The Mermaid Turns 5!

I just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that I have a guest post up over at Mermaid Heather. A while back, Heather asked me if I wanted to contribute to her 'fifth year as a blogger' festivities. I was more than happy to oblige. It's nothing fancy, I just gush a little about my favourite movie of all time. You can check it out here.

Don't Kill The Messenger 44

I've got to take trip downtown this afteroon, so I'll keep this one brief.

Mick's New Project.

It looks like Mick Garris has a new project on the horizon. Coming this February on FEARnet, is a new show called Post Mortem, where Garris will interview various members of the horror community. See below for the promo.



I Need You To Promise Me Something.

I recently saw this funny little skit on Atom.com. In Sketch Of The Dead, two friends (Paul F. Tompkins & Rich Sommer) holed up in a cabin during a zombie outbreak comtemplate a Plan B. Check it out below.

Sketch Of The Dead

New One-Sheets.

Here below are a couple of new final posters for two titles from After Dark's Horrorfest lineup hitting screens in the US later this month. I'm really looking forward to The Reeds.

Music To My Ears.

If you are like me, suddenly hearing a tune from your past can immediately conjure up fond memories. It could be something that you paid no attention to at the time, but got stuck in your mental trap anyway.

For instance, take old VHS home video distributor intros. If you grew up during the eighties (and even nineties) you would seen countless of these. Of course, why would you have taken any notice then? When we were young, those things were really just visual cues that told you where to stop when you were fast forwarding through the FBI warning.

Then, a few months ago, I popped in a tape of Trick Or Treats that I had bought off Ebay, and what came on?



Vestron Video should be a name well remembered by those who frequented video stores in the eighties. Founded in 1981, they amassed dozens of horror titles, including the likes of The Kindred, The Company Of Wolves, Rawhead Rex, Waxwork, Slaughter High, Class Of 1999, Lifeforce & The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane. I believe most of Vestron’s catalogue is now owned by Lionsgate, but a good deal of it still has yet to be released on DVD.

Upon seeing that logo, I was immediately transported back in time. I could almost see the fake wood panelling that used to line the walls of my childhood rec room.

This is the first in a new segment here at THS. Every Friday from now on, I’ll be throwing up a different intro clip that will be sure to elate all you children of the VHS era.

I Be Kreativ!

A cool thing popped into my inbox yesterday. Evil Dead Junkie over at Things That Don't Suck gave me one of these!

SUCK IT People's Choice Awards!!! Now, apparently after receiving one of these Kreativ Blogger thingies, there are a few things I must do after I thank and link to my bestower.

1) Post 7 things about you people may find interesting.
2) Nomimate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
3) Leave a comment on those 7 telling them you nominated them.

Why 7? I don't know, ask the long-haired chick that'll be crawling through your TV in a week, if you don't pass it on. All right... 7 interesting things... this'll be good considering I'm really not all that interesting.

1) This is The Horror Section office. This is where all 'the magic' happens.*


2) In June 2001, I backpacked around Iceland. I had been into several Icelandic bands, like Sigur Ros, Gus Gus and obviously Björk for quite sometime and became extremely curious about the birthplace of all these vibrant and spiritual artists. I was there for their Independence Day celebrations, so you can imagine I drank a lot of Viking. I never did get used to the midnight sun. That trip remains one of my most cherished memories.

3) Speaking of trips, I'll be taking another one in April. I am going to Las Vegas for the first time with three friends. What started as a destination for a stag eventually got kaiboshed by the groom-to-be. So, we said eff it, we'll go without him. I don't think we are actively going to try and top the events in The Hangover, but I'm sure it's in the back of our minds. I'm the only single one of us, so I'll likely be the one that gets blamed for every seedy transgression.

4) I am a long suffering Toronto Maple Leafs fan. It's in the blood, what can I say?

5) My favourite director is Stanley Kubrick. My favourite film is A Clockwork Orange.

6) I have never had a cup of coffee. I grew up in an English household and was reared on tea. One night at a friend's sleepover, we were going to try and stay up all night, so he made a pot of coffee. It touched my lips and I thought 'that's the most disgusting stuff I've ever tasted in my life' and never looked back. Just the smell turns me off.

7) I get overly attached to inanimate objects. When my first car died, it stung for a long time. My PS3 is like a child to me. I guess that would explain why I'm such a pack rat. Objects = Memories.

