Film - October 07

31st October

Official site & first trailer for Thai horror 'The Screen'

The official site for the Thai horror ‘The Screen’ is now up, and within is a fabby first trailer. An big added bonus is that it’s English subtitled. We've also discovered that the movie is to be shown at the American film Market next week, where no doubt Thai production company Five Star will be courting U.S distributors for some oversees sales. From the look of the trailer alone, we’d guess they will have plenty of takers. 'The Screen' is directed by Songsak Mongkolthong and stars Na Ayudhya, Namo Tonggumnerd, Pakkaramai Potranan & Achita Pramoj.

The Screen (Official site)

31st October

Masato Harada's Supernatural thriller 'Môryô no hako'(The Shadow Spirit)

We first caught sight of a teaser trailer for the supernatural period thriller ‘Môryô’ a good while back, but getting a clue as to what was going on has taken a while. Now courtesy of the guys over at the 'Mindiapple forum,' we've finally got the full gen on the storyline and an added bonus, the theatrical trailer. Directed by Masato Harada ‘Môryô no hako’ is based on the novel by Natsuhiko Kyôgoku series. The film stars Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Hiroshi Abe, Kippei Shiina, & Hiroyuki Miyasako.

Synopsis: "In post-war Tokyo, the mutilated corpses of beautiful girls are being found one after another, stuffed into boxes. Are they connected to a strange psychic who offers prayers to the boxes, and a huge, mysterious box-shaped building? Then the daughter of former actress Yuzuki Yoko goes missing... Private detective Enokizu, writer Sekiguchi and policeman Kiba enlist the aid of the Shinto priest and exorcist 'Kyôgokudô' to help save her. Can he defeat the evil entity responsible?"

To access the trailers from the official site, select the box second in from the left. ‘Môryô no hako’ opens in Japan December 22nd. Môryô no hako (Official site)

30th October

Takashi Miike's 'Crows Zero' heads straight to no.1 at Japanese B.O

Takashi Miike's ‘Crows Zero’ went straight to the top spot at the weekend box office in Japan, pushing the drama ‘Hero’ back to second place. Billed as a prequel to the events in the popular Manga (written by Takahashi Hishori), ‘Crows’ the live action movie is a story of violent warfare between rival high-school gangs. Want to know what’s got Japanese movie goers flocking to the see the pic? Then go and check out the trailers on the official site, to see the fists and teeth fly.

Crows Zero (Official site)

29th October

Teaser poster and trailer for Danny Pang's 'In Love With The Dead'

Those Pang boys are at it again. This time Danny with his new movie 'In love with the Dead.' Even though the film is listed as a "Romance/Thriller," once you read the (incredibly long) plotline and watch the trailer, theres no doubt Mr Pang is still very much into horror movie making. 'In love with the Dead' opens in Hong Kong, Nov 29th.

Synopsis: “Ming and Wai are a couple of happy lovers living together. Unfortunately, Wai is diagnosed with gastric cancer. Deeply in love with Wai, Ming proposes to Wai so as to accompany her in her last phase of life. Wai decides to quit her job in order to bravely enjoy her remaining days, but not long after, Ming is fired. In his attempts to find a new job, he meets a primary school classmate Ting who also knows Wai.

In a casual reunion, Ting finds out that Ming is living together with Wai and she tells him that she is also getting marry soon. Later, Ming gets the job and Ting becomes his new boss.During a business trip, under the influence of alcohol, Ming and Ting have an affair. It is finally discovered by Wai and she feels indeed helpless. One day, Wai suddenly disappears without a trace. Ming drives around to search for her and helplessly goes to Ting's home. Ting says Wai has come and talked to her about their affairs. The two women fought, Ting was hit and fainted, Wai then left. Ming continues the search, he hears on the radio reports that a woman has committed suicide by the pier. Ming is afraid she is Wai and he nearly hits a Truck.Ming returns home and finds Wai sitting quietly with an odd-looking. After that Wai's behavior changes, she always pulls down the curtain, doesn't go out and doesn't go for chemotherapy. She keeps loosing her hair and walks aimlessly around the flat after midnight.

One day when Ming is having a secret date with Ting, Ming feels that they are being watched by Wai. Later when he goes to a Gas station, the staff say Ming smells like corpse. In time, Ming notices abnormal physiological changes of himself. His hair falls out like Wai and most terrible thing is - he vomits dozen of living worms! There is a saying that sometimes a person can become a "living dead" without notice ones own death, if he/ she has unfinished business in the living world. So, what happens to the couple and Ting?”

