Posts Tagged ‘Anchor Bay’
Posted by Dominic in Movies, Reviews on April 4th, 2009
Kim Basinger hasn’t had a lot to do on film the last few years so she took on the feminist revenge thriller While She Was Out, serving as not only star but executive producer. Also being an exec was Guillermo del Toro so you begin watching the 86-minute with high expectations that this will rise above the cookie cutter collection of one woman against a gang.
Written and directed by Susan Montford, based on Edward Bryant’s short story, one would also have expected that being a female, her attention to character and story coherence would be stronger than the competition.
In every way, the thriller, available on DVD April 28 from Anchor Bay, disappoints.
Basinger plays Della, a suburban housewife who appears incapable of keeping her home organized, her finances current, or her cell phone charged. On Christmas Eve, just as her abusive husband comes home from work, Della realizes she needs wrapping paper. There’s nowhere else to get the paper than the mall, which of course was mobbed and by then, her things began to go wrong. She couldn’t find a close-by parking, her cell phone ran out of juice, her credit card gets declined and so on. Along the way, she spots a car taking up two spots and in a show of life, leaves a note on the windshield.
(more…)
Posted by dominie in Movies on March 30th, 2009
Earlier this month, we announced that Universal Pictures was making head in their live-action adaptation of Dante’s Inferno when the studio hired Dan Harris (X-Men 2, Superman Returns) to write the script. If you’re a fan, here’s another treat for you.
Bloody Disgusting is reporting that Dante’s Inferno is being adapted yet again—into an animated feature—by Electronic Arts and Starz Media, the partners that brought you Dead Space: Downfall.
Let’s be clear, each project is independent from the other, but both are based on the videogame due in 2010, which ultimately is derived from the classic poem (otherwise known as The Divine Comedy).
The animated feature will mirror the game’s plot and follow Dante’s journey through the nine circles of Hell—limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery—in search of his true love, Beatrice.
Following in Dead Space’s route, Dante’s Inferno will be produced by Film Roman and distributed by Anchor Bay (domestic) and Starz (International) as a companion piece when the game bows on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Aside from this, we know that the studios are currently commissioning separate anime studios to be built to create the nine circles of Hell. Be sure to keep it here for updates!
Posted by Dominic in Reviews on February 23rd, 2009
When a movie with a recognizable cast goes direct-to-DVD you automatically think the film has to suck. These days, though, so many go to DVD because the market timing may mean the conditions are not conducive for the mass audience a particular film needs to be worth the tens of millions of dollars for prints and marketing.
Anchor Bay has certainly rescued its share of worthy films and not-quite-good ones, releasing them to the niche audience. Walled In, coming March 17, certainly fits the bill.
The movie is based on French author Serge Brussolo’s bestseller Les Emmeures and marks the American debut of director Gilles Paquet-Brenner, who apparently is well liked over in Europe. From what we have to work with, it appears he has a nice visual sense but was not entirely sure of himself shooting this in the latter weeks of 2007 in Saskatchewan, Canada.
(more…)
Posted by dominie in Movies on January 20th, 2009
Bloody Disgusting confirmed with director Adam Green of the upcoming horror film, Hatchet 2, that the teaser poster to the left is indeed legit. Additionally, BD was able to score some details for the storyline of the sequel for us. Read on for the details from Green himself.
“The teaser poster is legit, but is something we’ve had on our ArieScope site and MySpace pages for a month or more now,” Green tells us. “HATCHET is Anchor Bay’s highest selling original title of all time at this point and the sequel is definitely going to happen without a doubt.“
The sequel has been in talks for quite some time now, Green explains what’s going on with it now and also comments on whether or not he’ll return to direct.