Okay, onto the nominations.

1) Mermaid Heather is one of my longest readers and her blog is now entering its impressive fifth year this month. She is the only other person I know in the blogosphere who loves author James Herbert as much as I do. I also adore her train-of-thought narrative.

2) Filmopia is run by my good buddy DirtyRobot. When he posts something I take notice because he seems to always have a periscope when it comes to finding all the cool shite on the Internet. This cat LIVES on the inside track, ladies and germs.

3) The Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse is where I go when I want to know about anything Zed. Cory's site is a media hub for flesh eater enthusiasts everywhere. His daily roundups sometimes keeps me occupied for hours, as link after link takes me further down the rabbit hole.

4) Movie Moxie, another fellow Toronto blogger, always amazes me with the sheer volume of content she puts up on her blog. Reviews, news, polls, Vlogs and even podcasts! I don't know where she finds the time.

5) I love giallos, and Giallo Fever is like a mecca for such things. I don't know if a more extensive collection of 'Eurotrash' reviews, posters and general conversation exists on the Web.

6) There are several blogs I follow that archive the VHS era, but Basement Of Ghoulish Decadence is probably the most prolific, racking up over 500 posts in under a year. I especially enjoy his video clips where he shows off his staggering collection. He also seems to have an uncanny knack for finding VHS treasures at yard sales.

7) Another Toronto peep, Eric's blog 32 Elvis Movies is a historical archive of "Vintage ads, ephemera, and stories from Canada's long-gone cinemas". He has also started screening old classic films (like Bride of Frankenstein and Dracula) at The Revue, one of the last few single-screen movie houses in Toronto. This Sunday is The Lost World, and I can't wait to get my stop-motion on!

Thanks again to Evil Dead Junkie at Things That Don't Suck for thinking of me. It's always nice to know there are people out there enjoying what you are doing.

*I lie. Half this stuff gets done at work. Shhhh.

Portable Grindhouse

When I first heard Portable Grindhouse: The Lost Art Of The VHS Box was coming out, I was ecstatic. This wasn't the first to explore the covers of the VHS era, but it was the first to ever present it like THIS...



I think it is safe to say that video conveys the experience better than any screencap ever could.

This was an immediate buy for me and I was not disappointed. I loved devouring this. The nostalgia I felt while leafing through was so tangible, I could almost smell the plastic of the clamshells. Slithis, Mardi Gras Massacre (pictured right), Streets Of Fire, A Force Of One and a Halloween III cover I'd never actually seen before - they just kept coming one after another! I think my only qualm was how quickly I burned through it. I would have liked there to have been more text, as the five-page forward from author Jacques Boyreau - though excellent – goes by way too fast. I realize that the book is more a collection of art than a critique, but comments on some of the films being showcased would have been welcomed. Even as many covers as Portable Grindhouse has in it, I still feel Boyreau has only scratched the surface. I get the feeling that there could be many more volumes of PG on the way, and I'm all for it.

At a mere fourteen dollars on Amazon, I would urge anyone who grew up in the VHS era – or anyone who loves slashers & sleaze for that matter – to pick this up. And don't be surprised if after you have finished Portable Grindhouse, you have an overpowering urge to rewind it.

2010 Preview

Okay, now that all the year (and decade) lists are out of the way, it is now time to start looking ahead. I have to admit the slate for 2010 is looking a little sparse, but I'm sure it will fill out as the year progresses. I'm too lazy to rank them, so here they are just random like.

The Crazies (Feb 26th)

I'm not one to get excited over remakes, but the trailer - apart from the ill-advised song choice - really sold me. Olyphantastic versus the infected hordes?! Where do I sign up?

The Descent 2 (TBD)

If I was ranking these things, this would probably be number one. As I've stated before, The Descent was likely the best horror film of the last decade and a sequel does intrigue me. Can they capture the magic twice? Probably not, but I remain optimistic.

The Lovely Bones (Jan 15th)

While the majority of you movie folk down in the States have seen this by now, we Canucks have to wait for the full wordwide release. I've been avoiding the online chatter until I can see it for myself. Peter Jackson has never made a bad movie, although we do know that Mark Wahlberg can be very hit and miss. It should look wonderful at least, if the dream sequences in the trailer are any indication. It seems like I've been waiting for this movie forever and it will be nice to see it finally hit screens.

