Archive for June, 2008
Are Slashers Getting Worse or Are We Getting Old?
On the weekend, I decided to go to the theatres to see The Ruins. (The first decent mainstream horror film of this year if you ask me!) When I was walking to the concession stand to get my usual and overpriced snacks, I saw something that shocked the hell out of me…..and that was I saw a gigantic line up for….Prom Night.
I didn’t know whether to shake my head at the crowd, or point at them and laugh. Then it seemed that the joke was on me, because as soon as I got home, I found out not only did Prom Night make a sh*t load of money, but it also came in number one at the box office!! (WTF?!?!)
Dead Air Trailer
A radioshow team attempts to warn its listeners after a huge explosion turns zombies on the loose in L.A.
Mirrors (2008) Behind-the-Scenes Clip With Kiefer Sutherland
A man is head of security at a department store plagued by unexplained deaths The store is also the target of demonstrators wanting compensation for an earlier staff fire tragedy. The man becomes intrigued by a disturbed woman. She claims her sister, who died in the fire, is exacting revenge, using mirrors as a gateway back into the living world.
Special Dead Movie Review
Only in the realm of low budget straight to dvd horror films could you ever find something as politically incorrect and offensive as “Special Dead”. Its worth mentioning off the bat that if you’re easily offended epically by the exploitation of mentally challenged or handicapped people for the sake of humor and entertainment then this certainly isn’t the type of film for you. On the other hand the chances of anyone on this site being easily offended is probably unlikely or you wouldn’t be a horror fan. The unfortunate thing about “Special Dead” is that it isn’t the brilliant over the top offensive horror comedy it thinks it is. In fact the film feels like someone had one joke and instead of trying to build on the idea and make it into a film he simple ran the one joke into the ground in a dragged out ninety minute excuse for a film. Its really a shame when you look at the potential the film had and with a tag line of “Sometimes heroes ride the short bus” how could the film not be complete trashy fun? The answer is incompetent direction throughout, terrible production values and painfully bad writing dragged this novel idea down into the dirt.
The story revolves around Camp Special Dude, a summer ranch for the mentally handicapped or “retards” as they’re lovingly referred to in the film. The camp is run by a father and son duo with the help of some very horny counselors. On the first night that the new group of “special” guest arrive a zombie outbreak happens in the area. It turns out that the camp just so happens to be smack dab in the middle of zombie country. The only problem is the camp’s bus isn’t working. The only chance of surviving the night for the counselors and the campers is if they band together and fight the zombies. This all happens in the first twenty minutes or so of the film and up to that point the film is pretty fun. Its by no means good but its entertaining and fun which is exactly what you’d expect from a film like this.
Inside Movie Review
Inside brings the terror back to horror. I will start by telling you what i like to see in a horror film. It don’t matter to me if a film is just rehashing old ideas, as long as they give it a new twists, give me some cool original kill’s, somthing. Thats just what we see here with Inside. This moive is pretty simple and it gets right to the point. No fooling around here. It is a simple story that delivers plenty of thrills.
Inside is about Sarah (Alysson Paradis) a young photographer who recently lost her boyfriend in a car crash and she is still grieving over her loss. It is now Christmas and she is alone and expecting a baby the next day. On Christmas Eve she is visited by a Woman in Black (Béatrice Dalle) who wants to get inside the house for reasons unknown. However, soon enough, she is in the house and her goal becomes clear. I will save the rest as to not spoil anything for you.
New Quarantine Poster
From the cool folks at Filmz.ru comes a new poster for QUARANTINE. The film will be hitting theaters on October 17th.
Television reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris) are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. They soon learn that a woman living in the building has been infected by something unknown.
After a few of the residents are viciously attacked, they try to escape with the news crew in tow, only to find that the CDC has quarantined the building. Phones, internet, televisions and cell phone access have been cut-off, and officials are not relaying information to those locked inside. When the quarantine is finally lifted, the only evidence of what took place is the news crew’s videotape.
