April 8, 2008 - New Horror out on DVD today

Well, it's taken a few years for "Cruel World" to make it out on DVD, but there's more than a few folks out there that would say it's worth the wait. An official selection at New York City Horror Film Fest, Screamfest, Newport Horror Film Fest and Rhode Island Horror Film Fest, "Cruel World" is slowly becoming a bit of a cult classic for those who've seen it. Directed and Produced by Kelsey T. Howard, it stars Edward Furlong as Philip Markham, a deranged runner-up from a reality show that holds a group of co-eds hostage on the set of his own fictitious show, where losers suffer a deadly fate. So, why should you see it? You could see it for the tongue-in-cheek humor or the blood & guts, possibly the T & A... but there's also an extended cameo from Jaime Pressly. Whatever, enough said, it's worth checking out... and, John, your foster parents are still dead.

I will give "P2" credit for one thing, it takes a common, daily anxiety and makes a feature film out of it. I mean, until now, the only other take on getting locked or lost in a parking garage was comedic genius by Seinfeld. This take on the parking garage fear is a little less funny, as it has a business woman being pursued by a psychopath who's been stalking her for months... and, no, it's not Kramer. "P2" is directed by Franck Khalfoun and it was written by Khalfoun, Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur, who are the same team of French guys that brought you "The Hills Have Eyes" remake and "Haute Tension". "Haute Tension" (or, "High Tension", as it's properly called in the U.S.) is what put them on the map, they were offered "The Hills Have Eyes" after that. They're currently working on a variety of projects, including: a remake of "Piranha", a remake of "Silent Night, Deadly Night" and "Mirrors", a film about a mall security guard who becomes wrapped up in a mystery involving a particular department store's mirrors, which seem to bring out the worst in people.

I'm not going to spend much time on the remake/reimagination of "Day of the Dead", as it sucked ass. Do yourself a favor and pick up the original Romero "Day of the Dead", which was overlooked in its own right. This version was written by Jeffrey Reddick, who's the guy behind all the "Final Destination" films (I posted this link to an interview with him a few days ago) and it's directed by Steve Miner, who directed "Friday the 13th Part 2", "Friday the 13th Part III", "House" and "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later", among other films. Believe it or not, this was originally supposed to get a theatrical release, but it was leaked online and early reviews were horrible... ergo, it's getting its straight-to-DVD release today.

Alright, now on to some indie fare... "The Cellar Door", written by Christopher Nelson and directed by Matt Zettell, comes to you from Six Sense Productions. Six Sense is three indie producers (Nelson, Zettell, as well as Hilary Six, who served as Exec. Producer on this) who got together to create 'quality' films and, combined, they have some pretty interesting credits, such as: "Adam & Evil", "Monster Man", "Gacy" and "Demon Slayer". "The Cellar Door", which is about 'the girl next door' that awakes to find herself imprisoned in a serial killer's basement, actually won some awards at Shriekfest (Best Actor, Best Actress and Fan Favorite).

I can't find much information on "The Red Cell", but it looks as indie, b-horror as it gets, so I'll mention what I can. Directed by and starring Chris Schwartz, "The Red Cell" is about Ayden, who checks into a hospital for treatment on his inoperable tumor, then passes out, only to awaken in a makeshift, underground torture chamber where a 'doctor' in a gas mask conducts gruesome experiments. Is it really happening or is the terminally ill Ayden suffering from delusions? Who knows? You will... if you check it out.

Buy any of the films mentioned above by clicking on its picture below: