Starring Greg Chandler Maness, Terry G. Reed, Vincent Rivera, Marcella Rodriguez

Directed by Massimiliano Cerchi

Lovebirds Michael (Rivera) and Sarah (Rodriguez) can’t believe their luck when they bag a great deal on their new mansion-like home, but things take a dark turn in Massimiliano Cerchi’s found footage horror Insane.

As they settle in and Michael (naturally) decides to record everything with his camcorder, neighbour Davis (Reed) fills them in on the blanks regarding the property’s history. It seems that in the past, an escaped mental patient killed the owner – and the next occupant went nuts, claiming interaction with an unseen clown that led him to murder his own family.

Intrigued, Michael begins looking into the mystery and quickly becomes obsessed – developing an infatuation with a creepy Jack in the Box which he randomly finds in a closet and, as you do, sitting down for some Ouija board action in an attempt to contact the previous owner(s).

With things later going bump in the night, Michael kits the house out with the requisite swathe of CCTV cameras to give us all those static found footage angles we love, and the stage is set for inevitable madness as he eventually catches his own glimpses of a monstrous clown.

You can guess where Insane goes from there – especially given the clown’s late-game appearance – and, well, in all honesty that’s about all there is to see here.

The script is threadbare throughout, offering little more than on-the-nose dialogue that flatly serves to drive things forward. Leads Rivera and Rodriguez play well together, but regularly struggle to make their lines sound like natural conversation, and the same can be said about the painfully expositional nature of Terry G. Reed’s Davis, who might as well be a walking storybook. It all feels incredibly stilted, lacking in flow and authenticity, and the characters aren’t developed anywhere near enough to make the ending the devastatingly horrific cherry it’s supposed to be.

Hell, for most of the movie the primary role of Rodriguez’s Sarah is to stand in front of the camera in various states of dress and happily bounce up and down as often as possible, treating the audience to the mesmerizing movements of her impressive mammaries. It’s appreciated, sure… but it’s not exactly what we’re here for.

On the positive side of the fence, late in the game director Cerchi throws in some nice ideas – such as the footage Michael views appearing completely different to him than it does to others – and the clown himself, played by Greg Chandler Maness in supremely freaky makeup, manages to generate chills.

While Michael’s descent into madness isn’t so much a measured crumble as it is a completely free-falling plummet, the chills do manage to work their way into the finale also, which Cerchi stages in silence with an unsettling style that truly stands out.

But it feels like too little too late – a smattering of promise hiding out at the back end of yet another lifeless found footage flick with a central plot straight out of the creative bargain bin. Points for the superb sinister clown and regular focus on Rodriguez’s chest… but everything else is too stiff, rote and predictable for Insane to deliver a satisfactory genre experience at this stage in the game.

The post Insane (2016) appeared first on Dread Central.

25 years after he terrified us with Alone in the Dark, Frédérick Raynal is back to terrify us with his new game 2Dark, which has just debuted a story trailer ahead of its release later this year.

From the Press Release:
Plagued by a string of child abductions, darkness hangs over the once-picturesque city of Gloomywood like a curse. Having seen his own wife slain and children taken, former detective Mr. Smith vows to find justice and bring an end to the misery.

From Frédérick Raynal, the creator of Alone in the Dark and pioneer of survival-horror, 2Dark is a grim journey of stealth and courage into the heart of corruption, coming soon to PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Use your cunning to infiltrate Gloomywood’s bastions of cruelty. Investigate to uncover the secrets of the deranged psychopaths within, seek retribution for their crimes, and bring the children to safety. If only it were so simple…

Developed by Gloomywood and published by Bigben Interactive, 2Dark offers a gritty and deceptively intricate new adventure of stealth and horror in which death is the only certainty.

– Perfect your plan to infiltrate intricately handcrafted levels and escape with the children.
– A nerve-wracking experience of ruthless consequences with only your wits to guide you.
– Stick to the shadows and step carefully. Light and sound can be your allies, and your undoing.
– Supplies are limited. From flashlight batteries to bullets, make every item count.
– Investigate every nook and cranny to expose the sinister secrets behind the abductions, uncover new areas, and find every child.
– Kids will be kids. Stop for too long and they’ll fidget and cry, putting both of you in harm’s way.
– Break for a smoke to save your progress, but be wary of noisy coughing fits, and remember, smoking really does kill.

The post 2Dark Story Trailer Delves into the Heart of Corruption appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Kwak Do-wan, Hwang Jung-min, Chun Woo-hee, Jun Kunimura

Directed by Na Hong-jin

Distributed by Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment Limited

South Korea has been killing it with genre cinema the last few years, producing numerous gems like I Saw the Devil, Snowpiercer, No Tears for the Dead and Train to Busan. These movies offer the glossy thrills of big budget American cinema, but filtered through a uniquely Asian perspective.

The Wailing is another distinctive offering from the country, and is a great big potpourri of genres; it’s a detective thriller, a dark comedy, a family drama, a religious chiller and even – briefly – a zombie movie. The movie arrives with a lot of hype and acclaim, though it initially takes some getting used to.

For the first half hour The Wailing feels like a bizarre mash-up of Seven and a Kevin James comedy, where a bumbling local cop is investigating a spate of murders in his isolated, rain swept village. Some of the locals suspect a mysterious Japanese visitor might be behind the madness, with some even claiming to have seen him feasting on animals and having glowing red eyes; which is suspicious if true.

The film is oddly reliant on wacky comedy in the first act, with the lead character wildly overreacting to events and even soiling himself when attacked by a suspect. This can be a little wearing depending on your mileage, but once his daughter seemingly becomes possessed, the film takes a much darker turn. The horror elements get dialled up and a suffocating air of tension and paranoia sink in, with the village blaming their woes on this outsider.

In this regard, it feels like the first section was easing viewers into the coming horror, and taking the time to develop the characters before events spiral ever downward. At two and a half hours The Wailing is a hefty experience, which may turn some viewers off. If you invest in it completely the movie will more than rewards your patience, providing a deft mix of thrills, gorgeous visuals and chilling horror.

The Wailing is also rich with subtext and religious symbolism, and the ending will surely inspire viewers to re-examine the whole story. Director Na Hong-jin appears to have had a blast tossing all these different genres into the pot, even if the mixture doesn’t always sit well. It could easily have lost a few moments, such as the silly zombie fight and a bizarre scene where a man is struck by lightning.

Yet even those moments add to the strange texture of the movie, and it’s genuinely hard to know what will happen next. The acting is also terrific, from Kwak Do-wan’s dim but well-meaning lead, to Jun Kunimura’s icy turn as the Japanese stranger inspiring so much division. Special mention should also be made of Kim Hwan-hee as the possessed daughter, who delivers one of the best child actor turns of recent memory.

The Blu-ray/DVD release of The Wailing isn’t exactly bursting with bonus features, coming with two featurettes that total about six minutes altogether, and a trailer. The movie has a bulky runtime and tonal issues, but if you give it a chance it’s one of the creepiest, most rewarding horror experiences of recent times.

Special Features:

• The Beginning of The Wailing
• Making Of The Wailing
• Trailer

BUY IT NOW!

The post Wailing, The (Blu-ray / DVD) appeared first on Dread Central.

Hello again, folks. This week’s list, while not huge, still has some pretty good titles to speak about.

First up is 1967’s Wait Until Dark. I’m assuming Audrey Hepburn will look even more stunning when given the Blu-ray treatment.; Alan Arkin, probably not so much.

The last of our classics for the week is 1987’s Blood Rage. This is a 2 disc special edition Blu-ray/DVD from Arrow so you know it will be worthwhile.

In terms of more recent films, Cloverfield will be getting another Blu-ray release this week. Alongside that is the Blu-ray for Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.

Keep checking back each week, friends. February is loaded with releases so you’ll want to be on top of all of them. Have a good week and as always, pleasant viewing.

MOVIES

Beauty Queen Butcher (2007)

Starring:

Tammy Pescatelli, Rhona Brody, Kimberly Ann Kurtenbach, Kathryn A. Mensik, Jim Boggess

Synopsis:

Mean Girls meets Carrie when a shy, overweight and bullied girl exacts bloody revenge on her popular classmates in this early 90s shot-on-video shocker inspired by the horror classic Carrie and the slasher favorite Prom Night! It was bad enough when the popular girls of Slivis Slough High pranked fattie Phyllis into entering the beauty queen pageant, but when they microwaved her cat…watch out! Watch the pretty girls pay in the most gruesome ways when Phyllis, armed and dangerous, exacts her gory revenge! Produced and Directed by Shane Parlow and Jill Zurborg; starring Tammy Pescatelli, Jim Boggess, Rhona Brody.

BUY IT NOW!

Blood Rage (1987)

Starring:

Louise Lasser, Mark Soper, Marianne Kanter

Synopsis:

What do you get if you combine Thanksgiving, American TV star Louise Lasser (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman), killer ’80s synths and some truly gruesome special effects courtesy of Ed French (Terminator 2: Judgement Day)? Why, it’s Blood Rage of course!

Twins Todd and Terry seem like sweet boys that is, until one of them takes an axe to the face of a fellow patron at the local drive-in. Todd is blamed for the bloody crime and institutionalized, whilst twin brother Terry goes free. Ten years later and, as the family gathers around the table for a Thanksgiving meal, the news comes in that Todd has escaped. But has the real killer in fact been in their midst all along?

Shot in 1983 but not released until 1987, Blood Rage is a gloriously gruesome slice of ’80s slasher heaven now restored from the original negative for its world Blu-ray debut.

BUY IT NOW!

Cloverfield (2008)

Starring:

Mike Vogel, T.J. Miller

Synopsis:

Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.

BUY IT NOW!

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

Starring:

Jeremy Renner, Peter Stormare

Synopsis:

After getting a taste for blood as children, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have become the ultimate vigilantes, hell bent on retribution. Now, unbeknownst to them, Hansel and Gretel have become the hunted, and must face an evil far greater than witches…their past.

BUY IT NOW!

