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THE WEREWOLF Howls Again! |
02-06-10 11:07pm, Absinthe |
 Forget vampires and zombies – they're just corpses. Werewolves are alive and howling
Vampires and zombies have been hogging our attention so much of late that we could be forgiven for having overlooked the other class-A monster lurking on the sidelines. But now it's getting ready to reclaim its rightful place in the horror pantheon, shoulder to shoulder with the walking undead. Werewolves are go!
Although they may not have taken top billing for a while, werewolves have never been entirely absent from our screens and pages. Who is Harry Potter's favourite professor of defence against the dark arts? The werewolf Remus Lupin! Who plugs that gap in Bella's heart when her beloved vampire Edward goes awol in the second episode of the Twilight saga? Step forward Jacob Black, who shapeshifts into a wolf! The Underworld films are nominally about vampires, but who are the vampires fighting? Lycans! Which is just a fancy name for werewolves, also known as loups-garous, lycanthropes, skinwalkers or plain old wolfmen.
In the last two decades, the human-vampire-shapeshifter romantic triangle has become a staple of goth-chick-lit (not just Twilight, but also True Blood and Lauren K Hamilton's Anita Blake stories), while there has been a steady trickle of werewolf movies, though few reached mainstream audiences; Ginger Snaps (in which lycanthrophy is a metaphor for female puberty) and the horror-comedy Dog Soldiers are two of the more interesting recent variations. But horror's hairiest monster finally gets a solo outing The Wolfman, starring Benicio del Toro as Lawrence Talbot, who gets bitten by a werewolf while visiting his ancestral home in Victorian Britain, with not-so-hilarious results.
Andrew Kevin Walker and David Self based their screenplay on Curt Siodmak's script for The Wolf Man (1941), starring Lon Chaney Jr as Talbot. That film and its sequels introduced many of the cliches we now take for granted: the full moon, the creature's vulnerability to silver, and the idea that, in human form, it's basically a decent fellow who can't help letting rip with the bestial urges whenever he transforms. As Siodmak's characters put it: "Even a man who is pure in heart/ And says his prayers by night/ May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms/ And the autumn moon is bright."
Nowadays, more often than not, werewolves manage to keep themselves in check; in the Twilight, Harry Potter and Underworld stories and TV's Being Human and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the werewolves are fundamentally good guys who go a little nuts now and again. But then, werewolves have never seemed to me as disturbing as vampires or zombies. Vampires and zombies are essentially walking corpses, which means there's something intrinsically unhealthy about them, whereas werewolves are alive and kicking. Vampires and zombies are against nature; werewolves are nature, red in tooth and claw. Moreover, Larry Talbot and his successors are victims, labouring under curses or infected by bites or transformed by mad scientists. They don't want to tear anyone's throat out; they just can't help it.
If vampires are the aristocrats of the monster world, and zombies the unwashed masses, werewolves are somewhere in between – honest manual workers who get the killing done without recourse to fancy manners, or even clothes. Werewolves used to keep their clothes on; nowadays they're always getting their kit off, or bursting out of it.
Wolves themselves aren't particularly sinister creatures, though they've had a bad rap throughout history, what with Fenrir swallowing Odin at Ragnarök, the Beast of Gévaudan terrorising inhabitants of 18th century Lozère, or lupine bogeyman threatening to gobble up Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs. But their reputation, like that of sharks, has been rehabilitated in these ecologically sensitive times by way of David Attenborough's documentaries, pro-wolf films such as Never Cry Wolf, or tales of the exploits of the classical pianist Hélène Grimaud, who raises them from cubs. In other words, wolves are adorable, not to be confused with the vicious werewolf.
In Danse Macabre, his entertaining analysis of horror and the supernatural, Stephen King identifies a trio of 19th- century novels as laying the foundations of our modern horror archetypes: the first two are Dracula and Frankenstein, obviously, but the third isn't a werewolf story. It's Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Hyde is not technically a werewolf, but when Jekyll drinks the potion his "features seemed to melt and alter", rather like an early transformation effect in the cinema, and his alter ego's hand is, "lean, corded, knuckly, of a dusky pallor, and thickly shaded with a swart growth of hair". Jekyll's shapeshifting, like lycanthrophy, is an expression of "the thorough and primitive duality of man", as Stevenson puts it.
After Jekyll and Hyde, the nearest thing to a definitive loup-garou text is Guy Endore's The Werewolf of Paris, first published in 1934. The unlucky young man of the title, progeny of a serving girl raped by a rogue priest, is born on Christmas Eve (according to an old superstition, infants born on that date were doomed) and has hairy palms. Oliver Reed played this character in The Curse of the Werewolf, Hammer's adaptation of Endore's book, which was transposed to 19th-century Spain to make use of leftover sets. (Paris plays an important role in the novel, where the werewolf's rampages are barely noticed among the atrocities of the Commune.) Terence Fisher directs at a pace even more stately than usual (it's 30 minutes before Reed's character is even born) and despite the British Board of Film Classification of the era bleating about it being "morbid and disgusting", it's less a horror film than a tragic fairytale in which one's sympathies lie with the monster, who just can't help going on those nasty strangling rampages every full moon.
Reed, like Chaney before him, and like Michael Landon in I Was a Teenage Werewolf, turns into a creature with ingrowing dentures and sprouting jowls (in Chaney's case achieved by generous application of yak hair), which looks more like a dog-faced man than a wolf. But that was all to change. In 1981, Stephen King wrote, "There hasn't been a good werewolf movie in 10 or 15 years." Ironically, that very same year was to see the birth of the modern werewolf movie, thanks to groundbreaking special effects which revolutionised not just movie werewolves, but horror films in general.
Both The Howling (special make-up effects by Rob Bottin, with a little help from Rick Baker) and An American Werewolf in London (effects by Baker) feature on-screen transformation sequences that depict the painful-looking man-into-wolf process in mind-boggling detail: fingernails elongating into claws, the rippling of flesh and the cracking of bones as the skeleton rearranges itself. The Howling, which spawned six sequels (most of which went straight to video or DVD), is also notable for the way that many of its werewolves embrace their condition rather than wishing, as Talbot had, to suppress it.
Henceforth, no monster movie worth its salt would be without its own transformation scene, with variations such as that in The Company of Wolves, which showed a wolf's muzzle erupting from a man's mouth. Michael Jackson bridged the gap between werewolf and zombie by transforming into both in the Thriller video, directed by American Werewolf's John Landis, with make-up by Baker. The latter also worked on Wolf, in which a combination of magic amulet and full moon turned Jack Nicholson into a super-swarthy Medallion Man, more reminiscent of Lon Chaney Jr than of recent lupine incarnations. Mike Nichols's film made explicit the werewolf as a symbol of man shrugging off his mid-life crisis to reassert himself as alpha-male in the workplace, where his wolf senses enable him to eavesdrop on private conversations and encourage him to mark his territory by urinating on a rival's shoes.
