Leading the pack in their onslaught on theatres in 2010, werewolves are poised to strike with a remake of The Wolfman. One of Universal’s most iconic horror films, The Wolfman is the latest in a string of horror movies that are reaching back into the catalog for ideas to splash up onto the silver screen.

It seems that there are a few subtle differences in the new Wolfman flick to differentiate it from the 1941 classic starring Lon Chaney, Jr. For starters, Benecio Del Toro has been cast in the role of Lawrence Talbot. The reluctant werewolf no longer goes by the more easily accessible “Larry” Talbot as he did in the original. Nope. This time around, the filmmakers decided to nix the (more interesting and less explored) post-WWI time period in favor of the Victorian era. (Which has been done to death already, pardon the pun.) Stepping into Claude Raines’ role as Larry… err… “Lawrence”’s father is Sir Anthony Hopkins. A gander at the trailer reveals the elder Talbot to be less sympathetic to his son’s rather hairy predicament than Raines’ interpretation in the original yielded.

Check out the “Before” and “After” transformation of Del Toro’s character in makeup:

The new remake of The Wolfman is slated for a February 10, 2010 release. If your curiosity has been piqued, you can check out the trailer for The Wolfman here.

Start stocking up now on some werewolf costumes and masks of your own and start combining them with some Victorian duds to craft your own look well in advance of 2010. Gypsy costumes may also find themselves on the rise as well. After all, who else is going to tell the big hairy guy that even a man who is pure of heart isn’t quite safe from a need for some serious man-scaping once the wolfsbane blooms?

As evidenced by the trailer, you can count on lots of action and lots of explosions, particularly since Michael Bay (Transformers) is a producer. Plus, you get to see a pre-fricassee Freddy as Springfield’s least favorite son/child killer tries to outrun the angry vigilante mob of parents. It makes his post-burn transformation all the more startling.

See for yourself and check out the new trailer here:
http://www.nightmareonelmstreet.com/

A screen capture (lightened up for easier viewing of Freddy’s new look) from the trailer shows a more realistic face of Krueger’s disfiguring burns than the ones previously sported by Robert Englund under the prosthetic makeup:

While no new Freddy Krueger masks are available this Halloween for the Jackie Earle Haley-style makeup, old school versions of this horror favorite based on Robert Englund’s original interpretation are available. Put on Freddy’s fedora and glove for yourself and realize the stuff bad dreams are made of! Ladies can even get in on the act with a Female Freddy costume with a striped sweater dress, fedora, and glove.

Attempting to solidify zombies’ status is the release of the upcoming film, Zombieland starring Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, and Jesse Eisenberg, due in theatres on October 2, 2009. Zombieland takes place where most zombie films do, in a post-apocalyptic sort of world which has been rendered to this state thanks to a freak occurrence of zombies running amok. The two men who find themselves as survivors in this zombie-populated world include Eisenberg as the wimpy Columbus who survives through fear and Harrelson as Tallahasse, a machine gun carrying bad ass who not only wants to survive, but get his hands on the last Twinkie in existence — a noble cause if there ever was one. Promising to be part comedy, part horror, Zombieland may be the American equivalent to the brilliantly hilarious British Shawn of the Dead a few years back.

With Zombieland’s release weeks before Halloween, this may inject a dose of fresh blood into creative costume ideas. Nearly any costume you can think of can be zombiefied. Michael Jackson, already a popular costume idea can be zombiefied with just a dab of blood:

Or, even a simple businessman costume can be shredded and spattered with blood:

Grab some white cream makeup, grey cream makeup, and a lot of fake blood to create your own unique zombie look to whatever costume idea you have in mind!

The horror is returning to film with the classic Halloween plot. John Carpenter created Halloween in 1978, and Hollywood keeps bringing back the concept. Halloween was set in a suburban town of Haddonfield, Illinois. The bad guy was Michael Myers, someone bent on killing everyone, especially Jamie Lee Curtis’ character. In the original Myers was killing teenagers once he broke out of a psychiatric ward of the local hospital. In 2007 Halloween returned to the screen as a remake or reimagining. It was produced and directed by Rob Zombie.

As with the original film the latest instalment is going to be a remake. Halloween II which is set to release on August 282009 will be a remake of the original sequel. The plot will take us right back to where the first film left off. Laurie is taken to the hospital after supposedly killing the person responsible for the deaths in Haddonfield. Unfortunately Michael Myers is still out there.

He is still very dangerous and even though he tried to have a reunion with his baby sister things didn’t work out for him. Instead Laurie is removed and now Michael is trying to find her all over again. He is pretty close to the hospital as he begins his Halloween rampage again. The overall idea is that Michael wants his sister all to himself.

You will have to wait and see how Rob Zombie takes this sequel for only a few more weeks. Will the sequel be as captivating as the first movie? Can Rob Zombie come close to the original directed by Wes Craven? You be the judge as you pick up your Michael Myers costume for the movie. The white mask is back with the dark and deadly black shirts and pants. Don’t forget your fake knife as you head out to scare everyone at the theatre.

