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The
Guys over at KFC cinema picked up on this new Thai horror
'Colic'. Synopsis:Colic is a syndrome found in infants. It
causes the infants to cry continuously for hours. The reasons
behind this illness are many, but some people believe that
it is probably a sign of something supernatural. Colic tells
a story of a couple, Pongpob and Praeploy, who rush to wed
when Praeploy becomes unexpectedly pregnant. After the wedding,
Pongpob brings his wife Praeploy to his mother's house located
in an suburbs to settle down. The night before Praeploy will
deliver the child, she sees the house next door on fire. When
the baby is delivered, and is brought to their house, he often
screams and cries with no reason. The doctor considers it
a case of colic ailment, but it doesn't go away. Several months
later, the baby still can't stop crying, meanwhile the family's
members encounter mysterious and unexplained experiences.
Check out the official site, for one eerie teaser trailer.
According
to 'Variety' The Amityville Horror director Andrew Douglas
will next direct horror film 'Priest'. Mike De Luca, Sam Raimi
and Josh Donen produces, and production is scheduled to start
this summer. 'Priest' is based on Tokyopop's graphic novel,
created by Min-Woo Hyung, and is scripted by Cory Goodman.
The story is a Vampire Western. It concerns a warrior priest
who disobeys church law by teaming with a young sheriff and
a priestess to track down a band of renegade Vampires who
have kidnapped his niece. The premise sounds interesting,
and Douglas did a competent job on the Amityville remake,
so we may be in for a good Vampire fest!
A
couple of other sites have been writing up this story as though
Zhang has already signed on the dotted line, which isn't exactly
how I read it. 'China Broadcast' have said that Taiwan director
Ang Lee, who helped propel Zhang Ziyi to international stardom
with the box office hit "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,''
may cast the actress again in his upcoming Chinese
thriller. Lee's assistant Li Liangshan confirmed that Zhang
was among a number of Chinese actors who are in talks to star
in Lee's new movie "Lust, Caution", Chinese website
Sina.com reported Friday. Li did not deny that Zhang has been
chosen for the role of a revolutionary youth. Li only said
that movie makers were "in many talks with many Chinese
actors and have not yet made a decision,'' according to the
report. "Lust, Caution,'' set in World War II Shanghai,
is an adaptation of a short story by famed late Chinese novelist
Eileen Chang. The movie will be made in Chinese, marking Lee's
return to Chinese-language cinema after making "The Hulk''
and "Brokeback Mountain,'' which won him a best director
Oscar this year. "Action movies like 'Crouching Tiger'
are not as hot as they were in the overseas market now,''
Lee's assistant Li was quoted as saying. "That's why
Ang Lee has had new thoughts about subjects for his new films.
"'Lust' is a novel he really likes, and he spent a long
time preparing for it before deciding to film it,'' Li added.
It would be great if she gets the role, Zhang Ziyi in a spy
thriller sounds quite intriguing.
Nicholas
Cage will star in the Hollywood remake of the Hong Kong-born
Pang brothers' 1999 gangster thriller Bangkok Dangerous, a
newspaper has reported. The
twin brothers - Oxide and Danny Pang - will also direct the
remake. The film is due to start shooting in Bangkok in August,
The South China Morning Post reported. The brothers will inject
new elements into the remake and may also cast Thai, South
Korean and Hong Kong actors, Oxide Pang was quoted as saying
at the Cannes Film Festival. The Post quoted Danny Pang as
saying Cage's character will speak, unlike the mute assassin
seen in the original Bangkok Dangerous. That makes it at least
five projects the Pang's are quoted as being involved in this
year. Where do they find the time!?
Danish
horror thriller Rovdrift is currently in post production and
and due to be released in the near future.
The
writer of the U.S. version of THE GRUDGE and it's sequel,
Stephen Susco, has picked his next project. Susco is quoted
to be writing the script to a supernatural war story called
'Zero Dark Thirty' The story of U.S. Army solider Andy Woodward
who returns home from the middle east -- weeks after his own
funeral. His family and friends are further stunned once they
realize all signs of the old Andy are gone, and a zombie of
sorts has taken his place. This should actually be called
a 're-write' as the new script is apparently based on the
1974 chiller 
Another
Video exclusive for 24fps. We've just been given the ok to
put out the link for a new extended trailer for the film,
that wont be on the official site until next week. It includes
extended footage and our first brief glimpse of the Zombie
bad boys!
