Goodbye Fearnet

You can’t always get what you want and sometimes you have to accept things that you don’t agree with. That however does not mean that you have to accept it quietly.

What I am referring to is the end of Fear net.

As of July 30^th Fearnet has officially signed off on the cable and I don’t know when the final fate of fearnet.com and the On Demand Service will be.

I have personally been a loyal fan of this brand since it’s inception in 2006 and I have shared a special relationship with them over the years.

Fear Net began as a joint venture of Comcast, Lion’s Gate, and Sony pictures as a On- Demand Service to showcase their films but there was far more to it for that.

Deciding to market more towards genre fans Fearnet On-Demand was not alone as it was joined by Fearnet.com and the On-Demand while not only featuring recent genre hits along with classic content from the libraries of it’s joint partners.

The service also features Shorts, trailers, and exclusive interviews with various personalities.

Fearnet.com also featured a monthly library of selections that would stream from the site as well as genre News and updates from events and festivals featuring genre films  and this was only the beginning.

You could also join the community of fellow genre fans with blogs and social networking while chatting about not only films but games and horror television shows. 

There was also the many sweepstakes for the fans to win trips and other prizes.

Soon Fearnet began gaining original programing. While many of these programs were included on the On- Demand with the Cable Providers others were exclusive to the Website.

One of these web series was Fear Clinic.

Long time genre veteran Robert Englund stars as Dr Andover who forces his victims to live out their fears in the Fear Chamber. Englund was joined by other horror actors such as Kane Hodder and Danielle Harris.

Danielle Harris also joined Fearnet for Route 666 hosting Home Haunts across the country for the various Halloween seasons. This program was joined by the Haunted Highways special showcasing the most haunted roads across the United States.

In 2010 Fearnet launched it’s own official channel where genre films were screened and while edited for television for content and time allotted the films still maintained their chills and thrills while the On Demand service and website were still uncut for the viewer’s pleasure.

The Fearnet channel featured animated shorts that would accompany it’s films.

These shorts included the Fear Academy teaching lessons to young fans while poking fun of the unofficial rules of the horror film.

The best known of the shorts was the 30 second films where popular genre films were told in 30 seconds with animated Bunnies playing the roles in the films.

Fearnet also began to branchout in the films that they showcased on the channel featuring genre films from around the world. From Japan to Australia the various cultures and what was feared on other continents was highly insightful and we could also identify with what we all had in common.

Beginning in 2011 Fearnet began to treat it’s viewers to a 24 hour strait Trick r Treat marathon which was promoted by original short films featuring the character of Sam from the film as well as a young girl that taught us the rules of Halloween with a far larger bodycount than the film itself.

Viewers were also treated to Post Mortum where Mick Garris would conduct in-depth in interviews with Icons like Robert Englund and Roger Corman. 

Eventually Fearnet acquired the rights to Tales from the Crypt and while the program was showcased on both the channel and the other medias The Cryptkeeper himself began to appear not only on original videos to promote the channel but at conventions as well to pose with fans for pictures.

Tales from the Cryptkeeper was also acquired and along with The Real Ghostbusters and Erie Indiana were added to the program block titled Fearnet’s Funhouse. This was a great way to spend a Saturday Morning.

In 2012 Fearnet debuted it’s original series and the first Horror sitcom Holliston.

The show features genre directors Adam Green and Joe Lynch as struggling horror filmmakers attempting to make their own films while romancing their love interests Cori English and Laura Ortiz.  Dee Snider and the late Dave Brockie also starred on the series.

Fearnet began to appear everywhere. I remember attending Fantastic Fest in Austin where I was served Ice Cream from the Fearnet Twisted Comedy Ice Cream truck and hung out in the Fearnet Lounge where I wrote many of the Blogs that you read on this site and also conversed with many of the directors that had their films featured at the festival.

Texas Frightmare Weekend also featured Fearnet and their promotion teams with the screening rooms being sponsored by the channel.

Fearnet.com introduced The Vault streaming classic films while adding commentary from current directors and industry professionals.

Sadly all good things must come to an end and the end began in April of this year when it was announced that Comcast had bought out both Lion’s Gate and Sony Pictures as partners in Fearnet and announced that they were laying off most of their employees and the Brand’s content would be integrated into the SyFy and Chiller Channels which Comcast had acquired in it’s merger with NBC Universal.

Fearnet signed off for the final time on January 30^th 2014 leaving behind a young legacy and large fan base.  Many fans are greatly angered by this decision and that is understandable. They need to realize th these decisions were made without them being taken into consideration with this decision and it was decided that Chiller will be the only channel standing.

Fearnet closed off it’s final night of programing with a final marathon of films known for it’s kills as they are also not going to survive the night.  These films were accompanied with many of the shorts and special features that made the channel what it is. Effectively Fearnet went out on their own terms.

Their final film was Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses.

Not long after the film the viewers were treated to a brief short film featuring the Fearnet staff being placed in a battle royal to the death and after the short the we were given a quote from Sheriff Brackett in Halloween.

"Everyone is entitled to one good scare"

After a final thank you to the viewers the screen 

This isn’t the end of it’s programing as Fear Clinic has been made into a feature length film due for release in the coming year.

It is unknown the status of Holliston at this time with the loss of Fearnet. Green and Lynch host a podcast titled The Movie Crypt on Itunes.

The rest of the fearnet staff will continue to do what they do best and create the same entertainment for all of us.

The fan base is still there and we will always remain. As long as there are Ghosts returning for revenge and madmen stalking familys we will be there to watch them.

THANK YOU FEARNET