Among some of the luminaries in attendence, signing autographs and speaking at fan Q&A panels about their upcoming projects included Johnny Depp, Seth Rogen, Megan Fox, and Robert Downey, Jr.

Celebs aren’t the only reason fans turn out. Artists and comic book writers are also on hand, signing limited edition prints and items. Some of the panel discussions at SDCC 2009 included “How to get a job in the video game industry,” a Writer’s Guild panel on the changing face of animation and its PG-13 status (Seth McFarlane also put in an appearance talking about the behind-the-scenes fun on the set of the Family Guy ), and symposiums a-plenty! Additionally, action figure enthusiasts can get their mitts on limited-edition toys and t-shirts.

Not limited to just these attractions, the booths and displays at SDCC with costumes and artifacts from films like Star Wars and art inspired by cult films.

And of course, there are the costumes! Fans turn out in droves and part of the fun is playing dress-up in homemade, store-bought costumes that range from good, bad, and plain ugly. Still, it’s all in good fun and you’d be surprised at how good — or even imaginative — some of these SDCC fan costumes are! Here’s a random sampling of some of the more unique ones:

A sexy, stylized version of Pandora from Death Jr.

The Green Cadet from Star Trek

Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow costumes from the upcoming G.I. Joe movie.

Female bounty hunter Zam Wessell and a Biker Scout from Star Wars

And of course, zombies were big this year. Check out these two zombie-fied girls…. And Zombie Michael Jackson… Sure to be a big DIY hit this Halloween!

The Ghostbusters are celebrating their silver anniversary this year. The 1984 comedy cult classic starred an ensemble cast bringing the quirky paranormal experts/scientists to life including Bill Murray as the snarky womanizer, Peter Venkman; Dan Akroyd as the brainy yet naive Ray Stantz, Ernie Hudson as the no-nonsense hired gun Winston Zedmore; and Harold Ramis as the strictly scientific Egon Spengler.

2009 proposes to be the Year of the Ghostbuster with a 25th anniversary edition of the film being released on DVD and Blu Ray on June 16th and Atari’s Ghostbusters: The Video Game released on the same day. The premise of the video game is that New York is haunted once again and the Ghostbusters are taking on new recruits. The player gets to insert themself into the game as the newest member of the Ghostbusters’ team. A trailer for the game can be found here.

As a tie-in to the game, fans can send in their “video resumes” as to why they shoud be the new recruit for the Ghostbusters’ team. If you think you’ve got the stuff to wield a proton pack and collect gooey ectoplasm (”Great, Egon… Someone blows their nose and you want to keep it!) for paranormal studies, you can submit your video here: www.GhostbustersIsHiring.com

Additionally, a new film, Ghostbusters III has been proposed and is in the works. Dan Akroyd confirmed this and said the original cast will be reunited for the third installment. Although nothing is concrete yet, the Akroyd said he hopes that the film features an all-girl team of Ghostbusters for the older, male team to pass the torch to. Nothing is carved in stone yet, but we’ll keep you up to speed on developing details.

Til then, perfect your skills and get in uniform with a Ghostbusters costumes with officially licensed jumpsuits in shades of grey and tan, just like the ones worn by Venkman, Stanz, Spengler, and Zedmore. And even if the new crew of Ghostbusters are female, we’ve got you covered there, too with specially designed ladies’ Ghostbusters costumes with a sexy flair in a short jumpsuit style!

Whether or not Ray Parker, Jr. will be reviving his career with a new rendition of the classic theme song is still yet to be uncovered. Until then… “Who ya gonna cal!?”

All’s been quiet on the Western front, as of late, regarding new movies coming out for 2010. Right now, fans are buzzing about movies still to come this summer, such as Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe. Still, we’ve seen the trailers for these films about 1,000 times already, salivating until we can get our mitts on some tickets at the box office in just a few weeks.

So, once summer’s gone and we’ve snapped up today’s top box office draws on DVD… What do fans have to look forward to? Comic book fans, Western afficionados and horror mavens will be chomping at the bit to check out the big screen adaptation of Jonah Hex in theatres come August 2010.

A lesser-known title with a cult following, Jonah Hex was released under the DC Comics banner in 1977 afte making his first appearance in 1972. The comic disappeared for some time before making a return under DC’s adult-oriented Vertigo imprint in 2005. The comic follows the adventures of hideously scarred former Confederate soldier, Jonah Hex, who was sold by his father to the Apache Indians in return for safe passage. Years later following the death of his wife-to-be, Hex engages in a tribal tomahawk ritual battle and breaks the rules. As punishment, a red hot axe is placed to one side of his face, giving him the distinctive facial injuries he bears for the run of the series.

