New on DVD - October 30, 2007

Considering that it's the day before Halloween, I'm pretty surprised that there's next to no decent horror movies getting released today - actually, check that, there's NO decent horror movies getting released today, considering the big release of the week is "Captivity", starring Elisha Cuthbert. "Captivity" could be the movie that ended the torture horror subgenre that "Hostel" started. On paper, it's got everything going for it, but... guess what? It sucks. Then, there's a massive step down to "The Initiation of Sarah", which is based on a 1978 TV movie... okay, haven't seen it and probably won't. I will say that I may have to get the, new to DVD, but not so new horror flick, "Basket Case 2". If you haven't seen the "Basket Case" movies, you're missing out... big time. However, if "Basket Case 2" is just coming out now, where's "Basket Case" 1 & 3? Maybe they're doing a whole Frank Henenlotter thing, as he's the director of the "Basket Case" movies and also made "Brain Damage", which is being rereleased, also. "Brain Damage" is definitely worth checking out, but... believe me, it's no "Basket Case". What else is out this week? Piles of old, mediocre, foreign horror films, such as "Hell of the Living Dead", "Study Hell", "Rats: Night of Terror" and "Insane in the Brain". Wait for next week, when we finally get "Amateur Porn Star Killer", "Blood Monkey" and "She Wolves of the Wasteland". Slow couple weeks...

New on DVD - October 30, 2007:

New on DVD - October 23, 2007

There's no real massive horror release this week, but there is a bunch that are worth checking out. "Hostel - Part II" (uncut version) wasn't great, but is worth picking up. I wouldn't really call "Fido" a horror, so to speak, but it's got a bit of gore and it's definitely a unique take on the zombie genre and I thought it was worth watching. "Saw III - The Director's Cut" is also out, along with a new "Saw Trilogy" pack. "The Tripper" is directed by David Arquette and if you thought he was weird, check out his movie. I'm thinking he tried to get political, but it's really just... strange. Paul 'Pee Wee Herman' Reuben's has a fairly memorable role in it. Also out is "Buried Alive", "Cutting Class", 1408 rip-off, "Apartment 1303", Saw rip-off, "Gag", "Trap" and "Kaw"... a horror about crows.

New on DVD - October 23, 2007:

New on DVD - October 16, 2007

There's a couple of great DVD's being released this week... the best of the bunch is the indie horror, "Murder Party". Anyone who wants to make a low-budget horror film that gets noticed at film festivals needs to see this - personally, I thought it was a classic. Next - "Motocross Zombies from Hell". When I saw the title, I thought we were in store for the unofficial sequel to "Chopper Chicks in Zombietown" (which happens to be one of Billy Bob Thornton's first movies, as well as really sucking badly). However, "Motocross" is about a team of zombie's that participate in an off road race against other, more alive, participants, as opposed to a bunch of zombie's that happen to live in a town that bikers hang out in. BIG difference. Also out this week is the Tarantino flop, "Grindhouse: Planet Terror Unrated", Tobe Hoopers' "Masters of Horror: The Damned Thing", The big budget, crappy, Hillary Swank horror, "The Reaping", the really didn't need to be made, "Return to House on Haunted Hill", "Experiment in Torture", the "Amityville Collection", "See Jane Run" and "To the Wolves".

New on DVD - October 16, 2007:

New on DVD - October 9, 2007

There's a bunch of decent new releases out today, including: the absolute must see - "28 Weeks Later", "Rise: Blood Hunter" with a decent cast of Lucy Liu, The Commish's own Michael Chiklis and the always desperate for work, Robert Forster. Then there's the fairly forgettable - "Wrong Turn 2: Dead End", "Raiders of the Damned" and the pretty damned good New Zealand mutant sheep flick - "Black Sheep". Support indie horror by checking out Camp Motion Pictures release "Splatter Beach" and, of course, there's a bunch of other 'anniversary' releases and special edition junk...

