Brief review: "The Chair"

Distributor: Lionsgate



A low-key psychological horror film, The Chair is a decent way to spend 88 minutes.

Danielle, or "Dani" as every other character in the movie calls her, is a bright, blond, and beautiful college student majoring in Psychology. She has just moved into an old Victorian house in the 'burbs to help her recover. From what, we are never told. She is supposed to take pills for...something. Again, what she takes them for is never divulged. Just guessing that it has to do with whatever it is she's trying to recover from. Anyhow, it isn't long before strange things start happening in the house; from kitchen utensils moving on their own to chairs floating in the air, this isn't your ordinary house. Sensing this, Dani does some web surfing on the house and finds out that it used to be the home of a famous "mesmerizer" Mordechai Zymytryk, who had conducted experiments on a serial killer named Edgar Crowe. Crowe's spirit has been trapped in the house and is now haunting Dani. It gets worse. Dani starts exhibiting traits of said serial killer. Could he have possessed our poor college coed?

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. The acting is definitely nothing to write home about, ranging from horrible (unfortunately, Alanna Chisholm, Dani, is in this category) to just barely passable. The film has some pacing issues as it takes its sweet time getting going. The rapid jump cuts present every so often as scene transitions are also an unnecessary annoyance.

All that said, the film as a whole, makes for an entertaining watch. The mystery that develops (once the film finally introduces it) is quite different and surprisingly elegant in its execution. This is definitely not a balls-to-the-wall gory horror show. There is very little blood. Instead, director Brett Sullivan relies on an increasingly foreboding atmosphere to do the heavy lifting in drawing in the viewer and it works. It is likely to shock you somewhat when you realize that what started out as an indifferently-executed film has got you glued to your seat as the film crosses the midway point and heads toward a satisfying conclusion.

Don't sit in this Chair unless you are prepared for a moody descent into psychological terror.

"Gingerdead Man 2: The Passion Of The Crust"

Coming June 23rd via Full Moon Pictures. Sure, the first one (yeah, I'm shocked too that there even was a first one) didn't live up (or is that down?) to the promise of a gingerbread man killing people. Still, the sequel actually shows more promise, what with that bizarrely hilarious title and artwork. I, for one, plan on checking it out in a few weeks.

May 23-25 Box Office

From Variety:

1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Par) $100,137,835/$125,178,907

2. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Dis) $22,794,989/$90,839,999

3. Iron Man (Par) $20,447,253/$252,614,669

4. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) $9,116,935/$54,362,827

5. Speed Racer (WB) $3,942,756/$36,152,093

6. Baby Mama (Uni) $3,355,690/$52,163,835

7. Made of Honor (Sony) $3,350,618/$39,011,917

8. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Uni) $1,770,450/$58,299,420

9. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (NL) $927,336/$35,916,292

10. The Visitor (Overture) $724,183/$4,375,408


As expected, Indy ruled them all. Next week brings the wretched-looking "Sex and the City" along with the interesting-looking horror-thriller "The Strangers."

2 Lionsgate titles coming soon

Dungeon Girl is from schlockmaster himself Ulli Lommel. His one claim to fame was the 1980 horror film you see mentioned their on the cover of his latest. After that, he languished in obscurity until Lionsgate approached him about making a series of "horror" films, usually based on true stories. He has since churned out 12 (!) productions in a span of four years, all of them incredibly amateurish and painful to watch. They're the kind of shot on video crap that anyone could make with a camera and a few friends. I'd like to think Dungeon Girl would be different but odds aren't in my favor.

Trapped Ashes is a new entry in the increasingly rare horror anthology sub-genre. For that alone it is exciting as the first two "Creepshow" films, directed by the likes of George A. Romero, showed the brilliance that such a format could offer. I only hope Trapped Ashes is more like "Creepshow" than the forgettable "Creepshow 3."

Dungeon Girl streets July 8 with Trapped Ashes following a week later.

DVD Releases: June 3/10

June 3:

American Crude (Sony comedy)
Boarding Gate (Magnolia thriller)
Control (Weinstein drama)
Cry, The (Monterey horror)
Encrypt (Image sci-fi)
Evil Woods, The (Lionsgate horror)
Eye, The (Lionsgate horror)
Flawless (Magnolia drama)
Kush (Maverick action)
Mama's Boy (WB comedy)
Meet The Spartans (Fox comedy)
Onion Movie, The (Fox comedy)
Prairie Fever (Genius Ent. western)
Remember The Daze (First Look comedy)
Semi-Pro (New Line comedy)
Shark Swarm (Genius Ent. thriller)
Stump The Band (TLA horror)
Surviving Eden (Westlake comedy)
Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show... (New Line comedy)
You're Triflin (Well Go USA comedy)


