Beetlejuice’s Glenn Shadix Passes on at 58

Glenn Shadix, one of Tim Burton‘s go to actors has passed on at the age of 58 in Alabama. Glenn, who was best known for his roles in Burton’s films such as Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas has had a cult following since his role in 1988′s Beetlejuice and remained with Burton as the voice of the Mayor in Nightmare Before Christmas.

Glenn’s sister Susan Gagne has said that Glenn had been using a wheelchair lately to get around and it had appeared he was navigating around his kitchen and looked like he had fallen and hit his head.

Shadix has also worked on a variety of television shows, movie roles and in the theater. It was at the theater in Manhatten, well before his movie roles, where he became friends with Tennessee Williams. Tim Burton also remained close to the actor and was part of his troupe and go to team as Glenn was a wonderful character actor.

According to Shadix Official Website, a memorial will be held Saturday in Birmingham. He will be missed by all who loved his work.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Celebrate with Mexican Horror!

by: RFR Casket Crew Jigsaw jim

Hola Film Fiends and Deadites!

Yes, it’s that time again for chips/salsa, tacos, corona’s, Martguerita’s and Mexican Horror! Mexico has a distinctive flair for some very classy horror movies and in honor of that, and in honor of Cinco de Mayo, here is my homage to that genre.

For my Old Mexican Horror Film, I present: The Curse of the Crying Woman



For my New film, I present: Kilometer 31

For my Blue Film, I present: Santo vs Las Mujeres Vampiro

Well Film fiends and Deadites enjoy your CdM and have a dirt siesta.

This is Jigsaw Jim and I am outta here!

Corey Haim Dies at Age 38

We all remember Dream a Little Dream, License to Drive and most of all The Lost Boys, one of the best Vampire films of my generation. And with that came the two Coreys. Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. The duo made pop culture history in the 1980s with screaming girls and fun slapstick films.

As of today the 1980s child star Corey Haim has been found dead in Los Angeles. He was a mere 38 years old. The Los Angeles coroner’s office said that Haim died Wednesday morning at the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and they are awaiting an autopsy for cause of death. Although rumors have been tossed around that it may have been a possible drug overdose.

Haim began his acting career in 1984 with the film “Firstborn” and then moved on to some of his most famous roles in “Lucas” and “The Lost Boys”. Once drugs entered the scene of his career it pretty much tanked it. And in the recent years with 80s making a nostaliga comeback, he was in some lower budget films and in the popular television series “The Two Coreys,” again with Corey Feldman.

Corey Haim & Corey Feldman

The show lasted two seasons and Feldman declined to do another due to Haim’s drug use.

Haim was currently working on a comeback to his career with films currently in production that also starred Mischa Barton in “The Science of Cool” and “The Dead Sea”.

Overall, Haim will be lost forever to Hollywood’s often childhood tragedies and us fans can remember him as part of the Lost Boys Team.

R.I.P. Corey Haim: 1971-2010.

Come On and Sing Along to American Psycho the Musical

So we have word from Variety that in the vein of obscure musicals, like our favorites Evil Dead The Musical or Young Frankie, the Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho, that is also a cult classic film, will be made and adapted into the Musical Format!

Duncan Sheik is going to be helming the lyrics and music for the adaption. I am not sure if this will be good or bad, but hey, it is worth a shot in our eyes.

The Wall Street Broker going Serial Killer Novel and Film will definitely have a feel that is all its’ own. The huge 80s references and feel will most likely see their way to the stage, but I hope it doesn’t overtake it too much. Although Christian Bale did a great job making an 80s Wall Street Broker seem nuts, wait, he may be too. All in all, let’s see where this goes.

Horror Realm Presents: Indie Grindhouse

The Horror Realm Presents Independent Grindhouse on March 13, 2010, Featuring Indie Horror Films, Trailers & Filmmakers Q&A

OFFICIAL RELEASE:Horror Realm, Pittsburgh’s modern horror convention, teams up with the Oaks Theater to present a program highlighting independent horror films on March 13, 2010 beginning at 10 PM.

