end of the line Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Most horror geeks know Brian Yuzna as a frequent Stuart Gordon collaborator who helped to bring us Re-Animator, From Beyond, and the underrated Dolls. Younger gene freaks would also know Mr. Y from his numerous Filmax productions, which include Dagon, Rottweiler, and (of course) Beyond Re-Animator. But now, according to Big V, Brian is about to deliver a trio of 3-D horror flicks. The first will be a giant monster movie called Amphibious, the second will be Brett Leonard's Necronauts, and the third will be Richard Stanley's Cold Blooded. Now, I call this news all sorts of interesting because A) Stanley doesn't direct many films, B) Leonard has never directed a good film, and C) they're all 3-D horror movies! With monsters!

Questions: Does Danny Boyle want to direct 28 Months Later? Maybe. Will next year's Friday the 13th Part 3 DVD come in 3-D? Sure looks like it. Want to see the trailer for Adam Mason's Blood River? Sure why not. How about the first fifteen minutes of the goooory Left for Dead? Absolutely. Did you dig Shrooms? Here's the director's new one. So is Baghead a horror movie or not? Find out via DVD.

And I'd like to throw in one more plug for Maurice Devereaux's End of the Line, which is only available through Canadian retailers who stock Anchor Bay products. It's a nifty little chiller about a religious apocalypse that strikes just as some poor folks are heading home on the subway. Plus the DVD is stocked with supplemental goodies like a commentary, deleted scenes, and some footage from the flick's screening at the Fantasia Film Festival.

So between My Bloody Valentine, Piranha, and Scar (remember that one?) all on the way and all in 3-D -- and with all these also on the way -- I ask you this: Is 3-D here to stay this time? The first 3-D boom was well before my time, but I actually lived through the era of Amityville 3-D, Jaws 3-D, and (dear lord) Treasure of the Four Crowns. So I'm cautious.

Mega-sloppy cult mini-classic Pieces hits DVD this week, but my copy hasn't arrived yet, so check out BD's fine review by slasher-lover David Harley.

If you like Leprechaun, Warlock, and comic book adaptations, Shock has some good news for you. And Twitchfilm has a great little interview with the director of Tokyo Gore Police. And MTV talks Medusas and Krakens. Oooh, and Lionsgate is planning a My Bloody Valentine special edition DVD to tie in with their remake.

Anyone remember me (and the other horror nerds) raving about a Canadian horror flick called End of the Line? If so you'll be pleased to note that the DVD is now available in R1 -- but only from Canadian distributors. More info here.

UGO has an exclusive peek at the brand-new trailer for The Grudge 3 right here.

A few weeks back, director Clint Hutchison asked me if I could take a look at his horror flick Conjurer before the DVD went to press. Unfortunately I got busy with other stuff, so I'm a bit late with my comments: This is a rather fine little gothic thriller, in no way related to slasher flicks or "torture" stuff. It's actually a rather cool '70s-style slow-burn horror tale about a young couple, a new house, and a really creepy little cabin. Definitely not a "slam-bang" horror flick, but I thought it was well-shot, well-acted, and pretty engrossing for a fairly familiar story. (The DVD comes out on November 25.)

My pal Irv over at Movies Unlimited has a few recommendations from the new Hammer "Icons" Collection.

Lastly, Nacho Vigalondo's very nifty Timecrimes has a brand-new theatrical trailer that does a fine job of introducing the movie without spoiling any of the surprises. Here it is:

Have you ever read a film review in which the critic went to great pains to find meaning and symbolism that really wasn't there? I was reminded of that practice just now as I struggled in vain to find a common theme with which to bind together five previews for today's Trailer Park. Rather than trying to find structure where none truly exists, I'm just going with five trailers I find interesting. Cool?

Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Yes, I'm a big enough Kevin Smith fan that I stayed up for the midnight launch of this trailer on the Quick Stop Entertainment site. Unfortunately I didn't realize they meant midnight on the West coast, so I was slightly sleep deprived when I finally caught the trailer this morning. As Erik pointed out in his recent post, Smith states that this is just a teaser and doesn't contain even a second of footage from the actual film. The title characters (played by Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) are lifelong platonic friends who decide to produce a porn flick together. The teaser shows them auditioning talent, but we only see the two of them as they struggle through the unfamiliar process. No belly laughs, but it is quite funny and charming, while being verbally graphic. This is a bit of a relief, as the "I'm F***ing Seth Rogen" video that was circulating a little while ago featured the two stars riffing on Sarah Silverman's hilarious "I'm F***ing Matt Damon" video without really adding much. More importantly, I learned a new word today: "manscape."

