GOREZONE Rises From the Dead

Old school horror fans will definitely remember GOREZONE, Fangoria's nasty little brother in the horror magazine biz from the late 80's and early 90's. Back in January, Fangoria announced that they were bringing back GOREZONE in both online and print editions, and the online part of that promise finally launched today.

From the looks of the website, this new GZ entity will be focused on the lower budget, nastier side of the horror genre we all love. I'm about to give you the link, but be forewarned that there is a very NSFW banner ad at the top that your boss would probably frown upon. Got it? Good, check out FangoriaGorezone.com.

Now, the press release does not fully explain all of the history, and if Fangoria was always associated with them or rather just bought the rights to the name. Some of our more seasoned fans may be able to shed some light on that for me. Either way, it gives me weird flashes of "The WWE presents ECW".

What the press release does mention is that the print version is still planned, and it also goes into detail about what the online version will be up to. This includes something I'm really excited about, an online archive of all the old issues. Here it is, straight from the horse's mouth:

As 2009 began approaching, familiar names like Jason, Michael (and soon Freddy!) began to stalk cinemas once more. On the eve of FANGORIA's 30th Anniversary, Fango President Tom DeFeo and V.P. Scott Licina decided it was time to unearth the past and give new life to a fallen friend.

On January 1st, 2009 it was announced that the original GOREZONE® was coming back, not only with a digital archive of the original run - but as an all-new print magazine. After months of planning, the curtain is ready to rise on the new GOREZONE®, beginning with this website.

Many of your favorite features will be returning, along with some new blood. If you think of Fango as the PLAYBOY of horror, GZ is like SWANK.

I've never heard of "Swank", but it makes me feel kind of dirty just thinking about it. Based on that decidedly tasteless banner ad at the top of the site, it looks like Fangoria has finally grown the pair of balls they've been missing for the last 15 years or so. It's sort of a shame they needed a whole new label to do so, but hey, more horror is great in my book so I'm not complaining. So, check out the new site, and be sure I'll be keeping my eyes open for the new print edition. Feel free to share your own GOREZONE memories in the comments.

Eric N

Co-Founder / Editor-in-Chief / Podcast Host

Eric is the mad scientist behind the BGH podcast. He enjoys retro games, tiny dogs, eating fiber and anything whimsical.