"THE LORDS OF SALEM" News

THE LORDS OF SALEM is finally done! The world premiere is Sept. 10th at the TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

It Truly Is A Profane World, Ruggero Deodato (“Cannibal Holocaust”) Returns to Horror in “THE PROFANE EXHIBIT“. Where There Are No Boundaries."

Oh, HELL Yeah!

Fearnet is reporting the return of Ruggero Deodato to the realm of horror. The name doesn’t ring a bell?… (novice… lol) Think back a hardcore horror flick from 1979 called: “Cannibal Holocaust”. AAhhh, now it does… lol.

Yes, “Cannibal Holocaust”, the movie that started the whole POV genre for horror films, and “NOT” “The Blair Witch Project” that gets all the claim-to-fame for it. Nope, sorry. “Cannibal” beat you by a couple of decades. Last time I saw good old Deodato he was playing a small part in “Hostel 2” as a client of the Elite Hunting pay-for-murder group who was happily eating large portions of flesh that he sliced from the legs of a terrified young man. A little wink and a nod to what put him on the map of horror.

Now, however, Deodato is back -in an extreme way of course- in an upcoming anthology called “The Profane Exhibit“ with a segment entitled: “Bridge.”

“The Profane Exhibit” takes us deep within the underbelly of Paris and to a nightclub that is the home of a secret, wicked society. At first glance the club looks like any other goth/fetish club, but, like an onion the more one peels away the more things hidden from view come to light. Hidden within the cavernous building are many hidden rooms, one of which is called “The Room of Souls,” which is where the world’s richest and most evil people like to gather and is hosted by the elegant and yet frightening Madame Sabatier.

For amusement, each of the members take turns and spins for the pleasure of the others a true tale of their depravity (think of it as a badass “CREEPSHOW“): A good wife learns that her husband goes out at night to abduct and murder young women; A botched suicide attempt leads to a drug induced dream; A girl is believed to be possessed by a demon and her overly religious parents enlist the help of a corrupt reverend who has his own sinister plans; We are invited inside the deranged mind of a respected surgeon as he takes us on a guided tour of life, death, and everything in between; A young street prostitute crosses paths with a charismatic flesh trader and is forced to take an unspeakable journey of sex, violence, and murder; A nun is abducted off the streets of Rome and held captive for over a year turning her into a feral, murderous creature to be unleashed on society; A chance encounter on a fateful bus ride for an unsuspecting girl who dreams of riches and fame is her undoing; A man picks up a woman in a nightclub and soon finds himself at the mercy of a cult of women who believe consumption of their sacrifice will bring them to their highest form of female dominance; An unflinching look into darkest Africa where human life is traded for fortune and the most unspeakable atrocities are committed.

In other words “The Profane Exhibit” is going to piss off most people… lol. I wonder how long it will take for this to find it’s way to American shores. Hopefully not too long because my interest is peaked.

Deodato will be joined by a roster of other internationally-known directors (and from the looks of it this lineup is all about pushing horror to it‘s limits and boundaries), that of which includes: Uwe Boll (Bloodrayne), Michael Todd Schneider (August Underground's Mordum), Ryan Nicholson (Live Feed), Andrey Iskanov (Philosophy of a Knife), Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police), and Richard Stanley (Hardware), and the Italian FX maestro Sergio Stivaletti (who has done FX for Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava, and Michele Soavi).

“The Profane Exhibit” is said to be in pre-production as we speak and is slated for a 2012 release.

BATES MOTEL NEWS: NORMAN GETS A MOM

It seems that Norman Bates’ mother has been found!

She was in the basement the whole time… lol

Anyway, it looks as if A&E’s television version of the 1960’s Hitchcock hit (“Psycho”) of one Hollywood’s most dysfunctional families ‘The Bates’ has cast Vera Farmiga to play the most notorious mothers in all of cinema for it’s up coming “THE BATES MOTEL”

The Academy Award nominated actress, [Vera] Farmiga (“Up in the Air”), downplayed the role of the twisted mother who unwillingly molds her son into a deranged serial killer, saying: “She’s complicated, passionate, and compelling, Norma Louise is a smart, multidimensional character who is always capable of surprising us.”

The show is being described as a contemporary exploration of Norman Bates' formative years and will explore the relationship between Norman and his mother, Norma. Offering a look at the backstory that helped set the stage the infamous serial killer and the forged what will eventually happen in “Psycho“. “Bates Motel” is being dubbed as a cross between “Twin Peaks” and “Smallville“.

A&E has opted to bypass the traditional pilot stage and has ordered a full ten episodes and is scheduled for a 2013 premiere.

