Entertainment One are pleased to release the Official Trailer for "Sinister 2", which is coming to UK cinemas this August...
"Sinister 2" is released to UK cinemas August 21st
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Saturday, 18 July 2015
"Dead Shadows" - UK DVD review
A passing comet spells trouble for the people of Paris, in David Cholewa's “Dead Shadows”, which comes to UK DVD this month from Signature.
With news reports of a comet passing close to the Earths atmosphere, computer technician Chris (Fabian Wolfrom) is lured to a nearby party by the young girl he fancies, who lives in the flat across the hallway.
But as the comet passes closer to earth, he notices people’s behaviour getting increasingly strange. Some become disorientated, others violent, but then when he spots a couple in one of the rooms going through a strange transformation (giving a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘trouser snake’), he realises something is definitely not right.
Seems the effect of the comet passing through the atmosphere is causing some people to change, who are going on to infect others. Realising he’s not safe, Chris and a couple of others decide to seek sanctuary elsewhere, but will they be any safer outside?
Described as a cross between "Dawn of the Dead" meets "The Thing", I’d say the film has more in common with films like “Night of the Comet”, about passing meteors/comets having an adverse effect on the Earths population. But sadly proves to be less entertaining than its contemporaries.
Filmed in and around Paris, overall it did manage to entertain me for its duration (and clocking in at 70 mins its not overly long) and is certainly an impressive debut effort from director David Cholewa, who makes the most of the films limited budget. But I felt that it took too long to get going, plus it is sadly let down by some dodgy CGI.
Shot in French language, this release contains both an English dub of the film, which produces some “interesting” lip synching issues. Plus the original French soundtrack with English subs. The English dub is the default audio track though, so if you wish to view with the original French track, you need to select this from the 'Set-up' menu on the disc.
To summarise, I feel this is a film that will only appeal to lovers of low-budget sci-fi movies.
The disc did not contain any other supplemental features, aside from the optional English and French audio tracks.
“Dead Shadows” is released to UK DVD July 27
Buy the UK DVD from Amazon.co.uk
Thursday, 16 July 2015
"Girlhouse" exclusive clips
Checkout these exclusive clips from the forthcoming film "Girlhouse", which comes to UK DVD July 20 (you can read my review HERE)
Buy the UK DVD from Amazon.co.uk
"The Dead 2 : India" - UK DVD review
The undead are sweeping across India, as one man battles to reach his girlfriend in “The Dead 2 : India”, which is out now on UK DVD and Digital HD.
Set around the same time as the previous film, American engineer Nicholas Burton (Joseph Milson – TVs Holby City) is in India, servicing wind turbines, when he gets a call from his Indian girlfriend, Ishani (Meenu Mishra), about civil unrest on the streets of Mumbai.
People are going crazy and attacking others in the streets, some are reportedly being cannibalised. The hospitals are buckling under the strain of so many victims and the military are out in force trying to pacify the situation.
Despite his company offering to fly him out to safety, Nicholas decides instead to head back to the city to save his girlfriend. Aided by a young boy named Javed (Anand Goyal), who escaped from his orphanage when it was over run by zombies, they have to navigate their way through the wastelands filled with undead villagers. But with Mumbai fast becoming a war zone, as the military struggle to check the spread of infected, even if they do make it there in one piece, will they arrive too late?
Now, I must admit that I wasn’t particularly a fan of the original film, which was way too slow and dull for my liking. But I felt they got it right this time. Noticeably gorier and faster paced than its predecessor, there’s a lot more visible action on screen, and certainly a lot more tension and is definitely one for fans of zombie movies.
The disc I was sent to review contained a trailer as extra, but nothing else (a director’s commentary track and/or behind the scenes feature would have been nice).
The film is available now on UK DVD and online in Digital HD from Altitude Film Entertainment (no BD release though, which is strange).
Wednesday, 15 July 2015
"Final Girl" premiering at Fright Fest ahead of its UK DVD release
The Hunger Games meets Kick-Ass in this nightmarish story of survival! When a pack of teenage boys choose the seemingly innocent Veronica (Abigail Breslin) as the next victim of a deadly hunting tradition, they soon discover she’s not as innocent as she looks…
When four boys lure Veronica (Abigail Breslin) into the woods, they reveal she is the latest victim in their brutal tradition of hunting and killing girls. But as the hunt begins, the boys discover Veronica’s no ordinary prey. In fact, she’s been training for this moment since she was a little girl, and she’s about to turn the hunters into the hunted…
First time feature director Tyler Shields has created something entirely new and different with Final Girl – a nightmarish, dystopian vision that trades on both the horror and action genres. Balancing surreal visuals with uneasy tension, it’s gripping stuff from its mysterious beginning to the hard-hitting climax.
As the beautiful-but-deadly Veronica, Abigail Breslin joins the ever-growing ranks of kick-ass action heroines – and looks the every bit the part as she takes on the film’s pack of bloodthirsty boys (think The Riot Club on acid – quite literally at some points), led by star-in-the-making Alexander Ludwig.
Final Girl will have its UK premiere on the 28th August at FrightFest before coming to DVD on the 7th September.