The new Jonah Hex film of 2010 stars Josh Brolin as the title character, a bounty hunter in the Old West fixin’ to take out a Voodoo practitioner attempting to raise an army of zombies to try to resurrect the Confederacy. Other big names in the film include Megan Fox and John Malkovich.

So far, no photos of star Josh Brolin in makeup as the disfigured Hex have surfaced, but Megan Fox has been rocking a sexy saloon girl outfit for the film.

Get the jump on hot costumes for next year and take a look at some saloon girl costumes, along with some zombie and cowboy looks.

As soon as we find some pics of Jonah Hex as he’ll appear on the big screen, we’ll be sure to post them… Along with some ideas on how you, too, can duplicate his unique look without having to incur the wrath of a tribal elder!

Zombie’s first crack at a Halloween revamp put a new twist on the legend of Michael Myers, exploring the killer’s origin as a disturbed youth who grew up in an abusive home, fostering these psychopathic tendencies. The premise behind the next installment in the series supposedly tackles what happens to the mental state of one of Michael’s surviving victims after her entire family was brutally murdered by Myers.

Major players in the cast from the Rob Zombie’s first Halloween are returning for H2, including Tyler Mane as the monstrous Michael Myers, legendary Terrence Stamp as psychologist Dr. Loomis, and Zombie’s wife, Sheri Moon Zombie as Michael’s mother.

You can check out the trailer for H2: Halloween 2 here.

With H2:Halloween 2 slated for an August release, it’s a good sign that Halloween is just around the corner. With all of the big-screen bad guys like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees hitting the screen with remakes of their classic horror films, so far, Michael Myers is the first one of ’80s Horror’s “Big Three” to get a sequel.

It’ll be interesting to see which one of “The Big Three” will emerge victorious this Halloween in the battle for costume merchandising. If Michael Myers is your man, show some love to the big, hulking, psychopathic lug with Michael Myers costumes and accessories. Or… Pay homage to the remake’s director and the twisted mind behind the Devil’s Rejects, Rob Zombie with costumes based on the rocker/director’s likeness.

Fear not, though! Fangoria magazine’s Weekend of Horrors is hitting both the East coast and West coast to fill that ghastly gap for film fiends. In honor of Fangoria’s 30 years of keeping horror fans en-grossed with the lastest news and crapping their pants, the magazine is celebrating in grand guignol scary style!

The West Coast stop on the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors tour will be held at the Los Angeles Convention center in Los Angeles, CA spanning April 17th to April 19th, 2009. Among some of the scheduled guests include Hellboy’s Ron Perlman, Doug “Pinhead” Bradley from Hellraiser along with the franchise’s author/director, Clive Barker. Brad Douriff — the voice behind Child’s Play’s Chucky will be appearing along with Ogre and Bill Mosely, both of Repo!: The Genetic Opera. For more info on the L.A. date, check here for more details.

If you’re not on the West coast, then no need to worry since Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors will be stopping by the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on West 34th St. in NYC on June 5th through June 7th, 2009. Among some of the notable guests scheduled to appear are Doug Bradley and Tony “Candyman” Todd, horror directors Dario Argento and Tobe Hooper, and James Marsters — formerly of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and who will soon be seen as Lord Piccolo in the live-action film version of Dragonball. More details can be found here.

Tickets are available in advance and at the door for both events.

If you’re going, why not get dressed up and really get into the festivities. Pay homage to some of the guests of honor with costumes depicting their freaky film incarnations… Or just dress as your favorite horror icon of your own choosing. It’s a long way between now and Halloween, so don’t pass up a chance to get your costumed kicks in!

Camp Crystal Lake’s favorite slasher, Jason Voorhees is back and bloodier than ever! The latest classic horror film to receive the remake treatment, Friday the 13th takes horror fans back to the beginning to relaunch the reign of terror of the hockey-masked horror! The premise follows the supposed death of a woman’s son at Camp Crystal Lake and the paralleling story of a brother in search for his missing sister. Along the way, a lot of blood and tears are shed… Well, a lot more blood than tears! Check out the trailer for the film here.

Horror buffs and costume enthusiasts looking for something fresh to dig up for this Halloween or their next costume party will love the variety of mask options that Jay-Vo seems to parade around wearing throughout the film, as indicated by the trailer. This time around, Jason runs amok not just with his iconic hockey mask, but also showing his frightening visage as he goes to town on some hapless teens. He also pulls off the simple, yet scary “bloody burlap bag over-the-head” look, too.

Choose from classic Friday the 13th masks, like the Deluxe Jason Voorhees Mask which features the one-two punch of Jason’s signature hockey mask that can be removed to reveal a high quality latex mask modeled after Jason’s gruesome face unmasked. Yuck!

Although an officially licensed mask featuring Jason’s new/old “bag over the head” look hasn’t been release yet, maybe we’ll all get lucky and see one released around Halloween!