“The Bates Motel” will be Carlton Cuse’s first television project since his “LOST” days as that show’s co-show runner and it’ll be interesting to say the least to see how “Bates” will turn out.

The role for Norman has yet to be cast.

American Horror Story - Season 2 Asylum

Ah, yes, “American Horror Story” is back and I can not wait, and if it’s anything like season one then it should be great. Although, I wasn’t all that crazy about the season finale of the show. Thinking that it should of ended with the episode 11 entitled “Birth”:

     “Tate (Evan Peters) cannot promise Vivien's baby to Nora, for fear of revealing to Violet that he raped her mother. Nora is resolved to take the child anyway.

Ben (Dylan McDermott) picks up Vivien (Connie Britton) to take her from the ward to her flight to Florida, not understanding why Violet (Taissa Farmiga) refuses to leave with him. The doctor strongly warns Vivien and Ben that, despite only being six months in the womb, one of the twins is ready to be born any minute, telling them that the other twin is dying because the dominant twin is taking all the nutrients.

In the house, Violet and Tate encounter Chad (Zachary Quinto) and Patrick (Teddy Sears) preparing a nursery and cribs, planning to take the twins. Violet objects, contacting Constance (Jessica Lange) for help in stopping them. Constance and Chad confront one another. Constance offers Ben's twin to Chad, but demands her grandson for her own. Learning that Tate is the father of the other twin, Chad remains resolved to take both children. Constance and Violet enlist the help of Billie Dean (Sarah Paulson), who senses Violet is dead, but keeps it a secret from Constance at her request. She tells Violet that she can banish a spirit if she burns one of its close possessions and recites the word "Croatoan". Tate obtains Patrick's ring when Patrick attacks him, screaming that he could have been "free" of Chad and the house if Tate hadn't killed him, which Chad overhears, heartbroken.

Ben enters the house to retrieve Vivien's bags and Violet. Violet tells him that she is dead from suicide and cannot leave the house, futilely urging him to take Vivien far away from the house and its ghosts before she gives birth. Ben thinks she is high and tries to take her to the car. Meanwhile, Vivien goes into labor in the car and Constance appears, taking her into the house against her will. The power goes out and ghosts destroy the car, forcing Ben and Vivien to have the babies there. Dr. Charles Montgomery (Matt Ross) handles the delivery, with the 1968 nurses' ghosts (Celia Finkelstein, Rosa Salazar) attending. Constance urges Ben to accept the house's help with the birth.

In the basement, Violet burns Patrick's ring and Chad's watch, and recites the spell, but Chad mocks her, saying that "banishment spells" are all fake. When she asks why he is destroying the cribs, he explains that he now knows that Patrick no longer loves him and has given up. He then tells her that Tate killed him and Patrick and also raped Vivien.

While Vivien gives birth, Ben helps her with her breathing, remembering the day Violet was born. The first twin is stillborn, and Dr. Montgomery hands it to a happy Nora. Constance takes the second twin, and she and Moira (Frances Conroy) gush over it, until Hayden (Kate Mara) appears demanding the child. Vivien begins to postpartum hemorrhage and Violet appears, apologizing to her and urging her to let go and join her. Ben, unaware of Violet's presence, urges Vivien to live, promising her that they can still have a happy life together. Vivien dies and Ben finds himself alone.

Violet confronts Tate, revealing that she knows all he has done and she forces him to remember the school massacre. Distraught, Tate begs for forgiveness, saying that Violet has changed him. She believes him, but cannot forgive him because Vivien is dead and Ben is alone. She states he must be punished for it and that, therefore, she cannot and will not be with him anymore. She forcefully banishes him by saying "go away" and Tate disappears. Violet, alone and crying, is soon comforted by Vivien's ghost, who tells her she was brave and that she is proud of her.” -which, in my opinion would of made a stronger impact on the audience.

Whatever the case, season 2 looks to be shaping up into something that is going completely bad ass as this time around we find ourselves not only in a metal asylum but a completely different time period altogether (that being the 1960s, prime time for the greatness of the metal institute craze… lol), and it is being touted that one time enemies will be allies.

“American Horror Story” premiers on October 17th on FX.

The review for "Lovely Molly"

It can be said that Eduardo Sanchez knows how to set up a movie in the realm of suspense that few (and for the budget) can seem to do. From “Blair Witch” to “Altered” to “Seventh Moon”. And newest film, “Lovely Molly” is no different.

Molly (the gorgeous Gretchen Lodge) and her new husband, Tim (Jonny Lewis) move into hMolly’s old family home, formally owned by her now deceased father, and lies pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The house holds painful memories long locked away inside Molly but it doesn’t take much time for those memories to start to resurface.