In love with the Dead (Trailer)

28th October

Hong Kong crime caper 'Bullet and Brain'

When nothing else will do, there’s always time for a good old fashioned style HK crime caper. And it looks like first time helmer ‘Keung Kwok Mans’ new film ‘Bullet & Brain’ has all the right ingredients: Girls, Guns, Car crashes, Kung fu action and a guy with a Bazooka!? To top all that off, the impressive cast includes: Francis Ng, Anthony Wong, Tang Yan and Alex Fong. Crime caper tastic.

Synopsis: “In the midst of the gunfights and bloodshed in a sinful city, there were two legendary figures — known only as “Bullet” and “Brain”. “Bullet”, as the name suggests, earned a reputation for being the sharpest shooter the city had ever seen. He could take out his enemy with a pistol in less than one tenth of a second.

“Brain”, on the other hand, earned his reputation for ingenious plots and the countless electronic gadgets he was equipped with. Unknown to all, both Bullet and Brain have left their old lives behind & sworn never to kill or con people again. Soon they disappeared and no one has heard from them since. Nine years pass, and the tales of Bullet and Brain have become only legend. However an old debt and promise draws Bullet and Brain back to the city but this maybe their last mission…”

'Bullet and Brain' opens in Hong Kong November 15th. Bullet and Brain (Trailer)

27th October

Johnny To's 'Exiled' and 'Election 2' DVD giveaway

To mark the release of Johnny To's class-A thrillers ‘Exiled’ and ‘Election 2’ on DVD, the good peeps at Optimum have given us 6 copies to give away. Wanna win? Then just drop us an email with your name, and “Johnny To” in the title field. The first three names drawn will each win a pair of DVDs.The comp is open to all, but dont forget these are R2 discs. Entry closes November 6th. Good Luck!

27th October

'Eden Log' website & new teaser trailers online

We have a bumper crop of news on Franck Vestiel's sci-fi horror ‘Eden Log.' The site for the film has just gone live. Content is still quite bare, but there are some new stills & concept art to be seen. Better still, two new teaser trailers (one of which is in English) are now online, and they look Fantastic! For those up to speed on the flicks more than intrguing storyline, check out our earlier story posted back on Sept 11th. ‘Eden Log’ opens in France on Dec 26th. Go on, dive in.

Eden Log (Teaser poster)

Eden Log (New Teaser trail English)

Eden Log (3rd Teaser trail French)

Eden Log (Website)

26th October

New Thai horror: 'The Screen'

Another big budget Thai frightener is due soon from one of the countries largest studios, Five Star Productions. Five Star has been behind some of the most successful Thai horror pics ever. Previous works range from the hugely over the top gore fest ‘Art of the Devil,’ to the stylish and critically acclaimed ghost story ‘The Unseeable.’ We still have some more info to dig up on the new film, but here’s a summary of the intriguing storyline in the mean time:

“In 1987, four movie screeners stumbled upon a chilling event as they were hired to screen a movie in the forest of Kamchanod. The screeners were wondering why they had no audience at all. Yet, as the movie was about to end, a group of people emerged from the forest and lined up in front of the screen. To the projectionists surprise, the audience disappear as quickly & mysteriously as they had appeared.

This mystery became a legend which a group of scientists have banded together to prove impossible, with a theory that if those film reels were to be found and projected in the same location, it would be a way to bring back the apparition that had appeared on that fateful night. Searching for clues, the curious group unknowingly falls into a situation that had occurred 18 years ago, endangering their own lives for the sake of proving a haunting legend.”

25th October

English subtitled trailer for Japanese action pic ‘Midnight Eagle'

Always helpful, an English subtitled trailer is out for Izuru Narushima's big budget action film 'Midnight Eagle.' The pic starring: Takao Osawa (Into the Sun), Yuko Takeuchi (Heaven’s Bookstore) and Hiroshi Tamaki (Waterboys) has apparently been selling like hot cakes across Asia, with news today that South Korean, Singapore & Hong Kong distributors have already picked up the rights to the movie.

Synopsis: “During a blizzard in the Northern Alps of Japan, a battle begins that will decide the fate of 127 million people. In the skies above the severe winter conditions of the Northern Alps, a top secret American forces’ stealth bomber known as the “Midnight Eagle” suddenly vanishes. Its payload is a “specialized warhead.” If it were to explode, the entire nation of Japan would be hurled into an unprecedented calamity. An ex-war photographer who now only takes nature photos in the mountains accidentally encounters the incident, and gets behind the scene, preventing the weapon to fall into the wrong hands.“

Midnight Eagle trailer

Midnight Eagle website

24th October

Production restarts on 'G.P 506'!

