Genre musings
If you aren't interested in horror films, you may want to skip this entry. Just FYI.
This is going to be a good year to be a horror fan. The list of coming attractions seems to get more exciting with every new film they add. Here are my thoughts on some of the upcoming horror flicks, as well as some horror/whatever films thrown in for good measure.
#1 (and always #1) comes George A. Romero's newest zombie flick. It premiered at the Toronto film festival last Saturday and the buzz in the community is that it is nothing short of amazing. Diary of the Dead is a reboot of the Romero zombie mythos set parallel to the events in the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. Romero is famous for the insertion of social commentary into his zombie films. Dawn spoke out about commercialism, Land was rife with imagery into class struggles. Diary will be no different. According to interviews, Romero is looking to revitalize the genre he helped create by throwing in commentary on the media. The story centers on a group of independent filmmakers shooting a mummy movie when the dead rise from the grave. It is supposedly shot via hand-held cameras. However, the general concensus is that Romero's style shines through rather than allowing the camera style to become amatuerish and annoying (as in Blair Witch Project) or amatuerish and annoying visuals coupled with amatuerish and annoying gore effects (as in The Zombie Diaries.) No release date is set due to the lack of a distributor. This will change soon, however. Anyhow, this is a must see for fans of the genre and let's hope it revitalizes the franchise.
November 21 marks the release date of a film based on one of my favorite Stephen King novellas, The Mist. A strange mist blows into a New England town carrying with it strange and deadly creatures. The Survivors take refuge in a small rural supermarket. I read King's novella a long time ago and I have been waiting for this movie to come out for a long time. The creature effects will probably suck (they tend to be bad in King movies for some reason) but the character interaction has always been my favorite aspect of this story so I remain cautiously optimistic.
I can't possibly leave out I am Legend. I've never been a huge Will Smith fan but Richard Matheson's novel is a horror classic and I'm a huge fan of The Last man on Earth starring Vincent Price and Omega Man starring Charlton Heston, both of which are based on Matheson's novel. I'm going to have to wait until the middle of December for this one.
There are other films on the horizon as well. A new Alien vs Predator movie is slated for a January release. Not too sure what to think about this. The third Resident Evil movie comes out in two weeks. However, things will really start to pick up during the first half of next year where we can expect a second Hellboy movie, a third Mummy film (the Brendan Fraser variety), as well as remakes of Prom Night, The Wolf Man, Terror Train (starring Thora Birch and her brother Bolt), and Last House on the Left.
It's going to be a good yeear. The hype surrounding some of these movies is substantial. The mystery factor may play a part (such as with J.J. Abrams upcoming yet strangely untitled film.) Or they may expect star power to save them (as is the case with the soon to be released My Name is Bruce starring Bruce Campbell as himself.) Seems like I'll be spending a lot of time in the theater this year. However, with my thesis breathing down my neck, I can't think of a better way to spend my time than to turn my brain off and enjoy.
This is going to be a good year to be a horror fan. The list of coming attractions seems to get more exciting with every new film they add. Here are my thoughts on some of the upcoming horror flicks, as well as some horror/whatever films thrown in for good measure.
#1 (and always #1) comes George A. Romero's newest zombie flick. It premiered at the Toronto film festival last Saturday and the buzz in the community is that it is nothing short of amazing. Diary of the Dead is a reboot of the Romero zombie mythos set parallel to the events in the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. Romero is famous for the insertion of social commentary into his zombie films. Dawn spoke out about commercialism, Land was rife with imagery into class struggles. Diary will be no different. According to interviews, Romero is looking to revitalize the genre he helped create by throwing in commentary on the media. The story centers on a group of independent filmmakers shooting a mummy movie when the dead rise from the grave. It is supposedly shot via hand-held cameras. However, the general concensus is that Romero's style shines through rather than allowing the camera style to become amatuerish and annoying (as in Blair Witch Project) or amatuerish and annoying visuals coupled with amatuerish and annoying gore effects (as in The Zombie Diaries.) No release date is set due to the lack of a distributor. This will change soon, however. Anyhow, this is a must see for fans of the genre and let's hope it revitalizes the franchise.
November 21 marks the release date of a film based on one of my favorite Stephen King novellas, The Mist. A strange mist blows into a New England town carrying with it strange and deadly creatures. The Survivors take refuge in a small rural supermarket. I read King's novella a long time ago and I have been waiting for this movie to come out for a long time. The creature effects will probably suck (they tend to be bad in King movies for some reason) but the character interaction has always been my favorite aspect of this story so I remain cautiously optimistic.
I can't possibly leave out I am Legend. I've never been a huge Will Smith fan but Richard Matheson's novel is a horror classic and I'm a huge fan of The Last man on Earth starring Vincent Price and Omega Man starring Charlton Heston, both of which are based on Matheson's novel. I'm going to have to wait until the middle of December for this one.
There are other films on the horizon as well. A new Alien vs Predator movie is slated for a January release. Not too sure what to think about this. The third Resident Evil movie comes out in two weeks. However, things will really start to pick up during the first half of next year where we can expect a second Hellboy movie, a third Mummy film (the Brendan Fraser variety), as well as remakes of Prom Night, The Wolf Man, Terror Train (starring Thora Birch and her brother Bolt), and Last House on the Left.
It's going to be a good yeear. The hype surrounding some of these movies is substantial. The mystery factor may play a part (such as with J.J. Abrams upcoming yet strangely untitled film.) Or they may expect star power to save them (as is the case with the soon to be released My Name is Bruce starring Bruce Campbell as himself.) Seems like I'll be spending a lot of time in the theater this year. However, with my thesis breathing down my neck, I can't think of a better way to spend my time than to turn my brain off and enjoy.