The Horror Section

Treevenge Unleashed!

2009-07-13T07:54:00.002-04:00

At last year's Toronto After Dark festival, the best short (and one of the best things period) I saw was a little piece called Treevenge. It was a Canadian effort - done by the guys who brought us the grindhouse flavoured faux-trailer Hobo With A Shotgun in 2007. Well now, thanks to Twitch, it is now viewable online. Click on the picture below and enjoy!

Don't Kill The Messenger XXV.

2009-07-12T12:22:00.009-04:00

It's time for another weekly round-up.

Tasty Trailer.

A short little teaser dropped online for the upcoming French zombie horror-actioner The Horde this week. Sign me up.

Shake Your Moneymaker.

Here's the new one-sheet for Jennifer's Body. I LIIIKKKE IT!!! Good to see the marketing people are on the same page as the film's audience for once.

Colour Me Intrigued.

I saw a rumour on Kotaku this weekend that the popular video game franchise Tomb Raider will be soon undergoing a reboot, transforming it into an open world survival horror game.

While I'm sure the knee-jerk reaction by most to this news will be negative, I can't really NOT get excited about one of my most beloved video game characters merging with my favourite gaming subgenre. I am super interested to see whether this rumour becomes reality. Click here for the original article.

The Archive Project Continues.

2009-07-11T16:11:00.004-04:00

I'm deep into getting my poster collection sorted out now. I was hoping to finish the bulk of it today, but I actually ran out of cardboard if you can believe it. I thought one-hundred-plus sheets would be enough, but obviously not. Take a look at this ridiculousness!

There's a poster wedged in between each one of those things. It's time consuming, but I'm certainly getting a kick out of going through them. I've discovered that I must have a poster for almost every Full Moon release between 1989 and 1994. It's pretty crazy. Then there are those I don't even remember acquiring. Movies I haven't even HEARD OF, let alone saw when they came out. I mean, what the hell is Invader? There's also ones that faded into obscurity, but I have clear memories of checking them out in the theatre. Anyone remember Man's Best Friend with Ally Sheedy and Lance Henriksen? Speaking of Henriksen, I've got a shit-ton of one-sheets for movies he's done too. The list goes on and on. Oh, and best tagline so far? "Some things are better left undead!" Any guesses as to what movie it's from?

I'm getting more cardboard next week - a hundred more pieces should definitely do it - so hopefully I'll have the remainder laid out by Saturday.

Alphabet Soup.

2009-07-08T15:15:00.001-04:00

This week's Coverbox Wednesday theme is fairly simple. It features horror from A to Z.

Coincidentally, I'm catchin' a screening of Q next week. Glorious!

AKA "You Better Watch Out" ;)

First Eight TAD Films Announced!

2009-07-08T10:45:00.000-04:00

The initial batch of titles for this year's Toronto After Dark Film Festival were announced today. This year's line-up is shaping up quite nicely if I do say myself. The first three I've been looking forward to for quite some time, and the others I've seen covered on Twitch and am willing to look in on. Check out the first eight titles below and click on the poster to see its trailer.

The rest of the Toronto After Dark line-up should be announced at the end of July. If you'd like more info on the festival, including how to get tickets, click here.

FGFC: Burial Ground

2009-07-06T08:05:00.016-04:00

This month's Final Girl Film Club selection is a movie that I wasn't familiar with, though probably should have been. With the zombie sub genre being one of my fortés, you'd think I'd have already seen Andrea Bianchi's Burial Ground: The Nights Of Terror. That's the thing about Italian horror cinema from that era though; the well goes deep. Having mildly enjoyed one of Bianchi's other films – Strip Nude For Your Killer, chiefly due to star Edwige Fenech – and being a notorious sucker for any zombie flick, I gladly said bring it on.

Professor dude with mad beard-growing skills awakens a zombie horde while on a dig of some sort. Oops, he dies before he can tell his associates who then show up at the nearby villa. The usual flesh eating shenanigans ensue.

The usual terrible dialogue and overacting are on full display here, but are nicely countered by some T&A and gruesome set pieces. I wouldn't except anything less from an Italian horror production from this era. The characters in this movie are of the massively stupid variety and seem to go out of their way to make the wrong decisions. However, after a while I guess that becomes part of the fun, doesn't it?

“Let's get the car! Oh no, there's one or two slow-moving zombies next to it, the five of us couldn't possibly put our heads together and come up with a plan. Quick! Back to the villa (aka death trap)!”

