March 1 1974 – Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein (both directed by Andy Warhol) released theatrically
March 2 1933 – King Kong released theatrically
March 3 2000 – Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness released on the Nintendo 64 in Europe 2004 – Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital premieres on television
March 4 1922 – Nosferatu released theatrically 1965 – Paul W. S. Anderson (director of several horror films) born 1999 – Silent Hill released on the PlayStation in Japan
March 5 1943 – Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man released theatrically 1954 – Creature from the Black Lagoon released theatrically
March 6
March 7 1946 – The Mask of Diijon released theatrically 2003 – Resident Evil 0 released on the Nintendo GameCube in Europe
A newcomer to a fancy ballet academy gradually comes to realize that the staff of the school are actually a coven of witches bent on chaos and destruction.
February 15 1954 – Don Coscarelli (director of the Phantasm series of films) born 2003 – House of the Dead released theatrically
February 16
February 17 1959 – House on Haunted Hill (1959) released theatrically 2006 – Castlevania: Curse of Darkness released on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in Europe
February 18 2000 – Resident Evil 3: Nemesis released for the PlayStation in Europe
February 19 1968 – Hour of the Wolf released theatrically 1970 – The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo) released theatrically in Italy 1993 – Army of Darkness released theatrically
February 20 1932 – Freaks released theatrically 2004 – Castlevania: Lament of Innocence released on the PlayStation 2 in Australia
February 21 1986 – The Hitcher released theatrically
Tonight's feature is Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), directed by Steve Miner. The cast includes Amy Steele, John Furey, Adrienne King, and Kirsten Baker.
SPOILER ALERT
Two months after the events of the original Friday the 13th, Alice (Adrienne King), the lone survivor of Mrs. Vorhees' killing spree, meets a grisly end in her city apartment.
Five years later, a new group of co-eds converges near Camp Crystal Lake, scene of the original massacre and the drowning of Jason Vorhees that preceded it.
This time around, the horny collegians attend a nearby training school for camp counselors. As half the group parties in town, an unseen assailant picks off the other half one by one. Only when camp leader Paul (John Furey) and his girlfriend, Ginny (Amy Steel), return to camp do they uncover the identity of their stalker -- none other than Jason (Warrington Gillette) himself, alive but grotesquely deformed as a result of his childhood drowning.
Flashbacks chronicle Jason's behind-the-scenes activities in the first film (perhaps explaining how his mother was able to throw the dead bodies of muscular youths through windows with such apparent ease). The young couple's only hope to defeat the fiend lies in psych major Ginny's insights in Jason's mental state. Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Here's the trailer (scroll down for the full movie):
In this look back at one of the most resilient slashers in horror film history, host Tom Savini reflects on thirty years of bloody carnage and gory mayhem as waged by Jason Vorhees, the hockey-masked mama's boy who always gets his victim, no matter how fast they run. Filled with classic clips from every Friday the 13th film, featuring rare behind-the-scenes footage, and offering interviews with over eighty filmmakers, fans, stuntmen, special effects artists, actors, and journalists, this documentary offers the definitive look at the legacy of a killer who never needs to utter a word, because his trusty machete does all the talking. Featured interviewees include, Kane Hodder, Harry Manfredini, Sean Cunningham, Betsy Palmer, Felissa Rose, Lar Park-Lincoln, Greg Nicotero, Adrienne King, Seth Green, and Fangoria editor-in-chief Tony Timpone. Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Zeitghost Media has just provided an exclusive viral video (released today) as a prelude to the forthcoming February 17 release of the novel Hater, a thriller written by David Moody.
REMAIN CALM DO NOT PANIC TAKE SHELTER WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS THE SITUATION IS UNDER CONTROL Society is rocked by a sudden increase in the number of violent assaults on individuals. Christened 'Haters' by the media, the attackers strike without warning, killing all who cross their path. The assaults are brutal, remorseless and extreme: within seconds, normally rational, self-controlled people become frenzied, vicious killers. There are no apparent links as a hundred random attacks become a thousand, then hundreds of thousands. Everyone, irrespective of gender, age, race or any other difference, has the potential to become a victim - or a Hater. People are afraid to go to work, afraid to leave their homes and, increasingly, afraid that at any moment their friends, even their closest family, could turn on them with ultra violent intent. Waking up each morning, no matter how well defended, everyone must now consider the fact that by the end of the day, they might be dead. Or perhaps worse, become a killer themselves. As the status quo shifts, ATTACK FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER becomes the order of the day... only, the answers might be much different than what you expect....
In the tradition of H. G. Wells and Richard Matheson, Hater is one man’s story of his place in a world gone mad— a world infected with fear, violence, and HATE.
EXCERPT
Chapter One
LUNATIC. BLOODY HELL, I’VE seen some things happen in this town before but never anything like that. That was disgusting. That made me feel sick. Christ, he came out of nowhere and she didn’t stand a chance, poor old woman. He’s in the middle of the crowd now. He’s outnumbered fifty to one and yet he’s still trying to fight. This place is full of crazy people. View Entire Excerpt
On this day in 1996, the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue became the first machine to win a chess game against a reigning world champion, Garry Kasparov, under regular time controls (see Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1996, Game 1 for a description of the game).
However, Kasparov won three games and drew two of the following games, beating Deep Blue by a score of 4–2. The match concluded on February 17, 1996.
Deep Blue was then heavily upgraded (unofficially nicknamed "Deeper Blue") and played Kasparov again in May 1997, winning the six-game rematch 3½–2½, ending on May 11, and becoming the first computer system to defeat a reigning world champion in a match under standard chess tournament time controls.
Here's the clip from War Games (1983) with another supercomputer that liked to play chess (and other games):