June 10:

Black Wine (Indican horror)
Bucket List, The (Warner Bros. comedy)
Car Babes (Vivendi Entertainment comedy)
Deceitful Storm (Maverick drama)
Finish Line (Rhi Entertainment action)
Funny Games (Warner Bros. horror/thriller)
Grand, The (Anchor Bay comedy)
Jumper (Fox action)
List, The (Fox thriller)
Never Forget (PeaceArch action)
Organizm (Image Entertainment horror)
Other Boleyn Girl, The (Sony drama)
Otis (Warner/Raw Feed horror)
Out of the Blue (IFC drama)
Planet, The (MTI sci-fi)
Player 5150 (First Look action/drama)
Razor Eaters (Echo Bridge action)
Recon 2022: The Mezzo Incident (Terra sci-fi)
Rock the Paint (Allumination FilmWorks drama)
Salvation (York Entertainment action)
Sidekick (Lightyear Video action)
Signal, The (Magnolia horror)
Stanley Cuba (York comedy)
What Up? (Lionsgate comedy)
Wieners (Sony comedy)
Witless Protection (Lionsgate comedy)


Based on the trailer, Organizm looks like it could be a fun little horror-sci-fi combo. Stump the Band also holds some interest for its girl band stalked by a killer twist on the slasher formula.

Otis looks like a bizarre mix of horror and comedy. Raw Feed is an exciting new horror film label so it'll be interesting to see what the end product is like. The Evil Woods also holds some interest because of its seeming adherence to slasher film conventions. It will be fun to see if it does indeed fulfill expectations.

Brief review: "Grizzly Park"

Distributor: Allumination FilmWorks



Grizzly Park delivers 95 minutes of effective scares and laughs via a plot that is perhaps overstuffed but intriguing nonetheless.

As part of a new criminal-rehab program, eight rebellious teens (is there any other kind?) are ordered to serve a week of community service in a remote California forest preserve known as Grizzly Park. Unfortunately, an escaped serial killer is on the prowl. Even worse, the titular species of bear calls the park home. And it's hungry. Very hungry...

While it is far from the perfect horror thriller, Grizzly Park overall is a successful production. The film succeeds in part because of a script by writer-director Tom Skull that balances horror with small doses of humor that work more often than not. The attempts at comedy are rather funny for one reason or another. A song in the film (You'll know it when you hear it) is used in such a way as to qualify as pure genius. It is an unbelievably hilarious and surprisingly catchy tune.

The character of Bebe, one of the eight rebellious teens, provides for much of the humor as she acts like such a clueless nitwit that her reactions to what one hopes is her first foray into the wilderness are hilarious. Emily Foxler's performance in the role is right on every step of the way. In fact, the film gets solid performances from pretty much the entire cast. Glenn Morshower ("Transformers"), in the role of the ranger supervising the teens, brings a tongue in cheek quality to his role that makes his performance stand out alongside the aforementioned Foxler.

As for the horror angle, Grizzly Park brings its A-game here as well. The film plays on one's expectations so that when a character is standing near an open window just after having survived a bear attack, you expect him to be attacked through said window. When it seems like he won't be as time ticks by, bam! He is attacked when you least expect it. It's nice to note too that the film doesn't skimp on the gore either. When Brody the Bear attacks, it gets quite brutal. From ripped off limbs to shockingly grotesque face gouging, first-time director Tom Skull knows what his audience wants.

The only real downside to the film is the disappointingly underused serial killer subplot. The subplot never achieves the expected payoff. As a result, it really does not serve much of a purpose in the end. Had it been excised entirely, it would have been to the film's benefit.

That said, Grizzly Park is a fun film to watch, bringing humor and horror together in a distinctly entertaining cocktail.

Brief review: "Timber Falls"

Distributor: Vivendi Entertainment



Timber Falls is yet another tale of a crazy, perhaps inbred family from West Virginia acting none too kind to outsiders. In spite of this, it delivers a brutally good time.

A young couple on the cusp of marriage goes hiking in the wilderness of West Virginia, looking to find a good place to set up camp for what they hope is a night of passionate romance. Unfortunately, it's not long before they come across a gang of shotgun-wielding brothers who taunt and beat them.

Seems bad enough but the worse is yet to come. While looking for help, they're kidnapped by a fire and brimstone-style religious family looking to make them pay for their sins, notably their sin of making love before marriage. Much in the way of blood-letting and limb hacking ensue as they fight for their lives.

Timber Falls tells a derivative story. Luckily, writer-director Tony Giglio is well-aware and combats it with not too flashy, gorgeous cinematography, a firecracker pace that keeps the viewer intrigued because something is always happening, the narrative is always moving forward as he tells the increasingly bizarre story.

