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The Syfy channel has long, long been known for being the go-to network for goofy, low budget movies with outlandish hooks to them. Five to ten years ago that meant movies like Rock Monster, Ice Spiders, Snakehead Terror and Man with the Screaming Brain. That was back before the days of social media and viral content, though. You could get by with simply having a movie be about a woolly mammoth that comes back to life after a UFO crashes into it. That mutated mammoth don't hunt in the age of Twitter, though. These days a Syfy movie has to have a ridiculous premise/title and a gimmick cast to standout. That's how something like Sharknado becomes a franchise phenomenon, and it's a model the network plans to follow up with Dead 7, a zombie movie starring former '90s...

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Back in June Syfy unleashed Snakehead Swamp, a new Original Movie with a cast that included "Huggy Bear" from "Starsky and Hutch." Now you can experience its glory on DVD. Read on for details.

From the Press Release

They’re back! Terror returns when genetically modified snakehead fish ferociously wreak havoc after being unleashed in the desolate swamps of Louisiana in the action-packed suspense thriller Snakehead Swamp.

The film will be available on DVD and Digital HD October 7, 2014, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The follow-up to Syfy’s camp classic Snakehead Terror stars Ayla Kell (TV’s “Make It or Break It”) and Dave Davis (TV’s “True Detective”) with Terri Garber (TV’s “As the World Turns,” “Dynasty”) and Antonio Fargas (TV’s “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Starsky & Hutch”).

Snakehead Swamp is directed by Don E. Fauntleroy from a screenplay by Greg Mitchell. Ken Badish and Daniel Lewis served as...

It's been over a year since we've mentioned Ghost Storm, but now the flick is set to premiere on Syfy this Saturday, November 10th, and we finally have a trailer to share!

Crystal Allen of Anaconda III & IV, Carlos Bernard of “24”, Aaron Douglas of “Battlestar Galactica”, and Cindy Busby of the popular Canadian drama “Heartland” star in this supernatural disaster flick written and directed by one of the true kings of Syfy cinema, Paul Ziller, the maker of Loch Ness Terror, Snakehead Terror, Iron Invader, and Stonehenge Apocalypse, amongst many others.

Synopsis:

Sparks fly when angry souls wreak havoc with electrical storms.

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How are you spending your 4th of July holiday/weekend? If you live in one of areas of the country having 100+ degree days, perhaps you are spending it inside cuddled up with your TV remote. If so, Zap2it's got you covered for five whole days of programming. Check your local listings for channel number.

All times Eastern.

Wednesday, July 4

BBC America: "Star Trek: The Next Generation" marathon, 8 a.m. to 5 a.m. the next day

Bet: "The Game" marathon, 8 a.m. to midnight

CBS: "Boston Pops Fireworks," 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Cloo: "House" Marathon, 6 a.m. to 4 a.m. the next day

Espn: Wimbledon Men's quarterfinals, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., 2012 Hot Dog Eating Contest, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Espn 2: Wimbledon Men's quarterfinals, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Food: "Diners Drive-ins and Dives" marathon, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., "Restaurant: Impossible" marathon, 7 p.m. to midnight

HBO: "John Adams" miniseries,...

Jewel Staite isn't neglecting her sci-fi past as she moves onto, and into, "The L.A. Complex."

Known among genre fans for her roles on the series "Firefly" and "Stargate Atlantis," she literally is more down-to-earth as determined actress Raquel ... who's fully committed to re-igniting her faded career when The CW gives the serio-comic series, made and already shown in Staite's native Canada, its American premiere Tuesday, April 24.

As stoked as she is about adding humor in portraying the struggles actors go through, Staite -- who muses to Zap2it that for once, "It's kind of nice not to have a stunt double" -- paid homage to her previous shows last weekend by appearing at Australia's version of Comic-Con, along with fellow "L.A. Complex" star and Syfy-movie veteran Chelan Simmons ("Snakehead Terror").

"It's still a big part of my life," Staite confirms. "I go to these conventions every once in a while,...

Chelan Simmons is playing closer to her own experience in her new series, but she knows some fans always will associate her with aliens and giant snakes.

