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Cinematical Seven: Movies That Start Fights
Filed under: Horror, Independent, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Cinematical Seven
I've been meaning to purchase and wear this t-shirt since I learned of its existence a couple of months ago, but I figured I'd better let the Twilight: New Moon hysteria die down first. It would appear, after all, that openly declaring one's hostility toward the Twilight franchise on one's person, even with a statement as unquestionably correct as "Vampires Don't Sparkle," is just asking for trouble. You do not want to mess with a gaggle of rabid Robert Pattinson fans.
I do not hate the Twilight franchise, actually, though I would like to suggest that the Twilighteers may live to regret sinking so much time and emotion into something so utterly banal. But I seem to be one of the few who occupy the middle ground. Twilight might be the most divisive love-it-or-hate-it phenomenon of the last few years. Not everyone adores Harry Potter, but most people have at least a grudging respect for it; Twilight has as many haters as fawning admirers.
You gotta admit that if you can use a movie to start an argument, it's at least good for something. Here are seven other movies that seem to disproportionately divide the moviegoing population into adoring fans and angry detractors.
1. Titanic - To get the obvious out of the way. It's amazing to me how often people make offhand derisive mentions of Titanic, as if its awfulness were well-established and self-evident. As with Twilight, of course, the surprisingly widespread disdain of this movie is a backlash against its army of obsessive partisans (and from a similar demographic to boot) -- the folks who showed up on local news shows in 1997 bragging about having seen it 16 times in the theater, etc. The fact that Titanic is a fantastic film -- and not really (or at least not only) for the reasons many of its fans think -- tends to get lost in the shuffle, sadly.
Jaycee Dugard's Horrific Story to Get a Sleazy Adaptation
Filed under: Horror, Independent
When Jaycee Lee Dugard was 11 she was abducted from a bus stop outside her home in South Lake Tahoe, California. The search to recover her was frantic but fruitless and it seemed like the little girl would be lost to her family forever. That is until a now 29-year-old Dugard was able to emerge from her captor and alert authorities as to the unbelievable life she had been forced to endure since her kidnapping. For 18 years she was held against her will by a psychotic husband and wife duo who repeatedly abused and raped her, which resulted in Dugard giving birth to two of her captor's children, the first of whom would have been born when the poor girl was 14 years old.It's a hell of a frightening story and now it's set to become the subject of a film called Abducted Girl, An American Sex Slave, only unlike most biographic pictures, the family of Jaycee Dugard desperately wishes it wouldn't exist. A representative for the family explained, "If and when Jaycee and her family think it is appropriate, their story will be told by them, in a forum of their choosing with the respect and thoughtfulness they so deserve. Anyone else speculating about the details of such a personal hurt, for financial gain, is exploitative, hurtful and breathtakingly unkind."
And if you have any doubt that the maker of Abducted Girl, Shane Ryan, has anything but exploitative ambitions, take a look at his no-budget, z-grade horror movie filmography: Amateur Porn Star Killer 1-4 (the latest of which was in 3D!), So, We Killed Our Parents, Warning!!! Pedophile Released and Sex Kids Party aka The More the Better. Which brings up a sad question: What if a person doesn't want their story told?
Brad Pitt Prepares to Enter the 'Dark Void'
Filed under: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Games and Game Movies
A guy like Brad Pitt can do anything he likes. He's handsome, he's talented, he's rich, he's funny and outspoken ... and apparently he gets to play sci-fi-action-type video games long before the rest of us. (Bastard!) Variety reports that Mr. Pitt and his Plan B production company have snagged the rights to an upcoming Capcom game called Dark Void. Their report indicates that the game is about "a pilot who crash lands in the Bermuda Triangle following a routine mission and wakes up to find himself in an alternate world."You can learn more about Dark Void at its Wikipedia page. For example, I just learned that the awesome Bear McCreary is doing the music for the game. (I say keep that guy around for the movie version.) You can also see a bunch of nifty Dark Void artwork over at Capcom's blog. Could this be the beginning of a swanky new action franchise for Brad Pitt? I say the guy has earned one by now.