The Monster (2016)

Starring:

Scott Speedman, Aaron Douglas

Synopsis:

Acclaimed horror filmmaker Bryan Bertino (The Strangers) directs this suspenseful and scary new film, in which a divorced mother (Zoe Kazan) and her headstrong daughter must make an emergency late night road trip to see the girl’s father. As they drive through deserted country roads on a stormy night, they suddenly have a startling collision that leaves them shaken but not seriously hurt. Their car, however, is dead, and as they try in vain to get help, they come to realize they are not alone on these desolate backroads—a terrifying evil is lurking in the surrounding woods, intent on never letting them leave…

BUY IT NOW!

Truth Or Dare (2016)

Starring:

Jessica Cameron, Ryan Kiser, Heather Dorff

Synopsis:

A group of 6 friends (Jennifer, Michelle, Ray, John, Tony, and Courtney) find overnight internet stardom by making violent truth or dare videos online. A massive fanbase ensues and their lives are changed forever. While guests on a popular talk show, they find themselves confronted by their #1 fan named Derik B. Smith. He causes a scene after demanding to be a part of their group.

Subsequently, he gets thrown out of the talk show after trying to get on the stage.The Truth or Daredevils begin filming their latest video at John’s house. Everything is running smoothly until the unstable fan from earlier shows up and forces the group of friends to play his version of truth or dare.

Shocking truths are revealed and the dares become deadly as all of the players learn one another’s deepest and darkest secrets and blood is spilled by the buckets.

BUY IT NOW!

Wait Until Dark (1967)

Starring:

Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Jr. Efrem Zimbalist

Synopsis:

Now two are left: Susy, recently blinded and still learning how to live in a sighted world, and Roat, a psychopathic killer. Roat wants a heroin-stuffed doll he thinks Susy has. All Susy wants is to survive. Dim the lights, check the door’s chain lock, and brace yourself for a chiller as polished as the steel of Roat’s blade. Audrey Hepburn earned her fifth Academy Award nomination as Susy. Alan Arkin is pure evil as Roat, master of disguise and accents. Jack Weston and Richard Crenna costar as his henchmen. Building to a heart-pounding one-on-one confrontation, Wait Until Dark belongs to the screen’s most memorable thrillers” (David Shipman, The Story of Cinema).

BUY IT NOW!

COLLECTIONS

Stephen King Collection

Starring:

Tom Skerritt, Christopher Walken

Movies:

Pet Sematary

A doctor and his family move to a town near an ancient Indian burial ground

The Dead Zone

A man comes out of a coma able to see the probable futures of anyone he touches. Directed by David Cronenberg. From the Stephen King novel.

Graveyard Shift

A drifter works nights at a boss man’s mill, with rats and a monster. From the Stephen King story.

BUY IT NOW!

The post DVD and Blu-ray Releases: January 24, 2017 appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Sarah Nicklin, Robert E. Wilhelm, Judith O’Dea, Carlos Ramirez, Christopher Parker

Directed by Mark W. Curran

Distributed by Left Films

Security guard Rachel (Nicklin) finds her Memorial Day weekend interrupted when her employer calls on her to provide last-minute cover at the sinister Mayfield Addiction Clinic on the bad side of town.

Given that she carries a fear of the dark, Rachel reluctantly agrees under the stipulation that her boss have someone to replace her before midnight – but when he later informs her that he hasn’t been able to find anyone available to work, Rachel’s stuck for the night.

During the course of her shift, Rachel stumbles around with her flashlight as she becomes subject to creepy phone calls, phantom door-knocking, the presence of odious caretaker Mr. Simms (Parker) and the startling appearance of a few grim-looking apparitions.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city – or maybe somewhere else entirely – hard-boiled detective Phillip Haggis (Ramirez) is on the trail of a serial killer… a case which just might tie into the horrors befalling Rachel at the clinic.

Or maybe it won’t… because Abandoned Dead is a mess.

To get it out of the way quickly, writer/director Mark W. Curran makes the cardinal sin of padding out his film with Haggis’ slovenly detective work in such a manner that if these scenes were to be removed entirely, there would be little to no effect on the overall narrative.

Equally poor is the presentation of these sequences, which see the detective stagger through the streets whilst a woefully self-satisfied voiceover does its convoluted best to sound poignant and hard-edged, backed up by a soundtrack that sounds ripped straight from a Tex Murphy videogame – but completely lacking the self-awareness of said gaming lampoonery.

In an attempt to tie the two stories together, Abandoned Dead sees Haggis receive random phone calls via public phone – a creepy voice informing him “she’s not safe.” Yet once both stories have shambled to their conclusions, this potentially supernatural element is all but abandoned in favour of a psycho-drama revelation that only widens the divide between these threads rather than bringing them together.

Is Haggis real? Who committed the murders? Where did he suddenly find the answers he was looking for? Did he actually find answers? What the hell is any of this supposed to mean? Who actually cares at this point?

On the plus side, this sudden final act switch and slapdash attempt at resolution does bring to the screen the best performance to be found within Abandoned Dead, in the form of Judith O’Dea’s kindly psychiatrist Dr. Myers. While lead Sarah Nicklin does perfectly well in her role, she’s resigned to little more but wandering around looking confused and/or scared throughout – and this being a predominantly one woman show means the script’s characterisation failings cause long, boring stretches where our wafer-thin protagonist does little but wander around and shriek. It’s a pretty strong condemnation of Abandoned Dead that the most life found within is from a bit-player in the final minutes.

