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Ireland has recently become a force to be reckoned with in the horror film genre. Here’s top ten of the more recent Irish horror films: 1. Dead Meat, 2004 An infection spreads from slaughtered animals to humans, which causes the dead to rise and feed on the living. 2. Isolation, 2005 On a remote Irish farm, five people become unwilling participants in an experiment that goes nightmarishly wrong. 3. Outcast, 2010 A beast stalks a Romany girl and her mysterious Irish traveller boyfriend. 4. Wake Wood, 2011 The parents of a girl who was killed by a savage dog are granted the opportunity to spend three days with their deceased daughter. 5. Grabbers, 2012 When an island off the coast of Ireland is invaded by bloodsucking aliens, the heroes discover that getting drunk is the only way to survive. 6. Citadel, 2012 An agoraphobic father teams up with a renegade priest to save his daughter from the clutches of a gang of twisted feral children.

How can this retelling improve upon Melville's classic novel Moby-Dick? For those who've not yet caught it in cinemas, let us count the ways from the trailer

Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is considered a landmark of western literature. It's an inventive, allegorical meditation on obsession, revenge, religion and the limits of human control. But is it perfect? No, it is not. Nor is John Huston's 1956 cinematic take on the story; while it may be a beautifully shot and remarkably faithful adaptation of Melville's work, it leaves plenty of room for improvement.

So thank heavens for Age of the Dragons. It's a fresh retelling of Moby-Dick that, if the trailer is any indication, vastly improves on both Huston's adaptation and the original source novel itself. How does Age of the Dragons manage this impressive feat? Glad you asked. Here are 10 unequivocal reasons ...

1 – It's set on land.

Melville may have deliberately...

Feature film project 'Easter Sixteen' about the 1916 Easter Uprising in Dublin has been optioned by UK financier Peter Lukas who will produce along with co-author of the award-winning screenplay Brendan Foley (Legend of the Bog) under the new title of 'Easter Rising'. It is understood Peter and Brendan will be working with veteran Dublin-based producer Ned Dowd (executive producer, King Arthur, Veronica Guerin, Apocalypto) and Danish producer Lars Hermann (The Riddle). American production company Coll-Abbitt has also expressed its intention to join the project which will be re-titled 'Easter Rising'. Irish actor turned director Jason Barry, best known for his role in James Cameron's 'Titanic', confirmed that Marathon, his film partnership with Nicola Charles was now being wound up and each were pursing independent projects, with his own major focus continuing to be 'Easter Rising'.

In this incarnation of our Videolog column (which began in 1982 with VHS and Betamax), Starlog now posts information Tuesdays on the genre titles being released (or re-released) on DVD and Blu-ray. Prices listed are Msrp, though the clickable links lead to Amazon where the savings is significant. Here’s what’s out this week (mostly today):

DVD Releases for June 23, 2009

Hobgoblins 1 & 2 (Micro Werks, $14.98 each): If you thought Ghoulies was a second-rate rip-off of Gremlins, then you should check out Rick Sloane’s notorious 1987 knockoff and its sequel. The former, first released in 1987, comes with Sloane commentary, a Making-of, cast interviews and a still gallery. The latter, a brand-new feature, has more commentary from Sloane, a Making of, cast interviews, deleted scenes and a still gallery.

Inkheart (New Line, DVD $28.98; Blu-ray $35.99): Brendan Fraser, Eliza Bennett, Helen Mirren, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent and Andy Serkis star in director Iain Softley...

So you're curious to know what frightful films and devilish discs will be available to view in the privacy of your own digital dungeon this week? Fango's got you covered. Below the jump you'll find the full list of titles arriving at retail tomorrow, June 23, 2009 in this weekly version of the famous Fangoria Chopping List.