Tim is a long haul truck driver who is on the road for days at a time, leaving Molly alone to her own devises, which isn’t the smartest thing because Molly is a former heroin addict struggling to stay clean and sober. But as the lonely days and nights increase, Molly starts to feel that she is not alone on the property, as she starts, at first, hearing things around the house at night. The strange occurrences turn into something more physical and Molly has a hard time keeping it all together. Feeling the pressure that she may be going crazy or maybe there is something truly happening to her, Molly turns to her sister, Hannah (Alexandra Holden) then to her husband and try to explain what she think is going on, however, neither believe much in what she has too say causing Molly to go back to her old habits of drugs which just compounds the problem. Only now does anybody take notice that Molly is suffering, so her sister and husband turn to their local pastor for help, which was about as useless as one might think. All of which ends in one of the more “What the Fuck” (a term I actually found myself saying out loud) endings, as it comes to a truly horrific head, where nobody is safe.

As I watched “Lovely Molly”, I kept wanting to compare it too “Silent House”, but with Sanchez at the helm “Lovely Molly” was a stronger more disturbing film when it comes down the subject at hand.

One I highly recommend.

I give it 3 out 4 severed heads on my rating scale.

Dexter Season 7 Trailer... Oh, Yeah!

Holy shit, Dexter is back and season 7 looks to be the most intense yet as Showtime appears to have pulled out all the stops this time around.

We know how it ended last fall: Dexter (Michael C. Hall) has the Doomsday Killer (Colin Hanks) strapped to his table and sending the religious wacko on his way to meet the man that supposedly pulls the strings on humanity just dear-old-sister, Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) walking on him at that exact moment. The killer of cliff hangers.

Now it looks in the season 7 trailer that Dex convinces Deb to keep his secret at least for the time being, but as the investigation continues more and more of Dexter’s secret life comes to light for Deb.

Dexter can be found on Showtime Sunday Nights starting September 30^th.

"Eddie,The Sleepwalking Cannibal" Gets Distribution

Chicago-based Music Box Films looks to have picked up the distribution rights of the cannibalistic comedy film “Eddie, The Sleepwalking Cannibal”.

For those of you who don’t know about this, the film follows a once celebrity artist, Lars Olafssen, who is slipping into the realms of has -been and with a ungracefully aging hipster for an art dealer who doesn’t want his meal ticket to end, and a metal problem that keeps Lars from painting, it’s no surprise that his career is in shambles. It seems Lars’ creativity comes at a high cost to him as his inspiration is of carnage: Blood & guts & limbs and shit, all of which lead to a breakdown of Lars so he no longer paints. (Not a good thing if you want to a living that way) None-the-less, Ronny the Art Dealer arranges a teaching gig for Lars at a school in a small Canadian town in the middle of nowhere hoping it will be the "therapeutic” means to an end of Lars’ problem. While there Lars befriend a student named Eddie who suffers from a strange -and rare- form of sleepwalking that turns Eddie into a ravenous cannibal craving fresh meat. Is this the thing that Lars needs to spur on his creativity? Because, truly great art always comes at a high price, and Lars’ price looks to be sacrificing lives of the residents of Koda Lake.

At the moment there is no release date “Eddie” or if it’s going to go straight to DVD (which will probably be the case). However, it is making the rounds of the film festivals so if you have a chance to grab a seat I say take it.

Rec 3 : Genesis-Review One Wild and Fun Ride

“[REC] 3: GENESIS” is the third installment in the highly successful “[REC]” series. In case you are not completely familiar with “[REC]”, the American remake of it was called “Quarantine” which is basically a shot for shot remake of the original “[REC]” (although “Quarantine 2” deviates from “[REC] 2”).

The original “[REC]” follows a female reporter (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman (Pablo Rosso) as they basically do a fluff story on firemen and paramedics, who then fatefully end up going on a call at an apartment building for an unresponsive woman.

Upon arrival the fire crew hear screams coming from an apartment, the woman appears to be crazy and having some type of melt down. From there things go from bad to worse as the residents find themselves being sealed inside the building do to some sort of outbreak which the authorities are vague in explaining, even to their own people inside. The infection begins to spread thru the group that is locked in, making them come across as rage-filled (think “28 Days Later”) zombie-like creatures that move fast and attack in a second, and with each attack the infection spreads. In “[REC] 2” we follow as a SWAT team enters the building to asses the situation, along with a group of adventurous teens who find a back way in.

