Taking sort of a page from The Skin I Live In is the new film The Assignment (formerly Tomboy, A Revenger’s Tale) from directors Roger Julian Cross and Walter Hill. Check out the trailer below or go under the knife!

Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Tony Shalhoub, and Anthony LaPaglia sta.

The flick follows an ace assassin (Rodriguez) who is double crossed by gangsters and falls into the hands of rogue surgeon known as The Doctor who turns him into a woman. The hitman, now a hitwoman, sets out for revenge, aided by a nurse named Johnnie who also has secrets.

The post Accept the Assignment; Watch This Trailer appeared first on Dread Central.

There’s never been a time that I personally have been more jealous of our friends down under. On March 8th via Australia’s Via Vision Entertainment, The Fly Ultimate Collection, is hitting Blu-ray. Please let this be region free. Pretty please, even.

Pushing the boundaries of horror from the outset, The Fly franchise successfully combined spine tingling shocks with heart warming romance and produced some of the most frightening yet memorable films of all time. This Blu-ray collection finally brings together the classic 80’s blockbusters with the original films that inspired them in glorious High Definition.

You can pre-order the set here!

Includes:
The Fly (1958)
Return Of The Fly (1959)
Curse Of The Fly (1965)
The Fly (20th Anniversary Special Edition) (1986)
The Fly II (Special Edition) (1989)

Special Features:
The Fly (1958)

• Audio Commentary With David Hedsion & Historian David Del Valle
• Biography: Vincent Price Documentary
• Fly Trap: Catching A Classic
• Fox Movietone News
• Theatrical Trailer

The Fly (1986)

• Audio Commentary With David Cronenberg
• Fear Of The Flesh: The Making of The Fly
• The Brundle Museum of Natural History
• Deleted Scenes
• Extended Scenes
• Film Tests (visual effects)

The Fly II (1989)

• Audio Commentary With Chris Walas & Historian Bob Burns
• Deleted Scene
• Alternate “houseboat” Ending
• Trailers
• The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood’s Scariest Insect
• Transformations: Looking Back At The Fly II
• Film Production Journal
• Composer’s Master Class: Christopher Young
• Original Theatrical EPK
• Storyboard To Film (Optional Commentary)

The post The Fly Ultimate Collection Lands in Australia appeared first on Dread Central.

With Ridley Scott doing his own trilogy of films in the Alien universe he created, the buzz around Neill Blomkamp’s Alien film which would provide closure for Sigourney Weaver’s character of Ripley began to fade.

Recently a fan asked Blomkamp about the chances of his project getting made, and he gave a single one-word answer… “slim.” Well… then… that sucks.

@jamesportella slim

— Иeill Blomkamp (@NeillBlomkamp) January 21, 2017

Not much is known about Blomkamp’s film other than Weaver would be returning along with Michael Biehn to reprise their roles as Ellen Ripley and Corporal Dwayne Hicks.

Stay tuned and keep the faith. You just never know anymore.

The post Neill Blomkamp’s Alien Sequel – Chances are Slim appeared first on Dread Central.

M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film Split (review) over performed at the box office this weekend proving once and for all that Shyamalan is at his best when a big studio isn’t standing over his shoulder and interfering with his work.

According to Box Office Mojo Split, budgeted at around $10 million, went on to make an estimated $40.18 million, and is currently the fourth largest January opening of all-time, just ahead of 2008’s Cloverfield. Even cooler it “did awful things” to Vin Diesel’s XXX: The Return of Xander Cage domestically. That one drew in an estimated $20 million domestically, but to be fair it ruled internationally raking in $70.5 million in comparison to Split‘s international take of $5.8 million.

Did you see it? What did you think? And how about that ending? No spoilers please!

The post Split Unites The U.S. Box Office appeared first on Dread Central.

On tap right now we have a brand new clip along with the festival trailer for Killing Ground. The flick just had its premiere at Sundance and is looking pretty good. Dig it!

From the Press Release:
Killing Ground, is a tightly-wound thriller reminiscent of the 70’s survival thrillers such as Deliverance and Straw Dogs and more recent chillers The Vanishing and Funny Games. The film is a modern campfire story about fear, violence, heroism and the limits of courage.

This exceptionally well- crafted film is written and directed by Damien Power, who is making his feature film debut. Considered one of Australian’s rising directors and praised for his “original voice and distinctive storytelling,” Power’s short films have been programmed in noteworthy festivals such as Busan and Venice.

The film tells the story of Ian and Samantha, who arrive at an isolated campsite to find an SUV and a tent – no sign of the occupants. As night falls and the campers fail to return, Ian and Sam grow increasingly uneasy. The discovery of a distressed child wandering in the woods unleashes a terrifying chain of events that will test them to breaking point.

Ian Meadows, who plays Ian, and Harriet Dyer (Logie Award nominated actress for Best Most Outstanding Newcomer and Most Popular New Talent) who plays Sam, deliver powerful performances that have audiences feeling every desperate moment.

Aaron Glenane, most recently seen in the film Truth alongside Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford, plays Chook, whose outward calm hides a frightening cruelty. His mentor in murder, German, is played with cold malice by Aaron Pedersen, an award-winning actor best known for the hit thriller Mystery Road. Together, Chook and German are an unforgettable criminal duo.

Killing Ground has a taut, non-linear structure, which contributes to an atmosphere of timeless menace and dread. Tension builds as the narrative threads wind together; danger escalates and Sam and Ian’s options narrow drastically. The Australian bush setting plays a significant role in the film, and Killing Ground is part of a long tradition of Australian cinema – from Picnic at Hanging Rock to Wolf Creek – that finding a deep sense of unease in a hostile wilderness.

Check out the eye candy below courtesy of TeaserTrailer.com.

The post Trailer and Clip Take Us to The Killing Ground appeared first on Dread Central.

Oh, happy day! When it was first announced that Michael Dougherty and his Krampus co-writer Zach Shields would be penning the sequel to Gareth Evans’ Godzilla we were happy! Then it became rumored he’d direct too and we were beyond excited. Now it’s official and we are doing the Rapid Irish Jig of Joy and Mirth™ all over the Dread Central offices!

The news comes today via Variety who report that Dougherty has now officially been tapped to direct the next installment in the monster movie franchise!

Godzilla 2 is currently dated for March 22, 2019, with Godzilla vs. Kong set for May 29, 2020. It’s a great time to be a monster movie fan!

The post Official! Michael Dougherty Writing and Directing Godzilla Sequel! appeared first on Dread Central.

The cult gore flick Drive-In Massacre is getting ready to pull up to your Blu-ray collection courtesy of Severin Films and we have a look at what to expect!

From the Press Release:
On March 14th, as Winter begins to wind down, Severin Films invites you to load up your car and race as fast as you can to the DRIVE-IN MASSACRE, newly restored from the original camera negative recently discovered in the ruins of the Sky View Drive-In near Oxnard! Every slash, cut and hack is now rendered in beautiful high-definition, ready to splatter blood across the screens of eager genre fiends. Pre-orders through the Severin site will come signed by director Stu Segall!

