Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
IMPAwards has started voting for 2021’s Best Horror Movie Poster. You can vote here.
As you can see above, my five included: Spiral: From the Book of Saw; A Quiet Place: Part II; The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It; Malignant and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. At this point in the voting only one of my top five (Malignant) made it into the top ten. Maybe that will change once everyone gets their votes in.
Train 8 is a graphic novel that will be in comic shops on May 4th. Written by David Stephan, Marysol Levant, and Brian Phillipson with art by Philip Phillipson, Alex Cormack, Lureline Weatherly and David Stephan. Here’s the synopsis…
Two college girls, traveling the famous Train 8 from Seattle to Chicago, find themselves at the center of an experimental GMO virus outbreak that causes passengers to turn into blood thirsty primordials. The surviving girls and a handful of passengers are faced with the moral dilemma of stopping the train to save themselves – and let the deadly virus infect the world – or keep the train running, buying more time until help comes but only if they can survive the killing horde of the Infected.
Let your local comic shop know if you’re interested. As for me, I’m on board.
Cold Skin (2017)
Director: Xavier Gens
Screenplay: Jesús Olmo, Eron Sheean (based on the novel by Albert Sánchez Piñol)
Starring: Ray Stevenson, David Oakes and Aura Garrido.
Tagline: How much horror can the heart endure?
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
In 1914, a young man is dropped off on a small, remote island near the Antarctic Circle. The island is not on regular shipping lanes and the ship won’t return for a year. The only other person on the island is the lighthouse keeper, a strange recluse who might be crazy.
During his first night on the island, the young man’s cabin comes under attack by strange creatures from the sea. The young man barely gets into the cellar where he survives the night. The next morning the young man makes his way to the lighthouse. He’s shocked to see that it has been fortified with spikes and metal window coverings. The lighthouse keeper explains that the creatures attack nightly and retreat to the ocean with the sunrise. The young man barters food and ammunition in order to be let in the lighthouse.
Neither the young man nor the lighthouse keeper trust their alliance. Tensions grow when the young man discovers a female creature is being held captive and abused by the lighthouse keeper.
I was expecting Cold Skin to be a straight out horror film with a lot of action. It is, but takes an unexpected turn which gives it more depth. I continued to think about Cold Skin long after the movie ended. Cold Skin leaves some unanswered questions, and won’t be for everyone. I liked that it was more than just mindless monsters and left me with some food for thought. Cold Skin rates 3 of 5 stars.
Splinter (2008)
Director: Toby Wilkins
Screenplay: Ian Shorr, Kai Barry, Toby Wilkins (uncredited)
Starring: Shea Whigham, Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo, Charles Baker, Rachel Kerbs and Laurel Whitsett.
Tagline: It will get under your skin.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
A young couple carjacked by an escaped prisoner and his girlfriend become trapped in a remote gas station by a parasitic lifeform that infects its victims turning them into deadly hosts. Splinter is a low-budget film that works thanks to a well written script and excellent casting. The story moves quickly and while there may be a few nits to pick with their ice-pack solution, why bother when the film is so much fun?
Splinter rates 4 of 5 stars.
If you follow Bernie Gonzalez on Twitter, you’ve probably already seen his wicked Batman art above. Even so, it’s worth a second look. Bernie is the creator/artist/writer of the Midnight Mystery comic books series. It’s a lot of fun!
The poster is pretty bland, but the trailer to Master creates a subtle, creepy atmosphere. Deal me in.
In writer-director Mariama Diallo’s debut feature, Master, three women strive to find their place at a prestigious New England university whose frosty elitism may disguise something more sinister. Professor Gail Bishop (Regina Hall) has recently been promoted to “Master” of a residence hall, the first time at storied Ancaster College that a Black woman has held the post. Determined to breathe new life into a centuries-old tradition, Gail soon finds herself wrapped up in the trials and tribulations of Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee), an energetic and optimistic Black freshman. Jasmine’s time at Ancaster hits a snag early on when she’s assigned a dorm room that is rumored to be haunted. Things get worse when Jasmine clashes in the classroom with Liv Beckman (Amber Gray), a professor in the middle of her own racially charged tenure review. As Gail tries to maintain order and fulfill the duties of a Master, the cracks begin to show in Ancaster’s once-immaculate facade. After a career spent fighting to make it into Ancaster’s inner circle, Gail is confronted with the horrifying prospect of what lies beneath, her question ultimately becoming not whether the school is haunted, but by whom.
I really like this second poster for Nope, especially since we’ve seen the trailer.
All of Us Are Dead: Season 1 (2022)
Creator : Chun Sung-il, Lee Jae-kyoo, Kim Nam-su (based on the webtoon Now at Our School by Joo Dong-geun)
Directors: Lee Jae-kyoo, Kim Nam-su
Writers: Chun Sung-il
Stars: Park Ji-hu, Yoon Chan-young, Cho Yi-hyun, Lomon, Yoo In-soo, Lee Yoo-mi, Kim Byung-chul, Lee Kyu-hyung and Jeon Bae-soo.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
With All of Us Are Dead we get the zombie apocalypse from the perspective of high school students trapped in their school surrounded by the walking (and running) dead! There are subplots involving a father trying to get to his daughter, and the political/military aspects of dealing with the crisis, but the main story is how the students work together to survive.
All of Us Are Dead provides plenty of action with a large cast of characters (many who will not live through the season), This adds to the tension and raises the stakes of the series. Another interesting aspect is when a zombie variant appears. Is the virus mutating?
It seems like a real nit to pick when I say a little less high school drama would improve a zombie series set primarily in a high school. I enjoyed All of Us Are Dead and hope we get a season 2. All of Us Are Dead rates 3 of 5 stars.