The actress plays a dancer seeking her big break in "The L.A. Complex," made largely in her native Canada and getting its U.S. premiere Tuesday, April 24, on The CW. This week, though, she's acknowledging her fame among fantasy fans -- thanks to the former ABC Family show "Kyle Xy" and such Syfy movies as "Snakehead Terror" and "Chupacabra: Dark Seas" -- by appearing at a convention in Australia, along with her "Complex" co-star Jewel Staite ("Firefly," "Stargate Atlantis").

"Though I've been in horror movies, I just can't watch them," the spirited Simmons tells Zap2it. "The first time I watched a 'Harry Potter' movie, I had nightmares for, like, two weeks. I'm not good with sci-fi stuff. I'll be in it, as...

Much to my disappointment, Ghost Storm is not a disaster-horror hybrid about a supernatural storm cloud that rains ghostly ectoplasm which steals the souls of everyone it touches. Or is it?

No, actually, it isn’t. But doesn’t that sound like a perfect pitch for a Syfy flick? As does the actual plot of Ghost Storm, and not surprisingly, since it happens to be a Syfy original movie currently in the works.

An action packed chase led by Hal and Ashley to save the people on this small island from a strange electrical storm which is led by angry souls from a mass suicide looking for revenge.

Electrical storm? Angry souls? Mass suicide? I hope the ending involves a meteorological exorcism involving the use of Kool-Aid because that would be… I shouldn’t be giving stuff like that away for free; gotta save it for my raining ectoplasm flick.

Memorial Day 2011 is here and while we should all take time to thank a veteran and active servicemen and women, it also means for us TVphiles - lots of good programming. So either settle in with some popcorn or make sure your DVR is ready to go.

There are movie marathons. Syfy is busting out its greatest hits in the giant monster oeuvre on Friday, followed by "Star Trek" movies all weekend. TCM and AMC are showing nothing but military movies, including classics like "All Quiet on the Western Front," "From Here to Eternity" and "Patton."

If marathons are your thing, you've got everything from "Firefly" and "Doctor Who" to "House Hunters" and "How It's Made." And if you're a sports fan, while the NBA playoffs are on hiatus, you can still watch a ton of baseball, the 2011 French Open or the annual Memorial Day race the Indianapolis 500.

Zap2it...

Scream Of The Banshee Will Become The 200Th Syfy Saturday Original Movie, Premiering March 26 At 9Pm (Et/Pt)

New York – March 1, 2011 – Since 2002, Syfy viewers have experienced mutated sharks, mosquito men, alligators as big as blimps, vengeful demon moths, pterodactyls, werewolves, dragons and really, really big snakes. Plus earthquakes that split the U.S. in half, man-made volcanoes, space storms, tornadoes made of ice, magnetic meteors and plagues of killer locusts — every unnatural disaster imaginable.

Now Syfy celebrates its bi-weekly assault on humanity with the premiere of its 200th Saturday Original Movie, Scream of the Banshee, on Saturday, March 26, at 9Pm (Et/Pt).

In Scream of the Banshee, when a college professor opens a mysterious and ornate box discovered hidden in the tunnels under her university, she and her students hear the horrifying scream of a bloodthirsty Banshee. Everyone who hears the scream is fated to die a strange and terrible death.

Since 2002, Syfy viewers have experienced mutated sharks, mosquito men, alligators as big as blimps, vengeful demon moths,pterodactyls, werewolves, dragons and really, really big snakes. Plus earthquakes that split the U.S. in half, man-made volcanoes, space storms, tornados made of ice, magnetic meteors and plagues of killer locusts -- every unnatural disaster imaginable....

Now Syfy celebrates its bi-weekly assault on humanity with the premiere of its 200th Saturday Original Movie, Scream of the Banshee, on Saturday, March 26, at 9Pm (Et/Pt).

In Scream of the Banshee, when a college professor opens a mysterious and ornate box discovered hidden in the tunnels under her university, she and her students hear the horrifying scream of a bloodthirsty Banshee. Everyone who hears the scream is fated to die a strange and terrible death. Now the professor, her daughter and a few of her students must try to stop the Banshee. A production of After Dark Films,...

We told you all the way back in the beginning of February that Steven C. Miller's After Dark Original, Scream of the Banshee,e would be making its world premiere on Syfy, who co-produced, on Saturday, March 26th, at 9/8 Central with a replay four hours later. But that's not the only thing cool about this debut!