More information on this project as it becomes available. At this point I just want to check this game out. It looks pretty cool. (Game trailer after the jump!)
For the Real Vampire Lovers: A 'Daybreakers' PSA
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Horror, Trailers and Clips
It's time for a brief reprieve from the romantic battles between painted-on vampiric pecs and CG fur. As you might know, the Spierig Brothers have whipped up an excellently dark vampiric flick called Daybreakers, which William Goss reviewed last month. The film is gearing up to hit screens on January 8, 2010, and in the midst of all the other vampire chatter out there, Lionsgate has whipped up a rather excellent public service announcement which you can see after the jump.If you have any questions or concerns about the movie, this PSA should answer them because it's a dead-on representation of the feature. It explains the film while also managing to describe the tone and style of the pic: dark, sleek, modern, and scary with a healthy dose of ridiculousness and comedy mixed in. These things might sound like they clash -- and to be honest, they do a little bit -- but not in any way that ruins the movie.
You know that whoever made this clip had a perfect understanding of the film and could sum everything up with delivery rather than unnecessary exposition. (Yes, there's a voiceover in this, but it's different than saying: "Daybreakers serves chills and laughs.") If only we could get this with all the trailers and marketing that floods our way...
Does the PSA tantalize you into seeing Daybreakers?
[via CHUD]
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Horror Musicals
Filed under: Horror, Music & Musicals
By Alison NastasiWith the announcement of Carrie making a return to the Broadway circuit after a short-lived disastrous first go-round, I'm left holding my head and wondering, "Why?" Horror musicals are like your socially awkward cousin. You know, the one who talks too much and quite possibly bears an uncanny resemblance to Franklin from Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Is it fair to hold the horror musical to the same standards as the dastardly horror film remakes that seem to be happening in droves? I don't think I can help it. Few horror musicals have been born from an original idea which leaves me with the same funny feeling. I'm well aware that remakes have been happening since the dawn of time but this kind of remake is worse. When you add the word 'musical' to anything it evokes a horrible visceral reaction within many people. Adding it to the word horror just seems like a bastardized and shrieking kind of wrong.
Isn't the comical genius of Young Frankenstein and Evil Dead perfect as is? Young Frankenstein was a parody. So, is a mugging Dr. Frankenstein belting out a song called Transylvania Mania anything other than pointless and silly? The film Cannibal! The Musical, another intentional parody by beloved low-budget Troma Entertainment, has more class by comparison. Even Cronenberg's The Fly has been made into an opera, but they don't have me fooled. Adding the smooth vowel-ridden word to the title doesn't soften the blow. In fact, it's almost more cruel. However, Repo! The Genetic Opera would probably disagree with me.
Read the rest at Horror Squad!
The Little Movie That Could: 'Paranormal Activity' Hits $100 Million
Filed under: Horror, Paramount, Box Office
Oren Peli is having the greatest Friday the 13th of his life. We all love the shifting Holiday, but none of us can be as happy to greet today as the director of Paranormal Activity, whose film will be hurtling over the $100 million threshold at some point today, which, like his film, is simultaneously believable and unbelievable. I can clearly see why it has dominated at the box office, but I don't think anyone involved with the film (either before or after it was bought) prophesied how monumentally successful it would become.
But I'm not here to tell you once again that you should go see Paranormal Activity, you've already heard that a thousand times over. I would, however, like to use this time to give Oren Peli a standing ovation by putting things a little further into perspective. Within another week, PA will have grossed more money than the cumulative totals of Halloween II, The Uninvited, The Stepfather, and Saw VI. Their combined budgets? Approximately $60 million. If that doesn't show a little innovation goes a long way, I don't know what does.
More at HorrorSquad!
Denver Film Festival: I've Seen 'Troll 2' and Lived
Filed under: Horror, Festival Reports, Fandom
When I was writing the short-lived Horror Virgin series for Horror Squad, I received a lot of messages asking me if I had Troll 2 scheduled as part of my education. I would constantly stress to them that the point was for me to watch good horror movies, not bad ones, but it didn't matter. Everyone still thought I should see Troll 2 right after Halloween or Friday the 13th.
