Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Dead Heist (2007)
Director: Bo Webb
Screenplay: Anghus Houvouras, Eric Tomosunas, Bo Webb
Stars: Big Daddy Kane
Tagline: The perfect heist…the wrong night.
The Plot…
When a small town bank robbery goes sideways due to the start of a zombie apocalypse, the thieves and cops find themselves fighting for their lives.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Made on a micro-budget and it shows.
Loved the idea, not so much the execution.
Dead Heist (2007) rates 2 of 5 stars.
Tomorrow Syfy channel’s 4th of July Twilight Zone Marathon starts at 6am! It will run for 24 hours. Here are a few episodes not to miss!
Thursday, July 4th
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Screenplay: Michael Sarnoski, story by John Krasinski, Michael Sarnoski, based on characters by Bryan Woods, Scott Beck
Stars: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff and Djimon Hounsou
Tagline: Stay quiet. Stay alive.
The Plot…
Samira (Nyong’o) has terminal cancer. She reluctantly joins her hospice group for a trip into New York City. While there an alien invasion begins. Separated from her group, Samira struggles to survive. The creatures are deadly, but blind with hearing sensitive to the smallest sound.
What chance does anyone have of surviving?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The first day of any “apocalypse” should be the most interesting. People from different backgrounds are thrown together. Everyone is trying to figure out what is going on. No one is sure of the right things to do. It was a smart move to take us back to Day One of the alien invasion.
It was even smarter to have Djimon Hounsou reprise his role from A Quiet Place Part II.
Lupita Nyong’o reaffirms what an excellent actress she is.
A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) rates 4 of 5 stars.
The A Quiet Place: Day One final trailer will leave you speechless!
Looking good!
He is coming. NOSFERATU.
A Robert Eggers picture. Only in theaters this Christmas.Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
The Flood (2023)
Director: Brandon Slagle
Screenplay: Chad Law, Josh Ridgway
Stars: Casper Van Dien, Nicky Whelan, Louis Mandylor.
Tagline: Danger is rising.
The Plot…
Sheriff Jo Newman (Whelan) has her hands full. A hurricane is about to hit and the water is rising. A prison transport bus just pulled in. They need to house the prisoners until the storm passes. Little does anyone know, armed outlaws are about to attempt a breakout.
What could make this worse?
The rising waters have brought a nest of alligators into the jail. If the crooks don’t kill ya, the gators will.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The Flood is a drive-in movie at best. A low-budget genre film with poor CGI, headlined by a star who never quite made the A-List.
The Flood (2023) rates 2 of 5 stars.
Under Paris (2024)
Director: Xavier Gens
Screenplay: Yannick Dahan, Xavier Gens, Maud Heywang, Yaël Langmann
Stars: Bérénice Bejo, Nassim Lyes.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Three years ago Sophia, a marine researcher, barely survived a shark attack that killed everyone else in her group. Now Sophia, still not fully recovered from the attack, works at an aquarium in Paris. She keeps up with the location of the killer shark thanks to a tracking beacon on it.
When the beacon shows the shark has traveled into the Seine River, Sophia can’t get anyone to believe her. When mutilated bodies begin to appear, it becomes clear that sharks have mutated and are indeed in the river. Despite this, the mayor refuses to cancel a huge event that includes a triathlon in the, you guessed, Seine River.
Didn’t anyone learn anything from Jaws, Jaws II, Jaws 3-D and Jaws: The Revenge?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Under Paris suffers from bad cgi, cliched characters and supposedly smart characters who die because of simply stupid choices. The mayor knows there are mutated sharks in the river and still allows hundreds of swimmers to compete there. A “smart” woman who has survived several shark attacks and has had her boat destroyed decides to swim towards the shark feeding frenzy. Bombs from World War II are inadvertently detonated by sharks destroying bridge after bridge. And so on…
I made it through the whole thing so it barely earns a 2 star rating.
After writing this, I saw a Tweet (er, X) from Stephen King which read…
I thought UNDER PARIS would be a jokey movie, like SHARKNADO, but Twitter convinced me to give it a watch, and it’s really quite good. The last 25 minutes were amazing.
Now, I’m not one to argue with Stephen King. My opinion stands, as does King’s. So, I’ll just say, “Your mileage may vary.”
Under Paris (2024), (for me) rates 2 of 5 stars.
Creepy Archives Volume 8 is set to drop on September 24, 2024. It collects Creepy issues 37–41. Here’s some of what to expect…
Now available in a value-priced paperback edition, Creepy Archives Volume 8 features the best in gruesomely gore-geous tales of horror, fantasy, and science fiction from a capable cadre of celebrated storytellers including Tom Sutton, Steve Skeates, Wally Wood, T. Casey Brennan, Ernie Colón, and many more.
Also featured is a foreword by longtime Creepy scribe Nicola Cuti and a story starring none other than Uncle Creepy himself! Take a break from the mausoleum, hang up your mourning coat, and bury yourself in Creepy Archives!
Creepy Archives Volume 7 is set to release on July 23, 2024. It collects Creepy issues 33–36. Here’s some of what to expect…
Now available in a value-priced paperback edition, Creepy Archives Volume 7 features the finest in fiendish fiction from a skilled swarm of comics luminaries, including Tom Sutton, Nicola Cuti, Syd Shores, Ernie Colón, and the inaugural Creepy contributions by industry legends Richard Corben and Ken Kelly!