Curran does his best to generate tension but is only sporadically successful (darkness doesn’t automatically create fear), and the more forceful fright scenes tend to fall flat leaving Abandoned Dead a meandering, uninteresting snooze-fest. Given the setup and some of the basic happenings, comparisons to Anthony DiBlasi’s far superior Last Shift are inevitable – but where DiBlasi’s film successfully spent its focus on scaring the shit out of you with a sense of class, Abandoned Dead tries to play it smart on all fronts… but ends up less coherent (and less entertaining) than the ramblings of a drunken vagrant.

Special Features:

• Trailers

The post Abandoned Dead (UK DVD) appeared first on Dread Central.

If you’re a fan of short films, Black Fawn has released a new collection of seven of the best shorts that have played at Toronto’s critically acclaimed Blood in the Snow Film Fest. It’s available on DVD now, and to celebrate, a new trailer has arrived!

From the Press Release:
Black Fawn Distribution, in association with the Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival, has released the brand new short horror film compilation entitled Bloody Bits – Shorts Compilation.

The collection features short films from directors Christopher Giroux (Dead All Night), Darryl Shaw (Greater Than), Jay Clarke (Lively), Navin Ramaswaran (One More for the Road), Kat Threlkeld (Seiren), Greg Kovacs (Tasha and Friends), and Alex Hatz (Uncommon Enemies).

The film is currently available for order exclusively from blackfawndistribution.com/store.

The post Shorts Compilation Bloody Bits Available Now; New Trailer Released appeared first on Dread Central.

Heading our way tomorrow, January 25th, is Issue #1 of Black Mask’s new comic series The Dregs. It’s a smart and unique four-issue miniseries written by new voices Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson with evocative artwork by Eric Zawadzki (Last Born) and Dee Cunniffe (X’ed).

Learn more and see an 8-page preview below!

The Dregs is a crime noir murder-mystery that takes place among the homeless in Vancouver during a period of gentrification, but in this sordid tale the gentrification is manifested as an upscale restaurant abducting homeless people to serve as a culinary feast for the most elite of foodies. It plays as a gripping horror mystery and also as an urgent metaphor, like a modern Sweeney Todd with a noir spin.

Zac, Lonnie, Eric, and Dee’s storytelling mixes well-wrought mystery, paranoia, and the madness of an unreliable narrator with a sharp, street-level message.

Synopsis:
A gentrified city. Its homeless population restricted to six square blocks called The Dregs. When people start disappearing, a drug-addled homeless man obsessed with detective fiction becomes addicted to solving the mystery. Equal parts Raymond Chandler and Don Quixote set in a thriving metropolis that literally cannibalizes the poor, The Dregs is the first homeless meta noir ever made.

The post Eat Up The Dregs Issue #1 appeared first on Dread Central.

WE tv’s “Ghosts in the Hood” has turned out to be quite a fun little series for those of us who are fans of the paranormal; and we hope you guys have had a chance to check out the show during its first few weeks.

Coming up this Thursday is Episode 1.04, “Inglewood Always Up to No Good,” and we have an exclusive clip from the ep to help you get ready for it!

“Ghosts in the Hood” Episode 1.04 – “Inglewood Always Up to No Good” (1/26/17; 10pm ET/PT)
A sexy realtor calls the O.P.O. into action. Uncomfortable with selling a property as “haunted,” she hopes that Defecio and the team can rid the place of any ghosts. Through their investigation, it becomes obvious that a demon is amongst them! In “Exorcist” fashion, Defecio calls upon a priest in order to banish the aggressive soul.

Meanwhile, a cantina manager is in need of answers as to what’s haunting the late night staff. It appears that a passionate spirit still carries a fiery rhythm across the dance floor!

Meet O.P.O.:

• Defecio Stoglin – The CEO of O.P.O., Defecio was compelled by his passion for the paranormal and founded and created Official Paranormal Operations to help out everyday people who are dealing problems of the supernatural kind. With his keen and eager eye for investigating, Defecio tries to bring peace of mind to his clients.
• Jasmine Orpilla – A verified medium, Jasmine comes to speak to the departed spirits that inhabit the haunted sites investigated by O.P.O. Jasmine has been communicating with spirits for quite a number of years and as a result has honed and developed her contact skills to the other side.
• Dave Purdy – The technical expert for O.P.O., Dave has a passion for all things technical and a knack for building his own gear. He builds and creates the gear used to collect evidence of paranormal activity for clients, and he is the lead on revealing the found evidence once the investigation is over. His love for the paranormal and talent for creating innovative technologies makes him the perfect tech expert for O.P.O.
• Matty Richards – A family friend of Defecio from New York, Matty is also a budding comedian and actor, providing much needed comic relief for the group, as well as being O.P.O.’s resident scaredy cat. Although he has no previous ghost-hunting skills, he is currently learning the ins and outs to help O.P.O. any way he can.
• Maunda Oyin – As the group’s chief researcher, Maunda does anything she can to supply context for the frightening situations the crew is about to head into. Using her naturally inquisitive mind, Maunda digs into the history of every haunting, going to libraries, records offices, even traveling door-to-door in the neighborhoods where they’re investigating, to maximize O.P.O.’s chances of discovering information useful to their case.

