A Slasher Theater Weekly Top 10: Kaiju Monsters

Kaiju, although not directly connected to the horror genre, is a type of film involving giant monsters. The genre become very popular during the early 60's and remains relevant today. So, here is my list of the top 10 kaiju monsters of all time. (Keep in mind that I'm trying not to do the most obvious ones, so Godzilla will not be on this list)

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Shadows of the Damned: Highway to Hell

Video game guru Suda51 teams up with Resident Evil 4 mastermind Shinji Mikami to bring us a brand new horror game called Shadows of the Damned.

The games main character, Garcia Hotspurs, is a tattooed bad ass Spanish hero who's ready to kick some demon ass. When Garcia's main squeeze Paula is kidnapped by Fleming (the head demon), he must embark on a Dante's Inferno style quest through hell to save his true love. Along for the ride is hi
s trusty sidekick Johnson, a flaming skull on a stick who can transform into a number of awesome guns such as the Boner. Johnson and Garcia fight their way through hordes of undead ghouls on their quest to Paula.

To start off this review, let me begin by saying that my hands are killing me from playing this game all day. I can't get enough! This game is what would happen if Rob Zombie and Quentin Tarantino teamed up to create a modern version of the Divine Comedy starring a tattoo-clad Antonio Banderas. 

We'll begin with the game play.  This is a horror fan's dream game. Along with tons of movie references and dick jokes, the overall atmosphere is one to die for. Creepy music, sneaky demons, and a whole lot of blood tie this game together in perfect harmony. 

Speaking of movie references, there is an entire level dedicated to The Evil Dead. For me, this fact alone compelled me to run out and immediately buy this game. 

Most of the characters and especially the bosses definitely reminded me of both Silent Hill and Resident Evil games, which is a very good thing. Also, the fact that in Shadows of the Damned there are baby heads that eat eyeballs and brains instead of traditional video game locks on doors that require keys is definitely worth mentioning. 

Now, a lot of reviews complained about shotty controls and mechanics, however, I didn't have any problem with that. If you've played Resident Evil 4, you already know the controls because they're essentially the same. Aiming can be a bit harder, especially when you need to fire off a few quick shots, however, you soon get used to it and are able to move on.

Overall, Shadows of the Damned is a MUST for horror fans. It's a super fun game that you won't be able to put down for hours. Plus, its got a goddamn Evil Dead level!

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Charlie Day in del Toro's Pacific Rim?

Charlie Day, from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (one of the greatest non-horror television shows of all time), is in talks to join the cast of Guillermo del Toro's giant monster film Pacific Rim. 

Although it is just a rumor right now, it'd be awesome to see Day in a major horror film.

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Super 8: Cloverfield takes Ohio

Super 8 tells the story of a group of aspiring film makers (aspiring HORROR film makers) who, while filming their latest prepubescent zombie movie, encounter a horrible train crash in the middle of the night. Unbeknown to the kids, their super 8 camera captures a government secret that soon has their town experiencing a sequence of strange events.

Super 8 had A LOT of hype surrounding it. JJ Abrams and Steven Spielberg seemed like a match made in cinema heaven. Before it was even released Super 8 was already being called the modern E.T., so, did it live up to the hype?

Well, let's start with the acting. A movie starring mostly children has potentially to have really bad acting or extremely impressive acting. Super 8 most definitely had the latter. One thing that truly impressed me about the performance of the child actors was their ability to act in very serious, emotional scenes and then be able to actually act as kids who are bad actors. The kid's zombie movie ("The Case") that they continuously attempt to make throughout the film had the actors and actress acting as if they couldn't act. Maybe it's because my brother is in the industry that I was so impressed by the ability of the children in the film, but regardless, it blew me away.

Speaking of the film-within-a-film, "The Case", which can be viewed in its entirety during the credits of the film was a lot of fun to watch and had some very obvious nods to the horror genre (Romero Chemicals). Make sure that when you see this film you stay for the credits and watch "The Case", it was worth it.

The next thing worth talking about was the plot. JJ Abrams never fails in writing extraordinary films and television shows, so its obvious that Super 8's script was very well written. It contained some likable characters with deep and interesting back stories that had you truly caring for each and every one of them. The very character driven plot didn't really have any dull moments, making the film very watchable despite its 112 minute run time.

Now for the things that I didn't like about the film.

