November 6th, 2009 | 9:32 am est |
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A Fire in the Sky for the post-Blair Witch generation, The Fourth Kind purports to present dramatized accounts of actual unexplained events. If only moviegoers were as gullible as they were back when that group of college filmmakers vanished in the Maryland woods without a trace, perhaps screenwriter/director Olatunde Osunsanmi’s sham shocker would have actually had us going there for a minute.
October 21st, 2009 | 4:57 pm est |
In Rotkäppchen: The Blood of Red Riding Hood, writer/director Harry Sparks weaves a chilling tale of murder, lust, and teen angst in this modern retelling of the classic fairy tale. The story follows Rose (Stefanie Geils), a teenager sent from Germany to live with her grandmother in America. Upon arrival at her new school she meets Summer (Sativa Verte), a sassy coed with a biting wit, Summer’s dorky younger brother, David (Chris O’Brocki), and Nick (Phil Gibson), the hunky Big Man On Campus, who is quite literally the big bad wolf — a werewolf, that is — with a thirst for blood and virgins. Nick takes an immediate liking to the angelic Rose, much to the dismay of his girlfriend, Bridgette (Nicole Leigh Vuono), who terrorizes the poor girl in fits of rage and jealousy. As Rose struggles to settle into her new life, she retreats into the dark fantasy world of her imagination, where she sees herself as Little Red Riding Hood and her enemies as walking personifications of the evil hell-bent on destroying her.
October 20th, 2009 | 8:35 am est |
October 11, 2009: While thousands of physically capable athletic types limbered up in preparation for the 32nd Annual Chicago Marathon, a slightly more pallid but no less courageous crowd was easing into their Snuggies and fluffing their pillows inside the Music Box Theater for an altogether different kind of endurance test. The Music Box Massacre V was getting underway, and a gorgeous historical theater was packed to the rafters with excited horror fans eager to binge on genre classics and meet a few very special guests.
Whatever it was those health nuts outside were running from, we horror fans were more than willing to take it on in a darkened theater, with a flat of Monster energy drinks and a hearty supply of pizza and breakfast burritos to fuel our fanaticism.
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October 1st, 2009 | 12:07 pm est |
Replace the Blair Witch with a pissed-off demon and exchange the woodland setting for a blank-slate suburban tract house, and you’ve got the basic idea of what to expect from Paranormal Activity, director Oren Peli’s highly effective feature debut. The big difference is that while the potty-mouthed teens in the former movie made the dunderheaded decision to traipse off into the woods in search of a malevolent urban (rural?) legend — all the poor-sap protagonists of Paranormal Activity wanted was a peaceful night’s sleep in their own cozy bed. They don’t get that, and odds are neither will you after enduring the slow-burn intensity of this nocturnal nerve-shredder.
September 30th, 2009 | 5:53 pm est |
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If you’ve ever attended a Music Box Massacre, you know well that Movieside Film Festival founder Rusty Nails doesn’t skimp on the extra toppings; of course there’s the obligatory line-up of brain-bashing horrors both old and new (this year’s event sees the Music Box playing host to the Midwestern premiere of Bruce McDonald’s deliciously apocalyptic Pontypool in addition to projecting a print of the 1945 Boris Karloff classic Isle of the Dead), but on top of that you’ve got spectacular special guests, charity auctions for Vital Bridges, and dealer booths selling some of the best horror memorabilia around.
September 25th, 2009 | 5:26 pm est |
Sometimes the setup for a film is so tantalizing that when the picture fails miserably, it hurts that much more. Pandorum is certainly one of these instances — a mysterious sci-fi horror freak-out that misses the horror altogether and bores the audience with asinine characters plodding through all-too-familiar territory. Take one part Event Horizon and equal parts Ghosts of Mars and The Descent, then mix them in a dirty blender, and that’s basically Pandorum. It takes a lot from what came before, then sullies things up by botching the execution, time and again. Instead of tension, viewers get frenzied editing. In the place of horror, there is literally a pool of fecal matter. As far as any kind of satisfying mystery, if the picture didn’t already lose its audience even before the halfway point, the rapid right turns in the finale aren’t going to blow anyone’s mind. Unfortunately for the filmmakers, the only thing they blow is a chance to deliver the goods.
September 11th, 2009 | 4:44 pm est |
As a conventional slasher, this update on the original 1983 House on Sorority Row scores fairly big points for its impressive kills, yet it is brought down by the same kind of weak finale that has plagued many of its post-‘90s horrific whodunit peers. With the advent of Scream, the slasher genre has weighed heavily upon the hook of “who is the killer?” A rather delicious concept if done right, it can lead to a mindbender of a good time. Sadly, when this sort of 10 Little Indians plot goes sour, audiences get stuck with lame old men killers (à la: I Know What You Did Last Summer) or main characters who suddenly turn evil at the end, only to be overshadowed by their more frightening costumed selves from the first two acts of the film (My Bloody Valentine 3D). Many times, the poorly structured “reveal” comes complete with a James Bond villain speech about why they did what they did, eating up precious screen time at a point when viewers would rather be amped up than talked at. Thankfully, Sorority Row will still appeal to genre enthusiasts and the young crowd alike, thanks to its taste for bloody scares, T & A, and an above-the-line sense of style that should surprise most who come near.
August 28th, 2009 | 5:56 pm est |
Rob Zombie takes his brand of hillbilly horror to new unpleasant levels with his follow-up to the much-maligned reboot of the Halloween series. Once again, gone is the slow-brewed tension that the franchise was framed upon. In its place are a series of brutal exercises — not only in onscreen deaths, but in genre filmmaking as a whole. The release that usually comes with enjoying a slasher film has been changed to sheer repulsion — and this doesn’t come from a conservative standpoint either. Zombie’s fetishized portrayal of violence baffles the brain with its mix of in-your-face gore and unrepentant viciousness, as if a homicidal maniac was let loose in Vietnam, complete with an MTV director filling in as a war photographer following his every move. One might think there was a method to this madness, but then, mixed with the sheer pretension of the added fantastical elements, it becomes quite clear that Halloween II is simply a mess — made by a misguided filmmaker whose access to Hollywood properties apparently comes with no barriers.
August 28th, 2009 | 5:12 pm est |
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Welcome to The Final Destination, a world where anything more injurious than a wet Q-tip on a shag carpet will explode your body into a crimson mist of blood and bone dust. Surrender yourself to the fact that Hollywood could quite possibly go on making Final Destination films forever, and then the only question left to ask yourself is “Does this particular one deliver the gruesome goods?”
August 14th, 2009 | 11:00 am est |
July, 1989. GoreZone No. 8. Cover story: “Balun insults everyone — Is splatter dead?”
Hardly a triumphant celebration of the sticky stuff for a magazine touting the tag-line “All the splatter that matters” — who could have ever guessed that the kings of gore were about to take over Hollywood? That was one year after Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II burst up from the fruit cellar to scare us all silly, and two years after then-obscure New Zealand director Peter Jackson’s deliciously vile Bad Taste was speculated to become the next Rocky Horror by GoreZone’ sister publication Fangoria Magazine.
Flash forward to 2009, when Raimi is responsible for what is arguably the most successful comic book film franchise ever and Jackson is sitting pretty with an Oscar for Best director.
