alexandre aja Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Well, it's just about 'All Hallows Eve' and if you're anything like me, then you have already depleted your candy supply and you've been watching as many horror movies as you can get your hands on. And as I've watched everything from The Wolf Man to 13 Ghosts I've been thinking how few movies actually scare me -- the rise of torture porn was nauseating, sure, but scary? Not really. Over at Den of Geek they've compiled a list of movies that scare them and it has inspired me to think about what flicks have given me the honest to goodness heebie-jeebies over the years.

Usually when I watch horror, it's with an eye for comedy and usually the lamer the film, the better. But occasionally there's a film that actually does what it's supposed to: scare the crap out of me. But as much as I tried to find a common denominator for what scares me on the big screen, I came up empty. In fact, there's never really any way to tell just what is going to hit the right buttons when it comes to horror, but I guess that's what makes it so much fun.

After the jump: 5 movies that guarantee me a 'bad night's sleep'...

As someone initially unimpressed with the teaser trailer for next weekend's horror offering, Mirrors, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the unpleasantries on display in the film's restricted trailer, among them the sight of Amy Smart ripping her own jaw off (what can I say, I'm a man of simple taste).

However, I then wondered if that particular moment wasn't the best that the film had to offer. Sure, you don't want to spoil too much before a film opens, but it's a scene that has become the focus of most TV spots and -- in hindsight -- the poster, and as a plot development, I'm almost certain that it'll happen before the film hits its hour mark (a matter that no one will be able to confirm until late Thursday evening, which is its own little omen). But it fell on me to watch that part and find my interest piqued.

I think Scott Weinberg's getting set for Comic-Con as I write this, so I'll briefly fill in on the gorehound beat. Mirrors director Alexandre Aja has released what he calls "a new tasty visual from one of my favorite scenes" in the film. Per Aja's penchant for extravagant gross-outs, the picture is -- how do you say? -- aggressive. I'm putting it under the jump. It's gruesome -- watch out.

It's also -- and some of you may petition to have me committed for this -- strangely beautiful, albeit in a way only a horror freak could love. Unlike, say, the work of Eli Roth, who's like a giddy kid in a candy store when it comes to gore, Aja's imagery has been kind of artful in its grandiosity. Of the Splat Pack membership, I think he's the most concerned with the egghead aspects of horror movie aesthetics: shot composition, the color palette, symmetry, etc. That's a large part of the reason I'm looking forward to Mirrors, which otherwise looks pretty standard-issue. A truly great-looking horror film might be able to get away with not having much of a concept.

Anyway, Aja will be at Comic-Con promoting Mirrors, and I'm sure Scott, Eric or Elisabeth will have something for you from there. Meanwhile, click through for the photo -- if you dare. Not Safe for Work.

Ever since the first details have slipped out about Mirrors, Alexandre Aja's follow-up to High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes, I can't say there's been any vested interest on my part to see the end result. After all, those films were grisly pieces of work, and while I would respect Aja for deciding to mix it up with something a bit more psychological, the central premise of "vengeful reflections" is one that I've yet to see the suspense in, particularly in the wake of a certain SNL Digital Short (attached after the jump for your enjoyment).

The film's new teaser trailer has shown up over at Yahoo! Movies, and as unfair as it may be to judge a full-length feature on the merits of these whopping forty-five seconds alone, there's nothing here that indicates to me that the oh-so-spooky reflections of Kiefer Sutherland, Amy Smart, and Paula Patton are going to send chills up my spine come August 15.

Then again, it doesn't help that a demotion to the role of mall security guard doesn't stop my mind from automatically associating Kiefer with his gun-toting, voice-raising '24' hero, Jack Bauer. As such, feel free to wake me up if Aja opts to bring either Elisha Cuthbert and/or a cougar into the works. Now THAT's suspense, my friends!

In 2006, Joe Dante told us it was coming.

In 2007, we learned of the French connection.

in 2008, I'm telling you that it will be in 3-D.

In 2009, we will have a new movie called ... Piranha!

According to the rotten one over at STYD.com, Dimension's remake of the Joe Dante / John Sayles mini-classic is now scheduled for release on July 24, 2009. And I'm sure that date will stick because the Weinsteins never change release dates over and over on their aquatic horror movies. (Seriously, where the hell is Rogue already?) But the news gets even campier...

3-D! Yes! The plot -- "a tremor causes Arizona's Lake Havasu floor to open, setting free scores of prehistoric piranhas" -- will be in service to that awesomeness known as 3-D exhibition! Hundreds of gross, ugly, scary, ravenous piranhas ... in 3-D! The spirit of William Castle is alive and well and living in the Weinsteins' attic. I refuse to let the fact that one of the co-writers penned Good Luck Chuck deter me: A 3-D Piranha remake from the guy who directed High Tension: Bring it on.

I've always loved movies that take place over a limited amount of time in a limited space, say over the course of a few hours or one day, in a specific neighborhood or building. Movies that take place over many years tend to skimp on the everyday details that really make a story, but when a filmmaker is forced to closely examine a specific space, those small things can come to life. (This excludes, of course, movies based on plays in which characters sit in a single room and talk.) These two extremes separate the men from the boys; anyone can blunder through an epic, lining up blocks of scenes one after the other like columns of marching ants, but it takes a real talent to find poetry in the mundane. While I can't say that the new thriller P2, which takes place entirely in a parking garage on Christmas Eve, is a shining example, it still has one or two worthwhile ideas, despite its clumsy flaws.

