Filed under: hateraid, Preview | Tags: horror, john carpenter, Preview, Sci-Fi, the thing
So I have previously shared my objections to hearing that there is a remake of the classic horror Sci-Fi film The Thing (John Carpenter 1982) in the works. I have just learned a bit more about the production and I have to say I am still extremely skeptical about it. As I stated before, it’s going to be based on the Norwegian Research Team that first encounters the mutating alien being and meets their demise before Kurt Russell’s team gets introduced. Sure, that may have sounded like a decent idea over soy-decafe lattes but realistically is it really worth spending time and money on?
Classic to Craptastic
The writer of the film gives it a bit of a chance since Ronald D. Moore has signed on (New Battlestar Galactica Series) to the project. That might make it worth while but to counteract that goodness apparently a commercial director by the name of Matthijs Van Heijningen has gotten on board to direct this feature. Okay, so I know he’s also signed on to the new Army of the Dead project, but a commercial director? Really Hollywood? Well this is still in the early development stages so I will keep hoping that things start sounding better. Oh and by the way, would the film be in subtitles and if not then how would they get away with it?
Possession?
Starring: Carice Van Houten, Jenn Murray
Writer Director: Agnès Merlet
DVD Release: February 10, 2009
Origin: Ireland
I watched this movie last night with my wonderful Mom (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!) and was a bit apprehensive about it because the cover of the DVD described the film as “A Modern Version of The Exorcist“. Now that is quite a claim to begin with. The Exorcist is widely believed to be one of the most horrifying films ever made, so to make that kind of comparison and advertise it is not necessarily something I would recommend. But still I had read a few decent reviews of Dorothy Mills from my favorite horror sites around the web and wanted to see what it was about.
The movie starts out a bit slow and honestly doesn’t really pick up much from there. It’s an interesting and somewhat unique concept for a plot line but not at all in any comparison to The Exorcist. Basically Jane is a psychologist who is hired to evaluate a teenage girl named Dorothy Mills in a small town who is accused of molesting and injuring an infant. Jane travels to the town where it’s occupants are extremely strange and uncooperative from the get go.
Jane's Freaking Out
About 30 minutes into it I was totally sure that the plot was going down a certain line with Dorothy having DID or Multiple Personalities. But of course, that is what the writer and director want you to think until it is revealed that her personalities are those of dead teens who are seeking vengeance on the town’s secrets. That gives away some of the plot but not enough to keep you from seeing it because there is a lot more to the story than just ghosts.
Unfortunately not the entire story gets explained in the end and it leaves you with a lot of questions. And to me it seemed pointless to try so hard to make an audience see things one way for half of a film only to have it completely flipped and in the end still not make sense. It was worth the rental but I think that it could have been done better. The acting by Jenn Murray (Dorothy) and Carice van Houten (Jane) is excellent even if the story line was a bit lacking.
Bottom Line: WORTH THE RENTAL
Filed under: Preview | Tags: 3D, graphic novel, horror, monster, Sci-Fi, supernatural, vampire
So it’s no big secret that I am a huge fan of the horror genre. Whether it be in film, game, or novel form I guess you could kind say I am a bit addicted. So here in this little post I will divulge some information on upcoming horror films that I have heard about and can’t wait to see. I haven’t gotten much information on most of these so far so this is just my preliminary estimate of each one:
The Haunting in Connecticut: I had previously reported on this one being on my Must See list and have just found out that the release date has been changed from much later in the summer to March 27, 2009. I am totally thrilled to find this out since the horror genre has been quite lack-luster lately (ahem…Friday the 13th/My Bloody Valentine). Now I don’t have to wait as long to check this supernatural thriller out.
A Sequel with Potential
Sequel – 30 Days of Night 2: I thought the first 30 Days of Night was great and am a big fan of the graphic novel’s by Steve Niles so when I heard that a sequel was in talks with Niles as the screenwriter I got really excited. The graphic novel’s second installment follows Stella as she continues to track down the vamps and destroy them. I will however be very disappointed if Melissa George doesn’t reprise her role as Stella. That would just make the film seem DVD-release worthy.