I first caught Maurice Deveraux's End of the Line at the "screener bank" of the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. Here was a horror flick that was not playing as part of TIFF's "Midnight" slate -- because it was a Canadian production and the festival likes to keep the native flicks as part of their own category. And it's kind of a shame, too, because if End of the Line had had the "Midnight Selection" cachet behind it, the flick might have gained a bit more well-deserved attention. (Counter-point: The rather sloppy anthology flick Trapped Ashes DID play as part of the "Midnight" line-up, and it's also here at the Philadelphia Film Festival -- but more on that movie later in the week.)

A perfectly entertaining, surprisingly vicious and (get this) somewhat unique spin on apocalyptic horror, End of the Line isn't likely to earn itself a big groundswell of praise, or even a minor slice of cult status, but it is a pretty nifty little terror tale all the same. It's about a ultra-religious wacko cult that decides tonight is the final night for humanity, and so all at the same time, all over the city, the cult kooks break out their daggers and begin stabbing people all over the place. "All over the place" also includes one particularly chaotic subway train, which is where most of End of the Line takes place. (Hence the title "End of the Line," which is a connection I just made four minutes ago.)

Whenever I get a film festival guide (whether or not I'm actually attending that particular festival) I immediately flip right to the back, because that's generally where the Midnight Madness / Danger After Dark / Horror Movies are listed ... which definitely explains how I almost missed seeing End of the Line when it played at last September's Toronto Film Festival. Luckily I was really bored on the plane ride up north, which gave me the opportunity to notice that, hey, here's a nasty-looking horror movie wedged into the Canada First lineup! Cool!

But then there were scheduling problems, one missed screening and a small bout with the flu ... but I was able to catch Maurice Deveraux's End of the Line in the Festival's "video bank" section, which is where you can catch up on movies you missed -- if you don't mind watching 'em with headphones on a 21-inch screen. But it was a horror movie, and so I grabbed a soda and hit the video bank. And despite a pretty slow start, I really kinda dug End of the Line. (You can tell I did because this brand-new trailer says "Four Stars - Intense! -- Scott Weinberg" in it, and they couldn't use that quote if I hadn't actually written those words. (OK, word.)

Anyway, End of the Line is a pretty enjoyable horror tale that depicts the Armageddon-ish events that inevitably occur when a worldwide cult decides that TONIGHT is when all the "non-believers" will perish. Like with knifes and axes and stuff. The flick takes place mostly inside of a creepy subway tunnel, but there's more than enough carnage afoot to keep even the oldest gorehounds happy. Not saying it's a brilliant piece of horror, but I still stand by "Intense!" -- cuz it kinda is. Sorry to say I have no news on a domestic release date just yet, but of course I'll let you know when such information becomes available. I was just psyched about the trailer.

(Oh yeah, Ginger Snaps! The best Canadian horror movie since Ginger Snaps.)

Most of the celebrities are gone, the parties are notably less funky, and the throngs of jaywalkers on Bloor Street have trickled down to a steady drip -- but the Midnight Madness continues! (Case in point: Even with the festival winding down, J.T. Petty's S&MAN still had a powerful debut and Q&A session!) Update #3 (of 4, in case you were wondering) offers a taste of British slash-stick, French freakiness, and Canadian carnage.

Severance -- Here's a movie I quite enjoyed; I laughed at the funny bits, I cringed at the gooey gore-geysers, and I even got spooked once or twice. So why did I leave the theater feeling slightly underwhelmed? Probably because the early buzz from across the pond (and various other film festivals) was that Christopher Smith's Severance is "the next Shaun of the Dead" -- which it most certainly is not. (Frankly I wish people would stop using the phrase "X is the next Y," but then all the publicists would go out of business.) The flick's about a group of weapon-making co-workers who go on a "team-building" retreat ... only to see their teammates picked off by a rather nastily creative stalker. Suffice to say Severance is broadly amusing, satisfyingly splattery, and just clever enough to appease the demanding genre freaks -- and that's good enough for me.