Tuesday, January 8, 2008

New Horror DVD's out today - Jan 8, 2008

It's been too long since there was this much stuff to write about... My favorite cover art of the week has to be for "Slaughtered", it's to your left there. However, there's lots of decent movies out, you'll have plenty of schlock to pick from this week.

"Boogeyman 2" doesn't really have much to do with the first "Boogeyman", except for the fact that they're both produced by Sam Raimi's 'Ghost House Pictures'. This installment is directed by Jeff Betancourt and it's his directorial debut. He's been the editor on a whole bunch of horror films, including: "The Grudge", "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", "When a Stranger Calls" and the ever-so-scary, "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle". Editors actually tend to make good directors, as they usually have a great idea of what they need for coverage. I believe there's an infamous story where Verna Fields, the editor of "Jaws", came on to the set and sat Spielberg down after getting the first bunch of dailies and told him how to get proper coverage. In any case, editors can make good directors. "Boogeyman 2" stars Renee O'Connor of "Xena: Warrior Princess" fame, as well as Jigsaw himself, Tobin Bell. The plot is about a young girl, Laura, played by "Heroe's" Danielle Savre, who checks herself into a mental health facility due to her overwhelming fear of the Boogeyman... guts, boobs and violence follow.

On the surface, "Joshua" seems a lot like "The Omen", but once you get past the blurb on the back of the box, you instantly notice the differences. "Joshua" is one of those indie horror films that pleases the festival crowd and lets them get on their soapbox and slag "typical, dumb gore flicks". Now, I am a "typical, dumb gore flick" fan, but I'll make room in my film diet for this movie. "Joshua" stars indie darlings, Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga, both award winning actors. The movie is also award winning; winning best feature at the Gen Art Film Festival, best actor and special mention at the Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival and the cinematography award and grand jury prize at Sundance. It's directed by George Ratliff, who's won various awards for his other films. It's about an eccentric boy whose proper upbringing and refined tastes both take a sinister turn after the birth of his new sister.

Don't get fooled by the serious looking cover art for "Days of Darkness", it's your typical straight to DVD zombie flick: bad humor, cheesy effects, shameless nudity and all... Brought to you by Lionsgate, "Days of Darkness" is directed by Jake Kennedy and stars a bunch of people who've had bit roles in TV shows. A fairly original plot, it's about a comet that hits earth and unleashes a virus that turn people into zombies...

"The Killing Floor" is a low-budget thriller, directed by Gideon Raff which premiered at the Malibu Film Festival last year. It's Raff's first feature film, the reviews are really good and the North American rights were quickly swept up by THINKFilm after the festival. The plot surrounds a hot shot literary agent that moves into a penthouse suite, then starts to receive crime scene photographs that seem to have taken place in his new apartment. Next, he receives a series of stalker videotapes that document his every move. It's more suspenseful than it is gory, but it's definitely worth a watch.

Now, if low-budget crap is your thing, Brain Damage Films is releasing "Slaughtered", written and directed by Anthony Doublin. Doublin's actually an award winning make-up and special effects guy and it looks like this is his first attempt at directing. The cover art is awesome, but don't expect much more than a lot of boobs and cheap gore. "Slaughtered" is about a guy who hires young girls off the internet to torture and murder them for his snuff flicks... then he's haunted by the ghosts of his victims, which plunges him deep into madness. Rated R for superfulous nudity.

"The Expedition" looks like a "Blair Witch" rip-off, but this one's based on a TRUE story... five Canadian filmmakers set out on a supernatural expedition to film a documentary on the Saratogo Homestead Asylum. Only four of the member exited the building the next morning. New Blood Entertainment has compiled and edited all the actual footage with re-enacted sequences to reveal, in detail, what occured that night... for your viewing pleasure.

"Scarred" is a UK import by writer, director Steve Looker. It's about a guy you makes a weekly trip up to the site of his daughters dissappearance to put up her poster. There he runs into some other guy, who's all bloodied up. On their travels, the bloody guy starts telling the other guy about the sick game they were forced to play at a hut in the middle of the woods... but the horror is just about to begin.

"The Veil" is another zombie movie based around the idea of a virus. Nigel Buckland from Vids Review says, "The Veil herald the future of horror... this is where it's at. The Veil packs more visceral punch than Cronenberg on Amphetamine suphate... see it." I haven't, but maybe I will...

"Visions of Suffering" is "filled with outrageous special effects, mind-numbing visuals", it's about demons that stalk a victim in his sleep that threaten to break into his conscious world. It's the latest film from director Andrey Iskanov.

If you can't get enough of the "Witchcraft" series, "Witchcraft 13: Blood of the Chosen" comes out...

"Maneater" stars Gary Busy and a 600 lbs, 12 ft long Bengal tiger and is the third installment in the Genius-branded "Maneater Series".

Last, but not least... don't forget about the all-time classic, Frank Henenlotter's "Frankenhooker" about a medical dropout who tries to bring his fiance, who died in a tragic lawnmower accident, back to life by putting her back together with parts from dead hookers.

Available on DVD Jan 8, 2007

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