It was one of the few true slasher movies to pre-date HALLOWEEN and FRIDAY THE 13th, and remains the closest you’ll ever come to an actual seedy ‘70s drive-in experience: It’s a hot summer night in Southern California and the local passion pit is packed with patrons. But when a sword-wielding psycho begins carving up customers, it’ll unspool a grubby cavalcade of creepy carnies, peeping perverts, graphic decapitations and an ending you have to see/hear to believe. John F. Goff (THE FOG), Bruce Kimball (LOVE CAMP 7) and co-writer George ‘Buck’ Flower (BACK TO THE FUTURE) star in this nasty slab of ‘70s sleaze directed by adult film & episodic television veteran Stu Segall (INSATIABLE), now packed with all-new Special Features.

Special Features:

• Audio Commentary With Director Stu Segall
• Drive-In Days: Interview With Star / Co-Writer John F. Goff
• Norm Sheridan Recalls Drive-In Massacre
• Making the Massacre: Interview With Director Stu Segall
• Theatrical Trailer

The post It’s a Drive-In Massacre on Blu-ray! appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring George Kennedy, Dorothy Lamour, Lois Chiles, Tom Savini

Directed by Michael Gornick

Distributed by Arrow Video

There are likely to be many horror fans out there who, depending on when they were born, wound up watching sequels to celebrated films before ever seeing the original. My first Friday the 13th movie was The Final Chapter (1984… and still the best). I saw Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994) long before I finally watched the original. And years before seeing Creepshow (1982) I was fully in love with Creepshow 2 (1987). So, be forewarned, this review is being written with a faded pair of rose-tinted glasses firmly in place. That isn’t to suggest I am unable to overlook the flaws – which become more apparent with the passage of time – but it does mean I’m not likely to be as harsh toward this maligned sequel as so many others seem to be. Of the four-ish stories told here (I know the intercut animated stuff with Billy is technically a fourth tale but it doesn’t gel with the rest) we get one outright classic, one solid entry, one so-so, and one dud. Fans can debate which stories are deserving of which title but, all in all, Creepshow 2 makes for a fun follow-up to a cult classic… and it is light years ahead of the eternal turd known as Creepshow 3 (2006).

In Creepshow, the wraparound segment featured the immortal Tom Atkins. Here, we get an animated bit with a kid named Billy (not the one from the first film, voiced by Domenick John) who is eagerly awaiting the latest issue of Creepshow magazine to hit the streets. His story is told via interludes between each segment. We learn he is the victim of bullying at the hands of Rhino, a fat greaser, and his lackeys. Billy places an order for carnivorous Venus flytraps, found in the pages of Creepshow, and exacts a plan to get revenge on Rhino and his crew. The animation for this segment is basic and lacking in refinement but it has always worked for me, even now as it really shows its age. There is very little here in terms of story or character; just a simple morality tale about bullies getting their comeuppance. The best thing about Billy’s tale is seeing Tom Savini done up as The Creeper, who apparently works a day job delivering magazines.

The first story, “Old Chief Wood’nhead”, focuses on an elderly couple, Ray and Martha Spruce (played by George Kennedy and Dorothy Lamour), who own a general store in a dusty Indian town. The store makes almost no money and they live on very little, but Ray feels good about helping the residents. The town elder, Benjamin Whitemoon (Frank Salsedo), pays them a visit one afternoon to give Ray a satchel containing prized jewelry from the families he has helped as collateral for all the debt they have acquired. Ray is humbled by his offering. Later that night, Benjamin’s hotshot nephew Sam (Holt McCallany) stops by the store with his two cronies, Andy and Fatstuff, looking to score some loot before they head to Los Angeles. Sam, who is exceedingly vain, has plans to be a movie star. As expected, Sam kills the couple and the boys split, intending to grab a few things from home before hitting the road. But Old Chief Wood’nhead, the store’s Indian mascot kept out front to greet customers, has other plans for the trio.

Highlights from this story are George Kennedy being George Kennedy and the realization of Old Chief Wood’nhead, whose makeup is impressively done to the point that it genuinely looks like a moving wooden figure… at times. A modicum of the comic book style that made the first film such a visual success appears here, too, though in fleeting glimpses. And even though he’s a grade-A asshole, Sam does have one damn fine head of hair.

Next up, “The Raft”, which is my personal favorite from the film. A group of four college kids freewheel it out to a deserted swimming hole, hoping for an afternoon of getting loaded and (hopefully) getting laid. Instead, they are greeted by an amorphous blob that is seen devouring everything that comes in its path. When one of the girls is engulfed and literally melts in this blob’s viscous, gooey wake the rest of the group tries to come up with a way to swim to shore and get help.

Creepy and visceral, this is the segment that has stuck with me for years after watching it at a young age. When someone is consumed by this trash-bag-on-a-remote, the combination of melting skin and flesh sliding off of bone coupled with those “don’t let me die like this!” screams is palpable. The killer in this story might not look like much – you can practically see where the remote vessel is pulling from – but the gory results are done wickedly. My brother and I still goof on the characters, too. “Mucho ecologico, Poncho. Mucho ecologico”. This one also has the best ending of all the segments, and maybe my favorite from the series.

“The Hitch-hiker” has never been my favorite story, tying for worst in the series along with “They’re Creeping Up On You” from the first film. Here, a business woman, Annie (Lois Chiles), cheats on her husband with a gigolo, runs over a homeless guy because she’s not paying attention to the road, and then decides to make it a hit-and-run since no one was around to see her crime. But this hitchhiker is persistent, showing up constantly along her path home, each time appearing more mangled than the last because Annie keeps on running him over. He repeats the same phrase over and over, “Thanks for the ride, lady” at their every meeting. Eventually, his beyond-mangled body follows her home and gets the best of her in the garage.

Repetition can be a boring thing and this segment is nothing but that. Annie is a deplorable person who does plenty of shitty things to justify her eventual demise, but since the hitchhiker is presented as little more than a one-line mass of moving flesh it’s a bit hard to get behind him, too. This story has been boring me to death for over twenty years and a recent reappraisal of it has not changed my thoughts one iota. If it weren’t for Billy’s animated tale wrapping things up – along with another glimpse at Savini’s Creeper – the film would have been ending on a truly terrible note.

Uneven as it is, my affinity for the best parts of Creepshow 2 prevent me from dismissing it as just another bad sequel. The loss of active involvement from Stephen King is notable, but having Romero in the writer’s seat for the screenplay no doubt saved this one from being even worse. Gone are the splashy, color-dripping visuals and a cadre of esteemed actors but Creepshow 2 scraps along and manages to be a fun follow-up despite lacking punch.

Previously issued on Blu-ray through Image, Creepshow 2 now rests with Arrow Video who have given the picture a new 2K scan. The 1.85:1 1080p image is hardly a stunning upgrade over Image’s decent presentation, suggesting only so much can be done to polish up the picture. Still, it does boast stronger color reproduction, finer detailing, and there is very little in terms of damage and debris. The animated segments are grainy, lacking the sort of smoothness most would expect to see. The image appears soft frequently; something inherent that clearly cannot be overcome with technical advancements. Owners of the previous Blu-ray can decide if this is worth the upgrade based on how swayed they are by bonus features because going off of picture quality alone this is not going to blow anyone away. Audio is presented in English with your choice of mono, 2.0 stereo, or a 5.1 surround sound mix. Although a multi-channel mix is usually best, this film is such a front-loaded affair that the stereo track should suffice. The real standout here is Les Reed’s score, which is all kinds of weird and eerie. Waxwork Records is giving it a reissue sometime this year.

Arrow Video has issued Creepshow 2 in both limited and standard editions, the main difference being a comic included with the limited edition that features a rendering of “Pinfall”, an unproduced segment. Otherwise, the features are as follows on both editions.