Giglio handles the gore set-pieces integral to a film like this with aplomb as well. They tend to realism over bombast, giving horror fans enough of the grue they want so that they don't feel cheated (no cutting away from the good stuff here) while also staying within the confines of the MPAA rating system. I would have liked to have seen an unrated cut but we can only do with what we're given.

Don't be afraid to visit Timber Falls. Sure, the locals aren't too friendly but something is always happening. You're bound to have a bloody good time. I promise.

Brief review: "Knock Knock"

Distributor: Lionsgate



Knock Knock is a respectably gory slasher film with hints of "Criminal Minds" and other detective shows.

A star football player has just finished celebrating with his teammates, psyched for another winning season. He goes into the locker room to grab his things, equally thrilled about the date he has for later that night. Suddenly, a large, bulky man with bandages covering his face shoves him from behind. Before he even has a chance to fight back, the man has eviscerated him and deposited his innards into his locker for the night janitors to discover minutes later.

And he is just the first as the killer continues his rampage, stalking the streets of the football-crazy town, brutally slaying teens while two detectives frantically search for clues to his origins...

Knock Knock looks to have been made with a lower than average budget based on the somewhat grainy cinematography and the bare sets. Still, it manages to use the money where it counts in a film like this, the death/kill scenes. The blood really flows and no detail is spared as the killer finishes off his victims. From the aforementioned innards to severed limbs of all shapes and sizes, Knock Knock delivers the bloody goods.

Also to its credit is the development of a decent narrative arc involving the detectives' investigation. Sure, it may not be anything you don't see on any number of the crime dramas that litter the TV airwaves, but it is at least up to par. Not only that, it is fairly unusual for a teen slasher film like this to feature the detectives as more than an afterthought at the film's conclusion; kudos is due to the filmmakers.

That's not to say all is perfect as Knock Knock has some issues left on the table. First off, the acting, aside from the detectives which are ably played, is rather atrocious. The supposed teens are wretchedly performed by actors obviously at least six years beyond their teen years. We're talking cue card reading bad for some of them. The filmmakers also drop the ball in the later stages as the story nears its conclusion. The pace, for some reason likely only known to the cast and crew, slows to a crawl as we are treated to at least five minutes of the detectives flipping through documents with nothing really coming out of it aside from an affirmation of what we already knew.

That said, Knock Knock is worth your time if you're in the mood for a gruesome slasher that, unlike the sanitized slashers garnering theatrical release (I'm looking at you, "Prom Night"), doesn't hold back where it counts.

Brief review: "The Entrance"

Distributor: Lionsgate



The Entrance is a 76-minute exercise in boredom via a storyline that goes in circles without really explaining or resolving anything in even close to a satisfactory manner.

A man wakes up in a parking garage, no clue how he got there. While looking for a way out, he comes across a janitor named Joe. He then starts to remember. He was in a room with other men in the same situation. There was a voice telling them that each is a sinner and will soon be sacrificed, to what is unknown. Somehow, the man manages to escape. He goes to the police, who don't buy his story, especially after learning that he is a convicted drug dealer.

As the detective is leaving work, he jumps her and holds a gun to her head while forcing her to drive to the parking garage. Once there, he tells her that he is leaving, that he had been given a second chance if he brought someone in his place. Now the detective must find a way out before she becomes the next sacrifice...

Sounds decent from the synopsis, right? I thought so too. Unfortunately, the admittedly interesting material is mishandled. The already short film regurgitates the same scenes over and over again, showing flashbacks multiple times even when they were just shown no more than 10 minutes prior. To make matters worse, when the detective is trapped, she starts to experience the same exact flashbacks as the man for no explainable reason. This reeks of laziness on the part of the writer-director Damon Vignale. He clearly did not have enough material so he cheated by reusing the same footage; it's like the movie "Vantage Point" but without the gimmick of different viewpoints on the action. Here, we get the same exact viewpoint way more than is necessary.

To make matters worse, the film has the gall to end without really explaining anything, even in a fundamental way via clues through which the viewer can try and figure out things for themselves. This is another cop-out that frustrates beyond belief.

Frustrate beyond belief pretty much sums up The Entrance as a whole. You'd be better off doing pretty much anything else other than watching this empty void of a motion picture.

A trio of summer DVD releases

Funny Games is a remake by writer-director Michael Haneke of his 1997 Swedish horror film. The plot goes something like this: A couple (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) are enjoying a nice vacation at their lakeside cabin with their son (Devon Gearhart) when two well-dressed men (Brady Corbet and Michael Pitt) come up to their door and ask them if they would like to "play a game." Soon, the family is in the fight for their lives as the two men humiliate and torture them, killing the family dog in the process. Will they make it out alive? The film played in select theatres a few months ago but never received a wide release. It's one to look for if only for the cast, as both Watts and Roth have shown themselves to be great actors.

