Horror fans have Canada to thank for a lot of their favorite movies from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Black Christmas, Prom Night, Happy Birthday to Me, My Bloody Valentine — all these fright flicks and more were in fact made in Canada. And for a lot of these vintage movies, they were produced in the Great White North because of an enticing tax incentive. It was all part of a desire to fire up the country’s movie industry. And so long as these potential productions were chiefly shot and edited in Canada, as well as starred mostly Canadian actors, the movies’ costs were up to 100 tax deductible. Like those before him, producer Peter R. Simpson (Prom Night III: The Last Kiss) acted on this attractive business offer, though his timing could have been better. By the time Curtains came out in 1983, Canada’s most significant era of “B” movies was...
- 11/11/2022
- by Paul Lê
- bloody-disgusting.com
When one looks back at mid ‘70s to early ‘80s horror, it’s quite surprising to see how many Canadian made films are nestled among fan favorites. Titles such as Black Christmas, Shivers, Prom Night, Happy Birthday to Me, and My Bloody Valentine continue to delight and shock veteran horror lovers or those just starting their jagged journey down the terror path. There is one, however, that due to a troubled production and poor distribution, seems relegated to the discount bins of time. Today, we’re pulling back the curtain on, uh, Curtains (1983), an unsung slasher weirder than a sack full of rabid beavers.
Released by Jensen Farley Pictures in March of ’83 in the Us, and September of ’84 by Norstar Releasing in (my home and) native land, Curtains received a very limited release in both countries, but coming as it did at a time when the Canadian film industry had...
Released by Jensen Farley Pictures in March of ’83 in the Us, and September of ’84 by Norstar Releasing in (my home and) native land, Curtains received a very limited release in both countries, but coming as it did at a time when the Canadian film industry had...
- 2/6/2016
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Welcome back everyone for the final day of Daily Dead’s 2014 Holiday Gift Guide! Because it’s been an exceptional year for genre fans, we’re focusing today on recapping more books and films that would make for great gifts this holiday season and are perfect for all fans. We’ve also got another great find from over on Etsy and we’re celebrating a new subscription service from the fine folks over at Waxworks Records.
And be sure to check out today’s final Holiday Horrors trivia question below for your shot at winning some awesome merchandise from our fine sponsors at HorrorDecor.net, Scream Factory and Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Thanks so much for following along with our 2014 Holiday Gift Guide and I hope you guys had as much fun reading the series as I had putting it together!
Vendor Spotlight: Waxwork Records
Waxwork Records specializes in releasing horror,...
And be sure to check out today’s final Holiday Horrors trivia question below for your shot at winning some awesome merchandise from our fine sponsors at HorrorDecor.net, Scream Factory and Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Thanks so much for following along with our 2014 Holiday Gift Guide and I hope you guys had as much fun reading the series as I had putting it together!
Vendor Spotlight: Waxwork Records
Waxwork Records specializes in releasing horror,...
- 12/12/2014
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
A lot of classic Canadian genre films are making the transition to Blu-ray this year. Some have had a long home video life, and have been widely available throughout various formats, and others, like Curtains have had a practically non-existent presence on any format. From what I understand, a terrible version of the film was released in a random multi-pack, and featured audio and video quality that may have rivaled a third generation VHS dub. Synapse have resurrected Curtains, in a way only Synapse could. One thing you can be sure of, when a title is announced as being released to Blu-ray by the label, is that they’ll either put out a perfect, preserved transfer of the film, or they’ll release nothing at all. A lot of the time their releases get delayed, because they aren’t happy with how it has turned out, and they would like...
- 7/30/2014
- by Shawn Savage
- The Liberal Dead
For the last week of July, there may not be a lot of titles being released onto DVD and Blu-ray, but the ones that are making their debut are absolutely an impressive bunch.
On Tuesday, Synapse Films is bringing the 1983 cult classic Curtains to Blu-ray for the very first time ever and Paramount is making every Twin Peaks fan’s dreams come true this week with their Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery box set, which includes all the missing footage that we’ve all been waiting to be released for decades. Other titles coming out include the indie thriller The Den as well as a new Mystery Science Theater 3000 collection from Shout Factory.
Curtains (Synapse Films, Blu-ray & DVD)
John Vernon (Chained Heat, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and Samantha Eggar (The Brood, The Exterminator) star in this horror classic from the golden age of the slasher genre.
A...
On Tuesday, Synapse Films is bringing the 1983 cult classic Curtains to Blu-ray for the very first time ever and Paramount is making every Twin Peaks fan’s dreams come true this week with their Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery box set, which includes all the missing footage that we’ve all been waiting to be released for decades. Other titles coming out include the indie thriller The Den as well as a new Mystery Science Theater 3000 collection from Shout Factory.
Curtains (Synapse Films, Blu-ray & DVD)
John Vernon (Chained Heat, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and Samantha Eggar (The Brood, The Exterminator) star in this horror classic from the golden age of the slasher genre.
