When it comes to film’s with such an amazing buzz I like to tread on safe ground and call it potentially great film but Scott Derrickson’s Sinister since it’s SXSW premier the buzz has been steadily been growing and tonight we have a new Red Band Trailer! Pardon my French but holy shit this is genuinely looking a scary film!!! This been a red band trailer so you’ll be expecting a few f-bombs,nudity your disappointment will become fear as what we get is some truly disturbing imagery and as no words are uttered it gives this trailer a truly atmospheric level of dread. Sinister is one Horror film even hardcore horrorphiles will have to admit we have a potentially scary film on the cards.
We are catching the film in just over a week’s time, but you can read the Frightfest review our friends at Blogomatic3000 gave us, You can catch Sinister on October 5th (UK, Ireland and USA) starring Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Clare Foley, Juliet Rylance and James Ransone
Desperately in need of a best seller to revive his struggling career, true crime writer Ellison (Ethan Hawke), moves his family to the scene of his most recent story; the unsolved, gruesome murder of a loving, happy suburban family.Shunned by the local community and strained by his obligations to his family, the discovery of a batch of home movies in the attic offers Ellison shocking proof to the crime he is investigating. Ellison notices the same unidentified figure appearing in each of the 8mm films, leaving him convinced that all the incidents are linked by a truly bizarre connection. As his investigations uncover the terrifying truth he starts to lose his grip on reality and it soon becomes clear that he is placing his own family in harm’s way.
Renowned for its ingenious special visual effects and breathtaking set design,DIE NIBELUNGEN [THE NIBELUNGEN]is to be released in the UK on Blu-ray & DVD as part of Eureka Entertainment’s MASTERS OF CINEMA Series on 29 October 2012
Perhaps the most stately of Fritz Lang's two-part epics, the five-hour Die Nibelungen is
a courageous and hallucinatory work. Its extraordinary set-pieces,
archetypal themes, and unrestrained ambition have proved an inspiration
for nearly every fantasy cycle that has emerged on-screen since – from Star Wars to The Lord of the Rings.
In Part One, Siegfried,
the film's eponymous hero acquires the power of invincibility after
slaying a dragon and bathing in the creature's blood. Later, an alliance
through marriage between the hero and the royal clan of the Nibelungen
turns treacherous, with Siegfried's sole weakness exploited. In Part Two, Kriemhilds Rache [Kriemhild's Revenge],
Siegfried's widow travels to the remote land of the Huns to wed the
monstrous Attila, and thereby enlist his forces in an act of vengeance
that culminates in massacre, conflagration, and, under the auspices of
Lang, one of the most exhilarating and terrifying end-sequences in all
of cinema.
Adapted from the myth that was also the basis for Wagner's Ring cycle of operas, Lang's epic offers its own startling expressionistic power – a summit of the director's artistry. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Die Nibelungen in a spectacular new HDrestoration, released as a 2 x DVD set & a 2 x Blu-ray set in the UK on 29 October 2012.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• Long-awaited expert HD restoration by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Germany • Immaculately presented in the film's original frame rates and aspect ratio, in 1080p on the Blu-ray • Newly translated optional English subtitles for the original German intertitles • An hour-long documentary: The Heritage of Die Nibelungen • Illustrated booklet featuring the words of Lang, rare archival imagery, and more • Further details to be announced nearer the release date!Pre-Order/Buy: DIE NIBELUNGEN (Masters of Cinema) BLU-RAY [1924]
Finnish Director Laura Hyppönen’s gritty East London debut film Live East Die Young has received a nomination for best UK feature film at this year’s Raindance Film Festival in London.
The film will hold its world premiere at the festival on the 4th October, shortly followed by French premiere at the Dinard British Film Festival where the film has been nominated for the festival’s Grand Jury prize, the Golden Hitchcock.
Shot on a shoestring budget and featuring a distinctive soundtrack from the indie underground wave (featuring cult bands Bo Ningen, Feral AKA MC Kinky and many others), Live East Die Young is a raw look at the lives of model Emma and her best friend, hairdresser Max, as they descend ever-deeper into a destructive world of parties, lies, sex and drugs. Shot entirely at authentic East London locations, from artist warehouses to club basements, the film offers a voyeuristic, dogma-esque look into their substance-fuelled lifestyle. The film also stars newcomers Zoë Grisedale and James ‘Jeanette’ Main, best known for his involvement with notorious real-life East London party collective, Boombox.