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August 10th, 2009 | 12:44 pm est |
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For over a year now, horror blogs have been abuzz with news about director Michael Dougerty’s Trick ‘r Treat, a playful homage to everyone’s favorite ghoulish holiday and by all accounts more fun than an apple stuffed with razor blades. But don’t wait ‘till Warner Brothers unceremoniously dumps this potential perennial classic out on DVD this coming October to get scared silly -– if you live in the Chicago area, just head on down to the Portage Theater this coming Saturday, August 15, 2009 for a horror triple bill that’s sure to make your blood run cold.
August 7th, 2009 | 8:58 am est |
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If Sam Raimi directed a film for Hammer Studios, odds are it would look and feel a lot like director Glenn McQuaid’s impressive feature directorial debut, I Sell the Dead. A Creepshow-flavored, period horror comedy with comic-book style to spare, it’s a rare treat that serves up laughs and chills in equal measure, and manages the rare feat of cramming just about every genre imaginable into its brisk 85 minutes, without ever feeling bloated or overbearing. From the playful score to eerie, brumous nightscapes (fog juice alone appears to have comprised half of the film’s budget), I Sell the Dead always entertains and never takes itself too seriously. Fast-paced, funny, and featuring solid performances by a talented cast, it’s the kind of rare gem that isn’t likely to come to a theater near you (if you live outside of New York or Los Angeles), but could well gain a cult following down the road thanks to positive word of mouth.
August 4th, 2009 | 7:19 am est |
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With their burglar-versus-serial killer shocker The Collector opening in theaters nationwide today, filmmakers Marcus Dunston and Patrick Melton were kind enough to sit down with me for a revealing chat about the making of their unforgiving new flick, their love of Italian horror legend Dario Argento, the state of the Saw franchise, and just what went wrong with their proposed remake of the William Castle classic The Tingler.
August 4th, 2009 | 6:55 am est |
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Imagine that Macaulay Culkin’s character from Home Alone was so traumatized by his childhood misadventures that he became a sadistic serial killer. Chances are he would operate in a similar manner to “The Collector,” a vicious, masked master of traps who likes to toy with his prey by rigging their homes with lethal, Rube Goldberg-style contraptions. From an opening credit sequence that resembles the intro to a television series (”This week on The Collector…”) to the fact that the eponymous psycho’s motivations are still unclear by the time the credits roll, Saw IV, V, VI, and VII screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan’s first attempt at flying solo is a blatant franchise grab that will have most viewers squirming in their seats — as long as they don’t make the mistake of playing plausibility police.
July 23rd, 2009 | 12:46 pm est |
Earlier this morning, the fine folks over at Twitch reported on a rumor that director Dave Green would follow up his refrigerator-horror film Meltdown with a short about vengeful roadkill to be produced by Sam Raimi.
And while that tidbit is juicy enough for horror hounds in itself, fans of Mary Harron’s American Psycho will want to take a look at this music video tribute to the film that Green directed for Miles Fisher’s cover of the Talking Heads‘ “This Must be the Place.”
There’s no nudity in the clip and the violence is stylized to the point where it’s more humorous than offensive, though it may still be considered NSFW due to some fairly explicit sexuality.
Click the still to link to the video on the director’s website.
June 18th, 2009 | 5:00 am est |
It’s been a while since a great big gore-filled gross-out horror comedy hit the scene. With the gonzo days of Peter Jackson far behind him (for the time being), and Sam Raimi resigned to PG-13-land with the otherwise fantastic Drag Me to Hell, big and small screens alike have been missing the hysterical buckets-of-blood days of yore. This could be the reason that so much was made of the Norwegian midnight-film-festival hit, Dead Snow. Upon further review, one has to wonder whether the outpouring of drunken applause was due more to the slapstick-meets-Grand-Guignol nature of the flick than to the manner in which it pulls it off. Make no mistake — Dead Snow certainly delivers the nasty goods, but as it proves, it’s far easier to chop off limbs than chomp on audiences’ funny bones.
May 29th, 2009 | 12:10 pm est |
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Leave it to Sam Raimi to breathe some new life into the genre most closely associated with lame sequels and lifeless remakes. But while Drag Me to Hell certainly exists within the well-defined confines of the horror genre, the truth is that it feels more like a shock-a-minute roller-coaster ride than your typical fright flick.
April 7th, 2009 | 7:15 am est |
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Torture Porn (aka Sadistic Horror) (tôr´cher pôrn) adjective
A type of horror film in which terror is induced not by mere suggestion, but by the graphic torture and torment of various victims as they scream for mercy, which will inevitably not come. (Official AMG definition)
March 27th, 2009 | 8:01 am est |
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When approached with thoughtfulness, sincerity, and creativity, the fantasy/horror genre can be an ideal place to deal with such weighty, real-world issues as the loss of a child (The Orphanage) or the breakup of a family (The Shining). By occasionally breaking from reality, those genres allow talented writers and filmmakers to skillfully address issues that may be too tender to deal with effectively in a grounded dramatic setting. Then there’s The Haunting in Connecticut, a two-for-flinching frightener that lazily dusts off that tired old “Based on True Events” claim in hopes of getting under our skin before we’ve even set eyes on ye old haunted house. And while there are certainly plenty of opportunities to explore such intimate topics as death and family dynamics here, what we get instead is a haunted house yarn devoid of both atmosphere and content — a film that pays lip service to some interesting ideas, but is far too concerned with pleasing a large crowd to be anything more than another instantly forgettable fright flick.
January 30th, 2009 | 4:52 pm est |
In The Uninvited, a young girl and her audience find that there’s no more life left in the Asian horror retreads. Creepy figures in the night, quick yet bland scares — it’s all the same in teen fright-land. The original, by The Good, the Bad, the Weird’s Kim Jee-woon, was a stylish chiller hearkening back to both Ringu and The Sixth Sense. Yet while that director imbued a cold calculated dread to the complicated proceedings, Charles and Thomas Guard’s rehash establishes itself right away as a lifeless vehicle ripe for crowds that flock to this kind of redundant spook-house fare. The only interesting bit is how the directorial duo handles the intertwining plot at the core of the flick — and how obviously they decide to present it. Insert yawns here, because those who invite this sucker into their viewing schedule deserve what they get.
November 20th, 2008 | 4:10 pm est |
Few movies possess enough sheer goofball power to make Army of Darkness look like a chamber drama, and though Bruce Campbell’s ultra-meta sophomore directorial effort, My Name Is Bruce, may not go quite that far over the top in delivering the kind of slapstick mayhem that’s made Campbell one of cult fandom’s hottest commodities, it still comes pretty damn close. Fast-paced, ridiculously self-depreciating, and fueled by a manic energy that’s so outlandish it washes over the viewer with the giddiness of a B-movie fever dream, it’s an enormous step up from Campbell’s disappointing directorial debut, The Man with the Screaming Brain. Likewise, it’s sure to satisfy Evil Dead fans due to the fact that it’s essentially a scaled-down, contemporary working of the Army of Darkness model (cocky jackass defends the frightened locals from an invading supernatural force) and that the alternate-universe-Campbell presented here is, for all intents and purposes, an Ash-ified version of his own bad self.