Buy the UK DVD from Amazon.co.uk
Oklahoma Ward & Nicole Alonso interview ahead of "CRAWL OR DIE" UK broadcast
Oklahoma Ward’s much-praised CRAWL OR DIE is to receive its UK TV premiere on Horror Channel on Fri 17 July, 10.55pm. The alien-monster shocker takes claustrophobia to new heights and depths in its futuristic depiction of a rescue mission through a maze of ever-shrinking tunnels. The undoubted star of this indie genre hit is Nicole Alonso who plays the unstoppable ‘Tank’, a mohawk-sporting warrior who’d give Arnie a run for his money.
Ahead of its eagerly-awaited showing in the UK, we spoke to the director and star, who just so happen to be real-life partners as well as running their own production company, Backyard Films.
So guys, first of all, how pleased are you that the UK’s Horror Channel are screening the film?
Nicole: Oh, very pleased! We have gotten many UK fans asking us when/where they can see CRAWL OR DIE, I’m thrilled to finally be able to give them an answer!
Oklahoma: Greatly! Since the release of CRAWL or DIE we are contacted every other day on social media by fans in the UK asking where they can see the movie. Excited that now we can proudly tell them where they can experience CRAWL or DIE!
Let’s rewind…how on earth did the ‘aliens in a tunnel’ idea come about?
Oklahoma: Two of some of my favourite movies scenes growing up were ‘The Great Escape’ (escape tunnel digging scene) and the ‘ALIENS’ scene where Bishop goes into the small metal tunnel and starts crawling - that scene terrified me! The tunnel was so small I thought if Bishop runs into one of those aliens in that small tight tunnel - he’s got no room to fight! He’s dead. I was disappointed they cut away from that scene/scenario so quickly. When I sat down to write my trilogy I started with the character of ‘TANK’ first. ‘TANK’ and my respect/love for her is my main focus and reason for making the trilogy. I love everything about her. I then decided - now I’m going to put/test TANK in the worst scenario I could imagine - see if she is really as tough as I wanted her to be - and that was the spark that drove the idea of combining the tunnels from both of the movies mentioned above and thrusting ‘TANK’ into them.
How did you raise the finance?
Oklahoma: We saved up enough money over three years by giving up a car/living in garage/going out to dinner - taking vacations etc. During that time we managed to buy a cheap broken down home - take a half year and remodel that home and sell it for a small profit. Then we started building the ‘CRAWL or DIE’ set by hand. Day and night Nicole and I worked building the set by hand - which took us a year.
Nicole, how did you prepare for the role?
Nicole: There was quite a bit that went into preparing to play TANK. I’d first say that I was pretty intimidated to take on the role as I am nothing like TANK in real life. I’m quite shy and reserved, so I knew it was going to take a lot of work to make this believable on my end.
I spent a lot of time in the gym - 6 days a week. I knew the role would be physically demanding and I wanted to be as prepared for that as possible.
Oklahoma Ward gave me several movies to watch and study the characters in the films to get a good idea of how he saw TANK. Most notably and most helpful were Alien (Ripley), Terminator 2 (Sarah Conner), G.I. Jane (Jordan O’Neill) and Domino (Domino Harvey). I found all these women, while tough as nails, to still be human and still be WOMEN. They had emotion and fears and struggles, but what made them badass and tough was they kept going even when things seemed hopeless.
It was very important to Oklahoma and myself that TANK wasn’t just a one dimensional character. She’s not a guy - she’s not a robot - she’s not Rambo. She definitely struggles and isn’t prepared for the situation that she is thrown into - so we wanted all that to show. Her strength comes from the fact that she refuses to give up - no matter what.
I also studied the online blogs of a few female marines to get some insight on what it’s like to be a woman in a male dominated field.
Once the set was built and I had the script - I slept in the tunnels. I lived in those tunnels and I studied the script backwards and forwards to really get into who TANK was and what she was going through as she faced this horrible situation.
Have you got any action movie heroes/heroines?
Nicole: Most definitely Ellen Ripley (Alien Franchise) and Sarah Conner (Terminator Franchise). Those women changed how I saw badass women in film and to this day are still my favorite. If you want a more recent reference - I really loved Furiosa in the new Mad Max: Fury Road.
Oklahoma: Tons - ‘TANK’ would be my first hero - other than her, Ellen Ripley takes the prize. She’s real. She’s not a superhero. She’s tough. Determined. Strong willed - like ‘TANK’ in ‘CRAWL or DIE’.
It’s been dubbed ‘the most claustrophobic film ever made’. Must have been hell filming it. Tell us your own horror stories…
Nicole: Personally I’m not claustrophobic. I used to get a kick out of seeing how small of a space I could squeeze into when playing hide and seek (dryers, cabinets, buckets, etc.). I just KNEW going in that I wouldn’t have any problem filming in the tunnels - boy was I mistaken.
All of these tunnels were REAL tunnels (approximately 40-50 feet in length) with no cut outs or escape hatches. The only way out was to crawl out or wait for 45 mins while you were cut out. The smaller the tunnels got - the more difficult it became to spend time in there. There were some days in the dirt tunnel and the smallest metal tunnel that we were in there for hours at a time. It got very claustrophobic at times and became difficult to breathe. Luckily - all the actors and crew were troopers and we didn’t have any ‘incidents’, but there were definitely multiple times I had to stop, breathe, and tell myself I was going to be ok.