Alive or Dead has the following premise: While traveling down a desolate road, Maria comes upon an apparently abandoned school bus. A girl has written "HELP ME" in one of the windows and Maria quickly discovers the messy secrets that lie in the back of the bus. As the killer reappears, Maria finds herself now hidden and trapped as the killer takes them on the ride of their lives. Their journey leads to a bizarre location in the desert, where they'll quickly learn their enemy is not who they think. The girls must figure out whom to trust, if even each other, if they hope to return home, alive or dead.

Advance word on the film is better than one might expect for a low budget film like this, with reviews saying it offers a nice mix of visceral and psychological terror.

Bone Eater concerns a group of construction workers working on a project on what is reported to be Indian holy ground. When they discover and remove an ancient artifact from the ground, they unleash a monster known as the "Bone Eater." They must uncover the origins and secret of the creature before it's too late.

Skepticism reigns supreme here; how many monster movies about ancient holy and/or burial grounds do we really need?

Funny Games is released June 10 via Warner Bros., Alive or Dead follows a week later via Lionsgate, and Bone Eater hits July 8, also via Lionsgate.

"Evil Behind You"

According to Amazon.com, Allumination FilmWorks has set the horror-thriller Evil Behind You for a July 22 release.

Here is the official synopsis:

Lisa Williams (Hilary Kennedy) and Debra Reynolds (Gwendolynn Murphy) were both enjoying evenings out when something went very wrong. Neither girl can recall what has happened as they awake locked in a dark observation room. Debra's husband, Tony, (D.C. Lee) and Lisa's boyfriend David (Manuel Velazquez) are both handcuffed to operating tables and there is no explanation. No one will respond to their calls for help and there is no way out of the room. The abducted couples are unwilling victims of a scientific experiment. As the guys recover from the anesthesia, the girls attempt to comfort them. But something strange is happening to them. The men are fighting to maintain their minds. The reasons for their abductions are unknown and they must solve the mystery soon, because their confinement isn't the biggest problem. They are sensing something that is more than flesh and blood. Something else seems to be in the room with them. The longer they stay, the "more real" it appears to become. But is it real or an after effect of their surgery? Every minute that passes increases the danger.

Sounds interesting enough that it should be worth checking out come late July. That cover artwork is brilliant, either way. Very stylish.

Brief review: "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

Distributor: Image Entertainment



The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a goofy, improbably entertaining horror film.

Dr. Henry Jekyll (Tony Todd of "Candyman" fame) is a research scientist conducting experiments on chimpanzees, hoping to find a cure for heart disease, and eventually, every disease known to man. His area of expertise is in nanotechnology and he is injecting nanobots into the chimps that are able to repair whatever defects they find on a molecular level. He has tired of the laborious process of applying for permits to test it on humans so he injects it into himself. The horrifying side effects include transforming into a vicious alter-ego, Mr. Hyde, a half-human half-beast monster who kills without remorse, ripping female college students to shreds. It isn't long before the cops are investigating Jekyll. What Mr. Hyde does in response is definitely not pretty...

No doubt about it, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is not a polished, classy horror film by any stretch of the imagination. The cinematography is rough around the edges, the acting aside from Todd ranges from passable to abominable, and the special effects, when used, are below the level of a Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie. Not to mention all the logic mistakes. For instance, how no one managed to notice that Jekyll and his "assistant" Hyde never worked at the same time is befuddling. Also, how Jekyll manages to keep Hyde a secret for so long when Hyde consistently stalks his victims out in the open is a question better left not belabored.

That said, the film is still surprisingly a lot of fun to watch. The chief reason is a fun, sometimes hammy performance by Tony Todd in the title role(s?). He does a nice job as the intelligent, subdued Jekyll but that's not what makes his performance fun to watch. When playing Hyde, his performance closely recalls that of Robert Englund's Freddy Krueger as he cackles and makes smart-alecky quips as he hunts and/or does in his victims. The actor is so clearly enjoying himself that the viewer can't help but want to share in that same enjoyment.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde may not always be pretty but as long as Tony Todd is on-screen, it promises to be lots of fun.

3 titles from The Weinstein Company

Steel Trap concerns a group of party goers who find themselves unwitting participants in a deadly game after receiving a text message inviting them to the 27th floor for an "exclusive party." Another "Saw" clone? We'll see but I hope not. I've had enough of those with the yearly sequels themselves.