Werewolves may seem less versatile in metaphorical terms than vampires or zombies, which these days can symbolise just about everything – sex, death, disease, capitalism or even, in the Twilight series, abstinence. The werewolf, on the other hand, is basically just the beast within. But "duality of man" is a pretty wide remit, since it covers the entire dark half of human nature, a side that needs to be accommodated rather than suppressed, lest those pent-up urges burst out in an even more dangerous form. King expanded the idea of the werewolf to include characters such as Norman Bates, who's both a nice young man and, when he puts on his mother's clothes, a psycho-killer. In which case you could also include the whole monstrous army of serial killers, psychopaths and common-or-garden hypocrites who present civilised faces to the world while unleashing their primitive instincts in private.
But you might also stretch that definition to include the rest of us. We all have our dark side, and though we manage, mostly, to keep it under control, it does sometimes break out. "Every night when the moon is full, I turn into a wolf," Lon Chaney Jr says in Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein. To which Lou Costello replies: "You and 20 million other guys."
Thanks to The Guardian
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Amber Heard joins DRIVE ANGRY 3D |
02-06-10 11:00pm, Absinthe |
Bloody Disgusting learned of some kickass casting news for Patrick Lussier's Drive Angry 3D, which is penned by Todd Farmer (MBV:3D). In talks to join Nicolas Cage on a road to revenge are both William Fichtner (Blades of Glory, The Dark Knight, "Prison Break") and the beautiful, wonderful, stupendous Amber Heard (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, Zombieland, The Stepfather, And Soon the Darkness and John Carpenter's forthcoming The Ward). Amber Heard=scream queen? She's working towards it! Shooting begins in Shreveport, Louisiana this coming March with a February 11, 2011 release locked in place by Summit. The story centers on a man (Cage) driven by rage who is chasing the people who killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby. The vendetta/rescue spins out of control as the chase gets bloodier by the mile, leaving bodies strewn along the highway.
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EVOLVE: Vampire Stories of the New Undead |
02-06-10 10:58pm, Absinthe |
 Kelley Armstrong and Tanya Huff to Head the Roster for Upcoming Vampire Anthology
(Calgary) EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing announced today that Kelley Armstrong, Tanya Huff and twenty-two other Canadian dark fantasy and horror writers will re-imagine the future in the first all-Canadian vampire anthology of original fiction - one of the most unusual and compelling collections ever compiled.
EVOLVE: Vampire Stories of the New Undead includes works by: Kelley Armstrong, Tanya Huff, Claude Lalumière. Mary E. Choo, Sandra Kasturi, Bradley Somer, Kevin Cockle, Rebecca Bradley, Heather Clitheroe, Colleen Anderson, Sandra Wickham, Rhea Rose, Ronald Hore, Bev Vincent, Jennifer Greylyn, Steve Vernon, Michael Skeet, Kevin Nunn, Victoria Fisher, Rio Youers, Gemma Files, Natasha Beaulieu, Claude Bolduc, and Jerome Stueart.
Editor and author Nancy Kilpatrick has penned 18 novels, more than 200 short stories, 5 collections of stories, and has been the editor for 9 other
anthologies. Her body of work involves vampires and dark fantasy fiction. She won an Arthur Ellis Award for the best mystery story, is a three
times Bram Stoker finalist and a five times finalist for the Aurora Award.
The collection will be released March 1st, 2010 throughout North America.
EVOLVE: Vampire Stories of the New Undead
edited by Nancy Kilpatrick
ISBN: 978-1-894063-33-3
$15.95 USA
$16.95 CDN
Pages: 304
Trade Paperback (5.5" x 8.5")
Websites:
http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/evolve/ev-catalog.html (Publisher’s site: sample pdf available)
http://vampires-evolve.com (special limited editions – including coffin edition...see under “Purchase” for details.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEKdqoj53fk&feature=player_embedded (book trailer)
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=237581542711&ref=ts (Evolve Facebook group page.)
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Freddy Krueger Named Ultimate Horror Villain |
02-04-10 12:03pm, Absinthe |
Wes Craven's disfigured child killer Freddy Krueger has been named the ultimate horror villain in a new poll.
The A Nightmare On Elm Street bad guy, who terrorised Johnny Depp in the original 1984 picture, has topped a survey by SFX magazine, ahead of Pinhead from the Hellraiser movie series and murderous Michael Myers in Halloween.
Robert Englund portrayed Krueger in the original film and the character went on to appear in seven sequels. Craven is currently working on a new movie starring Watchmen's Jackie Earle Haley as the blade-fingered maniac.
Other movie villains to appear in the top 10 include Dracula, the Candyman and Hannibal Lecter from The Silence Of The Lambs.
Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street)
Pinhead (Hellraiser)
Michael Myers (Halloween)
Dracula (Dracula)
Candyman (Candyman)
Hannibal Lecter (The Silence Of The Lambs)
Jason Voorhees (Friday The 13th)
Jigsaw (Saw)
Sadako (Ring)
Pennywise (IT)
WENN.com / SFX.co.uk
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Midnight Syndicate's THE DEAD MATTER |
02-04-10 11:58am, Absinthe |
 It's Midnight Syndicate's lucky 13th Anniversary and with it comes a release date for "The Dead Matter" movie. In conjunction with the film release, there's a video contest where filmmakers create a silent film or music video to a Midnight Syndicate track and get a chance to be featured on "The Dead Matter" DVD as well as win prizes from such sponsors as: Screamline Studios, Conquest Graphics, Robert Kurtzman's Creature Corps, Van Helsing's Curse Halloween music, and Midnight Syndicate. Other finalists will also win prizes and special promotions.
Judges include legendary frontman and horror fan Dee Snider (Twisted Sister, Strangeland), Horror FX-legends Tom Savini (Friday the 13th, Dusk Till Dawn) and Robert Kurtzman (producer From Dusk Till Dawn, KNB FX, Wishmaster), as well as Edward Douglas (The Dead Matter) and Gavin Goszka of Midnight Syndicate and producer director Gary Jones (Xena, Hercules, Boogeyman 3). Additional information on the video contest can be found at www.MidnightSyndicate.com. The official rules are posted at www.MidnightSyndicate.com/videocontest.htm.
Production on an interactive website that allows fans to delve deeper into the world and characters they will encounter in the movie is underway. A set of three new trailers, the first of which will be released in February is in production along with a mini-documentary.
ABOUT The Dead Matter
Why rule the living when you can control the dead? . . .
