I first discovered Deadpit.com, as I expect many other horror fans did, through the magic of a Google search. A few years ago, after I finished reading David Grove's (slightly underrated) book Making Friday the 13th, I found myself in the mood to learn even more about my favorite slasher franchise. A quick web search for "friday the 13th interviews" led me to an intriguing web site called Deadpit, which featured downloadable podcasts and interviews with tons of Friday the 13th alumni, as well as many other prominent horror filmmakers and actors. Sounded like heaven to me! 

I downloaded several episodes and eagerly pressed "Play" on the first one... only to be shocked into silence by what I heard. Hosted by a couple of self-described hillbillies, whose outrageous Southern accents made Gomer Pyle seem sophisticated and erudite, this Deadpit program made my head hurt. Those accents... they couldn't possibly be real, could they? And the hosts would frequently stop the show cold to break into falsetto-voiced comedy routines, or strum a song on their guitars. What the hell? Surely this must be some kind of joke!?

And what about their silly on-air names? The Creepy Kentuckian? Uncle Bill? Are you kidding me?

Nonetheless, intrigued by the incredible caliber of guests who were interviewed in their podcast archives (Tom Savini! George Romero! John Carpenter!), I forced myself to keep listening... while fervently wishing all the while that the hosts would shut up.

That mindset didn't last long.

After a few episodes, I found myself softening towards ol' CK and Uncle Bill; I didn't like them, but my hatred was thawing into indifference. Their voices no longer made me want to kill myself. After a few more episodes, I began to chuckle at some of their jokes while waiting for the next interview segment to start. A few episodes later, and I had grown so fond of these guys that the celebrity interviews almost started to feel like an intrusion. I soon understood that despite their country bumpkin personas, these guys knew a lot about horror, possibly more than me. And, if I may allow myself a moment of pride (or perhaps pity?), that's no small achievement.

Now comes a documentary exploring the surprising popularity and impact of the show, and the intriguing relationship between the men who created it. Into the Pit: The Shocking Story of Deadpit.com, henceforth referred to as Into the Pit, examines the lives of the hosts (real names: Wes Vance and Aaron Frye) in their economically depressed, highly conservative hometown of Prestonsburg, Kentucky. Despite being Internet superstars, Wes and Aaron are almost invisible to the people in their community, and feel compelled to hide their horror addiction and Internet stardom, lest they face condemnation.

This suits Wes and Aaron fine. As we see in the film, our podcasting heroes have little in common with the gun-loving, church-going, NASCAR-obsessed people who surround them, and are happy to live and let live. But it's the town's loss. Wes and Aaron prove themselves capable of astute insight and solemn reflection, while revealing remarkable depths about themselves. We see Aaron finishing up his Master's studies so that he can pursue his dream job as a substance abuse counselor, while Wes demonstrates amazing computer skills.

Many horror celebrities are on-hand to discuss their experience of being interviewed by Wes and Aaron, including Kevin S. Tenney (director of Witchboard and Night of the Demons), composer Harry Manfredini (the Friday the 13th series), horror movie scream queen Tiffany Shepis, Lloyd Kaufman (president of Troma Studios and director of the Toxic Avenger films), and, most hilariously, director Uwe Boll, whose films, including House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark, are frequent punchlines on the show. A number of fan testimonials are also sprinkled throughout the film.

Directed with restraint and intimacy by Kelly Marcott, Into the Pit tells the story of an unlikely friendship that blossomed into an even more unlikely Internet phenomenon, originating from the middle of nowhere. If that doesn't make you excited about the future of technology, I can't help you.

After a successful festival run, Into the Pit is now available on DVD, and comes recommended for anyone who ever chose to follow a dream, no matter how unlikely it seemed to those around you.

Enough about the movie! What about the DVD?

Into the Pit is presented in a non-anamorphic letterboxed transfer that looks fine, if unspectacular. No video compression artifacts were noted, and flesh tones appear consistently natural. But you probably won't use this disc to show off your home theater. 

The disc contains a single (English) audio track, but my DVD player couldn't identify it (Dolby 2.0? Mono?) and the back of the DVD case provided no illumination. Whatever it is, the documentary sounds fine. A few scenes are clearly shot with on-board camera microphones (mostly the fan tributes), and these naturally sound less professional than the rest of the movie, but it never becomes a problem.