The Hive details how a special team is called in to deal with ants that have gotten out of control, devouring anything and everything in their path. The team soon discovers that the ants are not of tbis world... Alien ants!!? It's different, that's for sure.

Rogue is Greg Mclean's long-awaited (and long-delayed) follow-up to 2005's "Wolf Creek." It concerns a journalist (Michael Vartan), a boat of tourists and tourguide (played by Radha Mitchell) who encounter a giant man-eating crocodile while sightseeing. Word is positive on the film, which received a theatrical release in Australia in November of last year. It certainly can't be anymore disappointing than "Primeval," which couldn't decide if it wanted to be a horror film or a sequel to "Blood Diamond."

Steel Trap streets July 15; Rogue and The Hive on August 5.

3 horror titles hitting DVD this summer

Asylum stars Sarah Roemer ("Disturbia") and concerns a group of college students who discover that their dorm used to be an insane asylum in which a doctor conducted unethical tests on his patients. Making matters worse, the doctor has returned, intent on using the students as guinea pigs for a series of sick and twisted experiments.

Considering it's directed by David R. Ellis, currently filming "Final Destination 4" in 3-D, and has a decent cast, it's a little surprising that Asylum is going direct to DVD. It will be interesting to see if it deserved such a fate. Then again, the direct-to-DVD market has produced many high quality films, especially in the horror genre.

Pray for Morning surrounds a group of high school students who break into a hotel for a night of drinking and debauchery, unaware that it's haunted. Commence ghostly happenings. With the just plain freaky Udo Kier playing the head ghost, that's a casting coup right there. The man just exudes the creepy and makes the film worth a look all by himself.

Death Valley stars Rider Strong, Dash Mihok (the upcoming "Punisher: War Zone"), and Vince Vieluf ("Firewall"). The film involves a group of friends who head out to a rave in the desert, only to get in bad with some locals. Violence and mayhem ensue.

Considered me intrigued. Rider Strong has shown himself to be a capable actor who has given solid performances in Eli Roth's "Cabin Fever" and "Borderland," which was part of last year's AfterDark Horrorfest. He certainly has come a long way since playing second fiddle to Ben Savage on the TV series "Boy Meets World."

Death Valley is released June 24 via Allumination FilmWorks; Asylum streets July 15 via MGM; and Pray for Morning hits DVD July 22 via Allumination FilmWorks.

Brief review: "The Backwoods"

Distributor: Lionsgate



The Backwoods is a tense thriller only undermined by pacing issues that threaten to bore the viewer before the thrilling material is apparent.

Gary Oldman stars as a businessman who takes his wife (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón), coworker (Paddy Considine), and his wife (Virginie Ledoyen) on a hunting trip in the remote woods of Spain.

The group is enjoying a little R & R when the two men, while hunting, come across a young girl locked away in an abandoned house. Fearing for her safety, they decide to take her with them and try and get help. It isn't long before the locals find out she is gone and go looking for her, armed with guns and intent on locking her up again as their little secret.

Echoing the class clash of films such as "Deliverance," The Backwoods would have been more consistently effective had it gotten to the aforementioned conflict sooner. The film takes its time setting up the two couples as feuding and none too happily married. The problem is, that in the process, it presents the four of them as distinctly unlikeable so that by the time the girl is discovered, the viewer almost detests them.

Of course, their willingness to help the girl redeems them a little but still, once they are put in opposition to the locals, what is presented is a clash between two sets of disgusting human beings, one moreso than the other.

Luckily, the film gets good performances from the cast. Oldman is a consummate pro and it shows, even in a character with underdeveloped motivations. Considine benefits from being the only character who undergoes any real change, going from a city man afraid to fire a gun to a stiff, uncaring, desensitized killer as the film progresses. The two female characters aren't given as much to do, saddled in the generic roles of the constantly screaming, frightened woman seen disappointingly often in these films.

Are the good performances and the admittedly tense final moments enough to offset the slow start and unlikeable characters? It's a toss up. If you are craving a new take on an old premise and are willing to foregive its shortcomings, The Backwoods may be worth a look. Otherwise, you may be better off just watching "Deliverance" again.

May 16-18 Box Office

From Variety:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) $55,034,805

2. Iron Man (Paramount) $31,838,996/$223,124,385

3. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) $13,883,874/$40,341,516

4. Speed Racer (WB) $8,117,459/$30,284,073

5. Made of Honor (Sony) $4,702,950/$33,903,519

6. Baby Mama (Universal) $4,680,610/$47,343,255

7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) $2,786,220/$55,313,405

8. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (New Line) $1,997,450/$34,098,389

9. The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate) $1,073,856/$50,368,985

10. The Visitor (Overture Films) $672,448/$3,388,821


A decent but still underwhelming opening for Prince Caspian, especially when one considers that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe opened to $65,556,312 in December of 2005. Disney had to be hoping that this film would, at the very least, match the prior film's opening.

