urban legend Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Hit-or-miss director Jamie Blanks, mostly known for the somewhat entertaining Urban Legend and the somewhat bad Valentine, has landed a deal with Dimension Films for his latest project -- the horror/thriller Storm Warning. According to an article over at CHUD, the Weinstein-owned Dimension has taken North American, Australian and New Zealand rights to the pic with an eye to a Summer 2007 release.

Storm Warning, written by Everett De Roche and featuring a cast of lesser-knowns including the very cute Nadia Feres, Robert Taylor and Matthew Wilkinson -- who also appears in the upcoming Ghost Rider, centers on a young wealthy couple who seek refuge in an isolated farmhouse during a storm. Once there, they soon realize they're not in the house of their own free will but in reality, have been captured by a group of deranged killers. Man, won't people ever learn -- you never go into an isolated farmhouse during a storm especially with all the deranged killers lurking around.

Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure I've seen this movie before once or twice -- or, at the very least, something pretty darn similar. Its not exactly what we in the trade would call "original." Still, Blanks has shown his directing chops before with Urban Legend and I don't really blame him all that much for Valentine -- it wasn't horrible, just not very good. It's also pretty easy to overlook a film's flaws when you're distracted by the beauty of Denise Richards, Marley Shelton and my future wife Katherine Heigl. So, let's just chalk that one up to the well-known "sophomore slump." Besides, everyone makes mistakes and deserves a second (or third) chance, right? How else can one explain Mark Steven Johnson's career? Sorry, was that cynical? I can never tell anymore.

In these days of recycled plots and endless remakes, it's always refreshing to see news about studios willing to go in original directions. Take Universal, for example -- they recently picked up the rights to Agony, a horror pitch from Tales from the Crypt and The Outer Limits vet Scott Nimerfro. What's it about, you ask? Well, because the story is just that new and shocking, the studio is keeping details tightly under wraps. We can, however, report that the movie will be "set in the world of urban legends on college campuses, with one horrifying legend in particular turning out to be true." Wait -- an urban legend that comes true? And college kids? Brilliant! Why hasn't anyone thought of that before?

Nimerfro is currently work on the secret script; the film will be produced by Scott Stuber and Mary Parent via their Universal-based company.