Special features include eight deleted scenes, ranging from disposable ("Meet James Cooley") to astutely observational ("Golf Course") to flat-out hilarious ("Fangoria"). A trailer is offered, as well as an extended version of a fan testimonial by a guy named Xombie (pretty insufferable, to be honest). "More of James Cooley" features additional footage of a peripheral player who was largely cut out of the main documentary.

Rounding out the supplements is a cute featurette of Wes and Aaron watching their appearance in a horror movie called Backroads for the first time. A typo on the Special Features menu identifies this clip as "Deapit Watches Backroads," rather than "Deadpit." Oops. (I bet Michael "Slipcase" Felsher wouldn't have let that happen. That's a joke; Deadpit fans will understand.)

Earlier this year, our friends at Kino released a superb blu-ray edition of Fritz Lang's silent sci-fi masterpiece, Metropolis. Incoporating roughly half an hour of recently discovered footage, which had been thought lost forever, this edition of Metropolis filled in numerous plot holes, and brought both improved pacing and narrative clarity to the proceedings.

But this most recent offering was not the first time a restoration of Metropolis had been attempted.

In 1984, musician Giorgio Moroder created a controversial reimagining of Lang's film, which not only color-tinted the footage and re-edited several sequences, but replaced the traditional orchestral score with rock and roll numbers from then-current artists, including Freddie Mercury, Pat Benatar, and Loverboy. (Eep.)

A legal nightmare since the day of its release, Giorgio Mororder's version of Metropolis came and went quickly, with out-of-print VHS and laserdisc editions commanding big money on eBay. But despite (or perhaps because of) its scarcity, the movie soon became a cult favorite, prompting one enterprising film lover to create a very good bootleg DVD edition to satisfy fan demand. (Not that we, uh, would know anything about that, cough cough.)

But we have happy news! It seems the legal issues surrounding the music have been resolved at last, and fans of Mororder's off-beat interpretation of a cinematic classic will soon be able to enjoy a legal version for the first time in over twenty years.

Kino will be handling distribution of the forthcoming blu-ray release, making this the third time the company has released a restoration of Metropolis on home video since 2001. (Hey, we're not complaining: every version they've released has been phenomenal in its own way. Keep riding that gravy train!)

No release date or disc specifications have been released yet, but rest assured we'll keep you informed the instant we here anything more. For many of us, Mororder's revamped Metropolis was our initial introduction to the film, and even though the 1984 version may appear flawed and quaint when compared to the definitive restoration, released a few months ago, it's still a nostalgic delight.

(And a pretty terrific film, regardless of version.)

Next time you wish upon a star, you should probably wish that your Blu-Rays are free from manufacturing defects. Bad news for those of you who recently bought Walt Disney's 70th Anniversary Edition of their classic animated feature film, Pinocchio. Due to a snafu during the mastering and manufacturing process, some of the dialogue was inadvertently left out of the final audio mix. Disney is aware of the problem, and has thankfully set up a replacement program for customers to swap out the disc for a corrected edition. Annie has all the details for you right here!

I'm feeling nostalgic for the days when horror movie posters were genuinely awesome, and not merely bad Photoshop jobs with the actors' faces front and center on the design, so I put together this article. You'll find ten of my favorite horror movie posters of all time, as well as my commentary on why I like each one. Check it out here!

Hi all

The Yogi Bear contest went so well that we're now giving away a copy of Walt Disney's Tangled (Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack)! (Congratulations to Eric McGuiness for his hilarious entry in the last contest. You can read his winning entry in the comments section of that post. Eric, your Yogi Bear Blu-Ray is on the way!)

Here's how to enter the Tangled contest:

Leave a comment on this post (no more than a paragraph), and tell us what movie character could have dramatically improved his or her situation if he or she had only had really, really, really long hair. The funniest and/or most creative entry wins.

All entries must be received by 11:59 pm (EST) on April 5th.

In the meantime, check out Disney's very cool Tangled widget below. You'll find trailers and all sorts of other goodies. Enjoy!

Ever notice how vampire movies just aren't scary anymore, in the wake of Twilight? Here's my list of five ways by which Hollywood can reverse the neuterization of the vampire. After all, Bela Lugosi deserves better than this. Check out the article here.

