Considering how much can go wrong in a filmmaker's career, it's always nice to hear a success story. Variety reports that Universal has hired Australian director Shane Abbess to helm the sci-fi thriller Source Code. Universal picked up the rights to the film back in 2007, but the project sat on the back-burner until now. Abbess is a relative newcomer who made his name directing commercials and his feature debut was the 2007 Gothic thriller, Gabriel. The film was financed, written, and directed by Abbess, and told the story of an angel in purgatory. Oh, and something about 'bringing the light' and saving souls.

Code will be a time-travel story, but so far Universal is keeping the details under wraps. Ben Ripley (the writer behind such classics as Species III) has already penned a spec script, but there is no word on whether Universal will be using his draft. Originally, Topher Grace had been attached to produce and star in Code, but there was no mention of Grace in the latest notice. Code is aiming for a 2009 release, but Universal might want to stay away from May, otherwise they're going to have some stiff 'time traveling competition' in the form of Terminator 4.

I discussed the trailer for this Australian action/fantasy flick awhile back, and I was surprised it never had any kind of theatrical release in the states. Now that I've seen the film (just out from Sony Home Entertainment), it falls just short of feeling like an A picture and with no recognizable faces in the cast I can see where distributors might have been hesitant to pick it up. Still, this is a nice little slice of dark fantasy, and I can still see it finding a following even as a direct to DVD release.

Purgatory, or at least the Purgatory of this film, is a dank urban sprawl populated by people who have earned neither heaven nor hell. Control of the city is currently in the hands of The Fallen. While the words "God" and "devil" are never used, you don't need to be a theologian to figure out whose side they are on, and as a result the city remains in perpetual darkness. Gabriel (Andy Whitfield) is the latest in a series of Archangels who have been sent to reclaim the city for the forces of light. While in Purgatory, Archangels and Fallen alike must assume mortal forms, a very unpleasant transition, which provides ample opportunity for martial arts and automatic weapons fire when the two forces clash.

Halloween is on the way, as if you hadn't noticed with all the cool Halloween related content here on Cinematical (and if you really haven't, check it out right here), and it's got me hankering for trailers that complement this weirdest of holidays. In honor of the Halloween season, we're getting weird...

The Eye
We've been hearing about Jessica Alba's remake of the Hong Kong horror flick Jian Gui for awhile now, and the trailer is finally out. Alba plays a woman who can see the supernatural world after she is given an eye transplant to restore her sight. There's no dialogue, only a collection of scenes set to music, so it's hard to get a read on this one. Alba has a certain cool quotient for her role in Sin City, but she also appeared in Good Luck Chuck, proving her taste in projects is not flawless, and the fact that The Eye was scripted by the same guy who gave us Gothika disturbs me deeply. I'm always game for something creepy, but I'll have to see more before deciding if this is worth the ticket price. Here's Patrick's take on the trailer.

Gabriel
An Australian flick in which angels in the service of light battle fallen angels for control of purgatory, and apparently they do so with martial arts and guns. Hmmm. Apparently they left this part out when I attended Sunday school. Purgatory is portrayed as a contemporary city and the forces of darkness are currently in control. Gabriel is an archangel seeking to regain control of the city This is more than a little reminiscent of The Prophecy in which Christopher Walken played the archangel Gabriel, and the influence of Underworld is pretty obvious. Still, this looks like it could be pretty cool.