Hyppönen, who has been living in the UK for 11 years, produced, wrote and directed the film. She says: “It’s great that an edgy independent no-budget film like Live East Die Young has been recognised among recent UK successes like ‘Ill Manors’ and ‘Shadow Dancer’. The project has been a labour of love, made without any support from film funds. We are really excited to see how the audience will respond!”
The film is sold internationally by Paris-based Reel Suspects. Matteo Lovadina, CEO, who handpicked the project from Cannes during the Marche du Film, says: “I am pleased to work as the international sales agent for Live East Die Young. The film’s roughness and documentary look made me feel immediately inside the story. It’s a crossover film that can fit equally well into niches and attract the general public. The Raindance world premiere and Dinard competition selection are a confirmation of the film’s potential.”
Cleopatra was a film made by legendary maverick film director Cecil B. DeMille in 1934. It also was later done again in 1963 infamously with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the roles of Cleopatra and Mark Antony respectively. In the 1934 version it stars Claudette Colbert (who was one of the biggest stars of the 1930s) and Henry Wilcoxon.
The film tells the story of the man hungry Cleopatra and her affairs with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony partly out of love and partly for their power. She firsts meet Caesar because her brother Pothinos throws her in the desert to die because he gonna sign off Egypt over to Caesar. She sneaks back in a carpet and wins Caesar over with her body and they fall in love. She later kills Pothinos after she spots him trying to assassinate her.
Caesar and Cleo go back to Rome. The other Romans officials start distrust both of them and eventually assassinate Caesar. Marc Antony and Octavian are later named the co-rulers of Rome. Antony is “disdainful of women” but Cleopatra eventually wins him over much to disgust of Rome.
The film is considerably shorter than the more famous Liz/Burton version, over half the length shorter of that’s 4 HOURS!!! running time at a relatively brisk 101 minutes. It’s not a super fast paced film but very few from the 1930s were. It does however play along nicely.
It was made soon after the production code was introduced. It was the 80th film approved and because this it got away with a lot more than some films not a long afterwards got away with. It has very overt sexual undertones that in some cases DeMille just covers the act in progress. Which is very effective and a good and inventive way to get away with very risqué matter.
The film has lavish sets and design, which is expected from DeMille production. The sets are beautifully detailed with wonderful backdrops, dozens upon dozens of extras and beautifully choreographed. Some of the battle scenes however suffer from bad super imposed images but hell it’s the 1930s, technology has come a long way. The costume design by is also stunning and amazingly revealing for a film from 1934.
The performance from Claudette Colbert oozes sensuality, dominance, heroism and power. The male roles are all very mundane and weak compared to Cleopatra’s strength and dominance over them. Colbert did a best actress Academy award that but not for Cleopatra but for the proto-screwball comedy It Happened Here. It did however win a much-deserved award for cinematography and was nominated for Film, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR!!! (a category they no longer have), sound and editing.
Overall the film is a gloriously over the top film from one true pioneers of cinema Mr. DeMille who would later go on to make such films as The Ten Commandments and The Greatest Show On Earth.
Our friends at Monster Pictures have announced today that they will be releasing EXCISION, in select cinemas nationwide from 2 November 2012. Excisionis the story of Pauline (Anna Lynne McCord),
a delusional teenage outcast. Pauline picks scabs. Pauline dissects
road kill. Pauline fantasizes about performing surgery on strangers. Her
fascinations disturb her schoolmates and her parents, Phyllis (Traci Lords) and Bob (Roger Bart). No one understands Pauline except for Grace (Ariel Winter),
her younger sister who suffers from cystic fibrosis. An outcast at
school and at home, Pauline is convinced that the best way to repair her
estranged relationship with her family is to perform a risky operation
to save her sister’s life...
Starring AnnaLynne McCord (90210) as Pauline, Excision continues a long tradition of horror films with compelling female leads, such as Scream, the original Halloween, the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Birds, and Psycho. The film also stars Traci Lords (Cry Baby, Blade), Ariel Winter (Modern Family), Roger Bart (Desperate Housewives), Jeremy Sumpter (Friday Night Lights, Soul Surfer), Malcolm McDowell and John Waters.
EXCISION isRichard Bates Jr.’s directorial debut adapted from his highly praised short film, Excision,
which played in over 50 film festivals internationally and garnered 24
awards from festivals such as Austin Fantastic Fest, Sundance Film
Festival and Fantasia International Film Festival.