A...
- 7/29/2014
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Originally planned for a July 8th release, Synapse Films has bumped the release date for the new DVD and Blu-ray of the Eighties slasher flick Curtains back a couple of weeks to July 29th. We've waited this long for a release; another two weeks is a cakewalk!
Curtains Release Details
John Vernon (Chained Heat, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and Samantha Eggar (The Brood, The Exterminator) star in this horror classic from the golden age of the slasher genre.
A group of women gather for a weekend casting call at the secluded mansion of director Jonathan Stryker (Vernon). He’s searching for the perfect woman to play the role of the crazed character “Audra,” and these women are just dying for the chance to play her! Stryker’s last star, Samantha Sherwood (Eggar), is so determined to get the part, she committed herself to an asylum to prepare for the role.
Curtains Release Details
John Vernon (Chained Heat, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and Samantha Eggar (The Brood, The Exterminator) star in this horror classic from the golden age of the slasher genre.
A group of women gather for a weekend casting call at the secluded mansion of director Jonathan Stryker (Vernon). He’s searching for the perfect woman to play the role of the crazed character “Audra,” and these women are just dying for the chance to play her! Stryker’s last star, Samantha Sherwood (Eggar), is so determined to get the part, she committed herself to an asylum to prepare for the role.
- 6/25/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Synapse Films is bringing another cult classic horror title to Blu-ray and DVD for the first time. Very few horror fans have heard of 1983′s Curtains, let alone have seen it, but you’ll get your chance on July 8th:
“Unseen On Home Video For Over 30 Years, The Canadian Horror Classic Makes Its Digital Home Video Debut From Synapse Films!
“… the classiest, most chilling thriller to come along in quite a while… rich in surprises of a gripping sensuous nature.” – The Hollywood Reporter
John Vernon (Chained Heat, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and Samantha Eggar (The Brood, The Exterminator) star in this horror classic from the golden age of the slasher genre.
A group of women gather for a weekend casting call at the secluded mansion of director Jonathan Stryker (Vernon). He’s searching for the perfect woman to play the role of the crazed character “Audra”, and these women...
“Unseen On Home Video For Over 30 Years, The Canadian Horror Classic Makes Its Digital Home Video Debut From Synapse Films!
“… the classiest, most chilling thriller to come along in quite a while… rich in surprises of a gripping sensuous nature.” – The Hollywood Reporter
John Vernon (Chained Heat, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and Samantha Eggar (The Brood, The Exterminator) star in this horror classic from the golden age of the slasher genre.
A group of women gather for a weekend casting call at the secluded mansion of director Jonathan Stryker (Vernon). He’s searching for the perfect woman to play the role of the crazed character “Audra”, and these women...
- 5/1/2014
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
One of my favorite slasher films of the 80s, Curtains was always kind of a bitch to track down, and when you were able to find it, the print was usually shit. Synapse Films is about to change all that. Read on for details.
From the Press Release
John Vernon (Chained Heat, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and Samantha Eggar (The Brood, The Exterminator) star in this horror classic from the golden age of the slasher genre.
A group of women gather for a weekend casting call at the secluded mansion of director Jonathan Stryker (Vernon). He’s searching for the perfect woman to play the role of the crazed character “Audra”, and these women are just dying for the chance to play her! Stryker’s last star, Samantha Sherwood (Eggar), is so determined to get the part, she committed herself to an asylum to prepare for the role. Unfortunately for all,...
From the Press Release
John Vernon (Chained Heat, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and Samantha Eggar (The Brood, The Exterminator) star in this horror classic from the golden age of the slasher genre.
A group of women gather for a weekend casting call at the secluded mansion of director Jonathan Stryker (Vernon). He’s searching for the perfect woman to play the role of the crazed character “Audra”, and these women are just dying for the chance to play her! Stryker’s last star, Samantha Sherwood (Eggar), is so determined to get the part, she committed herself to an asylum to prepare for the role. Unfortunately for all,...
- 4/30/2014
- by Steve Barton
- DreadCentral.com
Lesleh Donaldson with Cinema Retro columnist Todd Garbarini.
By Todd Garbarini
Richard Ciupka’s unfairly maligned 1983 horror film Curtains was screened recently as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Scary Movies 7 exhibition that also included screenings of Lucky McKee’s new film All Cheerleaders Die, Michele Soavi’s highly regarded Cemetery Man (1994), Eli Roth’s new film The Green Inferno, John D. Hancock’s ultra creepy Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971), the New York premiere of Clive Barker’s 1990 film Nightbreed - the Cabal Cut, and Peter Carter’s brilliant Rituals (1977), better known as The Creeper, which stars Hal Holbrook and Lawrence Dane in a film that is clearly influenced by John Boorman’s Deliverance (1971) but easily stands on its own as a strong piece of independent filmmaking.
Appearing in person at the Curtains screening was actress Lesleh Donaldson who played Christie Burns, the ice skater in the film.
