Horror Gossip: 06.13.10

Welcome Boils and Ghouls!

At long last I found a place where I belong! Now my sick sense of humour and my strange, frowned-upon behaviour and twisted personality can finally be appreciated to its full extent… I hope.

MURDER CAN BE SO MUCH FUN

Horror… the excitement that gets fuelled by bloodcurdling screams, blood and gore, the slicing and dicing of helpless, unwilling victims… ah… I cherish it. Off course that isn’t the only reason why horror is horror. The psychopaths that do all the killing becomes household names (well in my house anyway) and we, the fanatics that praise them every time they go postal on their unsuspecting victims, treasure the memorable overuse of corn-syrup in film.

ABOLITION

SKG Films is currently working on two projects and one of them is named “Abolition” which is written and directed by Mike Klassen. This particular film is taking the supernatural side of the horror genre specifically into account. Abolition is about the question, “What if your next door neighbour is the end of the world?” Joshua, the protagonist in the story, is burdened by the anti-Christ (sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it?) and it’s about all the good and bad things about having this supernatural ‘problem’.

Now all of the following is supposed to be on the hush-hush, but I’m generous with my knowledge and I enjoy spreading rumours when it comes to gore. After doing some of my infamous ninja-investigating that always seem to get me into some or other trouble (especially with the neighbours) I found out that a few intriguing people could join the cast of “Abolition”.

We all know this little devil, and we all know that actress Linda Blair has not only the talent, but also the knowledge of how to get scary if and when the director says: “Go into ‘possession-mode’”. Lucky for us, Linda hasn’t gone soft yet. Rumour has it that Blair is currently in talk with SKG Films as to join the cast of “Abolition”, which means I am already jumping up and down with excitement. It’s about time she did something supernatural again…

And wait there is more!

Reggie Bannister, from the “Phantasm” Series might also be linked to “Abolition”. So far the details are kept under wraps (even from me), but I’ll keep you up to date as to whether or not things progress into the area we want them to progress in (hysterical screaming, blood dripping off of the walls, obscene cussing and cursing while masturbating with a crucifix… that type of stuff).

BITTER

I’m not done with SKG Films quite yet though… The other film SKG Films is working on may be titled “Bitter”, but things don’t look very bitter for SKG Films. Writer/Director Jason Armstrong, who has recently completed production on “48 Hours in Purgatory”, has taken on a new challenge and after snooping around… well I came across some very interesting things you might find appealing, especially if you follow the careers of infamous psychopaths from the industry.

Now, although “Bitter” isn’t classified as a horror film, it is quite intriguing to find out that some of the cast members come from the horror genre. Take Chris Carnel for instance… you may remember Carnel from “My Bloody Valentine (3D)” as that super scary dude who walks around with a pickaxe and then kills the drunken, horny teenagers who intrudes his cave for some ‘alone-time’. Well pretty soon he’ll be seen in “Bitter”.
In my opinion, “The Miner” had some real creative kills, which begs the question… will there be more? So far nothing has officially been released on the plotline, except that:

“It’s a drama/action story about two women facing up to their choices and reactions to the tragedy that life sometimes is.”
skgfilms.com

It kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Especially with the testimony of an already announced cast member, Annemijn Nieuwkoop, who has stated on the site that she had been hitting the gym hard, because it isn’t simply a difficult role mentally, but also physically? However I am very sneaky and I found out that there might (and this is a very uncertain might), but there might be some scenes that could get us die-hard horror fanatics a little excited.

Chris Carnel’s involvement on the film is going to be a supporting role and he will also be the fight and stunt coordinator, which is good, considering he has been in quite a few flicks where stunt doubles were needed. (The question remains, will there be enough blood to satisfy us?) He has also been involved in other films you might know, such as “The Crazies”, “Hatchet 1 & 2”, “Devil’s Rejects” etc… making this definitely news-worthy (in my books anyway)

Even though that’s basically all we have on the web concerning “Bitter”, don’t think I didn’t put my contacts to the test.

According to sources familiar with the film/company, Kane Hodder or more infamously known as the frightening Jason Voorhees from the original “Friday the 13th” is said to be having discussions with SKG Film officials to join the cast! (If that doesn’t light up your faces, then I don’t know what will).

The film isn’t set to shoot until September/October 2010, but maybe, just maybe, it is worth the wait. Especially with two thrilling babes (Annemijn Nieuwkoop and Jennifer Polansky) and two extraordinarily terrifying actors that has kept our nightmares on due-course.

JOHN CARPENTER

John Marks’ novel “Fangland” is now going to be made for the silver screen by John Carpenter, the legendary director, who have films like “Christine” and “John Carpenter’s Vampires”, to name but a few, under his belt. Other names linked to the movie are Sriram Das (“Veronica Decides to Die”) and Jason Blum (“Paranormal Activity 2”) who will be producing the film. If that isn’t enough, it seems that two-time Academy Award winner, Hilary Swank has signed up to do “Fangland” and will play the character Evangeline Harker… this is all good and well, but if someone could please enlighten me… when did Swank turn to horror? Isn’t she supposed to be more into the drama scene?
Either way, I trust John Carpenter, so only time will tell if his decision was a good one… or not.