Iron Man continues to roll, well on its way to $300 million or more.

As if it already wasn't a bomb, Speed Racer continued to freefall. The Wachowski Brothers are going to have some explaining to do for this dud.

Brief review: "Frontier(s)"

Distributor: Lionsgate



Frontier(s) is a boldly violent, enthralling motion picture.

As directed by Xavier Gens (Hitman), this French-language shocker tells the story of a group of small-time criminals on the lam from the authorities during election-inspired riots. They decide to hide out in the French countryside, taking up residence in a family-run hostel. Then things start to get interesting.

Turns out, the family is one sick bunch and the criminals must once again run for their lives. Problem is, they run right into a trap that leads to torture, dismembered limbs, and much worse.

Sounds a fair amount like "Hostel" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," doesn't it? The framework certainly is, but within it, writer-director Gens has crafted a bloody cinematic treat for horror fans everywhere.

Frontier(s) is structured so that it is not long before another bloody action sequence is around the corner. The pace is breakneck once the set-up has been established, replete with shootouts, car chases, and blood splatter via saws, knives, sledgehammers, and other instruments of death. In this way, the film, although definitely belonging in the horror genre, plays more like an action movie, which is to its benefit as it helps distinguish the picture from the aforementioned horror titles and perhaps, widens its appeal to those not normally prone to watching horror films.

Frontier(s) is a spectacular example of the thrills and chills a good horror film can deliver; signaling Xavier Gens as a filmmaker to watch for in the future. This is one guy who clearly knows what he's doing behind the camera.

Ghost House Underground gets "Reeker" sequel

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ghost House Underground, the new direct-to-DVD offshoot of Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert's Ghost House Pictures, has acquired the rights to Dave Payne's No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker.

The film is a sequel to the 2005 release Reeker and continues the story of a distinctly supernatural killer traveling between the world of the living and the dead, collecting victims.

The original was a lot of fun except when it devolved too much into a frenzy of montages showing the victims right before their deaths, during which the film became a muddled, almost indecipherable messs.

Let's hope the sequel cleans up its act in that regard because if it does, No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker could be a great little gem of a horror film.

No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker hits DVD in October via Lionsgate.

"The Butterfly Effect 3" to be part of AfterDark Horrorfest

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a third entry into The Butterfly Effect series begins production September 1 in Vancouver.

Normally, this is news that wouldn't garner much interest considering the second film was very mediocre and nowhere near as creative or dark as the original film.

That said, the third film is going to be produced by the folks at AfterDark Films (along with BenderSpink, producers of the first two) with plans to include the movie in the next AfterDark Horrorfest, a yearly two-week long event in which the company releases 8 or more horror films into theaters across North America. Having attended both years, the films are hit and miss as expected, but the idea alone of seeing eight films from the genre I love is enough for me because of how much I love the genre.

This will be the third year for the fest and it's looking much more promising than the previous two not only with this news but also the news that AfterDark is producing two films exclusively for the event. In previous years, all of the films have been low-budget acquisitions. This year, it looks like the budgets will increase.

Let's hope the quality (not to mention the attendance) does too as I love the event and want to see it continue for years to come.

2 Lionsgate titles

Another inbred cannibal horror movie in the form of Side Sho, which tells the story of an unwitting family's descent into Hell when they visit a traveling carnival and are besieged by the aforementioned cannibals. There have been so many horror films about crazy inbreds, from the original 1977 The Hills Have Eyes to its remake and other films like Wrong Turn, that one is immediately skeptical of another such release. That said, Side Sho could very well be entertaining as though derivative, Wrong Turn and its sequel were well-made shockers.

Dracula's Guest looks to tell a lesser-known Bram Stoker short story than the classic Dracula everyone knows. Right there this film gets bonus points for not regurgitating the same old story and it'll be intriguing to see what the filmmakers come up with. Casting Andrew Bryniarski, best known for lumbering after Jessica Biel as Leatherface in the 2003 Michael Bay-produced remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in the role of Dracula is an inspired choice but it remains to be seen whether he has the acting chops to pull it off.

Side Sho hits DVD July 29; Dracula's Guest follows a week later on August 5.