I also have to take this opportunity to point out Peter Bark, who plays Mariangela Giordano's son. I've seen creepy man-children (with hilariously dubbed man voices) in Italian films before, but this guy takes the cake.

I have to admit I'm a little torn about whether the zombies suddenly transforming from brain-dead shamblers to highly skilled ninjas halfway through the film makes Burial Ground more ridiculous or more awesome. While the meandering camera shots of the zombie masses don't seem as tedious as other offerings like Shock Waves and Oasis Of The Zombies, it can be a little frustrating at times. To its credit, Burial Ground shares a lot in common with Lucio Fulci's Zombie (Zombi 2). Most important of these is they both feature the gruesome stylings of legendary effects man Gino De Rossi. His fingerprints are recognizable almost immediately, and working with Rosario Prestopino they craft some great stuff.

Ultimately, I don't think Burial Ground is as memorable and iconic as Zombie. I mean let's face it, its zombie vs. shark sequence is hard to beat, as well as the ocular mutilation scene... wait a minute!

Déjà vu?

Overall, this is a pretty fun watch, but I do wish they could have made it tighter somehow. It's less than ninety minutes, but it does tend to drag in parts. Nevertheless, Burial Ground does spike enough to understand why the film has acquired the following that it has.

I Wonder If Its Death Proof.

2009-07-05T22:54:00.004-04:00

I was driving yesterday afternoon and I could have sworn I saw a large black car blow by me with some very familiar markings on it. I thought about turning around to persue, but didn't. Tonight after hockey, I pulled into my local Tim Hortons for some milk (because every gas station, grocer and convenience store around my house decided to close early apparently) and what do I spy parked out front?

When I went inside and inquired, I found out it actually belongs to an employee. I was told it's a 1976 Pontiac Le Mans (Stuntman Mike's car was a 1970 Chevy Nova) and I was one of only a few people that have recognized the Death Proof markings. I sometimes forget just how poorly Grindhouse did at the box office. Sorry for the picture quality. Not only did I have to snap the pic on my shitty phone camera, but I was also hurried because it was just starting to rain.

Don't Kill The Messenger XXIV

2009-07-05T12:31:00.010-04:00

Another late night equals another late post. Here is what's newsworthy this week.

The Blood-Dimmed Tide.

I'm an avid viewer of the programming on Rev3 and one of their newest shows is one called Film Riot. It is a video podcast focusing on DIY film tricks, hosted by a guy named Ryan Connolly. Last week's episode was actually a seven minute short/trailer implementing a lot of the effects they had talking about in the previous weeks. I think it's good for a few chuckles.

Some Blood With Your CG?

This awesome trailer popped on Twitch this week for Nathan Love's new animated project called Blood Trail. It sure ain't Dreamworks! Click on the pic below to check it out.

That's A Bigga Meatballlll!

Take a gander at what could be living in your sewer. Thank to AOTS for the nightmares!

The Archive Project Begins

2009-07-03T10:09:00.002-04:00

I've mentioned before that I have a mountain of crap stored away in the crawlspace of my childhood abode. Seeing that the house is empty for a few weeks while the folks are globetrotting around the UK, it seems the perfect time to start taking inventory. While hoofing out some of the boxes, I felt a little bit like that dude from the last shot of Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Here's JUST the posters.

Like I said in my 2009 movie-related resolutions, I'm planning for the future. Once I've burned through all the coverboxes from my old store, it'll be time to move onto the above collection. After that, who knows? Stay tuned for archive project posts as I dig through all this buried treasure.

Beware The Moon.

2009-07-01T12:26:00.014-04:00

First off, I'd just like to say Happy Canada Day to all my northern brethren.

Following my Moon review yesterday, I wanted to do a space theme for this installment of Coverbox Wednesday. However, space is more science-fiction jurisdiction, so horror-tinged sci-fi are few and far between outside of staples like Alien and its many clones. So, what's the next best thing when dealing with the moon? Werewolves of course! We certainly had no shortage of those movies (as well as a few other man beast offerings) at my store. Until next time, remember to stick to the road.

And lastly, one can't forget this 'classic' horror actioner.

The Man On The Moon.

2009-06-30T15:16:00.001-04:00

I’m going to take a little time here to talk about a film I saw last Thursday called Moon. I’d been really looking forward to seeing it since the trailer surfaced a few months back. If you haven’t seen the trailer, you can watch it here. However, I might suggest you refrain, so that if you see it the narrative will unfold as the protagonist experiences it. To be honest though, the trailer really doesn’t give away as much as it appears.