“Hopefully it gets made this year if we can schedule it in a way that works for me. The only reason a production date has not been agreed upon is because clearly everyone in the HATCHET camp wants to do it at a time when I can be the one to return at the helm, and as you can see from the multitude of projects I am already doing (GRACE, his script for D.C.’s animated AQUAMAN film, FROZEN, GOD ONLY KNOWS, and a TV pilot he’s creating for Nickelodeon with Jack Black’s company Electric Dynamite), it’s going to take some very careful planning and scheduling to find a time where I am available to make the film.“
“Contractually, I can’t commit to HATCHET 2 right at this moment and it is all because of scheduling, but ArieScope Pictures (his company) and Anchor Bay are hard at work figuring it out,” Green continues. “Should we all decide that the film cannot wait any longer – I will pass the torch to a different writer/director for HATCHET 2, but nobody involved wants to even discuss that scenario just yet.“ (more…)
Posted by dominie in Latest News, Movies on December 4th, 2008
Just in from Anchor Bay:
The final specs are now available for the DVD release of The Alphabet Killer, the eagerly anticipated thriller from director Rob Schmidt (Wrong Turn, Masters of Horror: Right To Die) and featuring an all-star cast including Eliza Dushku (the upcoming Fox series Dollhouse, Wrong Turn, Bring It On), Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Saw), and Oscar®-winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People, Sunshine State).
Arriving January 6, 2009, The Alphabet Killer DVD (SRP $26.97) will contain the following:
* Audio commentary with Producer Isen Robbins and Director Rob Schmidt;
* Audio commentary with Writer/Producer/Actor Tom Malloy;
* Featurette: A to Z: The Making of The Alphabet Killer;
* First Victim – Alternate Scene
Written by Tom Malloy (The Attic), who also co-stars, The Alphabet Killer is a gripping psychological thriller loosely based on the still-unsolved “double initial” murders that shocked the citizens of Rochester, New York in the early 1970s.
From 1970 to 1973, three girls in and around Rochester, New York were brutally raped and strangled, their bodies dumped in neighboring villages that bore the same first initial as their names. All three victims’ – young girls, aged 10 to 12 — first and last names also had matching initials. Despite questioning more than 800 suspects and the combined police resources of several communities, the case remains unsolved to this day. (more…)
Posted by dominie in Latest News, Movies on December 2nd, 2008
Below you will find the latest casting breakdown (thanks BD) for Overture Films’ remake of the classic George A. Romero film, The Crazies, to be helmed by Breck Eisner based on the screenplay by Scott Kosar and Ray Wright. The film begins shooting on March 1, 2009.
The Crazies follows David Dutton, the sheriff of small town Ogden Marsh, Kansas, [as he] desperately tries to protect his pregnant wife, Judy, after they discover that something in their town is making people become crazed and violent…
Timothy Olyphant has been cast as David. Who will join him?
[VENDOR/KEVIN MILLER] Mid 30’s – early 40’s. The local concessions vendor at the high school baseball games in Ogden Marsh, Kansas, decent, normal, a neighbor/friend of David’s, he meets up with David in a transport vehicle after the military swoops down on the town. Pragmatic and determined, Kevin tries to get everyone on the transport to keep a level head in light of their impossible situation. …4 speeches & 7 lines, 3 scenes (1)
[PRIVATE BILLY BABCOCK] 18 to early 20’s, blue collar, well-mannered and innocent, with a West Virginia drawl, this young soldier is looking for renegade townspeople when he’s conked on the head and disarmed by David, Judy, Russell and Becca. Scared as hell, just wanting to save his life, not really too aware of what’s actually going on, he tells the little group what he knows and, relieved, goes on his way, offering an apology ‘for your folks’ town’…5 speeches & 10 lines, 1 scene (55)
[BILL FARNUM] Mid to late 30’s, likeable, a Native Kansan, married to Deardra and the father of 12 year old Nicholas, Bill seems confused and a bit out of it when he shows up at the high school, unable to unlock his classroom door–and apparently not remembering that he retired five years ago. Bill is the second person in town to succumb to a bizarre madness,…3 lines, 6 scenes (8)
[DEARDRA FARNUM] early to late 30’s, attractive but simple, sympathetic. The wife of Bill Farnum and the mother of their 12 year old son, Nicholas, …13 lines, 4 scenes (11)
[NICHOLAS FARNUM] 7 to 13 years old, the son of Deardra and Bill, he notices his dad’s bizarre behavior and takes refuge in a closet inside their house, pulling his mother inside with him. …5 lines, 3 scenes (11)
[MAYOR HOBBS] Odgen Marsh’s mayor, a flabby, white-bread, cowardly and insecure bureaucrat who’s more interested in his own skin than his civic duty, …6 lines, 2 scenes (24)
Posted by dominie in Latest News, Movies on October 28th, 2008
Europe’s Acclaimed Horror Sensation Comes Home…To The Bay!