Excision will also make an number of appearances at Horror film festivals around the UK&Ireland, here's the dates:
CELLULOID SCREAMS Closing Gala, Sheffield Showroom – 28 October 2012
HORRORTHON, IFI, Dublin – 28 October 2012
DUNDEAD, at the DCA, Dundee - 28 October 2012
TWISTED CELLULOID, IFI, Triskel Christchurch – 30 October 2012
Ken Loach’s affable crime movie brings together a group of low-rent, ex-offenders through a community service course in Glasgow. Chief among them is Robbie (Paul Brannigan), a young father who, after barely avoiding a long custodial sentence, finds himself presented with a final chance to turn his faltering life around. Under the guidance of supervisor, Harry (John Henshaw), and with the help of new friends Mo (Jasmin Riggins), Albert (Gary Maitland) and Rhino (William Ruane), Robbie develops a passion for whisky, and with it a chance to escape his troubled past.
Loach has, for the most part, done a decent job of melding the contrasting elements of the down-at-heel kitchen sink drama, with the daft whimsy of a Highlands whisky heist. Brannigan, in particular, is successful in his ability to instil genuine empathy for a character who’s no angel himself. He’s also more than adequately aided by an amusing and largely comprehensible supporting cast, with Maitland standing out as the profoundly dim-witted Albert.
Loach’s ability to temper the comedy with the uglier elements of Robbie’s life, or vice versa, is evident for only two thirds of the story though. As the drink begins settle in the hearts and minds of the audience, Robbie’s past misconducts are conveniently washed-away in a tide of priceless Scotch. It reflects well on Loach and his cast then, that this shift from reality to fancy doesn’t entirely ruin the experience.
There’s more than enough spirit to be found at the bottom of the bottle, to redress the balance of a slightly lopsided story.
Extras on the DVD include a short making-of documentary, featuring interviews with Loach and the cast, who remark on his collaborative approach to filmmaking, as well as Brannigan’s real-life troubles, and his connection to his character.
Hysteria is a Carry On film with ambitions of feminism. As you might imagine, this is problematic, and it’s a problem the film never really solves. This lack of resolution, plus a few other niggles here and there, keeps me from declaring the film a success. But it’s not bad either. Clumsy and didactic the film may be, but its heart is definitely in the right place. What’s more, the spectacle of Victorian high society men confronting the female orgasm, is about as funny as you might expect.
Honestly, I wish I liked it more. The whole issue of hysteria (in essence ‘female emotional behaviour that men don’t understand’ repackaged as a medical condition, that could be cured by orgasm) is one of those pieces of historical silliness that I adore. It seems to me that narrative fiction always has this sombre, respectful, serious approach to history, as if it’s some grand old man whose every pronouncement must be treated with reverence. Whereas, if you actually study history at all, what you quickly find is that the old man is senile. History is composed of the actions of humans, and there is no constant like the silliness of humans. It’s nice to see this aspect of history getting some attention.
But there’s no escaping the fact that the story has problems.
On a basic level, matters work fairly well. Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy) is a young doctor of a forward-thinking persuasion, which makes him a pariah in the eyes of the medical establishment. Luckily for him, one Dr. Robert Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce) requires an assistant. His clinic for the treatment of hysteria is very busy, and he (not to mention his patients) is in need of a helping hand. There Granville meets the Dalrymple daughters: Emily (Felicity Jones) who is the perfect example of Victorian womanhood, and Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who is outspoken, passionate and, worst of all, associates with the poor. Granville, being a proper Victorian man, immediately falls for the former and disdains the latter.
So, Hysteria has the standard romance plot. But for all its lack of inspiration, it’s executed rather well. Dancy and Gyllenhaal have some nice adversarial chemistry, the plot is well paced and the characters mostly solidly constructed. A couple of comic reliefs, the (somewhat)ex-prostitute Molly (Sheridan Smith) and the noble sexual deviant Edmund St.John-Smythe (Rupert Everett) aren’t so much characters as walking jokes, as indeed are most of the hysteria patients. But that’s only to be expected. This is after all a funny film. The occasional thin character is a usual symptom of comedy.
