A new film from David Cronenberg is always something to look forward too, especially when he turns his mind towards something dark…
Led by the loathsome yet funny and touching child-star Benjie, we witness the convoluted world of shallow, selfish celebrities and their minions, all of whom are about to be manipulated and destroyed by the young woman who literally represents the fruit of their twisted machinations, Agatha, Benjie’s tormented, apparently psychotic sister. As much as it is a sharp, comic look at a vacant and corrupt world, MAPS TO THE STARS is also a haunting ghost story.
I love these simple designs for series titled ‘Tools’ featuring 4 classic films. Would have all of them on my wall. Check out more from the artist Javier Vera Lainez on his site HERE
Based on a best-selling novel by Blake Crouch, and executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan… let’s hope this doesn’t end with a terrible ‘twist’ ending. Here’s the overly-long promotion blurb for the forthcoming TV series Wayward Pines.
Secret Service Agent ETHAN BURKE (Academy Award nominee Matt Dillon; Crash, City of Ghosts) drives to the bucolic town of Wayward Pines, ID, searching for two missing federal agents. Ethan is the logical choice for the mission. He’s one of the best Secret Service agents in the Seattle office. He’s also the man who knew missing agent KATE HEWSON (Carla Gugino; Watchmen, “Entourage”) better than anyone. They were partners. They were more than that. Their relationship nearly destroyed Ethan’s marriage.
Everything changes when a truck slams into his car and he wakes up in the Wayward Pines Hospital, with the intense and unpredictable NURSE PAM (Academy Award and Emmy Award winner Melissa Leo; The Fighter, “Treme”) at his bedside. It soon appears that Pam may be more interested in harming than healing. She and Ethan grow into deadly rivals, and her role in the town proves much deeper than anyone realizes.
As the mysteries within the town pile up and clash with his own version of recent events, Ethan starts to question his own sanity. He is confronted by the mysterious and charismatic DR. JENKINS (Emmy Award nominee Toby Jones; The Girl, the Harry Potter franchise, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), the psychiatrist who treats him at Wayward Pines Hospital. As he begins to meet some of the local residents, including toymaker HAROLD BALLINGER (Reed Diamond; “24,” Much Ado About Nothing), Ethan forms a bond with BEVERLY (Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Juliette Lewis; Hysterical Blindness, Cape Fear), a bartender who doesn’t mince words and is as wary of Wayward Pines as he is.
Back home in Seattle, Ethan’s wife, THERESA BURKE (Shannyn Sossamon; 40 Days and 40 Nights, “How to Make It in America”), a former Secret Service Agent trainee, gets a call from Ethan’s boss, ADAM HASSLER (Tim Griffin; “Prime Suspect”). He informs her that early testing shows Ethan was never in the car that was recovered on the side of the road outside of Wayward Pines. They’re still investigating. But this isn’t enough for Theresa. Along with their teenage son, BEN (Charlie Tahan; The Harvest, Charlie St. Cloud), Theresa sets out on her own search for Ethan.
Meanwhile, Ethan is challenged at every turn by the town’s die-hard residents and especially the town’s sheriff, SHERIFF ARNOLD POPE (Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard; Crash, Hustle & Flow), who takes offense at a Secret Service agent showing up on his turf and telling him what to do. Ethan believes Pope is out of his mind and visa versa. Ethan’s continuing investigation only turns up more and more questions, and each one leads him to the most important question of all: What’s wrong with Wayward Pines?
Acclaimed titles designer Saul Bass worked with some of Hollywood’s most legendary directors during his 40-plus year career, and on some of their best pictures. His first title credit was on Otto Preminger’s 1954 Carmen Jones. From there, Bass went on to collaborate on over 60 films, many of which have become much deserved cinema classics.
In this hour-long compilation, YouTube user FlaneurSolitaire pieces together scores of Bass’ revered title sequences in chronological order, starting with The Man with the Golden Arm (also directed by Preminger), from 1955. Bass also did the titles for Spartacus (1960), which you can find at the 20:19 mark of the video.
Preminger isn’t the only director to bring Bass aboard more than once. Bass also developed long lasting working relationships with such historic and undeniably influential talents as Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, Vertigo, and North by Northwest to name but a few) and, later, Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Cape Fear, and Casino). In fact, Casino is the last sequence Bass did before he passed away in 1996.
Just look at these designs. Bass’ unique eye and aesthetic helped capture the essence of each film he worked on, often in less than three minutes.