Freeze with Fear January 20, 2009
BURBANK, CA – Cold Prey, the Norwegian horror film that took Europe by storm and won an international fan following, has been acquired for North American DVD release by Anchor Bay Entertainment, the acknowledged leader in classic and contemporary horror programming, and Indigomotion, a subsidiary label of Leomax Entertainment.
Playing to sold-out crowds in film festivals around the world, including the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival, the San Francisco International Film Festival, Frightfest UK, Transylvania International Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival, Cold Prey (aka Fritt Vilt) will be released on DVD January 20, 2009. SRP is $26.97 and pre-book is December 18, 2008.
A gripping horror film set against the majestic backdrop of a blinding snow-clad landscape (director Roar Uthaug is an avid snowboard enthusiast!), Cold Prey has been praised by Ain’t It Cool News as “Probably the most perfect slasher film ever made,” while Variety said the film “orchestrates its scares with brute effectiveness.” Screengoblin.com called it “a tense, stylish and viciously unnerving journey into a frozen nightmare,” and Arrow In The Head exclaimed “If you enjoyed the original Friday the 13th and Halloween, you’re going to love Cold Prey!” Due to the unprecedented audience response already enjoyed by the film, the sequel Cold Prey II was recently released in Norway – and already shattering local box-office records.
It’s midwinter. Five youngsters are heading for the Jotunheimen mountain area to go snowboarding. On the slope, one of them has a bad fall and breaks a leg. There is no sign of any other people around, and their mobile phones are out of range.
They catch sight of a mountain hotel in the distance, and decide to find shelter there. The hotel lies empty and silent, obviously closed down years ago. The phone lines are dead, and the youngsters realize they have to spend the night in the hotel. But it turns out they’re not alone. In the basement they discover a filthy dungeon of a room, where somebody has recently lived… (more…)
Posted by dominie in Latest News, Movies on October 16th, 2008
Released the week of Christmas in 1988 – which aroused some controversy among more genteel moviegoers — Hellbound: Hellraiser II was that rare sequel that was considered to be superior to the original film. It was hailed by many Hellraiser fans as bigger and better, and its success undoubtedly paved the way for a legendary horror franchise that now includes a total of 8 feature films, with a proposed remake on tap for 2009.
On December 30th, Anchor Bay Entertainment, the industry leader in horror home entertainment, will re-release this unforgettable horror classic on its 20th anniversary, and in grand (guignol) style with the Hellbound: Hellraiser II 20th Anniversary Edition. A true “shocking stuffer” for the holiday season, this eye-popping, head-rolling special edition comes complete with a wide variety of DVD extras and special features that will make any horror fan scream with glee. SRP is $19.97, with a pre-book date of Nov. 27th.
The initial run of this highly-anticipated special-edition DVD will include an official reproduction of the film’s original theatrical poster, and a phenomenally fearful selection of DVD extras including three brand new featurettes detailing the making of this horror classic: “The Soul Patrol,” which features all-new interviews with the film’s terrifying trio of Cenobites (Simon Bamford, Nicholas Vince and Barbie Wilde); “Outside the Box,” an exclusive in-depth interview with director Tony Randel about his early career and how Hellbound: Hellraiser II shaped his creative future; and “The Doctor Is In,” an all-new interview with internationally acclaimed actor Kenneth Cranham on his experiences playing the devious and diabolical Dr. Channard.
