Starring Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisley, Charles Dance
Directed by Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein

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After giving fans a Kate Beckinsale-less prequel with 2009's Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Selene is back and better than ever for Underworld: Awakening, which has the Death Dealer fighting against both Lycans and a powerful corporation named Antigen whose primary focus is eradicating the world of the non-human "plague" by creating a cure for the otherworldly creatures.
At the start of the flick, we find out that once the humans discovered vampires and werewolves living amongst them, a "purge" was ordered, and both species were driven to the brink of extinction. During the genocide Selene was captured by Antigen and held in a cryogenic tank for 12 years while the company experimented on the unsuspecting vampire warrior.
Of course, if Selene stayed frozen, we wouldn't have a fourth movie so she makes it out of Antigen (with her trademark skintight suit intact) and is introduced to a shocking new world where she no longer has only werewolves to contend with but the human race as well. There are a few more shocks and surprises in store for Selene as the story continues in Awakening, but as someone who's a firm believer in not posting review spoilers, all I will say is that fans of the franchise will be happy with what directors Märlind & Stein have cooked up here under the guidance of Underworld co-creator Len Wiseman, who's on board Awakening as both a producer and story writer.
For those of you out there who aren’t really fans of the Underworld franchise, Awakening most likely won't do much to change your mind on the series: It seems like it was made with the fans of the series in mind who have been waiting for Selene's return to the big screen after almost a six-year absence and does a fantastic job of getting back to the original story that drew us in almost 10 years ago.
A lot of detractors have always had issues with the amount of exposition that seems to get jam-packed into the Underworld movies, which is a fair assessment. But as a fan, I've always enjoyed the rich history that Wiseman, Kevin Grevioux and Danny McBride took the time to establish with their story as opposed to a franchise like Resident Evil (a series Underworld finds itself compared to a lot) that is purely action-driven; at least the Underworld movies try to give audiences characters they can care about, which is a rarity in the action genre these days.
There's no doubt that Awakening is the film that has finally gotten the Underworld narrative vs. asskicking formula almost down pat- the film does offer up a lot of exposition and story for us, but the film never lags and the action itself this time around feels far more brutal and violent than its predecessors. Clearly, Märlind & Stein were heartily embracing their R rating as they've got a few gore-filled tricks up their sleeves that are wickedly fun to experience in 3D.
The performances in Underworld: Awakening were far better than I was expecting going into the fourth installment; Beckinsale seems like she's finally owning the character of Selene and delivers her most mature work in the series. Selene's never been the deepest of characters, and while she certainly doesn't get all "lovey-dovey" on us for the fourth film, I was surprised by the amount of emotion Beckinsale gave to the role in just a few key scenes, finally giving the talented actress more to do than slaughtering Lycans and acting insolently against her elders.
Of course, fans show up to watch Beckinsale's fight scenes, and what we get in Awakening is hands down some of the best fight choreography work of the entire franchise. Beckinsale herself finally seems more comfortable with her moves, and she's got some pretty huge adversaries to take down in the fourth film, making Selene's fights some truly awesome stuff to behold on the big screen (if you dig that sort of thing).
Michael Ealy, who plays a human cop and unlikely ally of Selene, is one of my favorite guys that pops up a lot in non-genre films these days, and he's got some great chemistry playing off of Beckinsale's cool and calculated Selene. Brilliant character actor Rea plays the main bad guy working behind the scenes at Antigen and adds a level of eloquence to Awakening that had been sort of lacking in previous Underworld entries. I would love to see him return (not a spoiler, folks; Bill Nighy returned to part three after being beheaded so anything's possible; whether Rea lives or dies, you'll have to see for yourself) in future installments as he does a fantastic job with his portrayal of an evil corporate scientist who keeps pushing his research for a cure way too far.
In terms of the look and feel of Underworld: Awakening, of course the color blue is still very much focal color of this franchise, and the color palette looks surprisingly great in 3D. With the Underworld films having such a dark aesthetic to them, that was a big concern for me going into the fourth chapter as to whether or not the 3D would be able to pop as well with a movie that is mostly blue and black hued. The directing duo of Märlind & Stein clearly knew this would be somewhat of an issue and incorporate a lot of scenes that have a somewhat "traditional" and unsaturated look to them, keeping a nice balance of the blue tones we've come to expect and giving fans also a bit of a "new look" for the Underworld franchise.
The 3D itself is pretty great (at least far better than Shark Night 3D, which was the last flick I saw in that format). It plays subtly when needed and also features a few "in your face" moments, too, which is always fun. It has a good blend of both 3D approaches, and if you can swing the extra few bucks, Underworld: Awakening is definitely a lot of fun to enjoy in 3D. For those of you over the 3D gimmick, I'm sure the movie will look great when presented in 2D too.
The digital effects (something I've always found to be a bit distracting about the Underworld films) this time around are far better than what we've experienced previously in the series. While I would have loved to see more practical effects being used in Awakening, practical werewolves are just not going to happen in an Underworld movie, and as a fan, you either come to terms with it or you don't. As someone who has come to terms with it, the beasties this time around look far less cartoonish, and one creature in particular (no spoilers!) is quite the fearsome sight to behold.
As a fan of the franchise, Underworld: Awakening feels like the movie I've been waiting for ever since the first one was released in 2003. Beckinsale has never been better, the story and action finally blends together a bit more smoothly, and incorporating humans into the Vampire/Lycan war breathes a new life into the series. Awakening won't do much for the detractors, but for fans- this is the Underworld sequel we've all been patiently waiting to see for almost six years now, and hopefully Screen Gems won't keep waiting another half-dozen years for the next chapter in Selene's journey.

