Gretchen and JSP appear on Ebay!

Disney is planning more "Indiana Jones" (hopefully with less LaBeouf)

From darkhorizons, When Disney bought Lucasfilm over a year ago, the only real purpose was for the Mouse House to get its hands on the "Star Wars" franchise.

Lucasfilm did control one other highly valuable property though - the "Indiana Jones" franchise. However, Paramount had a controlling interest in that film series. Not anymore it would seem.

Disney and Paramount have reached an official agreement that gives Disney control over all future films in the franchise. Paramount retains rights to the first four films, and will receive a "financial participation" on any future films that are produced and released.

This clears the way for a new fifth installment, be it another sequel or even a possible reboot. However, there's no fifth film said to be in the works at this time. All those involved - Ford, Spielberg, Lucas - have all previously expressed interest in returning though.

New dog, old tricks in revamped 'Family Guy' intro

‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ to Be Directed By Bryan Singer, Will Focus on ‘First Class’ Characters

From slashfilm, Bryan Singer isn’t just the guy that got to break the news about X-Men: Apocalypse— he’ll be the one to direct it, too. Though the filmmaker revealed last week via Twitter that the new X-Men sequel would be coming in 2016, he declined to say much else at the time. However, a new report indicates that Singer will indeed be back to helm, and that the movie will focus on the younger First Class cast, as opposed to the original trilogy set. Hit the jump to get all the details.

Vulture has confirmed that Singer will indeed be back for X-Men: Apocalypse, which is currently scheduled to open May 27, 2016. Not surprisingly, the plan for Fox is to use the ending of X-Men: Days of Future Past to set up the events to come in X-Men: Apocalypse.

But while X-Men: Days of Future Past combines the classic X-Men cast (e.g., Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen) and the newer X-Men stars (e.g., James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence) into one star-studded extravaganza, X-Men: Apocalypse will just follow the First Class team. Although First Class is one of the franchise’s lowest grossers, the studio is banking on Days of Future Past to give the younger stars the momentum they need to make X-Men: Apocalypse a hit.

X-Men: Age of Apocalypse will mark the sixth X-Men movie overall (or eighth, if you count the two Wolverine flicks), the fourth X-Men movie that Singer has directed, following X-Men, X2, and X-Men: Days of Future Past, and his first focusing solely on the First Classcast. As for when exactly production will get going, or what precisely the plot will entail, that remains to be seen.

In the meantime, X-Men: Days of Future Past opens May 23, 2014. Since Singer clearly isn’t going anywhere, let’s just hope it’s good.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer looks like fun!

Octopunk's Best Of Horrorthon 2013

Yo yo yo it's Best Ofs time!

All-Around Favorite Movie: It's a tie!  I couldn't decide between Attack the Block and Sinister

Best Hidden Gem Movie:  Burning Bright, for making a good flick out of a nutty idea.  I mean, apply Snakes on a Plane simplicity and it's called Tiger in the House.  What's next?  The Floor's Hot Lava?

Worst Movie: I saw a couple turkeys but The Exorcism of Emily Rose is the movie that honked me off the most. I can't stand it when stories that purport to take on religion wuss out with this tone that says "After all, who are we to question?"  I'm looking at you, Dan Brown.

Best So Bad It's Good Movie: Do you even have to ask?

Most Disturbing Movie: Sinister

Goriest Movie:  World War Z, hands down.

Ha ha, just kidding.  This goes to Mirrors, courtesy of Amy Smart's jaw removal.  It won't make Most Memorable Death like I thought it might, but I didn't screen a lot of gore this year.

Scariest Movie:  Sinister

Best Looking Monster: I was thinking maybe the zombies from World War Z but then I remembered the Alien Wolf Gorilla Motherfuckers from Attack the Block.

Hottest Hottie: Actress Letícia Román in The Girl Who Knew Too Much.

Most Memorable Death: I was thinking of this fool from Tasmanian Devils  but then I remembered a better one from Sinister.  I can't go into details lest I spoil things but for those who have seen it, it's on the last of the five home movies Ethan Hawke watches.