Mining engineer Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is almost at the end of his solo three-year contract on the moon when things start to unravel for him. Is it cabin fever or something else entirely?

Moon is excellent science-fiction, and like all great sci-fi its subject matter puts forth many questions. The strength of Moon is you are never sure where its going. You make the usual assumptions as you watch, but they continually change as the movie progresses. Moon’s influences are many, with 2001: A Space Odessey, Solaris and the 1981 Sean Connery vehicle Outland being chief among them. Like Sunshine in 2007, it takes its lofty predecessors and fuses them into an entirely new beast. Sam Rockwell’s performance is first-rate. He has to play his character two different ways and tackles the challenge beautifully. It really illustrated something – how people change over time – that I don’t think I’ve ever seen done this way before. Kevin Spacey is great as the voice of Gerty, Sam’s helpful robot companion and it is the exchanges between the two that are some of the most engaging parts of the film.

I’d wager a guess that this movie cost very little to make (by Hollywood standards anyway), but you’d never know it from the production values. The space stuff looks top notch. Director Duncan Jones does a great job with the pacing and really toys with your expectations of how the story will play out. Moon is one of those rare occasions where a film fully delivers on the promise of its trailer. If you are fan of straight up science-fiction, be sure to check Moon out when it releases wide this Friday.

A Busy Month Ahead.

2009-06-30T10:02:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, the Fantasia Film Festival FINALLY announced this year's lineup of titles. Here's a taste. From the UK we have Adam Mason's newest project Blood River as well as two Clive Barker adaptations, Dread and Book Of Blood. Also, from Ireland is a supernatural thriller by the name of The Eclipse. The newest horror offering from France is a little film called Mutants. Left Bank is a body-horror flick from Belgium. On this side of the pond, we have time-travelling thrills in Danny Kuchuck & John Weiner’s Cryptic, man vs. nature in Richard Harrah’s The Canyon and the LONG awaited Canadian premiere of Trick 'R' Treat. We'll also finally get to see what all the fuss is about when Paul Solet's Grace screens. Also falling in with the crazy kid theme are Tom Shankland's The Children and Jaume Collet-Serra’s Orphan. The SXSW hit revenge thriller The Horseman rears its ugly head, as well. For those who like comedy with their horror, Dead Snow, Smash Cut and Lesbian Vampire Killers will also be on hand at Fantasia. From Asia, we have Cannes darling Thirst, as well as Love Exposure, martial arts flick Coweb and Korean thriller The Chaser. And lastly, I can't forget to mention Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl is playing there too. I should be heading to Montreal in the last week of July, so I'm hoping to catch as many of these as I can.

For more news on the press conference announcements, check out Twitch here.

A Jolly Good Show.

2009-06-29T10:01:00.003-04:00

The Film Race screening happened on Friday. It went really well. The audience seemed really receptive to Snip and laughed in all the right spots – as opposed to laughing in all the wrong ones. Thanks to everyone who showed up to support us. I definitely think that despite it being a little rough in spots, Snip was one of the best offered in our programme. If I were choosing a winner (at least from our group of fifteen, I didn’t see the second group of films that screened later that night) I’d probably go with The Harsh Light Of Day by team Just Kill Dixie Monday Josh. It was the most technically sound, looking like something that could have been lensed by Tony Scott. It’s funny how our influences naturally come to the fore sometimes. It should be no surprise that Snip has a noticeable Raimi flair to it, even though I wasn’t even aware of it until we were shooting. There was also another short called Payback’s A Bitch by Sean Grounds that had David Lynch written all over it. I also liked the entry Sprayback by team Lambda Lambda Lambda for its hilarious conclusion. Hopefully, these will all be on the filmracing.com website in a few weeks.

On stage at the Q&A.

The announcement of the winners won’t unfortunately happen for another month, so stay tuned. As for Snip, I am hoping to have it online for your viewage soon.

Don't Kill The Messenger XXIII

2009-06-28T12:30:00.004-04:00

Two More Trailers.

Here are two new trailers for you. The first is Yoshihiro Nishimura's new project Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. I'm sure I'll be seeing this either in Montreal or locally in Toronto this summer, so stay tuned. The second is Daybreakers, the new film from the Spierig Brothers. Holy shit, these guys have come a long way from their humble beginnings with Undead. It looks good. Great cast. Sign me up!

All Aboard The Hype Machine.

