Resident Retrospective

Resident Evil 5 comes out tomorrow! Oh joy, oh bliss! Gametrailers.com has been running an awesome retrospective the last few weeks and I've posted it below if you haven't been watching. It's a wonderful and bloody trip down memory lane and the perfect preamble to the new installment's release. Enjoy!

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5


Part 6


Now that you're all caught up, get out there and start playing!

Nightmares In Black & White.

I managed to squeeze in a screening of the animated anthology Fear(s) of the Dark last night at The Royal. I’m glad to report that Fear(s) was worth the stiff back I am suffering from today. I often forget how punishing those old seats can be. How did I ever manage to get through Inland Empire in ’07 without serious injury? But I digress. It is difficult to describe Fear(s) as the stories within are not named and are fragmented between a pair of wraparound devices. It was put together by a group of contemporary graphic artists and the narrative led me to believe Fear(s) is meant as a single tapestry rather than an anthology, but you can take it as either.

During the first full story (from Charles Burns) about a shy bookworm in a relationship for which the term ‘unhealthy’ was invented, I was immediately struck by the familiar art style. After racking my brain, it finally came to me that Burns was the guy who wrote Black Hole, a graphic novel that’s been staring at me from my bookshelf since last year, yet still remains unread. His Fear(s) story was cool, in an Outer Limits kind of way. The second story (by Marie Caillou) that focuses on a young Japanese girl stuck in a bad dream is pretty effed up. Caillou’s work is known for its strong Japanese influence and it is evident here as many themes I see often in films from the Far East are revisited here. They are a strange bunch; and that’s why I love them so. The third story (by Lorenzo Mattotti) about a small village besieged by an unknown creature is probably the most straightforward of the group. It had an old school sketchbook style that made it standout from the rest. The last and my favourite of the bunch (by Richard McGuire) follows a lone traveller taking refuge from a snowstorm in a creaky old house. It excellently uses shadow and light, rather than words, to tell the story and I was into it the whole way. The graphic style was similar to that of the 2006 sci-fi flick Renaissance. The sound design – which is fabulous throughout all of Fear(s) – really excels here. Pierre Disciullo and Blutch orchestrated the two wraparound bits of the movie. I wasn’t too struck on Disciullo’s voice-over philosophizing, but Blutch’s piece featuring the old man terrorizing the countryside with his pack of dogs had an interesting look to it, kind of like those old Mystery! intros.

What happened next was... unexpected.

I think my only criticism of Fear(s) is that it seemed somehow unfinished, as both Caillou and McGuire’s installments end rather abruptly and without resolution. I guess it’s good that I wanted more, but I couldn’t help feeling they were missing an ending. Fear(s) is a scant eighty-two minutes, so I would have loved another ten or fifteen to wrap things up. Even though its individual parts work better singularly than they do as a whole, Fear(s) of the Dark is still a cool little oddity that showcases the many different phobias that plague us as a species.

Don't Kill The Messenger VIII

There's not a lot of news this week, but there are a few things I'd like to get to, so let's dive in.

File Under F, for FINALLY!

A trailer for Doghouse finally surfaced this week. I'm loving this. I think it's going to be a riot. Since Jake West is Midnight Madness alumni (Evil Aliens played here in '05), there is a good chance it will screen here in September. First in line, baby! I'm still having problems embedding video from Twitch, so to see the trailer, click here. And for my past coverage, click here.

Event Horizon 2?

You know, people shit on Paul W.S. Anderson, but I've always found his movies to be quite entertaining. A poster and trailer appeared this week for his new project Pandorum starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster. It looks like somewhat of a spiritual successor to Event Horizon, which is arguably his best film (although I know there are some Shopping fans out there) and it's pretty damn cool. Check it out below.


One By One.

I saw a commercial for this little television experiment while watching Dollhouse (yes, I'm still clinging on) this week. It's called Harper's Island and has been described as "Scream meets Ten Little Indians". It is a nine-episode murder mystery that begins April 9th and goes through until July 2nd. Although the trailer doesn't really do it any favours, I applaud CBS for trying something different with this. I saw some familiar faces like Bill Pullman and Cameron Richardson there, so it does have some cred to it. It's been a while since Primetime has had a Twin Peaks-style mystery for us to mull over and I hope that it, at least, makes for some engaging television. Click here for the promo.


Oh, and one last thing, a new English trailer dropped for Blood: The Last Vampire.


On further inspection, TLV looks like it's going to be more Chanbara than Hero... but I'm okay with that :)

Ants In Your Pants

After another trip down that lonely alleyway, I was once again in the colourful depths of Trash Palace. This week’s feature was the 1974 super-ant sci-fi flick Phase IV. They really trot out the oddities here at the Palace. I don’t think I’ve seen this one anywhere since it was collecting dust on my shelf at the ol’ video store and it’s been even longer since I’ve actually watched the damn thing.

Two scientists (Michael Murphy & Nigel Davenport) at a desert research facility suddenly find themselves besieged by a hive of super-intelligent ants.

Phase IV was directed by Saul Bass. Yes, THAT Saul Bass. For those not up on their film history, Bass spent the better part of his career working with many great directors, including Alfred Hitchcock. You know those unique title sequences that appear in a lot of Hitchcock’s movies? Well, Saul Bass designed those. And you know the iconic shower scene in Psycho? It was Bass who envisioned the way that played out. The man had an eye for cinema the way few do. Phase IV lives up to those expectations by serving up a visual treat. It is stunning, including lots of macro photography on the film’s real stars – the ants. There is a LOT of this stuff, but strangely it never feels like you are watching a nature documentary. This could likely be due to the accompanying score that ominously permeates the piece.

Back up, gentlemen. Back the fuck up.

