Latest in Horror - All's Happening at the Horror Front

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Top Secret project "Cloverfield" sneak peek

Matt Reeves (“The Pallbearer”) will direct the top-secret Drew Goddard (“Lost”) written horror film “Cloverfield”.

The hush-hush offering, produced by J.J Abrams, fixes on “a giant monster movie featuring something that’s being called “The Parasite”.

It’s also known that the film’s been shot using hand-held video cameras. Oh, and its set in New York.

“Cloverfield” is simply a code name at the moment… it could be called “Felicity gets Freaky” for all we know.

The teaser trailer for the film- sans title – screened with some press reviews of “The Transformers” last week.

A description of the trailer says, “We open with a bunch of teens partying. Apparently one of 'em is leaving town tomorrow and everyone's kind of bittersweet about it. Then they hear a giant ruckus and head outside to see a massive explosion in the distance. Out on the streets people are running around all panicky-like. Then the head of the Statue of Liberty lands in the middle of the street and the date of January 18, 2008, pops up. Oh, and it's all done with handheld video cameras. Basically The Blair Witch Project meets the Godzilla remake ... which means I can't wait to see it."



Stephen King's "Insomnia" coming soon

Rob Schmidt (“Wrong Turn”) has been tapped to bring Stephen King’s “Insomnia” to the big screen.

“I'm doing the film mainly because King was such a big fan of Wrong Turn!" says director Schmidt.

Creature master Stan Winston, who also collaborated with Schmidt on “Wrong Turn”, will be involved.

This is a description of the book -

"You'll lose a lot of sleep. Ralph does. At first he finds it hard to drop off. Then he starts waking up earlier. And earlier. But that isn't when he starts seeing things. Colors, shapes, strange auras around his friends. Not to mention the bald doctors who always turn up at the scene of a death. The evil looking one clutching a rusty scalpel. All that comes later.

After Susan Edwina Day's visit to the town of Derry, Maine, is announced - when the once placid town starts to divide over women's issues. And the hitherto mild-mannered Ed Deepneau gets out of control - dangerously so.
That's when Ralph begins to lose a lot more than sleep. When he begins to understand why Ed is obsessed with the notion that Derry is becoming the new Armageddon. And to realise that time is ticking away for the residents of his home town.

An evil of unimaginable proportions has found a way in. And Ralph has one chance to beat it. In a card game. The stakes are high. They always are when you are playing for human souls. With a Joker in the pack... a bald one with a rusty scalpel..."



"Hallowed Ground" completed and ready for release

Post-production has recently completed on David Benullo's Hallowed Ground, a new supernatural thriller starring Jaimie Alexander (Rest Stop), Brian McNamara, Chloe Grace Moretz (The Amityville Horror, The Eye, Wicked Little Things), Hudson Leick and Nick Chinlund] (Ultraviolet).

SFX were done by Precinct 13 Entertainment, the new fx house run by KNB co-founder and make-up fx guru Robert Kurtzman.

Writer-Director David Benullo calls his film "a classic-style horror movie... It's Rosemary's Baby in a small town."

He adds, "HALLOWED GROUND is a supernatural thriller about a young woman who becomes stranded in a small, mid-western town and discovers her arrival there was foretold by the town's founding preacher. She soon discovers she is an integral part of the preacher's impending - and terrifying - rebirth."

Even though the film is a classic scare-flick, there will still be plenty of blood and violence, “In spots it's violent and bloody,” he says, “But it's not a torture movie, by any means. For me, the violence always has to feel integral to the story and not just like something you stick in for the sake of violence. Then it gets numbing.”



New Trailer :-

Monster Squad 20th Anniversary DVD trailer.



(References - aintitcool.com, bloody-disgusting.com, moviehole.net, variety.com, hollywoodreporter.com, movies.yahoo.com)

[Kane_Hodder]

If they can bring SK's vision into the film, Insomnia could be a great watch. I am sure Rob Schmidt can do wonders to it, considering Wrong Turn was such an entertainer.

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A rather disappointing Horror In Your House set of releases

I guess the studios decided that Americans don't buy DVDs the week of the Fourth of July since this week's Horror In Your House is extremely disappointing. One of the only films of note is Jason Christensen's indie film With You, which critics have loved.

