Dark Castle Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If I told you the next Dark Castle horror-thriller flick would star January Jones and Diane Kruger, you'd probably be interested. If I told you that the most recent Dark Castle horror flicks were Whiteout, Orphan, and Return to House on Haunted Hill ... you'd probably be a little less interested. But with the presence of two stunning blondes (and a half-decent concept), Dark Castle's Unknown White Male is starting to sound a little intriguing.

According to Variety, Ms. Jones and Ms. Kruger will join the very busy (and very lucky) Liam Neeson in Unknown White Male, which "centers on a man who awakens from a coma to find that someone else has assumed his identity, and no one, including his wife, believes him." The director is Jaume Collet-Serra, whom the horror freaks may remember from (Dark Castle) flicks like Orphan and House of Wax. The stunning Diane Kruger is best-known for her work in Troy, Inglourious Basterds, and both National Treasure movies, while January Jones (even the name is sexy!) has been seen in We Are Marshall, American Wedding, and the upcoming Pirate Radio. She's also a big hit on that Mad Men series.

Variety doesn't make mention one way or another, but I do believe this film is a feature (loosely) based on this documentary of the same name. And that's a damn good documentary.

Here's a project you can file under "That might be pretty cool, I guess" although I can certainly think of a thousand things that could go wrong with it. The scoop-hunters at Collider chatted with producer-of-a-thousand-projects Joel Silver, who let slip about someone he'd like to revive: Swamp Thing. "I'm developing a picture now that I'd like to do ... I'll hopefully do Swamp Thing, which is a movie we've had for a long time. We think that would be great to do in 3D." Silver later amended the comment to a "maybe" so it's not time to yell or scream too much, as it is just a whisper at this point.

Forget the Wes Craven movie or its ill-advised sequel. If you hang around a comic shop long enough, you'll hear Swamp Thing discussed in hushed and revered tones. Once upon a time, he was merely a B-movie kind of hero, a plant man who fought evil and sought the murderers of his wife while trying to find a cure for his condition. Then DC handed him to Alan Moore with a "Yeah, do whatever you want, the book isn't selling" and Swamp Thing became a member of "the Green," a defender of the environment, and a member of the Parliament of Trees. In characteristic Moore style, the character became loaded with mythology, spiritualism, and history. Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, and Brian K. Vaughan have all expanded upon the character in the years since, and other DC characters were wrapped up in his leafy mythology, notably John Constantine, Poison Ivy, and Neil Gaiman's Black Orchid.

I do believe the entire movie-going world is pleased that Liam Neeson has shed his fondness for soft-spoken mentor roles, and gone completely and utterly badass. Taken seems to have propelled him to the top of the man-crush list, and now he's just racking up fierce fights right and left. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the latest to get a Neeson throwdown is Unknown White Male, a role he was rumored to be circling just a few short weeks ago.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and scripted by Karl Gajdusek, Unknown centers on a a doctor who is enjoying a trip to Berlin with his wife. A car accident leaves him in a coma, and when he wakes up, he discovers he's been replaced in his life by another man. (A lookalike? Or just one of those "I've always been Dr. Smith" switcharoos?) Naturally, this replacement Neeson has sinister intentions, and it's up to the good version to discover just what the hell is going on. Presumably, it will involve much violence on the continent. (I'm beginning to think this Irishman is trying to tell us something about what happens when you travel there.)

Shooting is scheduled to begin this January, fresh on the heels of Clash of the Titans, and The A-Team. I feel compelled to mention that missing from that list is the Lincoln biopic he's done so much research for. I humbly suggest he use it and his new talent for combat to tackle Abe Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

The cover of Whitley Strieber's The Nye Incidents (as well as that famous Communion cover) is enough to scare the crap out of me, so I really don't relish the idea of sitting through a big screen adaptation of it. Nevertheless, I'll have to because it's on its way courtesy of Dark Castle, who has snatched up the rights. According to Variety, Todd Lincoln is set to direct, but no screenwriter is attached.

Devil's Due (who has a preview up) claims this is the story Strieber was "too terrified to tell himself," a viewpoint that is oddly shared by Amazon's one lone reviewer. It's centered on a medical examiner named Lynn Devlin who copes, as all M.E.'s and pathologists of pop culture do, with cool, rational logic. But in true Agent Scully / Temperance Brennan fashion, she is faced with something she can't explain away ... the gruesome murder of an alien abductee, and frightening dreams of oval shaped eyes.

In other words, its exactly the kind of alien story that makes me sleep with the lights on. (I know, I'm a dork.) I'm afraid your girl geek will fail you on this one, as there's no way in hell I will read it and tell you whether or not it'll make a cool movie. However, it warms my heart a little to know that the truth is still out there, flying free and making medical examiners doubt their belief in science.

Variety reports that Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga (The Departed) have joined the cast of Dark Castle's Orphan. In a nod to Bad Seeds everywhere, the film focuses on a young couple (Sarsgaard and Farmiga) that have recently lost a child and decide to adopt a young girl to fill the void. Of course, nothing is ever that easy and the girl "is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be". David Leslie, a relative newcomer, wrote the screenplay based off an idea by Alex Mace. Already signed to direct is House of Wax helmer, Jaume Collet-Serra. Serra started off directing TV commercials and music videos, and Wax was his first big-budget production. Orphan seems like a definite step up for Serra; when your casting pool goes from Paris Hilton to Peter Sarsgaard you must be doing something right.