From the Press Release

Since 2002, Syfy viewers have experienced mutated sharks, mosquito men, alligators as big as blimps, vengeful demon moths, pterodactyls, werewolves, dragons and really, really big snakes. Plus earthquakes that split the U.S. in half, man-made volcanoes, space storms, tornadoes made of ice, magnetic meteors and plagues of killer locusts -- every unnatural disaster imaginable.

Now Syfy celebrates its bi-weekly assault on humanity with the premiere of its 200th Saturday Original Movie, Scream of the Banshee, on Saturday, March 26, at 9Pm (Et/Pt).

In Scream of the Banshee, when a...

Scream Of The Banshee Will Become The 200Th Syfy Saturday Original Movie, Premiering March 26 At 9Pm (Et/Pt)

From the Press Release:

New York, NY -- February 28, 2011 -- Since 2002, Syfy viewers have experienced mutated sharks, mosquito men, alligators as big as blimps, vengeful demon moths, pterodactyls, werewolves, dragons and really, really big snakes. Plus earthquakes that split the U.S. in half, man-made volcanoes, space storms, tornados made of ice, magnetic meteors and plagues of killer locusts -- every unnatural disaster imaginable.

Now Syfy celebrates its bi-weekly assault on humanity with the premiere of its 200th Saturday Original Movie, Scream of the Banshee, on Saturday, March 26, at 9Pm (Et/Pt).

In Scream of the Banshee, when a college professor opens a mysterious and ornate box discovered hidden in the tunnels under her university, she and her students hear the horrifying scream of a bloodthirsty Banshee. Everyone who hears the scream...

Utter ludicrousness arrives in the form of “Stonehenge Apocalypse”, an opportunistic made for TV outing aiming to cash in on the semi success of the considerably flashier and more glamorous “2012”. Director Paul Ziller certainly has a great deal of experience in the low budget disaster movie arena, having helmed the likes of “Solar Strike”, “Polar Storm” and the excellently titled “Ice Quake”, not to mentioned a long list of cheap creature features including “Beyond Loch Ness”, “Snakehead Terror”, “Swarmed” and more. The film has a relatively recognisable cast made up of television stars, headlined by Misha Collins (“Supernatural”), with support from Hill Harper (“CSI: NY”), Torri Higginson (“Stargate: Atlantis”) and Peter Wingfield (“Highlander: The Source”). Coming with an all important behind the Scenes featurette and trailer, the film is out now on region 2 DVD thanks to Anchor Bay Entertainment. The film follows Collins as Jacob Glaser, a formerly respected and...

While this weekend brings us the world premiere of the cinematic epic Mega Python vs. Gatoroid, Syfy is already putting out promotional clips for their next offering for February, Iron Invader, which sees Earth invaded by a alien bacteria that not only fatally infects people, it also brings a giant ironworks statue to life to go on a rampage.

Alien bacteria arrives on a meteorite and infects metal, animating a giant iron statue that goes on a killing rampage in a small town. It's up to Kavan Smith ("Stargate: Atlantis", "The 4400"), Chris Gauthier ("Eureka", "Smallville"), Nicole DeBoer ("Haven", "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"), Paul McGillion ("Stargate: Atlantis", "Sanctuary") and Donnelly Rhodes ("Battlestar Galactica", "Charles in Charge") to save the world.

If there's one thing that cast proves, it's that if you've ever starred in a Syfy original series, then you pretty much look to have a job for life appearing in Syfy original movies.

After the presents are opened, the halls are decked and the roast beast is carved, a lot of folks are looking to hit the movie theater or settle in front of their favorite holiday movies or TV show marathons. Zap2it's got you covered for all your Christmas weekend TV programming.

Friday, Dec. 24

A&E: "Criminal Minds" marathon

ABC Family: 25 Days of Christmas ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys," "Mickey's Christmas Special," "Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too," "Jack Frost," "Frosty's Winter Wonderland," "'Tas the Night Before Christmas," "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," "The Year Without Santa Claus" and "Rudolph's Shiny New Year.")

