lucky mckee Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The first time Lucky McKee and Angela Bettis got together, it was in the service of a project called May, a stellar little horror flick that I've been forcing on people since I saw it several years back. The film was well-regarded enough to earn Mr. McKee a spot on the roster during Master of Horror's inaugural season -- and the guy stuck with what works. He hired Ms. Bettis (again) and they delivered Sick Girl, one of the first season's very best episodes, if it's me you're asking.

So now comes the old switcheroo: The new movie is called Roman, and it comes from director Angela Bettis. Her leading man is her former director, of course: Lucky McKee. I was psyched to catch Roman at last September's Fantastic Fest, but I'll warn my fellow May-lovers right now: If you walk into Roman expecting just a gender-reversal take on McKee's first flick, you're in for a disappointment. Roman is a fairly slow-moving (yet still interesting) story of a lonely guy who accidentally murders a girl before, well, going off the deep end, emotionally.

I dug the flick well enough to offer a recommendation, if only to the serious genre fans, and now it seems I'm not the only one who liked the thing: According to DavisDVD.com, Echo Bridge Home Entertainment will be releasing the Roman DVD on March 27, and that's pretty good news indeed. Despite the presence of two very talented filmmakers, Roman is precisely what we mean when we call something a "tough sell," so it's cool to see the flick hit the streets in one form or another. Expect the requisite commentary, deleted scenes, etc., but (I'll say it again) do not go in expecting May Part 2 -- or you just might hate the movie.

If there's one thing the media really loves to do, it's lump a bunch of barely-connected people into an ill-fitting group -- and then give that group a clever name. Whether it's The Rat Pack, The Brat Pack or The Splat Pack, I just get irked whenever a new "pack" makes it into the cultural lexicon. Oh, you're not familiar with that last one? Yeah, it's a moniker that's been given to a bunch of "new" horror filmmakers, one that seems to imply that these guys get together every weekend to smoke weed and watch Halloween 2 together.

According to a recent article in Time Magazine, one that seems to approach horror flicks the same way a prissy schoolmarm would approach some inappropriate comic books, the members of "The Splat Pack" are Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel), Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent), Alex Aja (High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes), Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects), and James Wan, Leigh Whannell and Darren Lynn Bousman of the Saw trilogy. (Apparently Wolf Creek director Greg McLean was part of the original pack, although he goes unmentioned in the Time article, probably because he hasn't made much money yet.)

But what do these guys have in common, really, other than the fact that they all make horror flicks? I see Americans, Brits, Aussies and a Frenchman in the mix, and while some of the guys are fresh-faced and 20-something, guys like Roth have been toiling away in backstage anonymity for years. Plus, c'mon, Rob Zombie is 42 years old, so how exactly does he tie in with these kids? And why is it that Neil Marshall never seems to be quoted in these articles? Is he just included because his horror movies are ... GOOD? Apparently the Splat Pack label was created by Alan Jones of Total Film, and I'm sure the guy's an absolute expert on horror flicks -- but labels create limits, exclusions and oversights. And, ultimately, articles like this one, I suppose. (Either way, I bet Jones bangs out a book called The Splat Pack by the end of 2008.)

The UK's Christopher Smith (Creep, Severance) is young and horror-heavy, so why isn't he a member of The Pack? Shouldn't (Dawn of the Dead screenwriter, Slither director) James Gunn be one of the den mothers? Lucky McKee has made only two feature films (May and The Woods), but they're both downright excellent pieces of horror. Why's he not a member? Uwe Boll's done a bunch of horror flicks that could be accurately described as " laden with torture," so why not throw him an invitation? You want a guy who loves the word splat? Try Jake West, the guy who directed Evil Aliens. Plus I read another article a while back in which Jonathan Liebesman (Darkness Falls, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) was considered a member of The SP! Now, if that guy can be considered some sort of "future of horror," I'll eat my hat.

The common themes among the Splat Packers are ... what? They all like horror movies, they don't shy away from intense chills, harsh themes or copious gore, and they're all carbon-based life forms, I guess. But really: Does anyone out there think the work of Eli Roth is even remotely similar to that of Neil Marshall? Does a Rob Zombie flick remind you of what was seen in, say, High Tension? I mean, if you're going to define a term, then define it. And as a big fan of just about all these movies, I just gotta scratch my head when I hear these guys lumped together in one basket.