'Blade
Runner' whilst arguably being one of the best sci-fi films
of all time, has also long been been mired in rights issues
and controversy over how director Ridley Scotts intended vision
was hacked to pieces and re-edited by studio execs. In 1992
Scott was finally given a chance to re-edit the film as he
intended it to be. Even then Scott was apparently never that
happy with his first directors cut, complaining that he was
rushed and unable to give it proper attention.
Now thought according
to 'Variety' it seems he is
to get the chance to have another go. 'Blade Runner:Final
Cut' will arrive in 2007 for a limited 25th anniversary theatrical
run, followed by a special edition DVD with the three previous
versions offered as alternate viewing: Besides the original
theatrical version and director's cut, the expanded international
theatrical cut will be included. The set will also contain
additional bonus materials. Cant wait!
We
discovered today that 'The Mutant Chronicles' official site
has just gone live. There isn't much content to see online
as yet. So far there is only a Flash intro with some conceptual
art and the new swanky (left) logo, but it will definitely
be one to keep an eye on as they update. 
DreamWorks Pictures joined with Germany's Constantin Film
to acquire the domestic distribution rights to the new thriller
'Perfume.' Based on the best selling novel by Patrick Suskind.
'Perfume' will be directed by Tom Tykwer, the award-winning
director of "Heaven" and the German film "Lola
Rennt." The film Set in 18th-century France, tells the
terrifying story of murder and obsession centered around a
man who strangely lacks any scent of his own, but has a unique
talent for identifying any smell. He uses this talent to create
the world's finest perfumes, but his gift leads him to obsession
when he turns to murdering young women on the verge of womanhood
in order to capture their aroma. Ben Whishaw "My Brother
Tom," will play the central role of the killer on the
hunt for the perfect scent. Starring along side Whitshaw will
be Dustin Hoffman, and one of my favorite actors Alan Rickman,
which makes it to my mind worth watching for that alone. We
have managed to track down the official German website, where
you can catch the trailer 
Not
including the great news that Magnolia
Films has acquired the rights to distribute world wide Bong
Joon-Ho's 'The Host' we now get to see the creature close
up and personal. A video interview with the director has appeared
on Sina.com which includes not only the standard teaser trailer,
but some new unseen footage of the mutant bad boy itself.
Back
in 
Back
at the beginning of May we were greeted with the news of Billy
O'Brien's upcoming mutant Cow on the rampage flick 'Isolation'.
Now hot on its heals (or hooves) comes news of another tale
of farmyard animals on the rampage .Horror comedy 'Black Sheep'
is the first film from writer/director Jonathan King, and
is to be shot in New Zealand. It deals with an experiment
in genetic engineering being conducted on a sheep station
that goes horribly wrong, turning the loveable Lambs into
killers that crave human blood. There are several sites including
Fangoria where you can catch some stills of the blood splattered
bundles of fluffy joy.
'Time,'
a new film by controversial director Kim Ki-duk, will open
the 41st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival next month
in the Czech Republic. Jiri Bartoska, president of the festival,
said on its official Web site, "It is an honor for us
that this year's festival will start off with the world premiere
of a new film by Kim Ki-duk.'' Kim
said it gives him great pleasure that his film has been invited
as the opening film this year. The film by Kim, who gained
international recognition by dealing with controversial issues,
is about a married couple's fading love and the extreme measures
the wife will take with plastic surgery to save their relationship.
Actress Sung Hyun-ah and actor Ha Jung-woo star in the leading
roles. You can check out the coverage of this film and many
others on the Festivals site 
The
Hamilton's seem to be the picture perfect American family.