Director Michael Gornick provides an audio commentary track.

“Screenplay for a Sequel” is an informative chat with George A. Romero, who has a great memory for the work he did here without the aid of King’s assistance.

“Tales from the Creep” is a quick interview with Tom Savini, who discusses his limited involvement in the sequel.

“Poncho’s Last Ride” is an interview with actor Daniel Beer, who played Randy in “The Raft”.

“The Road to Dover” is a sit down with Tom Wright, who played the ill-fated hitchhiker in the segment of the same name.

“Nightmares in Foam Rubber” is a long chat with Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, who discuss the film’s FX work.

“My Friend Rick” is a brief little bit with Howard Berger talking about his friendship with FX legend Rick Baker.

A “Behind-the-Scenes” reel shows off footage of some make-up and prosthetics from the film.

An image gallery and a few trailers & TV spots are also included. Additionally, the disc is equipped with a BD-ROM feature allowing viewers to read the original screenplay and there is also a booklet included with essays and photographs.

Special Features:

• Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original stereo audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio Commentary with director Michael Gornick, moderated by Perry Martin
• Nightmares in Foam Rubber – featurette with special make-up effects artists Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero
• My Friend Rick – Berger on working with make-up legend Rick Baker
• Behind-the-Scenes Footage
• Trailers and TV Spots
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Mike Saputo
• FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Blyth

BUY IT NOW!

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Last week we brought you a story in which “The Walking Dead’s” executive producer Gale Anne Hurd acknowledged that due to the negative response to the bludgeon slayings of two key characters in the Season 7 premiere, producers were prompted to make adjustments in episodes that were still in production at the time (i.e., the violence would be toned down).

Today showrunner Scott Gimple, along with Greg Nictotero, is disputing Hurd’s statements via Entertainment Weekly.

“The violence in the premiere was pronounced for a reason,” says Gimple. “The awfulness of what happened to the characters was very specific to that episode and the beginning of this whole new story. I don’t think like that’s the base level of violence that necessarily should be on the show. It should be specific to a story and a purpose, and there was a purpose of traumatizing these characters to a point where maybe they would have been docile for the rest of their lives, which was Negan’s point. But I will say again, the violence in the premiere was for a specific narrative purpose, and I would never say that that’s the baseline amount of violence that we would show on the show. If we’re ever going to see something that pronounced, there needs to be a specific narrative purpose for it.”

Executive producer and director Greg Nicotero answers with a flat “No” when asked if anything was toned down later as a result of fan feedback, and he also says that if they could go back, they would not change a thing. “As brutal as that episode 1 was, it’s still part of our storytelling bible, which is what the world is about. I don’t think we would ever edit ourselves, and I think — even after looking at that episode 1 again — as tough as it was for people to watch, I don’t think we would have done it any differently. I don’t think we’ll ever pull ourselves back. There is definitely a difference between violence against walkers and human on human violence, but truthfully, we’re serving our story.”

There you go, kids. There are two sides to every story, and the truth usually hits somewhere in between.

“The Walking Dead” returns to AMC in February with Episode 7.09. In the upcoming episode, Jesus (Tom Payne) leads Rick and company to the Kingdom in hopes of convincing King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) to team up with them and the Hilltop against a common threat.

“The Walking Dead” Season 7 stars Andrew Lincoln, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Chandler Riggs, Danai Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, Sonequa Martin-Green, Alanna Masterson, Christian Serratos, Josh McDermitt, Seth Gilliam, Ross Marquand, Khary Payton, Xander Berkeley, Austin Amelio, and Tom Payne.

Season 7B kicks off on February 12, 2017.

The post The Walking Dead – Violence WAS NOT Toned Down as a Reaction to Series 7 Premiere appeared first on Dread Central.

Developed and Published by Capcom Co., Ltd.

Available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC

Rated M for Mature

We like to imagine that we would recognize a game changer when we see it. That the first time we booted up Doom, we could tell the future of shooters was a long and lustrous one. That Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare would spawn a generation of military shooters. That StarCraft would foster an entire industry of e-sports. That League of Legends would take the niche MOBA market and turn it into the premier competitive gaming scene. That Resident Evil would spawn a genre of “survival horror.” Or that Resident Evil 4 would come along and reinvent that same genre into “action horror.” Now, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is here, once again remapping the course of horror gaming.

Take a moment to re-read that. “Really Ted? Remapping the course of horror gaming? Pah, this must be one of those Hyperbolic reviews/a review of Blair Witch.” I can understand your skepticism. I’m also the kind of cynic that regards unguarded praise with suspicion. I have thought very long and hard about my words. I’ve played through a few times, analyzed the elements, tested my suspicions, found new elements, and tested those as well. After all of that, calling Resident Evil 7: Biohazard anything but monumental would be dishonest. This game redefines what to expect from survival horror from here on out.

It’s an astonishing accomplishment given how low RE5 and RE6 set the bar. I know some people out there are fans of RE5, and I can forgive that. To me, all that 5 & 6 showed was that they took the wrong message from Resident Evil 4. People didn’t love Resident Evil 4 because it had more explosions, they loved it because it was a fantastic game. The style was more “arcadey,” but every element functioned in cohesion to make that work. Challenging encounters rewarded you with loot, which could be used to upgrade your ever expanding arsenal to face increasingly menacing foes. Set piece moments like the lava dungeon made little sense, but ultimately were designed to be enjoyable. Sounds basic, but the variety, perpetual challenge, and smoothness of the game brought all of the elements together perfectly.

Then, RE5 and RE6 turned the series into a Michael Bay film. Gone was the interconnected world, now you kill a boss and cutscene your way to the next set piece. There were so many simple things that went neglected. And don’t even get me started on the ridiculous RE6 skill system. It’s like they wanted to see how far away from the philosophy of “simple, yet engaging” they could get.

Oh, right, survival horror games are supposed to be scary!

I gave Resident Evil: Revelations 2 a near perfect score, which in retrospect should have been just a tad lower. Revelations 2 was incredible for what it was. My metric for judging it was heavily based on its near endlessly replayable “Raid” mode, and the budget price of just $25. It perfected the newer combat system, and finally brought meaning to the co-op feature they have been trying to make work since RE5. From that lens, I stand by my score. It’s just unfortunate that ultimately I have but one metric to use, since Resident Evil 7 is an entirely different beast.

Now before I get into the meat of things, Capcom has specifically asked I not discuss certain elements for spoiler reasons. I’m sure this will please/disappoint many of you. Since they were so nice to get me the game weeks in advance (and since some assholes have decided to just post the ending online), I’m going to be a good Ted and follow their rules. It honestly kind of sucks, since so much of what makes Resident Evil 7 are the set piece moments that I would love to nerd hard over. Their reasoning is of course that they don’t want me ruining key parts for you, which I begrudgingly agree with. I normally don’t care about spoiling shit, but I can make an exception for the game I’m calling one of the best of the genre.

So without any spoilers, you play as Ethan, a regular type dude. After three years missing, your wife Mia sends you an email asking you to come get her from a house in the rural town of Dulvey, Louisiana. Ever loyal and loving, Ethan embarks on a journey to save his wife. Little does he know, this rustic southern homestead belongs to the murderous Baker family. After some intro stuff that I can’t talk about, we’re introduced to our host over a grotesque feast they’ve prepared in Ethan’s honor.