The Hole 3D – This film is set to be released in 2010 and will have Haley Bennett (Haunting of Molly Hartley) playing the female friend of a pair of brothers who stumble upon a mysterious hole in their basement that will take them to a nightmarish place where their fears supposedly come to life. Now, I hope this film isn’t one of those 3D movies that wouldn’t have even been distributable had it not been given the 3D edge. It sounds more interesting than say other 3D “horror” films like My Bloody Valentine so I will be keeping up with its progress.
After.Life: Releasing just in time for Halloween of this year, this film is a bit iffy to me. Not that I don’t think the cast is great, I mean with Liam Neeson, Justin Long and Christina Ricci it couldn’t really be all that bad I would think. It’s just that the story line is so overplayed that it might just fall flat. Plot-wise it’s about a woman who is stuck between life and death and has to convince the funeral director not to burry her alive. It was originally set to star Kate Bosworth but I am much happier to hear that Ricci has taken over the role. And maybe Justin Long will even throw a little humor into the film which never hurts honestly.
Sci-Fi-Creature-Feature
Splice- Set to release in 2009 (sometime in September) this sci-fi horror film revolves around two geneticists who while experimenting with DNA and gene-splicing decide to throw some human-DNA-goodness into the mix with who knows what other creatures. This of course isn’t the best idea and leads to some pretty horrific consequences. The images I have seen of the “creature” are pretty amazing and I am really looking forward to seeing it. It is starring Adrien Brody and Sara Polley with Vincenzo Natali directing (Cube) and non-other than the wonderful Guillermo del Toro as executive producer. I would rate this one as a can’t miss.
Sequel – The Host 2: The original of this film was a South Korean monster movie that reminded me of a B-Horror film with expensive special effects. It had humor and all the emotional elements to make it more than just a CGI monster movie. The sequel is a joint production with China and South Korea with Chinese director Ning Hao on board and a reported 12-million dollar budget. It will follow the river where the monster dwells and will have more than one monster making an appearance. Hopefully this one is be worth seeing and make it to the states.
No Ghosts
My literature consumption has been limited lately due to lack of time and energy. I have been reading Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, who also wrote Fight Club & Choke. I haven’t read either of those but I loved the Fight Club film adaptation and the summary of Haunted seemed very interesting to me. This is the basic summary given by Amazon.com:
“Haunted is a novel made up of twenty-three horrifying, hilarious, and stomach-churning stories. They’re told by people who have answered an ad for a writer’s retreat and unwittingly joined a “Survivor”-like scenario where the host withholds heat, power, and food. As the storytellers grow more desperate, their tales become more extreme, and they ruthlessly plot to make themselves the hero of the reality show that will surely be made from their plight. This is one of the most disturbing and outrageous books you’ll ever read, one that could only come from the mind of Chuck Palahniuk. “-product description
I am currently about halfway through the book and the description “stomach-churning” is right on point. Chuck Palahniuk has a gift for giving in depth scenarios of some of the most sensitive subjects of our time. This book is neither for the squeamish nor for those who are offended easily. I have found myself disgusted and shocked many times thus far yet I can’t seem to put it down because the author makes the story itself so compelling. I will write a full review once I have finished it, if I can that is. Last night’s reading session was almost more than I could take so hopefully it won’t get any worse, although I’m doubtful on that one.
So just incase this literary adventure with Haunted doesn’t pan out I have a few others on my list that I am anxious to read. Most of which are horror novels (of course) but a few of them are more general fiction based. (No particular order)
Classic Zombie
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!: By Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith: From the information I have read on this novel/rewrite it pretty much can be described in the title itself; the classic novel plus zombies and gore. It’s a great idea and I can’t wait to read it. It hasn’t been released just yet but as soon as I can get it at my local B&N I will start reading. But I will say this, as cool as this idea sounds I would be greatly disappointed if more authors had the same idea and it turned into a rewrite fest like the Asian-horror remake fest that is being experienced in the US now.