I've been hearing rumblings about Grace. It premiered at Sundance and ever since the Web has been afire of stories of people puking and fainting during pre screenings. Who knows whether these are true - I know that Lionsgate certainly ran with the events that happened following Hostel's two screenings at TIFF in 2005 - but I'm down for whatever Paul Solet is selling. Bring it! Click on the picture below to see footage from a recent special screening of Grace at USC.

Flip Book Insanity.

Last, but not least, is a cool little animated short by small time inc. called The Black Dog's Progress that I found on Twitch. This is fantastic stuff. Check it out below.

The Black Dog's Progress from small time inc. on Vimeo.

Fab.

2009-06-27T14:31:00.009-04:00

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these. It seems that time just got away from me. I want to talk about a film that I didn’t see in its original release, but have become quite fond of over the last year. That film is Julie Taymor’s Across The Universe. I know that a musical would not be something you would expect me to be onboard with, but every once and a while one comes around (like Moulin Rouge for instance) that I embrace wholeheartedly. It must have been all those VHS viewings of Annie and Bugsy Malone when I was a kid.

The musical catalogue of The Beatles serves as the narrative for the story of three young people, Liverpool ruffian Jude (Jim Sturgess) and American upper class siblings Lucy & Max (Evan Rachel Wood & Joe Anderson) as they try to make a life for themselves in 1960’s New York.

I love Across The Universe. There was a while where I’d just have it on in the background while I was blogging. I had to stop doing that though because I’d get distracted and end up watching twenty-minute chunks of the movie while I was supposed to be “working”. That is just how mesmerizing I find this piece.

Yes, that last one was Salma Hayek times five. I really have to hand it to director Julie Taymor here. Across The Universe is clever, inventive and most of all, heartfelt. The love of the music is always paramount and any fan of the Beatles (which really SHOULD be everyone on the planet) will revel in its awesomeness. All the performances are great and the three leads, Wood, Sturgess & Anderson even perform their own songs. Who knew Evan Rachel Wood could sing? I’d heard that Taymor had some problems getting this film released. The studio heads didn’t like the running time and actually made a shorter cut without her knowledge. As you can imagine, that didn’t go over well and she fought for months to have her version released. She won, and so did we as far as I’m concerned. The movie is over two hours, but you’d never, ever know it. They pack a LOT of stuff in here too. In addition to the songs and countless Beatles references, there are several figures and events from the time that appear in the film. You could argue that some of the images are a little heavy-handed, but you can’t deny that they are visually stunning to watch. And as you can imagine, Across The Universe shines on Blu-ray. I’ve never seen colours so vibrant – okay, except maybe for Speed Racer.

This is a film of wonderful ideas that are complimented by the timeless works of The Beatles. Across The Universe is criminally under seen gem in my opinion and a must see for any musical fan. If you are a Beatles fan, this should already be in your collection.

R.I.P. Michael 1958-2009

2009-06-25T23:20:00.008-04:00

I got out of a screening for Moon this evening to hear that Michael Jackson died today. He was 50. No matter how much of a freak show he became later in life, there was no doubt that he was a consummate performer and in the peak of his career the most famous person on the planet. I cannot think of a better tribute here at THS than the video below.

Animated Interlude

2009-06-25T10:05:00.007-04:00

Sorry, I've been slacking off a bit this week. After that busy weekend, I've kind of just been relaxing and watching Freaks & Geeks reruns on G4. However, Dirtyrobot was kind enough to turn me onto this new short by Axel Brötje called Kiss Of The Scorpion. Click on the pic below to be redirected.

It's refreshing to see an animated short set on a train that isn't infinitely depressing.

Another 24 Hours.

2009-06-22T18:36:00.001-04:00

So, as promised, here's the skinny on how this year's 24 Hour Film Race shoot went this past weekend.

9:30pm – I arrive at Mike Schwartz’s and we get ready for the email that will be sent to us stating the theme and surprise element we have to use in the short.
10:00pm – The email arrives. The theme is ‘Payback’ and the surprise element is the ‘Spraying of Perfume/Cologne’. Schwartz & I, our editor Mark and Schwartz’s wife Rachael start spit-balling ideas. Schwartz tells me he wants to use his dog (a Pomeranian named Boo Radley) in the film because he recently went to a psychic and she told him that his next film project should involve Boo. At first I think he’s kidding. Isn’t there some adage about never working with animals and children?
10:30pm – Every idea being put forth seems to involve the dog. Now ALL I CAN think of is the dog.
11:00pm – I come up with ‘the nugget’, but I am not convinced Boo is going to be receptive to ‘direction’ when we start shooting. Schwartz assures me it will be fine.