But where this becomes problematic is with the film’s message. See, this is very much a historical film told through modern eyes, and as such, the heroes of the story are also those with a more ‘modern’ sensibility. This would be fine, if they didn’t keep aggressively flaunting it. Granville and Charlotte all but run around screaming ‘I support woman’s rights, free education, socialism, germ theory, the telephone, electricity- OH GOD I’M SO PROGRESSIVE”, like holding these beliefs is a big thing. But to modern ears, it sounds like a bunch of people crowing about how amazing it is that they think the sky is blue.
Of course, during the 1880s, believing such things was a Big Deal. But that’s because these beliefs were reactions against deeply entrenched social norms. Take woman’s rights for example. The concept that women were inferior to men was, in the 1880s, not some quaint, mockable custom. It was a societal norm that had existed for thousands of years. Challenging it is one of the most remarkable shifts human society has ever undergone. Considering the strength of the opposition, even the vague success of that challenge is incredible.
That is what any treatment of the growth of woman’s rights, or any of the other progressive movements of the 19th century, has to bring across: the image of a slingless David facing down a Goliath with a submachine gun. But Hysteria doesn’t. The film does give some sense of the opposition, don’t get me wrong. It has its fair share of establishment-minded characters. But in playing so many of these establishment viewpoints for laughs, mocking the Victorian men for getting so flustered about sex, laughing at their ‘scientific’ approach to the female orgasm, Hysteria undermines the seriousness of the establishment view. This would be fine, were the film a full comedy, but it also wants to make a serious point. It wants to state the importance of being progressive. Unfortunately it never manages to capture why being progressive so brave and necessary.
That’s not the only difficulty the film has. There’s a few hamfisted moments, where the characters make the classic ‘wild yet accurate’ speculations about what the future will be like, a joke that was already ancient in the 1880s. What’s more, Hysteria contains the worst jump cut I have ever seen. But on the whole, the film’s problem lies in its politics. The humour is grand: filthy, childish, charming stuff. The romance is engaging. But the film’s attempts to be serious are unsuccessful. All of which adds up to: entertaining, but not exactly good.
Based on a true story, King of Devil’s Island follows the hope and friendship of the boys
of Bastøy in the face of adversity
Starring Stellan Skarsgård, Kristoffer Joner, Benjamin Helstad, and Trond Nilssen.
King of Devil’s Island is the latest stunning offering from Scandinavia. Set in 1915 enter the unsettling world of a group of young delinquents banished to the remote prison of Bastøy. King of Devil’s Island is out on DVD and Blu-ray™ from 29th October.
Under the guise of rehabilitation, the boys’ daily regime is dictated by mental and physical abuse at the hands of their wardens. The arrival of new boys Erling (Helstad) and Ivar (Magnus Langlete) sparks a chain of events that ultimately ignite rebellion. King of Devil’s Island explores a sinister moment in Norwegian history that won’t be forgotten. Governor of the institute Håkon played by Stellan Skarsgard (The Avengers, Mamma Mia, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) was praised for his performance, The Guardian said he “gives a wonderfully weighted and authoritative performance”, while The Observer said “There’s an impressive force to the performances and, amid the ice and snow, the film burns with a sense of injustice”. The majority of the cast were unknown and selected based on their authentic appearance to bring the film alive. Novice Trond Nillsen “has proven to be a genuine film talent” (Marius Holst).Winner of Best Film and Best Supporting Actor (Trond Nilssen) at the Norwegian International Film Festival (2011) and Best Feature Film at Lübeck Nordic Film Days (2011), the film stars Stellan Skarsgård (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Angels and Demons, Pirates of the Caribbean, Good Will Hunting), Kirstoffer Joner (Shooting Star), and rising talent Benjamin Helstad (Body Troopers, Angel) make up a strong ensemble cast.
Director Marius Holst (Cross My Heart and Hope to Die, Dragon Fly, Mirush), brilliantly captured the hardship the boys go through in the ice-crescent enclosure. Holst described the story behind the film as a timeless tale of injustice, repression and revolt. He felt this was a story that begged to be made into film, thus exposing the unwanted boys’ destinies.
“The prison uprising is a stirring and thrilling finale” Daily Star Sunday
Set for release on DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK on 29th October, King of Devil’s Islandis a desperate attempt to overthrow a brutal regime in the name of freedom.
Pre-Order/Buy The King Of Devil's Island: DVD / Blu-ray
This month Jennifer Lawrence will make her Horror début in House At The End Of The Street (21st September) In 2013 Hollywood's other it girl Jessica Chastain dawns a new look to appear in her own mandatory horror flick debut in Mamaand check out the new trailer!