Eh, “honor,” “horror,” close enough.

It doesn’t take long for Resident Evil 7 to hit full swing. Right away the pressing urgency of escape is apparent. Jack Baker, father of the family, walks the halls looking to make you into an Ethan sandwich. After snagging a key from behind his back, you crawl your way to your first safe room. Then… more stuff happens that I can’t really talk about (such as a boss fight), and the game begins in earnest. The amount of terrifying moments, difficult battles, and plot intrigue that happen in this first hour is staggering. Without spoiling anything, you will fight two different bosses a total of four times before you even get to the basic enemies.

The main hall is where you get that this really is a Resident Evil game. Just like the classic titles, a number of branching paths call you to different objectives. Some cursory exploration will reveal that many of these doors are locked, requiring different symboled keys or a number of puzzle pieces to open. Hmm… sounds familiar. What’s immediately different about Resident Evil 7 is that the Baker residence feels like an actual house. I mean sure, you can question why they had locks installed that require three pieces of a statue to open. Regardless, this looks and feels like a genuine home. Each room feels real, like a regular family once lived here in comfort. It’s the puzzle elements that feel foreign. Doors requiring a scorpion or snake key are marked so with a crudely affixed dead scorpion or snake. The lock itself looks like it was forced over a previous, less insidious lock. The peaceful home is always just visible beneath the new malicious design.

*Resident Eviling Intensifies*

Most of the game takes place on this property. That isn’t to say that there isn’t variety. There’s the main house, the basement, the old house, the greenhouse, the backyard, the slaughterhouse, and a number of other interstitial areas along the way. Overall the map size is close to the original Resident Evil. It’s very small compared to the sprawling maps of later series installments, but it’s packed with far more purpose. Every single inch of Resident Evil 7 demands exploring. Aside from the normal hidden ammo/health herbs are a number of collectible documents, ancient coins, and bobbleheads that I’m sure will unlock something when I find them all. You can consume an item that will temporarily highlight items of interest, but mostly you’re on your own to hunt around.

You can use the coins you find to purchase some permanent upgrades. On harder difficulties, they serve a much bigger role.

Speaking of ammo, it would be reasonable to assume from the demo that there isn’t really combat in Resident Evil 7. While certainly not the action orgy of previous Resident Evil games, Resident Evil 7 has its fair share of lead slinging. Your most numerous enemy will be the “Molded,” walking black masses that must be decapitated or dismembered. There are around half a dozen different varieties of molded, ranging from the standard model to massive lumbering bosses. Depending on what weapon you choose, the hardest to handle will either by the faster crawling ones or the more robust shielded ones.

What they lack in immortality they make up for in being icky.

Far more menacing, your main nemeses are the “Family.” They also fall under the “can’t talk about it” clause, but this seemingly normal group harbors a dark secret. Outside of their major boss fights, the Family will pursue you through the halls of the various locations. This is normally the kind of shit I don’t like in my horror games. I’m all for having to avoid enemies too powerful for my current arsenal, but I hate having to stare at a wall while I wait for the sound of footsteps to fade out of earshot. Luckily, Resident Evil 7 reaches a happy middle ground. If you are caught, you can either run away or fight. Fighting will consume ammo, but pump enough rounds into them and they will be disabled for some time. You can’t kill them, but at least you don’t feel useless.

JUST FALL DOWN PLEASE!

Solving puzzles also takes an interesting layered approach. Old school fans rejoice, because this is classic Resident Evil. Items take precious inventory slots, and you will have to use your brain to figure out how they work. Find a key, and you’ll have to remember where it should go. There are no objective markers leading you along the map, even on the easiest difficulty. None of it is Sierra game logic hard to figure out, but RE7 will not hold your hand.

A prime example of this cerebral puzzle design are the video tapes. Along the way, you’ll collect a few VHS tapes recorded by other characters. Playing the tapes allows you to play through a level from their perspective. They offer no immediate reward for completion, but give you insight into key elements of upcoming challenges. Are they necessary to beat the game? No. Do they expand the world and give you a unique way to figure out the puzzles? Absolutely.

For a second I was complaining about, “who still uses VHS in 2017!?” But then I realized I was shooting mold monsters in the face with a shotgun and calmed down.

“Hey Ted, I played through the game and didn’t have any problems with the puzzles/combat! What gives?” This leads me to the point that gives Resident Evil 7 that extra push into greatness: difficulty actually changes the game. When I first played, I chose the “easy” difficulty. I just wanted to get through the game, see what there was to see, and publish my review. It took me about eight hours. Having enjoyed it a whole lot, I started my “madhouse” difficulty run. Without spoiling anything, the game had changed significantly. Jack, previously a temporary bump in the road, was now pursuing me relentlessly. Item locations had changed, and major objectives had switched around completely. Any game can increase the difficulty by making enemies hit harder. Actually reshaping the puzzles to make you come at them from a different, more difficult angle is fucking incredible.

Huh, this wasn’t in this room before…

What matters most about Resident Evil 7 is the same thing that mattered about Resident Evil 4: how it comes together as a whole. This is a much more scaled back affair. You aren’t trying to save the world from bio-terrorists, you’re trying to get out of a spooky house with your wife. You won’t roundhouse kick your way to victory. From reloading your gun to pouring healing formula on your arm, everything feels personal and visceral. Explosions are kept to a minimum. If 5 and 6 were directed by Michael Bay, RE7 is a Jeremy Saulnier film. The elements that break the immersion are few, and muted enough to never feel obtrusive. The entire game was designed around this more contained style, and it delivers perfectly.

Also, the house is SUPER spooky.

I can’t think of a single element I would change about Resident Evil 7. It’s funny, because I can see what parts I’d normally take issue with. Why is there no weapon upgrade system? Why do keys not get deleted when I’ve used them up? Why are there not more boss fights? Why are there not more enemy types? This is what I mean when I say that Resident Evil 7 is a game changer. These are the complaints I would have had of any game before this point. If Resident Evil 7 had a tacked on weapon merchant or a prompt to delete extra items, it would detract from the feel. This game made me throw out my rubric and write up a whole new one.

As an end note, RE7 advertising itself as a virtual reality compatible game for the PS4 shouldn’t scare you off. I played it without any VR headset. In fact, Capcom specifically asked me not to. This was a game designed as a game first, and VR compatible second.

Though the VR is really, really effective at some parts…

I want to end this review with a message to my fellow Resident Evil fans. I know that everyone will have their own reason for hating/agreeing with my review, but ultimately it’s the die hard horror junkies like me that I care about. My first exposure to the series was when I was 12 with the GameCube Resident Evil remake. That makes me a newer fan than some of you, but from there I hunted down 2, 3: Nemesis, 0, and Code: Veronica X. I bought Outbreak and Outbreak 2 for my friends, and shot through both Chronicles games. I used to end my days in high school with three hour Resident Evil: Deadly Silence runs just to see if I could beat my time. I love Resident Evil. But my love isn’t blind. I want Resident Evil to be good.

I’d be lying if I said that Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is the game I’ve been waiting for. It’s closer to the truth to say that I didn’t even know what to be waiting for. But now I have played it. This is the kind of visionary direction that made me fall in love all those years ago. This is the quality and craft I’ve been missing for a decade. This is Resident Evil. This will spawn a new wave of survival horror, and I can’t wait.

The post Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Video Game) appeared first on Dread Central.