Who can say no to those eyes?

12:00am – I start writing the script. Rachael has gone to bed and Mark has gone home to compose some music for tomorrow.
1:00am – I finish the script. It is two pages long, which is a little concerning. I don’t think there is a minimum length requirement, but that works out to two minutes of screen time, plus credits. Granted, there is a LOT of action, but still. The Mountebank (my 24 hour film last year) script was originally six pages and ended up being three-and-a-half minutes long. We begin the shot list.
1:30am – Schwartz & I take a trip out to the 24 hour Vet Clinic to get a dog cone we need for the shoot. He’s in there a while.
2:15am – We finish up the shot list. Sixty shots. That’s an insane amount! We’re going to have motor through the majority of them to finish on time.
3:00am – We hit the hay for a few hours.
6:15am – We wake up and have some breakfast.
7:00am – Thom, our actor, arrives and we start dressing the apartment for the shoot.
8:00am – We step out to shop for some supplies.
9:00am – We are back at the apartment, setting up the camera for the first shot.
9:15am – Our fifth and final member of the crew (Terence) arrives.
9:45am – The first shot is in the can! That puts us almost three hours ahead of last year’s pace.

Schwartz, Terence and Thom sizing up a shot.

12:00pm – Twenty shots done. Fourty more to go! Mark has the brilliant idea to capture and edit what we have so far.
1:30pm – Lunch break. Pizza, the staple of any film shoot.
2:45pm – Onto the bedroom scene. We have to garbage bag the windows. Yay! My favourite job in the world.
3:30pm – I am standing over a bed holding a rope that is attached to a half-naked dude. Don’t ask.
4:00pm – We are burning through the script and what’s best is we are editing as we go. Genius!
4:45pm – Preparing the last shot.
5:00pm – We have wrapped photography!
5:15pm – Schwartz, Terence & I are doing some foley, both live and pinched from the Web.
5:30pm – We are shooting some last minute pickup shots, due to a continuity issue.
6:00pm – Mark is working on a rough cut. Since we are actually CLOSE to the drop-off point this year, we’re still pretty good for time.
6:30pm – Wow! The rough cut is not nearly as raw as I was expecting. Now onto the sound mix and colour correction.
7:30pm – Dinner break.
8:00pm – We watch the newest cut. We’re almost there. There are three things I’d like to fix, but I don’t think we’ll have time. Now to add some end music and we should be good.
8:30pm – We show the latest cut to an impartial party – Rachael. She points out a few things that aren’t as clear as we thought they were, but she can’t believe all the footage we shot fits together as well as it does.
8:45pm – Finished! For better or worse.
8:50pm – Of course we’ve hit a snag. We seem to be having a problem transferring the short to a DVD. Oh my God, we’re SO CLOSE!
9:15pm – We’ve come up with a solution, but now we’re running dangerously low on time. Watching progress bars has never been so excruciating!!!

Time is a WHORE.

9:30pm – I’m sitting outside in my car waiting for Schwartz to come and hand off the finished product. It’s coming.
9:40pm – Schwartz hands me two copies in different formats. I am off.
9:47pm – I walk through the doors of the drop-off point, The Duke Of York. Yes, you read that correctly, I made it there in seven minutes. It was a combination of close proximity and inadvisable driving. I hand our short ‘Snip’ over to the 24 Hour Film Race representatives.
10:05pm – I am back at Schwartz’s place and we watch a copy of the movie. I think it’s an entertaining bit of film. It is at least memorable because of Boo. I cannot believe it, but Schwartz was right. With the use of some select phrases, a squeaky toy and a sizable amount of chicken, we got Boo to do EVERY SINGLE THING we needed him to. Boo is the STAR of this show (sorry Thom).
11:45pm – The traffic in downtown Toronto was atrocious. I’m finally back at home.
12:15am – Time for bed.

Well, that’s another one in the books. I hope it plays well to an audience. Technically speaking, it’s a little rough. Those three issues I mentioned are still in there. We could have fixed them, but then it wouldn’t have been in on time. It ended up being the same thing as last year, but we went the lesser-product-in-by-the-deadline-route this time around. We’ll see how it does. We avoided the mistakes of last year, but were almost done in by some new ones. That’s one of the craziest things about this competition. It is never the same set of hair-raising circumstances twice. Oh, and strangely the running time wasn’t an issue. Snip ended up being six seconds longer than The Mountebank, even though its script was three times shorter. Then again, we did have sixty shots this time around. I’m pretty pumped/nervous about showing it off. I’ll post it up here as soon as possible after Friday’s screening.