Most Avoidable Death: The first one that springs to mind is that one guy the Godmonster took down, but instead I'm giving this to William "Greates American Hero" Katt's evil reflection going after his eye socket with a pizza cutter in Mirrors 2.  I can't tell you how that dire situation would have gone because the death is actually avoided.

Landshark's Review Bomblet

 I watched this early in Horrorthon when it looked like I was off to a nice start. Then the rents came for a visit, work got crazy, and somehow I lost all momentum and never regained it. Ugh.

The Thing (1982) *****

This was a fun Saturday morning surprise. The wife and I happened to surf past it just as it was about to start, and the kids were doing something out of earshot, so we got sucked in. I'm pretty sure I saw some of this back in the 80s, but I'm not sure I ever saw the full thing. I think the setting and bleakness of the whole thing probably wasn't what I had time for as a 14 year old.

This time, I was immediately hooked in the opening scene. A helicopter is flying over a frozen wasteland, and a Siberian huskie is running below it. The dog seems to be running to meet its master back at home base. Then the guy in the helicopter starts shooting his hunting rifle at the dog, and you're like, "That fucking bastard." Who shoots at a dogs?

The dog takes shelter with some American scientists working at an isolated Antarctic outpost, and they end up killing the Swedish dog-hater. For a supposedly smart scientist himself, the Swede has a problem communicating with the American guys when he arrives at their camp. So they shoot him and put the dog in with their own pack. Oops.

Anyway, this was a blast. Definitely one to check off your list if you've somehow missed it as I had. The bad news is that this also was the way early end to my thon this year. I must have watched this around the 15th or so...I thought I was doing so well, and then totally hit a mofo wall with work and other responsibilities. Ok, it was also the Sawx!!!!!  Tough to pull off a good thon when the Sox are in the midst of a World Series run.



The Returned (2012) ?????

This isn't technically a Horrorthon review, as A) it's a TV show or really even "horror," and B) I just watched my first episode last night. But I wanted to turn you guys onto it, as it started off really promisingly. It's billed as a French zombie tv show based on a movie from a couple years ago. The hook is (and it's one not designed to please JSP) that these zombies just show back up at their families' homes as if nothing had happened. So maybe "zombies" is the wrong word--lost in translation or something. It's more like millions of people are mysteriously "resurrected" with no clear memory of what happened. They're all a bit out of it, but not hungry for brains or anything. Anyway, pretty gripping from the start. The wife and I were hooked immediately. Not exactly horror, but horrorish, especially in a psychological way as the various living folks deal with the dead coming back.

Octopunk's Review Bomb

Kill, Baby... Kill!

1966  ****

I had great luck with Bava this year.  Kill, Baby... Kill! not only has an exclamation point but also combines all the best features of the Bava supernatural folk tale vibe I've sampled a lot of in recent years.  And there's a decent creepy little girl in it, too.  Drawbacks would be the somewhat cookie-cutter good looking hero couple and the repeated little girl laugh that's supposed to sound scary but comes out forced.

Blood Tea and Red String

2006  **

Gong!  Kudos to Cat for finding a stop-motion horror movie but what the hell with this crap?  Knowing as I do how much time it takes to make stop motion animation, watching stop motion animation that mercilessly drags ON and ON makes absolutely no sense to me because it represents weeks of work during which the person should have had ample time to come to their senses.  Mice playing cards!


Yongary, Monster from the Deep

1967  ***

Drab yet endearing Korean kaiju knockoff, featuring a cast, monster and miniature sets all a little bit blander than their Japanese counterparts.  Despite less convincing tiny world, Yongary displays an appropriate thuggishness about wrecking as much of it as possible.  All badassery is compromised when he's poisoned like a rat and we pull back from a closeup on the river as he shits himself upon death.


Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster

1966  ***1/2

This is more like it!  This features a villain with an eyepatch, a dance marathon, and several Polynesian-style big dance numbers dedicated to a giant moth.

Landshark kindly said I'd never mail in a review of a kaiju flick, and I'm disappointed I left two behind this year.  I'll get back to them.