The Horror Portfolio - 64 Movies in 5 Minutes

There is something enjoyable about a good mash-up. You take the best parts of a few things and wad them together to make something new and, hopefully, at least as enjoyable as the original works. We've got the ultimate horror mash-up for you in The Horror Portfolio.
Containing bits of 64 horror films which cross the screen in just under five minutes, The Horror Portfolio covers it all. It's got new films, old films, originals and remakes, classics and clunkers. Take five minutes out of your day and get a refresher on a ton of great horror. We've included the full list of films included in the video, but see how many you can identify before you look at the answers. Enjoy!

Films in The Horror Portfolio
Chapter One (Haunted Houses & Ghost Stories)
11-11-11, 1408, The Amityville Horror (2005), The Awakening, Dawn of the Dead, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, The Eye, Fragile, The Haunting (1963), The Haunting in Connecticut, Insidious, Mirrors, The Orphanage, Paranormal Activity 2, Poltergeist, The Shining, Shutter Island, Silent Hill, Triangle, The Uninvited, The Ward, White Noise, The Woman in Black
Chapter Two (Angels & Demons)
Constantine, Devil, Drag Me To Hell, End of Days, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Exorcist, Legion, Lost Highway, The Ninth Gate, The Omen, The Prophecy, The Rite, Sleepy Hollow, Stigmata, Suspiria
Chapter Three (Killers & Slashers)
30 Days of Night, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), The Crazies, Dead Silence, Don't Look Now, Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th (2009), Halloween (1978), Halloween (2007), Hannibal Rising, The Hitcher, Pontypool, Psycho (1960), Red Dragon, Red Eye, The Reeds, The Ring, Saw, Scream 4, Se7en, Shutter Island, Silence of the Lambs, The Strangers, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), When a Stranger Calls (2006), Zodiac
Music:
1. "Opening Titles" - Mark Kilian (from The Ward)
2. "If I Was Your Vampire (Instrumental)" - Marilyn Manson
3. "Hello Zepp" - Charlie Clouser (from Saw)

Wizard of Oz

Jessica Lange Home Takes Home a Golden Globe Award for American Horror Story

Nearly three and a half of the dullest hours of my entire award-watching life just transpired as the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards is history. Sadly, our genre only took home two awards this year, but they were well deserved!
First up - Jessica Lange took home the prize for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: "American Horror Story" and secondly ...
Morgan Freeman took home the Cecil B. DeMille award thanks in part to his stirring portrayal of Count Dracula on "The Electric Company". The wonderful news brought a true tear to our eyes, damnit! About time!
In addition, we have to give a shout-out to Peter Dinklage for his win for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: "Game of Thrones".
Congratulations to all the winners! For the full list visit the official Golden Globes website.
That being said ... time to sing along!

(dreadcentral.com)

Happy Friday the 13th

Jason Voorhees is a household name, there’s no arguing. Everyone may be familiar with the summer camp slasher’s iconic look as far as the hockey mask goes, but it’s a lot harder to find a definitive consensus on Mr. Voorhees’ most successful incarnation. It changes as often as the weather, and much more dramatically, to boot.
So we’re taking another look back at Friday the 13th - this time from the perspective of our main man’s getups from the past thirty years. Like any enduring movie monster, he’s had his ups and downs. Moments we love and others we’d like to forget. From mongoloid Jason to that mongoloid remake, we’ll leave no face unmasked as we travel the bumpy road of my own personal favorite movie villain in the hopes of documenting what worked, and what didn’t. Which movies got it right, and which ones are we ashamed to show our friends?
For better or worse, it’s all here.



Friday the 13th (1980)
Was it real? Alice’s nightmare? We all know that Crystal Lake’s finest never found any boy, and the conception behind this long night at Camp Blood was never intended as set-up for a sequel. Jason was a glorified plot device that was never supposed to be more than the reason for the killings. Regardless, his last-minute jolt left audiences on a high note, quickly becoming one of the original Friday the 13th’s most memorable moments.

And his look is … pretty unnerving. Draped in seaweed and spouting one over-sized cranium complete with drooping facial features, no one ever said anything about Jason being a mongoloid boy! Which begs the question: If the canoe tip was all part of Alice’s dream, how in the hell did she know that Jason was ‘special’? Yes, we assume that’s what Mrs. Voorhees was going to say during her crazed diatribe (”He was … he wasn’t a very good swimmer!”), but it never got that far. Certainly not far enough for Alice to deduce the child’s reduced mental capacity if the canoe jump were, in fact, a figment of her imagination.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Despite what I argued above, it’s no secret that Jason was a nightmare within the context of the original Friday. But with its success it became time to explore the most obvious avenue available: making him real. As such, we’re treated to a real cool type of Jason Begins (at least, it feels this way when looked at in the series’ milieu) scenario in which our slasher is somewhat uncharacteristic (calling Alice, tracking her to her home, etc.) in his vengeance. He’s also prone to accidents (watch out when standing atop old chairs, never know when they’re going to crack!) and some really bad decisions (maybe wait until the cop has driven past, before darting out into the road and inadvertently leading him to your secret lair!) throughout the course of his first actual venture.
It’s understandable that a newcomer to the series might be taken aback by the admittedly odd look of “Sackhead Jason” (lovingly referred to as the Country Bumpkin by an old friend and slasher mentor): the potato sack, the overalls, etc. But nothing is quite as jarring as when the killer’s face is revealed in the post-climax “sting” scare.