The others which are slotted for release tomorrow at retailers countrywide include :-

Day of the Ax: Brain Damage

Dead Man’s Hand – Casino of the Damned: Wizard Entertainment

Dead Teenagers: Brain Damage

Drive-In Horror Series (SAVAGE SPIRIT, THEY FEED): Westlake Entertainment

Ghoulies IV: Echo Bridge

Granny: Brain Damage

Mummy Maniac: Lionsgate

Sodom the Killer: Tokyo Shock/Media Blasters

Stephen King DVD Collectors Set: (CARRIE, THE DARK HALF, MISERY, NEEDFUL THINGS): MGM/Fox

The Tomb: York

Welcome to the Grindhouse: EVIL EYE and BLACK CANDLES: Deimos/BCI Eclipse

Welcome to the Grindhouse: THE TEACHER and PICK-UP: Deimos/BCI Eclipse

What the Peeper Saw: Televista

With You: Passion River



New pics from "Resident Evil: Extinction"

Today three new images were posted online from Sony Screen Gems' upcoming Resident Evil: Extinction, which is said to be the final film featuring Alice (Milla Jovovich).

Alice, now in hiding in the Nevada desert, once again joins forces with Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and L.J. (Mike Epps), along with new survivors Claire (Ali Larter), K-Mart (Spencer Locke) and Nurse Betty (Ashanti) to try to eliminate the deadly virus that threatens to make every human being undead... and to seek justice.

You can view the new pics here.

Check out the final adaptation of Resident Evil in theaters come September 21.



"Albino Farm" FX wizard speaks for the first time

The first ever photo from Sean McEwen's Albino Farm was released earlier today, together with bits of a conversation with Jason Barnett, Albino Farm's FX Maestro.

The film follows the plight of four college students who, while exploring the Ozark Mountains for a midterm assignment on rural America, come face to face with a community of cave-dwelling redneck genetic mutations.

Jason Barnett says about how it ended up working on ALBINO FARM, “Director Sean McEwen initially contacted me a year ago. My company, Industrial Monsters & Props, worked together in developing the look of the creatures, always basing it on a real life deformity or condition.”

Most filmmakers have a specific vision of what they want with their film; Jason tells that Sean was really easy to work with, “I think the term Sean used was "go crazy!" And for about two months, we did. It took hundreds and hundreds of hours to create all of the prosthetics and effects for this show. It got pretty nuts, as we were still casting creatures a week or so before filming started. My crew worked very hard on Albino Farm.”

The creatures created sound pretty damn interesting, especially the ‘Pig-Bitch’, “Our main creature, the Pig-Bitch, has an over-sized head, a 6-inch gap between her eyes and a cleft lip. I'd say that's [going] pretty far.” He also explains how the prop operates, “The make-up consisted of a radio controlled headpiece with an overlapping face appliance and teeth, he explains, “our actress, Bianca Barnett, was in the make-up for upwards of 12 hours. It paid off though, as her part will definitely stand out in the film.”

So just how bloody is ALBINO FARM? Barnett replies, “We brought the blood. End of story.”

You can view the photos here.



Lionsgate "The Eye" remake will be coming in 2008

Earlier Lionsgate had said that their remake of The Eye was hitting theaters on October 12, but earlier today it was officially bumped to February 1, 2008.

It was a good call, considering the original date put it in competition with 30 Days of Night and of course Lionsgate's other film, Saw IV, which is destined to destroy all.

Directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud the film stars Jessica Alba, Parker Posey, Alessandro Nivola, Francois Chau and Tamlyn Tomita.



New trailer, more pics revealed for "Catacombs"

A brand new trailer for Lionsgate's long-delayed Catacombs was released recently, together with the first batch of stills from the film, which is the story of a young woman on her first visit abroad. She goes to a party in the Catacombs, a 200-mile labyrinth of ancient limestone tunnels under Paris lined with the remains of 7 million people. When separated from her friends, she becomes convinced that someone or something is chasing her.

You can view the stills here.



New Trailers:-

Catacombs (releasing early 2008)

Clips from Danny Boyle's Sunshine (coming in fall 2007).



(References - bloody-disgusting.com, myspace.com, upcominghorrormovies.com, blackfilm.com)

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Full Casting, Synopsis for "Saw IV" officially released

Lionsgate today revealed full details for the fourth installment of the Saw series come October.

Synopsis - Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead.

Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grizzly remains and piecing together the puzzle.

However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences.