"What Jessica Chastain has Gone Black?!!" I'm sure that raised a few eyebrows, I'm afraid it's not a headline about the in demand actress but the new look (or wig) she has for this film, a film which is been presented by Guillermo Del Toro. Mama sees the Spanish scare master as executive producer as well as mentor for first time director Andres Muschiettiwhom the film is on his short film from a few years ago. Mama tells the tale of Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Annabel (Chastain) his girlfriend who end becoming surrogate parents To Lucas' nieces who were left alone in the forest after the death of their parents though they might have not been alone after all!
Mama we first heard about a few years back thanks to cinehouse and we were impressed then as we are now for this film version. When Del Toro offers new film makers his mentor skills he does seem to get the best out of those under his wings(most of the time), Mama looks a creepy film which has Del Toro's trademark style. This type of film may not been anything original but when it's well made film fans and horror-philes will appreciate what their watching here's hoping this one is alot better than his last produced film Don't be Afraid of the Dark, and on first evidence this one looks an vast improvement.
Mama doesn't have an official UK release date but American horror fans can catch this one on 18th January 2013.
Guillermo del Toro presents Mama, a supernatural thriller that tells the haunting tale of two little girls who disappeared into the woods the day that their parents were killed. When they are rescued years later and begin a new life, they find that someone or something still wants to come tuck them in at night.
Five years ago, sisters Victoria and Lilly vanished from their suburban neighborhood without a trace. Since then, their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), have been madly searching for them. But when, incredibly, the kids are found alive in a decrepit cabin, the couple wonders if the girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home.
As Annabel tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house. Are the sisters experiencing traumatic stress, or is a ghost coming to visit them? How did the broken girls survive those years all alone? As she answers these disturbing questions, the new mother will find that the whispers she hears at bedtime are coming from the lips of a deadly presence.
Legends never dies, but sometimes you wish they would but seven films
been and gone an horror legend is about to return for an 8th time the
sulking son from hell Leatherface has riffled up the chainsaw for Texas Chainsaw 3D and the official first trailer has arrived!
Just when you thought it was safe to say The infamous Sawyer family
all perished in vigilante killings by locals away back in 1974 after the
original incident 38 years on the mask and chainsaw are ready for
terrorize a new generation. A young woman called Heather discovers she
has inherited land thanks to an unheard relative together with her
friends the embark on the road trip to visit the land to find a new
house has been built.The first steps into the house just might be their
last as an unwelcome guest awaits in the basement.
In the era of remake, reboots, prequels are all the range Texas Chainsaw 3D
isn’t a remake of the original nor the 186 follow up this one does
seem to take a slight direction away. This feels more a straight up
slasher though the intensity, scares and to some extent some of the
familiar traits from the franchise are there.
How good will this be? This will be a film only true hardcore fans of
franchise and Horrorphiles can truly answer. When you bring 3D
gimmickry into the equation you ask yourself did they remake or reboot
this to benefit the franchise or just the sole purpose to $$$ nothing
more? I am a horror fan I do love the Texas Chainsaw but I smell a dead
rat here though if this film does help introduce Horror to a new
generation of fans then Texas Chainsaw 3D will bring me some
satisfaction.
Lionsgate’s TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D continues the legendary story of the
homicidal Sawyer family, picking up where Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror
classic left off in Newt, Texas, where for decades people went missing
without a trace. The townspeople long suspected the Sawyer family,
owners of a local barbeque pit, were somehow responsible. Their
suspicions were finally confirmed one hot summer day when a young woman
escaped the Sawyer house following the brutal murders of her four
friends. Word around the small town quickly spread, and a vigilante mob
of enraged locals surrounded the Sawyer stronghold, burning it to the
ground and killing every last member of the family – or so they thought.
Decades later and hundreds of miles away from the original massacre, a
young woman named Heather learns that she has inherited a Texas estate
from a grandmother she never knew she had. After embarking on a road
trip with friends to uncover her roots, she finds she is the sole owner
of a lavish, isolated Victorian mansion. But her newfound wealth comes
at a price as she stumbles upon a horror that awaits her in the
mansion’s dank cellars.
Texas Chainsaw 3D will be splattering its way into UK& Irish cinemas on 4th January 2013. The film stars Alexandra Daddario, Scott Eastwood, Bill Moseley and Dan Yeager.
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