Synopsis: Three volunteers are tormented by their most primal fears when a medical trial for a new anti-anxiety medication goes awry.

Tagline: A prescription for terror

Starring Rachael Drummond, Andy Hoff, Dana LaRue and Bryan Van Huis.

Produced by Christina Colligan.

See WellToldTales.com/SideEffects for complete cast and crew.

Explicit: senseless violence, gratuitous blood and salty language

A relationship between a low-life funeral director and a malevolent spirit turns messy … very, very messy.

Explicit language, violence and sexuality.

It costs US$80 or US$160 for couples … so maybe I’ll wait to get my wedding photo zombified for my anniversary this fall.

Decisions, decisions.

Link >

Also check out Rob’s free zombie comic “Fearless Frankie” (PDF)

Case in point: Fox just released the poster for “The Day The Earth Stood Still,” which is due for a mid-December release.  I enjoyed Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds” (buy) remake (well, up until the dreadfully schmaltzy ending), but I’m not sure I want to see Klaatu and Gort get an extreme CG make-over.

And the trend seems to be accelerating both in sheer volume and in speed.  “The Hulk” was a fun popcorn flick, but re-imagining a five-year-old film is a little crazy.  How far off are we from annual do-overs?

And if you Google any successful ’80s or ’90s genre film, there’s a good chance a remake is in the works, on the drawing board, rumored to be on the drawing board or is at least being discussed.

Given this frenzy of remakes and the slew of movie sequels (I won’t even get started on that topic), a lot of people conclude that Hollywood is simply out of ideas.

I don’t buy that.

In a Hero-With-a Thousand-Faces sense, yes, storytellers are always recycling.  But there are tons of new ideas and approaches out there (and, hopefully, a few here at Well Told Tales.) What’s lacking, IMHO, is the guts on the part of the movie studios to bet large sums of money on fresh stories.

Given media consolidation and the huge cost to create and market studio feature films, that’s unlikely to change any time soon.  But at least that — and  the new digital technology — gives independent filmmakers a chance to make their mark and gain an audience by creating new, original stories.

Hopefully, they’ll seize that opportunity.

And hopefully, the studio remakes won’t suck too much.

Many of those radio plays are available free online. You can check out Orson Welle’s infamous War of the World’s broadcast, a version of Shirley Jackson’s eerie story The Lottery, or choose from a variety of classic Vincent Price radio shows.

There are numerous websites that offer free downloads of old-time radio shows including www.radiolovers.com and www.oldtimeradiofans.com.

The drifter has become forever trapped in the fifth and final chapter of this spoken word/music collaboration.

Previous chapters: 1 |  2 |  3 |  4

The L.A. Times has a nice photo gallery of his creations. I particularly loved his work on John Carpenter’s “The Thing” — which I think represents the high-water mark of pre-CGI special effects.

Billed as “the greatest pulp science-fiction adventure of our time,” the preview certainly looks promising.

From Dwight’s posting: “In this thrilling premier episode, a government scientist receives a startling transmission of extraterrestrial origin, a promising college student makes a terrifying discovery, and a group of deep space explorers encounters a shocking nemesis at the outer limits of our galaxy!”

I dig the retro, EC Comic-inspired cover.

Check out the preview >

A young girl with an interest in astronomy gets — and gives — one hell of a sunburn.

Explicit: language and violence

The drifter lands a job — but quickly regrets his decision — in the fourth chapter of this spoken word/music collaboration.

The fifth and final chapter will be released next Wednesday.

And on July 13, a brand-new paperback edition of “Brave Men Run” — which is about the “Sovereign Era,” when people with super physical and psychic powers suddenly appear — will be released by Swarm Press.

Selznick will celebrate with a day-long streaming video “web-a-thon” — with hourly updates and special book-related content — to help propel the book to the top of the Amazon.com charts.

We always like to see podcast authors do well in print (see Scott Sigler), so we’ll be tuning in and plunking down to buy the paperback.

Check Matt’s site for more info.

But I just stumbled across this promising new site, scripped.com, which provides wannabe screenwriters another (free!) option — a secure, online application to write their script — and I think I may give it a try.

The interface and formatting seem pretty good from my quick spin through the app. I do get a bit hinky about not having my script files on my local computer, but l have fully embraced a bunch of Google apps and it would be nice to access my script from anywhere on any computer.

I’ll let you know how it goes, and if anyone has any experience with scripped.com, let us know what you think.

(And no, this is not an ad. I don’t know anyone from scripped.com and Well Told Tales doesn’t endorse any product … except maybe the iPhone if Steve Jobs want to ship us a case of unlocked 16GB freebies.)

‘The Monster’

Written by Eric Sandler.