Deeper by James A. Moore: My main interest in this book is it’s resemblance to the H.P. Lovecraftian fiction that has become more popular as of late. As a huge fan of anything Lovecraft, this aquatic monster tale is probably worth checking out. I have read other fan-fiction type short stories and even novels regarding Lovecraft’s creature Cthulhu and have enjoyed many of them so this one is probably my most favorite of this list, that is of course once it is released in May.
Ulrik by Steven E Wedel: This one is a little less interesting but still worth the read I’m sure. It revolves around the werewolf mythology and folklore by telling the story of a particular pack and it’s impending prophecy. I use to read a lot of werewolf books when I was younger so this will be interesting for me to somewhat reminisce and compare. It might be next on the list since it’s already available.
Professional Vamp
Fangland by John Marks: I bought this book before Christmas and was planning on reading it as soon as I got the chance but have been putting it off a bit. It offers a different reading style than most books with more of a documentation approach with e-mails, diary entries etc. It is a vampire novel of course but it also gives a glimpse into the business world and I am interested in seeing how the two can actually come together in a novel. Hopefully I won’t get bored with it.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: A true classic in horror literature, this has been on my list of books to read for a while now and I really need to buckle down and get to it. I have read many a haunted house novel and quite a few ghost stories so this probably won’t be anything new to me but still the fact that it’s written by a woman in 1956 makes it worth my time. I just hope it’s not too similar to Matheson’s Hell House.
I am sure by next week there will be others to add to this list but for now this is what I’ve got. I will continue to pursue Haunted and try not to be too disturbed by it. But with short stories about everything from disembowelment by swimming pool to cross-dressing ex-military vigilantes, I’m sure the second half will be at the least interesting.
The Uninvited
Starring: Emily Browing / Arrielle Kebbel / Elizabeth Banks / David Stratharin
Rating: PG-13 (Teens Admitted)
Release Date: January 30, 2009
Okay, I can admit when I might have judged a movie too soon. I was truly upset when I heard that this movie was even being made due to the fact that it is a remake of one of my top 5 favorite films of all time. Understandably still I had to see this remake to make my own conclusion of how American filmmakers would put their spin on it. Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003 South Korea) aka A Tale of Two Sisters, is an amazing film and my predetermined assumptions on The Uninvited had been based on previous remakes that aren’t even worth referencing here.
The original basically focused on two sisters. Having just recently come home from a stay in a mental institution the sisters return to find her father having remarried. The sisters encounter frightening apparitions and nightmares while at home but bond to one another against their stepmother whom they believe to be capable of harming them both aswell as being the possible suspect in the death of their mother. One particular sister, whom the main focus of the film is on, closely protects the other and slowly the real story begins to unravel through the flashbacks and haunting experiences until you see the truth.
The remake would have been a great deal more enjoyable had there not been 20+ tween/teens in the audience who were completely and totally annoying. One of whom I even knew. And the worst part was the management of the theater had to even escort a few of them out of the theater because they were talking and getting up constantly. One of the kids who was taken out of the theater was the kid sister of a couple of friends of mine. I came so close to just yelling her name and telling her to shut up. But that would have just added to the noise.
I have to say, NOTHING is more annoying when watching a movie in a theater than selfish little brats who have no idea how to act in public. This brings me to my main issue with the remake: its PG-13 rating. Had this film been rated R I wouldn’t have had to deal with these over-sized toddlers acting like they just went off their ADD meds.
I guess the filmmakers wanted to appeal to a larger audience so they could make more money off the film but it took away from the film in the end. The acting and casting I thought were great although it was a bit odd seeing Elizabeth Banks in a negative role. I honestly wouldn’t have casted her as the father’s girlfriend but I guess it wasn’t that bad of a choice. I would have chosen someone like Famke Janssen, who I am a big fan of. She would have been able to pull off the more sinister character a great deal more successfully.