They are hardworking community members; giving to their local
charities,attending Town Hall meetings, and always respectful
to their neighbors… except for the fact that they usually
end up killing them. In this film, the Butcher Brothers take
you on a horrifying journey into the depths of normal America,
where everything is not what it seems. The Hamilton's is a
twisted tale of one family, with a malicious appetite to kill
and a plot-revealing secret that will leave you on the edge
of your seats.
From Shoreline Entertainment and Matador pictures comes this
Anglo- American co production 'Dark Corners'. Starring Emmy
Award and Golden Globe nominee Thora Birch (American Beauty,
Ghost World) and Toby Stephens (Die Another Day). Dark Corners
was helmed by first-time director Ray Grower .The story:
Karen works in a mortuary - preparing bodies for pre-funeral
viewings and on this particular morning all seems relatively
normal ... until a corpse sits up, grabs Karen's wrist and
curses her for “What she has done!”. And that's
just the beginning. Ugly, twisted creatures lead by the monstrous
Needletooth seem to be stalking her every move, plaguing her
already bizarre existence. Even in her own home she feels
their malevolent presence. And every time she wakes, she has
been beaten. The film has some 'Silent Hill' overtones
in the visuals and storyline, but seems crafted in a far more
adult and polished manner. Dark Corners has entered post production
and is due for release in the UK in October. You can view
a video presskit which includes some clips from the film 
Picked
up on this interesting independent Zombie flick being produced
in Australia of all places. Strongman Pictures the company
behind the future release are currently finalizing the funding
for the project, and if all goes well it should be released
in 2007. The story :"Behind grim institutional walls,
a young woman is restrained. An unseen surgeon blasts two
massive electric shocks through her skull. An ice pick is
hammered past her eyeball and spears her brain. It is violently
twisted. Her frontal lobes are destroyed. Free will dies,
emotion is stunted. She becomes responsive only to the most
basic human drive - hunger. She has become a zombie".
Check out the website for a teaser trail and some great
pre production shots.
They
guys over at 'KFC Cinema' have turned up some information
on a couple of new Horror flicks from Thailand. For a country
that has come late to cinematic world and indeed the genre
of Horror, they are certainly making up for lost time with
their prolific turnout of film. Both sound very promising
especially 'Alone' which is to be directed by Parkpoom Wongpoom
and Banjong Pisanthanakun who were responsible for the excellent
'
Second
is 'Body' a very different story Directed by first timer 'Paween
Purijitpanya'. Synopsis: A human being contains 5 liters
of blood, 6 pounds of skin, 206 bones, 600 muscles, and 35
million glands. It takes a human body more than 25 years of
life to grow such things. But one man actually believes he
can rid himself of every single piece of human flesh by just
using scissors and a small surgical blade. And he is going
to prove it. Chon, a 4th year medical student, starts seeing
a psychotherapist after he starts dreaming about a woman who
hea had only met once in a restaurant. In his dreams, a mysterious
man murders her, slices her body into pieces, and flushes
them down a toilet one by one. The murderous dreams haunt
him into his waking memory, and eventually he feels as if
his own body is being dissected and carved up by the surgical
knife. Slowly, the terrifying images take control of him.
He comes to believe that the dead woman is sending him messages
through these nightmares. But these are not messages for him,
they are meant for her murderer. They speak of revenge: "I
am still here." Both movies are due out early next
year. We shall definitely be keeping an eye out for more info
on these.
Back in 
Tartan
have bought the rights to distribute the Thai horror flick
'The Ghost of Mae Nak' in the States and the UK. The film
by British writer/director Mark Duffield tells the story of
an unfortunate couple Nak and Mak. They acquire an antique
brooch and an old abandoned house that soon brings them into
contact with Mae Nak Phrakhanong, a figure of horror and despair
from one of Thailand's most enduring ghost legends. While
Mae Nak's ghost protects the couple from an crooked real estate
agent as well as a pair of burglars, it becomes apparent that
she expects a terrible favour in return.