By Todd Garbarini
Richard Ciupka’s unfairly maligned 1983 horror film Curtains was screened recently as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Scary Movies 7 exhibition that also included screenings of Lucky McKee’s new film All Cheerleaders Die, Michele Soavi’s highly regarded Cemetery Man (1994), Eli Roth’s new film The Green Inferno, John D. Hancock’s ultra creepy Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971), the New York premiere of Clive Barker’s 1990 film Nightbreed - the Cabal Cut, and Peter Carter’s brilliant Rituals (1977), better known as The Creeper, which stars Hal Holbrook and Lawrence Dane in a film that is clearly influenced by John Boorman’s Deliverance (1971) but easily stands on its own as a strong piece of independent filmmaking.
Appearing in person at the Curtains screening was actress Lesleh Donaldson who played Christie Burns, the ice skater in the film.
- 11/11/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
A penguin who was found sick on a New Zealand beach before being brought back to health and then released into the wild has gone missing.
The penguin, named "Happy Feet," had spent the last few months in a Wellington, Nz zoo recovering from illness brought on by eating sand which he presumably mistook for snow. After veterinarians were able to get the penguin back to his normal weight and rid the sand from his system, they put a transmitter on him and set him free in the ocean.
That was Sept. 4. But just five days later, scientists lost the transmitter's signal.
"We think the most likely scenario is tag detachment," Kevin Lay, a consultant with the firm Sirtrack that affixed the device, tells the AP. They had expected the signal would track the penguin through early 2012, when it would fall off during molting season.
It's possible that whatever happened...
The penguin, named "Happy Feet," had spent the last few months in a Wellington, Nz zoo recovering from illness brought on by eating sand which he presumably mistook for snow. After veterinarians were able to get the penguin back to his normal weight and rid the sand from his system, they put a transmitter on him and set him free in the ocean.
That was Sept. 4. But just five days later, scientists lost the transmitter's signal.
"We think the most likely scenario is tag detachment," Kevin Lay, a consultant with the firm Sirtrack that affixed the device, tells the AP. They had expected the signal would track the penguin through early 2012, when it would fall off during molting season.
It's possible that whatever happened...
- 9/13/2011
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
For Tomorrow, When the War Began, post-production/VFX vendor The Lab conceived and invented a colour calibration process called the Digital Print System (Dps). Its creator, head of digital intermediate Al Hansen, tells the story behind this innovation.
Tomorrow, When the War Began was the perfect project to utilise this colour calibration process, because it was a big feature film with an experienced cinematographer and production team.
We demonstrated the Dps calibration technique by showing test results to the film’s producers, Michael Boughen and Andrew Mason, and executive producer Christopher Mapp, during pre-production. With the support of the cinematographer, Ben Nott, Acs, we embarked on a method to completely colour-calibrate all levels of the production, ensuring that the images – from rushes to post – maintained the characteristics of the final 35mm film deliverables.
Nott understood the process and saw the advantages of viewing all images to the final film print,...
Tomorrow, When the War Began was the perfect project to utilise this colour calibration process, because it was a big feature film with an experienced cinematographer and production team.
We demonstrated the Dps calibration technique by showing test results to the film’s producers, Michael Boughen and Andrew Mason, and executive producer Christopher Mapp, during pre-production. With the support of the cinematographer, Ben Nott, Acs, we embarked on a method to completely colour-calibrate all levels of the production, ensuring that the images – from rushes to post – maintained the characteristics of the final 35mm film deliverables.
Nott understood the process and saw the advantages of viewing all images to the final film print,...
- 9/8/2010
- by Miguel Gonzalez
- Encore Magazine
1980’s Prom Night was among the first slasher films to come bursting forth from the post-Halloween floodgates and, while it doesn’t seem like you can find a positive review of it anymore, it was a big success then and remains one of the most enjoyable entries in the slasher subgenre.
When producer Peter R. Simpson finally decided to create a follow-up, however, A Nightmare on Elm Street and its first sequel had done far better box office business than their straight-up slasher peers. It’s no surprise, then, that the filmmakers took note of Freddy Krueger’s increasing popularity and decided to take things in a similar, supernatural direction. What we have here is an attempt to create the next popular nightmare man (or woman). Hence, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II.
Shifting gears with a sequel seems like an incredibly strange practice. On one hand it seems like...
When producer Peter R. Simpson finally decided to create a follow-up, however, A Nightmare on Elm Street and its first sequel had done far better box office business than their straight-up slasher peers. It’s no surprise, then, that the filmmakers took note of Freddy Krueger’s increasing popularity and decided to take things in a similar, supernatural direction. What we have here is an attempt to create the next popular nightmare man (or woman). Hence, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II.
Shifting gears with a sequel seems like an incredibly strange practice. On one hand it seems like...
- 1/23/2010
- by Masked Slasher
- DreadCentral.com
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