November 13th, 2008 | 1:44 pm est |
Pre-adolescent angst has rarely been as eerie or unsettlingly honest as it is in director Tomas Alfredson’s stylish, psychologically complex tale of friendship between a tormented schoolboy and his new neighbor — a reclusive 12-year-old girl who isn’t exactly what she appears to be. Adapted from the popular novel by author John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay, Let the Right One In is one of those rare genre films that uses fantasy not as a means to its own ends, but as a springboard to exploring topical issues and mature themes that might come off as cliche if explored within the restraining confines of a real-world setting. What we get, instead, is a thoughtfully plotted adult fable that builds quiet momentum while winding toward a true stunner of a climax that will literally leave you breathless.
October 31st, 2008 | 4:58 pm est |
Like a Halloween episode of 90210 or The Omen IV crossed with The O.C., The Haunting of Molly Hartley is horror of the glossiest, safest kind. It’s a boring bubblegum shocker that loses its flavor faster than Fruit Stripes, and few horror fans will want anything to do with this over-polished, under-baked tale of a high-school girl attempting to discover whether she’s the “devil’s daughter,” or her dangerously unstable mother is just another religious wacko.
October 24th, 2008 | 1:42 pm est |
Hello moviegoers. The producers at Lionsgate want to play a game with you. For the last four years, you’ve been subjected to torturous displays of horrific morality lessons, in hopes that you’d come back for more blood-soaked exploits of the serial killer Jigsaw. With each entry, the stakes have become higher and the plots more complex. So far you’ve seen dozens of devices of death, each containing its own virtuous lecture on the evils of humanity. There’ve been silly sequels (Saw II), overly serious ones (Pt. III), as well as the ludicrous follow-up that led up to this movie, Saw V. You now have a choice: you can continue this maddening journey or put this well-worn franchise out of its misery. Let it not be said that you weren’t warned, for on the road ahead lies the biggest rip-off of them all — a slapdash affair of dramatic drivel that even the most diehard fan will find lacking. Whether or not the bus had already hit the wall on the series long ago, there’s little doubt that it’s been left thoroughly in flames after this. The choice is yours. Choose wisely.
October 21st, 2008 | 4:21 pm est |
Plan on being in Chicago this coming weekend and feeling like you’re ready for a little Halloween horror fun? Then why not wander over to the historic Music Box Theater and catch the 4th Annual Music Box Massacre? Not only is host Rusty Nails offering up twelve shockers that are guaranteed to terrify, but there will also be special appearances by horror legends Clive Barker, Joseph Zito, and Lucky McKee.
Vendor tables allow horror fans to purchase some of the hottest horror-related merchandise and collectibles out there, free Monster energy drinks provide the energy to endure all twenty-four hours of fear, and a live auction for AIDS charity Vital Bridges ensures that the terror is all for a good cause. Add to that appearances by Count Midnight and Horror 101 editor Aaron “Dr. AC” Christensen, and this is sure to be a frightfully good time.
Tickets are $27 in advance, and $33 at the door. For more information visit the official Music Box Theatre website, or the Music Box Massacre MySpace page.
Features and showtimes follow:
Noon
The Haunted House
12:30pm
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1:45pm
The Old Dark House
3:15pm
Eyes Without A Face
5pm
May (with director Lucky McKee in person)
7:30pm
Midnight Meat Train (with Clive Barker in person)
10:15pm
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (with director Joseph Zito in person)
12:30pm
Dead Alive
2:15am
Phantom of the Paradise
4am
Black Sabbath
6am
Pieces
7:45am
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
9:30 am
The Exorcist
October 16th, 2008 | 4:53 pm est |
Ahh, the haunted house film — a terrifying cinematic cornerstone where suburban structures come alive to wreck havok upon their owners, renters, or any poor landscaper that dares go near them. The tropes of the genre are well known; madness is a recurring theme, often resulting in one member of the house going batty and probably violent on his or her oblivious relatives. Secrets are another big piece of the thematic puzzle, since they are often the things that fuel the madness or the tortured souls that are left behind to relate their tale (sorrowfully or otherwise) to the new tenants. And of course, atmosphere is a huge part of the equation as well. From the early days of Robert Wise’s The Haunting to the new school of Jaume Balagueró’s Darkness or last year’s The Orphanage, the slow, brooding nature of the films needs to be conveyed to the audience in style and skillful pacing. Modern remakes have often tried to inject more grime into the material to muck it up, but nothing compares to the spooks presented by those who stay true to the genre. Thus, in celebration of candles going out by themselves and various bumps in the night, here is a hand-picked roundup of some of the best haunted house trailers throughout time (leaving most of the remakes and sequels for another post). So turn your desk lamp off and get that Netflix cue ready, because a-haunting-we-will-go!
October 10th, 2008 | 4:17 pm est |
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Intense handheld zombie frights are in store for viewers daring to take the leap into Quarantine, the American remake of Spain’s heralded first-person chiller REC. Unfolding in near real time, the pic aims to put the audience into the action of an emergency response call gone horribly wrong. Opening up on reporter Angela Vidal (Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter), the narrative concerns a news crew as they follow a group of firefighters for an overnight shoot. As time drags on through the wee hours of the morning with little to no action for the camera to catch, the station is finally dispatched to an apartment complex where something seems desperately wrong with one of its inhabitants. Once there, the crew sees just how deadly this situation truly is. What follows is a breakneck tale of “keep alive” amidst a contagion that turns its infected into rage-filled maniacs. What’s worse, the government has cordoned off the building, leaving everyone inside to battle for his or her own survival. Claustrophobic, jittery at times, and electric in pace, Quarantine is a stripped-down bloody thrill ride that — while certainly not catering to everyone’s tastes — should satisfy gore-hounds looking to step up their theatrical horror cuisine beyond the usual creepy little kid rehashes.
October 9th, 2008 | 3:58 pm est |
Before Quarantine, there was REC…
There’s a new king of fright – and [REC] is it. Hailed as one of the scariest modern horror entries of its time, Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza’s 2007 Spanish production is a tour de force of shock cinema that’s sure to stop many a viewer’s heart. Using the first person narrative, the film puts the audience inside a quarantined apartment building where, unbeknownst to a reporter (Manuel Velasco) following a small group of firefighters on a routine night call, an epidemic is about to erupt around them. What follows is a harrowing cinéma vérité twist on the zombie mythos that is nearly as scream inducing as one can get within the confines of the genre. With plenty of scares around every corner, [REC] achieves exactly what it sets out to do – use the Blair Witch style to springboard into a singular terrifying experience all it’s own. Given that, it’s not surprising that America was so fast to jump on a remake of this horrific tale (and subsequently give away most of its shocks in the trailer and advertising).
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October 7th, 2008 | 3:20 pm est |
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As a young boy coming of age in the era of VHS, I was acutely aware that certain movies were so forbidden the simple act of plucking them off the shelves at the local video store seemed like an act of transgression that may well be the first baby step towards a life of sin, crime, and moral corruption. Faces of Death was one such video. The oversized box that barely fit on the shelves; the bold proclamation that it was “Banned in 43 Countries;” the hideous skull face with the serpentine tongue and glowing eyes; the foreboding Gorgon Video logo: everything about it seemed so vile and horrible that the prospect of actually putting the videocassette in the VCR and watching the movie was almost a rite of passage – a true test of my ability to confront my greatest fears. By the time I did finally work up the courage to walk up to the counter and slap down my $3.00, I was nearly quaking in my KangaROOS.