Filming on Su-chang Kong’s (director of the Korean horror ‘R-Point’) new military based horror ‘G.P 506’ has restarted. As we reported back in July, the production stalled due to internal wrangles within the films production company. But now according to an article on Korean site Cine21, shooting is now well underway again, and the movie is due for release in 2008.

Synopsis: "A strange multiple murder case was just occurred. A squad of soldiers from guard point 506 has been brutally killed, all except one. Every body was either crushed, or had their heads cut from their neck. The only survivor is in coma and the case is a complete mystery. Military investigator (Chun Ho Jin) is dispatched. When he arrives it soon becomes apparent this is no ordinary investigation, he is confronted by the discovery that a strange virus is turning soldiers into Zombie like killers…!”

As well as that news, we have also turned up a new still from the movie, that you can check out here. Now that the project is getting back on track, there should plenty of new tasty treats to see soon.

G.P 506 (Stills) 1 2 3 4

23rd October

Teaser trailer for French Sci-fi thriller ‘Dante 01’

A stunning first teaser trailer has surfaced for former artist and designer Maro Caro's dark science-fiction thriller DANTE 01. His first solo project, Caro previously worked with Jean-Pierre Jeunet on the surreal and often visually breathtaking French films: City of Lost Children & Delicatessen.

Synopsis: “Dante 01 is a space prison adrift in the suffocating upper atmosphere of the hostile planet Dante. Inside, six of the Galaxies most dangerous criminals are used as guinea pigs in obscure experiments. A resistance is organized against César (Dominique Pinon), a psychopath warden. But its authority it's called into question by the arrival of Saint-Georges (Lambert Wilson ‘Matrix Reloaded’) a mysterious prisoner possessed by a secret force which he will learn how to control, using it to face the hostility of his fellow prisoners and to release them from the toxic death trap of Dante 01.”

Made in just 40 days under a very tight budget of €8 million, Dante 01 was scripted in collaboration with the novelist Pierre Bordage. The film also stars Linh Dan Pham, Dominique Pinon and François Levantal. ‘Dante 01’ opens in France on Jan 2nd. Dante 01 (Official site)

22nd October

'Naraka 19: The 19th Gate of Hell' on English subtitled DVD

Hong Kong horror‘Naraka 19' is now up for order on English subbed DVD. Based on a popular Internet novel, the movie was helmed by up and director Carol Lai. Gillian Chung takes on a lead film role as Rain, a student who checks into her dorm room at university only to discover that it has a troubled and ominous history. Ten years prior, a student named Gao Yuan committed suicide in the room, and the resulting psychic scars run very deep.

Rain's roommates begin getting text messages inviting them to play a special game, where they must traverse the 18 levels of Hell to reach the fabled "Naraka 19". However, the price failing a level is madness or even death! In order to uncover the game's secret, & her friends' fates, Rain agrees to join the game. She finds herself in a dark and bizarre world, surrounded by demons & ghostly creatures, with only her wits and her mobile phone to point the way home.

Naraka 19 trailer

Order the DVD here

22nd October

Another retelling of Indonesian horror tale 'Suster N'

It seems that the Indonesian public have a fascination with the folk tale of ‘Suster Ngesot’ - one of their more gruesome urban legends, as a second film version of the grisly story is on the way. Reading the tale of her (see our article May 5th) plight, you can see why it makes fine fodder for a horror pic. Directed by newcomer Viva Westi, the new version entitled 'Suster N' takes elements of the legend, and adds in a few extra twists.

Synopsis: "Set in West Java, ‘Suster N’ tells story about an elderly house called Villa Rose. The house named after its owner, Rose (Dominique Sanda). After years Rose’s taking care of the elderly house, she wants to give the house to her granddaughter, Sarah (Atiqah Hasiholan). Sarah is so excited about the house, she moves back to Indonesia from Holland with her husband Jonathan (Bob Seven). But this elderly house has a secret from the past. The house is haunted by a spirit of death nurse called Suster N..”

This being an Indonesian horror, there will most likely be the obligatory love story thrown in as a sub plot. But from looking at the trailer the production values seem pretty good, as do the effects. And the leading lady performs (and screams!) with gusto. ‘Suster N’ opens October 25th. Suster N website

21st October

Teaser trailer for Russian horror 'Tropa Smerti 2’ aka ‘Path of Death 2’

Further to our story posted back on Sept 20th, the first teaser trail is out for Anatoly Sergeev's indy horror ‘Tropa Smerti 2,’ aka ‘The path of death 2.’ The sequel apparently follows directly on from events in the first film, the synopsis for which can be read in our article dated Dec 9th. Still in production, the movie is due out in the new year.

Thanks to Denis for the steer.