Inspired by Hammer Horror Films and "Tales from the Crypt." "The Dead Matter" tells the story of a relic with occult powers that falls into the hands of a grief-stricken young woman, whose desire to reconnect with her dead brother draws her into the supernatural world of vampirism and the living dead. The movie features a mix of classic horror themes with modern twists that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Starring Andrew Divoff (Lost, CSI:Miami, Wishmaster), Jason Carter (Babylon 5, Angel), Tom Savini (Friday the 13th, Dawn of the Dead) and legendary TV horror hosts Dick Count Gore DeVol Dyszel & Big Chuck Schodowski.
ABOUT Midnight Syndicate
For the past thirteen years, dark music pioneers Midnight Syndicate have been creating soundtracks for the imagination and their music has become staples of the Halloween, gothic music, haunted attraction, and role-playing game industries. With a catalog of CDs that blend dark, orchestral horror and fantasy movie score-style music with sound effects, the band consisting of Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka has had its soundtracks to imaginary films featured in everything from Hugh Hefner's infamous Halloween parties, Barbara Walters specials and Monday Night Football to X-Box games, tracks by the Academy-Award winning rap act, Three Six Mafia, and Twiztid as well as concerts by dark music pioneers The Misfits and King Diamond. The music has also been featured on countless television shows and documentaries relating to horror films and the supernatural.
Often referred to as the first Halloween band or Haunted House band, Midnight Syndicate is the industry standard for the world's top amusement parks and haunted attractions, such as FrightHaven. Whether it's a store, neighborhood celebration, vampire vacation or even a themed-cruise, Midnight Syndicate's music has become synonymous with the celebration of the Halloween season. In September of 2009, AOL released a list of the Top 10 Best Halloween Music CDs of all time as ranked by AOL/CBS Radio listeners. Three of the ten CDs were Midnight Syndicate discs (#8, #4, and #3) ranking only behind Danny Elfman's Nightmare Before Christmas and John Carpenter's classic Halloween soundtrack.
Official websites: www.TheDeadMatter.com, www.MidnightSyndicate.com
Thanks to Chiller Chucky at Examiner.com!
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SEASON OF THE WITCH Website Live |
02-04-10 11:53am, Absinthe |
Season of the Witch is in theaters everywhere March 19, 2010!
Directed by Dominic Sena and starring Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman and Claire Foy
Check out the official website here and bookmark it to check for updates!
Follow Season of the Witch on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/seasonofthewitch
Follow Season of the Witch on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lionsgateHorror
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BLOOD MANOR Open for Valentine's |
02-04-10 11:49am, Absinthe |
 It's not very common to have the opportunity to be professionally scared other than in the month of October.
There's the very rare year-round haunt, but what does one do for frights in the middle of Winter aside from a movie? One of New York's premier haunted attractions is going to be open Friday and Saturday nights, February 12th and 13th in celebrating a Bloody Valentine's Weekend in New York. Located at 542 West 27th Street in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, Blood Manor will be open 7:30pm until 1am these two evenings, and advance tickets are $25 ($30 at the door). There is also a speed-pass option that gets you to cut the line for $40 ($45 at the door), which also promises some sort of surprise gift themed for Valentine's.
Immensely successful in its first 4 years, Blood Manor opened for its fifth frantic season with a bloodcurdling scream in October 2, 2009. With louder shrieks, scarier scenes and more shudders for each moment in its fun-filled darkness, Blood Manor aimed to make its guests' fears come to life. Jim Faro, Mike Rodriguez and Jimmy Lorenzo, whose combined passion for all things spooky, created this Halloween Haven. Sparked by insurmountable cravings for the macabre and decades of their own incredible Halloween houses, the trio have reached scary nirvana with Blood Manor.
Who has the heart not to spend a night of Valentine's Weekend visiting a haunted attraction?! Oh, and GO AHEAD SCREAM…. IT WON’T MATTER! Visit www.BloodManor.com for tickets or more info.
Thanks to Chiller Chucky at EXAMINER.COM
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Icon Releases TRIANGLE on DVD and Blu-ray |
02-04-10 11:44am, Absinthe |
Icon Home Entertainment is pleased to announce the 1st March Blu-ray and DVD release of the psychological horror film TRIANGLE starring Melissa George (30 Days of Night). From acclaimed British director Christopher Smith (CREEP, SEVERANCE) Triangle is aunique conceptual horror film that that turns the genre on its head.
"A Horror That Shocks Through Innovation." - Sunday Times
"A Haunting Head-Spinning Thrill Ride." - Sunday Express
When Jess (Melissa George) and her friend Greg (Michael Dorman) set sail with a group of friends, she cannot shake the feeling something is wrong. When the yacht hits the eye of the storm, the group is forced to board a mysterious passing ocean liner; a deserted ship that Jess is convinced she's been on before. Although it appears to be deserted, they soon discover that are not alone. Someone is intent on hunting them down, one by one, and Jess unknowingly holds the key to end the penultimate terror.
The Blu-ray and DVD release is jam-packed with the following Special Features:
•The Making of Triangle
•Audio Commentary with director Christopher Smith
•3 Storyboards (The Storm, Jess Walking Through The Mirror, The Car Crash)
•Deleted Scenes
•Competition Winners Poster Design
•The Storm Special Effects Featurette
Says director Christopher Smith - "I came up with the idea that a girl arrives on a deserted ship, sees another figure on the top of the ship that we can't identify, and then by the end of the first loop, she is that girl looking down at herself arriving. I have no idea where that came from, although I have always loved movies that play with structure and time, like "Memento" and "Reservoir Dogs". And I wanted to employ those techniques in a psychological thriller narrative. So the idea came first, and then I had to write a story and the characters around the concept - a "Twilight Zone" idea really."
"This Nifty Thriller Is An Impressive Leap Forward For British Horror
Built Around A Driving Idea of Inescapable Deju Vu."
- Daily Telegraph
"Triangle Is A Clever And Compelling Occult Thriller." - The Observer
Triangle is a completely different take on the horror or thriller genre. It's a psychological thriller that will definitely scare you. The film is innovative and highly original and the characters have real depth, all of which combines to make it a very striking piece." Says producer Chris Brown - "In the first fifteen minutes you think you know exactly where the film is going, and then about fifteen minutes later you have absolutely no idea what's happening at all. It's a real rollercoaster and a very clever piece of writing."
Producer Jason Newmark says that Christopher Smith always works to entertain his audience, but with this film wanted to give them something new, something different and something original. Says Chris: "I've grown up loving horror movies but I wanted this to be something more than that. It doesn't just work to scare you; it also works to make the audience really think. There are so many twists and turns, and I hope it will challenge the audience."
