Red Band Trailer for the Upcoming [REC] 2

The highly anticipated sequel to one of the scariest films of all time, [REC] 2 picks up 15 minutes from where we left off, taking us back into the quarantined apartment building where a terrifying virus has run rampant, turning the occupants into mindlessly violent, raging beasts. A heavily armed SWAT team and a mysterious government official are sent in to assess and attempt to neutralize the situation. What they find inside lies beyond the scope of medical science—a demonic nightmare of biblical proportions more terrifying than they could have possibly imagined. Above all it must be contained, before it escapes to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting world outside.

[REC] 2 will be available on VOD June 4 and in theaters July 9th

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Cult Brand Tartan Brings in New Leadership to Revive Brand

LOS ANGELES — For immediate release ­ Vin Roberti, Chairman of Palisades Media Corp., announced today that veteran industry executive, Soumya Sriraman, has been named President and CEO of Palisades Tartan US and UK.

"Soumya's executive background with the studios and entrepreneurial spirit coupled with her fresh perspective and keen insights make her an ideal fit for our growing company," stated Roberti. "We are looking forward to her immediate contributions."

Sriraman added, “Vin’s track record of success with Palisades is reflected in the amazing catalog and team he has built. I am a huge fan of the Tartan catalog and plan to aggressively rebuild the brand and introduce US audiences to a new collection of cutting-edge and remarkable films.”

Palisades Tartan has emerged as one of the premier distributors of independent and arthouse cinema in the US and UK and has been on the forefront of consumer trends. Straddling both continents, their film line-up boasts an impressive repertoire in the UK including the Ingmar Bergman library, Takashi Miike’s AUDITION, horror phenom THE RING and INFERNAL AFFAIRS, which was successfully remade in the US and titled THE DEPARTED. Apart from many favorites such as Michael Winterbottom’s 9 SONGS and Carlos Reygadas’s SILENT LIGHT, the US library is anchored by Park Chan-wook’s Cannes jury prize winner, OLDBOY, the film that famously introduced the Western World to the Asia Extreme brand.

Roberti and Sriraman added that they planned to aggressively build the Palisades Tartan brand in the US and UK territories with new strategic acquisitions and mergers over the coming year. Sriraman remarked that despite shrinking shelf space, newer delivery mechanisms including digital represented a significant opportunity offering consumers many viewing modes to whet their appetite for independent films.

Sriraman entered into an undisclosed multi-year contract with the company and will be relocating to New York from Los Angeles. She will immediately begin representing the company at the major film markets worldwide and aggressively source new partnerships.

Most recently, Sriraman was Senior Vice President at Universal Music and Video Distribution¹s filmed entertainment arm, Vivendi. As one of the early members on the Vivendi core executive team, she helmed the growth of the company's home entertainment, theatrical and TV divisions, contributing to their successes. Prior to Vivendi, she was at Warner Home Video where she spearheaded core initiatives in the TV franchise division like Friends Finale, the rebranding efforts on ER etc. Earlier, at Universal Home Entertainment, she was a pioneer in the DVD catalog space, leading the successful re-launches of Scarface and Animal House, the former considered the most successful catalog relaunch in the history of DVD.

Ms. Sriraman has over 12 years of experience in the filmed entertainment space in a vast range of disciplines including category management, brand marketing, sales analysis, theatrical distribution and TV licensing. An engineer by education, Soumya holds a M.S. in Transportation Engineering from Texas A&M University and a MBA from University of California, Irvine.

ABOUT PALISADES TARTAN

Tartan Films was originally founded in 1984 in the UK and is credited with bringing Asian Extreme film to the West as well as some of the most compelling art house films of the last quarter century. In May 2008, Palisades Pictures acquired Tartan Films US library assets and two months later, acquired a majority of Tartan Films UK’s 400+ film library assets. The new company Palisades Tartan has operations both nationally and internationally. Palisades Tartan will continue to expand an already distinctive and provocative slate of films by focusing on quality film acquisitions, thus significantly increasing the size of their overall library in both territories. Palisades Pictures and its parent company Palisades Media Corp is a prestigious financier of print & advertising for the independent film market. Together with its affiliate, Palisades Media Asset Fund, Palisades has securitized and financed more than 550 films. www.PalisadesTartan.com

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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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