Red scraggly hair, fiery scruff, severely rotten teeth and one hell of a gumline: this is the look of a bumpkin whose life has been lived entirely in the solitude of wilderness.
Friday the 13th – Part III (1982)
Picking up exactly where Friday 2 ended, it takes a smarter man than I to figure out what the hell happened here: not only does Jason sprout several inches, but he apparently shaved off his hair – perhaps in an effort to elude the authorities (fooling them into thinking those counselors were killed by that other deformed mongoloid, perhaps?) and decided that his choice overalls were suddenly passé.
It’s why he stops off at the local convenient store, lifting some new pants and a shirt (and why do they fit him? Harold wasn’t exactly his body type) before sulking off to Higgins Haven (just in time to greet a few new arrivals who apparently hadn’t heard about the bloodbath across the lake) where he eventually lands his signature mask. While there was plenty to love about the Country Bumpkin, this is a much more imposing look for Mr. Voorhees. One that’s heightened by the film’s unmasking, which gives us this:

In the grand scheme of Jasons, this is among the creepiest. He’s always grinning - like he’s absolutely delighted to be terrorizing our already mentally fragile heroine – and there’s real glee in his eye when he kills. Jason was angrier elsewhere, perhaps scarier elsewhere as well, but there has never been another performance as evil as this! Kudos to Richard Brooker for pulling it off and leaving a lasting mark.
Friday the 13th – The Final Chapter (1984)
After the drastic disregard in continuity between parts 2 and 3, it was nice that Joe Zito’s The Final Chapter could be bothered to maintain stricter continuity with the previous film. In fact Tom Savini’s work on Friday 4 ranks among his best, with a truly frightening Jason design that took everything that came before and ramped it up.
Before talking about the face, let’s look at the mask: battered, bruised, damaged, awesome. The center red chevron is fading, the bloodied axe wound from part 3 looks messy and painful. Best of all? Those thick, long and nasty fingernails. No wonder he’s able to rip Peter Barton’s face off with relative ease … his nails are so disgusting that Coffin Joe might even be appalled. And that’s nothing when compared to the series’ greatest unmasking sequence:

It’s the stuff of nightmares. Warped flesh, nasty teeth (complete with a fang or two, unpictured), and another sardonic grin that tells us more about the character than all of the scripts combined. Jason’s a man on a mission. He loves killing and won’t be stopped. And that makes him absolutely terrifying.
Friday the 13th Part V – A New Beginning (1985)
Of course, anyone who knows the series know that Jason was stopped – albeit briefly – for this stellar and underrated entry in the franchise (that’s right) that witnesses an impostor behind the mask.
Considering it was a grief-stricken (and deadbeat) dad behind the blue chevrons, it makes sense that “Jason” equipped himself with a completely different look. Taking a page from the handbook of Michael Myers, our slasher dons a nifty blue jumpsuit and goes through the trouble of encasing his head in a faux bald mask – simply in the hope of confusing his victims (and audience) into believing that the genuine article was butchering the lingering residents of Crystal Lake.
Of course, the “surprise” twist is a bit of a letdown for the purposes of this article:

It’s just a regular dude. Roy Burns. I still want to know where he got that bald mask, and why he bothered if he was planning on killing every single person at Pinehurst. Of course, the ultimate irony being that if Roy had just manned up and been a father to Joey (the poor fat kid whose unlikely murder is ground zero for the killings), this whole tragedy could’ve been avoided. But then we wouldn’t have had A New Beginning, and I would not have been okay with that.
Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
For some reason fans were “upset” that Friday 5 featured a fake Jason, as if the presence of an exact copycat that looks the same, and even exceeded the real deal’s body count record, wasn’t good enough for them. Regardless, Jason was jolted back to life for the sixth (and, for my money, best) installment in the franchise.
“Zombie” Jason has been a bone of contention with some of the old school purists (those who caught every single one of these in the theaters since 1980), although I can’t find much reason to contest the direction the series was taking at this point. Our resident slasher was chopped to pieces at the end of The Final Chapter so it was either resurrect him this way or disregard the events of the last two flicks. Personally, I’m glad this was the route they chose.
This incarnation may be overlooked by the spectacular make-up showcase of the next movie, but I personally find this Jason to be the coolest of all the “undead” versions. Credit director Tom McLoughlin for outfitting the entire flick with an atmospheric Hammer-esque vibe (especially that opening) – which is exactly why this Jason is a lumbering Frankenstein-ish creation, complete with cobwebs and the surge of lightning that brought him back:

As for the brief “unmasking” (occurring at the very beginning for a change), it’s pretty standard rotting corpse stuff. But on the whole, this Jason is dripping with classic monster nostalgia. The perfect complement to the rollercoaster that is Jason Lives.
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
The natural progression from Jason’s watery grave. John Buechler’s ghastly creation is perfection: the exposed spine and rib cage, the busted chain dangling around his neck and this face:

Not much else to say about this one. Brilliant FX work.
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
And after two innovative designs that took Mr. Voorhees from a pissed off mongoloid to an undead monster, laziness finally set in. This takes Buechler’s work and turns it into a grade-z variation. From the sludge-lathered clothing that conveniently looks to obscure detail (or lack thereof) to this monstrosity of an unmasking:

What else needs to be said? With part VIII Jason was reduced to looking like a Madball (specifically, that mummy that everyone growing up in the 80s seemed to have). His face is so soft and mushy that the filmmakers might’ve just slapped a hockey mask on a burnt and wilted marshmallow for as good as this looks.
I’ve always had a soft spot for the sheer ridiculousness of Jason Takes Manhattan, from disappearing passengers on a massive cruise ship to New York City sewers flooding with toxic waste every night at midnight, but the one thing that’s impossible to overlook is the shoddy make-up efforts. If there was a constant in these films, it should’ve been Jason’s look. He is, after all, the reason people showed up to see these films. Why’d he get such a raw deal, Paramount?
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
The raw deal didn’t get any less raw in this, the first of three New Line Cinema “Jason” productions. But at least they didn’t skip on his look again, giving us an even more brazen design consisting of a faded silver hockey mask melting into his head.