The first was the way it was marketed. JJ Abrams is known for, among other things, his monster film Cloverfield, which kept its city destroying bad guy a secret up until the very end of movie. The whole allure of Cloverfield was the mystery. It was obvious that they tried to replicate this with Super 8. As successful as the Cloverfield marketing was, if JJ Abrams is just going to continue making films that people will mostly want to see because they want to know what the monster looks like, he'll soon fall into M Night Shyamalan  territory, which is something I don't want to see happen because I do honestly believe that Abrams could be the next Spielberg.

WARNING: AHEAD BE SPOILERS!

The next thing was the monster. Again, it couldn't be more obvious that this is the same guy who directed Cloverfield....because the monster was almost exactly the same but on a smaller scale. No doubt both monsters were cool, but they were just a bit too similar in looks. The perfect way to describe it is the offspring of the  Cloverfield monster and Prince Goro from Mortal Kombat.

For me, an awesome monster in a sci-fi/horror film is key, so re-using a monster is kind of like a cop out.

Also, a lot about the monster wasn't explained. It was revealed that he was a monster from outer space who had crash landed on earth and then kept imprisoned by the U.S. government but there were a lot of things I didn't quite get. Where was the monster from? Why was he subterranean on earth? Why did he capture people and then hang them upside down in his underground cave? What was the point of his telepathic abilities? Why did the military feel it was necessary to keep him a secret? These questions bring us to our next issue...

What's with all the damn unanswered questions! Come on JJ, learn from Lost. Why did all the dogs run away? Why did the monster create an underground lair in the first place? Why did the military burn the whole town down? If the monster was strong enough to flip buses and toss kitchen appliances high into the night sky, why couldn't he have broken out of a train car that was so easily damaged by just hitting a pick up truck? What ever happened to Stoner Johnny!?

I'm sure some of these questions could be answered with time and research, but, like most people, I'd really like it if the film had just explained these things directly. 

Overall, I enjoyed Super 8, but wouldn't see it again. It was an interesting and enjoyable movie, but didn't have very high re-watch value. Since not many good movies are in theaters right now, I'd recommend it, however, I don't see Super 8 making it to my DVD shelf.

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A Slasher Theater Editorial: Kaiju is cool again

I don't know about you, but I absolutely love kaiju movies. 

For those of you that don't know, kaiju translates from japanese to "strange beast," but is often translated in English as "monster" and mostly refers to giant movie monsters. The most famous being, of course, Godzilla. Kaiju films gained major popularity in 1954 when the original Godzilla was released. The film (also known as Gojira) was a fairly serious science fiction film with strong social commentary on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the second world war. 

Gojira set off a chain reaction of not only more films featuring Godzilla, but the creation of other kaiju monsters such as Gamera and Rodan. Soon, the serious nature of the films was done away with and kaiju became all about giant monsters destroying cities and fighting other monsters. Kaiju erupted during the 60's and remained popular until the early 90's thanks to shows like Ultraman  and films like Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth. The 90's kaiju was much less popular than it was back in the 60's and by the 2000s it had nearly died out. 

However, around 2008, the allure of giant monsters suddenly returned. The most notable contributor to this was JJ Abrams' film Cloverfield. Cloverfield is a fairly serious film about a giant monster attacking New York City, however, it did have the feel of a kaiju film and, of course, had a bad-ass giant monster. The movie opened to much critical praise and remains a great film now.

It wasn't until 2010 that a true, old school kaiju film was released in the U.S. and Japan. This film is Death Kappa. Tomo'o Haraguchi's film is kaiju to the bone. It uses absolutely no CGI, only 100% authentic, old school, two-dudes-in-rubber-suits-destroying-a-city kaiju effects and manages to be one of the most fun movies I've seen in a long time. It is very similar to the original Ultraman series and the 60's/70's Godzilla films. 

Another sign that kaiju may be returning is the impending U.S. remake of Big Man Japan. Hitoshi Matsumoto's film about a giant man with Eraserhead hair who wears a diaper and wields a giant stick to fight various monsters with is pure ridiculous kaiju fun. Columbia Pictures has picked up the American remake rights and attached producer Neil H. Moritz and screenwriters Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi to Big Man Japan. 

Along with that, Guillermo del Toro's unreleased film Pacific Rim supposedly has some kaiju elements. Not much is known about the movie other than that it features a pilot who fights giant monsters in Antarctica. Pacific Rim begins production is September and is shooting for a Summer 2013 release. 

