Zombies vs. Vampires: Celebrity Undead Death Match

Within pop-culture, there are a lot of monsters, ghouls and maniacs out there that want to terrify us. Especially around Halloween, werewolves, demons, ghosts, mummies, maenads, fairies and half-dead men with hockey masks or razor claws make their presence known. But let’s face it, these beasts that go bump in the night lack a certain bite.

For the true masters of horror pop, one need look no further than the two reigning champs of chomps, vampires and zombies. More than any other, these creatures capture the imagination and inspire ferocious loyalty. Zombie lovers corpse-up, congregate in flash mobs and hijack constructions signs to read “Caution: Zombies Ahead.” Vamp fans wear molded ceramic fangs, make pilgrimages to New Orleans and Transylvania, and drink Tru Blood.

But really, which beast is best? The walking dead or undead? The brain eater or blood sucker? In order to settle the Zombie vs. Vampire debate, we’ve collected notable films of both genres from the last 25 years, and arranged them in different categories (emphasis on gore) to determine who each might triumph.

Although judgments on winners are completely subjective, I tried to channel George A. Romero and Bela Lugosi for guidance since they were incredibly influential in both genres. Lugosi starred as the count in the first official version of Dracula in 1931; he also gave the world the grandfather of the zombie movies, White Zombie, in 1932. Meanwhile, Romero remains the reigning genius of the zombie genre after directing 1968’s Night of the Living Dead. Romero also contributed heavily to vampires on screen with the underrated deconstruction Martin (1978).

Nick Cave to rewrite 'Crow' reboot

Screen Rant (via The Wrap) is reporting that Bad Seeds musician Nick Cave will be rewriting the reincarnation of The Crow, the 1994 gothic action film starring Brandon Lee.

Based on James O'Barr's comic book series, the original film revolves around murdered musician Eric Draven who is resurrected as a spirit of vengeance. The reboot, which is supposed to be more realistic but mysterious than the Alex Proyas-directed original, is slated to begin filming this summer for a 2011 release date, but that's looking unlikely. Last word on the project came from producer Ed Pressman, who told MTV director Edward Norrington (Blade, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) had completed a "terrific" screenplay set in either the southwest or an urban city. But Pressman is now saying Cave will work his magic on the script.

Cave, already considered an iconic musician, has earned much respect as a screenwriter over the last few years. Cave wrote Australian Western The Proposition in 2005 after getting his feet wet with his first screenwriting foray, 1988's Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead. Among a few other projects, Cave has also written The Promised Land, an adaptation of the bootlegging novel The Wettest County in the World. His talents as a writer even earned him the honor of being one to watch in 2006 by Variety.

So can Cave pull off a good Crow script? The guy can certainly operate across several musical genres, and The Proposition is an excellent flick, so he has my ticket money. In other Nick Cave news, his "solo" quartet Grinderman is releasing their new album on Sept. 14. Check out the album trailers below (directed by Proposition director John Hillcoat).

Psychic Tiff Suggests

And now, a few thoughts from our friend Tiffany Smith Johnson, psychic and medium, and author of Picture Yourself Developing Your Psychic Abilities. Every so often, Tiffany pops by to share some wisdom, talk about pop-culture and discuss her role in the paranormal community.

Psychic Tiff Suggests:

So I watched Angels & Demons the other night, and based on the title, it seemed right up my psychic alley. But not so much. I didn't feel it. I kinda get the "Angels" thing, but the "Demons"? That part was severely lacking.

John Zaffis would have been like, "WTF?"

Meanwhile, I LOVED G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Frankly, if it's a comic-turned-movie, I'm in. X-Men, Fantastic Four, Blade: You name it, I'm there.

Tiffany will be appearing next for a group gallery reading on Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Wingate Hotel in Fargo, ND, at 7 p.m. Purchase tickets for $40 at http://www.wix.com/cocovinna/laska. Tiffany will also be conducting a group gallery reading at the Gulf Coast Para Con on Feb. 26-28 in Fairhope, AL. Get tickets at the Para Con Web site.

Batman and Blade: The mash-up

While I can't say it was bound to happen, it at least looks like it was.  In this SilverLightsaber mash-up starring everybody's favorite tax-evading vampire hunter and Gotham City's protector, Blade and Batman butt heads and compare growly voices. It looks far better than you might think.

Without further ado, here's ... uh, "The Dark Knight vs. Blade"? "The Dark Knight's Blade"? "Vampire Hunters B"? "Batty for Vampires"?

[via /Film]

Third 'Twilight' movie 'Eclipse' to be more guy-friendly?

Guys grow up choosing sides and play-fighting based on classic rivalries. Ask any testosterone-driven, red-blooded American male and he'll tell you his thoughts on Cowboys vs. Indians, cops vs. robbers, ninjas vs. pirates, G.I. Joe vs. Cobra, Autobots vs. Decepticons ... and Team Edward vs. Team Jacob?

Maybe not so much that last one - yet - but the makers of the Twilight movies hope to change that. Ashley Greene, who plays Alice Cullen in the film series, tells MTV that Eclipse, the third movie based on the Stephenie Meyer books will be darker, gorier and more dramatic thanks to director David Slade.

"The first one [movie] was very focused on this love story and really sweet and it was beautiful, but it didn't have a lot of stuff that guys would go, 'Yeah, I want to go see that,' " says Greene.

Um, you think?

Still, Greene adds that "There's going to be a lot more focus on [action], and the fight scene will have more emphasis on it. I definitely think it will be a little more guy-friendly."

Of course, being guy-friendly and attracting a guy audience are two different things.  But if Eclipse delivers on a modicum of badassery suggested in this Blade/Twilight mashup from Cinematical, it would be gladly welcomed into the paranormal pop culture guy zone.

-aaron sagers