Tropa Smerti 2 trailer

Tropa Smerti 2 site (Not yet fully active)

21st October

Update: 'The Spiritual World' website now live

The site for Thai horror movie ‘The spiritual world’ Directed by Tharat Thewsomboon is now fully alive and kicking. All the usual treats lay within. For a summary of the films plot, head down the page to the post on Oct 11th.

The spiritual world (Official site)

19th October

Vin Diesel 'Babylon A.D.' teaser poster

It looks like promotional material is starting to surface for Vin Diesel’s sci-fi action pic ‘Babylon A.D.’ First up is a cool teaser poster of the man himself. Directed by Matthieu Kassovitz, the movie is based on a French science fiction novel by Maurice G. Dantec. Co-starring with Vin Diesel are some really heavy hitting names, including: Gérard Depardieu, Michelle Yeoh and Charlotte Rampling.

‘Babylon A.D.’ is a futuristic tale about the ramifications of genetic experimentation. In a constantly changing world conflict, circa 2013, violent yet well-read Hugo Toorop (Diesel), a 20-year veteran of the Bosnian conflict, is offered a well payed new job by the Siberian mafia in Kazakhstan to transport a young girl named Marie to Montreal. But who is Marie, and what does she carry with her, that is so secret? Via.

The movie is set to premiere in France on Feb 27th.

Babylon A.D. (Myspace page)

19th October

'Masters of Horror' DVD giveaway winners

Our contest to give away 3 (signed by the directors) discs from the 'Masters of Horror' season 1 has come to an end. Congratulations are due to our lucky winners: Christine Fidance, David Watts and Melissa Enslin.

Masters of Horror (Official site)

18th October

Exclusive: Official site live for Spanish horror [REC]

The official site for Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza's Spanish horror REC is now up. It’s still pretty bare bones on content, but there is a much higher resolution version of the latest (and by far the scariest!) trailer for the film to be seen. Enjoy.

REC (Official site)

18th October

Jose Cassella's new chiller 'Second Coming'

Director Jose Cassella has dropped us a line to tell us about his new project, the horror 'Second Coming.' And seeing how it looks like a great lil chiller, we thought it well worth a plug.

‘Second Coming’ is the story of identical twin sisters who have a special psychic bond. When one of them is murdered, she begins sending chilling visions from the grave to help her twin sister find her body and the killer. The film takes the viewer on a journey, as the lead character assumes her dead sister’s identity.

‘Second’ is the follow up to Cassella’s 2006 SCREAMFEST award-winning pic ‘Delivery,’ which was recently released by Warner Bros on DVD in May. For more info, head on over to the movies official site.

Second Coming (Official site)

18th October

'Afro Samurai' now on R2 DVD

Afro Samurai is the bloodiest anime to come out of Japan in quite some time. With a fast, action-packed storyline, a dream-like quality to the animation, and the spectacular voices of the uber-cool Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Perlman (Hellboy), and Kelly Hu (X Men 3) its got it all.

Add a Hip Hop/Soul/Rock soundtrack especially composed by The RZA (Wu Tan Clan) and you can see why Afro commanded one of the biggest budgets anime has ever seen. As far as we can tell there is little or no difference between this and R1 directors cut release, so either/or will see you right. Afro Samurai UK site

17th October

Full theatrical trailer for Turkish horror 'Musallat' (Haunted)’

The visual effects director for Turkish horror 'Musallat' kindly dropped us an email today with a link to the full theatrical trail for the pic. And my it’s looking good. He also let slip some other snippets of good news. When the new trail is added to the films official site, it will be English subtitled. Better still, he also said they are now considering releasing the film outside of its home country. Excellent. Fingers crossed! 'Musallat' opens in Turkey, Nov 16th.

Musallat (Theatrical trailer)

Musallat (Official site)

17th October

Variety's Jonathan Holland reviews the sumptuous Korean murder mystery 'Shadows in the Palace'

Following in the footsteps of the massively successful period epic 'King and the Clown,' director Kim Mi-jeong's 'Shadows in the Palace' is tipped to be the next big historical hit in Korean Cinemas this fall. Variety's Jonathan Holland gives us the low down on this stunning looking movie.....

"An Agatha Christie country-house mystery transposed to the royal court of Korea's Joseon dynasty, given a distinctive femme twist and then drenched with gore, "Shadows in the Palace" boasts the kind of jack-knife plot of which the Queen of Crime would have been proud. This sumptuous-looking item purports to examine the forgotten lives of Korean court women (the original title translates literally as "palace women"), but basically it's a sophisticated whodunit whose temporal tricks sometimes dazzle, sometimes baffle..." Read the full review

Shadows in the Palace Website

16th October

Spanish horror 'Aparecidos' (The Appeared) website updated

The website for Paco Cabezas road movie horror ‘Aparecidos’ aka ‘The Appeared’ has had a few changes. The updates are nothing too major, but its encouraging, as this is the first sign of life we’ve seen on this pic for some time. In place of the teaser trail, they now have a puzzle that opens up some extra’s, and we suspect the whole site, when it goes fully live.