Don't Kill The Messenger XXII

2009-06-21T14:11:00.004-04:00

Whew, sorry this one's a bit late, but I'm a little exhausted. I slept in until one today, which I haven't done in a long, long time. Let's get into it, shall we?

First Story's On Me.

The reason I'm so exhausted is the whirlwind of a weekend I just had. Schwartz and I participated in this year's 24 Hour Film Race. And we got miraculously got our film in ON TIME, which if you'll remember was not the case with my experience last year. These things are always so much fun. It is hard work and super stressful at times, but SOOO worth it. Anyway, I'll have a more detailed breakdown of the events posted tomorrow if you want to check back then.

More Joe.

Joe Lynch's (Wrong Turn 2) latest episode of Bodycount dropped on G4's Attack Of The Show this week. For those who don't know Bodycount is a little segment Lynch does where he runs down three horror titles that he thinks are worth checking out. I was hoping for ones that were a bit more current, but for those who haven't seen them, all his picks are required viewing (no matter how unpleasant some - or more specifically ONE - of them may be). Check it out below.

Video Games - E3 2009 - Attack of the Show

Two New Trailers.

Here are a pair of trailers that hit the Web this week. The first is finally some footage from the upcoming graphic novel adaptation Whiteout starring Kate Beckinsale. I was already in, but this trailer just reinforces it. The second is Zombieland, which is perhaps the most perplexing project I've seen in a while. I suppose it could be fun in a Shaun Of The Dead kind of way. Maybe I'm just not used to seeing a zombie movie starring A-list actors. It's kind of the same reaction I had to the Shutter Island trailer. Scorsese doing Gothika? WTF?! All I know is, if Leo is Patient 67 I am personally taking away Marty's Oscar. Anyway, trailers below.

Zombie Lit That's All Meat.

2009-06-18T10:14:00.006-04:00

You know it's funny. No matter how much you ensconce yourself into a particular subject, there will still occasionally be whole phenomenon that slip by you. This was the case with writer David Wellington's Monster series. I was perusing Cory Casciato's blog The Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse a few weeks ago, when I came across his review of Wellington’s novel Monster Island. I'd never heard of this before, but from the title of Cory's post – I believe the word he used was 'brilliant' – I could see that he was pretty enamoured with it. That was all I needed and headed out to my local Chapters to pick it up. It was then that I saw it was actually the first book of a trilogy, so I had some serious reading ahead of me. It was exciting to have this whole new zombie epic of sorts just suddenly fall in my lap. I mean, I MUST have read about this in Rue Morgue or somewhere back in 2006, it just must have not stuck for some reason. Apparently, Island was originally released online serially as far back as 2004! Who knew?

Anyway, zombie apocalypse, I'm already in right? Get this. I'm waiting in the checkout line behind some coupon clipping old lady, so I do the logical thing and read the back cover and spy this...

“From the other side of the planet, a small but heavily armed group of schoolgirls-turned-soldiers comes in--” WHAAAAAT???

No one told me about schoolgirl soldiers! Needless to say, this book was devoured in a weekend and you KNOW that's a big deal for me. I find it amazing that considering how saturated the zombie subgenre is there are people out there that are still mining gold out of it. I wrote recently about my fantastic experience with World War Z. It all felt so detailed and covered scenarios that I hadn't even thought of. I constantly daydream nine-to-five about this stuff and still Max Brooks was five steps ahead of me. In a way, Monster Island does the same thing. It is not as pervasive and global a story as WWZ, but it is no less compelling. First, Wellington begins the story in Somalia with an original concept – at least to me – where anyone who had been in a well-established nation when 'The Epidemic' hit, was pretty much fucked. The only nations that survived were the ones in the third world because they were already hardened by death and misfortune. “Places you wouldn't walk out the door without a gun”, as the main protagonist Dekalb puts it. He is a UN weapons inspector, who falls in with a local warlord named Mama Halima who is dying of AIDS. In exchange for the safety of his daughter, Dekalb must travel to the U.S. to get the medication Halima needs to survive. Travelling with him, are the squad of aforementioned schoolgirl soldiers. It's a great setup and the story becomes even more intriguing once they reach New York. Wellington spends a lot of time describing post-apocalyptic Manhattan so it feels like you too are dodging flesh eaters like the characters in the story. It is probably the most absorbing portrayal of NYC I've read since The Stand. Speaking of which, Monster Island reminded me of that Stephen King touchstone quite a bit actually for reasons I won't get into here. Needless to say, that is a big compliment. Even though Monster Island boasts only a handful of characters, the scope is of an epic nature. I cannot wait to read Monster Nation and Monster Planet, the following chapters of the trilogy.