To celebrate the 21st anniversary of Mike Mignola’s legendary Hellboy character, Dark Horse Comics and Rogue Ales have collaborated to create Right Hand of Doom Red Ale. If you live in one of the States that allows beer shipments by mail you can purchase online HERE
The Outer Darkness is Part 1 of a terrifying new web series from the creators of popular horror show Bloody Cuts. Check out the official website HERE and the official facebook page HERE
“On Friday evenings in Lynnsmouth Community Centre, meets a group led by Father Jonathan Crowe. Together they share their stories – tales of strange occurrences, horrific events and bizarre encounters that have scarred their lives. Tonight, a young tormented woman called Jenny will share a story of her experience with a game of chance that sealed the fate of her family…”
The documentary The Woods Movie is set to premiere at the FrightFest in Glasgow. The documentary celebrates the gamechanging 1999 indie The Blair Witch Project.
“In October 1997, a group of filmmakers ventured into the Maryland woods to produce a low budget independent horror movie. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT would become a global phenomenon and began the ‘found footage’ genre that remains a potent force today. Now for the first time you can see how that record-breaking groundbreaker came into being. From never-before-seen recordings of pre-production meetings, audition tapes and test footage to the actual shooting, first preview screenings and marketing at the Sundance Film Festival, all the key personnel guide you through the discussions and decisions that minted a shock sensation classic.”
It’s all over the web today, but had to post it, here’s the first trailer for Guillermo del Toro‘s Crimson Peak, which stars Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, and Charlie Hunnam in a gothic haunted house movie.
Legendary Pictures’ Crimson Peak, a co-production with Universal Pictures, is a haunting gothic horror story directed by the master of dark fairy tales, Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy series, Pacific Rim), written by del Toro and Matthew Robbins and starring Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston and Charlie Hunnam. In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds…and remembers.
Redacted is an exploration of the darker side of human nature when confronted with something strange and otherworldly.
While on an afternoon hike, an unimposing Man stumbles upon a humanoid creature with alluring female qualities. Fearful and in apparent need of assistance, The Creature oozes sexuality and danger but it is unclear where the danger really lies…
Redacted is the final, and most ambitious, short film project from award-winning Glaswegian film-maker Andy Stewart (Dysmorphia, Split, Ink) and Shining Example Films. A brief move away from body horror and into sci-fi horror, Redacted has best been described as “Species meets Nell…with a sprinkle of something else”.
Get involved with crowd funding on indiegogo HERE The guys are at 66%
Whilst not a surprise, just another wtf? moment. It seems that the New Zealand horror/thriller Housebound has already been targeted for a remake.
The film didn’t get the distribution it deserved, even with Peter Jackson’s name attached as an endorsement. Now apparently Jackson has helped bring the film to the attention of New Line, which has picked up the Housebound remake rights.
This all begs the question of why New Line didn’t just buy the distribution rights for the original film and promote it. It’s got a great blend of horror and scares, the sort of thing Peter Jackson did so well in his early (better) films, and capturing that blend again, in a remake, won’t be easy and will more than likely result in a weaker version.
The Hollywood Reporter article also says that original writer/director Gerard Johnstone will act as producer for the remake, but that another director will actually call the shots on the remake. The studio is looking for a writer to tackle a new script.
The Martin Owen-directed feature film L.A. Slasher, produced by Jeffrey Wright and Daniel Sollinger (Girls Against Boys, The Alphabet Killer), has set May 1, 2015, as the date for a theatrical release.
The film stars Dave Bautista (of the blockbuster hit Guardians of the Galaxy), Danny Trejo (Machete), Mischa Barton (“The O.C.”), Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight), Drake Bell (“Drake & Josh”), Brooke Hogan (“Hogan Knows Best”), Tori Black (Not Another Celebrity Movie), and Marisa Lauren (Superhero Movie) with the of voice of Andy Dick (“NewsRadio”) as the “L.A. Slasher.”
A biting, social satire about reality TV and the glorification of people who are famous for simply being famous, L.A. Slasher explores why it has become acceptable and even admirable for people to become influential and wealthy based on no merit or talent – purely through notoriety achieved through shameful behavior. Incensed by the tabloid culture which celebrates it, the “L.A. Slasher” publicly abducts a series of reality TV stars while the media and general public in turn begin to question if society is better off without them.
Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, the writers behind some of the installments of the hit Saw movies, have been tapped to pen the latest entry of the Halloween horror franchise for Dimension Films.
Malek Akkad, who has been associated with the franchise since the mid-1990s and producing the movies since the 2007 reboot, is producing with Matt Stein. He is the son of Moustapha Akkad, the man who executive produced the original batch of movies.