 

AMC: "Miracle on 34th Street," "White Christmas" marathon

Animal Planet: "Planet Earth" marathon

BBC America: "Doctor Who" marathon

Cartoon Network: Various cartoon holiday episodes

Cmt: "A Smoky Mountain Christmas," "Larry the Cable Guy's Star-studded Christmas Extravaganza," "Larry the Cable Guy...

It's the "Long Island Examiner's" Long Island Halloween Horror movie review-a-thon! We're taking a look at and examining some movies with a Halloween slant that we can tie to Long Island as we count down to Halloween 2010. Previous Day's Review: Snakehead Terror (2004) It's October 5th, and we only have twenty-six more days until Halloween! Yesterday we had a look at a truly horrible movie. Today we up the artistic merit considerably as we take a look at the 1997 Taylor Hackford film The Devil's Advocate. Based off of a 1990 novel by Andrew Neiderman of the...

The only people who like destroying the world more than Roland Emmerich are the movie execs at Syfy, and they're always coming up with new and more preposterous ways of wreaking havoc on humanity. Syfy's latest source for our doom hails from the English countryside in the form of a Stonehenge Apocalypse, and you can witness the beginning of our demise in a new clip from the film debuting this weekend.

When a group of archaeologists dig up a human skeleton near the historical monument of Stonehenge, an ancient piece of machinery hidden beneath the bedrock is discovered. Not knowing what it could be, the workers accidentally trigger the mechanism and start a chain of events that may very well end the world as we know it.

Our only hope for salvation comes in the form of an Art Bell-ish radio talk-show host played by Mischa Collins of "Supernatural...

Some lucky people are getting out of town for Memorial Day 2010. But some of us are staying at home. Luckily, all your favorite channels are doing mega marathons of all your favorite shows.

Zap2it is the one-stop shop for all your Memorial Day programming. From delightfully bad reality TV like "Real Housewives" and "Jersey Shore" to the quirky 1990s dramedy "Twin Peaks" to the serious TCM salute to war movies, there's something for everyone on TV this weekend. All times Eastern, but check your local listings for times and channel numbers.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

A&E (11 a.m. - 6 p.m.): Flip This House

Animal Planet (1 p.m. - 7 p.m.): River Monsters

BBC America (8 p.m. - 8 a.m.): Doctor Who

Bet (10 a.m. - 7 p.m.): Everybody Hates Chris

Biography (8 p.m. - 3 a.m.): Celebrity Ghost Stories

Bravo (9 p.m. - 2 a.

Syfy rocks when it premieres its Original Movie Stonehenge Apocalypse next month. The science-fiction thriller in which the ancient monoliths trigger horrific disasters all over the world was directed by Syfy stalwart Paul Ziller (Snakehead Terror, Sea Beast, Yeti) and written by Ziller and Brad Abraham, the latter of whom spoke to Fango about the project and the Syfy development process.

Holy crap, the Sci-Fi Channel has a semi-original idea. Sort of.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't bother reporting on an upcoming movie on this cheesiest of cheesy networks -- yes, the Sci-Fi Channel (Fine. SyFy. God, that's stupid) gave us the glorious "Battlestar Galactica," but they've also given us countless other awful movies. If it's got a giant fish or shark or beaver or beavershark or some sort of giant bug, SyFy has created a movie for it. I should know, I've seen almost all of them. Yep, that's me. Never seen Shawshank, but I've seen Snakehead Terror and Boa Vs. Python -- back to back, no less.

I digress, as is my wont. The point is, the network is shit. Their original movies are amusing in the way that watching a child take a soccer ball to the junk is amusing -- namely, it's funny, but other people look...

June is going to be a busy month for DVD releases. We're going to get supernatural horrors, Italian shockers, and Sci-Fi Channel schlockers; not to mention one hell of an Asylum mocker. Here's a taste of things to come.

What better place to begin than with Lionsgate's June 16th release of Richard Friedman's Born. Starring Joan Severence, Denise Crosby, and Kane Hodder, it's another one of those demon baby in the womb horror flicks. This time out a virginal 21-year old (Alison Brie) wakes up impregnated by a demon (Hodder, of course); the demonic baby eventually overtakes her mind and sends her on a killing spree. I've come across some reviews of Born online, and let's just say most would have preferred this film to be retitled Abort. Only the best from Lionsgate.