The post See an Exclusive Sneak Peek of Ghosts in the Hood Episode 1.04 – Inglewood Always Up to No Good appeared first on Dread Central.

Cyanide sure seem like a studio to watch these days. In addition to Call of Cthulhu, Space Hulk: Deathwing, and Styx: Shards of Darkness, it’s also been announced that they’re working on Werewolf: The Apocalypse, which forms part of the World of Darkness series which you may remember as the setting for the 2000 Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption and its 2004 sequel.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse will place you in the shoes (or paws) of a vicious and bloodthirsty lycanthrope in a world where humanity struggles to exist and supernatural forces fight for control. Publisher Focus Home Interactive will show more from the game at the le What’s Next de Focus event in Paris from February 1-2.

From the Press Release:
Paris-based video game publisher Focus Home Interactive is pleased to announce its partnership with White Wolf Publishing, license owner of the famous World of Darkness universe (Vampire The Masquerade, Werewolf, Mage Ascension).

The World of Darkness is a gritty vision of our own time. The world’s most devious conspiracies are true. The divide between the rich and the poor is huge and corruption is rife. In the shadows of our declining societies, humans fall victim to supernatural horrors, all struggling for control.

The partnership between Focus Home Interactive and White Wolf Publishing concerns the adaptation in a video game of one of the most acclaimed licenses from the World of Darkness – Werewolf: The Apocalypse. The game will be developed by studio Cyanide (Styx: Master of Shadows, Blood Bowl, Call of Cthulhu). Become a werewolf, known as Garou (from French “Loup-garou” meaning werewolf), immersed in the atmosphere of their shamanistic and tribal world. Garou are Werewolf warriors opposed to urban civilization and supernatural corruption, all heading towards inevitable apocalypse.

“The World of Darkness has always attracted creatives with a strong passion for telling dark and immersive stories. So to work closely with the great talent at Focus Home and Cyanide exploring the savage Werewolves of this universe is an absolutely fantastic experience for us at White Wolf and we are more than excited to see this great and highly relevant IP realized in a video game”, says Tobias Sjögren, CEO of White Wolf.

“We are pleased to partner with White Wolf to bring Werewolf: The Apocalypse to life in a video game for consoles and PC. We are excited to work on the World of Darkness universe, as this is formidable playground to tell the players a great story. We are also happy to partner with Cyanide Studio in this adventure – they are behind the original wish to adapt this universe, and we are faithful in their ability to create a game that will please both fans of World of Darkness and newcomers”, says Cédric Lagarrigue, President of Focus Home Interactive.

More info about the adaptation of this brutal Werewolf mythology to come at this year’s event in Paris, “le What’s Next de Focus”, on February 1st and 2nd.

The post Focus Home Interactive Venturing into the World Of Darkness with Werewolf: The Apocalypse appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Patrick Schwarzenegger, Jacob Lofland, Sophie Kennedy Clark

Directed by Matthew Ogens

Kids in control of everything once the world comes to a virtual stop – frightening perspective, but nonetheless a possible one, according to directed Matthew Ogens’s post-apocalyptic film, Go North. The downside here is that the film moves at such a deathly pace, and it hinders it from fully flexing its wings and taking off – step outside for the skinny.

Following a populous-reducing cataclysmic event, all that’s left to hold things down are the youngins – their loosely-knit community relies heavily on the instance of groupings. The popular kids (football team) are the controllers, using their once high-standing social status to bully and keep the lesser known kids in line with their rules and regulations. Religion is an afterthought, and punishment usually means you’ve got to walk the line once you’re cast out of the dictator’s colony. Josh, (Lofland) is one of those “lesser-known” souls that dreams of things the way they used to be, and alongside his gal-pal, Jessie (Clark), the two trudge through their existence inside the community, yet yearn for what could be outside of the society. As the duo struggle to keep their sanity at a floating level, constriction of the commune’s higher-ranking chieftains begin to tighten, and things become drastically more hostile, resulting in a swaying game of hide-and-seek between our hopeful couple, and the evil heads of the new society.

What saddens me is that with all the social commentary embedded within, the movie drags at an unrelenting tempo, and the audience is left with a bunch of sullen teens who slog their way though the remnants of their days, just trying to survive. Perspective-wise, the film is as beautiful as one you could hope to have seen, with numerous shots of hollowed-out buildings and dilapidated structures, all painting a sorrowful picture of what used to be. Still, with all of the constant reminders of gloom and doom that completely shroud the remaining survivors, there still isn’t much sense of impending distress, and it’s got its pros and cons – for those looking for some bell-ringing action and suspense, you’ll be let down – for those wanting a quiet, sedentary annotation of a possible peek into the future without all the blood and guts, then this flick might be in your wheelhouse. Performances are safe, reserved, and for the most part, manage to funnel some mollified emotion – who knows, when all is said and done, and all we’ve got left are the trees to talk to, maybe things won’t be so bad after all? I’d offer this one up for fans of gorgeous-looking cinema, but the remainder of end-of-the-world film buffs wanting some unharnessed violence might want to skip this northerly passage and traverse their way south.

The post Go North (2017) appeared first on Dread Central.