I realize I’m late to the party on this one and probably preaching to the already initiated, but if haven’t read this, GET ON IT! It has everything you like about the zombie genre, with an extra dimension that makes it even more of a page-turner.

What's In A Name?

2009-06-17T12:36:00.000-04:00

Coming up with a good title for your film is almost as important as making one people will want to watch. Just ask Irvin Shapiro. Which sounds more appealing? The Book Of The Dead or The Evil Dead. Sam Raimi and company would have gone with the former if not for the urging of the late producer. There are unforgettable horror movie titles like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Blood Feast that automatically drudge up horrifying images and then there are ones that take a simpler approach. They use a name. Sometimes, this name becomes irrevocably intertwined with its owner and becomes canon. Any car that is acting up becomes Christine and any crazy-ass canine becomes Cujo. For this Coverbox Wednesday, I culled together some of the other named titles we had at ye olde store.

Don't Kill The Messenger XXI

2009-06-14T14:27:00.003-04:00

I got a little too much sun today, so I'll make this brief before I go take a nap before hockey.

More Michael?!

A story broke over at Fangoria.com this week about some lost footage from John Carpenter's original Halloween. It sounds like the majority of it is b-roll and unusuable takes, but it's all stuff any hardcore fan would love to see. And it looks like there's a LOT of it.

Now, I have no desire to buy yet ANOTHER Halloween Edition on DVD, but if they get all this stuff together (along with maybe some commentary by Carpenter himself), then I think it would be worthwhile. I mean, what else am I going to do? Watch H2? Not likely. Click here for the full story as well as information about how to let current Halloween currator Malek Akkad (son of the late Moustapha) know you want to see this stuff.

No Laughing Matter.

A short that I saw a few years ago called Headshot popped up on Vimeo recently. Thanks be to Twitch for pointing it out. This was a big hit with the crowd I saw it with and has several laugh out loud moments. Here it is below.

HEAD SHOT from Dennis Heaton on Vimeo.

This Shit Never Gets Old.

Another promo video for Yoshihiro Nishimura's (the mastermind behind last year's Tokyo Gore Police) newest blood opera Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl has appeared online. This one seems to be expanding on the funny little wristcutting commercial within TGP. I'm pretty sure this one is locked in for at least one of the upcoming festivals in my area, so I better have my slicker at the ready. Check it out below.

Amusement? Not Quite.

2009-06-12T07:59:00.008-04:00

Amusement was a title that had been on my radar for a while, but like many horror flicks, seemed to disappear for a while and then suddenly drop on DVD. Mainly only on my radar for two reasons that I’ll get to later, I sought it out and watched it this week.

Three women are terrorized by a crazed maniac known only as The Laugh.

I found Amusement to be incredibly perplexing. The ideas were there, but much of the execution seemed clumsy to me. I’ll try and break it down for you. I had two big problems with this movie. The first was that it was all over the place. At first, it seemed like an “urban legend” style horror anthology. I didn’t know this going in, but I was fine with that. The first story was okay. It had a few plot points that stuck out sorely, but it was fairly short, so whatever. The second was probably the best, despite the obviousness of its punch line. The third – by far the oddest of the three – boasted a lavish location straight out of a Guillermo Del Toro picture. After the three stories played out, it became this weird crime thriller and then quickly descended into the tired depths of dreck like Captivity. My second problem was the constant implausibility. I’m obviously not going to stand here and say that movie plots have to be airtight – my favourite genre is horror for Christ’s sake – but if you go out of your way to make things ridiculously improbable, I’m afraid that’s a roadblock for me. There is a whole echelon of genre filmmakers that favour style over substance, where visuals and set pieces are paramount and everything else is just getting to those points, but MAKE AN EFFORT AT LEAST! Maybe I’m being overcritical of Amusement, but it seemed to me there were so many moments like that and there has to be a tipping point. The evil machinations of The Laugh make Jigsaw’s shenanigans seem rudimentary by comparison. It probably didn’t help that the villain was pretty laughable (no pun intended) as well. He gets pretty grating by the end, so his comeuppance couldn’t come soon enough.

