After three years of creating dozens of the most terrifying short films in the world, Daywalt Fear Factory is producing its debut horror feature, The Passengers.
The Passengers tells the story of a young trucker and his wife who are terrorized by the tortured spirits attached to a load of antiques that the couple has been commissioned to haul cross country.
The film is being directed by Drew Daywalt ("Camera Obscura," "Death Valley"), who also wrote the screenplay. Edin Gali ("Mad Men," Hemingway & Gellhorn) stars with Courtney Halverson ("Death Valley," Red Clover). Jeff Farley is co-producing and has signed on to do the extensive physical f/x work.
"We've been waiting for this opportunity for a couple years now," says Daywalt, "and since we're being financed through private investors, my team and I have the creative control to tell an intelligent, terrifying story. We're finally getting to make the film we want to make, in the way we want to make it. The plan is simple: tell a good story that scares the hell out of everyone."
Filming will take place in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Missouri, Utah, New Mexico, and California.
Ghost films have never really been my thing but for some reason I've been watching a TON of them lately. I know I'm way behind on this one but it's been trapped like a spirit with unfinished business in my DVR since it aired and I finally found time to sit and watch it. No matter how disappointing Can You Survive a Horror Movie was, you have to admit that Chiller TV has been pretty consistent with their originals. I really dug Steve Niles' Remains, Ghoul was entertaining and now we have Dead Souls.
On his 18th birthday, Johnny Petrie (Jesse James) learns he was adopted when he inherits a farm in Maine, abandoned for the 18 years since his natural family died at the hands of his father, the local preacher. Eager for a new life, he leaves home to start over in his new dwelling. However, as he digs into his past, he soon uncovers the horrifying details of his father's questionable teachings. In a frightening revelation, he also learns that his return has revived decades-old forces trapped in the home and sets in motion a heart-stopping finale to a ritual that already claimed the lives of his family.
We basically only have three, maybe four main characters to follow here as the rest of the cast kinda pop in and out as needed. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the level of acting in this film. Even the actors with less screen time gave it their all, which is important because even the slightest "I don't want to be here" attitude can screw up a film. James played his part very well and seemed to adapt easily to the dramatic changes his character had to go through. I'm not very familiar with Magda Apanowicz's work but she was pretty impressive herself as hard ass Emma. And of course you'd expect nothing less than perfection from veteran actors Geraldine Hughes and Bill Moseley which is exactly what you get. Moseley is the paranoid retired Sheriff that was involved in the original case. He shows up about half way through the film to help fill in all the details. Hughes doesn't get as much screen time but does a good job portraying James' devoutly Christian mother who is dead set (no pun intended) against him discovering anything about his past.
Writer John Doolan, who also penned Remains, spent a lot of time developing the character of Johnny Petrie. As I mention above, his character goes through some pretty radical changes during the course of the film. In fact, he spent so much time on Petrie that we never found out anything else about the other characters. I don't think the film suffered because of it but it would've been nice to have some answers to Apanowicz's Emma. Why was she squatting in the house? What was she running/hiding from and why? They hint to her being a local because she knew the Conroy history but that's about as detailed as it got. We were given just about as much info on Moseley's character. A hint here and there about why he retired, a brief conversation between characters about him dabbling in the super natural.
I really got into Dead Souls. I thought Director Colin Theys did a good job crafting a very intense made for TV horror film. Granted, filmmakers can get away with a lot more graphic images these days. It's nice to see someone spook an audience subtly using only shadows and some creepy music. Speaking of creepy music, I don't think I've ever been as creeped out by "The Spider and the Fly" song as I was watching this movie. You'll hear it in the trailer below.
I've read a lot of negative reviews on this film and while it wasn't perfect, Dead Souls was definitely intriguing. Maybe I like it because I don't regularly expose myself to this type of film but who knows. It left me with a very uneasy feeling and I don't get those very often. If you're a fan of haunting type films, I'd say give this one a try. In my opinion it's definitely worth the 90+ minutes you'll spend on it. Or, if you're looking for a good "intro to horror" film, this would be one of those as they don't go real heavy on the scares or the gore.
Well, here we go again with another installment of Cannibal Hillbillies Gone Bad. It's a sequel, no a prequel, no... oh who fucking cares at this point. It's just another attempt to cash in on a franchise that outlived it's glory days. So, now that the "Hunger Brothers" have eaten their way through Jeremy Sisto, Kimberly Caldwell and Henry Rollins, it's only natural that they bring in Doug Bradley to try and clean up the mess. As horrid as this franchise has become I still can't seem to stop watching it. Which in turn only makes it worse because as long as people watch, Hollywood will continue making them. What's that old saying, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of them problem? Yep, that's me... helping to make it worse for everybody else!! Hey, if I have to suffer, it's only fair that everyone else does too!
The cutting-edge terror *eye roll* continues when a small mining town hosts the
legendary Mountain Man Festival on Halloween, where crowds of costumed
partygoers gather for a wild night of music and mischief. But a killer
celebration soon gives way to a blood-soaked feeding frenzy when an
inbred family of hillbilly cannibals trick and treat themselves to a
group of visiting college students who are just dying for a good time...
If you thought the acting in Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead was bad, this is ten times worse. You'd think a film with a budget of $12.6 million would entail a more widespread search for actors who can, oh I dunno... ACT! I just finished watching this film and I can't for the life of me remember one single characters name (other than the hillbilly's and Bradley) because I didn't give a shit about any of them. There is no central character(s) in this film. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be rooting for the victims or the cannibals. You're introduced to a whole bunch of them rather quickly... Camilla Arfweds, Simon Ginty, Roxanne McKee, Paul Luebke, Oliver Hoare, Amy Lennox but not one of them was written with any substance which could be the reason they all came off so inexperienced. Either way, the acting stunk.