San Diego and the rest of the NFL for that matter are all soured by the actions of the Chargers, but we’ve got a little something here to lessen the blow! That’s right, kids! We have your chance to see Rings nice, free, and EARLY!

Click HERE to get your passes!

LOCATION:
Edwards Mira Mesa Stadium 18 IMAX & RPX
10733 Westview Parkway
San Diego, CA 92126

DATE AND TIME:
Thursday, February 2, 2017 – 7:00pm
(Have your pass ready to show at the door)

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

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

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 Attention San Diego: See Rings Early! appeared first on Dread Central.

From the Press Release:
Fantastic Films and Kaleidoscope Film Distribution announced today that the new Irish horror film NAILS will have its World Premiere as part of the Audi Dublin International Film Festival (ADIFF), which runs 16-26 February, 2017. This intense and claustrophobic thriller centers on a happily-married track coach and mother, Dana Milgrom, who’s survived a near-death car accident only to find herself paralyzed and trapped inside her own body. Forced to communicate via an artificial voice program and hooked to a breathing machine, she becomes convinced that a terrifying presence called “Nails” exists inside her hospital room. No one believes her – not even her own husband and doctors, who think she’s experiencing a mental breakdown. In the vein of recent films like THE BABADOOK and UNDER THE SHADOW, NAILS is part of a new wave of horror that puts female characters and their emotional lives at the center of the story. The film was financed with support from Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board.

“NAILS is a truly terrifying and suffocating horror film, and we’re thrilled to premiere Dennis’ debut feature here at ADIFF,” says Festival Director Gráinne Humphreys. “Shauna Macdonald gives a fearless, beautiful performance that reminds me of Mathieu Amalric in THE DIVING BELL & THE BUTTERFLY.” Adds writer/director Dennis Bartok, “Most horror films are about running away – NAILS is the opposite: it’s about being locked inside your own flesh with the terror. I don’t think there’s any other actress who could give the performance Shauna did: her concentration and emotional rawness took the film to a whole different level.”

NAILS is the feature debut from Bartok, who produced & wrote the Lionsgate horror TRAPPED ASHES in 2006, with segments directed by Joe Dante, Ken Russell & Monte Hellman. Bartok recently published the non-fiction book A Thousand Cuts: the Bizarre Underground World of Collectors & Dealers Who Saved the Movies, hailed as one of the Best Film Books of 2016 by the Huffington Post. He’s well known for his work with the American Cinematheque in L.A. and art-house distributor Cinelicious Pics which he co-founded in 2014.

UK-based distributor and sales company Kaleidoscope Film Distribution will be releasing NAILS theatrically and on VOD / SVOD in the U.K. and Ireland later in 2017, dates TBA, and will be representing the film for world sales at the upcoming European Film Market at the Berlin Film Festival.

The film stars Scottish actress Shauna Macdonald as Dana Milgrom, which required long hours of make-up to create her graphic injuries and tremendous preparation and focus to portray a character who is paralyzed and forced to communicate via laptop for most of the film. Macdonald is much-loved by genre fans for her role in Nail Marshall’s seminal horror film THE DESCENT (2005) and its sequel THE DESCENT: PART 2 (2009). British stand-up comedian and actor Ross Noble co-stars as Trevor Helms, a nurse’s aide at Hopewell Hospital who slowly comes to believe that Dana’s paranoid visions may be real. Noble first appeared to horror fans in the UK-hit STITCHES (2012), also produced by Fantastic Films, where he portrayed the lead character.

The film was co-written by Tom Abrams and also stars Steve Wall (of Irish band The Stunning), newcomer Leah McNamara in her breakout performance as Dana’s daughter, Gemma, and Richard Foster-King as Nails, with cinematography by James Mather (FRANK) and music by longtime Gary Numan collaborator Ade Fenton.

The producers of the film, Brendan McCarthy and John McDonnell of Fantastic Films, are well known to genre lovers for their recent horror films including LET US PREY, THE HALLOW, THE LAST DAYS ON MARS, STITCHES, THE WAKE WOOD and THE CHERRY TREE. The executive producer of NAILS, Joseph Kaufman, was exec producer of John Carpenter’s 1976 classic ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 along with the 2005 remake starring Ethan Hawke.

NAILS will world premiere at ADIFF on Monday, February 20th, 2017 at 20:45 PM at Cineworld, Parnell Street, Dublin.

Tickets go on sale at 18.30 on 18th January at www.diff.ie, by phone on +353 1 687 7974 or in person at DIFF House & Box Office, 13 Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin 1. 

The post Nails to Premiere in Ireland; New Poster and Stills appeared first on Dread Central.

Written by Isaac Marion

Published by Atria Books

The Burning World by Isaac Marion is the much-anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed Warm Bodies. Despite the fact that it’s a sequel, it’s actually the third book in the series, following the original and a prequel, The New Hunger.

Although Warm Bodies is a much-loved novel-turned-hit movie, I had little knowledge of Marion prior to this book. Its advertisement as a “zom-rom-com” meant I never got around to picking up a copy. I’m a huge zombie fan but prefer mine to be of the disgusting rotting corpse kind that tracks down the living and feasts upon their brains. Warm Bodies seemed to be the opposite of what I was looking for.