Kaiju is most definitely cool again, and many filmmakers are trying to revive that fun with homages to the classics that we all know and love. 

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A Slasher Theater Weekly Top 10: Horror Soundtracks

It was quite a busy week last week and I didn't get to do much blogging, therefore, I'm making up for it by doing by weekly Top 10!

One of the most important things about certain horror films are their soundtracks. Soundtracks can make or break a horror movie. You need just the right atmosphere to make a film truly scary, and what better way to do it than with a kick ass soundtrack? Here's the top 10 horror soundtracks of all time.

10. Session 9

With all this talk about atmosphere, how could I not have Session 9 on this list. The super creepy film has an equally creepy, almost avant-garde soundtrack that will really terrify you.

9. Hellbound: Hellraiser 2

A perfect soundtrack for the strange sequel to Clive Barker's Hellraiser

8. The Shining

Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's horror story about a wicked hotel has an awesome deep theme song that lets us know there is danger ahead.

7. The Thing

You simply can not talk about horror soundtracks without mentioning the master himself: John Carpenter. Everything about his film The Thing is incredible and Carpenter's soundtrack is no exception.

6. Insidious

This year's sleeper hit was a scary film with an absolutely incredible soundtrack that added so much more to the film than just music.

5. The Fog

More Carpenter. The theme song to The Fog is very creepy and fits in well with the film.

4. Killer Klowns from Outer Space

This film (which has a sequel in the works) has a great soundtrack that perfectly blends the zaniness of the film with the elements of horror. Also, it features an awesome theme song by The Dickies

3. Halloween

Ah, of course! The piano theme song to Halloween is probably the most recognizable song in horror history. You'll constantly hear this song blaring from peoples Halloween decorations come October.

2. 28 Days Later

John Murphy's soundtrack to the zombie hit is so good that other films have used it on their own soundtrack (such as Kick Ass) and some composers have even tried to rip off the unique sound (Spartacus: Blood and Sand)

Don't worry, I limited myself to only 3 John Carpenter soundtracks on this one, so the number one horror movie soundtrack is....

1. Suspiria

Dario Argento's Suspiria is no doubt a masterpiece in the art of Italian horror. The film's soundtrack was composed by Italian prog-rock band Goblin, who have composed music for many of Argento's films. Much like

master composer Ennio Morricone's work for Italian director Sergio Leonne, Goblin actually created the soundtrack for the film before the movie was finished. The strange, transgressive music on the Suspiria soundtrack is what makes it the greatest horror soundtrack of all time.



Check out the poll in the sidebar to vote for next week's Top 10!

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Official Trailer for Laid to Rest 2

Chrome Skull is BACK!

This new trailer promises some brand new weaponry and impressive kills, yet maintains that creepy atmosphere that the first film had. 

Definitely looking forward to this film!

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Monster Brawl Offcial Teaser Trailer and Poster

Ever want to see your favorite movie monsters compete in a pro-wrestling tournament? Well now you can! Here's the first teaser trailer for Monster Brawl

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The Killer Klowns are Back!

HELL YES!

My favorite horror movie ever, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, is finally getting it's long awaited sequel!

Grant Cramer, who played the main character Mike in the original Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) broke the news about the sequel during a recent interview.

"We have a script and a commitment for all our funding, but the money can't be spent until we have a distribution deal in place so that's where we are – talking to distributors. As soon as that final piece comes into place, we should be pretty much good to go."

Adding in terms of plot, "Well, I don’t want to say too much about the story at this early juncture, but I will say that it is connected to the first movie and my character will be the mentor to the two new young leads that have to try to save the world from the Klowns when they return," Cramer reveals. "They're also trying to save themselves because the bad stuff the Klowns do at first gets blamed on them."

Supposedly the film will be called The Return of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space and it is rumored that it will be in 3D.

I am beyond excited to see my favorite film of all time being brought to a bigger audience of younger fans who have probably never heard of the '88 cult classic.

Get ready! The Klowns are back in town!

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Dead Nation: The streets will run red with blood...ZOMBIE blood!

When the Sony network was hacked a month or so ago, gamers were pissed. I was pissed. Week after week we waited for our beloved PSN to return so that we could continue playing games online. Well, Sony decided that since fixing this mess took so long, they would release a few games for free when the network returned. One of these games was Dead Nation. 

Dead Nation is a shoot-em-up zombie game set in a post-apocalyptic world where mindless ghouls control the abandoned city streets. You choose between a male and female character, both which have fairly generic zombie back stories. 