The program begins with trailers for upcoming independent horror productions, followed by a screening of Welcome to Deer Creek, winner of the 2009 Horror Realm Feature Film Competition. The film was written and directed by Jim Roberts, a Kent State University student from Brecksville, Ohio. Welcome to Deer Creek tells the story of a small town’s populace turning into crazed killers during the annual corn celebration. Bastards of Horror declares Welcome to Deer Creek “the independent equal of Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive”.

A question and answer session with Roberts as well as fellow filmmaker Rick “of the Dead” Fusselman of DSK Productions follows. The final offering of the evening will be Holy Sh*t…Zombies!, a horror comedy that Fusselman concedes is “as un-PC as possible” and will “insult every demographic possible”. The film follows two slackers as they fight off zombies and is an indirect sequel of DSK’s 2005 film, Toxic Shock Zombies. Gross Movie Reviews raves “it is unlike any zombie film you have ever seen”.

Tickets for the program can be purchased at the door the night of the event for $5. Each paid admission will be eligible for a prize drawing for a pair of weekend passes to the Horror Realm Convention in September 2010.

Details on the convention can be found at: www.HorrorRealmCon.com. NOTE: While the films are unrated, due to the content, violence, blood and gore, it is recommended for adult audiences only (age 18 and up). The Oaks Theater is a gloriously refurbished, 430-seat single screen movie house located at 310 Allegheny River Boulevard in Oakmont, PA. For questions about the venue, please call (412) 828-6311 or visit the theater’s web site at www.TheOaksTheater.com.

‘Poltergeist’ Zelda Rubinstein Passes On

Zelda Rubinstein, best known for her role as Tangina in the Poltergeist Films has passed away at the enduring age of 76.

The 4 foot, 3 inch tall actress made her fame when she appeared in the highly popular films. She played the Psychic Tangina who helped the family get their daughter back. she appeared in both Poltergeist and its sequel Poltergeist II.

Her representative, Eric Stevens has told the LA Times that she passed away on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at an LA Hospital. She was being treated for a recent Heart Attack. I for one will miss the little woman who had a wonderful outgoing nature to her. Let’s hope she will live on and get a dedication tribute in the reboot of Poltergeist coming soon. She deserves that.

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Zelda Rubinstein, the 4-foot-3-inch character actor best known as Tangina, the psychic who tries to calm a family inhabiting a haunted house in the 1982 horror film “Poltergeist,” has died. She was 76.

Her agent, Eric Stevens, tells the Los Angeles Times that Rubinstein died Wednesday at a Los Angeles hospital. Stevens says she recently suffered a heart attack.

Rubinstein made her film debut in the 1981 comedy “Under the Rainbow” and went on to roles in “Sixteen Candles,” “Southland Tales” and the TV show “Picket Fences.” She returned for both “Poltergeist” sequels.

The Pittsburgh native also appeared as the mother figure in a high-profile mid-1980s AIDS public awareness campaign and was an outspoken activist for the rights of little people.

Zelda Rubinstein: 1933 – 2010

Fighting Owl Films’ “The Night Shift”

Mobile, Alabama based independent filmmaking group Fighting Owl Films is set to produce an independent feature in the city utilizing local talent. The feature, titled “The Night Shift”, is based on Fighting Owl Films’ shoestring budget short film of the same name which proved an online hit, was positively reviewed in Fangoria Magazine’s Online Edition earlier in 2009 and has screened in several festivals across the United States.

A supernatural adventure-comedy, “The Night Shift” centers on Rue Morgan, the undead night watchman at Pinewood Oaks Cemetery. Rue, along with his buddy Herb, a limbless corpse, spends his nights trying to keep the cemetery’s cantankerous residents in, and his days dreaming of a date with hard-nosed day-shifter, Claire. It’s an okay afterlife until a scourge of supernatural occurrences leave Rue not only watching the cemetery, but also watching his back!

The short film’s positive reception coupled with the disillusionment with Hollywood’s current output of remakes and reboots encouraged the filmmakers to pursue their dream of turning the original “The Night Shift” into a feature length horror-adventure film. Thomas Smith, the film’s writer/director and co-producer, is hoping to recapture some of the cinematic magic of the 80s Amblin films he grew up with that had a lasting influence.

