Horror Pop Culture Aug. 31

Courtesy 20th Century Fox
BY ANDREW PETERS
Editor's Note: Horror Pop Culture is a weekly round-up of horror genre news, reviews and rumors

'Wrong Turn 5' release details

It has been a year since the last one, so here is another! I actually welcome most franchises that keep continuing their series, because its what they did in the '80s. Anyway, enough chatter, look out for Wrong Turn 5 on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download on Oct. 23 - just in time for Halloween for all you ghouls. Check out some info from the press release below (via Dread Central):


Now that horror fans have the back story on the Hillbilly Cannibals’ “Bloody Beginnings”, the franchise rejoins the infamous disfigured brothers as they return when WRONG TURN 5: BLOODLINES debuts on unrated Blu-ray, DVD, and, for the first time ever, Digital Copy on October 23rd from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. This all-new terrifying film boasts the talent of horror movie veteran Doug Bradley (Hellraiser) along with "Game of Thrones"’ Roxanne McKee.

The cutting-edge terror continues when a small mining town hosts the legendary Mountain Man Festival on Halloween, where crowds of costumed partygoers gather for a wild night of music and mischief. But a killer celebration soon gives way to a blood-soaked feeding frenzy when an inbred family of hillbilly cannibals trick and treat themselves to a group of visiting college students who are just dying for a good time...

With hours of bonus footage including behind-the-scenes featurettes and commentary “DIE-aries” from director Declan O’Brien (Wrong Turn 4, Sharktopus), WRONG TURN 5: BLOODLINES will give audiences an extra scare this Halloween season. Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy October 23rd.

'Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D' poster reveals Leather-faces

It may not be a still or production image, but the poster that has finally surfaced is making us wait anxiously for the latest Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. For those of you who don’t know, TCM3D serves as a direct sequel to Tobe Hooper’s original classic and will be ripping into a theater near you on Jan. 4, 2013. Stay tuned for more 'buzz!' (via Dread Central)


Smiley, courtesy Level 10
Clips, Stills and AMC Theater Dates for 'Smiley'

While Smiley may be not well known, it’s creating some buzz in the interwebs. To learn more, just scroll down and read the press release and check out to see if Smiley will be playing at an AMC theater new you. Also be sure to check out the clip and the stills below. One look at Smiley will give you the creeps! (via Dread Central)

From the press release:
SMILEY, co-written by YouTube sensation Gallagher and Glasgow Phillips (“South Park”) and produced by Michael Wormser (Some Guy Who Kills People) of Level 10 Films, has an enormous fan base to call on. Gallagher and his YouTube partners on “Totally Sketch,” as well as the other performers in the film including Shane Dawson (“Shane Dawson’s TV”) and Toby Turner ("The Annoying Orange"), have over 11 million subscribers, 2.2 billion views. and 4 million plus fans on Facebook/Twitter combined. The trailer has accumulated over 15 million views since its debut. 
The story of the film follows a mentally fragile college student named Ashley (Caitlin Gerard from Magic Mike and The Social Network) who, after learning of an urban legend in which a mysterious serial killer named “Smiley” can be summoned through the Internet, must decide whether she is losing her mind or becoming Smiley's next victim. SMILEY also stars Melanie Papalia (“Endgame”) and Andrew James Allen (“Make It or Break It”), with Roger Bart (“Desperate Housewives”), Keith David (The Thing), and Liza Weil (“Scandal”) rounding out the cast. 
'Smiley' theatrical markets include:
Atlanta: AMC Southlake Pavilion 24; AMC Barrett Commons 14
Chicago: AMC Crestwood 18; AMC Village Crossing 18, AMC Cicero 14
Cincinnati: AMC Newport on the Levee 20
Columbia, SC: AMC Dutch Square 14
Houston: AMC Gulf Pointe 30; AMC Studio 30; AMC Deerbrook 24
Los Angeles: AMC Ontario Mills 30; AMC Orange 30; AMC Norwalk 20; AMC Universal Citywalk 19; AMC Burbank Town Ctr. 8
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale: AMC Aventura Mall 24; AMC Sunset Place 24
New Jersey: AMC Palisades Center 21; AMC Jersey Gardens 20; AMC New Brunswick 18
New York: AMC Empire 25
Norfolk/Portsmouth/Newport News/Hampton: AMC Hampton 24; AMC Lynnhaven 18
Philadelphia: AMC Cherry Hill 24; AMC Neshaminy 24
San Francisco/Oakland-San Jose: AMC Mercado 20

Animated Menu for the upcoming 'Halloween 3' Blu-ray/DVD

You got to love it when a company puts top-notch care into the video release of a film - not only with the quality of the transfer of the film from the original negatives, but with the extra content and presentation as well. Scream Factory, sister company of Shout Factory, does just that. They are gearing up for several releases of some classic horror films like Terror Train, Death Valley, The Island, The Funhouse and Halloween 2 & 3 just to name a few. This week, Scream Factory let us have a taste of animated menu for the Halloween 3 Blu-Ray/DVD! (via Dread Central)

'Robocop' remake going to hell
Just as things were looking up, they quickly started looking not so good. There was news about how poor the script was, then Hugh Laurie dropped from the project before signing and now  - according to Screen Crush - Fernando Meirelles, director of City of God and close friend to Robocop director Jose Padilha, spoke recently to South American website Cinemacom Rapadura and had this to say:

"I talked to José Padilha for a week by phone," says Meirelles. "He will begin filming RoboCop. He is saying that it is the worst experience. For every 10 ideas he has, 9 are cut. Whatever he wants, he has to fight. 'This is hell here,' he told me. 'The film will be good, but I never suffered so much and do not want to do it again.' He is bitter, but it’s a fighter."

What would Murphy do? We all can only hope things start looking up from here. Hopefully things have been taken out of context or the studio realizes they need to listen to the director. And things are looking up with the announcement that Michael Keaton is set to play the role of the villainous CEO of OmniCorp., Raymond Sellars. Either way, here’s to hoping the best for Robo. Filming starts next month and should be on the big screen by Aug. 9 2013.