DVD Releases: May 20/27

May 20:

Black Ops (First Look thriller)
Bugs (Image sci-fi)
Circadian Rhythm (York thriller)
Cross Bronx (Vivendi Visual drama)
Darkest Hour (Maverick horror)
Entrance, The (Lionsgate horror)
Flock, The (Weinstein thriller w/Richard Gere)
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead (Dimension Extreme horror)
Grindstone Road (PeaceArch drama)
Killing Zelda Sparks (WB action/drama)
Life & Lyrics (Image drama)
Lost Colony (Allumination horror)
Meet the Mobsters (Vivendi Visual comedy)
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Notorious Colonel Steel, The (York western)
Sight (Lionsgate horror)
Sorority Sister Slaughter (York horror)
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Image horror)
Strange Wilderness (Paramount comedy)
Who's Your Monkey (Screen Media comedy)


May 27:

Air I Breathe, The (ThinkFilm drama)
All Hat (Universal western)
Cassandra's Dream (Weinstein drama)
Chair, The (Lionsgate horror)
Cleaner (Sony thriller w/Samuel L. Jackson)
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Genius Products horror)
Grace is Gone (Weinstein drama w/John Cusack)
Grizzly Park (Allumination horror)
Lather Effect, The (Anchor Bay dramedy)
Rambo (Lionsgate action)
Street Racer (Asylum action)
Suspension (Lightyear action)
Take, The (Sony action w/John Leguizamo)
Valentina's Tango (MTI drama)
Walker, The (ThinkFilm drama)
What Would Jesus Buy? (Hart Sharp documentary)


Not one but 2(!) horror films in consecutive weeks about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It should be at least semi-interesting to compare them. We'll see.

May 9-11 Box Office

From Variety:

1. Iron Man (Paramount) $51,190,629/177,825,024

2. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) $20,172,474

3. Speed Racer (WB) $18,561,337

4. Made of Honor (Sony) $8,116,323/$26,791,494

5. Baby Mama (Universal) $6,225,790/$40,836,370

6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) $3,837,240/$50,781,745

7. Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (New Line) $3,106,424/$30,667,308

8. The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate) $2,169,323/$48,530,104

9. Nim's Island (Fox) $1,463,622/$44,395,857

10. Prom Night (Sony) $1,012,986/$42,785,107


Speed Racer is a megabomb for Warner Bros. as the $120 million budgeted adaptation of the cartoon fails to make even twenty million over its debut weekend. The bad news is likely to continue this coming weekend when The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian swoops in to steal away most, if not all of the family audience.

Brief review: "Teeth"

Distributor: Dimension Extreme

Teeth is one bizarrely gruesome and hilarious film. It concerns Dawn (Jess Weixler), a virginal high school girl dedicated to remaining as such until marriage. She is the head of the local "Purity Pledge" group and wears a ring symbolizing her dedication to the cause.

That is, until one of her fellow group members forces himself on her and tries to rape her. Unfortunately for him, she has was is termed "Vagina Dentata" AKA teeth. Needless to say, things don't end well for him.

At first horrified with her "adaptation," it is not long before Dawn begins to view it as something of a gift as she gets revenge on all the men who have tried to take advantage of her, including her vulgar, arrogant prick of a stepbrother (John Hensley from TV's "Nip/Tuck").

The film definitely has its problems, most notably a pace that could have used some tightening as the story takes too long to get going and yet ends rather abruptly.

Overall though, the film is a success, thanks in large part to Weixler's performance as Dawn. She ably shifts from a goody-two-shoes character at the beginning to a vengeful femme fatale in the film's second half. This is the sort of eye-opening performance that could get her noticed, much like Ellen Page in 2006's "Hard Candy."

The film's sense of humor is very, very dark but it works. Teeth is a very violent film at times but manages to straddle the line between comedy and horror quite well so that both aspects end up in its favor.

If anything, the very last scene is one creepy way to end with something the viewer won't soon forget, along with other scenes I don't want to mention for fear of spoiling the gory hilarity.

Take a look at these Teeth. But be careful not to get too close or else...

DVD Releases: May 6/13

Ace of Hearts (Fox family drama)
Bella (Sony faith-based drama)
Bridges Of Madison County: Deluxe Edition
Business Of Being Born (New Line documentary)
Dans Paris (IFC foreign-language drama)
Delirious (PeaceArch comedy starring Steve Buscemi)
First Sunday (Sony comedy w/Ice Cube)
Gamers (Monterey comedy)
Good Girl, Bad Girl (Maverick Entertainment action)
Grizzly Rage (Genius Products horror)
Hottie & The Nottie (Genius Products comedy w/Paris Hilton)
How To Cook Your Life (Lionsgate documentary)
I Really Hate My Job (Magnolia comedy w/Neve Campbell)
I'm Not There (Weinstein drama w/Heath Ledger and Cate Blanchett)
Just Business (PeaceArch thriller)
Love's Unfolding Dream (Fox family drama)
Military Intelligence And You! (Echo Bridge documentary)
Moola (Allumination FilmWorks comedy w/Daniel Baldwin)
Over Her Dead Body (New Line comedy w/Eva Longoria-Parker)
P.S. I Love You (Warner Bros. romantic drama w/Hilary Swank)
Saawariya (Sony foreign-language drama)
Senior Skip Day (First Look comedy)
Speed Racer: Next Generation: The Beginning (Lionsgate family animation)
Teeth (Dimension Extreme horror-comedy)
Zombies Anonymous (Well Go USA horror)


