john harrison Tagged Articles at Cinematical

(Remember wayyy back when Eli Roth was attached to direct a film based on Stephen King's Cell? Yeah, well, that obviously didn't happen, and now word has it those Weinstein boys have decided to take the property to the small screen instead. Here's Peter Hall reporting for Horror Squad)

Fangoria got out word today from the Fantasia Film Festival that Stephen King's Cell is no longer destined for the silver screen. Instead the novel will be reborn as a four hour TV mini-series to be scripted by John Harrison. Details are rather sparse at this stage, but Harrison tells Fango his take on the material will be closer to a classic creeper like Village of the Damned (I hope Harrison is referring to the original and not the languid John Carpenter remake) than an all out zombie movie.

If you recall Eli Roth was long attached to a film adaptation of King's novel about a cell phone pulse that scrambles the inner workings of any poor sap that hears it, converting them instantly into a murderous member of a new society.

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So maybe Midnight Meat Train didn't get the reception that Clive Barker had hoped for, but that hasn't stopped the master of horror from rolling right along with his other projects. A new trailer for Book of Blood (the first in Barker's six part series) has just hit the net. Unfortunately, the trailer has since disappeared from most sites, so if you are curious, I'd advise you to act fast. But the good news is that Dreadcentral.com now has a promo reel for Barker's other adaption from his Books of Blood series, titled, Dread.

So first up is the trailer for Blood, and I have to tell you, it is looking pretty good (not to mention gory) for the horror tale. Blood was the frame story for Barker's original series, and the film will center on "on a paranormal expert who, while investigating a gruesome slaying, finds a house that is at the intersection of "highways" transporting souls to the afterlife." Although, I should warn you that the trailer is a little 'spoilery', so tread carefully. Blood was co-written and directed by John Harrison (Diary of The Dead) and stars Jonas Armstrong as a psychic, and Sophie Ward (who hardcore movie geeks might recognize as the great love of Young Sherlock Holmes) as the paranormal expert.

Next up is Dread, the story of three graduate students who devise an experiment about fear that gets a little out of hand to say the least. The promo reel gives you a few more glimpses of what director Anthony Diblasi (who is also producing the Hellraiser update) has planned (you can also take a look at some official stills here) as well as clips from the film and interviews with Barker, and stars Shaun Evans and Jackson Rathbone (Twilight). Dread is still in production, but Book of Blood is expected to arrive in theaters in 2008 -- although I probably wouldn't hold your breath.

So take a look and sound off below on whether Barker will have better luck with the big screen this time around...