TRIANGLE: ABOUT THE CAST AND DIRECTOR
Melissa George (Jess)
Australian actress Melissa George is quickly emerging as one of the most promising new actors of her generation. She recently received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the critically acclaimed HBO series "In Treatment", opposite Gabriel Byrne and Diane Weist. She also took the female lead opposite Josh Hartnett and Danny Huston in Sony Pictures' "30 Days of Night" co-starred with Ron Livingston and Michael Sheen in "Music Within", starred in the Weinstein Company's "Waz," directed by Tom Shankland.
Other film credits include starring roles in Fox's "Turistas" the MGM hit remake of "The Amityville Horror" opposite Ryan Reynolds; "Sugar and Spice;" "Down with Love," opposite Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger; "New Port South" directed by John Hughes; "Dark City" opposite Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly and William Hurt; "The Limey" opposite Terrence Stamp, directed by Steven Soderburgh; David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" with Naomi Watts, and "Derailed" opposite Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston, as well as a memorable guest appearance role in "Friends" as the "lesbian nanny". She also appeared as the evil character Lauren Reed on the hit show "Alias".
Michael Dorman (Greg)
Michael Dorman first came to prominence as the loveable Christian in the hugely successful Australian drama series "The Secret Life Of Us", for which he received a Logie Award Nomination for 'Most Popular New Male Talent'. In August 2005 Michael was featured as one of Australia's "Stars Of Tomorrow"in Screen International.
Michael's film credits include a starring role as Ethan Hawke's brother in Lionsgate's highly anticipated "Daybreakers" a starring role opposite award-winning actress Emily Barclay in the chilling black comedy "Suburban Mayhem" "Acolytes" with Joel Edgerton, selected for the Toronto Film Festival; "50 Ways Of Saying Fabulous" and most recently David Caesar's "Prime Mover". He's also featured the short films - "A Love Story" and "Stuffed Bunny". Other TV credits include "Small Claims"and the AFI nominated telemovie "The Silence"with Richard Roxburgh.
Christopher Smith (Director and Screenwriter)
Chris Smith's talent was noticed by Dan Films following a short film he wrote and directed called "The Day Grandad Went Blind". Subsequent to them meeting, he wrote and directed his first feature for the company, a horror film set on the London Underground called "Creep", starring Franka Potente and Sean Harris. The film premiered in the Midnight Madness section of the 2004 Toronto Film Festival, and was released by Pathe in the UK in January 2005 and distributed in the US by Lionsgate Films. His second feature, a comedy horror called "Severance" received its premiere at Midnight Madness in 2006 and was the first horror film to be shown at Telluride. Both films have established a cult following.
'TRIANGLE' - BLU-RAY & DVD PRODUCT INFORMATION
Release Date March 1, 2010
Format Blu-ray and DVD (PAL)
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Audio dts 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 2.0
Region 2
Special Features The Making of Triangle, Audio Commentary
with director Chris Smith,
3 Storyboards (The Storm, Jess Walking Through
The Mirror, The Car
Crash), Deleted Scenes, Competition Winners Poster Design, The Storm' Special Effects Featurette
Deluxe Package 3D Lenticular Blu-ray and DVD packaging
Subtitles Hard of Hearing
BBFC Certification UK "15", Republic of Ireland "18"
Catalogue Number ICON10194
DVD Barcode Number 5051429101941
Blu-ray Barcode Number 5051429701943
UK DVD SRP £15.99
DVD Running Time 95 minutes approx
Check out 'Triangle' on Icon's horror microsite
Prepare To Be Scared
www.preparedtobescared.com
Icon Films - Official Site
www.iconfilm.co.uk
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JASON DARK: Ghost Hunter |
02-04-10 11:42am, Absinthe |
Thunder Peak Publishing Unveils
Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter© Gothic Horror Adventures
“Demon’s Night” Inaugurates Internet Launch, Future “E-Serial” Installments Across Multiple Tech Platforms
LOS ANGELES, CA – Thunder Peak Publishing, a division of international content developer G3 Studios, today announces a new face in the horror genre with the launch of “Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter©” character. Jason Dark, a fearless and resourceful ghost hunter, follows in the mold of Sherlock Holmes combined with Randall Garrett's Lord D'Arcy. Written by Guido Henkel, the designer who brought Germany's famed Das Schwarze Auge series to computer screens, this action-packed thrilling series is filled with enough mystery, drama and suspenseful action to transport you to the sinister, fog-shrouded streets of Victorian England.
“I’ve always been a fan of the classic horror films from Universal Studios and Hammer Films,” said Henkel. “I wanted Jason Dark to hearken back to those elegant thrillers, but also speak to our hi-tech generation, not only with his adventures but how fans can access them.”
Where the fog shrouds the streets of Victorian England, where the once ordinary becomes obscure, where evil causes the rational to dance on the precipice of anarchy… comes the “Geisterjäger.” Descended from an ancestral line of ghost hunters, Jason Dark is the Geisterjäger of his generation. Risking his own life, sanity, and soul, Dark faces all manner of terrors – vampires, were-creatures, demons, sometimes even the Devil himself – frequently standing as the sole gatekeeper between civilization and supernatural chaos!
The first adventure in the Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter series is entitled “Demon's Night” and is available now. The story will be accessible for reading on internet browsers, including Microsoft Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, in your browser for free from the Jason Dark website, on this site, although alternative versions will be available also at a nominal cost. These will include versions for the Amazon Kindle and other mobile eReaders and devices, including cell phones, as well as a print version.
In “Demon’s Night,” a series of bizarre deaths leaves the victims unnaturally desiccated and decaying, sending Jason Dark into the dangerous world of the London dockyards in search of a supernatural murderer. But is the paranormal investigator prepared to duel a full-fledged demon on a Hell-bent mission to create chaos and catastrophe throughout the earth, a fiend determined to wreak more death and destruction than his even more ominous Master?
Subsequent adventures include Jason Dark #2 “Theater of Vampires,” where Jason Dark turns to an old friend for help when stage magic isn't what it seems. Explore the shadows of the Victorian Theater with London's most famous "Geisterjäger" as he confronts a horror beyond anything yet confronted. “Theater of Vampires” is a story of betrayal, discovery, and horror in the tradition of the Grand Guignol. The only admission price needed is your courage.
Your encounter with the extraordinary awaits! For more information about Jason Dark and his adventures, check out www.jasondarkseries.com.
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POLTERGEIST Actress Dies |
01-29-10 12:17pm, Absinthe |
Zelda Rubinstein, the actress best known for her role as the psychic in the horror film "Poltergeist," died in Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday, her agent said. She was 76.
Eric Stevens, Rubinstein's agent for the past four years, said the 4-foot-3-inch actress had never recovered from a mild heart attack she suffered several months ago, which he said left her a patient at Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Los Angeles.
"She had several pre-existing conditions that she had been dealing with for years, and unfortunately they began to overtake her," Stevens said.
Rubinstein, who took up acting later in life after a career as a lab tech, also appeared on television in shows including "Picket Fences" and "Hey Arnold."