We told you about Devilworks’ film slate last week but today we have all the eye candy that you could possibly imagine to share with you!

From the Press Release:
Devilworks, a leader in genre film sales, drop new stills, artwork & trailers from their Genre slate, which the company shall bring to the European Film Market (EFM) February 9 to 17, 2017. Boasting a robust slate of unique voices and fresh talent in genre filmmaking, the company’s lineup includes INCONTROL, THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY, CUT SHOOT KILL, POPULATION ZERO, PEELERS, and STILL ALIVE.

INCONTROL is directed by Kurtis David Harder (CODY FITZ) and stars Levi Meaden (PACIFIC RIM: MAELSTROM, AFTERMATH, THE KILLING) and Rory J. Saper (THE LEGNED OF TARZAN). The film follows a group of university students who discover a device that allows them to take control of others, and experience the world through someone else. As they push the machine’s abilities to its limits, they begin to question the device itself.

CUT SHOOT KILL by director Michael Walker (PRICE CHECK, CHASING SLEEP, THE MAID’S ROOM) stars Alexandra Socha (RED OAKS, EMOTICON) and Phil Burke (HELL ON WHEELS, BILLY & BILLIE). Serena Brooks (Socha), an ambitious young actress, signs on as the star of a horror film with a crew of backwoods filmmakers that have worked together for years. When the cast starts disappearing, Serena has to become her character if she wants to survive.

THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY is the feature debut by Balazs Juszt and is inspired by the existentialist novel of the same name by G.K. Chesterton (1908). The film is a metaphysical thriller chronicling one Father Smith’s Faustian descent into the Roman underworld and stars François Arnaud, known for his work in THE BORGIAS, BLINDSPOT and Xavier Dolan’s I KILLED MY MOTHER; and Ana Ularu who currently stars in NBC’s EMERALD CITY, fantasy television series based on the Land of Oz book series written by L. Frank Baum.

PEELERS by editor/director Sevé Schelenz (SKEW) follows Blue Jean (played by Wren Walker), a small town strip club owner who must defend her bar, her strippers and her life when violent zombies show up on the final closing night and all hell breaks loose. The film recently screened at Sitges 2016.

POPULATION ZERO had its International Premiere at Frightfest in London and will be released in the Spring by ICON in the UK. The film is co-directed by award-winning Canadian documentarian Julian T. Pinder (JESUS TOWN USA, LAND) and Adam Levins (ESTRANGED) is a docu-thriller that follows a quest for answers. In April 2009, three young men were killed in a remote part of Yellowstone National Park. Authorities Never Found the Murderer. He Found Them. Only hours after three young men were gunned down in cold blood, Dwayne Nelson walked into a ranger station miles away and confessed to the crime. Despite his detailed confession, Dwayne Nelson was allowed to go free because of a loophole in the American Constitution. Julian T. Pinder travels to Yellowstone in a cinematic and compelling chase for truth behind a crime that should have rocked the nation.

STILL ALIVE (previously titled ‘Paralytic’) directed by Joey Johnson (SHADOWED) was picked up by Devilworks at AFM 2016. The film tells the story of a famed contract hit man who takes vengeance on a powerful drug cartel, following the murder of his lover. He is tracked down and forced to endure the most agonizing of deaths; resulting in a mysterious puzzle that a small town sheriff must solve in order to stop untold horrors.

“We are very excited to bring such a strong slate of films to EFM,” said Samantha Richardson. “Genre filmmaking is an ever-growing industry and these unique stories are guaranteed to impress distributors searching for fresh voices in cinema.”

The post New Stills Posters and Trailers – Devilworks’ Incontrol, Cut Shoot Kill, The Man Who Was Thursday, Peelers, Still Alive, Population Zero appeared first on Dread Central.

There’s not much that’s scarier than the thought of Samara creeping toward your bedside while you sleep… and that’s exactly what you’ll find in one of these new TV spots for Rings that were released today.

Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Aimee Teegarden, Bonnie Morgan, and Vincent D’Onofrio star. The film is directed by F. Javier Gutierrez.

First you watch it. Then you die. Rings arrives on February 3rd from Paramount Pictures.

Synopsis:
A new chapter in the beloved RING horror franchise. A young woman becomes worried about her boyfriend when he explores a dark subculture surrounding a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after he has viewed it. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: There is a “movie within the movie” that no one has ever seen before…

The post New Rings TV Spots Creep Toward Your Bedside appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Dennis Quaid, Max Von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, David Patrick Kelly

Directed by Joseph Ruben

Distributed by Scream Factory

There is a bizarre irony in the fact that filmmakers have more tools at their disposal to be creative than ever before, yet the movies that look and feel most inspired come from a time when ingenuity and a scrap-and-build ethos were all creatives had to use. This is an argument I have made before – as have plenty of old-school film aficionados – and it all comes down to tangibility. Until the day comes when our brain is truly incapable of perceiving digital trickery from hand-crafted practical effects, nothing produced by a computer can hold the visual weight of something you know is there, up on screen.

Director Joseph Ruben’s Dreamscape (1984) takes place in the most abstract of environments: the dream world, a place where anything is possible. Think of your own dreams and how they often play out – a realm where surrealism trumps grounded reality. In Dreamscape, agents of the government are gifted with the ability to enter the dreams of people in peril (as well as those who are not), wrestling with nightmarish visions and twisted versions of our world. Each entry into the dreamverse plays like a mini movie, different from the last and packed with minutia. Similar ideas have crept into film before (such as The Dungeonmaster from that same year) but what sets Dreamscape apart is a killer cast more than capable of upselling the B-movie material.

Alex Gardner (Dennis Quaid) is a man with psychic abilities who was once part of a scientific research study back in his teens before he left the project. Now an adult, Alex uses his exceptional skills for financial gain (although he’s still in the hole to a loan shark) and to seduce women – petty achievements considering his capabilities. Alex has avoided returning to government work for years, but when Snead (Redmond Gleeson), his all-too-forgiving loan shark, tries to shake him down Alex willingly jumps into a car with a couple government suits who take him back to the institute. There, he is reacquainted with Dr. Novotny (Max Von Sydow), his old mentor who requests Alex’s help with a new venture: entering the “dreamscape” within a person’s subconscious in an effort to cure them of personal problems. One man has marital issues. Another, a young boy, has recurring nightmares. Reluctantly, Alex agrees to assist and finds he is a natural at this sort of projection.

The project is subverted, however, when Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer), a high-ranking government official, clandestinely introduces new parameters to assassinate people in their dreams. Unlike in real life, if you die in these dreams you die permanently. Bob’s protégé is Tommy Ray Glatman (David Patrick Kelly), a young man who was the institute’s top showman before Alex returned. Tommy, however, is not as naturally gifted as Alex and a rivalry ensues. Tommy is also stone cold, having killed his own father years prior. Dr. Novotny and Dr. Jane DeVries (Kate Capshaw) want Alex to help the President (Eddie Albert), who has been plagued by visions of nuclear war and death that could have serious repercussions on his presidency. Blair, seemingly on the President’s side, secretly orders Tommy to infiltrate the President’s dreams and kill him before the nation can be “weakened” by a nuclear arms pact. Alex is the only hope left to combat Tommy, as the two face off in a battle where the only limit is that of the imagination.