Sarsgaard has already completed the Philip Roth adaptation Elegy with Penelope Cruz, and is wrapping up work on two more literary adaptations. First up is In the Electric Mist; based on James Lee Burke's novel about "A detective in the deep South is led into a series of surreal encounters with a troop of Confederate soldiers" and Michael Chabon's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Farmiga is currently filming Nothing But The Truth, a political drama with Kate Beckinsale and will next star in a literary adaptation of her own called The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas for Mark Herman (Brassed Off). Orphan is set to start shooting next week on location in Toronto and Montreal, Canada.

If you simply adore movies like House on Haunted Hill, Thirteen Ghosts, Ghost Ship, Gothika, House of Wax and The Reaping, then you'll be thrilled to know that Joel Silver's Dark Castle Entertainment has just signed a fresh deal with Warner Bros. home video department. (And also you might be insane.) Yes, home video. Apparently spurred on by the "navigational cinema" gimmick that turns perfectly disposable horror sequels into "choose your own adventure" experiences, WB and Dark Castle have decided to sit down and churn out some more direct-to-video material. Some sequels, some prequels and some "original" content. Heh.

The first production out of the gate will be the the aforementioned Return to House on Haunted Hill, which stars Jeffrey Combs and Cerina Vincent, and will allow you to pick through over 90 different story-line possibilities. Sounds like something that'd be really cool to sift through for an hour or two -- before living a dust-covered life on my DVD shelf. Upcoming Dark Castle / WB releases include Widow Whisps, Odds, Cheerleaders in Trouble, RocknRolla and Whiteout. Mr. Silver also aims to branch out just a little bit and produce a few action flicks under the Dark Castle banner. Which makes perfect sense, seeing as it was created as a horror shingle.

In related news, Sam Raimi's Ghost House outlet is presently working on Boogeyman 2 and I'm just sure Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes gang is cooking up another three remakes that nobody asked for.

Way back in July the marvelous Martha Fischer shared with us a trailer for The Reaping, which is a Dark Castle horror flick starring multiple Oscar recipient Hilary Swank. But then the movie got bumped from its release date (in favor of March 30, 2007) and everyone kinda forgot about The Reaping for a little while.

Until this brand-new trailer popped up, of course, and reminded us all that there's nothing potentially goofier than an unconvincing "religious thriller." (OK, so I still like The Seventh Sign, sue me!) Swanky stars as a professional skeptic who travels to a grungy little bayou town and is forced to contend with most of the more annoying biblical plagues ... and you just know she's gonna somehow save the day. But not before a bunch of kills, creeps and craziness.

The Reaping comes from director Stephen Hopkins (Predator 2, Lost in Space), fraternal screenwriters Chad & Carey Hayes (House of Wax), and the studio that gave you Gothika, Ghost Ship and The House on Haunted Hill. (Despite the combined track records of the aforementioned filmmakers, I'm still kinda looking forward to The Reaping. Hope springs eternal for the hardcore horror nerds.) Ms. Swank's co-stars include David Morrissey, William Ragsdale and a creepified AnnaSophia Robb, because when you win two Oscars in less than five years, you definitely want to be the biggest name in a horror movie cast.

If you love genre films as much as I do then this announcement will make you as happy as it made me. According to Variety ( via Coming Soon), Joel Silver's Dark Castle Productions has raised $240 Million from a half-dozen Wall Street firms to produce 15 films over the next six years. Warner Bros. will distribute the films under an existing deal with Silver.

I wrote about Silver's dealings with Wall Street before, and its good to see those efforts bear fruit already with some new projects. First up for Silver and Dark Castle under this deal is the action thriller Whiteout, based on the Greg Rucka graphic novel about a lone U.S. marshal tracking Antarctica's first serial killer.

The next two projects after Whiteout are expected to be the psychological horror film The Summoner, directed by Victor Salva (who also directed the very scary Jeepers Creepers) and the urban action film Gangland, written by Alex Tse (who's also writing the adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen -- another pic I can't wait to see).

Dark Castle has been around since 1999 and in that time has turned out some pretty good genre films and some not so good ones. No matter what the relative merits and success of its films, it's good to see a company and a Producer like Joel Silver so committed to bringing these kinds of projects to the screen. If it wasn't for him we might never have had the guilty pleasure of seeing genre films like House on Haunted Hill, House of Wax, or the under-appreciated Gothika. Keep up the good work Joel, and I'll keep watching.

What's your favorite guilty pleasure genre movie?

Neil LaBute's already-controversial remake of the cult mega-classic The Wicker Man has been assigned a September 1st release date by Warner Bros., according to my blood-soaked brothers over at BD.com. The studio has also taken Dark Castle's The Reaping and switched it from August 11th to November 8th.

The Wicker Man is based on Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer's quietly brilliant original chiller, and it's a revisit that Mr. Hardy is none to thrilled about. (As Karina reported back in September, he had some decidedly unhappy things to say about LaBute's remake.) The new take features Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Leelee Sobieski, and Molly Parker. (The original coasted by on just mood, atmosphere, and a commanding lead performance by Edward "the eventual Equalizer" Woodward.) If you really crave a plot synopsis on The Wicker Man, do us both a favor and go buy/rent the original flick. It really is as good as the fans say.

Now, The Reaping is the latest from the Dark Castle gang, the folks who offered you House on Haunted Hill, 13 Ghosts, Ghost Ship, Gothika, and House of Wax. It stars two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank as a supernatural debunker who visits a small Louisiana town, only to discover that some truly freaky shiznit is going down. We're talking biblical plagues here, horror fans. Although Dark Castle's been a bit inconsistent with their output, The Reaping seems to be getting off on the right foot: The director is Stephen Hopkins, the man who helmed Nightmare on Elm St. Part 5, Predator 2, Judgment Night, The Ghost and the Darkness, and several episodes of Tales from the Crypt and 24. (True, he also directed the big-screen version of Lost in Space, but I'm trying to think positive thoughts here.)