Fan speculation wonders if it wasn’t Jason’s exposure to New York’s river of toxic sludge that caused him to mutate. It’s a worthy supposition although it’s more likely they just didn’t want to touch that film’s ending with a ten-foot pole, deciding instead to change up the character’s appearance for what was originally going to be his final sendoff.
I like this look as a monster design even if it seems too outré for the young boy who drowned at camp all those years ago.
Jason X (2002)
This is a pretty “standard” look for the masked one. More subdued than JGTH and boasting more of a direct resemblance to Kane Hodder than ever before (complete with his hair, at least in the prologue). He looks great when masked. Unfortunately this is briefly glimpsed:

Of course, it’s really the Sideshow Collectibles sculpt here that makes this stand out as terrible (but look what they were working with!). And this design is notable for a few disappointing reasons: where’s the previous battle damage? No axe wound, no bullet hole (and that was one movie ago!) and, worst of all, why is his goddamn left eye back? It was destroyed at the end of The Final Chapter. Lazy, folks. Just lazy.
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
And then there’s this movie. Which seems to have been made by Freddy people without any regard for Friday the 13th fans. Jason lumbers around without any sense of menace, most of the kills are unimaginable and then there’s this:

Since we don’t actually see his face this time (just his mouth), it’s hard to tell exactly what he looked like. But again, the battle damage is absent from the mask (and Jason sports two eyes beneath that mask – gah!), and somebody explain to me when Jason decided to put a jacket on over his shirt? Do zombies get cold?
Friday the 13th (2008)
Sure, this is a “remake”, but it plays a lot like a sequel. And for everything that’s wrong with it (I hated this film), Jason looks pretty decent when he’s wearing that mask. Sadly, the brain trust at Platinum Dunes failed to deliver fans a proper unmasking sequence (odd, considering they claimed to “really study” the first four films before making this). But this is floating around out there:

Kind of a decent updating of his look from way back in part 2. The gimp eye, malformed skull, straggly hair and disgusting teeth all gel in a way that makes me wish the filmmakers had put some effort into making the movie any good. A damn shame
Twelve movies. Twelve looks. Some great, most good, some terrible. Which are you favorites, and why?

(dreadcentral.com)

New Images from Blind Alley

It's been a while since we last heard about Blind Alley (aka Callejón), but a couple of new stills have landed online for Antonio Trashorras' terror tale, and as always we're right here to scoop 'em up and bring them to ya! Feel free to leave a tip in the tip jar, thanks!
Blind Alley stars Ana de Armas, Diego Cadavid, and Leonor Varela.
Synopsis
In a tiny laundrette hidden down an alleyway, Rosa finds herself trapped, completely isolated and unable to escape the nightmarish situation of being attacked by a serial killer. At the break of dawn and after hours of anguish, immersed in the sadistic game of rat and mouse the killer has subjected her to, the young girl will discover something even more disturbing about the nature of her aggressor.

The Grey (2012)

Survivalist tales that have made their way onto film and into the multiplex over the years tend to have more emotional resonance than your typical genre fare. Whether they are based on fact or purely fiction, these stories tap into the primal drive in all of us to simply stay alive no matter what the cost. Watching characters onscreen bond together during the most dire of situations forces us as viewers to imagine what we would do, how we would react, and what we are ultimately capable of in the wake of a tragic accident that suddenly hurls us into the grasp of an ungovernable wilderness that doesn’t care if we live or die.
Joe Carnahan’s The Grey is the newest addition to the survivalist sub-genre, sitting alongside coming-of-age films like White Water Summer while also showing a kinship with horror entries such as The Final Terror and Ravenous. The Grey also never gives in to melodrama, staying grounded in the realism of Frank Marshall’s depiction of cannibalism in the ‘90s classic Alive. But the film that probably shares the most in common with Liam Neeson’s latest entry in badassdom would have to be Lee Tamahori’s The Edge, the David Mamet-penned thriller wherein Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin are hunted relentlessly by a Kodiac Grizzly.
The setup is usually the same: a harrowing and intense plane crash, a group dynamic slowly begins to form and then break apart due to constant peril and fear, a brave leader emerges and rescues the surviving few. Applause. In The Grey when the plane does begin to go down, it’s done with interior shots only and focuses mainly on Neeson’s character, Ottway. There are no epic effects shots of the plane’s wings being ripped off after crashing into a rocky mountainside, and on a subconscious level the somewhat intimate depiction of the wreck foreshadows future moments in the film that are much more personal and self-reflective in nature. These moments focus on the internal thoughts of Ottway surrounding his wife, moments that serve as poetic reminders of what his character is fighting for and, more importantly, how lost he is as an individual. Except for one brief sequence we only see imagery from Ottway’s past and perspective, but a number of characters get to reflect on their lives also, allowing them to tap into the good in them and find the will to go on.
Frank Grillo plays an ex-con working on the cursed oil rig these men are returning from as the film begins, and his character, Diaz, is the clear standout next to Neeson’s melancholy Ottway. Diaz transforms from being a scared anonymous punk into a respected member of the group as the film progresses. It is a star turn for Grillo, and viewers should expect to see him in many more memorable roles for years to come. Dermot Mulroney has some great moments throughout the film with Dallas Roberts and Joe Anderson also turning in great performances.
As you might have guessed by now, The Grey is much more intelligent than your typical thriller - and it’s a more effective film because of it. One of the main themes even deals with the idea of God versus the individual and how faith, or the lack thereof, is an asset or a disadvantage when you’re fighting to survive the elements and keep a fierce pack of rabid wolves from tearing you apart. In these circumstances is self-reliance hindered by faith? Will you fight as hard as you need to if you believe in a higher power that may intervene to save you? Looking at who dies and who survives, Carnahan and his co-screenwriter Ian MacKenzie Jeffers do well to answer that question as well as using it as the basis for Neeson’s most powerful moment in the film - a moment that is probably the essential scene in The Grey.
So, is it a thinking man’s monster movie? Carnahan himself says The Grey touches on the outskirts of horror, and the moments and sequences involving the wolves are certainly crafted with that in mind. Carnahan wants to scare you in these scenes, and the staging, direction, and design of the wolves by KNB (who else?) prove to be very effective. Seeing how KNB usually gets all the credit when they are involved on a film, it should be mentioned that the majority of the wolves are enhanced through CGI by the guys over at Digital Dimension; and they do great work here. The wolves look larger than life, and their wild eyes and mangled fur do well to show that this pack has never been touched by the throes of civilization, making our human characters that much more threatening and foreign to them. The pitch black design of the Alpha male wolf is the closest thing to an actual monster in The Grey, and the standoff between Ottway and the beast throughout the film culminates in a satisfying way, but probably not how you expect if you’ve seen the trailers.
The ending of The Grey reaffirms the point that it is not the typical survival movie: The sum of its parts and its emotional resonance is greater and more profound than a simple man versus nature tale. The result is a film that subverts expectations, becoming a great character piece that isn’t afraid to show real pain and internal agony below the surface of an action film. The Grey still provides some genuine thrills and scares, but it’s ultimately about how a harrowing situation can rekindle the desire and lust for life within a once broken man who was just about ready to throw in the towel.
Oh ... be sure to stay after the credits for an extra scene!

