Jon Schnaars's blog

Like a lot of horror fans, I've learned to temper my expectations when wading into the review sections of mainstream publications. In general, genre films often get the short end of the stick when it comes to critical attention upon release, and the lower the marketing budget the lower the amount of attention that editors seem to pay. This is why sites like Bloody Good Horror exist, of course: to fill in the holes in coverage for niche film audiences.

The prospect has been looming on the horizon for a while, but it appears that the worst may soon come to pass: the Screen Actors Guild may be headed for a strike of their own, just months after the WGA wrapped up its labor dispute. Everything from movie production to the fall TV line-up is now up in the air, and those projects already underway are rushing to wrap things up.

In a shocking (SHOCKING!) development, "The Love Guru" died a quiet, merciful death in theaters around the country. Proving—perhaps miraculously—that the average moviegoer does have a threshold for cinematic putridity, audiences managed to contain their enthusiasm for goofy voices and the most egregious of non-sequitors, all of which may send "funny-man" Mike Myers back into another five year hibernation (his last actual on-screen appearance was in 2003's "Cat in the Hat").

If you're feeling blue because you've already caught "The Happening" and "The Strangers," and you just feel like being truly horrified this weekend, let me suggest the following: Go see "The Love Guru."

Now, I haven't seen this movie, nor would I ever subject myself to that sort of torture, but judging from A. O. Scott's review, Mike Myers may have inadvertently created the most terrifying film of the year. Allow me to quote at length:

It's a good weekend any time there is a new horror release to check out in the theater. But when there's a new horror release and a high profile super hero movie, well, that my friends is a glorious thing. So it was with much anticipation that I headed to the theater on Saturday to take in "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Happening" in one sitting.

Only a few days after Hollywood literally blew up, the box office figuratively blew up to the tune of over $172 million, a new single weekend high for 2008. Credit this surge to two new high profile films piggy-backing on the success of other niche fare.

Spurred by last night's premiere of "Fear Itself," I've been thinking a lot about television horror. About two years ago, my old roommates and I decided to switch from Time Warner Cable (aka Satan's Cable Service) to DirecTV. Ostensibly this change was about better sports coverage, but it came with an added bonus: Chiller.

It's been a month and a half, but horror was back in theaters around the country this week. And as we all probably suspected, audiences turned out in droves. Behind some positive buzz and catchy, creepy marketing, "The Strangers" pulled in $20 million, good enough for third on the weekend behind "Coitus in Urban Environs" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of a Bunch of Crazy Alien Conspiracy Whackos."

I used to love watching that old robot fighting show on Comedy Central (BattleBots?). This is a way classier looking (and sounding) version of that goodness.

We have a new opening weekend champion. Of the year that is. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" dropped into theaters like a rickety old man tripping over a crack in the sidewalk, and while struggling to rise, he found some shiny gold coins. For my full (rant-filled) analysis, you'll have to listen to Episode 28, but let's just say I wasn't amused, at all.