There were a few changes to the story from the original but the basic ending plot twist remained the same, which was a relief for me. That plot twist makes the whole film not only make sense but it makes it worth watching. I just knew the Americanized version would ruin the ending but I was pleasantly surprised. The more intense scenes were even pulled off well and of course the special effects were more graphic in this version although the cinematography may have lacked a little. This was one of those VERY rare cases where a remake actually adds to the original rather than takes away from it. Though some of the story line was different it still was worth seeing and may even encourage more people to watch the original.
Bottom Line: A DECENT REMAKE
Deeper into Darkness
The Descent: Part 2
Staring: Shauna Macdonald (Most of Original Cast)
Rating: Not Yet Rated
Release Date: None Scheduled yet for the USAs a huge fan of the original Descent, it makes sense that I would be a bit apprehensive about this turning into a franchise that basically milks the basic plot for all it’s worth, but I have to say that from some of the photos I’ve seen it might not be so bad after all. With most of the original cast and a decent storyline it might have a chance at actually adding to the original rather than taking away.
The original followed a group of cave explorers into the Appalachian Mountains where they encounter a lot more than seriously old rocks. This one will pick up where that left off and Sara will be forced back into that cave system to help find her friends who didn’t make it out. I will be interested to see where this goes, if anywhere since a release date for the US hasn’t even been scheduled yet.
Love, Undying
Grace
Staring: Jordan Ladd, Gabrielle Rose. Stephen Park
Rating: R (Major Gore)
Release Date: 2009 US ReleasePremiering at Sundance, this movie is sure to cause some people a lot of distress with it’s subject matter alone not to mention from what I’ve read a tremendous amount of gore. It is a story about a woman who after trying for a while to get pregnant finally does. It sounds as if it starts off a bit like Rosemary’s Baby where other people are influencing the mother on how she should handle the pregnancy in possibly creepy ways but I will have to see it to really hold down a statement like that.
The baby is delivered as a stillborn but comes back to life a few seconds later. Obviously when things come back to life in a scary movie its bad news bears so you can imagine that it goes down hill from there. This is definitely a must see for me because any horror movie where people actually faint during the original screening has got to be worth $8 bucks.
The Good:
"Based" on True Story
Drag Me To Hell: May 29, 2009
Starring: Alison Lohman & Justin Long
I want to see this one simply because of Sam Rami. It looks pretty interesting besides that fact also but that is the main reason. Hopefully this won’t be another disaster like The Unborn. Basically it’s about a woman who gets a curse placed upon her and she has to frantically try to remove it before it’s too late. I am interested to see Justin Long in a more serious film too. He’s absolutely hilarous in what movie’s I have seen of his and I hope he call pull this one off well. I’d say it’s worth the $8.00.
The Haunting in Connecticut: June 19, 2009
Starring: Virginia Madsen & Kyle Gallener
I saw the original Discovery Channel “A Haunting” episode where this story first became known. Apparently the writers of the film saw it too, and liked it as much as I did. I remember thinking when I watched it that it would make a great movie. It centers around a family moving into a haunted house and the supernatural shenanigans focus themselves on one of the sons. It looks really great and I’m hoping for something similar to the classic Amityville Horror.
Orphan: July 24, 2009
Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, Vera Farmiga
With a simple premise and a creepy kid, this seems like it could be a bit predictable but I’m always up for the whole scary child idea. I guess this is because I loved The Ring so much and the idea of something that is supposed to be innocent actually being evil is a great recipe for a horror film. But in that same aspect, it’s been done before and could be a snorefest. We shall see.