'The
Hollywood Reporter' has the story that The producer of Godzilla
Dean Devlin (left) is going to direct a film. Is that a good
thing we may well ask, but Devlin is also responsible for
Stargate and Independence Day. This will be the first time
he will be in the BIG chair, and he’s picked a supernatural
thriller for his debut. 'Ghosting' follows a team of paranormal
investigators who cross between the world of the living and
the dead by stopping their hearts. The story has a distinct
ring of Flatliners about it, but with cop thriller twist It
could be good. The movie is to be penned by Jessie Alexander
who wrote 'Eight Legged Freaks' and has also written for 'Alias'
The project will start shooting early next year, once Devlin
completes work on both World War One flying aces flick Flyboys
and sci-fi thriller Isobar.
For
those of you into your Anime this will definitely be of interest.
The 10th Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival,
the largest such festival in Asia, will be held for five days
from May 24 at the Seoul Trade Exhibition Center and CGV Yongsan.
The festival will feature 1,204 cartoons and animations from
53 countries, the most in the history of the annual event.
Besides exhibitions on cartoons and special screenings of
various feature animation films. Of the hundreds of films
the lineup includes: French animation "The Snails (1965)",
a fanciful, colorful tale about a farmer whose tear-watered
crops cause snails to grow to enormous sizes will be Shown.
"Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)", a CG-animated
feature film based on the hot Playstation game "Final
Fantasy VII", and Japanese puppet and stop motion animator
Kawamoto Kihachiro's "The Book of the Dead (2005)".
Kawamoto, along with another world-renowned Japanese anime
director Isao Takahata (best known for the war film "Grave
of the Fireflies"), will visit the country during the
festival to participate in the screening of their films. To
read up on the rest of whats going on at this huge event,
you can check out the festivals website 
According
to 'Variety' Bill Kong, producer of "Crouching Tiger"
and "Hero," is to reteam with helmer Ronny Yu for
"Blood: The Last Vampire," an English-language adaptation
of a best-selling Japanese manga comic series. Yu recently
directed "Fearless," the action movie starring Jet
Li. Kong produced "Fearless" through his Hong Kong-based
Edko Films. "Blood" will be produced by Edko with
France's Pathe group. Kong says "Blood" will likely
shoot in a mix of English and other languages". Unlike
most of Kong's recent films it will not be shot in china,
he is currently scouting locations in Japan, Russia and the
Philippines. The story of an undercover vampire hunter who
is in fact a hugely powerful Vampire herself was previously
filmed as an animated movie by Japan's Production I.G. helmed
by Hiroyuko Kitabuko. Production I.G. has since released a
spinoff comic "Blood: The Last Vampire 2002" and
a TV series 'Blood +'. More news on an expected release date
when we get it.
Special
effects Guru 
Well
here's a treat. The kind people at 'Media Asia' have created
an English language mirror site for their upcoming mega budget
epic 'The Banquet'. Its not fully up and running yet, but
will be soon no doubt.
Every
once in a while you just have to have a good dose of B-Horror.
Spotlight pictures latest offering 'The slaughter' fits the
bill perfectly. Yes there's a touch of slightly cheesy effects
and indeed some excellent over the top acting, but I still
really liked the look of this.The story: A turn of the
century ritual to raise the feminine evil goes horribly awry
and leaves a she demon dormant on the ceremonial grounds.
Sixty years later a young couple moves into a house built
on the ancient grounds and their daughter's murder leaves
the house abandoned for yet another forty years. Now, six
fun loving college students are hired to clean up the house
for a greedy real estate mogul who plans to sell it for a
large profit. They unwittingly awake the demon and only the
ultimate sacrifice can save the world from a future of unspeakable
evil.
Yep that will do it! The films is released in June.
Uma
Thurman along with several German producers, has bought the
rights to the ecological thriller 'The Swarm' written by Frank
Schaetzing. This decision marks quite an interesting choice
for her first project outside of TV production. I wouldn't
have pegged a sci fi horror flick as being her thing, but
hey. The book dominated the German best seller list for a
whole year and went on to be translated into multiple languages.
The storyline sounds like something that may be quite difficult
to pull of convincingly: The world begins to suffer an
escalating and sensational series of natural disasters, and
two marine biologists begin to develop a theory that the cause
lies in the oceans, where an entity know as the Yrr has developed
a massive network of single-cell organisms. It is wreaking
havoc in order to prevent humankind from destroying the earth's
ecological balance forever. The Americans, under the ruthless
General Judith Lee, take a more pragmatic approach than the
scientists, seeking to wipe out the being of the deep. The
scene is set for a massive confrontation.. As
we say, a tad odd perhaps? But it will still be quite interesting
to see what she makes of it. 