But the diminutive actress first came to fame for her portrayal of Tangina Barrons, the diminutive clairvoyant in "Poltergeist," where she urged a group of spirits to "Go into the light." She later revisited the role in the movie's sequels.
Stevens said Rubinstein continued to work at her craft up until her heart attack.
"She had been considering scripts and taking meetings," he said. "Her last feature film appearance was in 'Southland Tales,' which co-starred The Rock, Dwayne Johnson."
Rubinstein was also a passionate activist for safe sex and HIV awareness, appearing 25 years ago as the mother in an ad campaign aimed at gay men.
"I lost a friend to AIDS, one of the first public figures that died of AIDS," the actress said in an interview with The Advocate. "I knew it was not the kind of disease that would stay in anybody's backyard. It would climb the fences, get over the fences into all of our homes. It was not limited to one group of people."
The actress told the publication her career took a hit after she went public with her activism, and she didn't work for a year. Her agent said Rubinstein "always leant her support to any fundraiser she could be a part of" to help the cause.
Stevens said that per Rubinstein's request no funeral will be held. Instead there are plans for a celebration of her life to be held at the end of February, he said.
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Lamb Of God Frontman's Horror Film Premiere This Weekend |
01-29-10 12:15pm, Absinthe |
01/29/2010
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After Darks 4th Installment of 8 Films to Die For opens in theatres throughout the country Friday January 29th 2010. The Graves, written & directed by Brian Pulido and Kevin Hamedani's Horror Comedy ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction's Red Carpet Premiere takes place on Saturday January 30th at the Beverly Center Cinemas in Hollywood, CA. The event is open to the public.
The Graves is about two sisters whose visit to Skull City Mine turns into a mind bending fight for survival against menaces both human, and supernatural, starring Bill Moseley (The Devil's Rejects), Tony Todd (Candyman), D. Randall Blythe (Scream, Lamb Of God), Clare Grant (MTV's $5 Cover), and Jillian Murray (Wild Things).
In attendance: Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre II), Tony Todd (24), Clare Grant (Masters of Horror), Jillian Murray (Wild Things), Shane Stevens, Brian Pulido (Writer / Director), Brian and Dean Ronalds (Producers/Co-Stars), Francisca Pulido (Production Designer/Producer), Jim Casella (Composer), Barbara Glover (Mama).
Special Guests: Seth Green (Robot Chicken, Austin Powers), Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall, News Radio", Jason Mewes (Clerks), London May of Samhain, and Ken Colom (The Shield). More attendees to be announced.
ZMD: ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION takes place in an idyllic island town that goes under attack by the most invasive of pests: zombies starring Janette Armand, Doug Fahl, Cooper Hopkins, Ali Hamedani, Victoria Drake, Director of Photographer John Guleserian and Director Kevin Hamedani.
In attendance: Janette Armand, Doug Fahl, Cooper Hopkins, Ali Hamedani, Victoria Drake, Director of Photographer John Guleserian and Director Kevin Hamedani.
Special Guests: Matthew Lillard (Scream), Chris Wylde and Abraham Benrubi (ER), Director Mike Milion (Tenure) and Director Nicholas Jasenovec (Paper Heart).
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010
Film Screening: 7:30 p.m. THE GRAVES
Film Screening: 10pm ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction
Beverly Center 13
8500 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-6201
(310) 854-0070
THE GRAVES Trailer: http://www.horrorfestonline.com/?p=534
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Horror Fans in for a Scream at Poster Display |
01-29-10 12:13pm, Absinthe |
HORROR fans are in for a treat after these rare film posters went on show in Newcastle.
The gore-filled collection, now on display at The Opus Gallery in Gosforth, features original designs and behind-the-scenes photographs from the history of scary cinema.
Posters in the Hammer Horror exhibition come from cult classics including The Curse of Frankenstein, Phantom of the Opera, The Mummy and Dracula.
Emma Poole, of Opus Art, said: “Hammer films’ first release was in 1934 - our new exhibition celebrates over 75 years of this much loved British brand.”
The exhibition also includes prints from films like Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter and The Quatermass Experiment, which are available to buy. Official Hammer merchandise will also be on sale at the exhibition.
The horror spectacular is in gallery one, while works by some of the UK’s emerging and established artists will be shown at the gallery two, in West Avenue, Gosforth, until February 21.
Admission is free. For more information contact the gallery on 0191 213 0295.
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New GODKILLER: SILENT WAR Audiobook Preview Clip |
01-29-10 12:08pm, Absinthe |
NEW GODKILLER: SILENT WAR AUDIOBOOK PREVIEW CLIP
- Halo-8 posts free clip from Chapter 2 of urban-fantasy prequel novel
audiobook included on transmedia sci-fi/horror DVD -
Los Angeles, CA, January 28, 2010 - Halo-8 Entertainment has unveiled a free 10-minute preview clip from chapter 2 of the audiobook GODKILLER: SILENT WAR, written by Matt Pizzolo. The clip is posted online as a downloadable mp3 file. While the novel mixes elements of sci-fi with urban fantasy, this character-driven clip takes place in the very realistic setting of a violent protest on Wall Street.
The free clip is posted here
http://godkiller.tv/blog/?p=202
The GODKILLER: SILENT WAR novel is part of a transmedia world including comic books and illustrated films. The SILENT WAR novel is currently being serialized as a special feature on the episodic DVDs for the illustrated film GODKILLER: WALK AMONG US.
Chapter 2 of SILENT WAR is included as an audiobook mp3 and an e-book pdf on the GODKILLER: WALK AMONG US Episode 2 DVD, which hit stores earlier this week.
The first GODKILLER episodic DVD was released on October 6th 2009 after Halo-8 was forced to delay street date when retail orders greatly exceeded studio expectations. GODKILLER Episode 1 quickly became its distributor's all-time fastest selling release.
GODKILLER: SILENT WAR is the story of the end of civilization as we know it. In the near future, 17 year old Joe Junior and his girlfriend Bee run a speakeasy in the basement of an abandoned NYC church where they serve narcotic drinks to underagers while providing sanctuary and black-market employment to draft dodgers. When Joe is recruited by an armed cult of populist assassins, he is thrust into a secret world of international cabals, alien conspiracies, and the countdown to Armageddon.