Tobin Bell --- Jigsaw
Scott Patterson --- Agent Straum
Betsy Russell --- Jill (Jigsaw's wife!!)
Costas Mandylor --- Hoffman
Lyriq Bent --- Rigg
Athena Karkanis --- Agent Perez
Justin Louis --- Art
Simon Reynolds --- Lamanna
Mike Realba --- Fisk
Marty Adams --- Ivan



New Poster revealed for Warner's "The Invasion"

Today Warner Bros. released the first official one sheet for Oliver Hirschbiegel's The Invasion, which hits theaters August 17.

The Invasion, which is a remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, tells the story of a mysterious epidemic that alters the behavior of human beings. When a Washington D.C. psychiatrist (Nicole Kidman) discovers the epidemic’s origins are extraterrestrial, she must fight to protect her son, who may hold the key to stopping the escalating invasion.

You can view it here.



George A. Romero's Message to Fans on MySpace

With George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead still waiting a release, the infamous zombie director kick started an official blog on his MySpace page with a letter to his fans.

With a story mixing elements of "The Blair Witch Project" and the long-running "Dead" series, the film will follow a group of college students shooting a horror movie in the woods who stumble upon a real zombie uprising. When the onslaught begins, they seize the moment as any good film students would, capturing the undead in a "cinema verite" style that causes more than the usual production headaches.

From Romero's MySpace:

Hi, guys,

Lemme tell ya about Diary of the Dead. I love it. It's the first film since my original Night of the Living Dead that I can say is completely my own.

I've been trying to work under-the-radar, with no hype or press, but lately I've started hearing all kinds of shit about "What's goin' on with Romero?" "What's with his new film?"

Gimme a break over here! I'm up in Toronto workin' my ass off, making Diary the best it can be. Truth is, I'm having a blast. I've gone home to the kind of filmmaking that I used to do, back in the day.

Diary is a hundred percent independent, made with my partner, Peter Grunwald, and our new friends at Artfire. I haven't had this much freedom since 1968. The cast, of what film critics will probably call "unknowns" (they won't be for long) is, in my opinion, fuckin' great.

This one comes from my heart. It's not a sequel or a remake. It's a whole new beginning for the dead.

Thanks to all of you who are out there waiting and wondering. You guys, the fans, have always kept me going. Now Diary's keeping me going, "night", "dawn", and "day".

I love this movie. I hope you will, too. I'll be back here from time to time to keep you posted. Stay tuned.

Stay scared.

George A. Romero



Anchor Bay Re-releasing Lamberto Bava's "Demons" and "Demons 2"

This afternoon it was learnt that on September 25th Anchor Bay Entertainment will be re-releasing Demons and Demons 2, two Euro-horror classics directed by Lamberto Bava, son of legendary Italian filmmaker Mario Bava (Black Sunday, Black Sabbath) - each with brand-new anamorphic widescreen (1.66:1) transfers, repackaged and set at the devilishly low SRP of $14.98 each.

Pre-book date is August 26th.

In the classic '80s film several people are invited to join the opening of a new movie theatre. As the horror film shown to the guests gets more and more violent, the people start to transform one by one into bloodthirsty demons. The remaining guests begin the desperate battle for their lives.



(References - bloody-disgusting.com, cinematical.com, myspace.com, variety.com, hollywoodreporter.com, moviehole.net, aolcdn.com)

[Kane_Hodder]

About time they released Catacombs.
Good to see Romero taking some time out to speak to his loyal fans.
Saw IV sounds more interesting than I initially thought, but they better stop the sequels (when they are on a high) before they ruin the franchise.

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Aussie actress the female lead in "Daybreakers"

Popular Australian actress Claudia Karvan has won the female lead in the Spierig Bros' new feature, "Daybreakers".

The film, starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill, starts filming on the Gold Coast on July 16.

Karvan will play the object of Hawke's character's affection, a human, Lucy.

"Daybreakers", set In the year 2017, tells of a plague that has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher (Hawke) works with a covert group of vamps to save humankind, just when a band of humans fight back.

Karvan is best known to Aussie audiences as the star of TV hits "The Secret Life of Us" and "Love My Way".

American audiences may have spotted her in the "Star Wars" prequels or the kids' pic "Aquamarine".



Universal announces Two New Classic Collections on DVD

Universal will be releasing two exciting DVD box sets in time for Halloween as “Best Buy” Store exclusives.