August 19th, 2008 | 4:18 pm est |
First thing’s first when it comes to Alexandre Aja’s Mirrors: no one could be naïve enough to think that emerging genre talent Aja was above remakes at this point in his career – after all, his third feature as a director was a remake of an American horror classic and his fifth scheduled feature is a remake of the John Sayles-scripted, Joe Dante directed cult killer fish flick – though when the trailer for Mirrors initially dropped it appeared that Aja had jumped on the J-horror bandwagon about five years too late. So slavish to the conventions of that particular regional sub-genre did it appear to be that one almost expected to see Roy Lee listed as a producer, though fortunately for horror fans, Mirrors isn’t quite as paint-by-numbers as the film’s unimaginative advertising campaign may have suggested.
August 12th, 2008 | 3:49 pm est |
Anyone who’s been keeping tabs on the indie horror scene has no doubt heard the name Adam Wingard being bandied about by now. Not only has Wingard’s innovative experimental horror film Pop Skull managed to generate quite a buzz on the festival circuit over the course of the last year, but his freshman feature Home Sick - an ambitious little shocker featuring appearance by genre veterans Bill Moseley and Tom Towles - is set to be released on DVD from Synapse Films later this month as well. For horror fans who have grown tired of the typical slasher film formula and constant onslaught of remakes, Wingard may be just the director we’ve been waiting for to give our beloved genre a much-needed goose. As evidenced by his quote singling out Pop Skull as “the film to watch while you’re robotripping” it’s obvious that Wingard isn’t the sort to play it safe, and his interview with Colin Armstrong over at Twitch Film details how he’s currently getting primed for bigger and better things.
Full interview here.
July 24th, 2008 | 12:22 pm est |
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July 22nd, 2008 | 4:37 pm est |
Horror fans living on the coasts have it easy, not only do they get to see all of the latest limited-release fright flicks in a proper theater setting while us Midwesterners are forced to twiddle our thumbs and wait (and wait and wait) for the eventual DVD release, but between the Fangoria Festival of Fear and Chiller Theater expos, they frequently get to schmooze with some of the highest-profile figures that our scrappy little genre has to offer.
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June 4th, 2008 | 12:33 pm est |
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Fans of Michael Lehmann’s 1989 cult classic Heathers should do themselves a favor and seek out this slick little indie from first-time feature filmmaker Michael Lichtenstein, as this gruesomely charming tale of vagina dentata shares a similar satirical tone with that darkly comic tale of teen alienation. Of course, there are some fairly obvious key differences separating the two films, yet their approach to skewering teen trends and suburban morality bounds them as cinematic siblings who share an uncannily similar comic sensibility.
May 30th, 2008 | 9:15 am est |
Like Funny Games without the pretension or Halloween (1978) without the suspense, The Strangers chugs dutifully along for its contractually obligated 90 minutes, compelling viewers to jump with a series of carefully timed loud noises and false scares before giving them precisely what they came for with as little fanfare as cinematically possible. The Strangers is the kind of horror thriller that feels like it was written on a calculator rather than a word processor; every startling noise, false scare, and genuine payoff is carefully formulated for maximum effect, yet so precise and scientific that the whole exercise becomes strangely dry — and all too predictable, if you have even the most rudimentary knowledge of the original formula.
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May 14th, 2008 | 10:55 am est |
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May 1st, 2008 | 12:55 pm est |
Everyone’s favorite little green mischief makers have returned, and they’re doing what they do best in this ninety second BT spot featuring Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones.
Thanks AICN.
Check out the full ad here.
April 24th, 2008 | 10:00 am est |
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Dark Sky Films has just released a new edition of Jim VanBebber’s violent cult classic Deadbeat at Dawn as part of their truly impressive four disc “Visions of Hell” DVD box-set (which also includes the unrated, two-disc special edition of VanBebber’s transgressive shocker The Manson Family), but those who still own the original Synapse release of Deadbeat at Dawn may not want to toss that old disc up on eBay just yet!
April 18th, 2008 | 3:01 pm est |
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Anyone raised when the VCR became a common household item and VHS was still king is sure to remember those long walks down the seemingly endless aisles of the local mom and pop video store – those clunky, oversized plastic treasures beckoning to be rented, taken home, and enjoyed in the comfort of one’s own living room. The striking artwork on a number of those clamshell cases was so luridly vivid that it seemed to dare the indecisive movie lover to pass it by, such was the case with the cover of Don Jones killer-in-the-woods frightener The Forest – the image of two crazed eyes peering wildly from behind prickly branches and hand firmly clutching hunting knife hinting at horrors that might make the average viewer give up camping for the foreseeable future.
April 17th, 2008 | 11:57 am est |
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Leave it to the French to usher in the next great wave of horror cinema. As youth riots once again send bourgeois suburbanites running for the safety of their middle-class compounds, the prevailing culture of fear and uncertainty has proven the flashpoint for some of the most genuinely frightening shockers of the new millennium. Now, on the heels of such relentlessly tense new-classics as Calvaire, Haute Tension, and Them comes a grisly home invasion flick that offers a pitch-perfect balance of grinding tension and inventive gore. Newcomers Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury may not have enough credits to distinguish themselves as masters of the genre just yet, but as Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur before them, they’re certainly on the right track.
April 14th, 2008 | 12:29 pm est |
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April 11th, 2008 | 10:06 am est |
Audiences fortunate enough to have already seen Juame Belaguero and Paco Plaza’s masterful first-person frightener [Rec] will likely testify that it’s the most terrifying film in the “subjective” horror trend to hit theaters since The Blair Witch Project broke box-office records nearly a decade ago – perhaps packing even more of a punch than Diary of the Dead, legendary filmmaker George A. Romero’s 2007 excursion into the increasingly popular horror sub-genre.
Now, for what may be the very first time, one of these subjective shockers is getting remade in the form of Quarantine, a stateside redo of [Rec] that attempts to translate the terrors Belaguero and Plaza’s highly-effective frightener for American moviegoers. Will the remake pack the punch of the ambitious Spanish original? While only time will tell, for the moment why not have a bit of fun comparing the newly released Quarantine trailer with the original English-language teaser for [Rec]? From the looks of things, Poughkeepsie Tapes masterminds John and Drew Dowdle’s remake has kept many of the original scares intact, a sign that may bode well for fans of the original film.
[Rec] Trailer:
Quarantine Trailer:
April 10th, 2008 | 3:57 pm est |
A worthy companion piece to the lovingly detailed fantasy films of Guillermo del Toro (who also produced), first time feature filmmaker J.A. Bayona’s melancholy ghost story arrives on DVD looking fantastic, and featuring impressive extras that are sure to fascinate.
As expected, the 2.35:1 widescreen image offers a beautiful recreation of the theatrical experience, perfectly preserving cinematographer Oscar Faura’s atmospheric photography. Likewise, the DTS 6.1 Discrete audio track really packs a punch: The dialog comes out strongly from the front center channel, the thunderclaps and crashing ocean waves draw the view right into the film’s environment, and the voices during the chilling séance sequence eerily creep out from the surround channels.