Sinister

2012  *****

Man, this movie blew me away and I wasn't expecting it.  Another one I'll have to revisit because I wanna go on and on about why I think it's great.  

And that's it!  I feel like we all had a tough time finding time this year.  I know I did, plus I kept falling asleep.  Both the Bava flick and Yongary took me three nights to finish, and they're good!  I just kept dozing.

No matter!  I've got some great ideas for next year and this was a particularly busy time.  See you folks for some Best Ofs?  I'll get mine going tomorrow.  Then I gotta catch us up on Spider-Man.

Horrorthon!

Attack the Block

 

2011  *****

I'm sneaking this one out before writing my Review Bomb because I feel like it deserves a proper review.  The only other Horrorthonner who's written about it was Tami and she really had a bad time.  Sometime before H'thon 2012 I watched it and loved it, and I screened it as part of my sci-fi horror theme last year.  Since I now could fill an entire Horrorthon with movies that I've watched during Horrorthon and not reviewed, this was the only film from my Review Bomb last year that I thought worthy of re-presenting.  It wouldn't feel right to Review Bomb it again.

My comment in said Review Bomb was "Absolutely brilliant.  Don't listen to Tami."  but I repectfully acknowledge her oppressive extenuating circumstances -- I think this movie would suck to watch on an airplane.

Coming from the same writing and production stable as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Attack the Block centers on five teenage South London entry-level thugs who suddenly find themselves fighting beasts from outer space.  While the movie has a light tone, it isn't so much a comedy as its cousins, and the characters and action are stylish in a fun, low-rent way.

Since I really am going to try to make this quick, I will list a couple of my favorite features.

First is Moses, the quiet leader of the crew.  I totally loved the way he talked.  In the opening scene it's Guy Fawkes night and the gang is mugging a nurse named Samantha, but they are interrupted when a nearby car is struck by an object from the sky.  Moses climbs in a shattered window in search of booty and is attacked by a fierce, pale simian creature.  He stabs it but takes a nasty scratch to the face, and the thing tears off into a park.  He stands up slowly while his cronies say what the hell and crack jokes.  "Moses got shanked by Dobby the house elf!"  Moses straightens and says

I'm chasin' that down.

I'm killin' that.

Watch.

Second is the gang itself, who are portrayed with such endearing frankness you're charmed even though you've seen them be intimidating bully fucks.  The movie doesn't play it down when they're crooks or jerks or ridiculous kids, so you can buy the friendship and loyalty.  I wasn't apt to yell at them when they did inadvisable things like get stoned in the middle of a beast siege, it just made sense that  those guys would do that.  

My favorite bit of good/evil razor's edge riding is when Moses tells Samantha (much later) that they wouldn't have mugged her if they'd known she also lived in the block.  She rebutts with "But it's okay if you didn't know me?" and Moses' second-in-command Pest chides her.  "Can't you see he's trying to apologize?  What's with you?"

A minute later Moses tells Pest to give Sam back the ring that they took from her, and Pest whines "Aw man, that's ours..."

Author Jonathan Lethem wrote a book about being bullied, and he referred to the "tilted logic," which always struck me as the worst part.  That exchange was like seeing it from the other side.  

Third and last is the Alien Gorilla Wolf Motherfuckers.  After the gang has their initial encounter with Dobby the house alien, they see several more meteors coming down around the building.  They head out for action but these beasts are different, as in they're way bigger.  They're shaggy, they have big claws, no eyes,  glowing blue teeth, and they are black.  BLACK.  "Too black to see."  They're like furry holes in reality, pure shapes with teeth.  I can only think of two other examples of this kind of monster, and one doesn't really count:

I once saw Disney's Beauty and the Beast as a work in progress, in which the level of finished animation varied throughout.  During most of the fight scene with the wolves, the Beast was drawn only as an outline with a face inside.  Look at that picture above and imagine him drawn that way, then say "groovy" about how huge and scary he'd look.

The other example is the awesome Monster from the Id in Forbidden Planet.  I should probably screen that next year.

Anyway, I urge everyone to check this one out.  I dig it, and I've been having a hard time not watching the whole thing right now as I grab screenshots.  I might have to own it.