Catching Killers: Season 2 (2022)
Produced by : Simon Dekker and Diana Sole Walko
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Catching Killers is a documentary series focused on the capture of notorious killers as told by the actual investigators who caught them. There are four episodes in season 2.
Season 2, Episode 1: Bind, Torture, Kill: BTK. Although I knew the story of the BTK killer, this episode was exciting and engrossing. Over the course of nearly two decades the BTK killer violently tortured and then murdered ten people including an entire family of 4. After the murders BTK w0uld send taunting letters to the media and police describing his kills and threats of more to come, Despite leaving few clues during his 17 year murder spree, it was a stupid mistake that led to his capture.
Season 2, Episode 2: Thrill Kills: The Phoenix Serial Shooter. In 2005 through 2006, a pair of serial killers were stalking the streets of Phoenix, Arizona. These shotgun killers would find people on deserted sidewalks and blast as they drove by. The final victim count included six fatalities and several dozen people wounded.
Season 2, Episodes 3 & 4: The Toronto Village Killer. Talk about creepy! This case involved men who were missing and thought to be the victim of a cannibal killer! These two episodes produced the most suspense of the series. The police actually saved a man who was about to become the latest victim. Unfortunately, there’s a denouncement at the end of the episode that takes a little luster off the capture.
Francesco Francavilla has teamed with Bottleneck Art Gallery and Justin Ishmael to offer two signed, limited edition prints for the Ray Harryhausen classic 20 Million Miles to Earth. There are two print editions and both go on sale February 23rd at 12pm.
Race with the Devil (1975)
Director: Jack Starrett
Screenplay: Lee Frost, Wes Bishop
Starring: Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, Lara Parker, R.G. Armstrong and Jack Starrett.
Tagline: If you’re going to race with the devil, you’ve got to be as fast as Hell!.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Frank (Oates) and Roger (Fonda) are vacation with their wives (Swit and Parker) driving backroads across the country. They make camp one night far from any town. As the evening winds down, Frank and Roger share a few beers and stories when they see in the distance a huge bonfire. They go closer for a better look and witness a satanic cult performing a human sacrifice! Frank and Roger are seen and the chase is on.
I saw Race with the Devil on its initial release in June of 1975. I was 16 and the perfect audience for a film that was a combination horror, action and car chase mashup. I re-watched RwtD many times over the years and while it’s not quite as good as 16 year old me remembered it to be, it’s still fun. If you like drive-in type movies. and don’t think too hard about the plot, then you’ll have an enjoyable ride if you Race with the Devil.
Todd Gilchrist at Mental Floss came up with some surprising trivia about the 1999 reboot of The Mummy which he calls Unwrapping 16 Facts About The Mummy. Before you click over, here are three of my favs and my thoughts on each…
FILMMAKERS SPENT MANY YEARS TRYING TO REVIVE THE MUMMY. (While I did know this, I wasn’t aware that at one point George (Night of the Living Dead) Romero was recruited to write and direct the reboot. – Craig)
AT ONE POINT, DANIEL DAY-LEWIS WAS BEING EYED TO PLAY THE MUMMY. (While I could see Day-Lewis playing the Brendan Fraser role, would the producers really wanted Daniel Day Lewis as the Mummy? He’d be, uh, under wraps for most of the film! – Craig)
STEPHEN SOMMERS WON UNIVERSAL OVER WITH HIS CONTEMPORARY APPROACH. (Writing Rick O’Connell as an Indiana Jones-type character and adding in the humor was genius! – Craig)
Interestingly enough, I didn’t care for The Mummy (1999) but greatly enjoyed the sequel, The Mummy Returns (2001).
Ivan Reitman, writer, director and producer, died in his sleep on February 12th at the age of 75. No cause of death was been given.
Ivan Reitman is best known for directing the megahit Ghostbusters, but he also directed 24 other films including: Meatballs, Stripes, Twins and Kindergarten Cop. Mr. Reitman also served as a producer on over 60 films including: National Lampoon’s Animal House, Ghostbusters, Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot and Beethoven to name just a few.
I first became aware of Ivan Reitman because of his involvement with Animal House. A year later I saw Meatballs, my favorite Ivan Reitman directed film, on it’s initial release. It’s interesting that Ivan Reitman got his start producing low budget horror films like Cannibal Girls, Shivers, The House by the Lake and Rabid (directed by David Cronenberg and starring Marilyn Chambers) before he found his sweet spot with comedies.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ivan Reitman’s family, friends and fans.
Nope. Jordan Peele? Yep. Deal me in.
“What’s a bad miracle?”
Oscar® winner Jordan Peele disrupted and redefined modern horror with Get Out and then Us. Now, he reimagines the summer movie with a new pop nightmare: the expansive horror epic, Nope.
The film reunites Peele with Oscar® winner Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah), who is joined by Keke Palmer (Hustlers, Alice) and Oscar® nominee Steven Yeun (Minari, Okja) as residents in a lonely gulch of inland California who bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.
Nope, which co-stars Michael Wincott (Hitchcock, Westworld) and Brandon Perea (The OA, American Insurrection), is written and directed by Jordan Peele and is produced by Ian Cooper (Us, Candyman) and Jordan Peele for Monkeypaw Productions. The film will be released by Universal Pictures worldwide.
Check out this very rare (and very cool) lobby card for Dracula (1931).
I miss the days when theaters had awesome supplemental materials to advertise movies. Theaters and newspapers were sent press kits full of photos, different versions of ads for the film and more. I used to love getting the Thursday newspaper which would be full of pages advertising the movies opening (and still around). Those were the days, my friend.
Source: Michael Kronenberg.