Piranha 3DD Theatrical Release STILL on Track in the U.S.

Rest easy, kids! After reports of Piranha 3DD heading straight to DVD in the UK surfaced, everyone began to wonder if it would sadly meet the same fate here in the States. Thankfully, things are still looking good.
Our friends over at the The Daily Dead recently caught up with co-writer Patrick Melton, who was more than happy to put out those nasty Internet rumor fires.
"To clarify, the Thanksgiving release was always overly optimistic. Marcus and I started writing the script around Thanksgiving a year prior," Melton tells the site. "Making the film within that time period is plausible (we’ve done it on Saw, obviously), but it became clear very early on that our goals were not realistic because we needed sun, water slides, and bikini-clad coeds ... three things not very prevalent in the United States during the months of January and February. We initially scouted Louisiana and realized that we wouldn’t be able to shoot until late March because of the cold weather. Now, with the additional FX work needed to create/enhance the piranhas, the Thanksgiving release was out the window."
Melton continues, "Nevertheless, we plowed on and finished shooting in late May. Over the summer, Gulager edited and picked up a few shots around Los Angeles. This is typical of every movie made. Scenes, jokes, and kills were simply enhanced to make the movie more of an event. About a month ago, it was tested and scored very well. So well the studio gave us more money to enhance the FX. Soon, it’ll be done and ready for a theatrical release. Because of the 'Spring Break' vibe in the film, spring was the obvious time to open it. And because Dimension Films financed the movie and owns the movie, they call the shots on when it’s released worldwide."


Piranha 3DD reteams Feast director John Gulager and writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan in the sequel starring Danielle Panabaker, Matt Bush, Chris Zylka, David Koechner, Meagan Tandy, Paul James Jordan, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Hector Jimenez, Adrian Martinez, Clu Gulager, Gary Busey, Katrina Bowden, Christopher Lloyd, Ving Rhames, Paul Scheer and David Hasselhoff.
Synopsis
Having awoken from their spring break extravaganza at Lake Victoria, the swarm heads upstream where they look to make a meal out of Big Wet, a local water park where when it comes to fun, nobody does it wetter! Thought they came to get wet, get loaded and get some, the staff and patrons get more than they bargained for when they must face the fiercest, most bloodthirsty piranhas yet. Lead by the strong-willed, studious Maddy and her friends, Barry and Kyle, the trio must dive in and take on these man-eating creatures using every ounce of their being ... but can they be stopped?

Alice Does Not Find a Wonderland in the New Malice Web Series

It's been a long time since there’s been anything new from Philip Cook, an industrious low budget filmmaker whose films Invader and Despiser are overlooked gems deserving to be rediscovered. He’s finally back behind the camera with a new web series called Malice that puts a very different spin on the idea of Alice going down the rabbit hole.


Synopsis:
Malice concerns the Turner family’s supernatural adventures in their late grandma’s home. It’s up to teens Alice and Abbey to solve mysteries and survive dangers emanating from the old home. And when people start disappearing, Alice--the sixteen year-old with an active imagination--must go down the “rabbit hole” and confront a shocking revelation.
This contemporary Gothic horror-fantasy web series starring Brittany Martz, Rebekkah Johnson, Mark Hyde, Leanna Chamish, and Matthew Gulbranson begins with bi-weekly episodes January 15th.
Philip Cook’s 1992 Invader is a witty pre-“X-Files”-ish science fiction flick about a reporting investigating UFO sightings that turn out to be the work of an ultra-nationalistic, megalomaniacal, giant robot built in part from reverse engineered UFO parts that decides to nuke the rest of the world for the greater glory of the United States of America.
Cook’s entertaining 2003 supernatural “Mad Max”-ish Despiser revolves around a small band of characters trying to find their way out of Purgatory while having to deal with the monstrous occupant of a crashed UFO that doesn’t realize it’s dead and has made itself overlord of the afterlife.
With Malice it seems Mr. Cook is keeping with what seems to be his modus operandi of taking about a decade between projects. He may truly be the Terrence Malick of micro-budget genre filmmakers.
Check out the trailer for Malice below, and then head over to the Malice Facebook page for more info on this web series beginning January 15th.