The film stars Ruth Díaz and Javier Pereira as brothers Malena and Pablo who whilst travelling in Argentina, discover a diary that documents horrendous crimes committed by the author 20 years ago. The night after the discovery, a family is killed following in an identical manner to one incidence in the diary. Now Malena and Pablo need to discover what is real and what isn't. Something dead from the past, is now very much in the present.

Aparecidos (Teaser trailer)

Aparecidos (Official Site)

15th October

Third Window Films announces upcoming releases

U.K based distribution house Third Window Films have just announced the acquisition of two films from Japanese director Tetsuya Nakashima. 'Kamikaze Girls' & 'Memories of Matsuko,' have been added to their growing catalog of Cult and genre films, from the Far East.

Kamikaze Girls: Momoko is an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life. Ordinary, that is, if you define ordinary as wearing elaborate Lolita dresses from the Rococo period in 18th Century France. Ichigo is a rebel and a member of a tough biker gang. Perhaps surprisingly Momoko & Ichigo slowly develop a strong friendship as they share their feelings on the odd goings-ons around them.

Memories of Matsuko: When Sho gets roped into cleaning out the apartment of a recently deceased aunt he never knew, his curiosity is piqued by chance encounters with her old friends and associates, whose anecdotes reveal a vivid picture of Matsuko’s tragic fairytale. Despite his father’s claim that Matsuko’s life was meaningless, Sho discovers that she had been a beloved music teacher who lost her job following an unfortunate series of misunderstandings.

If neither of those great titles are quite your thing, perhaps cyberpunk, undead vigilantism is more your style. Third Windows newest release, NAM Ki-wong's ‘Teenage Hooker Became a Killing Machine,’ hits the streets on R2 DVD in December.

14th October

Release date of Russian horror 'Viy' drops back a year

The release date of Oleg Stepchenko’s big budget remake of the classic Russian horror pic ‘Viy’ has slipped by over a year. We caught our first look at this hugely over the top production last year via the guys at Twitch, and since then it has sat firmly on our must see list. Now the bad news. According to a story on Russian film site ‘Filmz.ru’ the premiere has been moved back to 2009 - to coincide with bi-centenary of Nikolai (author of the book the film is based on) Gogol's birthday.

They go further to say that filming is still incomplete. Complex effects and the live animal scenes are still to be done, and picture will now be finished toward the end of 2008. "The film will be mega-project, we do not want to lower the standard of the finished product; therefore they preferred quality, rather than rush to finish " - commented producer Alexei Petrukhin to Russian newspaper, Action Daily.

2009! If this info is entirely accurate, we'll not be seeing the movie with English subtitles for a long time. Booo.

Viy trailer (downloadable AVI)

13th October

English subtitled trailers for 'The Last Breath' aka 'Epitaph'

We first covered news on the unusual Korean frightener ‘Gidam’ aka ‘Epitaph’ earlier in the year on July 1st. The movie, a summer favourite with both local audiences and the critic’s alike, is now to get a theatrical release in Singapore next week under the title ‘The Last Breath.’

So why’s that good for us. It’s good because English is widely spoken in Singapore, so nearly all their film trails are English subtitled. Always a bonus when you are trying to work out what's going on in a foreign language film.

As well as a full synopsis for the pic, the Singapore sub site contains: a teaser trailer, a full trailer, and 3 TV spots, all with English subtitles. Also included is a link to the original, more than a little surreal, official Korean website.

Singapore site

Korean site

12th October

'Exiled' and 'Election 2' on R2 DVD

It’s a veritable JOHNNY TO film fest this month, with Optimum home Entertainment’s announcement of the UK Region 2 DVD release of two of his class-A thrillers. ‘Exiled’ & ‘Election 2.’

Exiled
“1998: Macau. Every living soul jumps at every chance to make quick money before the Portuguese colony ushers in a new era under the Chinese rule. Against this background come two hit men from Hong Kong sent to take out a renegade member trying to turn over a new leaf with his wife and newborn baby. They soon find themselves in the throes of a dilemma when two of their former associates also show up, intent on thwarting them at every cost.”

Election 2
“Jimmy is an educated gangster: a member of one of Hong Kong’s oldest triads, Wo Sing, and in line to become its next Chairman. However, Jimmy wants to leave the Triad, go clean and build his own legitimate business empire. The irony that to do this he must first take control is not lost on him, and as he starts on a violent campaign trail an altogether greater power looms to threaten the future of both Wo Sing and Jimmy himself.”