The boy lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He pushed back the covers, breathing hard. Beneath the bed, the monster lurked, hiding. Waiting for him to close his eyes. The boy could hear it, slithering about, even over the noise Mommy and Daddy made.

They were yelling. The boy had heard it every night, for days now. He didn’t understand what the yelling was about. Daddy was always angry with Mommy, and Mommy was angry with Daddy. But the monster didn’t care. The monster wanted to eat the boy. To gobble him up. The boy had barely slept the past two weeks because of the monster.

He heard it. Heard it creeping, sneaking, crawling, pacing around beneath his bed.

Mommy and Daddy didn’t believe him. They said there was no such thing as monsters. They showed him his closet. Empty. They peered under the bed and made him look. Empty. But he knew better. The monster was real. He’d seen it, stared at its claws, its fangs, gleaming in the moonlight. Heard it growling and snapping for the meal he’d make.

The monster was there tonight, under his bed. Lying, rumbling, waiting. Every night the boy thought he would never sleep, would never wake again. Every morning he woke covered in sweat, his pajamas soaked in it.

More yelling from Mommy’s and Daddy’s room. Mommy called Daddy a bad word. The boy didn’t know what it meant, but when he’d repeated it one morning, Daddy had hit him and told him never to say it again. He never did.

The monster rose on its hind legs, gripping the sheets with its claws. The boy lay very still. He didn’t scream. Screaming only made it more hungry.

“You want to eat me,” said the boy.

A growl. The monster was happy. Tonight it would get to eat.

“You can’t eat me,” said the boy, almost feverish in his courage. For he had come up with a plan, two nights ago, lying awake waiting to be eaten. He’d made a plan, and it would fix everything. “You can’t eat me,” he said again. “But you can eat Mommy and Daddy.”

The boy stared at the ceiling, waiting for an answer. The claws disappeared from the bed. A shadow slithered through the moonlight. The bedroom door, left open mere inches to let in the hall light, didn’t move a whisper.

The monster was hungry.

The boy lay there in bed, tired, unafraid. Mommy and Daddy were still yelling. Mommy called Daddy another bad word. Daddy shouted something awful. Something broke. It sounded like glass. Mommy screamed. He heard thumps from Mommy’s and Daddy’s bedroom. More screaming.

Silence. Finally, silence. The monster had eaten its fill.

The boy smiled, pulled up the covers. He rolled over and went to sleep.

A lonely prostitute warns the drifter about a “monster” in the third chapter of this spoken word/music collaboration.

New chapters will be released each Wednesday.

A shadowy band of criminals implement their own brand of population control.

Explicit: language and violence

You may have seen the very cool “Walt Disney” short comic on our site. Now here it is in PDF format for our podcast subscribers.

Thanks again, to Anthony and Matt.

Not true.

In the mind-bending “Walt Disney” short comic, Matt Zitron and Anthony Hope-Smith touch on that urban legend before delving into one of the darker possibilities awaiting a man who opted to become a human popsicle with hopes of immortality.

A big thanks to Matt and Anthony (check his art blog) for letting us run the comic in its entirety (after the jump.)

Episodes from the first three seasons of the greatest series to ever grace television are now available for your streaming pleasure at CBS.com.

Everyone has their favorites — and I would have to think long and hard to pick my top 10 — but here are a few on my to-watch (again) list over the next few days:

• Time Enough At Last (Too bad he didn’t have audio stories)
• I Shot An Arrow Into The Air
• Shadow Play
• The Howling Man

A world-weary barkeep has a warning for the drifter in the second chapter of this spoken word/music collaboration. Chapter 2 of 5.

New chapters will be released each Wednesday.

And it just so happens that Parsec nominations are now open.

So, um, if you like us — if you really like us — it wouldn’t hurt to click on over to their site and nominate Well Told Tales for the Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast award and/or the Best Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form) (mention your particular favorite story in the comments.)

It’s not like we’re clearing space in front of our big picture window for a major award or anything. It would be an honor just to be nominated.

Enjoy this profanity-laced promo from podcast novel big-shots Scott Sigler and J.C. Hutchins:
Play promo (warning: explicit)

Damn! And I just recorded my dog chasing a flashlight beam over the tape of my neighbor-lady Mrs. Nonnemacher gnawing on the postman.

Find more videos like this on Lost Zombies

You’ve no-doubt got all the Well Told Tales audio stories stockpiled already (right?  right?)  And there are some other swell short story podcasts like the Drabblecast, Variant Frequencies, Escape Pod and Pseudopod.

But if you’ve got an extra long drive/flight/train ride to the beach/grandma’s house/wherever, you may want something longer — a full-fledged audiobook.

Fortunately, Seth over at the Free Listens blog has some suggestions for you, including selections for fans of blockbuster action, light comedy, variety and for travelers with kids.