New on DVD - October 9, 2007:

New to Theaters - Oct 5, 2007

2 weeks until "30 Days of Night", until then check out the Ben Stiller vehicle, 'There's Something About Mary 6', otherwise known as "The Heartbreak Kid" - Reviews are awful. There's also the fantasy film about the kid who finds out he's the last in a line of immortals, "The Seeker: The Dark is Rising". It's getting good reviews and looks alright. I'm liking George Clooney more and more, he took no pay and executive produced "Michael Clayton", which is coming out in limited release today. Also out are "Feel the Noise", "My Kid Could Paint That" (a documentary about a 4 year old artist), "The Good Night" and "Finishing the Game" - which looks... AWESOME. The last three are in extreme limited release, coming out in 8, 2 and 1 screens respectively. I'm going to have to find "Finishing the Game" somewhere, though. Click on the link below and watch the trailer.

Check them all out: The Heartbreak Kid, The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, Michael Clayton, Feel the Noise, My Kid Could Paint That, The Good Night and Finishing the Game.

Slamdance winner gets script produced

The Slamdance film festival takes place in Utah at the same time as the Sundance Film Festival, but it aims to be a "true" independant film festival by being a festival by filmmakers, for filmmakers and most entrants are beginning directors with limited or no budget. In addition to the films, they produce one film per year from their Horror Screenplay Competition. This year, that script was "Slaughter" by British writers Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby.

Slamdance made the deal with Angel Baby Entertainment and Maverick Films, it's in its first year and "Slaughter" is the first film to be made under the agreement. Dominique Swain will star in the film and Victor Garcia will direct it. Swain will star as a young actress who travels to a remote island to act in a movie called "Slaughter", only to discover that her and her co-stars have been cast in a snuff film.

Check out my "Horror Film Festivals" archive for more information on Slamdance.

Please, quit it with the remakes...

Damian Shannon and Mark Swift have been hired to write a remake of "Friday the 13th", which will be produced by Platinum Dunes for New Line. (Platinum Dunes is Michael Bay's company, which is remaking every classic horror right now and New Line owns the rights to the Friday the 13th franchise) Shannon and Swift also wrote "Freddy vs. Jason" together, which I didn't mind as much as I thought I would. The remake isn't going to be much like the original, though... it will focus on Jason, who will be wearing the mask and killing people. Now, that doesn't sound like much of remake, more like a sequel. Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller are producing and Paramount and MTV Films are also involved. I guess they're too proud to just call it Friday the 13th Part 11... or would it be 12? Does Jason vs. Freddy count as a sequel to Friday the 13th? Am I the only one who likes Friday the 13th Part 9, Jason goes to Hell? Any way you slice it, I'd rather see a sequel to Jason X, where he stays in space and fights Aliens... or The Predator, than see them butcher the original.

Read the article here.

New on DVD - October 2, 2007

There's a few classics coming out on Tuesday, including a personal favorite, "Evil Aliens".

No question, Jake West's "Evil Aliens" is the best horror movie that I've seen all year and I don't think I could say enough good things about it. A news crew heads up to an isolated island off the coast of Wales, where there's been reports of alien abuctions, and once they get there, all hell breaks loose. To quote the film's tagline, it's "a bloody close encounter". Trust me, pick it up.

"1408" is the big new release of the week, it's based on a short Stephen King story of the same name. John Cusak stars as the writer, Mike Enslin, who checks into room 1408 in the New York City hotel, which is haunted. It's a PG-13 Horror, so... what can I say? There's no nudity or gore, but there is some "disturbing sequences of violence and terror" and it was the highest grossing horror movie of 2007, so far.

"Species: The Awakening" (Species 4) also comes out tomorrow and it's surprisingly... not that bad. It's not the original Species, but, seriously, what is?

The really cheesy, although funny, title aside, "Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane" is worth seeing. However, I thought it was called "Plane Dead", originally. Maybe that was the original name. In any case, I like the title, "Flight of the Living Dead" better. A mad scientist is transporting a coffin with a corpse that's carrying a modified virus... you can imagine where it goes from there.

New on DVD - October 2, 2007