June 23rd is the date Lionsgate will release Brendan Foley's Legend of the Bog (formerly...

• Crispin Glover fans have no doubt been wondering what happened to Simon Says, the indie slasher opus starring the eccentric actor as homicidal twins, which was made nearly three years ago and has only made a few festival appearances in North America since. Well, the wait is finally over.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment will release the William Dear-written/directed flick on DVD June 23. The cast also includes From Within’s Margo Harshman and Kelly Blatz, Greg Cipes, Carrie Finklea, Kelly Vitz, Artie Baxter, veteran actor Bruce Glover and Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively along with her siblings Lori and Robyn and their father Ernie, and the disc will contain a widescreen transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, a filmmaker audio commentary and possibly other extras. Retail price is $26.98.

• Genius Products will give Sea Beast, the latest Sci Fi Channel creature feature from Snakehead Terror and Yeti director Paul Ziller, its DVDebut...

• Image Entertainment has set a March 24 street date for two Sci Fi Channel nature-amok movies on disc: Locusts: The 8th Plague and Snakehead Terror. The company will also release the Pang Brothers production Forest Of Death April 14.

Locusts, in which star Dan Cortese is backed by a genre-friendly ensemble including David (Firestarter) Keith, Julie (Dexter) Benz and Jeff (Planet Terror) Fahey, will come with an FX featurette, while the killer-fish flick Snakehead, starring Bruce Boxleitner and Carol Alt, will be extras-free. The movies will be presented in 16x9-enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio; retail price for each is $14.98. Forest, in a 16x9-enhanced 1.78:1 transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 Chinese audio and no announced supplements, is about a woodland in which both rape/murders and suicides have taken place, and is investigated by a homicide detective (The Eye 2’s Shu Qi), a tabloid TV reporter and a paranormal...

Directly before Yeti’s premiere on the Sci Fi Channel (ahead of its DVD release from Genius Products January 13), the network had a back-to-back airing of Ryan Schifrin’s Abominable and Tibor Takacs’ Ice Spiders. First, I got my Bigfoot fix, followed by my monsters at a ski resort. By the time they wrapped up, I was primed to enter Yeti territory. Personally, I couldn’t think of a better introduction to this gleefully over-the-top little flick than prefacing it with those two equally hammy gems.

In Yeti, we’ve got an American college football team headed to Japan aboard their private jet, which just happens to give out over the Himalayas (apparently they got a discount by flying all the way around the entire world, rather than just over the Pacific). Huddled together in the blistering cold, the surviving kids find themselves stalked by the legendary Yeti, an enormous...

Fango caught up with screenwriter Rafael Jordan to chat about his latest creature feature Yeti, which premieres on the Sci Fi Channel this Saturday, November 8 at 9 p.m. before hitting DVD from Genius Products as part of its Maneater DVD series January 13 (see item here). Jordan describes his freaky tale as Alive with the Abominable Snowman (pictured with producer Daniel Grodnik) thrown in for extra gruesomeness, as it involves a college football team stranded in the Himalayas after surviving a plane crash.

The latest in the scripter’s string of Sci Fi flicks (also including Copperhead and Wraiths Of Roanoke, a.k.a. Lost Colony) also provides a bit of insight to the titular colossal critter’s history. “We start off in the early 1930s on an expedition, though of course most of the movie takes place later, in modern times,” Jordan tells us. “But since there’s such a...

Genius Products gave Fango the first look at cover art for Yeti, the 12th (!) entry in its Maneater DVD series, streeting January 13. The film is described (rather forthrightly) by the company as a “mix of Friday The 13th, Alive and Predator.”

More specifically, the plot concerns a plane carrying a college football team that crashes in the Himalayas. While trying to figure out how to make it to safety, the survivors must also contend with an especially Abominable Snowman determined to have them for lunch. Originally titled Yeti: Curse Of The Snow Demon and set to premiere on the Sci Fi Channel Saturday, November 8 at 9 p.m., the movie was directed and written by Sci Fi stalwarts Paul (Snakehead Terror) Ziller and Rafael (Copperhead) Jordan respectively, and stars Carly Pope, Peter (Children Of The Night) DeLuise, Crystal (Wrong Turn 2) Lowe and Ed Marinaro. No significant supplements have been announced for the DVD,...