What about you, Tami?  Think you can give it another shot?

Crystal Math's Review H-Bomb

Faust (2000) **

This Spanish horror film (with English-speaking actors) is more pathetic than scary. It follows John Jasper as he seeks revenge for his dead girlfriend and makes a deal with an old creepy man simply going by M (short for Mephistopheles, whom we all know to be the German demon used in such Faustian tales). He is given powers to turn into a red demon with claws and wings, but before long his killing antics catch up with him and he is arrested for a mass homicide.

Along Jasper's journey he befriends a woman determined to help him save his soul from M so he can finally live a normal life and die peacefully. There's also some crazy Satanic rituals, an underground society of M worshipers taking place in said ritual, and ridiculous amounts of sex that get in the way of a perfectly good movie.


Spooks Run Wild (1941) ***

A group of hooligans known as the East Side Kids are extracted from their big city stomping grounds to a remote rural camp to learn a lesson about responsibility. It just so happens that a killer is on the loose and will stop at nothing to claim the life of his next victim. The Kids want to help out, so they sneak out after curfew and get tormented by Bela Lugosi and his midget.

The ending was a genuine surprise, the buildup had its fair balance between the Kids, Lugosi, and the camp "counselors" who at times seemed clueless. The only caveat were all the groans elicited when the only African-American character would bust out with these terrible one-liners: "I'm so scared I'm turning white!" or "It's so dark I can't even see myself." Although when you think about it, his humor does make up for the fact that the other Kids aren't very memorable (don't ask me to name any of them, I'll just as well name the Seven Dwarfs).


Gravity (2013) ****
Two hours of Sandra Bullock breathing.


Dead End (2003) ****

Just sit right down and you'll hear a tale
A tale of a fateful trip
Of Laura, Frank, Miss Marion
and the little brother Dick

Good Frank, he was a patriarch
A father, brave and true
His family spoke no complaints
When he took that detour, he took that detour

Young Dick started acting a fool,
Poor Laura lost her mind,
Then Frank and daughter Marion
Just tried to stay alive, just tried to stay alive

Car stopped at an abandon cabin in the middle of the woods,
With Frank the Dad
Wife Laura, too
Their children Marion and Richard
Some lady in white -- is she a ghost? I hope so! Here on this Dead End driiiiiiiive!

(I trust you all were singing that to the tune of the "Gilligan's Island" theme!)


Offspring (2009) **** 1/2

There once was a prequel to The Woman
Who led a tribe that acted like demons
They tracked down human cubs
And chopped you all up
If you dared interfere with their fun.


Stakeland (2010) *** 1/2

Post-apocalyptic every persyn for hirself woop-woop!

A young boy and a man referred to as Mister drive around killing zombie-vampire hybrid creatures and just trying to survive. At times it was bleak and reminded me of The Road, but this one's more action-packed and has an underlying theme of community in a time of struggle and crisis. The final showdown fell short of its potential. I yawned and missed about third of it. But the rest is a'ight.


The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008) ** 1/2

School sucks. Boys suck. God even sucks -- I mean, he's just like one Almighty father placing a curfew on my SOUL.

A slew of young teenage girls experience the overbearing nature of their fathers as they approach their 18th birthdays. Is it that their daughters are discovering boys? One Direction? God? Anyway, the focus of the film -- as you guessed -- is Molly Hartley, who is battling her dark past, hormones, and Catholic high school. The praise on the DVD box claimed it to be "Rosemary's Baby all grown up" but I just didn't see it.


The Brood (1979) ****

Family issues
Homicidal mom hates girl
Unloving midgets


Playback (2012) *
Christian Slater can't save this poor excuse for a Ringu ripoff. No, I can't be bothered with an accompanying image.


Autopsy (1973) ***

Simona is a young intern working at a mortuary when she starts hallucinating that the dead are coming back to life. She begins investigating the deaths as the body count rises and it is blamed on some planetary phenomena. The plot lagged in the middle but had plenty of booty of the female AND male type to keep going until the stunning denouement.