The disc itself sports a clever menu design that sends the viewer chasing ghosts through labyrinthine hallways of The Orphanage to find some truly satisfying bonus materials. Entitled “When Laura Grew Up: Constructing The Orphanage,” the first and longest of the three featurettes clocks in at about seventeen-minutes and covers nearly every aspect of the production from the screenwriting process to the creation of the impressive digital and prosthetic make-up effects. It’s an informative, well-constructed document of the production that’s highly informative and consistently entertaining. The second featurette, “Tomas’ Secret Room (The Filmmakers),” spends nearly ten-minutes exploring the special effects, musical score, and the inventive credits sequence, with the ten-minute “Horror in the Unknown: Make-Up Effects” featurette offering a more in-depth look at the design of the distinctive mask used in the film and the contributions of the talented folks at DDT Special Effects. “Rehearsal Studio: Cast Auditions and Table Read” is a brief, three-minute segment that finds director Bayona pondering the complexities of working with children and eliciting the appropriate emotional responses from his actors. Impressive image galleries allow the viewer to explore virtually all aspects of the production at their own pace, with a “Marketing Campaign” presenting a collection of trailers both foreign and domestic, as well as a brief but inspired “Poster Examinations” feature revealing the strong poster designs used to sell the film. While a director’s commentary track would have made this disc feel truly complete, there are indeed enough extras on New Line Home Entertainment’s release of The Orphanage to satisfy both the casual fan as well as the hardcore film fanatic.
April 8th, 2008 | 2:31 pm est |
2007 was an exceptional year in European horror, as evidenced in Dimension Extreme’s release of Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s gory French debut stunner, Inside. Though a few daring filmgoers were able to catch a glimpse of this brutal offering in last year’s limited stateside release, many have yet to experience what the extremely loud hubbub is all about that immediately follows a mere mention of this film from its jolted audience. Well wonder no more, for this is one disc that genre fans with a rock-hard stomach should pounce on as soon as possible – and its American home release turns out to be a rock solid one worth tracking down.
March 31st, 2008 | 11:58 am est |
Midnight Ballad for Ghost Theater FTW!
March 26th, 2008 | 10:04 am est |
It’s rare that audiences get to experience a film on a whole new level the way that the new Two-Disc Collector’s Edition of Stephen King’s The Mist allows. While viewers may claim further insight on certain films with repeat viewings – or perhaps regard classics in a different light when given the chance to catch them on the big screen for the first time, this is one instance where a modern movie has been given a whole new lease on life, ironically enough, thanks to the power of black and white. While the swapping of hues isn’t exactly a new technique - as anyone suckered into buying a colorized version of any old horror staple can attest to – what’s interesting about this release is that the filmmakers have gone the de-modernizing route by remastering the picture to present it as it was initially envisioned – in stunning black and blown-out whites.
The result is a different feel, a different look and an altogether different viewing experience that strengthens all of the film’s strong points while heightening the overall mix of pulp horror and pitch-black bleakness, making this version of The Mist one of the strongest genre outings in recent years – and among the best cinematic adaptations in Stephen King’s history.
March 14th, 2008 | 6:49 am est |
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For those of use who grew up watching Count Scary, The Ghoul, Sir Graves Ghastly, Elvira, or even Commander USA, the mere thought of schlock horror flicks hosted by wisecracking characters on ramshackle studio sets is enough to make us instinctively reach for some non-existent, noggin-top rabbit ears in a nostalgic bid to clear the static distortion of our collective memories. Thankfully, we need not lament the death of a bygone era or regret the fact that we’ll never be able to share those memories with our own children any longer, as – at least in the Detroit television market – good-humored lycanthrope Wolfman Mac is primed and ready to revive this long-dormant television sub-genre with his late-night horror show entitled Nightmare SINema.
March 12th, 2008 | 12:46 pm est |
Snacking on some lunch and checking out the latest links over at Neatorama, I stumbled across a curious little short film by the mute illusionist most folks know as the shorter half of long-time comedy/magic duo Penn and Teller. Of course anyone familiar with their cable television series Bullshit or their popular Las Vegas act knows that the man they call Teller isn’t exactly the outspoken type, so it’s just about as disconcerting to hear him talk as it is to see him taunting the living dead.
At a time when the zombie trend once again seems to have run its course (Day of the Dead remake, anyone?), perhaps this melancholy little short is a fitting epitaph for the lurching sub-genre.
March 7th, 2008 | 6:01 pm est |
In my original review of I Am Legend, I dubbed the film “more of a tantalizing, middle-of-the-road misfire than an outright failure.” Having recently had the opportunity to view the alternate theatrical version of the film included in Warner Brothers Home Video’s upcoming two-disc special edition of I Am Legend, that original sentiment takes on even greater meaning than it did in the original review.
March 4th, 2008 | 1:55 pm est |
February 27th, 2008 | 2:41 pm est |
Beowulf: If you thought The Polar Express was great but would have been better with graphic violence and cartoon nudity, then here’s the flick for you, guy who only exists in Robert Zemeckis’s mind.
30 Days of Night: This film tells the terrifying tale of a small-town in Alaska that’s forced to spend a month in the dark with Josh Hartnett. Fortunately, a group of merciful vampires comes along to put them out of their misery.
The Darjeeling Limited: Easily among the top-nine best Darjeeling-centric movies of 2007.
Also out this week: Death at a Funeral, Slipstream, Goya’s Ghosts, Day Zero and The Last Emperor: Criterion Edition
March 9th, 2007 | 11:39 am est |
By Jason Buchanan & Jeremy Wheeler
ADDITIONAL CONVENTION FACTOIDS
– Shawnee Smith (The Blob, Saw) admitted that Diane Lane was originally supposed to play her part in The Stand miniseries, but had to drop out due to a pregnancy.
– In the same panel discussion, she also dropped some interesting knowledge on the inner workings of the Saw filmmaking process, admitting that she only spent a half-day on the set of the first film, while Saw II’s ending was written just one week before filming.
– Fangoria, the world’s longest-running horror magazine, has been in monthly publication since 1979. Since then, they’ve branched into the world of straight-to-video horror (I, Zombie, Lady of the Lake), and into the airwaves with their Sirius satellite show Fangoria Radio, as well as Fangoria TV, which can be accessed online.
INDEPENDENT PRODUCTIONS FEATURED AT THE CON
OTHER LINKS
February 21st, 2008 | 2:45 pm est |
Note: Convention Coverage Update at the bottom of the post.
There’s nothing like a horror convention to get the geek juices flowing – and who better to throw one than the undisputed kings of horror publications but Fangoria, the leading source of all cinematic horror offerings. They kick off their Midwest winter convention this upcoming weekend in Chicago and the lineup looks like it should be one bloody great time. With guests that range from convention regulars Robert Englund and Kane Hodder (Freddy and Jason, respectively) to an appearance by one of the brightest upcoming directors on the market, Neil Marshall (The Descent, Doomsday), plus two double-feature packed nights at the Windy City’s famed Music Box theater – this is one wild and wooly weekend that is sure to be worth trekking through the cold for.
Follow through the jump for the official flyer, along with links and a call back to our previous year’s coverage. Also be on the lookout for our Convention Report next week, where we fill you in on all of the wonderfully weird happenings of this year’s installment.
February 21st, 2008 | 12:06 pm est |
Inspired by the Kung Fu Flicks series I had previously posted about and still lamenting the lack of fun choices on Detroit area movie screens, yours truly has partnered with Synapse Films and the Emagine Theaters to cook up a mondo bizarro movie series that is absolutely guaranteed to overload your cerebral cortex with some of the most outrageous cult films ever produced!