And what happens when guys like Ryan Schifrin (Abominable), Adam Green (Hatchet), J.T. Petty (S&Man) Scott Glosserman (Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon), Jon Levine (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) and Adam Mason (Broken) start to make their way up the ranks? Will we have the arrival of Splat Pack 2: The New Generation? Back in the late '70s/early '80s, did we need a goofy little heading to remember names like Carpenter, Hooper, Craven, Dante, Landis and Cunningham?

Ultimately, I have no real point. I'd just seen the phrase "Splat Pack" one too many times and felt the need to vent. Opposing viewpoints are welcome, as long as they agree with my own opinions.

The official Cinematical presence at the 2006 Fantastic Fest was the wonderful Jette Kernion, and I think she managed to bang out about eight reviews ... while the fest was still running! I saw JK everywhere, from the queues to the parties to the local barbecue pits. Frankly I think her coverage rocked the house, and I'm not just saying that because she let me butt in line with her for The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell.

But since the FF guys were cool enough to welcome Cinematical with such eerily open arms, I figure it's only right to share my favorite movies, moments and memories of mayhem from the 2006 FantFest. And so I shall.

The Best Flicks

Simon Rumley's seriously disturbing The Living and the Dead, the Swedish vampire flick Frostbite, Adam Green's fun-time slasher throwback Hatchet, William Friedkin's compellingly intense Bug and the quietly cool haunted Brit flick Lie Still. I also had an unexpectedly good time with Mel Gibson's Apocalypto -- and although I'd already seen Abominable, The Host, The Fountain, Pan's Labyrinth and Severance, they're all films I have no problem recommending. Oh, and William H. Macy's performance in Edmond ... wow.

I also trekked away from the festival to enjoy a good portion of Feast -- which was negated by my plane ride home. Lindsay Lohan's Just My Luck was the in-flight movie, and that flick packs perhaps the worst screenplay I've dealt with in three years. Stunningly bad.

Oh, and right before I nodded off every night, I watched just a little bit more of The Office: Season 2. If you don't watch this show, you're plain old robbing yourself of multiple peals of bulky laughter. And why would you want to do that?

I have no idea why The Woods, which screened at Fantastic Fest, is being released directly to DVD this week with no theatrical run, apart from a few festivals. The latest film from director Lucky McKee (May) is not a groundbreaking or innovative horror film, but it contains many of the elements that make horror movies appealing: screaming schoolgirls, spooky forces of nature, stylish camerawork, a good sense of humor throughout ... and the presence of Bruce Campbell. Some of you might suspect that Campbell was one of the main reasons why I chose to see this movie, and you'd probably be right.

The Woods is what I would call a good solid standard horror film. Wimps like me will appreciate a lack of extended torture sequences, which seem to be gaining popularity in contemporary horror films. There's a little gore, especially near the end, but it's nothing that we squeamish types can't block with one hand briefly shielding our eyes.

The storyline is simple and fairly predictable: Heather (Agnes Bruckner), who's in trouble for setting fires around the family home, is sent to an all-girls' boarding school by her overbearing mom (Emma Campbell) and almost silent dad (Bruce Campbell). The headmistress, Ms. Traverse (Patricia Clarkson), gives Heather the oddest scholarship test ever. Heather ends up becoming one of the picked-on girls in the school; blonde bully Samantha (Rachel Nichols) nicknames her "Firecrotch" and her only friend is shy Marcy (Lauren Birkell). But apart from the usual schoolgirl dynamics, Heather has to deal with other problems. Ms. Traverse has been giving her some disturbing private lessons. A student who tried to kill herself mysteriously vanishes. And the one time Heather tries to escape through the woods that surround the school, she's completely terrified by what she experiences.

The bloggers are out in full force for Fantastic Fest in Austin this year. In fact, bloggers primarily were responsible for reporting on the sneak preview of Apocalypto and Mel Gibson's comments afterwards, which have now hit media publications internationally. Here are a few blogging highlights:

• If you want to hear the full Q&A from Gibson's appearance at Fantastic Fest, Blake from Cinema Strikes Back has an MP3 for you. (I believe you can hear our own Scott Weinberg too.) If Gibson isn't your cup of tea, Blake's also posted an MP3 and photo from the Q&A with Michael Shannon after Monday night's screening of Bug (Cinematical will have a review later this week).
• Matt Dentler, one of the festival programmers, describes his reaction to Apocalypto and posts a photo from the Q&A. His description of the "massive amounts of blood and body parts" makes me feel a little better about not getting into the screening -- I'm not a fan of extreme gore.
  
