dead end Tagged Articles at Cinematical

You thought that with all the love we've been throwing at Austin's Fantastic Fest we'd probably forget all about good ol' L.A. Screamfest. Not with me on horror watch! The event runs from October 12 to 20, and if you happen to be located anywhere near the legendary Mann's Chinese Theater -- you just might want to duck inside to see what sort of murderous mayhem is going on.

And the Screamfest looks to be starting off on the right foot this year: Last night's opening night film was George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead! After much praise from the audiences at Toronto and Fantastic Fest, the master's latest zombie opus will hit the west coast with much excitement and gore. And the fun doesn't stop there. The festival will also offer Robert Rodriguez's director's cut of Planet Terror (which is awesome) and a 25th Anniversary screening (and cast reunion) of Friday the 13th Part 3. Yes, in 3-D!

Attendees will also get to check out the long-awaited DVDquel Return to House on Haunted Hill, a screening of the great-looking 30 Days of Night (and the video prequels Blood Trails), David Arquette's festival fave The Tripper, and a variety of genre titles of various shapes, sizes and nationalities. Of the Screamfest flicks we've seen, we've already given a strong seal of approval on the quiet but creepy Alone, the robust zest of Wrong Turn 2, the Pakistani lunacy known as Hell's Ground, , the freakishly ferocious Inside, and the apocalyptic awesomeness that is The Signal. Plus I keep hearing that Shrooms is pretty amusing, Buried Alive is gruesome, and Storm Warning is really solid.

The 2003 horror flick Wrong Turn pretty much came and went without much in the way of praise, hatred or attention in general. But Rob Schmidt's "woodbound mutants" chiller really does get better with repeat viewings, which is the only reason I'm even half-interested in Fox's upcoming Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. Intended for a direct-to-video release some time later this year, the sequel promises something I've wanted to see for years: Raving monster-men devouring the contestants of a reality TV show! (Check out the new (and NSFW) trailer over at Bloody-Disgusting.)

The director (Joe Lynch) might be a first-timer, but he's got help from screenwriters Turi Meyer and Al Septien, the duo who gave you Leprechaun 2 and Candyman 3 -- horror sequel masters if ever there was a pair. The cast is also well-steeped in the realm of horror: Leading lady Erica Leerhsen caught a brutal demise in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Henry Rollins recently slogged through Feast, Texas Battle got sliced up in Final Destination 3, Daniella Alonso will soon be seen in The Hills Have Eyes 2, and Ken Kirzinger ... well heck, he played Jason Voorhees!

Odds and ends from Thursday:

• According to Dutch newspapers, Quentin Tarantino has shown interest in remaking the Dutch horror film Dead End (or Dood Eind). Pic, which won't debut in Holland until August 3, is said to revolve around a group of friends who stumble into a house in Scotland only to discover it's cursed and, well, bad things happen. Apparently, the distributors for Dead End showed Tarantino a 20-minute reel and the Grind House director liked what he saw. If he does come on board, I'd expect him to do so as an executive producer (a la Hostel) and not as director. Between Grind House and Inglorious Bastards, something tells me he'll be busy for awhile.
• Paramount is putting all their money on Dito Montiel, after signing him on to rewrite and direct Runnin'. Montiel recently made his directorial debut with A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (See: James' Sundance review). Pic went on to receive the directing prize and special jury prize for best ensemble performance at the Sundance Film Fest, and will also play the Venice Fest before arriving in the U.S. Runnin' is said to center around the underground world of illegal sports betting in New York City.
• Now that they've released a brand new trailer for Darren Aronofsky's first directorial effort in six years, forcing Scott to all but soil himself, Warner Brothers has decided to make us wait even longer to see The Fountain. According to Box Office Mojo, the film has jumped from October 13 all the way to November 22. What gives? Of course, those of you lucky enough to be in Austin (Damn you Jette!) on September 28 will get a sneak peak way before the rest of us when The Fountain closes out Fantastic Fest.