A “Horror Collection” set will include

• MAN-MADE MONSTER,
• HORROR ISLAND,
• CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN,
• NIGHT MONSTER and
• THE BLACK CAT (1941).

A second “Sci-Fi Collection” set will include

• DR. CYCLOPS,
• THE DEADLY MANTIS,
• THE LAND UNKNOWN,
• THE LEECH WOMAN and
• CULT OF THE COBRA.

No release date has been set yet, but Best Buy's press contact confirms that the sets will arrive before Halloween with retail prices of around $20 a piece.




Top Secret Project "Cloverfield" opens Official Website

Paramount's really serious about keeping J J Abrams' tentatively titled Cloverfield project top secret, but those who caught the trailer - attached to prints of Transformers - is that a website was launched for the film, which features nothing more than the release date and two terrified girls caught on camera.

The girls are looking at something terrifying... could they be checking out this so-called giant 'parasite', or maybe they've just seen the Statue of Liberty's head roll down the street?

Head on over to the official website to check it out and watch for as much info as possible, which should be nil until closer to the January release.



(References - dvdactive.com, bloody-disgusting.com, myspace.com, youtube.com, moviehole.net, hollywoodreporter.com, variety.com, 1-18-08.com)

[Doc Faustus]

Both of those sets from Universal sound great. I like the content of their franchise collections, but I don't like how they treat the material. The Classic Sci fi Ultimate didn't have dual layering, nor did Inner Sanctum, and I hope they keep up with that. But, some features would be nice. They don't treat any movies nearly so well as they treat Frankenstein, Dracula et al.

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First official "Catacombs" poster revealed

The other day a new still and the trailer were found from Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures' Catacombs, which has been collecting dust for years now.

Adding to that this morning is the first ever international poster for the film, which gives us a little hope that maybe we'll finally see the movie, starring Shannyn Sossamon and Alecia Moore, later this year.

You can view the poster here.

Looks exciting eh?



New Indie brings out the worst in the characters

The Black Waters of Echo's Pond, which will be directed by Gabriel Bologna, stars Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Walk the Line, X-Files), James Duval (Donnie Darko, Independence Day, Doom Generation), Arcadiy Golubovich (Autopsy, American Summer), Electra Avellan (Grindhouse) and Elise Avellan (Grindhouse).

In the film Nine friends take a holiday at a Victorian home on a private island and uncover a game that when played brings out the worst in each of them. Jealously, greed, hatred, lust, all of the things they keep buried deep inside themselves rise to the surface and come to a boil.

The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond shows those who look into it what they want to see… but what you want to see isn’t always the truth.



Music scores revealed for Rob Zombie's "Halloween"

A list of the music tracks for Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween was released earlier today, which hits theaters August 31.

After being committed for 17 years, Michael Myers, now a grown man and still very dangerous, is mistakenly released from the mental institution (where he was committed as a 10 year old) and he immediately returns to Haddonfield, where he wants to find his baby sister, Laurie. Anyone who crosses his path is in mortal danger.

Track listing from Halloween MySpace:

1. BOC - Don't Fear The Reaper
2. Nazareth - Love Hurts
3. Peter Frampton - baby, I Love Your Way
4. Rush - Tom Sawyer
5. BTO - Let It Ride
6. Kiss - God Of Thunder
7. Love is like Oxygen - The Sweet
8. Alice Cooper - Only Women Bleed
9. Misfits - Halloween 2
10. Halloween theme - Tyler Bates
11. Michael stalks Laurie - Tyler Bates
12. Mr. Sandman - Nan Vernon

The CD also features cool clips from the movie in between the music.

The full score by Tyler Bates will be a separate CD.



(References - bloody-disgusting.com, myspace.com, worstpreviews.com, cinematical.com, variety.com)

[Kane_Hodder]

Sounds like a killer soundtrack for Halloween! I can't wait till August!!:D

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Paramount finally reveals "Cloverfield"

While unleashing "Transformers" onscreen this week, Paramount also lifted the lid on a top-secret project in the form of a teaser trailer for a new film, Cloverfield.

Yesterday the full details were finally revealed about this top secret project, which include casting and news that a huge viral marketing campaign is underway. Read on for the details :-

"Cloverfield," which revolves around a monster attack in New York as told from the point of view of a small group of people, is being produced by J.J. Abrams. It is being directed by Matt Reeves, who co-created "Felicity" with Abrams, and is written by Drew Goddard, who has worked with Abrams on "Lost" and "Alias."