If none of them suit your fancy, head over to Podiobooks.com and choose something else.

Happy motoring!

The series will feature 13 — of course — episodes or “mini-movies” as the Peacock prefers to call them. And they’ve lined up some solid creative types, like directors John Landis (”An American Werewolf in London”) and Brad Anderson (“The Machinist” — an excellent flick, btw), writer Steve Niles (”30 Days of Night”) and actor Brandon Routh (”Superman Returns.”)

“Fear Itself” is executive produced by Keith Addis and Andrew Deane — those are the guys who brought you Showtime’s “Master’s of Horror” series, so they should be able to deliver the goods.

In this spoken word/music collaboration, a train-jumping drifter gets dumped in an ominous desert town. Chapter 1 of 5.

New chapters will be released each Wednesday.

I think Shyamalan is a helluva filmmaker. Yes, his last few flicks have been subpar, but after raising our expectations so high with “The Sixth Sense,” it was easy for fans and critics to be disappointed.

The “red band” (ie: under 17 not admitted) trailer gives me hope that Shyamalan is back at the top of his game. Enjoy:

If you’re an honest youngster, fear not, IGN.com and Apple (among others) have the PG-rated trailer as well.

(As you probably know, the Hugo Awards honor the best science fiction or fantasy works of the year.)

Or if you prefer listening to reading, head on over to Escape Pod for audio podcast editions of four of the five nominated short stories.

Escape Pod has traditionally podcast the Hugo short story nominees, so you can also dig through their archives for past honorees. Nice!

Happy reading/listening.

Link >

If you haven’t heard Sigler’s work before, head over to his site ScottSigler.com and sample his audio podcast.  My fave is his “Infected” podcast novel, which has since found a print publisher and become a bestseller.

Some good news for fans of Sigler’s podcasts: Even with the print success of “Infected,” he will keep distributing his fiction for free via his podcast … which only makes sense, since “Infected” was a big hit as an audio podcast before publisher Crown scooped him up.

Link >

Favreau discusses how “Iron Man” — like all his films, including “Swingers,” “Elf” and “Made” — are modeled on the Joseph Campbell archetypes famously detailed in the book “The Hero With a Thousand Faces.”

“You need a roadmap,” opines Favreau, “and why not pick the best roadmap there is?”

Explosions also help.

“The Treatment” is one of my go-to podcasts. If you’re a screenwriter or filmmaker, you’ll probably enjoy it as well.

Link >

Rachael is an excellent dramatic actor. But she’s also very funny.

She’s a member of the Trophy Wife improv group at IO West and has been getting a lot of buzz (The Atlantic, AOL News) recently for her Hillary Clinton rap videos, which caught the attention of TruTV producers.

Congrats, Rachael!

Here’s one of her Hillary rap video:

Andy is a consummate pro. So we’re thrilled to see him do well.

Congrats, Andy!

Here’s the episode description on the CBS Web site:

The team searches for five people who are abducted at the same time from a coffee shop.

And a sneak preview:

Issue # 25, which leads the site now, kicks off with “Faith-Based Initiative,” a story about a wronged priest and some Salvadorans looking for payback in scenic Asbury Park, N.J. (the blighted former tourist attraction, now famous for Bruce Springsteen, the Stone Pony music club and its crumbling ocean-front boardwalk.)

And the intensity ramps up from there with stories featuring assorted low-lifes, cons and, well, thugs, all told with an over-the-top style and unhealthy helpings of sex and violence.

Beware, this is not for the kiddies or faint of heart. But it certainly hits the spot if you’re on the lookout for 100-proof pulp, straight, with no chaser.

A couple of my favorite lines from the latest issue:
“Janis had something special and I’m not just talking about her industrial-strength rack and bear-trap thighs.”
– Mahogany & Monogamy by Jedidiah Ayres

“Trench studied the scrimshawed creases her makeup couldn’t conceal and figured her for an over-the-hill harlot or round-heel hophead, worn down to this sad sack of bones in a measly dress.”
– The Grind by Randy Chandler

Link >

There was a remake of John Carpenter’s 1978 classic “Halloween” released last year, so it’s only fitting that a do-over of the copycat 1980 “Friday the 13th” film is currently in production.

Producer Brad Fuller is blogging about the new 13th over on the blog for Platinum Dunes, the Michael Bay production company which also brought us the re-imagined Texas Chainsaw Massacre series.

There’s not much about the movie up yet — the first on-set photo features a Crystal Lake police car (yikes!) — but more pix, video interviews and the like are promised if you’re into that sort of thing.

Link to Platinum Dunes blog >

But this “Star Wars” remix starring Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton was too funny not to share.

We promise — we’ll leave politics to the Huffington and Wonkette crowd from now on.