A Cult of Indie Scream Queens Crash onto DVD

So how does this grab you ... twelve stories of horror, sex, murder, and mayhem. Over two hours of everything from psychological thrillers to psychosexual killers! Cheerleaders to zombies! Get the idea? Now how about a gaggle of indie scream queens thrown in to further sweeten the pot? We thought all that would grab your attention, and you'll be getting that and then some with the new short film compilation DVD, Cult Volume 1.
Even better? You don't even have to wait! Cult Volume 1 is available to order right now from Pinnovating Productions, Bear Talent Films, and Zeroinside Films.
The lovely Devanny Pinn hosts this busty collection of barbarism starring a full line-up of horror's freshest faces including Deneen Melody, Suzi Lorraine, Shannon Lark, Rachel Grubb, Brandon Slagle, Erik Preston, and Jennifer Stone.
Check out the artwork and the order link below.

Kill List (2011)

Lead Neil Maskell is family man Jay, struggling through a rapidly fracturing marriage to his wife, Shel (Buring,) while also trying to provide a decent upbringing for their young son. With Jay having been out of work for a number of months since returning, emotionally scarred and physically affected, from the military, the family is flat broke so he takes up a job brought to him by best friend Gal (Smiley). Seems that these two also have a history working on the side as contract killers, and to save his home life, Jay has no option but to accept Gal’s latest lucrative offer.
Kill list in hand, the pair set about offing their prey – but things are nowhere near as they seem. Uncovering a child porn ring in the process of taking out one of the designated targets threatens to throw Jay off the rails as he swears, and enacts, brutal retribution on those involved. Strangely, those lined up for execution have only two words to say to Jay once staring down the barrel of his gun: "Thank you."
Approaching the final target (a well known Member of Parliament), Jay discovers that his actions have been as a pawn within a much more insidious scheme and is unwittingly drawn into a maniacal circle of ritualistic murder and mayhem that may just involve people closer to him than he ever would have imagined.


Marvelously acted across the board (especially Smiley as Gal), Kill List is an impeccably crafted thriller that takes a sharp, and startling, detour into horror territory. Wheatley’s pacing is spot on, and he deftly shifts styles from early social realist drama to threatening mystery through to violent thriller and a final metamorphosis to survival horror. His direction is tight and confident, generating some very proficient scares during the claustrophobic shriek-fest of a climax. Kill List also contains some of the most vicious and brutal violence seen in a film this year. When Jay begins meting justice to those involved in the uncovered child abuse, the results can be very nasty. One particular scene involving an incapacitated man and a claw hammer will stay with you for a very long time.
Where Kill List fails, however, is the script. While the old friend relationship dynamic between Jay and Gal is instantly believable and delivered with precision by the players, Jay’s tendency for violence and intimidating behaviour seems a little too selective. He’s drawn as an extremely volatile individual, handled by Gal like one might handle a glass of nitroglycerin, and yet we’re supposed to believe that in the midst of his many, many destructive rows at home (and undoubtedly further afield), he has never lashed out to strike the worst choice of person, including his wife and child.
Similarly, while the film is steeped in mystery and thus highly engaging, it’s catastrophically disappointing that literally zero answers as to the machinations of Jay’s forced journey are given. Of course, as intelligent audiences we don’t need every single thing explained for us, but when characters are secretly scrawling arcane symbols in hidden corners of Jay’s home and the entire affair reeks of some clandestine predetermination, it’s criminal not to offer even surreptitious clues as to the point behind it all.
Still, Kill List remains a strikingly violent success. As thrilling as it is horrifying, and absorbing as it can be frustrating, it’s dramatic, weighty and gripping stuff. Keep your expectations in check, don’t expect too many answers, and you should find Jay’s journey to hell a suitably impressive one.
StudioCanal bring Kill List into UK homes in fine style with a Blu-ray transfer that’s solid, crisp and clean. It isn’t a particularly textured experience and very rarely demonstrates the visual “pop” of the kind offered by some of the best hi-def material, but it can’t be faulted for what it does bring to the table. On the audio side of things, the DTS HD Master Audio track provided here is similarly clean, with plenty of isolated audio in the mix across a meticulously channelled soundstage, while the bass drones of the film’s soundtrack are likely to have your home shaking at the very foundations.
Moving on to the special features here, we have a slightly disappointing “Making of” which consists mainly of random on-set footage containing only a few glimpses of interest. A selection of short interviews follow, featuring director Ben Wheatley, actors Neil Maskell and Myanna Buring, and producers Claire Jones and Andrew Starke. They’re pretty predictable with the most interesting takes actually garnered from producers Jones and Starke – it’s pretty rare to get the producers’ takes amongst extra materials, and their opinions on the film and getting it made are both insightful and humorous.
The star pieces of the show here, however, are the two independent commentary tracks. Director Wheatley and writer Amy Jump take us through the film first, with Wheatley proving to be just as bad as the rest of us when it comes to picking movies apart. His tongue in cheek approach to his own work makes this track a highly enjoyable and entertaining accompaniment to Kill List. Unfortunately, those out there looking for some answers are likely to be left feeling extremely unfulfilled, as Wheatley himself also appears to have no idea just what exactly is going on. Indeed, the biggest belly laugh found here is likely his summation at the film’s closing – "And that’s what happens... when you’re a bit of a cock."
Coming out of the first commentary, you’re likely to be thinking that it’s a hard one to follow. Well, principal cast members Maskell, Smiley and Buring are on hand to give it a run for its money with a track that’s consistently engaging and an absolute hoot to listen to. Smiley just can’t keep himself from saying something funny or inappropriate at every turn, and the three of them get on like old friends at a get-together. This one just flows effortlessly, and when they aren’t revealing interesting details behind the making of the film (including details of alternate/deleted scenes that would have been nice to see alongside the current special features,) they’re making fun of themselves, each other or the film itself with the best possible humour. Seriously -- this release sports two of the best commentary tracks heard all year and is absolutely essential for fans of the film. Those who aren’t too enamoured with commentary tracks, though, are likely to find the remaining special features distinctly underwhelming.