Both discs hit the shelves on 22nd October 2007.

12th October

Character posters for Feng Xiaogang's war epic 'Assembly'

And my there’s a lot of them. Nine to be exact. But much like the film they look beautifully crafted. Xiaogang's ‘Assembly’ is getting a lot of positive buzz in the online Asian press at the moment. When the film premiered at the 12th Pusan Film Fest on October 4th, all 7,000 tickets for the screening sold in just 17 minutes. The film opens in China in December.

Assembly Posters 1 2 3 4 5

Assembly website

11th October

'The Spiritual World' trailer and synopsis

It's no secret that we here at 24fps are a sucka for a 'good' Thai horror movie, and it seems like Director Tharat Thewsomboon’s upcoming chiller ‘The spiritual world,’ may very well be just that. The official site for the pic is now live and includes a spiffy trailer. Here's the plot....

“Ming is able to see ghosts and contact to the dead since she was a little girl. It's been 15 years since she managed to escape from a mysterious ghost that kept following her. One day she meets a young doctor named Buut, who visits her for a purpose. ‘Buut’ knows that Ming can contact to the dead, so he wants her to find the reason behind the death of his father. While his father's death is reported as being suicide, he believes it was murder. The appearance of Buut brings back memories of the past, and now Ming must face a truth that is even more terrible. For now she is being stalked by a lost soul who is far more dangerous than any Ghost she has met so far...”

From the feel of the trail, the movie to be seems to be going more for atmosphere rather than full on (often a staple in Thai horror) gore to create the scares. No bad thing when its done well. The pic stars Anuchit Sapanpong & Nuttamonkan Srinikornchot and opens in Thailand in November.

The spiritual world (Official site)

10th October

Odeon Sky picks up U.K rights on Filmax's [REC]

Odeon Sky Filmworks has picked up U.K. distribution rights of Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza's Spanish horror REC. The deal was apparently done during the Toronto Int Film Festival. REC is the story of a TV reporter and her cameraman who are taping a reality series when things go VERY wrong.

"'REC' is one of the scariest films I've seen and we are thrilled to have secured the U.K. theatrical rights to this excellent horror movie," Sky Filmworks chief Tony Miller said in a statement. So with that fantastic news, you can expect a U.K Cinema release in the not too distant future. [Source:Variety]

REC trailer

10th October

2nd theatrical poster for Turkish horror 'Musallat' (Haunted)

Further to our story back on Sept 14th, a new theatrical poster has surfaced for ‘Musallat’ aka ‘Haunted.’ And very purdy it is too. Both written and directed by Alper Mestçi, the movie is the story of Suat and Nurcan, who’s lives are torn apart when they begin to be haunted by terrifying supernatural creatures. The movie opens in Turkey Nov 16th.

Musallat (Official site)

9th October

John Woo's 'The Killer' Gets Remake

John Woo's 1989 Hong Kong classic ‘The Killer’ will be remade in L.A. with a Korean star replacing Chow Yun-fat as the hard core hit man. Director John H. Lee, a Korean-American and a CAA client, will move the action through Korea town, Chinatown and South Central L.A, said Woo's longtime producer and partner at Lion Rock Prods., Terence Chang.

"The actor has to be Korean in this version, but also, L.A. is a character in the film," Chang said in an interview on the opening day of the four-day Asian Film Market. "In John's original version, it doesn't really matter where the film is set, except that Hong Kong has this dragon boat festival which adds a bit of local flavor. In this remake, we will use the geography of L.A. to move the story forward."

Chang also said that a script is being worked on but it is too early to reveal other details. Lee, also at the Pusan film festival, directed "A Moment to Remember" in 2004, the most popular Korean movie ever to open in Japan. 'The Killer' will be the latest in a long (and ever growing) list of Asian films to cross the Pacific to Hollywood. Source

9th October

Paul Spurrier's 'P' aka 'Ghost' finally on DVD

The 2005 Thai horror ‘P’ is to get a R1 DVD release through Tartan video in December. An Official Selection of the New York Asian, Chicago International, Fantasia (Montreal) and PIFAN (Korea) Film Festivals, ‘P’ was directed by Paul Spurrier, and is the first ever Thai language film to helmed by a Westerner.

“….While growing up in rural Thailand, a young and very beautiful orphan girl is taught the mysterious art of dark magic by her grandmother. When her grandmother falls sick, young Dau travels to Bangkok looking for work so that she can earn enough money for medicine. She lands a job as an exotic dancer at a go-go club.