My Soul To Take aka 25/8 (TBD)

Wes Craven's newest horror should hopefully see the light of day in 2010. When he appeared at FOF in 2008, he sounded extremely excited about it. I'm just wondering what Craven will have to talk about on Twitter once he's finally done with it. While nothing I've seen so far has been particularly striking, it's got to be better than Cursed, right?

Frozen (Feb 5th)
I'm really excited to see Adam Green's little passion project about skiers trapped on a chair lift. The premise is very meaty indeed and I am looking forward to seeing how he handles this bare-bones dialogue-driven project. It's one thing to delight us with the over-the-top gore of his Hatchet films, but this is another beast entirely.


Piranha 3-D (April 16)
Oh boy, am I stoked for this! I'm hoping Alexandre Aja can rebound from the painfully mediocre Mirrors with something really fun like this. At first, I was like, okay, I'll see it, but when I heard Elizabath Shue was cast, it made the whole project somehow legitimate. Add the whole 3-D element to it, and you have my twelve dollars, sirs.

Splice (TBD)
After its successful showing at Sitges, I'm hoping that Canadian director Vincenzo Natali's new genetics-gone-wrong tale makes it way to at least one of the three festivals in my sphere of influence, if not wide release. The screen shots I've spied online are wildly intriguing and the design of the creatures is not quite like anything I've seen before.

The Wolfman (Feb 12)

I figured I'd throw this on here, even though the trailer tends to make it look a tad overblown ala Van Helsing. I'll probably give this one a shot, just because it's a solid cast and a decent director. What the hell else am I going to do Valentine's weekend right?

I could have put Daybreakers and Joe Dante's upcoming The Hole on here to make it an even ten, but I saw both of those at last year's Toronto Film Fest. You however, should be excited because they are both worthwhile films to check out in 2010.

Here's some other titles I'm hoping to see this year, as well.

The Horde

The French new wave petered out in 2009, but I still would very much like to see this bloody zombie flick. With a premise as sweet as Gangsters vs. Cops vs. Zombies, who cares if the ending is shite.

Final Solution

I'm really, really looking forward to this one. I have no idea how close it is to being finished, but the premise of this horror from Denmark is pretty awesome. Director Martin Bech says he was inspired by American and French slashers, so that is all I need to pique my interest. Click the title to redirect to the film's website.

Amer

I just recently discovered this movie on Twitch. It looks like an honest to goodness giallo, which is a huge deal to me. Knowing what a big fan Todd Brown is of the movie, hopefully he pulls some strings to have it play TAD '10 in August. Here's hoping.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

Speaking of Toronto After Dark, this movie has TAD written all over it. The trailer got more than a few chuckles out of me, and its showing at Sundance makes it a legitimate selection come August. If not, maybe Fantasia in July?

The Reef
Director of 2007's killer-croc flick Black Water (review to come) Andrew Traucki is bringing us an aquatic horror of another sort. Since you all know what a big fan of Open Water I am, this is a no-brainer for me. God, I'm such a glutton for punishment.

Addendums:

After Dark Films Horrorfest lineup is quite impressive this year, but they unfortunately never get theatrical here in Canada. I'll be sure to look up Lake Mungo, The Reeds, The Final & Hidden when they get released on DVD though.

The Elm Street remake isn't on this list. You should know by now why that is the case.

Don't Kill The Messenger 43

Okay, it's a new year. Let's get back to business, shall we?

Fire & Ice.

Here's a couple of trailers that popped up in the last week or two. The first is for Adam Green's latest Frozen. The second is one a friend told me about for a Bollywood horror called Fired. The latter is causing all kinds of controversy, as it is the first Bollywood film to feature full frontal nudity. All right guys, way to be progressive! Here they are below.



One Sweet Ride.

Check out these pics I found on Digg of this custom made motorcycle from Pitstop Motors in New Jersey. It kind of brings new meaning to the phrase "Get to the choppa!!!"

I Want To See This NOW!

As I've said before, the 00's were a time of reflection in film, where many genre filmmakers paid homage to the eras they grew up in, whether it be the seventies with entries like Rob Zombie's two Firefly movies or the eighties, like Ti West's impressive House Of The Devil. Well, it looks like the duo of Bruno Forzani & Hélène Cattet are serving up a love letter to the much loved Italian giallo. I adore the bloody artistry of the gialli, and this trailer makes me swoon. Click on the poster below to check it out.