Another featurette, “Lost in the Labyrinth,” was produced by Clive Barker himself, the mastermind behind Hellraiser who served as the story writer and executive producer of Hellbound: Hellraiser II. In addition, there are vintage on-set interviews with the cast, crew and Barker, and an exclusive audio commentary featuring director Anthony Randel, screenwriter Peter Atkins and legendary “scream queen” Ashley Laurence.
Set shortly after the dire events depicted in Hellraiser, the film follows Kirsty Cotton (Laurence; Lightning Bug, Lurking Fear) as she is sent to a psychiatric hospital run by the mysterious Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham; Gangster No. 1, Hot Fuzz, HBO’s “Rome”).
Kirsty continually experiences hellish visions of her stepmother Julia (Tony Award nominee Clare Higgins; Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, The Golden Compass) and her uncle Frank (Sean Chapman; Gangster No. 1, A Mighty Heart), both of whom met with violent fates at the hands of the Cenobites and their leader, Pinhead (Doug Bradley; Nightbreed, the entire Hellraiser canon). Unbeknownst to Kirsty, however, Dr. Channard is himself a devotee of the black arts, and that he will once again unleash the deadly Cenobites upon an unsuspecting world.
The horrors of Hellraiser have only just begun!
In addition to the encore performances of Bradley, Laurence, Higgins and Chapman, all of whom appeared in the first film, Hellbound: Hellraiser II also stars William Hope (ALIENS, Shining Through, XXX) and Imogen Boorman (Dreamchild, British TV’s long-running “Coronation Street”).
The film received a Saturn Award for Christopher Young’s score and nominations for Best Horror Film and Best Supporting Actress (Higgins). The film also received a nomination for the International Fantasy Film Award from the prestigious Fantasporto Festival.
Variety called Hellbound: Hellraiser II “a campy, gore-soaked horror tale with technically first-rate effects … a maggoty carnival of mayhem, mutation and dismemberment.” “There are enough bizarre and shocking effects here to satisfy all but the most demanding genre fans,” added Richard Harrington of The Washington Post.
Bonus features:
- Audio commentary with director Tony Randel, screenwriter Peter Atkins and actor Ashley Laurence
- Theatrical Trailers (4) and TV Spots (2)
- “The Soul Patrol” featurette – NEW interviews with Cenobite actors
- “Outside the Box” featurette – NEW interview with director Tony Randel
- “The Doctor is In” featurette – NEW interview with Kenneth Cranham
- “Under the Skin” featurette — Doug Bradley on Hellbound: Hellraiser II
- “Lost in the Labyrinth” featurette
- On-set interview with Clive Barker
- On-set interviews with cast and crew
- Poster and stills gallery
Posted by Dominic in Reviews on September 23rd, 2008
I always wonder about the taste and training of people who review horror movies at other sites. Often I wonder if we’re watching the same movie. Such is the case with Five Across the Eyes, released on DVD today by Anchor Bay. The film, shot for next to nothing, attempts to do an in-your-face horror movie but all you really get is dark, shaky noise.
Five teenage girls are lost after a high school event and wander onto roads unfamiliar to them. After a fender bender, they flee the scene and later seem to be tracked by an SUV with one headlight and a whacked-out driver bent on revenge. Can they find their way home before the driver, a woman with a riffle, gets to them first?
Well, she gets to them repeatedly and inflicts unghastly horrors upon them. What does she do, and how does she do them? That’s awfully hard to tell in the underlit movie, co-directed by Greg Swinson and Ryan Thiessen. The girls encounter the woman, shriek a lot, run around a lot, and wind up escaping a little bloodier and a little dirtier for their efforts but exactly what happens is murky.
The worst problem is that Swinson’s screenplay does so little to make the five girls distinctive so they’re all bitchy, they’re all screaming and none of them can act. We have no idea what they’re saying to one another more than half the time and the rest we can discern and discover we could care less.
There’s the whole notion that five teenagers today would be caught without a single cell phone or that they’d be coming home from high school and find themselves in totally unfamiliar surroundings. And why the bleak, desolate area they’re riding in is called The Eyes remains unexplained.
