saw 6 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

(Yesterday was a big Saw-related day, with clips arriving online along with word of yet another sequel. Here's Peter Hall and Peter Martin reporting for Horror Squad)

Yesterday Bloody-Disgusting provided the net with a look at the first official poster for Lionsgate's sixth trip to the money factory/torture well started by James Wan and Leigh Whannell back in 2004. The poster is a cryptic image of six people fixed to a child's merry-go-round with the slug, "The game comes full circle." No doubt such an enigma has been torturing the imagination of Jigsaw's rabid fanbase since its release. After all playground equipment is generally quite safe, no? How could it possibly be a sinister trap?

Now less than 24 hours later we've got an official clip from Saw VI that helps clear up the merry-go-round bit of the poster. Having watched said clip I'm shocked to report that, surprise, all is not well in the playground. Turns out a spinny-ma-jig in Saw VI land is not a source of glee. It looks like it sucks. A lot. [Read the rest at Horror Squad]

Saw VII News After The Jump

I know, it's been a while since I've written one of these gore-soaked missives, but the upside to that is ... we have a lot to talk about! And since I wrote this during a lazy Sunday (happy belated holidays, btw) I figure it's time to break out the candy-coated bullet points! Let's start out with a freaky fistful of upcoming DVD releases:

Currently strewn across shelves are Donkey Punch and Vinyan, two festival-heavy horror films that couldn't possibly be more different. One's about venal young jerks, and the other is about heartbroken (but stupid) parents. Really bad things happen to all of them.

This Tuesday we're getting the old-school-style monster movie Splinter, which is really quite good. If you like prickly monsters, that is. On the same day ... whoa. It looks like someone actually bothered to exhume flicks like Repossessed, Slaughter High, and My Best Friend Is a Vampire. That sound you just heard was my Netflix queue getting fatter.

Come the 21st we get J.T. Petty's The Burrowers, which played (and played well) at last year's Fantastic Fest, and Robert Hall's Laid to Rest, which is sort of like a non-snarky slasher throwback with a hint of Phantasm-style weirdness. Couldn't find a stranger double feature than these two, believe me.

And mark your calendars, gore-lovers, for April 28, because that's when Martyrs finally hits R1 DVD. According to the UK poster, Scoot Weinberg says it "makes Saw look like Sesame Street," which is one of the most shameless blurbs I've ever heard. Even if the guy is correct, brilliant, and really handsome. (Trust me, this is one rough horror movie.) Also on this Tuesday we'll get the unofficial Donnie Darko sequel, and a movie starring Amber Benson called One-Eyed Monster. I leave the jokes to you fine folks.

I know today's supposed to be alllll about Watchmen lunacy, but there's another new flick that's really piqued my interest, mainly because it's a horror film (and I love horror films), but also because it stars Dennis Quaid, and I'll always find time to watch a Dennis Quaid movie. Even a lame one. But in the case of this particular film, the distributor (one Lionsgate) is working overtime to make sure I don't see it.

Reliable sources like Filmjerk and BOM indicate that The Horsemen (or, if you're going by the poster, Horsemen) is opening today in 75 markets. Or 75 screens, I'm not sure on that. But I can't seem to track it down on Moviefone, and selling movie tickets is, like, their big thing! They WANT me to find a ticket! Ive spoken to a few pals, and it doesn't look like the film is playing anywhere near Philly, New York, Austin, Orlando, or Chicago. I can only assume it's playing all around Hollywood, right?

Now, it feels really strange for me to be defending a film directed by Jonas Akerlund, since I consider his FIRST film (Spun) to be a rat turd of the highest odor. But what's the deal with Lionsgate already? I certainly don't want to slap the hand that gave me a lot of great horror flicks over the past five years, but between their virtual burials of The Midnight Meat Train (102 theaters, $83,000 gross), Repo! The Genetic Opera (11 theaters(?), $146,000), The Horsemen, and The Burrowers (straight to DVD, and a damn fine movie), I'm starting to take this an affront to the fine horror geeks of the world. LG sure didn't mind scooping $51 million out of My Bloody Valentine a few months back, and they've got Saw 6 in the oven as we speak, so clearly they're not averse to ALL horror movies ... just the smaller ones. Nice.

I hate it when someone comes up with an idea so simple and clever that I want to kick myself for not thinking of it first. Curse you, Adam Green! His next feature is called Frozen, and here's what it's about: Three poor folks who are stuck on a chair lift. High off the ground. In the freezing cold. Like for days. (Think on that premise for a few minutes. I think it's nifty. Like Open Water with hypothermia instead of sharks.) Frozen will be the first production for a company called A Bigger Boat, which is run by Peter Block, who had a real knack for horror films when he worked for Lionsgate. So this is good news all around.

Andy Fickman directs mostly family-type comedies, so what's he doing remaking RKO classics like The Body Snatcher and I Walked With a Zombie? Check out this interview to find out. Almost two years ago I wrote about a new horror flick called Amusement. Looks like it's finally ready for DVD. Cool: Bloody-D has a Top 13 Best Kills list -- complete with clips! Hey wow, Dark Castle to do a non-remake. And then just for fun let's watch the adorable Stacie Ponder go nutso on Amityville and Sleepaway Camp. Plus Saw is infinitely better than Psycho. This poll proves it. Anyone remember that awful horror flick Stay Alive? This poor sap does.

...oh, and you'll never guess who's playing Thor. Seriously, never.

P.S. Guess what's coming out on October 23rd, 2009. Here's a hint: Saw 6.