The game contains customization of armor and weapons, varying types of zombies, online and offline co-op mode, some awesome creepy visuals and impressive graphics. Like most zombie games, (excluding the Dead Rising games) Dead Nation isn't very story-driven, however, the increasingly fun gameplay doesn't require much set up to enjoy it. 

The visuals were one of the most impressive things about Dead Nation. The awesome lighting effects made the often dark atmosphere super-creepy and added to the overall mood of the game. 

Another aspect I really enjoyed was the online multiplayer. You and one other player play through the game co-op style and work together to blow hordes of zombies to bits. Single player mode can be a lot of fun, but there are certain points in the game where you really need that extra help.

The only problem I had with the game was the aiming. Dead Nation is a top-down shooter where the gamer uses the left joystick to move around and the right joystick to aim weapon. It helps that there's a laser coming out of the gun to show where your shots are going, however, I often found myself missing more shots than landing them which got a little annoying. 

Overall, Dead Nation kicks zombie ass. It's a very fun game that should definitely be played with friends. It's also the type of game that you'll start playing and before you know it it's 3 hours later. 

Dead Nation is only available on the PS3, however, it's free! So go download it!

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The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence cast revealed!

Ashlynn Yennie, who also starred in the original film, will be returning to reprise her role of "Jenny" in Tom Six's sequel deemed "100% medically inaccurate."

Laurence Harvey will be playing the new evil-doctor "Martin"

 

Dominic Borelli, Vivien Bridson, Lee Harris, Peter Charlton, Bill Hutchens, Dan Burman, Daniel Jude Gennis, Kandace Caine, Maddi Black, Lucas Hansen, Georgina Goodrick and Emma Lock 

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The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence denied a U.K. release

The trailer promises "The Sickest Movie of All Time", however, since the first was so disappointing, I have a feeling that that is not true.

Like most horror fans, I was excited to see the first film, and, like most horror fans, I was disappointed by the first film. After seeing so many foreign and underground horror films containing much more disturbing content (A Serbian Film, Martyrs), I guess I'm a bit jaded which may be why the film didn't live up to the hype in my eyes.

So now, the second film in the series titled The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence, has been banned in the United Kingdom and claims to make the first film look like My Little Pony.

But horror fans, don't fall for the hype once again. Don't let this fool you into having faith in the movie because there's a good chance you'll be sorely disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to slam a movie that isn't out yet. In fact, the plot details for the second film actually sound kind of neat, but I'm definitely approaching this film with a bit more skepticism. The first film was a "disturbing" film for people who know absolutely nothing about the genre and, for some reason, find the "idea" and "concept" disturbing without any on-screen action to back it up, so there's a good chance the second one will be the same.

On the other hand, The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence could be the Human Centipede that horror fans wanted. It could honestly go either way.

Check out what the B.B.F.C. (British Board of Film Classification) had to say about the whole ordeal:

"The first film dealt with a mad doctor who sews together three kidnapped people in order to produce the 'human centipede' of the title. Although the concept of the film was undoubtedly tasteless and disgusting it was a relatively traditional and conventional horror film and the Board concluded that it was not in breach of our Guidelines at '18'.

This new work, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), tells the story of a man who becomes sexually obsessed with a DVD recording of the first film and who imagines putting the 'centipede' idea into practice. Unlike the first film, the sequel presents graphic images of sexual violence, forced defecation, and mutilation, and the viewer is invited to witness events from the perspective of the protagonist. Whereas in the first film the 'centipede' idea is presented as a revolting medical experiment, with the focus on whether the victims will be able to escape, this sequel presents the 'centipede' idea as the object of the protagonist's depraved sexual fantasy.

The principal focus of The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) is the sexual arousal of the central character at both the idea and the spectacle of the total degradation, humiliation, mutilation, torture, and murder of his naked victims. Examples of this include a scene early in the film in which he masturbates whilst he watches a DVD of the original Human Centipede film, with sandpaper wrapped around his penis, and a sequence later in the film in which he becomes aroused at the sight of the members of the 'centipede' being forced to defecate into one another's mouths, culminating in sight of the man wrapping barbed wire around his penis and raping the woman at the rear of the 'centipede'. There is little attempt to portray any of the victims in the film as anything other than objects to be brutalised, degraded and mutilated for the amusement and arousal of the central character, as well as for the pleasure of the audience. There is a strong focus throughout on the link between sexual arousal and sexual violence and a clear association between pain, perversity and sexual pleasure. It is the Board's conclusion that the explicit presentation of the central character's obsessive sexually violent fantasies is in breach of its Classification Guidelines and poses a real, as opposed to a fanciful, risk that harm is likely to be caused to potential viewers.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said: "It is the Board's carefully considered view that to issue a certificate to this work, even if confined to adults, would be inconsistent with the Board's Guidelines, would risk potential harm within the terms of the VRA, and would be unacceptable to the public.