Though in amongst all these clichés and logic leaps, there were some moments that surprised me, so I can’t write this movie off completely. It’s frustrating because I’d like to, but there is some good to be had here. Amusement is also good looking, and I’m not just talking about the lovely ladies that populate it. Which brings me to the two reasons I mentioned before…

I first saw Jessica Lucas (left) on her brief stint on CSI, and then Cloverfield. She was supposed to be in Drag Me To Hell as Alison Lohman’s roommate, but I guess that got nixed last minute. Bummer! Katheryn Winnick was in a little under seen gem of a movie called Satan’s Little Helper and I’ve always kept my eye out for her since. But yes, the production design is top notch. It looks like some money was spent on Amusement, especially on the third story I mentioned before. I think that the studio may have had higher hopes for this movie initially. I wonder if Picturehouse being shutdown in mid-2008 had something to do with it being shelved?

I really wanted to like this movie, but something about it was always continually off-kilter. It is hard for me to pin down without you seeing it for yourself. But that’s your choice to make.

Let's Try This Again!

2009-06-10T21:15:00.002-04:00

After the power outage debacle at The Bloor back in January, we reassembled again last month to finally see the uncut version of the 1981 slasher flick My Bloody Valentine. It turns out that it worked out in our favour because now even more of the cast and crew turned up for the Q&A. In addition to director George Mihalka and actor Neil Affleck (Axel in the film), we had Lori Hallier, Alfred Humphries and Paul Kelman (who played Sarah, Howard and T.J. respectively) as well as line producer Bob Presner and composer Paul Zaza.

There was a little delay writing about this because I was waiting on some video accompaniment. My friend Rob Mitchell is a Toronto-based videographer who documents a lot of events around town and I was waiting for him to post the footage. Here is the video of the night’s festivities.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

I hope you enjoyed that. I know I did. My favourite part of these Rue Morgue Cinemacabre Q&A’s is how appreciative (and often even stark surprise of) the filmmakers and cast - whether it be J.D. Feigelson, the writer of Dark Night Of The Scarecrow or Tom Waites, who played Windows in The Thing - are that people are still championing their work so many years down the road. What can I say? We’re a loyal bunch.

I know I’ve always had a soft spot for My Bloody Valentine, as I’m sure many of you have. It gets lumped in with all the B-grade slashers that flooded the market after Friday The 13th, but I think My Bloody Valentine offers more than a lot of its contemporaries did. Without even mentioning the iconic Harry Warden and the mine – which is a character in itself – there is a lot happening here. My Bloody Valentine deserves praise for doing things that most movies just don’t do. First, there was an attempt at realism. I spoke before about how Mihalka was attempting to get away from the ‘Ken & Barbie’ aspects of the slasher genre and really make things count. Setting the story within a small town populated with working class characters was a departure from the usual spoilt rich-kids of the genre. There’s also a moment where the jig is up and the revelling partygoers don’t stick around to get offed by the killer, they get the fuck out of dodge. That’s something people in most slashers STILL don’t do, even almost THIRTY years later. Perhaps most important is the gore that has been restored is all good stuff. We’re not talking about a few seconds here and there – as most so-called Unrated editions are guilty of – we’re talking MINUTES here. The MPAA were merciless with this one, so much so that the score had to be redone, as was touched on in the videos above. And I’m glad that memory served me correctly about just how prominent Moosehead beer was in this movie. It turns out they WERE a sponsor. I knew it! Seriously, you can make a drinking game out of how many times it shows up in the first act.

It was a really fun evening and the kind of thing that was worth waiting an extra four months for. If you want to check out more of Rob's videos, you can visit his website here.

Serve. Protect. Inform?

2009-06-09T12:32:00.003-04:00

The super comprehensive zombie blog The Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse tipped me off to this cool little article on Comicmix.com. Blogger Jenifer Rosenburg asks the question, when the dead rise, will your local police force give you fair warning? This stemmed from an exchange on the Boston Police's Twitter feed - which is an interesting read in itself and an excellent idea when you think about it - that ended with them saying they WOULD notify the public if there was a zombie outbreak. Jenifer then took this a step further and contacted the police departments of many other large cities, to see where they stood on the subject. Click here to check out the rest of her story. Now, I'm off to find out if the Toronto police are on Twitter.