Paramount greenlighted the project under a veil of heavy secrecy in February, about the same time that Abrams agreed to the take over the directing reins of the new "Star Trek" film.

The casting process was just as mysterious. No scripts or even scene pages were sent out; agents who were contacted were simply asked if their client wanted to be in the movie or not. Eventually a cast, made up mostly of relative unknowns, was put together; it includes Michael Stahl-David ("The Black Donnellys"), Odet Jasmin, Mike Vogel ("Supercross") and Lizzy Kaplan ("The Class").

The movie, which is believed to have a relatively modest budget of about $30 million, began shooting in mid-June in New York. With "Transformers" generating huge tracking numbers in the weeks before its release, the studio decided to put footage from "Cloverfield" in a teaser in front of "Transformers" to build buzz.

After first presenting the Paramount and Bad Robot logos -- Bad Robot being Abrams' shingle -- the trailer opens with scenes from a surprise going-away party in a New York bar with a view of the city. Before long, a thundering roar is heard, and by the time guests run downstairs, pandemonium and flaming debris are hitting the streets. After a huge explosion at the lower end of Manhattan, what appears to be the head of the Statue of Liberty comes hurtling up the street like a giant projectile.

The trailer's footage is shot by a hand-held camera, home-movie style, giving it a sort of "Armageddon" meets "The Blair Witch Project" feel, though it is not clear if the entire movie follows that style. While the trailer does not reveal the name of the movie, it does announce a release date of January 18.

Several copies of the trailer, seemingly shot in theaters with a camcorder, were posted on YouTube by Thursday morning. But by Thursday afternoon, some links had been taken down, replaced by an advisory saying, "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Paramount Pictures Corp."

Producing the movie along with Abrams is Bryan Burk, who has worked on such Abrams shows as "Lost," "Six Degrees" and "What About Brian." Guy Riedel and Sherryl Clark are executive producing.

"Cloverfield" is shooting in New York.



Warner Bros Japan bringing new horror-fantasy movie

NTV web and Warner Bros. Japan are joining forces to produce and distribute Shinigami no Seido (literal translation: Accuracy of the God of Death), a horror/fantasy starring Takeshi Kaneshiro.

It has been reported that Kaneshiro plays a Grim Reaper who appears to his victims in human form and spends a week with them before deciding whether to off them or not.

The pic is Kaneshiro's first to be shot in Japan since the Sci-Fi pic "Returners" in 2002. Manani Konishi co-stars as one of Kaneshiro's potential victims, while Masaya Kakehi is helming.

NTV and Warner are both members of the pic's production consortium, while Warner will release the pic in Japan in the spring of 2008. The number of theaters has not yet been decided, but a Warner's rep said that the release "will be fairly large."

The pic is based on an eponymous novel by Kotaro Isaka -- the writer's fifth to be made for the big screen.

NTV and Warner also linked to produce and distrib last year's hit "Death Note" duology. The two pics also featured "gods of death" who use special notebooks to deal death simply by writing the victim's name inside. The drama begins when humans find the notebooks -- and use their new-found power of life-and-death to dubious ends.

NTV is producing a spin-off based on the character of "L," a reclusive genius detective who investigates the identities of the Death Note owners, with Kenichi Matsuyama reprising his role as L and Hideo Nakata ("The Ring 2," "Kaidan") helming.

Principal photography is scheduled to start in August, while Warner plans to release the pic in Japan in the first half of 2008.



Disney's new foray into horror with "First Ascent"

Screenwriter-turned-comic book publisher Andrew Cosby and Johanna Stokes have been hired to do a rewrite on Walt Disney Pictures' First Ascent.

The film is described as a supernatural action adventure that revolves around a group of climbers who, while attempting to ascend a mountain in Bhutan, are attacked by an unseen beast.

Jason Reed, Brigham Taylor and Casey Wolfe are overseeing the project for Disney. Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida features a roller coaster ride, "Expedition Everest," that includes an encounter with a yeti, though Disney said that "Ascent" is a rewrite of an older project and is not related to the ride.



(References - bloody-disgusting.com, hollywoodreporter.com, variety.com, myspace.com, aintitcool.com)