Snowmageddon (2011)

I called bullshit on Snowmageddon the very first time the kid laid hands on the supernatural snow globe at the center of this non-pocalypse. Ever owned a snow globe? Ever held a snow globe? What’s the very first thing you do upon picking up a snow globe? You shake it up real good, right? Not this kid. Nope. He handles it with the reverence of an antique clock. I can suspend my disbelief to accept that a magical snow globe can trigger natural disasters few of which actually have anything to do with ice or snow. No way in hell I can believe a kid holding a snow globe will resist the urge to shake it up something fierce.
Snowmageddon features plenty of snow but not that much “mageddon”. I’ll go so far as to say this is one of the least “mageddon” movies I’ve ever seen. An earthquake, an avalanche, a giant hailstorm, pointy rocks shooting up from the ground, and very little gets destroyed and hardly anyone dies. If you’re going to make a movie bold enough to play off the word “Armageddon”, you had better be prepared to make it feel like some sort of Armageddon is taking place. The Asylum’s 2012: Ice Age was more deserving of being called Snowmageddon. That film didn’t even have “mageddon” in its title and still delivered more far, far, far more “mageddon”.


Over half this movie centers around the aftermath of the first few snow globe triggered disasters. Two injured snowboarders are trapped on a mountain. A mother and daughter are also trapped in the wintery wild after their helicopter crashes. Two more injured men are trapped inside a bus fearing electrocution from a power pole downed during a hail strike. I clocked about 75 minutes of TV time before it ever really felt like any forward momentum in the story was achieved.
The snow globe contains an exact replica of this small Alaskan community that should have been named “Dullsville”, and some localized natural disasters occur whenever buttons on it are activated. The kid who received the supernatural snow globe appeared to spend more time playing a fantasy board game with no magical powers than he did messing with the object at the center of the story; playing the game eventually helps him figure out how to put a stop to the snow globe’s chain reaction countdown to total destruction of some kind. In fact, so much more time seemed devoted to this kid messing with the board game than the snow globe I found myself wondering why they didn’t just make it about a supernatural board game instead.
The non-explanation behind this snow globe is so preposterously vague the producers may as well have re-titled the movie Macguffingeddon.
It really felt to me like they came up with the "Twilight Zone"-ish premise of a mystical snow globe that causes natural disasters in a town that has suddenly been mysteriously cut off from the rest of the world and then were clueless where to go from there or how to even entertainingly bullshit their way through it. Okay, that’s not a completely fair statement. A movie called Snowmageddon ends with a volcano so clearly there was some major league bullshitting going on.
Flatfooted action, glacial pacing, phoned in performances, and a premise that nobody seemed to put much thought into. Some Syfy movies are at the very least enjoyably bad. This certainly isn’t one of those. It’s inoffensively lame, but damn is it lame – and boring.
Snowmageddon? More like Snoremageddon?

Final Destination 5 Blu-Ray

After the ridiculousness of the fourth Final Destination flick, The Final Destination, I, like many of you, was done with the franchise. Wanna talk about a coffin nail for a series? Look no further. The odds of a franchise rebound seemed nil. It's a good thing for us the folks behind Final Destination 5 had other plans.
The set-up for the flick is exactly what you've come to expect... Several people cheat death by adhering to the warnings of some poor soul who has just experienced one hell of a grisly premonition. Of course the reaper doesn't like to be cheated so one-by-one they're taken out in the most delightfully violent ways imaginable. In a nutshell that's it, but don't sell this one short. Final Destination 5 is so much more!


Simply put, what we have here is a spectacle. The opening disaster on a suspension bridge is HUGE, horrifying, and breathtaking in every way possible. This is easily the best opening since the incredible car crash of Part 2. Then there are the kills themselves. Each one goes above and beyond the call of ghastly. The lead-ups to a few of them are near impossible to watch. If I were teaching a class on how to build tension in a film, I'd easily use a few scenes from this flick as fine examples. Beyond all the amazing set pieces we also have probably one of the smartest sequel scripts of the last ten years from writer Eric Heisserer that's riddle with twists, turns, and plenty of things that you just won't see coming. This flick is a truly unexpected winner.
Final Destination 5 is available in three home video packages: a Blu-ray/DVD combo, stand-alone Blu-ray, and stand-alone DVD. The only thing missing? A 3D version of the film for those of you out there who can support the medium at home. That's a shame, too, because director Steven Quale (unlike David R. Ellis) truly understands how to utilize those extra dimensions to perfection without being distracting. Oh well. Maybe in the future.
If you're wondering which package to get, while the DVD looks as good as can be, the Blu-ray (as per usual) kicks major ass in the sight and sound department. Every gruesome detail is on display with razor sharp clarity. Skin tones and colors are spot on, the black levels are deep, and there are no distracting artifacts to sway your eyes from all this goodness on display. The DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track will keep your home theatre set-up thumping as the provided soundscape, especially during the opening, sucks you right in. Really, really good stuff.
The only place this otherwise stunning package comes up a bit short is in the supplemental department. First up there's your standard making-of featurette,Circle of Death, which you had better watch the film before viewing as it's jam-packed with spoilers. From there we have two looks at key sequences in the film that show footage from before and after the visual effects were added in. Finally we get two alternate death sequences - the massage and the eye laser - which were thankfully punched up for the final cut of the film.
Final Destination 5 defies every odd that was placed against it. It's way better than anyone could have imagined and stands right next to Final Destination 2 as the best in the franchise. Death truly moves in mysterious ways, and we'll never count the reaper out ... ever again.
Special Features

Circle of Death featurette

Alternate death scenes

Visual Effects of Death: Collapsing Bridge footage

Visual Effects of Death: Airplane Crash footage

Official Paranormal Activity 3 Home Video Details

When it comes to news regarding the Paranormal Activity franchise you know that you can ALWAYS count on us to get you the straight dope completely nonsense free. No speculation or wild rumors here ... just the facts. Case in point; we now have the official word on what to expect when Paranormal Activity 3 hits home on January 24th.