I'm so confused on the timeline of this franchise... There's the original Wrong Turn that introduced us to Three Finger, Saw Tooth and One Eye. Then there's Wrong Turn 2: Dead End which only has Three Finger because the others were toasted in the first one but does manage to introduce us to Ma, Pa, brother and sister (no, I'm not kidding). Then there's 3 where we're fortunate enough to meet Three Toes (still not kidding). Oh but wait, we might actually be saved by Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings, a prequel to the original that I actually found very entertaining. Too bad writer/director Declan O'Brien couldn't muster enough imagination to keep that momentum going with this one. I can't tell you where this one fits in because I have no idea. We have the same bad guys from the first one but not the second one so I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it fits somewhere in between 1 and 2. Confused yet?
The dialogue in this one is so bad sometimes, I facepalmed more than once. With lines like "We're under siege by three crazed hillbillies" and "my eyes, my eyes" how can you go wrong?? I'm facepalming just typing that. Another thing... the film pretty much centers around this HUGE 10th Annual Mountain Man Festival that it NEVER shows. It's mentioned a couple dozen times but...... I was really expecting some kind of Freddy vs. Jason rave massacre where the brothers do a slash and dash on everybody. But alas, nothing. Why was the festival even mentioned if it wasn't going to be explored? I'm assuming it was thrown in to explain why these college students were out in the middle of nowhere but honestly, there are so many other things they could've focused on instead. My advice would be to skip this one and revisit the original, 2 and 4. That's where you'll find the most cannibalistic satisfaction.
Maybe the end really is near, I mean... Brad Pitt in a zombie flick?? That's definitely something I never expected to see. However, after watching the trailer it seems more like an action film that just happens to have zombies in it... and not just any zombies. These are like super zombies or something! You'll just have to watch the trailer to see what I mean.
The adaptation of Max Brooks’ “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War” stars Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox and David Morse and was directed by Marc Forster.
Expected to hit theaters June 21, 2013, “The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself. Enos plays Gerry’s wife Karen Lane; Kertesz is his comrade in arms, Segen.”
HORROR CELEBRITIES KANE HODDER (“JASON VOORHEES") & TYLER MANE ("MICHAELMYERS") TO STAR IN FAN-DRIVEN HORROR MOVIE
LOS ANGELES, CA (November 7, 2012)—The actors who portrayed two of the most notorious serial killers in cinema are teaming up to do a feature-length film specifically for and with horror fans. It’s called “Casket County Massacre” (www.CasketCounty.com).
Kane Hodder ("Jason Voorhees" in Friday the 13th Parts 7-10, “Victor Crowley” in Hatchet 1-3) and Tyler Mane ("Michael Myers" in Rob Zombie’s Halloween movies, "Sabretooth" in X-Men) have joined deadly forces to play immortal outlaw brothers from the 1850s who terrorize a modern day all-girl rock band in a deserted ghost town.
In a new approach to filmmaking, the creative team will also involve fans by giving them behind-the-scenes access to the production via a "Filmmaker" website. Fans will have the opportunity to view auditions and help cast the film, decide key plot points, vote on who lives and who dies, and see special effects and other production crafts at work during the making of the movie, and much more.
“I wish something like this existed 20 years ago,” says Hodder who is a horror fan himself. “What better way to actually have a hand in making a horror film than to be a part of it from the beginning like we’re going to do with Casket County Massacre."
Director Paul Morrell ("Texas Chainsaw Musical," "Filth to Ashes," "Huff") and the stars of the film have all signed on pending fan-funding of the project through the popular Kickstarter website (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sumojack/casket-county-massacre). Supporters can pledge from $10 to $10,000 and receive rewards such astheir name in the credits, DVDs of the movie when it’s released in 2013, get slaughtered in the film by Hodder or Mane, become a co-producer of the movie with full access to the set, or even receive a major role complete with acting lessons and dialogue coach.
“This is a dream come true,” proclaims Mane who says he loved pretending he was Billy the Kid when he was a child. “We’re going to have a lot of fun and we’re going to kill a lot of people."
This is the first time Hodder and Mane will appear in the same film.
To view a welcome video featuring Hodder and Mane or donate to the project, visit www.CasketCounty.com.
We here at Twisted Central love Texas Indie filmmakers and their films. I ran across the trailer this morning for writer/director David Ross' Sylance. The film stars Brandon Ross, Skai Dabney, Mark Edward Howel, Gary McDonald,
Jordan Bateman and Michael Murray and is set to release soon.
Here is the tag line of the film:
A Texas town is willing to KILL to cover its own sins.....Some folks live in SYLANCE...others die there.
Synopsis:
The town of SYLANCE has been told by God that the next 200 visitors
would be killed for the sins of the town. Its hunt or be hunted in a
brutal show down between good and evil. We will be shooting just a
trailer for SYLANCE II on the 12th. If you are in the trailer scenes you
are likely to be used in SYLANCE II feature.
I'm probably a little behind on this one but here goes anyway....
From the dynamic duo Blancbiehn Productions comes the drama/thriller Treachery. It was written and directed by Travis Romero and stars Michael Biehn, his partner Jennifer Blanc, Sarah Butler (I Spit On Your Grave), Caitlin Keats (Kill Bill 2), Matthew Ziff (Among Friends), Chris Meyer (Kiss of The Damned), and Richard Gunn. TREACHERY is a psychological thriller/drama set in a remote cabin during a wedding party, where the reunion of an estranged father and son leads to discomfort among the group—and when a storm traps them inside, things get even more tense.
I'm digging the movie poster and the trailer and I'm pretty sure you will too! Check it out then head over to their Facebook page and be sure to visit the site for all the latest news!