Living Hell (2000) *** 1/2

When old lady Chiyo and young girl Yuki's immediate family are murdered, the two are relocated to live with Yasu and his siblings. Everyone works long hours and Yasu is bound by a wheelchair, so Chiyo and Yuki reveal their true colors and take advantage of him in some exceptionally disgusting sequences. The story is complex and filled with unpredictable twists, and at times the effects and music were laughable in a creepy vein.


Dead Ringers (1988) ****

Jeremy Irons -- whom I can only envision as the voice of Scar in The Lion King -- plays the dual lead roles of twin gynecologists.

Ew.

Regardless, this film is an amazing show of talent on Irons' part because each twin has distinguishable nuances and features; about a half hour into it you begin to believe that there are two different people occupying the same physical space. Dead Ringers is also a powerful testament to the unique bond shared by twins, sharing a deep emotional connection that seems to meld them into one cosmic being. Despite Johnny Sweatpants and JPX not being twins, I see that they, too, share this bond that surpasses the blood, bone, and fibrous muscle composing our petty physical bodies. I see it everyday when they talk about the legacy of The Monkees, complex plot devices of Archie comics, or the intricate lyrics of a KISS composition.

Catfreeek's Review Bomb

From Beyond The Grave

1973 ***1/2

One of the best anthology films from this era, based on stories from British horror author R. Chetwynd-Hayes. All the stories stem from items purchased at an antique store run by Peter Cushing. Segment one, The Gatecrasher involves a man who is possessed by an evil spirit that enters him by way of a of a haunted mirror he purchases. This is my favorite of the stories but the rest are well worth viewing too. It’s one of those films where everyone gets their comeuppance, kind of how I wish life really worked sometimes.

The Barrens

2012 **1/2

A man takes his family on a camping trip to a remote area where her grew up. The area is rumored to be plagued by the notorious Jersey Devil, a murderous beast that roams the woods. When dad starts flipping out saying it is following him the family begins to suspect that dad is losing his mind. The film is a constant play of is he or isn’t he crazy with a solid conclusion at the end. Don’t you just love it when they don’t leave you hanging.

Mirror Mirror

1990 **

Sad rip off two solid films, it’s as if Beetlejuice and Carrie mated and had this poor excuse of an offspring. I’d like to say Karen Black is the saving grace but it’s Karen Black in the least Karen Blackiest role ever, she is just simply a mom. Karen & her lame emo Winona Ryder look alike daughter move into a house where an evil spirit possessed mirror resides. Miss emo is a major outcast at school who soon discovers the mirror gives her super powers and she soon goes on a killing spree. By the time she realizes she’s made a huge mistake she is knee deep into demon poop and there doesn’t seem to be a way out. Less than meh, skip it.

Werewolf: The Beast Among Us

2012 **1/2

Village is plagued by a werewolf, wolf hunters come to town, murder and mayhem, the wolf is revealed, what a twist! This film isn’t bad it’s just what is to be expected of your average werewolf flick. Same old story set in like the early 1800’s this time blah, blah, blah. This is exactly why films like American Werewolf in London & Dog Soldiers stand out and reign superior, originality wins. Watch it, skip it or put it on while you exercise like I did. Mildly entertaining and lots of action.

Tales of Terror

1962 ****

Another solid anthology but that was to be expected with a stellar cast including Vincent Price in the lead for all three segments joined by Peter Lorre (Don’t you just love Peter Lorre’s voice) & Basil Rathbone as well as some lesser know actors who do a fine job too.The three short sequences are based stories from Edgar Allen Poe, Morella, The Black Cat/The Cask of Amontillado combined together and The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. My favorite type of horror to watch on a cold and rainy afternoon. 

Body Parts

1991 ***

This silly film starring Jeff Fahey had the perfect recipe of camp & horror to make my day. The whole idea is just so outrageous and I love it. The body parts of a notorious serial murderer are harvested and given to some needy folks. A writer receives an arm and soon finds his new arm has a mind of its own and a craving for violence. He hunts down the other recipients and winds up in an all out battle against the person who received the head. Unintentionally hilarious with one of the funniest car chase scenes since Abbott & Costello took on the Keystone Cops!