Tuesday, May 27, 2008

May 27, 2008 - New Horror out on DVD this week

Lots to talk about this week...

I haven't actually seen "The Chair" yet, but it's all qued up, ready to be watched tonight. I'm not going to lie, I'm really excited about it, as in the next few days or so we're going to be posting an exclusive interview that Brad did with the director, Brett Sullivan and, I have to say, it's one of the better interviews we've had. So, I don't want to say too much, as we're going to get into things in more detail then, but it did win best film at Shriekfest and it won the special jury prize at the Canadian Filmmakers Festival, as well... and Brad said it was great. And if Brad don't know, nobody knows. It's about a young psychology student, trying to rebuild her life, who rents an old house and, unknowingly, awakens an evil specter. There's a lot more to it, but you'll have to wait for the exclusive interview which we'll get to soon...

In 1985, a little movie came out that changed a lot of people's lives and that little movie was "Rambo: First Blood Part II". Oh, sure, "First Blood" was good... Yes, "Rambo III" was questionable. So, of course, I questioned whether or not the world needed "Rambo" aka Rambo IV, but that question has been answered... and the answer is yes. Now, the next question isn't whether or not this fourth installment was good, it's how long do I have to wait for the fifth one? They've confirmed that it's in the works and I'm pumped. Remember, 'Heroes never die... They just reload.'

"Chronicles Of An Exorcism" is from 'well known public speaker, strategic alliance consultant and feature film and television producer and director', Nick G. Miller. Seriously, this guy does it all and appears to 'get it', too. Not only has he produced television shows such as "Wild On", but he's also been instrumental in negotiating product placements in feature films such as "War of the Worlds". "Chronicles" is based on what appears to be a true exorcism and it's shot documentary style. It's the story of two amateur filmmakers who, at the request of the church, document an exorcism over a three day period.

"Grizzly Park" comes from first time writer/director Tom Skull, who was found by accident at a film festival by producer Belle Avery. Skull had handed her his home movie from when he was 8 years old, which won the heart of Avery. She went on to produce "Grizzly Park" and they managed to put together a decent cast, including Glenn Morshower from "24" as Ranger Bob. It's about eight miscrients who are sent to do community service at Grizzly Park, where they are hunted by an escaped serial killer along with the animals of the forest.

"Storm" is an award winning, indie film from Sweden, directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein. It won best film and best cinematography at the Gulbagge Awards, as well as the audience award at the Stockholm Film Festival. It's been described as a "cheaper Swedish version of "The Matrix", but does get good reviews... think "Vanilla Sky", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "28 Days Later" all mixed together with Swedish actors and a lower budget.

This version of "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" stars Dougray Scott as the title character and Tom Skerritt as the other lead. It's directed by Paolo Barzman, who's a mainly a TV director... and I think this originally aired on TV somewhere, I'm not sure. Either way, I think this is the fifth new, low-budget version of "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" that's come out this year.

"Noriko's Dinner Table" is from the director of the J-horror, "Suicide Club", which is a darn good movie with one of the most unbelievably awesome openings to a film I've ever seen. This is sort of a sequel, where a teenage girl escapes from her town and heads to Tokyo, only to get involved in a cult that prostitutes girls for domestic roleplaying... all the while a string of mass suicides is sweeping the nation.

I'm not sure what's in this rerelease of 2007's "The Hitcher", unless it's the one year anniversary of it's last DVD release. It's still the Dave Meyers version, produced by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes, starring Sean Bean. Maybe it has some new features or that alternate ending where the girl beats Ryder's head in... I don't know.

Also, very quickly...

Dario Argento's "Phenomena" and "Tenebre" are being rereleased and if the whole no-budget horror scene is your thing, study one of the masters... "Advantage: The Cult Films of Roger Corman" comes out and includes most of his classics.

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