NINETY

Freddy, Michael, Jason, Chucky, Jigsaw and the likes, may have a new buddy, of similar sinister intentions, joining them very soon and with the name Vernie James, he might fit in perfectly. Who’s Vernie? Well he’s the new serial killer that Saw 2, 3 and 4 director, Darren Lynn Bousman is currently trying to bring to light in the highly anticipated film, “Ninety” for Oxymoron and Blue Star Entertainment. Working alongside writer Scott Millam for the second time, who recently completed their first co-film named “Mother’s Day”.

Apparently Vernie is going to be one of those psychopaths with ambition, which means he is really going to get his hands dirty while he goes loco from one victim to the next and with his goal set on ninety (hence the title of the film) people, we can expect a lot of bodies in a short amount of time, which just makes me go all warm and tingly inside. According to bloodydisgusting.com Vernie James will commit 90 murders in 90 minutes. (Can I get a hell yeah?) Christopher Mallick, William Sherak and Jason Shuman are also onboard for producing the film, which will be enhanced in post-production into 3D. Again, this sounds like an awesome concept and I cannot wait to see the carnage that always seem to follow in films where Bousman’s name is attached to.

The movie is scheduled to start shooting this summer in New Mexico, but so far no cast has been made available to the public.

REMAKE NEWS

In the beginning God created man and He saw that it was good… and as man continued to evolve, man created horror films and man saw that this was good. And as horror evolved, the concept of remaking the Holiest of Holy Horror Relics dawned on man and the public said: “Why God do you taunt us so?”

I have watched many remakes and I am sure many of the readers have too, but out of every ten remakes, only one is worthy of being classified better than the original and this is the theory concerning all genres! However in recent years it became apparent that Horror has become the Remake Capital of Hollywood. Contemporary Horror films, such as “The Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Halloween” and “The Omen”, only a few ones I can name from the top of my head right this minute, has already been remade. Now, even more classics will be enhanced, changed and ‘bettered’ for a 22nd Century audience. Among the horror flicks getting revamped are ‘The Blob’ and ‘CHUD’, which Rob Zombie has signed up to direct. This is a questionable decision… After “Halloween” and “Halloween 2” walked through Rob Zombie’s ‘impressive’ directing skills, we ended up with a remake where Michael Meyers has an identity-complex. Don’t get me wrong, Rob Zombie is one cool guy when it comes to music and original concepts in the film industry, but I didn’t know whether or not Michael Meyers was supposed to be truer to his original, guiltless, psychopathic, homicidal self or if he was supposed to be an insane kid with problems? So we got stuck with an in between ‘I-don’t-know-what-I-am’ version by Rob Zombie.

If that wasn’t enough to make me get worried, I came across a few other remakes of our holier than holy classics. Rumour has it that “Poltergeist” will be remade! Oh yes, the cursed film, written by Steven Spielberg and released in 1982, will get a facelift (I think I hear the cries from all around the world as horror fanatics realise that nothing is sacred in Hollywood). This surprised my inner-demon into a new, completely different chamber in my psyche. So far only a release date on imdb.com has been set for 2013, but the shock was still tremendous, especially for a die-hard “Poltergeist” fan.

In other remake news… You might remember the classic 1963 film, “Alfred Hitchcock’s: The Birds” where the birds start attacking people, pecking their eyes out and pecking at the peoples flesh until the birdies basically gnawed bones? Well it may also be in line to get a revamp. There isn’t much to report on the remake rumours as of yet, but names like Naomi Watts, of “King Kong” fame, has already been thrown around as to star in it and according to screenhead.com she’s on board. No word yet as to which character Watts is going to play, and it doesn’t matter actually, simply because I personally banned the movie in my own mind.

QUICK NEWS REGARDING SEQUELS

Remember that interesting movie, with some startling things going on, named “Paranormal Activity”? Well don’t think those bastard demons are gone just yet, because “Paranormal Activity 2” is currently being worked on and Tod “Kip” Williams is set to direct it. It opens October 22nd according to deadline.com and is going to be up against some tough competition seeing that “Saw 3D” starts around the same time. “Paranormal Activity 2” is written by Michael Perry, produced by Oren Peli (the dude who directed the first one) and a couple of other trigger-happy executive producers have already been confirmed, namely Jason Blum (currently working on “Ninety”), Akiva Goldsman (producer of “Constantine”) and Steven Schneider (unaccredited executive producer of the first “Paranormal Activity”). My question is… will this sequel live up to the first film, regardless of the dreaded ‘sequel curse’ or will it fail because of our own high expectations?