• Peter Martin at Twitch reviews the workprint version of Apocalypto, including plot spoilers. He's also posted capsule reviews from Friday, Sunday, and Monday's films.
• At News of the Dead, Wiley Wiggins has been posting photos, MP3s of festival Q&As, and his impressions of various films. He perfectly summarized my feelings about The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes.
  
• Austinist has some capsule reviews from the first four days. The site also posted an interview with Lucky McKee, who will be available at Fantastic Fest screenings for The Woods (which he directed) and Roman (in which he stars).
  

Although Fantastic Fest is only in its second year, the Austin sf/horror/fantasy film festival is picking up some great premieres. Last month, the festival announced that its closing-night film will be The Fountain. The latest additions to the lineup include the U.S. premiere of William Friedkin's film Bug, which I'm not sure is classified as horror, suspense, or just plain creepy. In addition, Lucky McKee will attend festival screenings of The Woods (pictured), which he directed and which is finally getting a DVD release this fall, and Roman, in which he plays the title role. (I am embarrassed to admit I am the kind of person who knows The Woods only as "a film with Bruce Campbell in it.")

But wait, there's more: filmmaker William Dear will be on hand for screenings of the 1974 biker film Northville Cemetery Massacre and his latest film, Simon Says, a horror film that stars Crispin Glover. And Fantastic Fest's opening-night film hasn't even been announced yet. Anyone want to join me in Austin in late September?

You think I talk about The Descent a lot? You should have seen me a few years ago when May finally showed up on DVD after I'd been gushing over the thing for forever and a week. (Seriously, no messing around: If you haven't at least rented May yet, please click right here and then come on back. I'll wait.)

So the reason I brought up May is this: It was directed by a guy called Lucky McKee, and his second film (The Woods) has been sitting on a shelf in a Sony broom closet for about 18 months. It recently played a few film festivals (to enthusiastic response), but the studio doesn't seem willing to spend any money on the flick. So now you can plan to buy/rent the DVD on October 3rd. And yes, you read it right: The Woods stars not only Agnes Bruckner and Patricia Clarkson... but Bruce Campbell, too.

What boils my proverbial potatoes is this: Sony can release a pathetically wretched remake of The Fog on 3,000 screens, yet something like The Woods gets jammed in a drawer, forgotten and then shuffled off to Blockbuster to collect dust. This is why the horror genre gets no respect. (Rant over.) Ah well, May didn't play the 'plexes either, and that flick's a freakin' masterpiece.

A lot of people have taken to calling the Masters of Horror series a Showtime production, but the truth is that the experiment was born over at Anchor Bay. Series creator Mick Garris had the idea to snag a bunch of the finest horror-makers under the sun, have each one direct an hour-long mini-movie, and then let the Gorehounds devour the goods through the magic of DVD. But then Showtime got involved, and they aired 12 of the 13 episodes between last December and March of this year. (The 13th episode, Takashi Miike's Imprint, was deemed too harsh by the Showtime folks, which means you won't be able to see it till the DVD hits shelves.)

Unfortunately, Anchor Bay has taken a fairly money-hungry approach to releasing Masters on DVD: Two episodes hit stores yesterday, available individually or as part of a 2-pack. But with a list price of $16.98 apiece (which means a retail cost of about 11 bucks each), it seems that the horror faithful are expected to dole out about $150 if they want the entire season. (By comparison, my 13-episode collection of the brilliant Firefly set me back only about 40 bucks!) But hey, nobody's saying you have to buy 'em all, right? We horror geeks aren't ravenous completists and ferocious collectors ... are we? (To be fair, if the first 2 DVDs are any indication, each release promises to come stocked with loads of extra goodies, so at least we're getting some value for our money.)

Anyway, to commemorate the DVD debut of the series (well, the first two episodes) I thought it might be helpful to give our readers a Masters Guide -- despite the fact that I've seen precisely ONE episode of the show so far! Click below for a list of all the actors, the Masters, the release dates, all 13 plot synopses, and a variety of trivial hoo-hah intended mainly for the hardcore horror freaks.