Well, I've seen it and I'm glad I waited to see it at a midnight showing with like-minded people instead of sitting at home with a copy. This is the kind of movie that needs to be seen with a crowd and with a couple of drinks in your system because it's really that bad. I don't know if it's the worst movie I've ever seen (the 1986 Trick or Treat comes awfully close, as does Frogs), but it certainly comes very close. There's not one redeeming thing to be found in acting, the directing, the story, the effects, or the soundtrack but it is absolutely hilarious in its madness. It's bewildering how a movie can be so bad, and the description cited in Best Worst Movie as "the kind of movie aliens would make if they came to Earth and tried to imitate human emotions and interaction" is spot on. Yet I'd have to argue that it's as though aliens had the end of seen one movie, and it was Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, and they tried to amend their failures with a homage. Bad move, aliens, as it suggested you should have known better.
'Hansel and Gretel' to Get the Nazi Zombie Treatment
Filed under: Horror, Fandom, Newsstand
By: Alison NastasiGotta love those dark Germanic fairy tales. They are ripe with strange folklore, the supernatural, and some of the most grotesque creatures ever imagined. These stories are intrinsically woven into the fabric of horror culture. You would think there would be more amazing fairy tale film adaptations, but only a few immediately come to mind: The Company of Wolves, Little Otik, Snow White and the Seven Dwarf and Labyrinth. Perhaps they hold more magic on paper, but it's inevitable that filmmakers will continue to turn to these tales for inspiration.
Earlier this year it was reported that Tommy Wirkola, the Norwegian director behind the Nazi-zombie flick Dead Snow will make his first U.S. feature with Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters. The film is being produced by Gary Sanchez Productions--the Paramount company run by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy and Kevin Messick.
Read the rest over at Horror Squad
'Creepshow 3': The Internet's Greatest Shame
Filed under: Horror
Remember how in those old movies Castle Frankenstein would lay empty and unused for years between sequels? Eventually the villagers would grow angry, feeling that nightmarish structure was a constant reminder of the evil Frankenstein and his creature had inflicted upon their community -- plus it was blocking satellite reception. Armed with the memories of their murdered loved ones and the knowledge that The Super Bowl was just weeks away, the villagers would take torch in hand and burn that sumbitch to the ground.By the same token, I can't imagine why Creepshow III still has a web presence. Like Castle Frankenstein, Creepshow III's website still crouches out there like a bloated spider on the world wide web, taunting me with the pain it has caused me. This is an utterly unwatchable horror anthology that fails on many levels and really has nothing to do with the first two Creepshow films. It's the sort of film you would only recommend to someone you genuinely dislike.
Creepshow III hit DVD on May 15, 2007, and it can now be purchased through Amazon.com for a few bucks, so the time when this sad excuse for a motion picture could make any money is long since gone. As further evidence of the movie's questionable value let me direct your attention to the Amazon customer review entitled "Wow, this movie really sucked," and the notation that 28 out of 29 people found this review helpful.
'Buffy' Scribe Will Write 'Fright Night' Remake!
Filed under: Comedy, Horror, Deals, Scripts, Remakes and Sequels
The Fright Night remake is back on. Back in January, we learned that the project had been halted when they couldn't come up with a good script. Ten months later, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Marti Noxon (executive producer and writer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has been hired to rewrite the horror comedy, trading one set of vamps for another. While Joss Whedon is facing cancellation, Marti Noxon is going strong. The vampire slayer marked Noxon's big break in the biz, and since helping run the show, she's had her hand in a slew of series from Prison Break to Mad Men. This will be her first big cinematic gig, her lone movie credit to this point being the 1998 film Just a Little Harmless Sex. But what will it all mean for a redo of Fright Night, where a kid finds out that a vampire lives next door?
Noxon kicked off her Buffy writing penning the "What's My Line" duo, the terrible "Bad Eggs," and the sex that turned Angel evil. From there, most of her writing gigs were mainly toss-off eps, with occasional perks in episodes like "I Only Have Eyes For You" and "The Prom." In other words: I'm not so sure what to make of this, other than the fact that her strongest writing seems to be linked to big interpersonal moments, which do not make for the best vamp comedy. Thoughts?
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