As such, I was dubious when The Burning World came across my desk. The premise of a zombie turned lover boy seemed too goofy of an idea for me to get behind. Especially because I remember seeing the Warm Bodies movie trailers years ago and not being particularly intrigued back then. I couldn’t imagine the sequel would be my style either. In addition to that, I wasn’t invested in the characters and world from the first book so doubted my ability to jump in feet first.

Still, I took the plunge, and at first I floundered a bit, wondering what I was missing. I worried there was vital information in the previous two books that I didn’t possess. Marion seems conscious of this potential problem though, and he introduces the reader to the characters and world at a gentle pace. For someone starting in the middle of the Warm Bodies series, I quickly found my fears were unfounded and had no problem becoming engaged.

This isn’t to say that Marion rehashes Warm Bodies. He gives just enough sense of what happened in the previous books to give context to the events and characters in this one. New readers can enjoy the story without any previous understanding of the Warm Bodies world, and the knowledge of established fans will add another layer and deeper level of appreciation for what happens.

What I really enjoyed about this book was its fresh take on the zombie apocalypse. Although Romero-like brain-eating action is often referenced, these “zombies” are for the most part no longer zombies. The Burning World is set in some fifteen years or more after the end of times; and a cure, instigated in Warm Bodies, has been spreading the world over. Zombies are slowly coming back to “life” by a magical seeming, and as yet unexplained, phenomenon called “The Gleam.”

These no longer dead “zombies” struggle to become human once again. It’s not an easy process. If they’re intact enough to physically survive, they often become “stuck” between worlds or go crazy and commit suicide, unable to cope with deeds committed as one of the dead.

Our main character, “R,” is no different, although as the first to be “cured,” he struggles to be more human every moment of his newly found life. He barely sleeps, barely eats, and can’t make love to his girlfriend, Julie. He wrestles to suppress the memories of who he was before he was a zombie and those of the victims whose brains he ate. Because of what he once was, and what he’s done, he faces bigotry and persecution from members of his own community.

Despite all this, R’s girlfriend wants to make the world a better place with him by her side. When a nearby community falls under “new management” and the nefarious Axiom Corporation shows up at their doorstep, their optimism does a belly-flop in the gutter.

R, Julie, and their friend Nora are swept away to an interrogation center to face torture and possible death, but with some help from an unlikely source and some good luck, the group is able to escape, collecting more members along their way.

The action in this book is fast-paced, and the world is vivid. Although the novel is a 500-page doorstop of a book, I found it to be tight for the most part, and there was never a time when I ran into large swaths of boring writing. The story kept me interested and wondering what would happen next. I’m happy to say there are quite a few unpredictable twists and turns along the way.

The Burning World does not serve the usual fare of smash-n-dash, all-you-can-eat brain-fests that many zombie books bring to the table. There’s action and death in every corner, but the gore is tame and the story shines though every chance it gets. It’s a great book for those that are looking for a new menu item within the zombie flavor palate. It’s well written, and Marion is a master of metaphors, painting beautiful pictures where many would think it impossible. Don’t expect loose ends to be tied in a neat little bow at the end of this book. It’s a setup for the final book in the series, which I believe Marion is currently working on.

I enjoyed this novel quite a bit and think I’m going to have to revisit my stance on the original Warm Bodies. The Burning World is a far cry from the schlocky, romantic garbage I imagined the first was, and if the rest of the series is anything like this book, I think I’ll have to read them all.

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Netflix’s upcoming “Santa Clarita Diet” is high up on our list of new shows we’re looking forward to this year, and right now we have a new featurette for the series to share.  It’s time to meet the Hammonds!

The “Santa Clarita Diet,” for people with good taste… and people who taste good.

The series stars Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as Sheila and Joel Hammond, married realtors who live in the titular Los Angeles suburb. Their co-stars are Liv Hewson as Abby Hammond and Skyler Gisondo as Eric Bemis.

Showrunner Victor Fresco (“Better Off Ted”), Barrymore, Olyphant, Aaron Kaplan, Tracy Katsky, Chris Miller, and Ember Truesdell are executive producers on the series. Nancy Juvonen is a producer. “Santa Clarita Diet” is a Netflix production.

It begins February 3rd, and you can learn more at santaclaritadiet.com.

Synopsis:
Joel (Olyphant) and Sheila (Barrymore) are husband and wife realtors leading vaguely discontented lives in the L.A. suburb of Santa Clarita with their teenage daughter, Abby, until Sheila goes through a dramatic change, sending their lives down a road of death and destruction… but in a good way.

The post Meet the Hammonds in a New Featurette for Santa Clarita Diet appeared first on Dread Central.

Entertainment Tonight scored the official trailer for Martin Koolhoven’s western/thriller Brimstone has arrived, and you can check it out right here! Dig it!

Brimstone Release Details:
Momentum Pictures has acquired North American rights to the western/thriller BRIMSTONE. The film, which first premiered in September at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews, is written and directed by Martin Koolhoven. It stars Dakota Fanning (Man on Fire), Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential), Kit Harrington (“Game of Thrones”), Carice van Houten (“Game of Thrones”), and Emilia Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides).

MomentumPictures will be releasing BRIMSTONE in theaters and on VOD in March 2017.

