DKTM 158

This week saw an abundance of trailers for upcoming genre projects, so here's a rundown for you.

Capital Z.

Perhaps the biggest thing to hit the Web this week was the new trailer for the movie adaptation of Max Brooks' zombie tome World War Z. Feast your eyes below.

My first reaction to this trailer was how overblown it looks, but upon further reflection I realized that we have never actually had a big budget zombie blockbuster before, as the zombie genre up until this point has been the domain of the low budget and independents. I guess the biggest would be Boyle's 28 Later films and Zombieland, but even those weren't particularly costly pictures to make. So, WWZ is what a hundred-million dollar zombie movie looks like.

I like this trailer, and despite all the CGI, as I cannot deny that those shots of the 'herd' are pretty eye-catching.  At the same time, I don't want this to become another I Am Legend. The book, even though it was grand in scope, was a collection of personal experiences, so it always felt intimate. By focusing in on Brad Pitt's character (or at least appearing to) it becomes more of an action movie with zombies in it. That's what I get from my Resident Evil movies and I want WWZ to have weight, dammit! Anyway, rant over.

Crickley Hall.

Being a huge fan of British writer James Herbert, this news is especially pleasing. Starting this Sunday, the BBC is premiering the newest adaptation of one of his works called The Secret of Crickley Hall. Here is the trailer.

Regular readers will know how incessantly I have rambled on about how many of Herbert's works remain unadapted, so good on the Beebs for getting on it, if no one else will.

Maniac Runs Red.

Here now is the full Red Band trailer for Franck Khalfoun's upcoming remake of Maniac.

It seems to have the tone right and I certainly respect Elijah Wood for taking on this role, but I'm worried the movie's largely first person perspective will become a little tiresome after a while. Still, this is exactly producer Alex Aja's wheelhouse and nobody working today does it better in my opinion.