Michael Keaton seems to be just as interested as Geena Davis to make a sequel to Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice”, but even though there has been talk since 1990 for a sequel, nothing has come to light yet. Apparently Burton had already written a script (imdb.com) but it just wasn’t top-notch enough for him. Hmmm… maybe Keaton and Davis think Mr Burton is lazy or something, it’s not like he hasn’t brought out any other high-grossing films since then *note the sarcasm*. Anyhow I think they just want to salvage some form of an acting career, therefore they keep badgering at the poor man for a sequel. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but… TIM BURTON DOESN’T DO SEQUELS!!

Talking about salvaging acting careers, how about the news that Megan Fox has been replaced by Rosie Huntington Whitley for the third instalment of “Transformers”? Maybe Fox decided on acting classes or something, God knows she’s gorgeous, but acting classes could really help Fox in the long run.

Speculations of a “Gremlins 3” movie has been made over and over again, but so far nothing has come to light as to whether or not there will actually be a sequel to “Gremlins 2: The New Batch”. Time and time again these rumours start and simply get dismissed later on, but with all the attention focused on the 1980’s and all the movies we loved from yesteryear, a sequel is inevitable. At some point someone will start with the flick and as MarketSaw (movie blog) announced somewhere in January 2010 “[Gremlins 3] is in early stages with still lots of hurdles to pass, but it is being developed”.
Okay, so if that is true, my question is, will it be in the dreaded 3D or will it stays true to its original self? Apparently horrorfilms.com thinks that it could very well be in 3D… However no need to get your panties in a bunch just yet, nobody has confirmed this, but as soon as they do, we’ll start protesting in front of the set (sounds right, right?).

OTHER NIFTY STUFF…

THE GAMING INDUSTRY

Cover Art for “Dead Space 2” has been released by “EA Games” as to tease us even more for the upcoming action/horror game, which is only due for release next year! However that’s cool with us, as long as we can kill more ‘Necromorphs’ in the not too distant future.

“F.E.A.R 3” has been set for release in the fall 2010, but we can’t wait anymore for the paranormal horror first-person shooter game. Basically, or rather in my own terms, it is: “shoot the crap out of anything and everything and create as much havoc as possible.” I’m one of those people who like to create havoc and unleash my fury, and the “F.E.A.R” franchise has helped me to unleash it in a contained environment, without too many real-live casualties, so that’s aye okay with me. To make matters even more ‘yummy’, “F.E.A.R 3” had consultations with John Carpenter and critically acclaimed horror comic and script writer Steve Niles (“30 Days of Night”) according to dreadcentral.com, making Monique a very happy girl.

I just can’t wait to test it out!

MUSIC SCENE

“Disturbed” is set to release their new album called “Asylum” in August and they have an extended clip of the song, “Another way to die” on their Myspace page! Take a listen at the following link and tell us what you think… http://www.myspace.com/disturbed
I can’t be unbiased in the case, because I’m a huge fan of Disturbed ever since they did “Down with the Sickness”, but leave a comment with your own views on the clip so that I can see whether or not I should change my taste in music… or if I should get my hearing checked…

“KORN III: Remember who you are” is dropping July 13th, but a music video of the song, “Oildale (Leave me Alone)”, which features on the album has already been making the rounds on youtube.com. It seems they’ve come to the conclusion that going back to their roots is the best thing for the band and I quite agree. After a few CD’s that was way too commercialised in the industry, they lost the essence of who they were (or that is my personal opinion), maybe this time around they’ll go back to what we expect of them.

In other news I thought you should know. “Stone Sour” new album release date has been revealed! According to “Metal Hammer Magazine” the album, “Audio Secrecy” can be expected on September 6th, but the track “Mission statement”, from the album, is available for free download since June 10, for our enjoyment. Yay!

Closing thought

Now I don’t live in the U.S.A, in fact I live in sunny South Africa, but even some of the people here would rather embrace the dark side, than the ‘goody-two-shoe’ sun. I’m one of them, just if you were wondering. However I did find something I would have loved to attend, but again the whole ‘I’m-on-another-continent’ thing is kind of getting in the way… So if you are in New York, then don’t forget to go and buy your tickets for the New York Asian Film Festival. Tickets are already on sale and it will run from 25 June – 8 July. The full schedule is available at http://subwaycinemanews.com/ and it hosts a few good ones… Let me know how it went down.

Other things that’s all Asian and which I think is a good idea is the rumours of the TV show, “Supernatural”, being converted into a Japanese anime! Sam and Dean Winchester are going to be seen in an animated 22-episode season, with not only remakes of the best episodes, but also with some “original episodes which is not seen in the live-action version.” as Anime News Network suggests. Anyway, Eric Kripke (the creator of Supernatural) is credited as the anime project’s creator, alongside Masao Maryuyama (Madhouse co-founder) as the executive producer while Naoya Takayama (Night Head, Liar Game) is supervising the scripts and Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun) is the character designer. I say yay, what say you?