Note: Clickable links lead to Amazon.com Backwoods (2008): Genius Choke Canyon

D. Gray-Man: Season One, Part Two Grindhouse Double Feature: Make Them Die (Campfire Tales, Kiss Daddy Goodbye; 2-disc rerelease): Srs Cinema Grindhouse Double Feature: Lady Revenge (Blown, Curse Of La Llorona; 2-disc rerelease): Srs Cinema Hobgoblins (special edition): Micro Werks Hobgoblins 2 (special edition): Micro Werks Johnny Legend Presents: The Vampire Chronicles Volume 1 (The Devil Bat, An American Vampire In London; special edition): Micro Werks Johnny Legend Presents: The Vampire Chronicles Volume 2 (Hannah, Queen Of The Vampires; special...

June is going to be a busy month for DVD releases. We're going to get supernatural horrors, Italian shockers, and Sci-Fi Channel schlockers; not to mention one hell of an Asylum mocker. Here's a taste of things to come.

What better place to begin than with Lionsgate's June 16th release of Richard Friedman's Born. Starring Joan Severence, Denise Crosby, and Kane Hodder, it's another one of those demon baby in the womb horror flicks. This time out a virginal 21-year old (Alison Brie) wakes up impregnated by a demon (Hodder, of course); the demonic baby eventually overtakes her mind and sends her on a killing spree. I've come across some reviews of Born online, and let's just say most would have preferred this film to be retitled Abort. Only the best from Lionsgate.

June 23rd is the date Lionsgate will release Brendan Foley's Legend of the Bog (formerly...

If you can’t get enough of genre-film bad-asses Kane Hodder and Vinnie Jones, Lionsgate Home Entertainment has your fix this summer. New indie horror features starring the tough-guy actors are slated to hit DVD shelves in June.

Streeting June 23 is writer/director Brendan Foley’s Irish chiller Legend Of The Bog, a.k.a. Bog Bodies, starring The Midnight Meat Train’s Jones, Beyond Re-animator’s Jason Barry and Nora-Jane Noone from the Descent films, Doomsday and the upcoming Day Of The Triffids miniseries. The story centers on a 2,000-year-old murder victim who has been mummified in a peat bog, and is inadvertently awakened to terrorize a group of the living.

In Born, coming June 16, a virginal 21-year-old girl (Parasomnia’s Alison Brie) suddenly finds herself pregnant, with her growing fetus developing an evil influence over her. Hodder co-stars as Asmodeus/the Cardinal, and the cast also includes Joan Severance...

Arriving on DVD June 9 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is Legend Of The Bog (formerly Bog Bodies), which stars Vinnie Jones, Jason Barry, Nora-Jane Noone and Adam Fogerty. When a 2000-year old mummified murder victim a Bog Body is inadvertently disturbed, he rises from the dead. Mummified for retribution and trapped for eternity, his body is unable to decay and his soul is unable to reach heaven or hell. As this Bog Body returns to life, he wreaks havoc on a local group of strangers who unwittingly share a guilty secret. Alone in the dark, they are met with misfortune as this mysterious victim seeks vengeance on their dark past.

Here are news snippets from the horror movie world for last week, including word on "Hatchet 2," a sequel to "The Amityville Horror" remake, the arrival of "Slaughter High" on DVD, and a new Stephen King novel. Weekly Horror Memeorandum for the Week Ending January 23: Interviewed by Irish TV, producers Paul Valentine and Joe ondren let slip that Brendan Foley's horror movie "Bog Bodies," starring Vinnie Jones, is being released by Lionsgate in the U.S. .... Adam Green has confirmed to Bloody Disgusting that a "Hatchet 2" sequel is in the works and some poster art emerged on his MySpace page. .... "The Haunting of Molly Hartley" has been bouncing around its DVD date for a while.

Producers Paul Valentine and Joe Condren were interviewed by the Irish Film & Television Network (Iftn). In their chat the pair revealed the U.S. distribution plans for Brendan Foley's horror film Bog Bodies starring Vinnie Jones ( Midnight Meat Train ). "We have done a deal with Grindstone Entertainment Group who are releasing Bog Bodies through Lionsgate in early 2009," says Valentine of the film which has been completed since early last year. "Grindstone bought North American rights and it.s a fairly big Us deal we did with them. It's a move in the right direction for our project. The dates that we have might change slightly, they have a slot for us to go out with their five horror films. Lionsgate have bought all rights for the film in North America...