“Growing up as a child of the 80s, the world depicted on film had a completely different atmosphere,” Smith says. “The films possessed a graininess and lived-in look that added an extra dimension of realism. There also seemed to be a greater emphasis on character and storytelling and less of the headache-inducing flash and sensory overload that’s become so commonplace today. It was the era of ‘Gremlins’, ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Indiana Jones’, films everyone could enjoy, not just children or adult audiences. That’s what we’re hoping to recapture with ‘The Night Shift’.”

The independent feature has secured its cast. Returning from the short to reprise their roles of Rue Morgan, Claire Rennfield and Herbie West are Khristian Fulmer, Erin Lilley and Soren Odom, respectively. New additions to the cast include Andrew Crider as Adramalech, the villainous vengeance demon with an affinity for western wear, Jordan Woodall as Curly and Jonathan Pruitt as the mysterious Captain Roderick Blake. The film, currently in pre-production, is expected to begin shooting in May 2010.

For more information on Fighting Owl Films, “The Night Shift” and to view the original short film, visit them online at: www.FightingOwlFilms.com and www.thenightshiftmovie.com

HorrorFest 2010 – 8 movies to Die For

Hey there Film Fiends, the Horrorfest 2010, will be screening January 29-February 4 , 2010 and in 2010 the lineup looks pretty sweet for you Deadites.

Dread-Produced by Clive Barker and based on the Book of Blood short story, Dread tells the story of an experiment in fear by 3 college students gone wrong.

Hidden-After 19 years a young man returns to his hometown only to discover a terrifying secret about who he really is.

Kill Theory-7 college students are put to the ultimate test when staying in a secluded cabin, they must kill each other so that only one is alive in the morning. If not, they all die.

Lake Mungo-A creepy ghost story about the drowning death of a young girl.

The Final-What happens when the “unpopular” kids finally get their revenge on the “cool” kids?

The Graves-2 sister unwittingly stop at an old Arizona mining town and become prey in the hunt of their lives.

The Reeds-Weekend boating trip for 20 somethings becomes a horrifying ordeal as they try to escape the reeds.

Zombies of Mass Destruction-Zombie uprising in Port Gamble, WA.

Be sure to check your local theaters for listings and for more information, go to the HorrorFest website at: www/HorrorFestOnline.com

posted by RFR Jigsaw Jim

Silent Hill Haunted Attraction Video Review

As many of you RFR Deadites may remember we discussed the highly anticipated Silent Hill Haunted Attraction presented by Sinister Pointe. (click Here to View the Full Write up).

Well the Haunt Season has wrapped and now the reviews are coming in from Deadites and in posts all around. Below is a Video Review that captures much of the Haunt, Thoughts and more.

Silent Hill Haunted Attraction Review. from Silent Hill Experienced on Vimeo.

For more on the full Silent Hill Haunted Attraction and Sinister Pointe visit: www.SinisterPointe.com
(note: video review is presented on Vimeo and is not part of the RFR Casket Crew)

Creature Skins Creators Spookywoods FX, NOW Creature Skinz

In the Haunt Industry there are many Haunt Vendors that break the limits with new items, technologies and more. One of those that was most talked about in 2008 was the Creature Skins from Spookywoods FX. These Full-body skins turn your Haunt Actor into a Film Quality Monster — NO MAKEUP — instantly!

The Full Body Creature Skins are constructed of the highest quality materials that will cover an actor with extreme level of detail. Custom made out of spandex with a 30″ metal zipper down the back to get in the suit and a zipper in front for the guys for bathroom breaks. A black out hood included and is removable as are the gloves and mask. Spandex material allows the actor to be more comfortable and fits most size actors.

Now they also have a variety of other products as well including a variety of skins from Corpses, to Skeletons and more! Now here comes the BIG news…

Coming Soon is an All-New website for Spookywoods FX and an All-New name. Debuting in the near future is: CreatureSkinz.com. Creature Skinz seems more fitting for the high end suits and products they have put out since they debuted. With Creature Skinz they promise to have the “Best Film Quality Costumes for Today’s Modern Haunts”. The new website will be live soon but you can still currently visit them at: SpookywoodsFX.com or by calling 336-517-2442. So stay tuned for the next step, and new developments from this Haunt Industry Company breaking the mold.