Brittany
Murphy, Ryan Gosling, Tim Roth, Giovanni Ribisi, Jason Lee
and Anjelica Huston are all attached to star in indie pic
"The Other Side" reports Variety. Billed as a twisted
modern fable, The story revolves around a science scholar
who spends the summer on a strange island that is out-of-step
with the real world. Following up on a string of clues, she
tries to solve the mystery that has stunted island residents.
David
Michaels makes his feature directorial debut and co-wrote
the script with Phil Reeves. 
News
has reached us that the release of the TV series of Seven
Swordsmen on DVD is imminent. 'Tsui Hark' whilst making Seven
Swords the movie also apparently oversaw the production of
a complete television series based on the same epic novel.
Some early reports are saying that the TV series is preferable
to the film. Best news of all is that the release will have
English subs! The DVD box set is available from the 19th May
from 'Yesasia'.
Italy
isn't well known for having a prolific film industry especially
in the genre of horror/thrillers. So I was pleasantly surprised
to come across this interesting flick from Italy's Minerva
Pictures, and rising Italian director Alex Infascelli, who
helmed the stylish shockers ALMOST BLUE and VANITY SERUM.
This film is quoted as being "A curious combination of
Peter Weir's PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, some SUSPIRIA and THE
RING," says former Fangoeia scribe Loris Curci, who's
producing HATE 2O. The story concerns five women at an isolated
cottage by a lake in Finland, who go there to drink the waters
for a purifying diet. In a series of bizarre water-based accidents
, the women start getting killed off one by one. Something
evil that hates is in the water! The film was released in
Italy this month .Check out the beautifully designed website,
and very (if short!) creepy trailer.
Some
great quality stills from the upcoming remake have appeared
online. Starring Amber Tamblyn who will play the younger sister
of Karen Davis (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who returns long enough
to pass on the movie's supernatural curse. The sequel delves
into the secrets behind the grudge's wrath, and as we first
covered in 
Joy!
We can now finally see the full trailer for this amazing looking
fantasy, coming soon from Señor Del Toro. A little
less joyfull is the trailers quality, but hey beggars cant
be choosers. Feast your eyes on this stunning film.
Well
we thought we had done well when we found out about the short
pre production trailer for 'Mutant Chronicles' but it seems
we have topped that and then some. In what we think is another
24Framespersecond exclusive, we've discovered someone has
posted the entire full 7 minutes
pre production teaser trail online. And damn it is looking
good .Check it out from the link below!
Picked
up on this over at 'KFC cinema'. Not too much info on it as
yet, but between the quite graphic poster and the very eerie
looking trailer, its pretty much a certainty this Korean horror
at the odder end of the spectrum. Cool! The cast includes:
Seo Yeong-hee (Mapado), Yeo Hyeon-soo (Holiday), Park Hyo-joon
(Once Upon a Time in High School), and Oh Mi-Hee (Boss X-File).
The trailer is available on several mirrored sites, links
below. More info as we get it.
Further
to our piece last week regarding the news that Warner Bro's
plan to remake the 80s classic 'Clash of the Titans', much
speculation has been bandied about as to what the man himself
'Ray Harryhausen' would have to say on the topic. Now we needn't
speculate any longer. The guys over at 'The Movie reporter'
have managed to get themselves and exclusive video interview
with Mr H to get his opinion, and at best you can say he didn't
look too pleased. Link to the full story below. Also you can
join the debate, and tell us what you think about this latest
Hollywood trend to 'remake' 
We
first featured a story on the fantastic looking 'Ergo Proxy'
back in 
Hellboy
star Ron Perlman told SCI FI Wire that he spoke with someone
intimately involved with the proposed sequel, Hellboy 2: The
Golden Army, and was informed that May 1 was a "great
day in the genesis of turning of Hellboy 2 into a reality."