Hesitant at first and ridiculed by the other dancers, Dau is forced by circumstances to become an adult before her time and ultimately becomes the most popular and eerily seductive dancer at the club. Jealousies ensue and as her magic gets darker, the young girl gradually loses control as something abhorrently evil and wicked takes over.”

Happily the official sub site for the film is still active. Within are plenty of background notes on the film, several behind the scene trailers and also the theatrical trail. Spurrier is currently working on a sequel to ‘P,’ entitled ‘P2.’

8th October

Full trailer for Andy Lau's 'Brothers'

Now here’s an odd thing. Back on Sept 23rd we reported the English language site for Andy Lau’s new thriller ‘Brothers' going live. Now we find the webpage has just vanished!? But the cup is still half full. To perhaps make up for the loss, the Chinese version has now been updated with the theatrical poster and full (English subtitled) trailer for the film. Where's it at? Head to the site, then select the bottom button, 3rd from the right.

Brothers Site

7th October

Theatrical trailer for J-Horror ‘Tomie vs Tomie’

A theatrical trailer for Tomohiro Kubo's latest installment of this long running J-Horror series, has been added to the official site for ‘Tomie vs Tomie.’ And as title suggests this time we have two ‘Tomie's for the price of one. Playing the leads are Yû Abiru and Chika Arakawa, as “the girl who would not die.” Watching the trail we have to say we were mildly surprised. It actually doesn't look too bad at all. To see for yourself, head over to the site, then select the menu button on the far right.

Tomie vs Tomie Website

6th October

Japanese action pic ‘Midnight Eagle' to get U.S release

Universal Pictures has bought into the Japanese actioner "Midnight Eagle" and will release the film in North America this year. A deal between Japanese studio Shochiku and Universal Pictures Japan sees Universal Japan become a “co-producer” of the Izuru Narushima - helmed movie.

Synopsis: “During a blizzard in the Northern Alps of Japan, a battle begins that will decide the fate of 127 million people. In the skies above the severe winter conditions of the Northern Alps, a top secret American forces’ stealth bomber known as the “Midnight Eagle” suddenly vanishes. Its payload is a “specialized warhead.” If it were to explode, the entire nation of Japan would be hurled into an unprecedented calamity. An ex-war photographer who now only takes nature photos in the mountains accidentally encounters the incident, and gets behind the scene, preventing the weapon to fall into the wrong hands.“

As we reported back on August 29th, Shochiku also made a bold marketing decision of premiering the movie in the U.S rather than Japan. And it looks like it has paid off. By doing so they've managed to secure a U.S sale, a month before the film was even due to show at the AFM (American film Market).

Source

Midnight Eagle website

6th October

Korean horror 'The Cut' aka 'Cadaver' on English subtitled DVD

Egg Films and Chungeorahm films summer Korean horror title "The Cut" (Haeboohakgyosil) is released on DVD next week. The film is directed by Son Tae-woong and the cast features the young actors Han Ji-min and On Joo-wan. The films about medical students who one by one start to meet their death when they start dissecting a corpse of a mysterious beautiful woman.

Synopsis: “In a cold dark shaded anatomy class room, six student Doctors are taking part in anatomy class. Sun-hwa smart and confident; Ki-bum born to be a team leader full of confidence, Joong-suk son a hospital owner; Kyung-min too weak to be a doctor; Ji-young sexy and haughty but poor at study, Eun-joo studious nerd.

In the first class, they try to suppress their fear and approach the cadaver that is waiting for them…. The first meeting with a deadly beautiful Cadaver, and their nightmare begins. The cadaver is assigned to them, right after the first class. They suffer from ghosts and hallucinations. After several accidents and death of some team members, they start to realize something terrible is coming for them. They do their best to survive and find one clue: these accidents all have something to do with the female cadaver.

The Cut Offical site

Order the DVD here

5th October

First posters for Thai frightener 'The spiritual World'

Thailand is really churning out the genre pics at the moment. Latest to appear on the scene is the Thai horror ‘The spiritual world,’ and we have three mighty fine posters for you to take a gander at. We won’t get too carried away with its slick looks just yet though, until we get some plot details. Usually a good sign of quality, is the fact that the film is produced through Thai studio Sahamongkol film. They don’t often put a foot wrong.

Poster 1 2 3

5th October

Trailer for Malaysian horror 'Orang Minyak' aka 'The Oily Man'

A trailer is up for the Malaysia horror ‘Orang Minyak,’ which literally translated apparently means ‘Oily man.’ Directed by Jamal Maarif the films stars Sharifah Sofea, Jobot Mehran & Fauzi Nawawi. Watching it for the first time we thought we’d hit a time warp. The pic has the look of a 70s Hong Kong horror, right down to the over the top acting, and cheesy visual effects. This one may well fall into the “so bad its good” category.