Rob Zombie directed the reboot and its 2009 follow-up, but no director is attached to the new installment, which has been in development for several years now. Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine) and Todd Famer were at one point working on a Halloween 3D, but since they departed years ago, it’s been quieter than a night in Haddonfield, Illinois.
In fact, it’s been so long since the last movie, it is unclear what to call the latest project that will tell the bloody tales of Michael Myers, the seemingly unstoppable killer who stalks the Halloween holiday.
Sources say it’s not a remake, not a reboot, and not a reimagining. One source said the project is a “recalibration.”
Whatever it is, Melton and Dunstan should be suited to the task. The pair wrote four of the seven Saw movies (numbers IV to VII), Piranha 3DD as well as an adaptation of The Outer Limits, which is in development at MGM. They also worked on God of War for Universal and most recently wrote Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which they sold as a pitch to CBS Films.
Dark Horse Comics has announced that the comic book sequel Fight Club 2 will launch this summer, with the first of ten issues hitting May 27.
If that’s not soon enough for you, there’ll be a couple of other offerings between now and then to tide you over. May 26 sees the publication of Palahniuk’s Make Something Up. The anthology features, among other things, a brand new short story about Tyler Durden.
And if you’re still feeling impatient, swing by your local store on Free Comic Book Day (May 2). Dark Horse will be offering a comic book that revisits the ending of Palahniuk’s Fight Club (which differs a bit from the ending of David Fincher’s Fight Club).
I really liked Martha, Marcy, May Marlene and Red State, now we have Faults mining a similar ‘cult-themed’ seam, looking forward to this one. Great poster. Here’s the official blurb:
Claire (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is under the grip of a mysterious cult called Faults. Desperate to be reunited with their daughter, Claire’s parents set out to recruit Ansel Roth (Leland Orser), one of the world’s foremost authorities on cults and mind control. But Ansel’s specialty, deprogramming cult members and returning them to their families, is not an exact science, and a series of financial setbacks has left him in debt to his manager. Ansel warns Claire’s parents that his deprogramming methods are risky and expensive, but they agree to hire him to kidnap and deprogram their daughter. Claire quickly reveals herself to be a formidable challenge. Her belief is unshakeable, and her logic is undeniable. A battle of wits develops between the two as they delve deeper and deeper into each other’s minds.
Halloween apart, what better time to go to the movies than Friday the 13th..? Next week all over Australia you can check out Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead by director Kiah Roache Turner as it heads out on an Australian ‘one-night-tour’.
The film has been gleefully described as ‘Mad Max meets Dawn of the Dead’. Check out the official facebook page HERE.
Barry is a talented mechanic and family man whose life is torn apart on the eve of a zombie apocalypse. His sister, Brooke, is kidnapped by a sinister team of gas-mask wearing soldiers & experimented on by a psychotic doctor. While Brooke plans her escape Barry goes out on the road to find her & teams up with Benny, a fellow survivor – together they must arm themselves and prepare to battle their way through hordes of flesh-eating monsters in a harsh Australian bushland.
A newborn Xenomorph bursting violently from John Hurt’s chest is one of the most iconic, and important, scenes in science fiction or horror movie history. A lot went on before and after Ridley Scott shouted “Action”
Home-made editing from the game Resident Evil: Revelations. Captured and edited by Nabil Ayari… and it’s better than most found footage movies. Check out more shorts over at GameBillStudio HERE
I love these simple designs for series titled ‘Tools’ featuring 4 classic films. Would have all of them on my wall. Check out more from the artist Javier Vera Lainez on his site HERE
To celebrate the 21st anniversary of Mike Mignola’s legendary Hellboy character, Dark Horse Comics and Rogue Ales have collaborated to create Right Hand of Doom Red Ale. If you live in one of the States that allows beer shipments by mail you can purchase online HERE
The Martin Owen-directed feature film L.A. Slasher, produced by Jeffrey Wright and Daniel Sollinger (Girls Against Boys, The Alphabet Killer), has set May 1, 2015, as the date for a theatrical release.
Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, the writers behind some of the installments of the hit Saw movies, have been tapped to pen the latest entry of the Halloween horror franchise for Dimension Films.
Dark Horse Comics has announced that the comic book sequel Fight Club 2 will launch this summer, with the first of ten issues hitting May 27.
I really liked Martha, Marcy, May Marlene and Red State, now we have Faults mining a similar ‘cult-themed’ seam, looking forward to this one. Great poster. Here’s the official blurb:
Halloween apart, what better time to go to the movies than Friday the 13th..? Next week all over Australia you can check out Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead by director Kiah Roache Turner as it heads out on an Australian ‘one-night-tour’.
The first official images from the Poltergeist remake are online… and a teaser to the trailer.
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