[Paul Counelis, our resident expert on pint-sized terrors (he has eight of his own), checks in with a look back at the year we left behind.]

Since 2013 has been a slow year for Monster Kids so far, it’s made me nostalgic for the good ol’ days – like, you know, last year.  Yeah, yeah, I know – most “best of” and retrospective lists come at the end of the year in question, or early in January of the new year. Well, that’s okay. Because here at the Corner, we’re too busy watching long past, future Corner contenders like Mom’s Got a Date With a Vampire and How My Dad Killed Dracula to worry too much about the internet status quo.

Still, better late than never. Horror cinema as presented in 2012 featured a few animated family films that weren’t complete pablum, and even a couple of masterpieces. Yes, masterpieces. Don’t laugh…

In case you missed our Cinemacabre screening of Psycho II and the Q&A with the always colourful Tom Holland this month at the Lightbox, here it is!

The Q&A was hosted by Rue Morgue’s editor in chief, Dave Alexander.

Endure,

:- FDBK

p.s. Thanks to James King from the Lightbox for recording this for the podcast.

MonteCristo International Entertainment’s second full stereoscopic 3D Sci-Fi/Disaster film, Resilient starts principal photography June 19. The film is set to shoot between Ottawa and Malibu with an $8 million production budget.

In just under two weeks, The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh will be hitting theatres nationwide. As part of Cineplex and Raven Banner’s Sinister Cinema screening series – which also includes Don Coscarelli’s John Dies at the End, Jen and Sylvia Soska’s American Mary and Ryuhei Kitamura’s No One Lives – Rodrigo Gudino’s first feature-length film will be showcased in over twenty-five theatres across Canada, including seven theatres in Toronto alone.

Rue Morgue is pleased to announce James Hong as a special guest at this year’s Festival of Fear. Genre fans know Hong best as Lo Pan in John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China, and Hannibal Chew in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. Among his horror credits, Hong has also appeared in hundreds of television and film roles including Tales from the Darkside, The X-Files and the soon to be released R.I.P.D.

How about a little murder, mayhem and mutilation to kick your Thursday into gear? Check out this trailer for Captured Hearts, starring the late Charles Durning, Tony Todd, Robert Loggia and Melantha Blackthorne. Things get interesting when you see the film’s IMDb page; Durning plays Santa Claus, and Todd is billed simply as “God.” (Yes, Virginia, there is a Satan, played by Tony Award-winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia.)

Here’s a plot summary, courtesy of the film’s latest press release…

Dark Sky Films has just released the official red band trailer for Adam Green and BJ McDonnall’s upcoming Hatchet III, set to open in New York and LA on June 14.

Denver and Columbus will be added to the cities screening the film starting June 14, the same day Hatchet III will be available on VOD and digital download. During opening week fans can enjoy special appearances and Q&As with cast and crew. More details soon to be announced.

The excellent Monster Movie Talk series – hosted by Ro Sahebi – speaks to famed Blair Witch Project director Eduardo Sanchez about his upcoming bigfoot horror film, EXISTS, V/H/S 2, and his childhood interest in bigfoot.

This Thursday is CineMacabre Movie Night! We’ve got an extra-special treat in store for you this month: to celebrate the 30th anniversary of PSYCHO II, we’ve tracked down a 35mm print and we’ll be unspooling it for you Thursday, April 25 at 9 p.m. at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Theatre (Reitman Square, 350 King Street West).

Decades after Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic film, director Richard Franklin (Patrick, Road Games) teamed up with Psycho stars Anthony Perkins and Vera Miles to show us Norman Bates after he’s released from the asylum. Written by Tom Holland (director of Fright Night and Child’s Play), PSYCHO II gives us a seemingly cured Norman getting a job, meeting a girl (Meg Tilly) and returning to the Bates Motel. A series of murders place Norman as the prime suspect – is he still under Mother’s grip? Tense, savage and full of twists, PSYCHO II still slays 30 years later…

The eighteenth edition of Little Terrors, a monthly showcase of horror short films co-presented by Rue Morgue and production company Unstable Ground, is coming up this Wednesday, April 24 at Magic Lantern Carlton Cinema (20 Carlton Street, Toronto). Enjoy two full hours of the craziest, goriest, most disturbing and off-the-wall short films the genre has to offer, followed by an in-depth Q&A/meet & greet with some of the filmmakers. The 18+ event starts at 9 p.m.

April’s theme is Future Shock.* Here’s the full lineup for this month’s event…