Daybreakers: September 11, 2009
Starring: Ethan Hawke / Sam Neill / Willem Dafoe
This movie has a 50/50 shot for me. The Spierig brothers who directed a pretty decent zombie film (Undead) previously, should do a good job on this one I hope. It’s a futuristic vampire movie, which honestly sounds all too familiar with the recent release of I Am Legend, but this one is more along the lines of the novel by Richard Matheson instead of the Will Smith remake with the vampires being intelligent and organized instead of mindless CGI freaks. *crosses fingers*
The Bad:
The Box: November 6, 2009
Starring: Cameron Diaz & James Marsden
This one has a few good things going for it to start off, such as the fact that it is based on a short story by Richard Matheson & directed by Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko). But, that is where the good things end. It stars two people who obviously don’t belong in a horror movie. I mean, come on? Cameron-Blonde-Dummy-Diaz and All-American-Poster-Boy James Marsden in a scary movie is like casting Jessica Alba in anything. It makes no sense. I just can’t get past the cast I guess. But because of Matheson, I just might give it a try.
And the Stupid:
Why?
The Uninvited: January 30, 2009
Starring: Emily Browning & Elizabeth Banks
This is not something that should have ever even been made. The original Tale of Two Sisters or Janghwa, Hongryeon (Korean) was amazing and should have been left completely alone to begin with. It is one of my all time favorite movies and I was very upset to hear that it would be another in a long line of terrible Americanized remakes. I guarantee it will be nothing like the original because the writer/director will have changed something to make it more appealing to what they think American audiences will enjoy. That will make it suck. So I will go see it but I’m not happy about it.
(And also Elizabeth Banks+horror movie=Stupid)
- Blind Mag
Starring: Alexa Vega/ Anthony Head/ Sarah Brightman/ Bill Moseley
Rating: R (Gorey Stuff/Diry Words etc.)
Release Date: November 7, 2008 (Limited)
I had heard about this movie through my EW magazine and thought I might give it a shot. I don’t normally do musicals even though I enjoyed Sweeny Todd (Johnny Depp) quite a lot. This movie had even been compared to Sweeny Todd for its horror element mixed with music, but I must say this was no Sweeny Todd. I didn’t know a whole lot about it when I started watching it but the film tries to explain itself in the beginning through what tries to be Comic style illustrations.
Once those end and you start hearing the music and it was a bit of a let down. At least with some of the other musicals I’ve seen the lyrics seemed to actually belong to a song, a song that you might even want to buy the soundtrack for. In this movie, that wasn’t the case at all. Lyrically it was a huge disappointment. Most of the songs were mixed up and had no real vocal rhythm. It was as if they took a movie that wasn’t intended to be a musical and tried to make the dialog go along with some music which turned into a sloppy mess.
The vocals weren’t too bad for some of the characters but others like Bill Moseley had no business singing, ever. The gore was not bad and quite fitting for a horror type film unlike in Sweeny Todd where the blood was bright red and very fake looking. The best highlight of the film was Sarah Brightman who played Blind Mag. She was amazing vocally and her costume and makeup I thought were superb. If the movie had been simply about her character I think I would have enjoyed it more. Her brief solo operatic performance was very nice but her part in the film was unfortunately secondary to a lot of the bad lyrics and not so great vocals.
I had read that this was going to be what some called an “Instant Cult Classic” but honestly in comparison to other horror type musicals like Rocky Horror Picture Show and Sweeny Todd, this was not worthy of such praise. I doubt in 10 years people will be going to independent movie theaters dressed up as the characters and singing along.
The ending of the film didn’t explain a whole lot and left you wondering why all the loose ends weren’t tied up. These unfortunate plot holes only added to one of the last shots of Paris Hilton who honestly shouldn’t have been in the movie in the first place. When you cast someone like her in a film it looses a lot of creditability.
Bottom Line: DISAPPOINTING MUSICAL
Filed under: movie review | Tags: fantasy, horror, movie review, prequel, underworld, vampires
Underworld 3 Prequel
Starring: Michael Sheen/ Bill Nighy/ Rhona Mitra
Rating: R (Violence etc.)