Newcomer director Franck Khalfoun, along with his more experienced co-writer and producer Alexandre Aja (director of High Tension and the remake of The Hills Have Eyes), makes wonderful use of the big New York City high rise with all its sinister safety precautions that eventually turn against our heroine. Angela (Rachel Nichols) is forced to work late into Christmas Eve, finishing up an important document. Late for a Christmas party at her sister's house, she heads down into the parking garage only to find that her car won't start. A friendly night watchman, Thomas (Wes Bentley), tries to help, but to no avail. She calls a cab, but finds that she can't actually exit the lobby of the building. The locks that are designed to keep people out over the holiday are actually keeping poor Angela inside.

Cinematical has just gotten an exclusive clip and photos for the upcoming Alexandre Aja and Franck Khalfoun garage horror film P2, which will finally bleed its way onto the big screen this week. Filmed in a particularly creepy garage around the corner from Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario (pretending to be New York City), P2 is about a businesswoman named Angela (Rachel Nichols) whose Christmas Eve is anything but jolly. She finds herself to be the sadistic, lust-filled focus of Thomas (Wes Bentley), a psycho security guard, in a deserted parking garage.

Thomas doesn't take too kindly to Angela's sexual past, and this clip has him ready to give some ex-lover a taste of blood-filled horror medicine. Luckily, you don't even have to imagine what happens to the guy -- some extra clips over at JoBlo answer that question, and show you why Thomas is working as a security guard and not a makeup artist. The lipstick horror fest opens on Friday, so check out the trailer and more clips on the film's website. Additionally, stay tuned for Jeffrey M. Anderson's review tomorrow, and check out the gallery below -- featuring two new exclusive shots plus a bunch more creepy P2 images.

If Alfred Hitchcock taught us anything, it's that sometimes suspense can occur in the most unlikely of places: cornfields, brightly lit motels, and even Mount Rushmore. But I have to admit, I wouldn't necessarily count a parking garage as one of them -- they're kind of spooky, but only when you don't tip the attendant for bringing you your car. Shock Till You Drop now has the exclusive poster for the indie-thriller P2. The horror was created by the team behind the French thriller High Tension, Franck Khalfoun and Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes). This time, Khalfoun is at the helm, and he also contributed to the script along with Aja. Next up for Aja will be the horror flick Mirrors with Tension writer Grégory Levasseur, and starring Kiefer Sutherland and Amy Smart.

P2 follows a successful businesswoman who is kidnapped by a creepy security guard with an ax to grind over his spurned affections. Wes Bentley (who has been relatively absent from the movies since his big break in American Beauty) stars as the wacko parking attendant, and Rachel Nichols is the career girl on the run. Nichols is a relative unknown to most, but for fans of Alias, her face might ring a bell as 'Rachel Gibson'. Next up for Nichols is a role that is probably a little more high profile; she has a part in the Tom Hanks film Charlie Wilson's War directed by Mike Nichols (no relation). P2 was shot on location in Toronto, Canada last January and is set to hit theaters on November 9th.

We recently brought you news of Kiefer Sutherland's next big-screen adventure -- he'll be teaming with 'splat pack' charter member Alexandre Aja on a supernatural thriller called Mirrors. Sutherland plays a mall security guard, who must investigate the weird mirrors in a department store. According to various sources, the mirrors reflect back evil versions of the people they are mirroring. There's no evidence that this will be a comedy, but it sure sounds like it. Today there is news that Sutherland now has a co-star, Paula Patton, who was Denzel Washington's love interest in the mediocre time-travel film Deja Vu. Patton will play Sutherland's fiance who disbelieves his claims about the mirrors. The film is going to be shot in Romania, with a start date of May 1.

Patton is also attached to the Christine Crokos drama This Wednesday, which is about a prostitute and her pimp -- that film is currently in pre-production. As for Aja, his other upcoming project is, of course, the remake of Joe Dante's Piranha. [Along with the news of Helen Mirren joining National Treasure 2, Shia LaBeouf joining Indy 4 and any number of other recent stories, the Pirahna story was brought to you first by the online film community.] There's no word yet on Pirahna casting, but I have no doubt whatsoever that Aja will push the gore-factor on this one, despite the fact that the studio apparently wants to maintain the humorous tone of the original.

Less violent, less distressing and generally less down on life than Alexandre Aja's The Hills Have Eyes, this rote sequel is almost a tonal crossover from the horror genre to action, focusing on a platoon of armed-to-the-teeth soldiers who end up traipsing around the same abandoned nuclear test site full of hidden sinkholes, caves and other places out of which the prairie dog mutants from the previous film can pounce. Empowering this new crop of victims with massive assault rifles and other weapons is an odd choice, since the signature of the Hills franchise is a more pure form of victimization than an Aliens knock-off can deliver. Prior to now, the series has taken the trouble to flesh out the mutants as rape-crazy, biker-style predators who stalked unaware innocents, while The Hills Have Eyes II mostly uses them as pop-up monsters for blurry boo-moments -- here and there, a pickax-wielding mutant will suddenly appear behind one of our heroes, or a crusty arm will reach out of the darkness to yank someone backwards.

Unconvincing would be a generous way to describe the so-called National Guard troop served up for slaughter. Played by actors with no visible muscle tone and sporting un-colorful nicknames like "Private Mickey Mouse," the troop spends the first twenty minutes of the film enduring brow-beatings from the world's most cliched drill sergeant, who screams in everyone's faces and orders a slacker to stand on one foot with his rifle over his head. One of the troop members looks and sounds distractingly like Patton Oswalt doing a 'retarded soldier' character, while another wears a big bandana up around his forehead, which is also a grab from Aliens, if I remember correctly. The leads are played by too-model-perfect-to-be-a-grunt Jessica Stroup, too-wimpy-to-pass-for-a-soldier Michael McMillian and Daniella Alonso, whose entire character arc is boiled down to the fact that she carries a cell-phone video of her young son and watches it numerous times during the film, much to the boredom of the audience.