About the GODKILLER: WALK AMONG US DVD series:
GODKILLER's innovative release schedule that brings the episodic nature of comic books to DVD will roll out as follows:
October 6th 2009: EPISODE 1 limited edition, shortform DVD
January 26th 2010: EPISODE 2 limited edition, shortform DVD
March 30th 2010: Day & Date - THEATRICAL PREMIERE of full feature,
EPISODE 3 limited edition, shortform DVD
May 25th 2010: FULL FEATURE DVD & BLU-RAY
GODKILLER: WALK AMONG US is the epic story of a boy on a quest to save his dying sister. Based on the comic book Pizzolo created with Anna Muckcracker, GODKILLER takes place in a dark-future after economic collapse, after nuclear holy war, and after Earth is colonized by alien races. Tommy and his kid sister Lucy live in an orphanage in one of the few remaining city-states, but Lucy is critically ill and desperately in need of a new heart. Tommy's odyssey to find a new heart for his sister begins when he follows an organ-stealing prostitute named Halfpipe out of the city-state and into the savage borderland known as Outer City. GODKILLER mixes unforgiving brutality, quantum physics, conspiracy theory, and secret history for an iconoclastic hero's journey like none before it.
GODKILLER was directed by award-winning filmmaker Matt Pizzolo and stars Danielle Harris (HALLOWEEN 4, 5, HI, HII, HATCHET 2), Lance Henriksen (ALIEN VS PREDATOR), Justin Pierre (singer of MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK), Tiffany Shepis (THE VIOLENT KIND), Bill Moseley (THE DEVIL'S REJECTS), Nicki Clyne (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), Katie Nisa (THREAT), Lydia Lunch (Richard Kern's HARDCORE), and Davey Havok (singer of A.F.I.). The DVD is available here.
About the GODKILLER 'illustrated film'
The 'illustrated film' Pizzolo, illustrator Anna Muckcracker, and animator Brian Giberson are creating for the adaption mixes elements of anime, radio drama, video games, and motion comics. Utilizing the original artwork from the comic book, the 'illustrated film' adds motion animation, visual effects, elaborate sound design, music, and voice-acting performances.
Pizzolo explained "when we decided to make an anime adaptation of the comic book, I couldn't see how a traditional animated approach would do justice to Anna's incredibly lush and detailed illustrations. It made perfect sense to adapt the medium to suit her art, rather than vice versa."
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LAST HOUSE Director Teaching New LESSON |
01-29-10 12:07pm, Absinthe |
Bloody-Disgusting has learned that
Christopher B. Landon - the man behind Disturbia and one of the writers on the now deadNear Dark remake - is currently rewriting The Lesson (a remake of John Mackenzie's 1971 thriller from Austria,Unman, Wittering and Zigo) for DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures.
Here's the kicker, apparently The Last House on the Left director Dennis Iliadis is in close talks to direct. The original is set in a prep school where the new teacher of a class of 9th grades begins to suspect that his class murdered his predecessor.
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AFTER DARK HORRORFEST 8 DVD Details |
01-27-10 10:52am, Absinthe |
Lions Gate has released the Synopsis for the AFTER DARK HORROR FEST 8 DVD which will be available March 23:
Lake Mungo Synopsis:
In Lake Mungo, sixteen-year-old Alice Palmer drowns while swimming in the local dam. When her body is recovered and a verdict of accidental death returned, her grieving family buries her. The family then experiences a series of strange and inexplicable events centered in and around their home. Profoundly unsettled, the Palmers seek the help of psychic and parapsychologist, Ray Kemeny. Ray discovers that Alice led a secret, double life. A series of clues lead the family to Lake Mungo where Alice's secret past emerges. Quietearth.com states, the film "...doesn't need to rely on gimmicks to get under your skin," while The Hollywood Reporter declared, "A convincing mock-documentary style lifts 'Lake Mungo' beyond spooky supernatural mystery into the realms of emotional truth-telling." The DVD features the theatrical trailer.
The Graves Synopsis:
From the creator of the legendary comics Evil Ernie and Lady Death, comes The Graves. On their last weekend together, Megan and Abby Graves are lost in a remote part of the Arizona desert where they are lured to Skull City Mine, an abandoned mine town. But they soon learn Skull City is anything but abandoned - and there's no way out. The sisters are now prey, forced to unleash their most primitive instincts in a desperate, all-out battle for survival against unspeakable horrors - both human and supernatural. The DVD features two audio commentaries plus a couple of featurettes, audition and script read footage, a music video, "Spot the Gnome" game and the downloadable original script.
Dread Synopsis:
Produced by Clive Barker and adapted from his Books of Blood collection by Anthony DiBlasi (screenwriter), Dread follows Stephen (Jackson Rathbone, The Twilight Saga) and Cheryl (Laura Donnelly), college students making a documentary about what people dread in life. But they have no idea that their partner, Quaid (Shaun Evans), witnessed his parents being murdered by an axe-wielding lunatic and wants to make others experience his own personal horror. Called "one of the finest Clive Barker adaptations to date," by Shocktillyoudrop.com, "Dread delivers on all chilling counts," according to Fangoria.com. The DVD contains the featurette "Facing the Fear: Behind the Scenes of Dread," plus "A Conversation with Clive Barker and Director Anthony Diblasi" and deleted scenes.
Zombies of Mass Destruction Synopsis:
A conservative island community is under attack! Port Gamble, Washington is being overrun with brain eaters, and the people seem powerless to stave them off. A rag tag band of rebels led by Frida, an Iranian college student suspected of being an Iraqi terrorist, and Tom, a gay businessman who has returned to town with his partner to come out to his mother, tries to turn the tide and push the invading hoards of undead back. Called "the best of its type since Shaun of the Dead," Filmthreat.com states, "Zombies of Mass Destruction is a limb-shucking, eye-gouging hoot, full of both disemboweled stomachs and belly laughs." The DVD contains the "Making of Zombies of Mass Destruction" featurette.
Hidden Synopsis:
With his mother's passing, KK returns home after nineteen years to settle her estate. But with his heritage comes dark and deadly secrets. Having spent the last two decades trying to forget his cruel mother and his past life in the creepy house in the woods, KK finds that there are some things you just can't run from. Thefreshfilms.com declares "...Hidden is bordering on greatness."
The Final Synopsis:
Dane, an awkward student with a deadly vendetta, leads a group of outcasts who plot to avenge the years of humiliation they faced by the popular students at Hohn High School. The outcasts turn the tables on the popular students who made sport of them and prepare for a single night that will leave their tormentors scarred for life. The DVD features audio commentary with the producer and director plus behind the scenes footage and a deleted scene.
Kill Theory Synopsis:
Seven college students visit a secluded vacation home to celebrate graduation and become trapped in a deadly game by a mysterious killer. Forced to kill one another by 6 am the following morning, only one of them can remain alive. Whoever remains will be allowed to walk away with his or her life. However, if morning comes and more than one is still breathing, everyone dies. Friends and couples must test their trust as the clock ticks away. Some will fight for love, some to survive, but all will change. Because deep down... we're all killers. The DVD special features include the featurette "Kill Theory: Behind the Scenes" plus two alternate openings and a deleted scene.