Alright, kids... if you're one of the (too) many film fans out there who hasn't yet checked out the original 1951 Howard Hawks/Christian Nyby version of The Thing, you no longer have an excuse! You can watch this classic sci-fi/horror thriller for free, right now. So hop to it already! And keep watching the skies while you're at it!

In conjunction with our friends at Warner Brothers, Cinemaslave will be giving away a shiny new Blu-Ray of 2010's Yogi Bear, starring Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake, and Anna Farris, to one lucky reader. 

To register for the drawing, please leave a comment on this post and tell us, in no more than a paragraph, a movie that you think would be drastically improved by adding Yogi Bear to the cast, and the reason for your choice. The deadline for entries is 11:59 pm (EST) on March 28th.

NOTE: This contest is only open to North American readers!

If you want more information on the Yogi Bear Blu-ray, Annie's got ya covered right here.

In the meantime, check out the Yogi Bear widget below, which includes trailers and games.

Scott Ruth is back on the 'Slave with a mesmerizing look at the bygone era of the TV Horror Host, a much-missed genre, and a Friday night Rite of Passage for many of us. Scott has interviewed as many of these spooktacular legends as he could find, and the result is an engaging multi-part epic entitled My Trip to the Land of the Horror Hosts. Svengooli demands that you read it now!

In this brave new world of digital filmmaking, is film school even needed any more? Here are my thoughts on the matter, along with some recommendations for good home study filmmaking courses. Click here to read the full article.

.

For the second time in two days, I have the joy of welcoming a new face to the Cinemaslave family: the incomparable Annie Chu will be bringing the DVD and Blu-Ray thunda to the site effective immediately. Annie's speciality is digging up the absolute best deals, coupons, and special offers a movie buff could want. She also has a knack for unearthing tons of information about upcoming disc releases... including the extended Blu-Ray editions of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy! Click here for all the juicy details. (You better do it. You don't want to make Gimli mad, do you?)

First of all, please join me in welcoming Scott Ruth to Cinemaslave! Scott's been covering all genres of cinema, especially horror, for quite a while now, and I'm pleased we'll be able to feature some of his insightful film commentary here. He's kicking things off with a look at the crazy-as-hell horror flick Rubber... a movie about, of all things, a killer tire. No, we're not making this up. Pretty much the definition of a cult film, if you ask us. Check out Scott's full review here.

Sometimes the passion with which you communicate your message is more important than the technical prowess behind it. The lo-fi Internet sensation The Angry Video Game Nerd, created by filmmaker James Rolfe, has made the jump from YouTube to DVD. Does the added clarity bring anything to this rant-laden form of comedy? Read the full review here!

There's something appealing about bad movies, and Troll 2 is one of the most infamous. Now Michael Paul Stephenson, who starred in Troll 2, has directed this intriguing documentary about the cult of fandom which has sprung up around the film. Best Worst Movie reunites the cast and crew of Troll 2 for the first time in 20 years as they come to terms with their legacy as the creators of the worst movie ever made. Read the full review here.

Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese masterpiece Seven Samurai inspired an English-language pseudo-remake, The Magnificent Seven. Now, our friends at Criterion have released a newly remastered Blu-Ray and DVD edition of the original classic. How does the film hold up, over half a century after its original release? Read the full review here.

Kevin Murphy, who played Tom Servo on the popular cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (aka MST3K), has penned a book about the allure of movie theaters. He went to the cinema every single day for a solid year, in an effort to explore different aspects of the movie-going experience, and penned a thoughtful, occasionally poignant, rumination on our love affair with film. Read the full review here.

With the release of A Hard Day''s Night in 1964, the Beatles proved  that they were more than just a flash-in-the-pan pop combo. Directed by Richard Lester (Superman II), the film almost single-handedly invented the music video format, and its effect continues to be felt today. Read the full review here.

Fritz Lang's 1927 silent masterpiece, Metropolis, has been newly restored after an uncut print was found in a Buenos Aries film archive. Restoring 40 minutes of footage previously thought to be lost, this new version adds some much needed cohesion to the story. Now we have a chance to see the movie the way the director intended. Read the full details here.