for a monster on the loose or a super sleuth flick. Every once in a while there’s genuine talent to back up the enthusiasm; our Raimi’s and Coscarelli’s bear this out. But before them a group of enthusiastic teens actually had their vision realized, and eventually a mutated form of it invaded drive-ins as Equinox (1970), an inspirational and energetic full blown monster mash.
Released in October, Equinox began as a project in the mid ‘60s for creature kids Dennis Muren, David Allen and Mark McGee, combining their love of Famous Monsters of Filmland and Ray Harryhausen’s mesmerizing...
Released in October, Equinox began as a project in the mid ‘60s for creature kids Dennis Muren, David Allen and Mark McGee, combining their love of Famous Monsters of Filmland and Ray Harryhausen’s mesmerizing...
- 2/17/2018
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
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