Apart from the great cinematography though, the film is fairly light in every other aspect. The story is pretty rudimentary and plods along at points. Again, is often the case when revisiting old movies, I was surprised by how much I’d forgotten. I'd held onto mere pieces really, but the ending was still puzzling. The film stars instantly recognizable character actor Murphy and the stunning Lynne Frederick, who coincidentally also starred in my last Trash Palace flick Schizo. Frederick doesn’t have much to do in Phase IV, except walk around in a daze, but dayam, she is fine. It’s really too bad what happened to her in real life. If Phase IV wasn’t so adeptly shot, it may have been a loss, but I was completely hypnotized (which could also be because I was in the front row – about eight feet from the screen – this time) for its duration. What another great trip down memory lane!

Trash Palace also announced its Spring/Summer lineup! There are some good ones coming up. 13 Frightened Girls! Smashup On Interstate 5! Scream and Scream Again! Silent Partner! Oh boy, things are looking up.

They're Creeping Up On You

I’m heading off to Trash Palace again this Friday to take in a flick I haven’t seen in a dog’s age. Stacey Case and his partners in crime are screening the 1974 killer-ant movie Phase IV. While mulling over a theme for this week’s Coverbox Wednesday, it occurred to me just how many horror films have creepy crawlies in them. I guess it shouldn’t be surprising. When surveys are done about phobias, insects, arachnids and snakes are always at or near the top. It’s a logical fear. They outnumber us ten thousand to one (if not more), so we should bloody well PRAY there isn’t an uprising. Anyway, on with the show.

Shatner vs. killer tarantulas = Cinematic gold!

Then there are the titles that just had certain scenes with things with more than two legs. They remain with me for all time.

Helen Shaver should have really got that thing checked out.

You know what I’m talking about.

Sharon Stone has a paralyzing encounter with a spider.

A dark cellar and a lot of beetles. You figure it out.

“I have a message for you, and I don’t think you are going to like it!”

Don't Kill The messenger VII

I can't talk too much this morning, I have much Killzone 2 to play.

Boob-tastic.

A trailer for a short film that is playing at SXSW surfaced on the tubes this week.



Well, THAT just happened.

Any Way You Splice It.

Vincenzo Natali's (Cube, Nothing) new film Splice is set to release later this year (Midnight Madness perhaps???) and some new stills dropped on Bloody Disgusting a few days ago.

I was interested in seeing this gene-manipulation fable anyway because I like Natali's work and I went to high school with one of the film's stars (Brandon McGibbon), but after these pics, I am really amped up. Talk about DARK shit! That second one kind of reminds me of the vampire design in 30 Days Of Night... and also that infamous Playstation commercial by Chris Cunningham.

YouTube Is A Strange Place.

Have you ever just randomly watched videos on YouTube? There is some crazy shit out there. Things can get even more out there, if you start clicking on related videos. It's like following the yellow brick road... if it were paved with souls and wasted time and led to hell. Take this path for example.

Exhibit A? This really creepy commercial for Orville Redenbacher.



WTF thought this was a good idea? It would be like digging up Walt Disney - sorry, UNFREEZING Walt Disney - to shlep their newest picture. Since when do zombies make good spokespeople? So, then I saw a stange sight on the right column, clicked on it and came up with this Exhibit B.



Does this clip really need to be almost two minutes long? Creeeeeeeepy. But not as creepy as Exbihit C.



All I can say is thank God it's only four seconds. I wonder if Chris Cunningham has seen that? And last, but certainly not least is Exhibit D.



I have so many questions for this dude. First of all, WHY???!!! And second, how did you figure out you could do that? I had to get off the YouTube train there for the sake of my sanity. Well, that and it was five o' clock and time to go home.

That's all for this week. Have a great Sunday.

Look Ma, No Wires!

I adore the 2004 French actioner District 13 and since its sequel is hopefully coming to our shores later this year, it is this month’s Non-Horror selection.

In 2010, the Parisian slum of District 13 has been walled in and left to fend for itself. When its inhabitants steal a bomb, the French government dispatch top cop Damien Tomaso (Cyril Raffaelli) to retrieve it. With reluctant guide and ex-resident Leito (David Belle) at his side, they have less than twenty-four hours before the bomb is set to explode.

Seemingly a backlash to the mainstream adoption of wire-fu in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix trilogy, down-and dirty martial arts flicks were set to make a comeback. Shortly after The Transporter and the emergence of Muay Thai sensation Tony Jaa (Ong Bak: Thai Warrior), District 13 burst onto the scene in 2004. At first glance, it may look like a throwaway actioner, but I can assure you it’s way more than that. The parkour-infused action in this is spectacular. I mean, take a look for yourself.


Although I can find no confirmation of this, it’s a pretty safe bet that the dazzling construction site chase at the beginning of 2006’s James Bond reboot Casino Royale was inspired by the above sequence. In addition to the incredible action bits, the chemistry between stars Belle – who is credited with basically inventing parkour as it is known today – and Raffaelli is great, as well. If you think you recognize the latter, it is because he also appeared in the 2001 Jet Li vehicle Kiss Of The Dragon and as the bothersome adversary of John McClane, Rand in Die Hard 4. If you add in actress Danny Verissimo, as Leito’s fiery sister Lola, you have yourself one hell of a team. I LOVE this chick and wish she were in more stuff. Like a lot of the action films Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Leon) has produced, District 13 is a high-energy affair with little story, but that was never an issue for me. This is a helluva fun time with awe-inspiring feats of strength and agility. A lot of people just remember it for the clip above, but watching it again recently I was reminded of the half dozen other equally awesome set pieces.

If you are at all into martial arts flicks, I can’t imagine you having not seen this one already, but if you haven’t, it’s time to do yourself a favour and track it down.