Oklahoma: Toughest part of filming the movie was - the tunnels were real. No escape hatches. Fifty feet long. If you got stuck you had to be cut out. Inside the tunnels were live spiders and scorpions crawling within them. That was always fun while filming. For me the toughest part of filming was near the end of the movie when only I and the actor Nicole Alonso could fit in the tunnels. The tunnels were so small it would take me thirty minutes to crawl into them - and then a battery on the camera would die and I’d have to crawl backwards out - grab a battery - crawl back in. At one point the tunnels was so small that even when I had extra batteries with me I had no room for my arms to reach back and grab them so I’d have to crawl out to put them in the camera. That was a grueling fifteen day shooting scene.
Is either of you two claustrophobic?
Nicole: Oops, guess I jumped the gun on this with my answer above. But, no - I’m not.
Oklahoma: Not at all. Although - one of my actors didn’t realize they were and by day three we had to let that actor go and find a replacement.
Are you pleased with how the film has been received?
Nicole: Immensely pleased! Aside from filming the movie which is ALWAYS my favorite part of the process - hearing from all the fans has been the best thing ever! It’s blown my mind how much the fans and horror blogs have supported our film and gotten behind TANK! There is a hashtag on twitter called #TANKarmy and people just love this character. As an actor - there is nothing more rewarding than knowing a character you brought to life is connecting with fans. I get messages from women and men alike telling me how much TANK has inspired them in their lives, and I honestly can’t think of anything better.
Oklahoma: Absolutely! To make a movie - completely independent - with our own money - no contacts in Hollywood and receive over one hundred great reviews - have a global audience and a rabid ‘TANKarmy’ fan base that write us every other day telling us how much they love TANK and the movie - really is a dream come true! It’s been a five year journey with this movie on a budget that is below poverty level and we got it done and out. Pleases me every single day. Was it tough - hell yes it was tough - but the fans writing us from all over the world - that makes all the struggle worth every second it!
How did you two meet? Nothing mushy please…
Nicole:HA! If you knew us - you’d know we are far from mushy, so no worries! lol. We actually met when I auditioned for Oklahoma’s first film ‘The Isolation of Subject #136’ and got a small role. We were friends and roommates for nearly 2 years before we stated dating and I must say (and here comes the mush) I haven’t found anyone else I love working with more. I respect the hell out of Oklahoma and I think he may very well be one of the most talented people I’ve ever met (and I’m not saying that because we are dating!). ;)
Oklahoma: We met during an audition. Years later we ended up sharing an apartment to save on rent in L.A. We became friends. I would give her advice on people she was dating and she me. After years of friendship - we realized at the same time - we spent all our time with each other working on movies and edits of projects and just hanging out as friends. It was the day I realized she may be one of the hardest working people I had ever met that it hit me - she’s the one. Luckily - she had the same feeling - although - hey… she snores.
The End Credits tells us that ‘Tank’ will return. When?
Nicole: Very, very soon! We are in the middle of some exciting negotiations, so we can’t officially make an announcement yet, but I promise you we will have some great news in the very near future!
Oklahoma: We are looking over offers from studios and producers currently - deciding if we want to go that route or do it all ourselves again. Too many chef’s in the kitchen makes us very cautious. Either way - filming will start winter 2015.
What other projects are you both working on? Anything for FrightFest?
Nicole: All of our focus is currently on the next step in the CRAWL OR DIE Trilogy. And I would say - yes - we’d be ecstatic to be considered for FrightFest!
Oklahoma: If Fright Fest is willing to look at CRAWL or DIE 2 - you betcha’! We’d be honoured!
"CRAWL OR DIE" receives its UK TV premiere on Horror Channel on Fri 17 July, 10.55pm.
TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 / Freeview 70
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
"Awaiting" - coming to UK DVD and VOD September.
Three-time Award winner at the 2015 Horrorant Film Festival ‘Fright Nights’ and premiering at this year’s FRIGHTFEST, Bulldog Film Distribution is pleased to announce the UK release of AWAITING, available digitally and on DVD from 7th September 2015; pre-order now from Amazon.
Morris (Tony Curran - Blade II, Underworld: Evolution, Thor II) is a recluse with psychotic tendencies, whose life changes when his innocent daughter Lauren (Diana Vickers – yes, her off the X-factor) rescues one of his victims and befriends him. Jake (Rupert Hill – Entity, TVs Coronation Street), an ordinary businessman, soon realises that he is stranded and his presence in the house gradually reveals unexpected and dark mysteries from the past.
Speaking about the film, writer and director Mark Murphy commented, “AWAITING is a psychological thriller, with a seriously dark undertone and the capacity to give viewers a real thrill and fright. As the end credits roll, the audience will be left stunned, shocked and shaken.”
The film will be released, following it's UK premiere at this years Frightfest, on DVD and digitally September 7th.
View the trailer on YouTube
Pre-order the UK DVD from Amazon.co.uk
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