The Reeds Synopsis:
A weekend boating party turns into a nightmare for a group of young Londoners when they stumble upon a terrifying secret hidden in the reeds.
Pricing: DVD $19.98 each
Pricing: DVD Box Set $159.98
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Birthday Massacre's SHOW AND TELL DVD Available for Pre-Order |
01-27-10 10:25am, Absinthe |
PRE-ORDER: Order now, and we will ship this item to you when it is released.
Release Date: February 9th!
The Birthday Massacre has come along way since their inception in 2000. The Toronto based outfit continues to garner new fans worldwide not only in the industrial and electronic scenes, but the rock community as well. Their last album Walking With Strangers was a major hit for the band and resulted in countless touring opportunities, not only as openers (for bands such as Mindless Self Indulgence) but for their own headlining tours as well. The intensity of their live shows was captured on film in late 2007 in Hamburg, Germany. This footage has been assembled to make The Birthday Massacre's first ever live DVD, Show And Tell. Featuring 15 of their fan favorite tracks as well as their show intro "Before Dark," the DVD provides an excellent platform for fans to reminisce about their live experiences, and for new fans to anticipate the next opportunity they have to see this exceptional band. A CD version of Show And Tell was released in early 2009, and fans can expect a brand new studio album for spring 2010.
To order click here.
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Lindqvist Talks Vampires |
01-26-10 3:41pm, Absinthe |
I saw this quaint but chilling movie called LET THE RIGHT ONE IN recently and I can't seem to get it out of my head, so I searched for the author of the story and found this insightful article Don't miss the movie if you get a chance to see it...and watch it before the American remake debuts! ~ Abs
John Lindqvist injects new life into the horror genre with his take on vampires and zombies.
BOTH books are about vampires. Both are bestsellers. And both have been made into hit movies. However, John Ajvide Lindqvist’s Let The Right One In is no Twilight copycat.
No sweat: John Ajvide Lindqvist finds it easy to write horror stories. ‘Horror is the most open genre around. A writer can write about almost anything or anyone; anything can happen, and any monster can appear, as long as you make it believable,’ he says.
One, the book is named after a song by British singer Morrissey, former frontman of The Smiths. How many of Twilight’s tween fans can name a single song of his, or have even heard of him for that matter?
Two, Lindqvist’s vampire is distinctly un-Twilight-like. His vampire protagonist Eli is a sad little girl (albeit one who is centuries old) living in a Swedish suburb. She doesn’t drive fast cars, she is not “vegetarian”, and she certainly does not sparkle in sunlight.
Three, and most damning of all, Let The Right One In was written and published in Sweden in 2004, a whole year before Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight came out.
Surprisingly, Linqvist did not set out to write a vampire book. In fact, the Swede is not exactly a fan of Dracula and friends.
“It’s so sad that half the selection in a bookstore’s horror section is about vampires in one way or another. I read some before writing (Let The Right One In) just to see what had been done before, and realised that there is just such immense amount of rubbish around,” he lamented at an interview during the recent Singapore Writer’s Festival.
If he dislikes vampires so much, then why write a vampire book?
Soulmates: Director Tomas Alfredson toned down many elements of the novel and focused on the friendship between Oskar (played by Kåre Hedebrant) and the vampire Eli (Lina Leandersson) to great effect in the movie Let The Right One In. It is set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg in the early 1980s.
“I didn’t intend to write a vampire story at first. In a way, Let The Right One In is a very typical first book. It deals with my own childhood in Sweden, which obviously did not have a vampire in it,” he said, explaining that all he wanted to do was to portray the place and time where he grew up (namely, the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg), and introduce fantasy or horror elements into this setting.
“I wasn’t sure it would be a vampire at first, but later when I decided that I wanted the male protagonist Oskar to befriend the monster, I realised that a vampire is the most suitable monster to use,” he added.
Even then, Lindqvist was adamant he would not write a typical vampire novel, thus departing from the usual blood-sucking clichés, focusing instead on Eli’s sad existence as a child vampire killing people to survive.
“What would life be like for a vampire child like Eli? It would be absolutely terrible – an impoverished, disgusting existence, basically like a child living with a disease. There would be nothing good at all – no glamour, no wonder, and definitely no sparkle at all!” said Lindqvist.
The writer also reckons that “zombies are much better than vampires anyway”, and he underlines this preference in his second book – Handling The Undead (2005). Just as he did with vampires in Let The Right One In, Lindqvist handled his zombies with his usual disregard for conventional clichés.
His main idea for Handling The Undead was: What if the dead came back to life and they were not aggressive? According to him, zombie aggression is a staple in every zombie-related story, which tends to force it into a war.
Burn, baby, burn: A character who was bitten by tne vampire Eli, going up in flames when she comes into contact with sunlight
“I don’t like war movies at all. It always comes down to: What weapons should we use against them? Guns! Flame throwers! Fry their brains! Woohoo!” he said mockingly. “So if dead people actually came back and weren’t aggressive, if the war element was taken out, then what kind of story would we have?
“I also took into account that these undead would have had relationships with living people – every zombie would be someone’s sister, father or mother, and your first instinct would not be to shoot them in the head!”
Humour to horror
Judging from his “dark and terrible” books, it’s hard to believe that Lindqvist, 41, was a street magician and stand-up comedian for 12 years. Surely it wasn’t easy going from being on stage and in the limelight, to being a writer cooped up in a room typing all day?
“I was quite fed up with being on stage and travelling around Sweden performing on small stages for different random people. It could get quite lonely at times. I much prefer the loneliness together with your characters while writing.”
Lonely boy: In the acclaimed movie, Kåre Hedebrant plays Oskar, a bullied 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with Eli, an ancient vampire girl.
Writing comes “very naturally” to him, he said. “I have always been writing in one way or another throughout my career. When I was a magician, I used to write scripts on what to say for my magic tricks. As a stand-up comedian, I didn’t like doing the same thing over and over again, so I always tried to write something new all the time.”
All things considered, wouldn’t it have been easier to write a comedy novel rather than horror?
“Horror has always been in my bones. I started reading horror when I was 12, and as soon as I could, I would sneak into the cinema for a horror movie,” he recalled.
“But it never occurred to me that I could write a horror story, for some reason. The first thing I ever wrote in the horror genre was a short story called Our Skin, Our Blood, Our Bones, which I did just to see if I could make things scary. It’s not a really good story, but when I read it to my wife, she was petrified! So I figured: OK, I know how to do this, I can try to write a whole novel now.”
It took him only seven months, including several rewrites, to finish Let The Right One In. The book was a great success in Sweden and abroad, and has been translated into several languages, including Chinese.
“It was a great relief (to write horror). When I was trying to write serious literature, I was sweating over every sentence, trying to write like a Big Important Writer. But when I started writing horror, it was so easy! I didn’t have to pretend to be a writer, I just had to tell the story,” said Lindqvist.