Every Thursday evening in April, Detroit area moviegoers are invited to come out to the Novi Emagine and experience the seedier side of cinema as we present a series of $7 double features featuring everything from punk rock zombies and flesh-eating schoolgirls to alien parasites, demonic heavy metal bands, debauched detectives, and gore drenched winos!
This isn’t Rodriguez and Tarantino’s Grindhouse folks… this is the REAL DEAL!
The complete schedule follows the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
February 20th, 2008 | 10:47 am est |
Lest there somehow remain any shred of doubt as to how little faith George A. Romero has in humanity, the grim coda to his curious foray into subjective filmmaking should dispatch that uncertainty with the stopping power of a carefully aimed bullet fired into a shambling zombie’s forehead. Not since Night of the Living Dead has a Romero coda felt so deliciously grim, and while fans will certainly argue the merits of his fifth “Dead” film – as well, perhaps, as the ageing filmmaker’s continued relevance or lack thereof – there’s still plenty to like about Diary of the Dead.
January 29th, 2008 | 5:37 pm est |
Daddy Day Camp: If you squint, the leads in this look a lot like Eddie Murphy and Jeff Garland. And if you squint harder and plug your ears, watching it might not make you want to jump out a window.
The Comebacks: If you’re one of the people who propelled Meet the Spartans to the top of the box-office over the weekend… well, you probably aren’t able to read this, are you?
Ricco the Mean Machine: The English translation of the original Italian title for this 70s exploitation flick is Some Guy with a Strange Face is Looking for You to Kill You. And yes, the movie pays off on the promise of that title.
King of Kong - Fistful of Quarters: See the film critics have called one of the fifteen greatest documentaries about Donkey Kong released in the second-half of this decade so far.
The Nines: Two better than Se7en, half better than 8 1/2, but not quite as good as The Ten and far worse than 300.
The Invasion: Nicole Kidman stars in this film about cold, unemotional humanoids. It is not a documentary.
Also out today: The King of California, Right at Your Door, Feel the Noise and Rocket Science
January 23rd, 2008 | 2:41 pm est |
As the release of Diary of the Dead draws near and zombie fanatics across the globe shiver in anticipation, what better way to celebrate the cinema of a true living legend than to reflect back on his remarkable life and career? Independent filmmaker Rusty Nails has been working on a documentary about horror visionary George A. Romero for some years now, and recently, a trailer for his film Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George A. Romero debuted online.
Take a look at the trailer below, and when you’re done why not head on over to the official website for the film to find out more. Judging by the looks of things, Nails has really outdone himself in crafting a comprehensive retrospective on the man who frightened generations of horror fans into seeing the world from a unique, and truly thought-provoking vantage point.
January 18th, 2008 | 9:54 am est |
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A much-debated source of cinematic speculation ever since the mysterious, untitled trailer debuted before Transformers in the summer of 2007, producer J.J. Abrams’ attempt to create an iconic American movie monster combines Godzilla-style mayhem with Blair Witch Project-style storytelling in a way that’s sure to rattle both monster movie fans and disaster film junkies alike. Presented as found footage discovered by the U.S. government in “the area formerly known as Central Park,” Cloverfield opens as New York couple Jason (Mike Vogel) and his girlfriend Lily (Jessica Lucas) prepare a warm going away party for Jason’s brother Rob (Michael Stahl-David) – a promising young professional who has recently accepted a high-profile job offer in Japan. As the party gets underway, Rob’s mentally deficient best friend Hud (T.J. Miller) wanders the room on a mission to videotape as many fond farewells for his soon-to-be-departed pal as possible. When, in the middle of the party, the lights flicker out and a massive explosion rocks midtown Manhattan, the group quickly discovers that they are dealing with a destructive force the likes of which mankind has never seen – leaving Hud with the camera still in hand, ready to capture the entire ensuing ordeal. Reviewing a film like Cloverfield is a trick endeavor if one chooses to respect the remarkable lengths that producers of the film went to in order to keep the primary aspects of the plot a secret, yet by placing the film in a historical context (both cinematic and otherwise) it’s easy to see why it is so effective in rattling viewers who are capable of stomaching the disorienting camerawork. (Note: viewers who suffer from severe motion sickness will either want to take a healthy dose of Dramamine and set a safe distance for the screen, or simply wait to watch the film when it comes to home video.)
January 11th, 2008 | 6:56 pm est |
Photo Credit: illustration by Jeremy Wheeler
Looking for something hot to watch this weekend? Have not enough Dumb-da-Dumb-Dumb flicks been warping your reality as of late? If so – search no more! Do yourself a favor and step into the not-so-long-ago machine and unearth none other than Eddie Furlong’s fourth follow-up after Terminator 2 – Brainscan. This sucker is one hum dinger of a virtual reality horror flick that was forgotten at the time of release and stays forgotten even today.
So is it any good? Not in any conventional way, lord no – but it does have its big, bright, beautifully silly moments that make for delirious entertainment for kitsch video fans to dig into. After the jump, find out 5 reasons to dig this one out of cinema’s time capsule of shame. Have fun!
January 11th, 2008 | 11:19 am est |
A captivating tale of psychological torment from Night Tide director Curtis Harrington, The Killing Kind has gone largely unseen due to a bungled distribution deal that found it screening in a handful of small southern theaters before being quietly locked away in a Hollywood vault - it’s quite a shame, too, considering this tense little thriller features a smart script from screenwriters Tony Crechales and George Edwards, and a pair of powerhouse performances by John Savage and Ann Southern. Cast as a mother and son whose twisted relationship ultimately turns tragic, Savage and Southern play off one another beautifully; their ambiguously incestuous, eerily symbiotic relationship steadily building steam like a broken pressure cooker of dysfunction set on high, and ready to blow at any second. Watching the film, this viewer couldn’t help but feeling that it shared quite a bit in common (both tonally and thematically) with Bob Clark’s masterful 1974 anti-war frightener Deathdream. Not only did the two films make their original premieres within a mere year of one another, but they both explore the complex family dynamics experienced by young men returning home after a particularly traumatic experience (the Vietnam War in Deathdream, and a forced rape that resulted in an extended prison sentence in The Killing Kind), while highlighting that there’s no easy exit once one has been subjected to such profound psychological torment. The chilling final scenes in both films - each providing a key moment of realization between mother and son - are striking similarity as well.
January 11th, 2008 | 10:36 am est |
Nearly three years after the man who single handedly invented the zombie genre returned to his gut-munching roots with the under-appreciated Land of the Dead (sure it wasn’t a classic on par with the original trilogy, but who can deny that it was a helluva fun ride?), George A. Romero prepares to update his classic series with Diary of the Dead. Essentially a “reboot” of the series that began with the 1968 horror classic Night of the Living Dead, Diary of the Dead follows a group of young college filmmakers as they set out to shoot a low-budget horror film, and instead find themselves fighting for survival as – you guessed it – the dead rise up from their graves and all hell breaks loose.
Needless to say fans have been quite anxious to get their first glimpse at Diary of the Dead, and now that the first trailer has dropped, the wait is over. Longtime Romero fans know well that the socially conscious filmmaker is always at his best when he’s got something to say about the current state of affairs, and if advance word is any indicator, the sixty-seven year old is still as opinionated and outspoken as ever. Always the advocate of independent film, Romero is also offering budding horror auteurs the opportunity to have their short horror film featured on the DVD release of Diary of the Dead.