Both “[REC]” and “[REC] 2” are shot in POV so the action develops as the camera rolls and we see it first hand as the participants do, and whereas “Quarantine” is practically the same film as the first “[REC]” the two films deviate from each other over what causes the infection. In the American version of the infection is a super sized type of the Rabies virus made by a doomsday cult hell bent of destroying the world, and in the original Spanish version the infection is steeped in religion where a doomsday cult hell bent on destroying the world has figured out a way through exorcisms for the devil to come into our world and start Judgment Day.

Which takes us to “[REC] 3: GENESIS”. “Genesis” begins on the same day as the first two films only that it starts hours before and at a completely different location, and like the first two films begins in the POV style filming as we follow the wedding of Clara (Leticia Dolera) and Koldo (Diego Martín), in fact the whole first twenty minutes of the movie is just like raw footage you would have from an actual wedding. As we are introduced to the party goers who are destined to become the horde of psychotic possessed zombies we are shown who is to be patient zero of it all while they are still normal, tying in the first “[REC]” nicely because patient zero works at the same vet where the infected dog from the building of the first film was from.

You get your usual junk cuts and shaky camera work that is to be expected from using hand held camera as we watch the set up too and the wedding itself all the way up to the reception (on side note I might add if this is how Spanish weddings are, I so want to go to one). But as things go south and the shit hit’s the fan with zombies, the POV camera (and since if you are watching this film you more-than-likely know how the filming will be) that has become a staple of the “[REC]” series suddenly changes. We now go from POV to a more traditional style of film making. And at first I got the impression that maybe it was going to go back and forth from the two. Alas, while I, personally thought it would be cool, it is given up pretty quickly for a straight shot.

I don’t want to give any spoilers, because the “[REC]” series is like an onion and the more layers they peel away the more layers there are. Although I want to add that while films one and two were dead serious this third film brings in a lot of dark comedy to the series that works quite well with all that is happening, and the comedy doesn’t over step it’s bounds like it can and has been the case with plenty of horror films. When something funny happens it is usually followed by something really horrible.

In the end I found “[REC] 3 GENESIS” a fun and wild ride and a must see for those who have seen the series and like these types of horror movies and that it fir nicely with the first two films making yearn all the more for “[REC] 4 apocalypse.”

The only real problem I had with this “[REC]” is that some of the zombies shambled and moved slower than they did in the previous films.

I give “[REC] 3” 4 out of 5 severed heads.

Takashi Miike: Back Where He Belongs: In Horror

The highly prolific and controversial horror director, Takashi Miike, is back behind the camera with “Lesson Of The Evil” and his new film is being touted as his most twisted and gore filled film yet.

You remember him don’t you. And if you are a horror fan -especially of Asian horror- how can you not?

Takashi Miike rose to fame back in 1999, here in America anyway, with his film “Audition” that told the story of a lonely Japanese widower whose friend decides to hold a fictitious audition for a role in an up coming movie so he can find a new love to share his life with. And as fate would have it the widower grows enamored with one girl in-particular but in Japanese fashion not all goes the way it should.

This time around, Miike is directing “Lesson Of Evil” which is adapted from the 2010 best selling novel “AKU NO KYOTEN” by author Yusuke Kishi and is shooting for a November release. Not sure when it’ll make to American shores but I can’t imagine it would be that long as for the large following Miike has in the States.

The plot for “Lesson Of Evil” follows A teacher named Seiji Hasumi who is loved by his students and respected by his peers. However, his outward charm masks his true nature. In reality, Hasumi is a psychopath who is unable to feel empathy for other human beings. Specifically, he has a severe antisocial personality disorder. Because of his mental condition, Hasumi chooses to deal with problems like bullying and overbearing “monster parents” the easy way—by systematically murdering his students.

Other Miike notables are “Ichi the Killer, “Gozu”, Yakuza Demon”, and the Showtime series “Masters of Horror: Imprint”. “Imprint” if you remember was banned from the Showtime broadcast but is available on DVD.

247⁰F -Movie Trailer Official HD: Can You Survive The Heat

In the vein of movies like “Open Water”, and “Frozen”, or even that of “ATM” where we find young attractive twenty something’s trapped, left fighting for survival, “247 Degrees” is no different.

The film opens and we find that Jenna (Scout Taylor-Compton of Rob Zombie’s “Halloween” fame), Renee, Ian

(Travis Van Winkle from the “Friday the 13^th” remake)

 and Michael are heading out of town intending to enjoy a carefree weekend of fun, fun, fun up at a lakeside cabin owned by Ian’s uncle played by Tyler Mane. Of course after the group settles in and things begin to heat up between friends they find a new thing heating up as well. One that they rather wouldn’t.