Looking over the list of DVDs hitting shelves this week, one jumps out because of its bizarre plot: Teeth. What is the plot, you ask? Well...I think I'll let the official synopsis on the back of the DVD speak for itself: http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?userid=99366325964401&item_id=1400720&tab=5&back=1&anchor=1#topoftabs

No comment except: THAT'S SOMETHING I WANT TO SEE ASAP! Dimension Extreme has apparently done it again in delivering a crazy product with a "unique" premise.

May 13:

Aces 'N Eights (Genius Products western)
Amateur Porn Star Killer 2 (Cinema Epoch horror)
Bet Your Life (Warner Bros. action w/Billy Zane)
Blind Eye (MTI thriller)
Botched (Warner Bros. horror)
Cottage, The (Sony horror-comedy)
Cover (Fox thriller)
Crash And Burn (Genius Products action)
Frontier(s) (Lionsgate horror)
Good Man Is Hard To Find (Fox drama)
Graduation (Magnolia heist thriller)
Great Debaters (Weinstein drama w/Denzel Washington)
Mad Money (Anchor Bay comedy)
National Lampoon Presents: Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo (Arts A. comedy)
National Lampoon's Cattle Call (Lionsgate comedy)
Nora's Hair Salon 2 (Fox comedy)
Numb (Image drama)
Raisin In The Sun (Sony drama)
Steal A Pencil For Me (Westlake drama)
Timber Falls (Vivendi Visual horror)
TKO (Lionsgate action)
Untraceable (Sony thriller w/Diane Lane)
Wager (Genius Products drama)
Walk All Over Me (Weinstein Company thriller w/Leelee Sobieski)
Youth Without Youth (Sony drama)

Iron Man's just plain "Super" opening

According to Variety, Iron Man amassed $102,118,668 during its first weekend, including Thursday night screenings.

It is a simply astounding result for the film and especially Marvel Studios. The film is the flagship production for the film production offshoot of the comic empire and bodes well for its future. Iron Man 2 is already set for release in summer 2010 with the cast and crew returning. Next up for the studio is The Incredible Hulk on June 13th.

Given the overwhelmingly positive response for Iron Man, it seems assured to have staying power, perhaps enough to make over $250 million before it leaves theatres and goes onto make millions more on DVD.

Iron Man = Superb!

Iron Man kicks off the summer with a bang. From frame one Robert Downey Jr. owns the role of Tony Stark and his alter-ego Iron Man. He handles both the comedy and action that the role requires with aplomb. Unlike the heroes in Spider-Man and Batman, he actually enjoys being a superhero, spending time hitting on women when he's not defeating terrorists.

Kudos to Jon Favreau for his directing here. I was more than a little skeptical that a director more known for comedy would be able to handle the action required in a superhero movie, but he does one hell of a job.

Given that production on the sequel begins in a little under five months with the cast and director intact, I'm of the camp that hears that news and responds with a resounding "Hell yes!"

Bring on Iron Man 2!

The Descent getting a sequel

According to Variety, production begins shortly on a sequel to the 2006 horror film The Descent.

Neil Marshall will not be returning as director. Instead, Jon Harris, the first film's editor, is taking the directorial reigns.

The sequel will continue where the original left off as a rescue group goes searching for the women who never returned from a cave exploration trip after being attacked and killed by the beasties within the cave.

Hopefully, the sequel will retain the claustrophic, gut-wrenching tension of the original and resist becoming a B-movie along the lines of "The Cave," the other 2006 film about cave monsters, replete with terrible acting and cheesy special effects. That movie belonged on The Sci-Fi Channel, not in theatres!

Triloquist

According to Amazon.com, Dimension Extreme has set the killer dummy film Triloquist for a July 1 DVD release date.

There are two things the film brings to mind: The Child's Play series with Chucky the doll going apeshit on anyone and everyone as he tried to get out of that dang doll and have his spirit inhabit a human body. The second thing it reminds me of is the "Night of the Living Dummy" Goosebump books by R.L. Stine where the evil "Slappy" dummy wreaked havoc on the lives of its owners.

Hopefully, Triloquist will be at least half as memorable as those two forebearers of the genre. Given Dimension Extreme's track record, the one thing we can count on is that the film will be very violent. At least that's something.