The dream sequences here are top notch stuff, filled with a combination of flashy optical effects and stop-motion animation, but none of this would be enough to carry the film alone. It is because of such a stellar cast rife with A-list talent, anchored by two titans of cinema in Max Von Sydow (who sports one well-coiffed ‘stache) and Christopher Plummer. Von Sydow is an accomplished actor who does one of two roles exceptionally well: kindly mentor or dastardly villain. Here, he is the former as Alex’s altruistic guide whose only intention is to aid those in need. He is as affable and genuine as always. His polar opposite is Plummer, who plays the sort of mustache-twirling villain that is cold and calculating, steely in his resolve and seemingly without emotion. David Patrick Kelly has a knack for playing characters who seem genial enough but are unhinged in such a way as to be detached from reality; a true sociopath. He is Alex’s wannabe foil, though in reality he poses little threat to Quaid’s character who is calm, cool, and so effortless in his abilities that he exudes the kind of confidence Tommy so clearly yearns to acquire. And then there’s Kate Capshaw who manages to go an entire film without grating on my nerves (she destroys Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) in her every scene).

Ruben stages the dream sequences with distinct visuals, giving each the feeling of being a fleeting feature within the big picture. The most memorable of these are the nightmares of Buddy (Cory Yothers), who is suffering from traumatic visions of a “Snakeman”, which has been brought to life via a combination of puppetry and stop-motion animation. When Alex enters Buddy nightmare it looks like something out of an early German Expressionist film, with high slanted walls and stark lighting. Ruben also co-wrote the screenplay with a very notable name: Chuck Russell. Russell’s name should be familiar to horror fans and there is no doubt his involvement is a big part of the film’s success. Russell would go on to tackle another famous dream world a few years later with A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), arguably the best sequel in that franchise.

1984 was the year that the “PG-13” rating was introduced to cinema, with Dreamscape being the second title to be released as such. There were a number of movies before this that fell into the grey area of “not quite R but definitely not PG”, and with the elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror so prevalent here this is definitely not something for the young and squeamish. Image had previously issued Dreamscape on Blu-ray, featuring a subpar transfer and a lack of bonus material, leaving the door wide open for Scream Factory to swoop in and give this cult classic the sort of treatment it deserves.

The previous Blu-ray release for Dreamscape came from Image and their upscaled 1080i picture was widely regarded as very poor. Scream Factory’s edition boasts a new 2K scan, but with no mention of what elements were used. Still, this is a clear upgrade over the old interlaced disc with tighter contrast, a smoother image, better color saturation, and sharper details. The 1.85:1 1080p picture is still far from perfect, though. All of the best looking scenes show up in the daylight, but anything taking place within the dreamscape is usually a bit soft and muddy. No aspect of the image is too impressive but overall this is likely going to be the cleanest and sharpest the picture can get.

Audio comes in the form of an English DTS-HD MA track in either 2.0 stereo or 5.1 surround sound. Dialogue is clear and balanced, with no hissing or pops. The multi-channel mix offers a very strong track, with lots of discreet placement and a wide canvas for legendary composer Maurice Jarre’s killer electronic score. Subtitles are available in English SDH.

The film’s audio commentary track features Bruce Cohn Curtis, David Loughery, and Craig Reardon.

“Dreamscapes and Dreammakers” – This is one of those behemoth making-of pieces that covers every possible aspect of the production fans could want to know, filled with numerous interviews and all sorts of production notes.

“Nightmares and Dreamsnakes” – This is focused on the film’s FX work, including that most memorable creature, the Snakeman.

“Dennis Quaid – The Actor’s Journey” – I’m not sure what sort of “journey” this is, but it’s great to hear Quaid’s most recent thoughts.

“Bruce Cohn Curtis & Chuck Russell – In Conversation 2016” – The two men sit down for a great interview that covers a wide range. This is a good one.

“Snake Man Test Footage”, a still gallery, and the film’s theatrical trailer are the rest of the extras.

Special Features:

• NEW 2K Restoration
• NEW – “The Actor’s Journey” – Interview with Dennis Quaid
• NEW – “Dreamscapes and Dreammakers” Retrospective including Brand-new interviews with Director Joseph Ruben, Co-Writer David Loughery, Actor David Patrick Kelly and other members of the special effects team
• NEW – “Nightmares and Dreamsnakes” – Looking Back at the Snakeman with Craig Reardon, David Patrick Kelley and others
• NEW In-Depth Conversation Between Bruce Cohn Curtis And Co-Writer/Producer Chuck Russell
• Audio Commentary With Bruce Cohn Curtis, David Loughery And Craig Reardon
• Snake Man Test Footage
• Still Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer
• Original slipcover

The post Dreamscape (Blu-ray) appeared first on Dread Central.

Hundreds of Hollywood filmmakers gathered in Connecticut today for the funeral service of film producer Matthew Lamothe, who died last week at age 30 in Manhattan, New York. The film producer’s employer, film financier Tommy Vlahopoulos of Tommy V Films, was one of the first contacted last Monday with the devastating news.

Matthew Lamothe, who had been a Hollywood producer for the last few years, started his career in the mailroom at ICM Partners Talent Agency in Los Angeles, ahead of making the move into producing in 2013. His most notable film credits include the award-nominated romantic-comedy I’ll See You In My Dreams, and award-winning home invasion thriller Intruders.

“It has been an incredibly difficult week for everyone who knew Matthew,” said Tommy Vlahopoulos. “He was a professional and hardworking film producer. Everyone Matthew met fell in love with his natural charm and charisma. He was incredibly kind hearted. It is a great sadness and loss to the entertainment industry. He loved his work and really knew how to get the job done.”

Matthew, and the team at Tommy V Films, were in post-production with the horror flick The Rake and in pre-production for Glass Jaw, scheduled to start filming next month. Other films on the slate in development include; Behind the Sightings, Crawl to Me, The Great Hunt, and The Ranch.

Matthew Lamothe was a life force to be reckoned with, a true professional that was loved by cast and crew. We here at Dread Central would like to offer our sincerest of condolences to Matthew’s friends, family, and constituents. You were taken too soon, sir.

The post Rest in Peace Matthew Lamothe appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Robert Adamson, Jarrett Sleeper, Alex Frnka

Directed by Tony E. Valenzuela

Never gaining the infamy of other horrific acts throughout history, fans of true crime may not be familiar with a brutal series of axe murders taking the lives of eight people in Villisca, Iowa, in 1912. If your morbid curiosity compels you to investigate further, overnight tours are still available at the actual house where the killings took place; you’ll likely learn more during your stay than you do over the course of Tony Valenzuela’s film The Axe Murders of Villisca.

Focusing on a group of present-day ghost hunters, the century-old unsolved crime only serves as a springboard for two opportunistic high school kids, Caleb (Adamson) and Denny (Sleeper), to discover and document any mysteries, supernatural or otherwise, that may be lurking within the walls. Breaking in to stay overnight, their friend Jess (Alex Frnka) tags along for fun, but the trio isn’t aware that two local bullies are close behind. (For those counting, that adds up to five teens in a haunted house, all with the potential to die horribly.)

With intermittent flashbacks to the 1912 murders, trapped spirits with tormented souls are gradually introduced; additionally, the torment of being a teenager surfaces as the self-induced lock-in forces these kids to deal with their real feelings about each other as the night approaches. That angst fuels the spirits to use the new inhabitants to act out the crimes all over again.