"The Board also seeks to avoid classifying material that may be in breach of the Obscene Publications Acts 1959 and 1964 (OPA) or any other relevant legislation. The OPA prohibits the publication of works that have a tendency to deprave or corrupt a significant proportion of those likely to see them. In order to avoid classifying potentially obscene material, the Board engages in regular discussions with the relevant enforcement agencies, including the CPS, the police, and the Ministry of Justice. It is the Board's view that there is a genuine risk that this video work, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), may be considered obscene within the terms of the OPA, for the reasons given above." (via Empire Online) 

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Teen Wolf: On MTV they don't throw their garbage away. They make it into television shows

Why is originality so hard to find these days? Why can't TV (especially at MTV) just think of an original show? Well, unsurprisingly, MTV's new series is a "remake"of the 1985 Michael J Fox film Teen Wolf.

To be honest, I only watched the premiere of Teen Wolf because I knew I'd have fun ripping it apart in my review because of how bad I knew it would be, and I was not disappointed (well, I was, but that was the point).

Teen Wolf was god-awful. It's one of those instances where you think to yourself "Why did they even call this a remake? Give it a different name and you'd have no idea what it was based on." 

Scott McCall is an average teenager. He plays lacrosse, has a hot girlfriend, and is mildly popular. One night, Scott decides it's a good idea to search in the dark, desolate woods for a dead body (what type of sick, twisted high school student does this?) and is attacked by a werewolf, subsequently turning him into one and giving him enhanced athletic abilities along with improved sight and smell.

Sound anything like the original Teen Wolf? No? No. Not at all. 

For those of you who haven't seen the original Teen Wolf, it tells the story of Scott Howard (apparently McCall is a more updated last name?) who is a fairly dorky teenager in love with a girl dating a total douche (apparently its more updated to just be dating the hottest girl in school?) and playing on the below par school basketball team (apparently lacrosse is a more updated basketball?) He soon discovers that, after hitting puberty, he has become a werewolf. Scott soon discovers that it is a long-time family curse that his father never told him about (apparently searching for a dead body in the woods and getting bit by a werewolf after an encounter with horrible CGI deer is a more updated version of this?). Scott soon gains incredible basketball skills and, with the help of his wolf alter-ego, improves the team and wins the championship.

The new, more "up-to-date" Teen Wolf was so bad that I found myself having to switch the channel back to Family Guy every once in a while to avoid suicidal thoughts while watching it.

It was essentially just a combination of the American version of Skins (the worst, most poorly written and poorly acted show on television) and the Twilight series minus the vampires. 

Horror fans, if you have any self respect, don't even consider watching MTV's Teen Wolf and just watch the original instead.

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New Fright Night trailer reveals Peter Vincent, mocks Twilight

Awesome new trailer for this summer's Fright Night remake.

With each new exclusive look and trailer for Fright Night, I become more and more excited. I originally had no faith in the film and was kind of pissed off that they were remaking such a great film, however, things have changed, and I'm now fairly excited for Fright Night and think it will be a great new vampire film.

This new trailer reveals the character of Peter Vincent, who Charlie enlists to help him destroy Jerry the vampire.

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The Life Zone: Pro-Life Propaganda

I'm just utterly pissed off after watching the trailer for the Rod Weber directed film The Life Zone.

Sure, horror movies can be used to address certain social issues within the context of the genre, but to abuse this ability and create propaganda like this is just disgusting.

This idiotic film is about a bunch of women who were about to get abortions when some old priest or whatever kidnapped them and is now forcing them to give birth. It's very pro-life and very, very stupid.

Shit like this shouldn't even be allowed to be released. Personally, I hope that my readers boycott this fucking movie because I know I certainly will.

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Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem Update: Breast plates

This week Rob Zombie released some new images via his blog of some of Wayne Toth's work on the special effects of The Lords of Salem and the director promises "YES! There will be a lot of tits in the film as seen in the pics below."

 

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