Release Date: January 23, 2009
When I found out they were making this movie I couldn’t wait to see it. I was a big fan of the previous two Underworld films and since this one had a lot of the same cast I was even more excited. The earlier films revolved around the feud between the vampires and werewolves (lycans) but you didn’t really understand why it began except for a brief explanation in I think the second film by the leader of the lycans “Lucian”. This was one of those rare occasions where a prequel was actually a great idea and done well whereas prequels like Star Wars sucked.
The set design was amazing, even more so than the previous two films and the plot was great too even though most people new the basics of the story going in if they had seen the earlier films. Michael Sheen did a great job as Lucian and as an actor I think deserves more credit since he also recently played Frost in Frost/Nixon. I have recently found out that he will play the Cheshire Cat in the new Alice in Wonderland film by Tim Burton. And I was impressed with the rest of the cast’s performance as well.
My only criticism was with Lucians second in command Raze played by Kevin Grevioux. Although I can see why he was cast in the film I couldn’t help but to laugh a little whenever he would speak because his voice was a bit comical and unlike all the other characters he had no British accent. But still that didn’t take that much away from the experience of the film.
I am not really sure about the rumors I have heard of Underworld becoming a TV series. I think that would really be a bad idea due to the fact that although the films have done well on the small screen you are dealing with a different audience. I mean, where would it even air? Somewhere between one of the 15 different CSI shows and E.R.? TV audiences are very fickle (i.e. the cancellation of Pushing Daises and all my other favorite shows). In the end a TV series would most likely get canceled and probably not even get the same characters to star.
Bottom Line: GREAT PREQUEL
Better than Twlight
Original Title: Låt den rätte komma in
Release Date: March 10, 2009 (DVD in the US)
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant (Oscar) / Lina Leandersson (Eli)
Rating: R (Not for kids)
Origins: Swedish with English Subtitles
Official Site: Let the right one in
I should have posted a review on this movie a while back because I saw it in December of last year. I was really surprised to find out that it was even showing in my little town because we usually don’t get those really hard to find movies. But luckily the one theater around here that ever shows anything indie was able to get a hold of this one and play it for a limited time. It was such a big deal around here that they even had a facebook page for the premiere.
I went to see this with my Mom who is also somewhat of a scary movie fan. Although she isn’t quite as die-hard about it as I am. The theater was packed on opening night and I wasn’t surprised. I had read a lot of hype about it on the net before hand which had been all good reviews.
The movie’s cinematography is excellent with tones of gray/black/white throughout except for emphasis on the color red. That part of it reminded me of 30 Days of Night in a way. Even the opening sequence was perfect to set the tone of the film. I will have to say though that this movie could not have been made in the US. There are certain aspects of it that wouldn’t be accepted with a wider audience considering the US is more conservative in nature. And I’m not talking about the gore being the issue either.
All that aside, it was a great film to watch and the story was a completely new take on a topic that has been run into the ground more than anything else in the horror genre. Well, I take that back, other than the whole “teen” slasher thing which is completely stupid. Who honestly wants to see a bunch of naked horny teens get stabbed? If you raised your hand to that one then congratulations, you’re an idiot. I am a major “vampire” fan. I have all the Anne Rice books regarding the subject and even got a massive Vampire anthology a few years back from my aunt (who also likes the blood suckers) which describes any and every vampire reference throughout history.
But back to the film, there was a genius balance of drama and violence that made it compelling but horrifying at the same time. You might have wanted to look away but you just couldn’t bring yourself to do so. This was something that Twilight failed to do totally. That movie was not a horror film in the least of the sense. It was only a teen romance movie. Period. Not to say it was that bad or anything, just that this movie was obviously better.
The one of the last sequences had to of been my favorite where some local boys get what’s coming to them. For all the gore (which was totally realistic) the film still managed to be sweet and reminiscent of a first romance. I loved it for all its boldness and originality.
Bottom Line: PURE HORRIFIC AWESOMENESS