“Dakota Fanning and Guy Pearce’s strong performances truly capture the work and vision of filmmaker Martin Koolhoven,” said Momentum Pictures’ Senior Vice President of Content Ian Goggins. “We couldn’t be more proud to release BRIMSTONE so that audiences can experience this amazing piece of cinema.”

BRIMSTONE tells the story of a frontier woman turn fugitive when she is wrongly accused of a crime she didn’t commit and is hunted by a vengeful preacher.

BRIMSTONE is produced by Els Vandevorst (Dogville) and Uwe Schott (Cloud Atlas) and co-produced by Paul Trijbits, Antonino Lombardo, Manuel Chiche, and Peter Hiltunen.

The post New Trailer Filled With Fire and Brimstone appeared first on Dread Central.

If you’ve never attended a VHS tape swap and you’re in Phoenix you’re in for a real treat! BS Movies Podcast will host the Phoenix premiere of Beyond the Gates with director Jackson Stewart in attendance for a live post-screening Q&A Podcast!

Prior to the event (8pm) FilmBar will host a VHS Tape Swap in the lounge. The flick will be showing on Friday February 10 2017 10:00 PM. Get your tickets HERE!

Synopsis:
Seven months after their alcoholic father’s disappearance, estranged brothers Gordon and John Hardesty reunite to liquidate their Dad’s anemic video store. Soon after, they unearth an old VCR board game that acts as an inter-dimensional hub to a nightmare world where their Father’s soul is trapped and can only be saved by playing the game. The film is a horror adventure that pays loving tribute to the VHS format, 1980’s horror movies and board games of the era.

The post See Beyond The Gates in Phoenix and Revel in a VHS Tape Swap appeared first on Dread Central.

We told you at the end of last year that on January 24th (hey, that’s today!) Legendary Comics is releasing The Great Wall: Last Survivor, a prequel graphic novel to the upcoming movie, which will reveal important backstory on the secret society of heroes who have been defending the world from within the Great Wall.

On the fence about picking up a copy?  Here’s a preview of three pages to whet your appetites!

The Great Wall: Last Survivor is written by Arvid Nelson (Rex Mundi) with art by Gian Fernando (13 Legends).

Synopsis:
What if an army was created to defend our world from an enemy so dangerous its very existence must be kept a secret? Built to keep out the ferocious Tao Tei, the Great Wall is the most powerful defensive structure ever built; but it is the heroes within that make the wall great: The Nameless Order. Set sixty years prior to the film in the mysterious lands of ancient China, tragedy forces young Bao into joining The Nameless Order and upholding the corps’ four principles: Discipline, Loyalty, Secrecy, and Sacrifice.

Challenged by rivals, haunted by his past, and tested by desires, Bao spends his life preparing for one singular moment: when he will have to defend the world from ferocious monsters that have come to devour us all.

An original graphic novel inspired by the major motion picture The Great Wall from Legendary, Universal Pictures, China Film Co., Ltd., and Le Vision Pictures, directed by Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers) and starring Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, and Willem Dafoe.

The post Take a Peek Inside the Prequel Graphic Novel The Great Wall: Last Survivor appeared first on Dread Central.

With the European Film Market officially on the horizon, we have your first look at Norwegian director Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen’s new film Valley of Shadows (aka Skyggenes dal).

Adam Ekeli and Kathrine Fagerland star.

Valley of Shadows takes place in a small village in western Norway. Six year old Aslak and his mother Astrid experience a tragic event which Aslak can’t quite understand and Astrid struggles to handle. In a quest for answers, Aslak ventures into the dark forest on the mountain which his mother has forbid him to enter. Is what happens inside the forest merely a boys fantasy or is it reality?

Thanks to Bloody Disgusting for the below imagery.

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VMI Worldwide will be bringing the Robert Englund flick Nightworld to Berlin where they will be handling sales. Right now though we have a brand new trailer for you to dig on!

Englund stars alongside Jason London in Patricio Valladares’ (Hidden in the Woods, Downhill) latest supernatural flick penned by Barry Keating, Loris Curci and Milan Konjevic.

Synopsis:
When former LAPD Officer Brett Irlam takes a job as head of security at an old apartment building in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, he soon begins to experience a series of bizarre and terrifying events. Once he begins to delve deep into the building’s sinister history and investigate its shadowy owners and past employees, Brett soon uncovers a malevolent force nestled deep in the bowels of the building in the basement that will do anything to be set free into our world.

The post EFM 2017: VMI Takes Us to Nightworld; Sales Art and New Trailer! appeared first on Dread Central.

Leigh Whannell has been working on his sci-fi thriller Stem since about 2013 and finally we have some casting news to share with you. THR is reporting that Betty Gabriel (pictured; The Purge: Election Year) will star opposite Logan Marshall-Green in the upcoming project!

The script is set in a near-future when technology controls nearly all aspects of life and centers on a technophobe (Marshall-Green) who avenges his wife’s murder and his own paralysis-causing injury with the help of an experimental computer-chip implant called Stem.

Gabriel’s role is being kept secret.

Goalpost Pictures and Blumhouse Productions are the companies behind the project, with Blum, Kylie du Fresne and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones acting as producers.

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