Perlman added: "What that means? I know they're incredibly
close. I know that there's one studio in particular that I
probably shouldn't name [that] is pounding away at looking
at the budget and has expressed a huge enthusiasm for [Guillermo]
del Toro's script and the desire to do the project. Now they're
just pushing numbers around. And I wouldn't be surprised if
it's announced very soon." The
sequel would pick up the story of the red-skinned demon and
his team in the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.
This time around the story centers on the rebellion of the
mythical creatures of the Faerie world, who decide
to rebel against humanity, saying it's time for the end of
all mankind. Hellboy to the rescue please! 
The
rush to remake seems to be reaching fever pitch in Hollywood.
New Line will descend to "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,"
snapping up Craig Titley's pitch for an updated version of
Jules Verne's novel and setting it up with Sam Raimi and Josh
Donen through their Buckaroo banner. Raimi will not however
be directing. As with the recent news that 'Clash of the Titans'
is to get a remake, It seems that redoing fantasy classics
is very much becoming the vogue in tinsel town this year.
Alas perhaps [Story source:Variety]
John
Woo's long time partner producer Terence Chang told Associated
Press that the shooting of the historical war drama The Battle
of Red Cliff was set to start in 2007 in order to release
it just before the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Chang said
the project was backed by China Film Group Corp., the biggest
state-own studio in China. He also mentioned a few battle
sequences from the script, including "the burning of
2,000 boats with horses jumping around on them" and another
sequence involving "a booby-trapped battleship".
Writer, Wang Hui-Ling (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) has
joined the writing team now working on the eight draft of
the script. Also according to several Chinese newspapers,
Asian Union Films, another state-owned studio involved in
the project, just announced that mainland actor Liu Ye was
in talk to join the cast and he would meet director John Woo
next month.'Dong Ping', the president of the studio was impressed
by his performance in Jasmine Women and his height (1.86 meters).Dong
also said that they had reviewed the resumes of many Chinese
actors and actress and the casting was also open to talents
from Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. [source:Chinabroadcast]
'KFCcinema'
have picked up on the news regarding a Sha Po Lang 2. First
off, SPL2 really won't be an official sequel. Donnie Yen explains
"Actually, this film is not officially SPL sequel, due
to some copyright issues. I would only be getting the original
production to shoot a new crime movie with similar themes."
It is not likely that Sammo Hung will return either alas.
Aaron Kwok and Louis Koo were both asked to play parts in
the movie, but only Louis Koo could join the production. Donnie
Yen apparently has some plans for Koo, "I will make Louis
Koo's fight scenes very exciting. However, ultimately, he
is not a martial artist, so, I won't force him do moves that
are too demanding." Donnie Yen is quoted as saying that
filming could begin as early as July,
once he comes back from attending the Cannes Film Festival.
The
website for Billy O'Brien's mutant Cow kills everyone in sight
horror flick, 'Isolation' has gone live. Sounds very silly
but checking out the site it doesn't look half bad at all.
There is no trailer on there as yet on there, but 'Twitchfilm'
have managed to find us a clip to feast our eyes on. Anyone
care for T-bone?
Jan
De Bont’s Blue Tulip Productions has teamed with Atchity
Entertainment on a new feature which represents the first
officially sanctioned sequel to Bram Stoker’s DRACULA.
Tentatively titled THE UN-DEAD, after the subtitle of Stoker’s
original novel, the script was written by Ian Holt and is
set 25 years after the book’s events. All the surviving
protagonists—including Jonathan and Mina Harker and
Professor Van Helsing will be facing the bloodsucking Count
once again. The Stoker family has officially recognized Holt’s
screenplay the first adaptation to receive such approval since
the original 1931 Bela Lugosi-starring film. De Bont is currently
seeking a director for the project. “We’re going
after someone who knows how to do big-budget, adult Gothic
horror with top A-list actors" De Bont, whose own next
directorial venture is the giant-shark epic MEG for Atchity
and New Line. “We’re not making a B-movie teen
slasher film here. This cound be the 'Dracula' sequel the
true fans have been waiting for.”
Find
out what's caught our eye from this months new and upcoming