FRIDAY THE 13TH Sequel Has Been Decapitated

As we approach yet another release of a remake/reboot/reimagining of classic horror franchise, this time A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET on April 30th, word is coming from producer of the remake/reboot/reimagining of FRIDAY THE 13TH that a planned sequel is off the books for now.

Platinum Dunes' Brad Fuller noted on his Twitter account that the sequel "is dead - not happening". Bloody Disgusting later reported Fuller as saying "right now there is no movement on Friday 13th: Part 2".

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SAW VII Details including Plot Synopsis Cary Elwes Casting

The SAW VII Synopsis is out:

"As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw’s brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror… The first theatrical feature to be shot exclusively on the cutting-edge SI-3D digital camera system, SAW VII 3-D brings the horrifying games of Jigsaw to life like never before."

Casting includes Tobin Bell, Cary Elwes, Costas Mandylor and Betsy Russell, Sean Patrick Flanery (BOONDOCK SAINTS), Gina Holden (FINAL DESTINATION 3), Chad Donella (”Lost”, “X-Files”), Laurence Anthony, Dean Armstrong and Naomi Snieckus.

What may dastardly machine will our Dread Pirate Roberts face in this, what may be the final chapter of SAW?

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City Of Violence Review

CITY OF VIOLENCE (2007)

When retired gang leader Wang-Jae is murdered, detective Tae-Soo returns to his hometown for the first time in ten years after leaving to become a detective in Seoul. Tae-Soo reunites with his old high school friends to say farewell to Wang-Jae, but feels that something is not right about his death. With his fists and temper at his side, Tae-Soo uses the power of the law to stir up a few hornet nests trying to figure out just what happened. For his troubles, Tae-Soo is beset by multiple gangs, all trying to keep Tae-Soo from finding out too much. But with his friend Seok-Hwan at his side, whose fists are just as merciless, Tae-Soo starts tearing through the lies, deceptions, and criminal activity setting up shop in the tourist district. And when he finally gets someone to talk, he learns that it may just be their mutual friend Pil-Ho behind the murder.

Ryoo Seung-Wan, who both directs and stars as Seok-Hwan, may not be pushing any boundaries with this 2006 action-drama from South Korea, but his style and enthusiasm more than make up for treading in safe waters. Ryoo, who has previously brought fan favorites NO BLOOD NO TEARS, ARAHAN and CRYING FIST to the screen, once again dives head first into a world of brotherhood, betrayal, and sacrifice, which are themes that should be more than familiar to those who have swam in the waters of South East Asian cinema. Using a series of flashbacks and storytelling, Ryoo gets all of the characters and their relationships set up quite quickly, but by no means skimps on their depth. Even given the film’s short time devoted to the character build-up, Ryoo shows his strength at giving the audience all the information they need to understand what is going on.

Beyond the characters, Ryoo shows once again his talent at bringing brutal street fighting to the screen with finesse and style. Though Ryoo and Jung Doo-Hong, who stars as Tae-Soo, are able to show off their tae kwon-do training, a majority of the fights are pure and simple brawls, with just enough choreography so the stunt team doesn’t kill each other. Ryoo explains in the audio commentary that they would just set up multiple cameras, have everyone fight in one huge take, and then edit the sequence later. This style allows for Ryoo’s nigh-trademark film speed adjustments and quick editing, while keeping all the characters and their actions easy to follow, and the tone of the fight consistent.

The two major fight sequences are simply jaw-dropping, and even if you may be slightly turned off by melodramatic friendships and betrayal, they are worth a rental at the very least to see. The first features Tae-Soo, in a possible homage to THE WARRIORS, as he fights solo against five gangs — including a breakdancing gang, a BMX gang, a gang of schoolgirls, a gang of schoolboys, and a baseball team with face paint — that each have their own unique uniform and fight style. The second sequence takes up the final twenty minutes of the ninety minute running time, which features Tae-Soo and Seok-Hwan fighting their way through stage after stage of fighters a la GAME OF DEAT or a martial arts video game in order to get to the “final boss.” Each stage features different fighting styles, different weapons and different enemies, with Ryoo changing up the accompanying music and camera work to keep your interest for every minute!

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First Glimpse at Prequel for THE THING

Here is your first glimpse at the exterior set for the wholly unnecessary prequel to John Carpenter's THE THING.



At least they got the snow right so far.

Director Matthijs van Heijningen will show the world in 2011 what went down just prior to the events in THE THING. We'll just have to wait till then to find out if what was glimpsed by MacReady and the rest of the crew via fuzzy VHS tapes should have been just left alone.