So to all the nightmare makers of tomorrow, it’s time to get those cameras rolling!
…in the meantime, however, prepare to once again be frightened out of your wits by the one man whose been terrifying movie lovers for forty fearful years.
Diary of the Dead - Exclusive Trailer
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January 4th, 2008 | 5:12 pm est |
Envision Tom Tykwer’s frantic, flame-haired heroine from Run Lola Run after inadvertently consuming a particularly potent batch of pot-laced cupcakes, and odds are the result would be something strikingly similar to Gregg Araki’s freewheeling, stream-of-conscience stoner comedy Smiley Face. While I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never actually seen any of the films that endeared Araki to nihilistic indie hipsters in the first place (though I have recognized and admired his penchant for frequently using Curve on his soundtracks), this lightweight look at a particularly disastrous day in the life of an unrepentant pothead was ambitious, fast-paced, and lots of surreal fun. Anna Faris is pitch perfect as the lovable, perpetually stoned Jane F (whose half-eyed, gaping grin often gives the impression of a bong-packing female Butthead), Danny Masterson has his fair share of hilariously creepy moments as her potentially psychotic sci-fi fanboy roommate, and John Krasinksi was nearly unrecognizable in a substantial role as the bespectacled, greasy-haired nerd who harbors a lingering crush on our toke-happy protagonist. While only a handful of the jokes (including an internal conversation about using a photo of an ex-president to display one’s love of lasagna) truly clicked for me, the film was ultimately breezy and inventive enough to win me over in the end. There’s nothing truly groundbreaking or illuminating here, but if one happens to be in the mood for a creative little stoner comedy one could do far, far worse. Read the rest of this entry »
December 28th, 2007 | 3:32 pm est |
Two of the biggest movie stars of monsterdom are back once again in this throw-back thriller that despite its best intentions, fizzles in comparison to the legacy it so desperately tries to connect to. To be fair, this rock ‘em sock ‘em match up is yards better than its sorry predecessor, yet there are still many things that are missing in the Brothers Strause’s tale of small town meets intergalactic men-in-suits, the first of which is a script. Shane Salerno must be a lucky guy - who else could ride a screenplay this lacking all the way through production and to the third highest grossing Christmas release of its time? Apparently Mr. I Wrote Armageddon knows exactly what the public wants out of these bad street brawlers - and that’s teen love. Not only that, but Salerno also has the gall to throw in a dime store Ripley and Newt relationship that couldn’t be more transparent if he tried (which he didn’t). Essentially, it’s the same problem that lies underneath the whole production - and that it’s all some sort of rehash. The same goes for many other pieces of the production’s pie - with music, sets and themes steeped in reverence, with little cohesion to create an organic product. Amazingly, none of this is what truly ankles the production — that esteemed privilege is held by none other than the dynamic duo at the helm of this sinking ship, the Brothers Strause.
December 20th, 2007 | 1:43 pm est |
Horror fans rejoice, for your prodigal son has returned — and he’s brought his kooky brother with him! That’s right, Sam “The Man” Raimi is stepping off his blockbuster pulpit and getting his pressed pants dirty once again with Drag Me to Hell, a supernatural horror flick concerning some poor sap that’s been hit with a nasty case of curses. The script, by the director and his brother Ivan, has been gathering dust since it’s inception after Army of Darkness and was recently resuscitated thanks to the unending writer’s strike.
The bummer news? He’s been quoted as saying that he’s going to try and pull it off without resorting to his patented blood and glorious guts of yesteryear. The better news? He’s currently referring to it as a ’spook-a-blast,’ which hopefully means more Poltergeist spooks than the dopey J-horror ghouls that his production company Ghost House has been mining for five movies too many. Still, any Raimi-helmed horror is better than none. If speculation is correct, then this bottom-of-the-barrel budgeter is just what the doctor ordered for the filmmaker and his longtime fan base. Is it too early to reserve tickets? I’d like 200, please.
December 14th, 2007 | 5:39 pm est |
Fans of The Chin rejoice… the trailer for the Evil Dead icon’s long-awaited “Bruce”-versus-the Chinese God of War epic My Name is Bruce has finally dropped, and from the looks of things this one is going to be an absolute blast!
(At least it couldn’t be much worse than Alien Apocalypse, but who’s keeping score?)
Kudos to the folks who cut this giddy little trailer for seamlessly cramming together (a rip-off of?) the theme from The Terminator and House of Pain’s Jump Around before really cranking the zaniness up to eleven by utilizing one of the most manic moments from Danny Elfman’s score for Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. This one kinda looks like Army of Darkness without the time travel and with Campbell just playing an Ash-ified version of himself rather than the genuine, chainsaw-pawed article, and short of that elusive Evil Dead 4, really, what more could us loyal fans hope for?
Groovy indeed!
December 14th, 2007 | 9:17 am est |
So many attempts to get it right, but now more than fifty years after the fact, it’s beginning to seem as if Richard Matheson’s landmark 1954 novella may simply be unfilmable. Sure, the long-in-development I Am Legend is a serviceable action horror flick when all is said and done, but the reality is that fans hoping for a faithful adaptation – as the title would suggest – will have to put their expectations on hold if they hope to enjoy this dodgy but passable take on the oft-told tale. Truth is that a large part of the story is deeply psychological as it hones in on the gradual mental breakdown of a man left completely alone in the world, a concept that few would deny is better suited to the written page than the silver screen. No doubt Will Smith does a commendable job of conveying the scientist-turned-vampire slayer’s inner torment as he chats up mannequins like they’re old friends and goads his dog on to eat vegetables, but it’s when the film starts to stray from its origins that it becomes a bit generic and uninvolved. On the one hand, there isn’t as much action here as there is in The Omega Man, but on the other, it doesn’t come anywhere near to rivaling the brooding quality of The Last Man on Earth - rendering it more of a tantalizing, middle of the road misfire than an outright failure.
December 7th, 2007 | 12:48 pm est |
On the heels of news that former Faith No More front-man Mike Patton will be the voice of the new Bionic Commando, the press notes for Warner Brothers’ upcoming horror film I Am Legend reveal that the versatile singer has also lent his vocal chords to director Francis Lawrence’s eagerly-anticipated adaptation of the influential novella by author Richard Matheson. In the film, Patton provides the unearthly cries of the abhorrent former humans transformed into flesh eating ghouls by a highly contagious virus.
Having recently attended a sneak preview of the eagerly anticipated frightener without even realizing that one of my favorite vocalists was involved, this viewer can attest that the sounds these creatures emit are enough to have even the most steely-nerved viewer squirming in their seat.
Curious as to what we thought about the rest of the film?
Just drop by the All Movie blog on December 14th for the full review.
Until then, be sure to run out to your local bookstore and grab two copies of Matheson’s original novella – one for yourself and the other to hand off for the holidays. It’s a quick and thrilling read, and there’s still plenty of time to blast through it before the big screen version hits theaters this Friday.
November 30th, 2007 | 1:57 pm est |
Fans of old school, VHS-era video labels such a Wizard, Lightning, and Vestron rejoice, for the foul-minded t-shirt specialists over at Rotten Cotton have recently released a killer collection of short-sleeved torso huggers featuring the logos of these three beloved labels and many more.