Albino Farm 2009 Movie Review
The main plot goes like this: Four animated college friends doing research for a school project find themselves a part of the legend they’re seeking to unravel when car troubles render them lost in uncharted Ozark Territory where a secret and sadistic society of the deformed awaits them. Through their enduring quest for survival, the eerie curtain covering a real-life American legend is lifted, and a past almost as disturbing as its present is uncovered in “Albino Farm.”
Hells Ground Movie Review
Pakistan is not known for their horror films. As a matter of fact I can’t even think of any other horror films from Pakistan except Hell’s Ground. This is however the first Pakistan splatter flick. That said I didn’t expect much because usually the first film to do anything is typically improved upon after another director sees what they can do. Well improving upon Omar Ali Kahn’s Hell’s Ground will be no easy feat. Not only do I think they won’t approve upon it, I doubt they can even make a better film than this any time soon.
Ali Kahn’s film borrows from a lot of American horror films but it does so in a way that is really smart. He takes all of his favorite films and develops little set pieces that are almost devoted to that film. You can see glimpses of High Tension, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th and all other kinds of horror staples thrown in. The story is simple. A group of teens jump in a van together to head out to a concert after each of them have lied to their parents of what they are really doing. Once on the road they somehow find themselves on what the locals call “Hell’s Ground”. After one of them is bit by a zombie, the gang run into a crazed hitchhiker and his insane family. One of which wears a blood splattered burqa and wields one fancy medieval weapon. When the van runs out of gas they find themselves in a whole heap of trouble.
During the film I instantly fell in love with the look and surprisingly the music. The movie being Pakistani made me think the music was going to be really off. While the music is traditional for the country it reminded of the kind of tunes you would hear in the 80s. The look was also very similar to that with a lot of use of fog and weird camera lenses to make hallways appear longer. Ali Kahn really knew what he was doing when he made this film and it shows.
The most satisfying part of the film however is probably the way he was able to mash up so many different horror sub-genres into one film and make it work. He did this and didn’t make it feel too artificial. We have cannibals, zombies, slashers, maniacs, he really runs the gamut. Of course this is typical for a first time director to try and include as much as he has learned into their first feature. However not many are as successful as Kahn.
After the film made a significant run on the festival circuit the censors in his home country finally allowed the film to be screened. It was a huge triumph for him and everyone involved with the film. Kahn wasn’t done yet. He wanted everyone to see his film and TLA Releasing decided to help him out in that area and release the DVD here in the states. The disc contains some very interesting special features including a mini documentary called Ice Cream Zombieland. During this doc they follow around the director and you get to hear some of his feelings about the film. You are also shown the process that it took to get his film through the Pakistani censors. Also featured is the Pakistani Premiere, trailers, a music video and the directors commentary.
Overall I have to say I really enjoyed this film and it is one of the few movies I receive that I will definitely be popping back into my DVD player very soon. Every horror fan will be able to sit through this one and pick out some of the homage’s. This movie honestly has a little something for every kind of fan out there. Zombies, gore, a serial killer and did I mention there is a zombie dwarf in the film? Yea.. this is a must.
Scream Factory Invades Wizard World
Today we were notified by the Scream Factory that they are bringing along quite a few people and supernatural serial killer Eddie Dill’s Treehugger. Well not the real creature.. but a hand crafted statue, cast, sculpted and handpainted all by Robert Kurtzman. The piece is an imposing 22″ tall by 12″ wide and 12″ deep, and features a scalp with real hair!
You will be able to pick one of these bad boys up if you are going to be in Chicago this weekend at the Wizard World Convention in Booth 933. The figure is available in extremely limited quantities and was not mass produced. So if you want one of these you better be ready to make that trip.
MIRRORS Poster
From PosterGeek / impawards & STYD comes the poster for MIRRORS. In the film a security guard becomes wrapped up in a mystery involving a particular department store’s mirrors which seem to bring out the worst in people. Mirror’s stars Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Cameron Boyce, Erica Gluck and Amy Smart.