Shot on video with handheld cameras, the herky-jerky feel grows tedious as you lose focus on what’s happening, where and to whom. As we discover the gruesome things the stalker has done to the others, she grows in our mind as a real threat, but things like whys and wherefores are never forthcoming.
The violence is unbelievably marred by unrealistic makeup effects to match the shrieking dialogue. Every time the girls drive away, their hunter always manages to find them but always is coming out of the shadows which makes little sense given her headlight, backlights and sound of tires on gravel. Our sense of disbelief is never put on the shelf and we’re constantly stopping to wonder how this could be.
And let’s face it, any movie that has five girls stripping down and showing nothing to the audience is an unforgivable cheat.
The ambition is not matched by the execution and all in all, this is a wasted effort and 90 minutes you won’t get back.
Posted by Dominic in Movies, Reviews on September 21st, 2008
You have to admire a movie that tries to sustain suspense on a shoestring budget.
Essentially shot on one set for a mere $20,000, Breathing Room does what the Saws and Hostels of the world fail to do: engage you in the characters. The premise is a pretty straight-forward one: a naked young girl is tossed into a large, barren room. She’s told she’s the last of 14 prisoners, none of whom can recall how they arrived in this situation. Each has a number and is told they will be tested and only one will see freedom.
For the next 85 minutes, you’re left to wonder who is behind this and why and which one will survive. While you’re led to believe the pretty young thing (Alisa Marshall) will be your hero, along the way you’re left to wonder.
There’s some violence, but nothing overt. It’s all left up to the imagination which is where the best terror tends to be found.
The assorted characters, most of whom have something to hide, are a little too much the same age range but are different enough for you to be left wondering throughout the entire film why them, and which one will be a hero, coward or killer. The acting varies in quality as does the writing for the characters so there’s an uneven feel to the entire production.
The film, released on DVD from Anchor Bay today, is shot in a less-than-smooth style without leaving you seasick and heightening the tension the spare lighting and set provides. You lose track of the days, as do the characters, and you watch the body count mount and keep wondering why. The final twist at the end is jarring but not unsatisfying and overall, given its sparseness, does its job quite well.
Breathing Room was written by John Suits and Gabriel Cowan when they were just students at CalArts. It has a refreshing rawness to it and speaks well for their careers which have taken off since this was shot in 2006. That is has earned over $500,000 is the kind of return on investment people notice and it has led to additional work. We can look forward to more from them as a result.
Posted by Dominic in Movies, Reviews on August 26th, 2008
Don Coscarelli made a name for himself with the first Phantasm film back in the 1970s. It had blood, gore, a sphere with a cool looking blade and Angus Scrimm as the Tall Man.
Since then, there have been two other films in the cycle and a promised conclusion which took a decade to arrive on DVD despite coming out in theatres back in ‘98. Out today is Phantasm OblIVion, in theory the final installment and offering audiences some much needed background. What we receive is some background but a lot of wasted time as well. The fourth Phantasm film seems to have been shot on a lower budget than the first and Coscarelli teases us with information but forgets to make it compelling. (more…)
Posted by Dominic in DVD & Blu-Ray on August 23rd, 2008
Anchor Bay sent out the following release:
A holy relic has been discovered. And it doesn’t lead to Heaven…Meet Your Maker on DVD and Blu-ray Disc Oct. 28
Anchor Bay Entertainment and Electronic Arts present Dead Space: Downfall, the feature-length movie prequel to one of the hottest new video games of the year
BURBANK, Calif. (August 22, 2008) – Evidence of mankind’s creator also plays host to our worst nightmare, in Anchor Bay Entertainment’s October 28th DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases of Dead Space: Downfall. SRP for the DVD is $26.97, $34.98 for the Blu-ray. (more…)
Kim Basinger hasn’t had a lot to do on film the last few years so she took on the feminist revenge thriller While She Was Out, serving as not only star but executive producer. Also being an exec was Guillermo del Toro so you begin watching the 86-minute with high expectations that this will rise above the cookie cutter collection of one woman against a gang.