Bonus link: Snake Plissken “I Don’t Give a F*** About Your President” T-shirts from Bonaroo

I always enjoy finding good ones, so I’m glad someone tipped me off to this stylish, spooky horror short written and directed by Jacob Swanson.

More options at Vimeo.com.

Link >

Chime in on the comments section if you think we missed someone.

Happy Mother’s Day!

10. “Pamela Voorhees” (Betsy Palmer) from “Friday the 13th”

Pamela was not above slapping around promiscuous camp counselors who wronged her hockey mask-wearing boy, “Jason,” as you can see in the clip below, from 1980’s “Friday the 13th”. Murder, of course, is also in her repertoire.

Though she played such a devoted on-screen mother, her reaction to the script when she was first offered the role was a bit less-than-devoted: “What a piece of junk! Nobody is ever going to see this piece of crap.” (So says Wikipedia, at least.)

9. “Rosemary Woodhouse” (Mia Farrow) from “Rosemary’s Baby”

Poor Rosemary had a hellish pregnancy in this 1968 classic, written and directed by Roman Polanski and based on the novel by Ira Levin. And despite the intrusion of elderly, satan-worshipping neighbors and her child’s questionable paternity, Rosemary did sing a heckuva lullaby.

8. “Vernita Green” (Vivica A. Fox) from “Kill Bill: Vol. 1″

It’s tough to be a working mom, as illustrated by “Vernita Green” (Vivica A. Fox) in the 2003 Quentin Tarantino flick, “Kill Bill: Vol. 1″. During a fight to the death with “The Bride” (Uma Thurman), a school bus pulls up to drop off Vernita’s young daughter. Awkard!

7. “Diane Freeling” (Jobeth Williams) from “Poltergeist”

Diane dances on the ceiling, swims with skeletons (real, btw) in the muddy hole that was her unfinished swimming pool and goes through a portal to the spirit world for the sake of her kids in this 1982 film, directed by Tobe Hooper and co-written by Stephen Spielberg.

And she looks good in a football jersey doing it all.

6. “Wendy Torrance” (Shelley Duvall) from “The Shining”

Jack Nicholson (deservedly) garners loads of accolades for his portrayal of “Jack Torrance” in 1980’s “The Shining.” But no one does blubbering/terrified better than Shelley Duvall, as evidenced by the clip below. Author Stephen King is no fan of the movie that Stanley Kubrick made based on his novel … but he might be the only one who isn’t.

5. “Sarah Connor” (Linda Hamilton) in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”

Sure, her kid was a delinquent in foster care. But you can’t blame mom for that — she was locked up in a loony bin after her “Terminator” hijinks.

When her boy gets into life-threatening trouble, Sarah comes through like nobody’s business. And, man, is she buff.

4. “Mrs. Bates” from “Psycho”

A boy’s best friend is his mother. So says “Norman Bates” (Anthony Perkins) in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 classic “Psycho.” Maybe he’s right, but when a grown man starts sharing housedresses with mom, it’s probably time for a check-up from the neck up (or at least an express check-out for the guests at the Bates Motel.)

3. “Margaret White” (Piper Laurie) from “Carrie”

Sure, nowadays, mothers know that advice like “They’re all going to laugh at you!” is not healthy for a child’s esteem. But “Carrie,” the 1976 film directed by Brian DePalma and based on Stephen King’s novel, was from a different era. Magaret was simply trying to keep her daughter “Carrie” (Sissy Spacek) out of hell.

Some other fun Margaret White quotes (from the IMDB):
Margaret White: Carrie, you haven’t touched your apple cake.
Carrie: It gives me pimples, Mama.
Margaret White: Pimples are the Lord’s way of chastising you.

…

Margaret White: I can see your dirty pillows. Everyone will.
Carrie: Breasts, Mama. They’re called breasts, and every woman has them.

…

Margaret White: I should’ve killed myself when he put it in me. After the first time, before we were married, Ralph promised never again. He promised, and I believed him. But sin never dies. Sin never dies. At first, it was all right. We lived sinlessly. We slept in the same bed, but we never did it. And then, that night, I saw him looking down at me that way. We got down on our knees to pray for strength. I smelled the whiskey on his breath. Then he took me. He took me, with the stink of filthy roadhouse whiskey on his breath, and I liked it. I liked it! With all that dirty touching of his hands all over me. I should’ve given you to God when you were born, but I was weak and backsliding, and now the devil has come home. We’ll pray.

2. “Ma Jarrett” (Margaret Wycherly) from “White Heat”

Ma Jarrett was the doting mother and closest confidante of criminal gang leader “Cody Jarrett” (James Cagney) in the 1949 classic gangster film noir “White Heat.”

Whenever the borderline insane Cody suffered one of his migraine headaches, Ma Bailey was there to comfort him. She also helped to keep h