These t-shirts will no doubt bring back memories of the times when VHS and Beta were duking it out to become the dominant force on the home video market, and bulky clamshell cases lined the shelves of your local mom and pop video store - promising endless evenings of guilty-pleasure viewing.
Click the pic below for a link to the logo shirt section of the website.
(Warning: While this particular page contains nothing particularly objectionable, the rest of the site is decidedly NSFW and seems tailor made to offend, well… just about everyone.)
November 21st, 2007 | 11:48 am est |
Cynics like to claim that there are no new stories to be told, but even if that argument holds some amount of truth who’s to say that we can’t find exciting new ways to recycle the old ones? Essentially Night of the Living Dead set in a small-town grocery store instead of a farmhouse - and substituting Lovecraftian creatures from another dimension for flesh-eating ghouls - Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Stephen King’s apocalyptic dirge is nothing new in the grand scheme of things, but that’s not to say it’s ineffective by any means. In addition to highlighting how the monster that dwells within man can easily outweigh any perceived external threat, Darabont’s unforgiving frightener dives headlong into the abyss with a grim denouement that’s sure to spark debate. It’s no secret that Darabont is a die-hard King fan (his association with the prolific author goes as far back as the 1983 short The Woman in the Room), so when fans found out that the filmmaker was abandoning the drama of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile in favor of out-and-out {\horror}, the hype was understandably justified. Over the years it has become painfully obvious just how important it is to have a director who understands King’s unique sensibilities when adapting the author’s works for the screen, and here as before Darabont proves that he is more than up to the task.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of The Mist is how distinctly different it feels from Darabont’s previous King adaptations; whereas The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile both felt meticulously crafted and remarkably earnest, this bleak look at a decidedly supernatural disaster instead comes off as intimate, urgent, and even somewhat reckless at times. Of course much of this shift in tone can be attributed to the fact that while his previous King adaptations were unabashedly cinematic thanks in large to the visual contributions of cinematographers David Tattersall and Roger Deakens, this time out Darabont has instead opted to work with the same crew he bonded with during his work on The Shield. While at no point does The Mist ever even come close to being as depressingly bland as the average King mini-series, it does feel more like a large scale television production than a feature horror film at times, right down to the repeated fade to black between scenes. Also elevating The Mist above that of your typically uninspired King adaptation is some truly smart writing by Darabont, and the ace cutting skills of The Shield editor Hunter M. Via (the latter’s handling of an early tentacle attack is particularly effective). There’s no doubt the creepy crawlies that emerge from the titular vapor will give arachnophobes and entomophobes alike a solid scare - and the sheer variety of the creatures alone is enough to steer the imagination towards the unthinkable horrors of Cthulu and his minions - but the computer animation occasionally borders on hokey, leaving Darabont to pick up the slack by ratcheting up the human drama. As in any effective siege film, human interaction plays a pivotal role in the outcome of the story, and this is the area where Darabont the screenwriter truly begins to shine. When the old Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) becomes convinced that she is the true vessel of God and begins barking fire and brimstone to the frightened prisoners of The Mist, things shift from just supernatural scary to real-world terrifying. An enthusiastic but harmless zealot at the onset, Mrs. Carmody eventually manages to make even spiky-tentacled monstrosities from another dimension look like they might be kind of cuddly by comparison. It’s fascinating to see how the alliances unfold as the situation grows increasingly tense, and Darabont handles the growing division and animosity among the fractured survivors with the kind of skill that really draws the viewer in.
There’s no question that Gay Harden almost single handedly steals the show as Mrs. Carmody, her wild eyes blazing as she casts hand down the judgment of the almighty. It’s hard to come off more vicious than a inner-dimensional nightmare beast with the face of a human and the body of a pit-bull sized scorpion/tarantula hybrid, but thankfully for the audience she manages to pull off the “Cooper” role with the kind of relish that can coax an entire theater into despising her. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Thomas Jane is square-jawed perfection as perhaps the most devoted father in the history of modern horror. Alternately nurturing and completely bad ass, Jane only rings false during the final, crucial moments of the film (though, to be fair, it is difficult to tell how anyone would react under such circumstances). Standouts among the supporting players include William Sadler as a class conscious local whose mind proves a bit to small to process the horrors around him, and Toby Jones as the meek check-out counter clerk who could teach even Dirty Harry a thing or two about getting a clean shot.
When all is said and done one would be hard pressed to cite The Mist as a truly ground-breaking horror film, though as with much of Stephen King’s written work it does get the job done amicably while successfully getting under the viewer’s skin in a number of ways. Add to that an ending that might just prove too hard-hearted for some, and the result is a rare beast - a horror film that somehow manages to rob all hope from the viewer, and then send them out into the daylight with a swift kick in the teeth.
November 15th, 2007 | 1:00 pm est |
On the heels of the announcement that Texas Chainsaw Massacre redux helmer Marcus Nispel is in final negotiations to direct Michael Bay’s proposed remake of Friday the 13th, horror fans are once again are understandably up in arms. This time the outrage doesn’t seem to stem so much from the suspicion that Hollywood has lost any modicum of creativity, but instead from the fact that by featuring a hockey mask wearing Jason Vorhees from the onset (as mentioned in the Hollywood Reporter article which broke the story), this crew isn’t so much making a remake as they are a movie “mash-up” of the original film’s seemingly endless onslaught of sequels.
At this point it would seem that even the most remake-resistant horror fan has made peace with the fact that they will one day see their favorite fright story rehashed by a system that has proven more concerned with opening weekend box-office and commercial viability, but has it really always been this way? When executed with artistic integrity, remakes can be a wonderful homage to the films that inspired them while providing younger viewers with incentive to dig a bit deeper into cinema history. Unfortunately for the masses it isn’t always a labor of love, and by the time the screenwriters, producers, and directors responsible for your typical remake have had their say in “improving” the original films and making them more digestible for contemporary moviegoers, most of the themes and ideas that resonated so well with viewers the first time around have been jettisoned in favor of laughable ideas like giving the killer a dead cat fetish, introducing new characters that never even appeared in the original films, or tacking on an entirely new ending.
In short, they just don’t get what made the original film tick.
Is the original Friday the 13th untouchable? Of course it isn’t: As with most any other film in most any other genre, it has its inherent flaws. At this point, however, audiences should be savvy enough to discern whether they’re being systematically swindled out of their hard earned cash or offered a thoughtful new take on a familiar tale. By so drastically altering the origins of one of the genre’s best known homicidal maniacs as the Hollywood Reporter article suggests, the “creative” forces behind this proposed “remake” simply seem less interested in preserving the mythos that helped to make Jason the modern day equivalent of the old Universal Monsters as they do simply hanging the same old goalie mask on yet another paint-by-numbers sequel.
After all, without his tragic back story even The Phantom of the Opera is just another deformed psycho with an axe to grind, and without Ma Vorhees fighting for him in the beginning little Jason is sadly much the same.
November 15th, 2007 | 12:02 pm est |
The trailer for the upcoming horror flick Amusement has hit the web. Upon first viewing, I’d say it looks like a nice cross between Saw and Saw III, with a dash of Saw IV and a strong Saw II influence.
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