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Horror movie sequels often have no real connection to the original, relying on title recognition for success. Some sequels, like The Birds II and American Psycho 2, were universally panned and regretted by those involved. Zombi 2 and The Curse of the Cat People show that originality can shine, even without ties to the previous film.

Whenever a horror movie became a hit with audiences, it was easy to assume that a sequel would soon follow it, but in some instances, the follow-up movie had nothing to do with the original film. To exploit the success of the first film, a sequel-sounding title was sometimes tacked on to a movie that had a very flimsy connection to its source material. Often, the horror sequels that have nothing to do with the original movies were based on original scripts that the filmmakers or studios retroactively reconfigured to work as a sequel.

Some...

No director in Hollywood has a weirder résumé than Alan Smithee. Between 1969 and 2015, his credits included the Richard Widmark western "Death of a Gunfighter"; the horror comedies "Student Bodies" and "Ghost Fever"; the Jodie Foster thriller "Catchfire"; the franchise sequels "The Birds II: Land's End" and "Hellraiser: Bloodline"; episodes of hit TV series like "MacGyver" and "Tiny Toon Adventures"; and music videos for artists like Metallica, Destiny's Child, Wu-Tang Clan, Whitney Houston, and Jennifer Lopez.

But there's a reason for that: "Alan Smithee" is not a real person. It's a pseudonym invented by the Director's Guild of America for filmmakers to use when they no longer want to be credited for their work. This usually happens when they're replaced on a project, or believe that studio interference has altered the film so much that it no longer reflects their vision. That's why you'll sometimes see "Alan Smithee" credited on TV...

For this month’s installment of “TV Terrors” we revisit The Birds II: Land’s End, the direct-to-tv sequel to the Alfred Hitchcock classic that aired on Showtime back in 1994.

Man. The Birds II: Land’s End was a bad idea.

Even in 1994, we all knew that it was a bad idea.

Not many people remember, but back in the nineties, the Showtime cable network was heavily based in science fiction. They aired and promoted shows like “The Outer Limits,” “Poltergeist,” and “Stargate SG1,” among many others. When the time came to air The Birds II: Land’s End, it seemed like a natural fit, and the channel gave it a massive PR push, with previews, behind the scenes, and retrospectives. They even aired it alongside the original Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece. Lo and behold, when it premiered, it was greeted with a large, collective groan.

It’s not that it was a TV movie,...

Vinegar Syndrome has just announced their latest slate of releases this afternoon, with four brand new offerings headed our way from the home video label later this month. Up for pre-order Now, Vinegar Syndrome has announced The Incredible Melting Man (1977) on 4K Ultra HD, and The Birds II: Land’s End (1994) on Blu-ray for […]

The post Vinegar Syndrome’s August 2022 Lineup Includes ‘The Birds II’ and ‘The Incredible Melting Man’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Fifty years after its release (on March 28, 1963), we can't stop talking about Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." We're still terrified by it, perhaps because Hitchcock wisely avoided providing any explanation for the avian attacks on Bodega Bay. We're still fascinated by how it was made, especially because, at 83, star Tippi Hedren continues to hold forth on the pleasures and horrors of working with Hitchcock. Much of the story has been retold, in books (notably, Patrick McGilligan's "Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light") and in last year's HBO movie "The Girl." Still, as familiar as we think we are with the scary masterpiece, there's still plenty that remains a mystery -- how did Hitchcock wrangle all those birds? How did he mix live ones with pretend birds so seamlessly? And what really went on between him and Hedren? Read on to learn some of the secrets of "The Birds.

There were a couple of storylines in this week's box-office numbers. First off, the number one film, Rio, bested expectations to open with $40 million this weekend, the highest grossing opening weekend for an animated feature since Toy Story 3. Rio's box-office tally also helped this week to break the year's slump, the first weekend in quite some time that 2011 outperformed the comparable week in 2010.

Not a lot of thanks is owed to Scream 4 for that, however, as the Wes Craven sequel actually underperformed at the box office this weekend, whimpering beneath the $20 million mark with $19.2 million. That's considerable less than the openings for Scream 2 and Scream 3 (around the $32 million range) and far less than what 2009's Nightmare on Elm Street remake managed ($40 million). Even 2008's Prom Night remake managed $20 million, and it was awful, as opposed to Scream 4, which was merely disappointing in the middle (but bookended...

Oddsac, London, Manchester & Leeds

How to follow up one of the best albums of last year? Rather than release another cryptically titled psychedelic odyssey, New York uber-hipsters Animal Collective have gone even further out and made a film. Well, actually it's a "visual album", made with long-time artist collaborator Danny Perez. Four years in the making, featuring completely new music, Oddsac is a narrative-free, head-spinning vortex of abstract kaleidoscopic trippiness that, as one fan puts it, "makes Matthew Barney look like Matthew McConaughey". Confused? Perez and the band will be on hand to explain themselves.

Ica, SE1, Thu; Mint Lounge, Manchester, Fri; Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 15 May, oddsac.com

One Night In Turin, Nationwide

The summer blockbuster season is set to be called off for a few weeks this June while the World Cup hogs the nation's viewing attention instead. But to get us in the mood, and keep us in the cinema,...