Also presents a lengthy interview with master illustrator Frank Frazetta. After a hard day at the boneyard, take a nice bloodbath, pour yourself a glass of hemlock, and curl up with Creepy Archives!
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Screenplay: Takashi Yamazaki
Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe.
Tagline: Postwar Japan. From zero to minus.
The Plot…
1945. World War II is nearing the end. Kōichi Shikishima, a Japanese kamikazi pilot lands his plane on Odo island for repairs. There is nothing wrong with his plane. The truth is that Kōichi was afraid to finish his mission. That night a giant prehistoric-looking creature comes ashore. It attacks the Japanese stronghold. Try as they might, the creature is impervious to anything the soldiers can do. Kōichi is too afraid to help. The next morning he is one of the only two to survive Godzilla’s attack.
The war ends. Kōichi returns home to Tokyo. He discovers his parents were both killed in a bombing. Kōichi meets a homeless woman with an orphaned child. He brings them to his home. As time goes by they become more of a family, but Kōichi still feels like a coward.
Reports of Godzilla attacking ships becomes more frequent. The government fears Godzilla will come on land and wipeout entire cities. Nothing has been able to stop the giant creature. Then the worst is reported, Godzilla is heading inland.
Will Kōichi get a chance to redeem himself and save his country? What do you think?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The title, Godzilla Minus One, refers to Japan being taken “down to zero” after World War II. Godzilla’s attacks on the country take it even lower. This minus one.
After seeing the trailer and the great reviews for Godzilla Minus One I was excited to see the film. The scenes of Godzilla’s attacks and the destruction caused by the monster are the best in any Godzilla film ever. This is where Godzilla Minus One shines. I wanted more of that. It almost felt like I was watching a more adult film during Godzilla’s attacks and a movie aimed at kids with the Kōichi subplot.
Godzilla Minus One (2023) rates 3 of 5 stars.
Dan Brereton presents The Creature from the Black Lagoon Meets Marilyn Monroe!
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
Director: Neil Jordan
Screenplay: Anne Rice based on INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE by Horace McCoy
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, Kirsten Dunst, Christian Slater, John McConnell, Bellina Logan, Thandiwe Newton, Indra Ové, Helen McCrory, Roger Lloyd Pack and Stephen Rea.
Tagline: Drink From Me And Live Forever
The Plot…
Daniel Molloy (Slater) is a writer looking for a story. After a chance meeting with Louis de Pointe du Lac (Pitt), he may have found it. Louis claims to be a vampire. Although Molloy is skeptical at first, Louis quickly proves he is what he says.
As Molloy records and takes notes, Louis tells his story. In 1791 Louis was a young, wealthy Louisiana plantation owner. That changed the evening the vampire, Lestat (Cruise) turned him. No longer human, Louis and Lestat moved through the night. Undead but living. Forced to leave Louisiana, when folks began to suspect Louis and his new friend were behind many disappearances, Louis and Lestat head to New Orleans…
Louis’ tale spans 200 years. New Orleans. A new vampire joins them. Betrayal. A journey to Europe where they discover the Théâtre des Vampires. True Vampires putting on plays where they pretend to be humans playing vampires! The victims are real. To tell more of Louis story would be to say too much.
But I will leave you with this… can an interview with a vampire end well?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles was nominated for two Academy Awards
Anne Rice was not initially happy when Tom Cruise was cast as Lestat. When Rice wrote the novel she envisioned Rutgar Hauer in the role. She thought of Alain Delon when writing the screenplay. Then when it was time to cast the role she suggested John Malkovich, Peter Weller, Jeremy Irons or Alexander Godunov. When Cruise and Pitt were selected for the two leads she suggested that Pitt play Lestat. That wasn’t to be. When the film was released, Rice had come around to the Tom Cruise casting. She said he brought something to the role that she had not foreseen.
While I’m a fan of many of Tom Cruise’s movies and I do really like Interview with a Vampire, I think he was miscast as Lestat.
River Phoenix was set to play Daniel Malloy before his untimely death. Christian Slater then got the part. Slater donated his salary from the film to two of River Phoenix’s favorite charities.
The initial scene Stephen Rea shares with Brad Pitt is both funny and a bit scary. It’s a favorite of mine.
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) rates 4 of 5 stars.
The more I see for Alien: Romulus, the more I want to see it.
“Alien: Romulus” takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
The film stars Cailee Spaeny (“Civil War”), David Jonsson (“Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“The Last of Us”), Spike Fearn (“Aftersun”), Aileen Wu.
Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (“Don’t Breathe 2”) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
“Alien: Romulus” is produced by Ridley Scott (“Napoleon”), who directed the original “Alien” and produced and directed the series’ entries “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” Michael Pruss (“Boston Strangler”), and Walter Hill (“Alien”), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (“Charlie’s Angels”), Brent O’Connor (“Bullet Train”), and Tom Moran (“Unstoppable”) serving as executive producers.
Today we get the Alien Romulus poster (which I like) and tomorrow we get the trailer!