“Horror is the most open genre around. A writer can write about almost anything or anyone; anything can happen, and any monster can appear, as long as you make it believable.”
Lindqvist’s third book Pappersväggar, a collection of horror short stories, was released in 2006.
Old gal: The centuries-old vampire girl Eli (played by then 11-year-old Lina Leandersson) in Let The Right One In.
Let the movie deal in
These days, it’s hard to find a popular book that has not been made into a movie, let alone a good vampire story that has not been adapted.
Unfortunately in many cases, a good book does not necessarily mean a good film, though thankfully the Tomas Alfredson-directed Swedish language Let The Right One In was released in 2008 to critical acclaim, winning several awards, while a Hollywood remake is in the works.
Lindqvist, who wrote the screenplay for the first movie, was extremely happy with the final product. “I was in tears the first time I saw the film. I was visiting Tomas on set, and he showed me seven minutes of footage on his laptop. I ended up crying because it was so beautiful and perfect – exactly what I had hoped he would do with the story,” he recalled.
He also has high expectations of the Hollywood remake (re-titled Let Me In to cater to word-challenged Americans) due out this year, not least because it will be directed by Matt Reeves, the director of monster flick Cloverfield.
“I’m a big a fan of Cloverfield. I thought it was a good take on the Godzilla story, so I was quite happy when I heard that Matt was going to direct my movie,” said Lindqvist.
“The best part is, he actually wants to make it – he feels a personal relationship with the story, and read the book even before he was assigned the job.
“He is writing the screenplay himself, and I expect a lot of changes from the Swedish version. He’s doing a re-adaptation – a different take on the book. So it won’t be a remake that is a frame-by-frame version of the Swedish movie with different actors speaking in English. That would be really bad!”
Soure
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Canadian Horror SPLICE's Up Sundance |
01-26-10 3:35pm, Absinthe |
Actress Sarah Polley returns to the horror genre with Splice, a feature directed by Canada's Vincenzo Natali that opened at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah on the weekend.
Polley, who previously starred in horror movie Dawn of the Dead, plays a scientist working with Adrien Brody to create a new supercreature. When they secretly add human DNA to the mix, they create something completely unexpected —a female nyph with unusual appendages.
"I think as Canadians we do have a talent for science fiction," Polley said after the opening screening Friday at midnight.
Natali, who previously directed the cult classic Cube, is known for his lurid special effects and dazzling visual design.
He pushes the horror envelope with some fleshy David Cronenberg touches that had opening night audiences squirming.
The dark examination of genetic manipulation is leavened with some comic scenes between Polley and romantic interest Brody.
"Natali has now crafted a true Frankenstein tale for the modern age," said an early review on Firstshowing, a site that concentrates on new films. The writer, a horror lover, said he believed Natali had "reset the moral boundary" for the genre.
Canadians make a splash
It is just one of several Canadian offers in the Sundance Midnight series.
The others:
7 Days (Les Sept Jours du Talion) directed by Quebec's Daniel Grou, about a doctor seeking revenge for the murder of his daughter based on a bestselling novel by Patrick Senecal.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, a Canadian co-production by American writer-director Eli Craig about two hillbillies who are accused of being killers by a group of college kids camping near their cabin.
7 Days, which has already won distributions deals, is to be included among the films Sundance will make available on YouTube.
Vancouver-born Ryan Reynolds stars in another of the popular Sundance horror outings — Buried, about an American trucker captured in Iraq, who is buried beneath the desert in a wooden box not much bigger than a coffin.
Splice is produced by Toronto's Copperheart Entertainment.
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Trailer for Capcom's DEAD RISING |
01-26-10 3:33pm, Absinthe |
Over at HorrorMovies.ca you can check out the trailer for Capcom's DEAD RISING!
Dead Rising was one of the best zombie games to come along in a very long time. I think its safe to say it was one of the driving forces in making zombies a viable base to make a game around. Resident Evil tread the path but Dead Rising definitely got things kick started.
Now Capcom's insanely popular game is making a sequel and a movie is soon to be released according to Kotaku. They have already released a short trailer and the full version of the movie is going to be availble to download on Xbox 360 and on the official website.
The film is set in an alternative reality in which areas affected by outbreaks are strictly quarantined, and those living in the area are cordoned off from the rest of the country. Two brothers, George and Shin, hatch a plan to escape. Starring actors Hiroki Yoshida, Hiroshi Yazaki, and Shibyou Osen, DEAD RISING is a live-action movie co-written and directed by Dead Rising designer and Mega-Man creator Keiji Inafune.
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Preview of FEARLESS DAWN by Asylum Press |
01-26-10 3:28pm, Absinthe |
 ASYLUM PRESS ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF A PREVIEW OF THEIR FEARLESS DAWN/ASYLUM PRESS SAMPLER FOR FREE COMIC BOOK DAY COMIC
(Los Angeles) Frank Forte, publisher of Asylum Press, has announced the release of a preview Fearless Dawn/Asylum Sampler FCBD issue.
"I'm excited to be a part of Free Comic Book day for the first time, "explains Publisher Frank Forte, "readers will get a great sampling of the books we publish. Some of the titles are current and others will be published this fall. It gives retailers and fans a chance to see what's coming."
A great way to introduce Asylum Press to retailers and fans. Featuring a sampling on new and upcoming comics. Fearless Dawn By Steve Mannion features our favorite new heroine battling a troop of mutants. Black Powder, a bloody frontier adventure, by Dwayne Harris, can be described as a "Buckskin Apocalypse Now". Warlash:Origins features a tale of Bladeviper by Royal McGraw and J.C. Wong. Farmhouse is a tale of a drifter who falls in love with an artist undergoing an experimental art therapy regimen, by Elizabeth J. Musgrave and Szymon Kudranski. In Warlash: Zombie Mutant Genesis, our armored hero goes up against a horde of brain eating monsters, by Frank Forte. EEEK! by Jason Paulos, is an anthology of retro style horror tales.
Title: FEARLESS DAWN:ASYLUM PRESS SAMPLER FCBD EDITION
Issue Number: ONE SHOT
Frequency of Publication: One Shot
Writers’ and Artists’ Names: Frank Forte, Steve Mannion, Dwayne Harris, Royal McGraw, J.C.Wong, Jason Paulos, Elizabeth J. Musgrave,, Szymon Kudranski, Nenad Gucunja
Intended Audience: general readers
Genre: Action / Adventure/ Comedy
Format: SC, 48 pgs, color saddle stitched
Retail Price: FREE
ISBN: 978-0-9818230-6-5
FEARLESS DAWN FCBD PREVIEW: http://www.asylumpress.com/FCBD_2010_Preview.html
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