TrappedAshes Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm going to try and keep my own personal opinions out of the first paragraph as I report the following: Apparently, there were a whole bunch of fainting people in attendance at the TIFF Trapped Ashes screening. According to Fangoria, two audience members and a Toronto FF volunteer were so overwhelmed by the shock of Trapped Ashes that they simply collapsed. Paramedics showed up and made sure everyone was still breathing.

Now, I saw the flick in a fairly packed "press and industry" screening, and I certainly didn't see anyone fainting in that auditorium. Sleeping, maybe. Derisive chuckles, intermittently. Walk-outs, definitely. But no fainting. (Trapped Ashes is a four-story anthology that's about as shocking as a Tales from the Darkside marathon.) A Google News search yields nothing in the field of "trapped ashes fainting," but screenwriter/producer Dennis Bartok swears this isn't a marketing ploy: "I almost wish I'd thought this up as a publicity stunt, but it wasn't me or any of the other producers behind it." (Maybe it was one of the directors; Trapped Ashes has five of 'em.)

The good news is this: If and when you get to see Trapped Ashes, it will almost definitely be within the confines of your own living room, so you won't have to worry about embarrassing yourself as you faint all over the multiplex.

Back with another genre-centric infusion from the illustrious Toronto Film Festival! I've spent the last several days talking movies with friends, bolting to and from interview segments, and (of course) settling in for some really fine flicks -- most of which come as part of the Midnight Madness slate. My last report was full of opinions on Borat, Fido and The Host, and now I've got another trio to ramble about...

Black Sheep -- By now you've probably already seen the infamous video of me interviewing a bunch of sheep (professional journalist that I am), plus I have an interview with director Jonathan King on the way, but for now let's just focus on the flick itself: It's a whole lot of wool-covered, splattery fun. Take the 'mad scientist' schtick from any of your favorite monster movies, transplant it into the pastoral loveliness of New Zealand's rolling hills, and gather about 2,000 really pissed-off ovines -- and you're still not even close to encapsulating the insanity of Black Sheep. Part Peter Jackson, part William Castle, and entirely entertaining from beginning to end, the flick mixes slapstick with splatter and the result is a midnight movie extraordinaire. Of course it also helps that Mr. King has an excellent cast and some superlative FX work from Weta Workshop. We don't know who'll be distributing Black Sheep stateside just yet, but odds are the gorehounds will have a ball with this lightning-paced piece of shear madness.