The plot:" Professor Dian is investigating the legendary creature called Orang Minyak in Kampung Silang. All hell breaks loose and when Orang Minyak escpaes his magical prison creating havoc. Pak Junid and Munir corner the Orang Minyak and cast him into a bottle to be thrown in the river for good. The bottle is trapped among some garbage and is brought ashore by two fishermen. Out of curiosity, they open the bottle and Orang Minyak is freed again. The creature is in burning rage and ready for revenge."

Orang Minyak trailer

4th October

Feng Xiaogang's ASSEMBLY to open Pusan Film Festival

The world premiere of Feng Xiaogang's mega budget war epic ‘Assembly’ opens the Pusan Film Festival this Thursday. The film stars Zhang Hanyu (A World Without Thieves), and is jointly produced by South Korea's MK Pictures & China's Huayi Bros, who were also involved in his previous outing, ‘The Banquet.’ The film is about a lone soldier trying to gain recognition for comrades who died in 1948, at a turning point in the vicious civil war between the communists and the nationalist forces of the Kuomintang.

Assembly website

3rd October

RSS newsfeed for 24framespersecond!

A long time coming we know, but we are happy to announce that 24framespersecond now has a RSS news feed of its very own. It doesn’t have any bells or whistles, but it seems to be doing the the job. To access the standard feed page click the orange box above, or theres a link to FEEDBURNER below.

24fps via FEEDBURNER

3rd October

Website goes live for Thai supernatural action pic 'Opapatika'

The website is up for supernatural action flick ‘Opapatika,’ and by the looks of it they have spent (for a Thai film) a small fortune on the design. Heres hoping that the movie is just as good.

It’s still unclear if anyone has picked up the rights to the film in the U.S. If not, we can only hope that when it does come out on DVD, they release the damn thing with English subs! ‘Opapatika’ opens in Thailand October 23rd.

Opapatika Website

3rd October

'The Last Of The Just' Theatrical poster & trailer

We first covered news on Manuel Carballo’s supernatural thriller ‘El Último de los justos’ aka ‘The last of the just’ way back in January. Bill Rovzar is producing, and as he is the man behind the excellent Spanish/Mexican horror 'Kilómetro 31,' we thought it well worth keeping an eye on. Now seeing the trailer it looks like it's been worth the wait. The movie stars Diego Martín, Ana Claudia Talancón, and Antonio Dechent.

Synopsis:"Two ancient armies have been secretly fighting since the beginning of time. Their conflict is based on the belief that the guardians of the Apocalypse, the Just, men far beyond their own kind, exist, and that the Final Judgement would depend on their survival. Both organizations act in the name of Good, but their purposes are strictly opposed.

One wants to protect 'the Just' for the sake of all humanity while the other group looks forward to destroying them in order to regenerate the human race.Now, after years of conflict, there’s only one Just man left, Theo. He is a common fellow suddenly involved in a war in which he ‘s both the cause and the aim. After an attempted murder, Theo leaves the city to hide away in his birth town where an old teacher seems to be clued on what’s happening. However both armies follow him, in hot pursuit."

The Last of the Just Trailer (Youtube)

2nd October

Final trailer for Russian action blockbuster 'Apocalypse Code'

The final trailer before release (movie opens in Russian on Wednesday) is out for the Russian big budget action flick ‘Apocalypse Code.’ Directed by Vadim Shmelyov, the films stars Anastasia Zavorotnyuk, Vincent Perez, Alexei Serebryakov and Vladimir Menshov.

The story: Four atomic bombs, ready to explode, have been placed in four large cities around the world. Female Russian secret agent with the code name ‘Beautiful’ is sent to decipher the codes held by three guards spread throughout the world, to defuse the bombs. Louis Devier, is an unscrupulous wealthy banker who intends to explode the bombs.

Apocalypse Code site (trailer within)

1st October

Teaser poster for Franck Vestiel's Sci-Fi horror 'Eden Log'

It was tough to find, but we have just turned up the first teaser poster for Franck Vestiel's French sci-fi horror ‘Eden Log.’ Much like the first trailers for the film, it’s got the same dark decaying underground theme going on, and looks great. ‘Eden Log’ opens in France in December.

Synopsis: "Eden Log" invites you to witness the painful awakening of a man deep inside a cave. Suffering amnesia, he has no recollection of how he came to be here nor of what happened to the man whose body he finds beside him. Followed by a mysterious creature, he has no other choice but to continue through this strange and fantastic world."

Eden Log Trailers