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Follow Movies at Midnight! Win Free DVDs!

To celebrate the upcoming release of George A Romero's SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, Movies at Midnight is teaming up with Magnet Releasing to get some great horror flicks into your DVD Collection.

To enter the contest to win a DVD prize pack containing SPLINTER, SEVERANCE and DONKEY PUNCH, become a Follower of the blog and comment here saying "I'm a Follower!". If you already follow the blog, enter by commenting "Already a Follower".

One random Follower will be selected on May 28th.

Watch SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD and stay scared starting April 30th on VOD via X-Box, Playstation and Amazon or check it out when it hits movie theaters May 28th.

For more information, check out the official SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD website or the SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD Facebook page.

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HOLY VIRGIN VS THE EVIL DEAD (1991) Movie Review

HOLY VIRGIN VS THE EVIL DEAD (1991)

On the night that Shiang (Donnie Yen) and a small group of his female students are having a late night picnic, the moon turns red and from out of nowhere comes a man who quickly knocks Shiang out and attacks all of the girls. When Shiang awakes, he finds his students dead, and quickly becomes the main suspect in their murders. Local police inspector Chen takes up the case, and begins to follow Shiang around. When a second murder takes places, it happens in a small temple. Shiang and his private investigator friend do some research, and discover that temple is for worshipping a god in an ancient religion that in Cambodia.

Shiang and his group of friends head into Cambodia, in the search for the tribe that still worships this religion. They have also discovered that the man who attacked Shiang is actually the inhuman Moon Monster. Once in Cambodia, they cross paths with the Princess White, who has been charged by her tribe to kill the Moon Monster. They are on a tight deadline though, for when the New Year begins, the Moon Monster will regain all of its powers and become unstoppable. Will Shiang, Princess White, and their friends be enough to put an end to an army of machine-gun totting fanatics and the vicious flying Moon Monster?

In this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Category III extravaganza, logic and taste are thrown out the window to make room for a hodge-podge of erotic-tinged fantasy, supernatural horror, insane action, wire-fu martial arts, and pure exploitation. This is classic Hong Kong entertainment, the kind where the plot seems to have been made up as the movie was being made, where action set pieces are placed at even ten-minute intervals, where crude sexuality is debased to even cruder comedy, and where the film title offers more to the imagination than the actual film. This is definitely not the kind of Hong Kong import that has any fear of being remade. Ever.

Donnie Yen, who is the star of this because of his name recognition, and not due to his screen time, plays a meek teacher until it is he is threaten. He gleefully pushes the stereotype that all Chinese know kung-fu, for his character is given no background as to why he knows how to do flying spin kicks and scorpion kicks. He just naturally does. The rest of the actors, if they can even be called that in a production such as this, also are well versed in advanced martial arts, and are proficient in operating machine guns as soon as they pick them up. Pauline Yeung, who was Miss Hong Kong 1987, as Princess White, is the films main source of charming eye candy (but who is the only female actress not to go nude) and holds her own as a female warrior. She glides through the air with ease and has at her command a host of magical spells. But it is Ken Lo, Jackie Chan's then bodyguard and cinema career bad guy, as Moon Monster who takes the cake. His Jon Bon Jovi and Joe Elliot inspired wardrobe, long flowing black hair, and snarling growl make his performance truly memorable.

Part of the charm of HOLY VIRGIN VS THE EVIL DEAD, apart from the fact that there are no holy virgins and no evil dead mentioned in the entire film, is the ludicrous low-budget nature. The special effects, including lightning bolts, energy beams, and glowing eyes, are literally painted on the frames in post-production. Quick and choppy editing allow the characters to fly or leap great distances. Sound and Image rarely sync up, as the soundtrack was created after principal photography. The English subtitles, which disappear half the time when there is too much white on the screen, include such zingers are "bastard, run you!" and "hold it or I'll shoot her to dead!" And the music score, composed of mostly synth-score snippets on repeat, sets a truly ridiculous tone. Even White Princess' sword has a diddy that gets played each time it is drawn.

Though stamped with the nefarious Category III, it avoids the truly nasty territory that many of its brethren would wallow in. Instead, director Wong Chun-Yeung is merely dancing with joy at the freedom of the rating that was new at the time, and seeing just how far he can go with it. He succeeds in creating a high watermark example of the what-the-heck-did-I-just-watch cinema which was pouring out of Hong Kong at the time. It is films like this, which have sadly been weeded out of Hong Kong as their moviemakers became more internationally conscious, that made Hong Kong the go to source for exciting, unique and over the top movies in the first place and gave Hong Kong its international appeal.

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