From the Press Release
The record-breaking franchise that has terrified audiences around the world returns with the scariest story yet as PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 debuts on January 24, 2012 from Paramount Home Entertainment in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with UltraViolet™ and a Digital Copy.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 will also be available On Demand. “Terrifying” (Time) with “heart-pounding scares” BloodyDisgusting.com), PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 takes audiences back to where it all began with the masterminds behind the first two films returning to craft a hauntingly chilling follow up. Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the filmmakers who created the unsettling sensation Catfish, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 achieved the biggest theatrical debut for a horror film ever, ultimately earning more than $200 million worldwide.
Arriving on January 24th, the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 Blu-ray/DVD combo pack includes both the theatrical version of the film and an unrated version with footage not seen in theaters, as well as Lost Tapes that reveal more footage not seen in the film. In addition, all Blu-ray and DVD releases available for purchase will be enabled with UltraViolet, a new way to collect, access and enjoy movies. With UltraViolet, consumers can easily add movies to their digital collection in the cloud, and then stream or download them – safely and securely – to a variety of devices.
And, in a first, all three films in the franchise will be available for Digital Download prior to the Blu-ray/DVD debut. This unique experience, called Paranormal Activity: The Chronology, presents the films in chronological order as a seamless marathon.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
The PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The DVD in the combo pack is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with English 5.1 Surround and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The digital copy is presented in English.
Blu-ray Special Features

Original theatrical version of the film

Unrated version of the film

Lost tapesDVD Special Features

Unrated Version of the Film

Digital copy of unrated version—compatible with iTunes® and Windows MediaA trilogy DVD set will also be available on January 24th exclusively at Walmart, which includes the theatrical and unrated versions of all three films plus all previously released bonus material.
Following the January 24th debut of the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, the unrated version of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 will be available on a single-disc DVD exclusively at Walmart on February 14th. A single-disc DVD of the theatrical version of the film will also be available nationwide on February 14th.
How's that for a mouthful? The artwork is still being finalized. When we get it, you'll have it! Now then ... if only we could get Paranormal Activity: The Chronology on a Blu-ray! It just sounds so cool. You listening Paramount? Pretty please? Sugar on top?
Follow Paranormal Activity on Twitter (@TweetYourScream) for more upcoming announcements, and as always keep an eye on the official Paranormal Activity website!

Paradise Lost Start Date postponed

This year a giant monster has been running roughshod throughout Hollywood stomping productions into the ground, causing general mayhem and breaking the hearts of fans. It's name ... Bloatedicus Budgetasaurus, and this beast just struck again!
According to Deadline, Legendary Pictures has halted plans to begin production early next year in Australia on Paradise Lost, the epic-sized Alex Proyas-directed film about the battle between good and evil that is inspired by the John Milton poem. The film, however, isn’t scrapped; rather, Legendary’s Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, and producer Vincent Newman will continue developing it to rework a budget that had passed the $120 million mark by 10% or 15%.

If the film ever does get off the ground, Bradley Cooper, Benjamin Walker, Djimon Hounsou, Rufus Sewell, Casey Affleck, Callan McAuliffe, Dominic Purcell, Sam Reid, Diego Boneta, and Camilla Belle will star.
Stay tuned.

Ungrounded Obsession

Resident Evil: Retribution - Behind the Scenes

Hellraiser Comic Covers

Those of you keeping up with the Hellraiser comic series from Boom! Comics know that at least in print the Clive Barker based series is excelling. Simply put, it's fantastic, and so are the new covers for Issue 8, which reveal for the first time a female Pinhead.

Scream 4 (2011)

After Wes Craven's abomination My Soul to Take, I wasn't sure that Scre4m would cut it for me. However, the film surprised me, and it definitely redeemed Craven's slip up with My Soul to Take. Scream 4 is the best entry in the franchise since the first film. Many people have said so, and I myself agree. 12 years has past since the release of Scream 3, lots has changed in the horror landscape. Studios are obsessed with remaking timeless horror classics. Luckily, Scre4m manages to be a breath of fresh in terms of a horror film and Slasher film. Using the same rules that have applied to every Scream film before such as the use of horror clichés in a creative manner to elevate a films plot are present. Scre4m is a perfect final to an entertaining series.


The series itself reestablished horror into public consciousness and made horror fun again. Scre4m is a wonderful fourth film in the series, and it is the best since the first film. The cast do a wonderful job, and it's great to see some of the original cast here.
The kill scenes are effective and intense. One thing that surprised me was how much Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette have changed over the years, however they were able to reprise their roles, as if nothing has changed. Scre4m is a fine installment and is a must see for Scream fans. After 12 years since the third part, it's great to see that there was still enough creativity left to craft a fourth film in this flawed but enjoyable series. This fourth entry is a solid and impressive film, and it exceeded my expectations. While the second, I felt was the weakest one, and the third was an improvement, this film reinvents the rules, and stays true to the original while using current elements of the genre (remakes) to create a whole new set of rules. A pleasant surprise and my favorite since the first. Welcome back Wes!

Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (1922)

The first, and arguably the scariest, adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. The Stoker estate sued to get this film stopped, so some names and minor plot points were changed, as well as moving the action from England to Germany. But otherwise, it's the same story. The main difference between the film and most of the adaptations that follow is Max Schreck as the vampire. He is not debonair or seductive or even tuxedo-clad. No, he is tall and skeletal, more rat than human. The scene where he is standing in the hallway and walking towards the camera into the doorway spooks me every time, as does the shot of his face peering through the boards of his dilapidated casket in the basement of his home.. Yes, it moves slow at times, but some interesting effects and camera work along whith Schreck's performance still make this one of the classic horror movies of all time for me.