While some of the performances here rise slightly above the ponderous pace of Villisca, this is an all-too-familiar setup that doesn’t check enough boxes for horror fans: jump scares and overall atmosphere are lacking, the kills are fairly pedestrian, and the characters aren’t developed enough to root for. Certainly watchable for a majority of the running time, the last act is a distorted, frenzied rush to the finish line that creates more confusion than any feeling of resolution.

With a true life tale that hasn’t been explored in depth before, The Axe Murders of Villisca doesn’t tie-in or develop the connection between the 1912 story and the modern day tropes enough to justify incorporating the small town tragedy in the first place. Instead, the mystery of a notorious hundred-year-old massacre is used to draw in true crime fans that end up just like the teens found inside the Villisca Axe Murder House: trapped in a pretty straightforward and unimaginative ghost story.

The post Axe Murders of Villisca, The (2017) appeared first on Dread Central.

Brainwaves Horror and Paranormal Talk Radio is back this Wednesday with director Tony Valenzuela to get the scoop on his new film The Axe Murders of Villisca as well as his own experiences in the actual Villisca Murder House!

Tune in Wednesday, January 25th, at 9:00PM PT/12:00 ET for all the scary.

It’s radio without a safety net, kids. It’s Brainwaves: Horror and Paranormal Talk Radio.

PLEASE SUPPORT BRAINWAVES: HORROR AND PARANORMAL TALK RADIO ON PATREON!

Brainwaves: Horror and Paranormal Talk Radio is available to subscribe to on iTunes. Not an iTunes user?  You can also listen right here on the site.

Also you can hit Dread Central on Facebook on most Wednesday nights to watch a live stream of the show as it happens.

Spooky, funny, touching, honest, offensive, and at times completely random, Brainwaves airs live every Wednesday evening beginning at 9:00 PM Pacific Time (12:00 midnight Eastern Time) and runs about 3 hours per episode.

Knetter and Creepy will be taking your calls LIVE and unscreened via Skype, so let your freak flags fly! Feel free to add BrainWavesTalk to your Skype account so you can reach us, or call in from a landline or cellphone – 858 480 7789. The duo also take questions via Twitter; you can reach us at @BrainwavesRadio or @UncleCreepy and @JoeKnetter using the hashtag #BrainWaves.

Have a ghost story or a paranormal story but can’t call in? Feel free to email it to me directly at UncleCreepy@dreadcentral.com with “Brainwaves Story” in your subject line. You can now become a fan of the show via the official… BRAINWAVES FACEBOOK PAGE!

Brainwaves: Horror and Paranormal Talk Radio is hosted live (with shows to be archived as they progress) right here on Dread Central. You can tune in and listen via the FREE TuneIn Radio app or listen to TuneIn right through the website!

For more information and to listen live independent of TuneIn, visit the Deep Talk Radio Network website, “like” Deep Talk Radio on Facebook, and follow Deep Talk Radio on Twitter. And don’t forget to subscribe to Brainwaves on iTunes.

The post Dig It! #Brainwaves Episode 30 Guest Announcement – Tony Valenzuela – The Axe Murders of Villisca appeared first on Dread Central.

File this one under, “Yes, Please.” THR is reporting that Thomas Jane is in final negotiations to joins the cast of The Predator, Fox’s reboot of the sci-fi action franchise that will be directed by Shane Black.

Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Keegan-Michael Key, Sterling K. Brown, and Trevante Rhodes star in Shane Black’s upcoming reboot of the hit 20th Century Fox franchise.

In The Predator, which will be rated R, Olivia Munn is playing a scientist opposite Boyd Holbrook’s Special Forces commando. Further details for the film are being kept firmly under wraps.

Look for The Predator in theaters on February 9, 2018.

Black is directing from a script by Fred Dekker. John Davis, Joel Silver, and Lawrence Gordon — who produced the original — are producing.

The post Thomas Jane in Talks to Beat Off The Predator appeared first on Dread Central.

More casting news is here for the sequel to Jurassic World as THR is reporting that Daniella Pineda (“The Originals.” The Detour, “High Maintenance”) has joined the cast of the flick for Universal.

Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt will return for the J.A. Bayona-directed follow-up, which recently added “The Get Down’s” Justice Smith.

Jurassic World helmer Colin Trevorrow co-wrote the screenplay with Derek Connolly and will executive produce with Steven Spielberg. Belén Atienza, Patrick Crowley and Frank Marshall will produce.

The 2015 feature grossed $1.67 billion at the global box office, becoming the fourth-highest-grossing movie of all time.

The post The Originals’ Daniella Pineda Heads to Jurassic World Sequel appeared first on Dread Central.

Directed by Mike Flanagan

Starring Elizabeth Reaser, Annalise Basso, Lulu Wilson, and Henry Thomas

Distributed by Universal Pictures

Rated PG-13

You can rank, “Wow, I’m super excited about the new Ouija!” up there on the list of things I never thought I’d say. For a while, it seemed like Ouija: Origin of Evil was the film that couldn’t stop gathering positive buzz. It was announced that modern horror darling director Mike Flanagan would be directing it, and that the film would tell an entirely new story in the form of a prequel. Well I guess calling it an, “entirely new story,” is a bit of misnomer (this is the “Origin of Evil,” after all), but it disassociated itself enough with the original that people had hope it wouldn’t follow suit. As early screenings were had and the reviews came in positive, I was more and more confident that Flanagan had worked some magic to make the series good. I didn’t manage to see it in theaters mostly due to being broke, so I let myself get amped on good vibes for the inevitable Blu-ray release.

Well crap, I think I went and got my expectations too high. There’s another thing I never thought I’d be saying. “Yep, I was just too gosh darned excited for the prequel to Ouija, the PG-13 teen horror flick with a 7% Rotten Tomatoes score.” For the record, I didn’t hate the original Ouija. I thought it was a pretty standard and effective teen horror film, good for awkward first dates and some shrill shrieks with your gal pals. So maybe I didn’t like it because my memories of the original weren’t so bitter and vile. I just found Ouija: Origin of Evil to be a similarly safe, standard teen horror flick.

Now before you lose your mind and tell me that I have no idea how to judge quality, I do think that Ouija: Origin of Evil is better than Ouija. I just don’t think it’s a fantastically new or innovative film. From the possessed little girl to the gaping mouth spooky ghost stuff, this all felt pretty standard. Hell, it even fit a teen romance into its spooky little girl film. Not exactly breaking new grounds.

For 90% of the film, the plot could have been copy pasted from a screenwriting handbook. I want to play a little game here. Even if you’ve seen Ouija: Origin of Evil, try to pretend I’m talking about a new film.

*OBVIOUS SPOILER ALERT*

So you have a family of fake mediums, two girls working with their mother to try and convince people their dead family members are talking to them. Now, what is the safe route? Of course, these aren’t greedy hucksters, but caring people who want to help grieving families find closure. And what is the safest motivation for wanting to do that? Of course, the poor dad is dead, and they want to try to give people the closure they don’t have.

Now, this is a movie about an evil Ouija board (you can’t have Ouija without a Ouija board). So after they bring the oracular party game into their house, who’s the best candidate for getting possessed? Of course, the spooky little girl! Girls are supposed to be cute and innocent, but this one is all demon-y now. Spooooooky. Seeing as how this little girl now has the power to legitimately talk to the dead, what should the first act of the newly encountered spirit be? It can’t be something bad, or else the family won’t struggle internally about if this is a blessing or a curse. Well how about it miraculously solves their financial problems? That can quickly be shoved in the plot!