While enjoying the cabin’s main selling point: a sauna, Jenna, Renee, and Ian are soaking in the steam when they find that they are locked in. At first the group thinks that maybe Michael is playing some kind of joke on them they soon realize that this is all too real and that help isn’t coming anytime soon. As the heat begins to rise the three friends are pushed to their limits trying to figure how, not only too survive, but find a way out because staying isn’t all that easy to do anymore because in their efforts to get cool air they break the small window that is in the door only to find that the coolness from the outside has the thermostat thinking that it needs to run the heater no stop. Pushing the the temperature well past the body’s limits.

I don’t know about this one. I’m thinking that I can waste 90 minutes of my life doing something else. But who knows. It my be up your alley.

Rated R for language, a scene of sexuality, some disturbing images and drug use.

The Possession - Official Trailer (2012) [HD]... And My Thoughts

I was highly looking forward to the “The Possession”. I’m always up for a good devil/demon takes over someone’s soul type of thing. And when MPAA gave “The Possession” a R-Rating for "violence, terror and disturbing images" I was even more excited.

But then it happened.

Yep. You guessed it. The studio fucktards-in-charge went and re-cut the film to give it a (CRINGE!) a fucking PG-13 rating and in essence cutting the balls off of what should have been one scary ass ride.

Not to say that it won’t still be good. There have been the occasional PG-13 flicks that didn’t completely suck ass.

“The Possession” follows Jeffery Dean Morgan (“Watchmen”, “Magic City”), a divorced dad who one day takes his daughter to a garage sale where she buys a box. Unfortunately, said box contains a malicious ancient spirit. (Go figure) When the daughter starts get more creepy each day, Clyde Brenek (Morgan) enlists the help of his ex-wife and mother, played by Kyra Sedgwick, of the possessed girl to help him save their daughter. As you can imagine things go from bad to worse from there.

Supposedly based on true story (aren’t they all) of a Jewish myth called "Dybbuk" which is a folklore of malevolent and malicious spirit of a dislocated soul because they have been turned away from the afterlife for some sort of serious transgressions (suicide being one of them). Dybbuks are believed to inhabit bodies of the living to be able to fulfill something that they weren’t able to in life.
“The Possession” was originally entitled "Dybbukbox”.

Because of the PG-13 rating I am now on the fence about this one. But one never knows…

House at the End of the Street Trailer HD (2012) and My Thoughts on Whether to see it

I don’t know about you but every time I see a horror film with a PG-13 I cringe. Not saying all the horror films that get saddled with that rating suck but you can pretty much tell which ones do just by the trailer. And “House at the End of the Street” happens to be just one those. And not in the good way, because from the looks of this trailer the producers’ set audience are your typical PG-13 horror movie wannabes.

“House at the End of the Street” is basically a mother (Elisabeth Shue) and her daughter (Jennifer Lawrence) move to a new town -you know, your fresh start thing- and find themselves setting up shop next store to where a young girl murdered her parents. And when, lo and behold, the new girl makes friends with the surviving son bad things happen. Twists occur and I’m sure in the end it won’t be the young girl who killed the parents but the son… AARRGGGHHH.

So in other words this won’t be making my must see list and I’ll just wait for a night that nothing is on cable to actually try to sit through this.

But hey. That’s just my opinion…

The Return Of “PontyPool“… In “Pontypool Changes”

While perusing the internet the other day I came across Dread Central with them displaying the sales art for the upcoming sequel to (in my opinion) the very cool “Pontypool“. You remember that flick, right? Where sound waves from speech patterns create zombie-like people hell bent on fucking your shit up and generally giving you a bad day.

Adapted from the book “Pontypool Changes Everything”, by Tom Burgess (Burgess also wrote the screenplay) and directed by Bruce McDonald we follow the hard drinking and very opinionated radio DJ Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) as he reports the odd goings on in the far off town Canadian town of Pontypool where he has been, shall we say, demoted too.

The entire movie playing out pretty much inside the radio station with all the information of what is going on outside it’s walls coming from their eye-in-the-sky-traffic-guy Ken Loney (Rick Roberts) as he reports in by cellphone.

“Pontypool” is a nice departure from an overly crowded field of mostly bad zombie films that seem to plague the airwaves and DVD shelves.

From what I have able to gather, “Pontypool Changes”, the upcoming sequel, looks to follow more of the Burgess novel then the first film. The film is supposedly set for release in 2013.

On a strange side note, there actually happens to be a town called Pontypool in Canada, Ontario. Might have to be on the list of locals to see…lol