And the steps just stay in line from there. The mom wants to use the spooky girl, part for financial gain but mostly to commune with her dead husband. She somehow doesn’t notice her daughter writing essays in Polish or walking around at night, but the teenage sister does. This leads to a divide in the home between mother and teenage daughter, because plots need conflict. With her mother unwilling to listen to reason, the girl goes to her principal, who is conveniently A) a priest, B) has a dead wife they can use to test the little girl’s powers, and C) knows a nun that speaks Polish. We call that a script writing hat trick!

It’s only at this point that unpredictable stuff starts to happen, and it’s all shoved in the last 20 minutes. It’s shotgunned in so hard that none of it feels natural. Turns out that the ghost is actually a bunch of ghosts (even though it appears as one mouthless spirit?), that were tortured horribly by a Nazi doctor. The girl’s possession is kind of an amalgamation of all of the spirits’ collective pain. It’s pretty ill defined, but gets points for being original. We get all of this information in a note that the ghost for some reason felt the need write down. It’s literally read to us by the priest in a hushed tone while the ghost murders the disposable love interest teen in the next room. Really, couldn’t come up with a better way to explain the ghost story than literally read it off of a piece of paper? What happened to show, not tell?

As this is a prequel, the movie has to tie into Ouija somehow. One of the biggest compliments I heard was that this movie made the original better with the new plot continuity. This might be the statement I disagree with the most. The entire sewing her mouth shut thing felt incredibly forced, even for an element they had to force in for prequel reasons. The whole revelation comes randomly when the teenage daughter has a vision of her dad sewing her favorite doll’s mouth shut. So… can they just all see ghosts now? Also, how did the ghost literally carry her to her room? I thought the ghosts were acting through the little girl. Oh well, at this point you’re just supposed to go with it.

*SPOILERS OVER*

Maybe I’m missing the mark by debating the plot contrivances of a prequel to Ouija. Given how much my fellow critics loved this film, I feel the need to. I mean hell, even our review here at Dread Central gave the theatrical release a 4 out of 5. Even if we’re just talking about the scares, I didn’t find them exceptional. The overreliance on CGI just makes everything feel goofy. I haven’t really found the gaping ghost mouth scary since Grave Encounters. Out of focus ghosts leering in the distance is always a good spook, but nothing more than just filler for the real scares. Scares that just never really delivered. I appreciate the ghost not killing people with random psychic powers, but the whispering evil into their ears until their eyes turn white was pretty lame.

There were some elements that raised it above your standard Hollywood ghost film. The use of cue marks and other effects to make the digital footage look more like film was a nice touch. The attention to detail in terms of the setting and time period show that Flanagan really cares about what he’s doing. The performances were all good, with Annalise Basso standing out for her ability to show some restrained emotions. Child actors can always kill a movie, but Lulu Wilson did a good enough job of playing a cute/creepy possessed child.

I’ve trashed on this movie pretty hard up until now, but I’d like to reiterate that I don’t think this is a bad movie. It’s just unremarkable. Other than being better than the original, what exactly is Ouija: Origin of Evil’s claim to fame? For the kind of reception this got, I’d expect this to break some kind of new ground. When Insidious: Chapter 3 came out and blew everyone’s expectations, it was because the film was terrifying, heartfelt, and new. It wasn’t because the previous just sucked so bad that it was good by comparison.

So just try to pretend that Ouija: Origin of Evil exists alone. It’s really not THAT big of a stretch to assume people didn’t watch Ouija. As a standalone film, it just isn’t remarkable. Safe and standard films can still be done well, and to its credit Origin of Evil is a perfectly acceptable PG-13 ghost story. Maybe I’m just looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps I should be applauding Flanagan for taking a widely reviled film and making a tolerable franchise out of it. At the end of the film, I looked at my cat and said, “that was it?” I can’t ignore that.

As for special features, these are also pretty anemic. There were the as to be expected Feature Commentary/Deleted Scenes, which are the equivalent to the wheels and handlebars of the Blu-ray special features bike. Aside from that were three disposable featurettes, the first being another stock standard generic “The Making of.” There was another one about how they managed to cast a child actor that didn’t suck, and a third totally forgettable vignette on the house they used. Even if you’re a big fan, there’s very little to see here.

Special Features:

• Deleted Scenes
• The Making of Ouija: Origin of Evil
• Home is where the Horror is
• The Girl Behind Doris
• Feature Commentary with Director/Co-Writer/Editor Mike Flanagan

The post Ouija: Origin of Evil (Blu-ray) appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Danielle Cole, Neale Kimmel, Matt Wells, Eric Regimbald

Directed by Sean K. Robb

Distributed by Left Films

Girl power goes to the extreme in writer/director Sean K. Robb’s psycho-horror Scars, wherein a chance meeting between ladies Scar (Cole) and Scarlett (Kimmel) quickly develops into a violence-themed co-dependency as the pair take revenge on the various men in their lives.

A product of a broken home and subsequent abusive relationships, Scar is the first to show her refusal to accept the life she’s been given when she viciously stabs her slob of a boyfriend to death before burying him under a bridge. On the other end of the spectrum, Scarlett wings her way through a somewhat well-to-do existence by trapping married men in her honey pot before financially blackmailing them.

When one of Scarlett’s marks reacts violently to her threats – strangling her in an alleyway – an adrenaline-fuelled Scar leaps from the shadows and treats the aggressive gent to a swift demise via the business end of a kitchen knife that Michael Myers himself would be proud of. Feeling indebted to the destitute Scar, Scarlett allows her to come back to her place for a shower and the two quickly form a bond.

After heading out on the town and finding themselves back at the home of a male security guard, Scar’s disrespectful behaviour and destruction of property sees the man physically attack her – only to find himself summarily executed by our femme fatales.

And so it goes, as Scar and Scarlett wage war on men – Scarlett taking the fight to previous blackmail victims while Scar lashes out relatively indiscriminately… and anyone familiar with this kind of psychotic drama knows exactly where the story’s going when Scarlett enters a romance with detective Mike (Wells), who warns her to keep away from her dangerously unhinged friend.

Scars isn’t a particularly bad flick by any stretch – the two leads are convincing, if not entirely sympathetic, in their roles and despite a couple of slow stretches and a home invasion sequence that doesn’t quite gel, director Robb has a decent grip on his pacing. The violence is harsh – sporting some seriously wince-inducing brutality including a vicious crotch-stabbing that’ll have men everywhere crossing their legs. Effects are low-key but satisfying – except, perhaps, for the gigantic, fake looking knives the girls like to employ in their butchery.

What lets the film down is its familiarity and lack of truly deeper substance. Par for the course in this type of thing, these are two women who are mad as hell at the world and happy to show it – except one maybe isn’t quite as mad as the other and soon realises she’s unwilling to go to the lengths expected of her. Chuck in a wafer-thin love interest destined only to set proceedings on a predictable path of conflict and you have a story that struggles to dive below the surface in any meaningful form.

And that’s a shame, as the early stages do reveal a layer of promise for a budding indie horror Thelma & Louise – but the character hooks and rewarding dramatic arcs just aren’t there. So while Scars may have more than enough stabbing to go around, it lacks that crucial wallop.

Left Films bring Scars to UK DVD sporting the film’s trailer alongside a collection of trailers for their other releases. That’s it on the extras front.

Special Features:

• Trailers

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