Movies
Spike TV Announces Nominees for Scream 2009
“Resistance is futile” this October as Spike TV presents the fourth annual “SCREAM,” the first and only global event of its kind to honor the best in sci-fi, fantasy, horror and comic genres. Taping on Saturday, October 17 at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, CA, “SCREAM 2009” celebrates the hottest films, tv shows, comics, actors, creators, icons and pioneers who have influenced and shaped the industry. This year’s show will also continue the tradition of featuring exclusive World Premieres from some of the most anticipated movies of 2010. The two-hour extravaganza will premiere on Spike TV on Tuesday, October 27 (10:00 PM-Midnight, ET/PT). Presenters and musical performers will be announced shortly.
“Eight out of the 10 highest grossing films of all time are in the `SCREAM’ genres, which is due to the incredible passion and loyalty of these fans,” said Casey Patterson, executive producer of “SCREAM 2009” and senior vice president of event production, talent development and studio relations for Spike TV. “We’re thrilled to once again to present the only global event honoring their heroes.”
Some of the nominees’ reactions include:
“Without all of the fans, the claws would have been sheathed a long time ago! Thank you so much,” said Hugh Jackman after hearing he was nominated for two “SCREAM” awards and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was nominated for 13.
“Everyone knows it’s the VILLAINS who have the most fun. Thanks to the `SCREAM’ team and congrats to everyone at `True Blood.’ This is very exciting for the whole show,” said Best Villain nominee and star of HBO’s “True Blood” Alexander Skarsgard.
“Thank you for the nomination and thank you for letting me frighten you. I look forward to doing it again sometime soon,” said Ryan Kwanten after hearing he was nominated for Best Horror Actor for his role as Jason Stackhouse on “True Blood.”
“Getting nominated for kissing a Vulcan is a better fate than logic,” said “Star Trek’s” Zoe Saldana after getting word she received two “SCREAM” Awards nominations for Best Breakout Performance: Female and Best Science Fiction Actress.
J.J. Abrams’ Sci-Fi action-adventure “Star Trek” tops the list with 17 nominations including The Ultimate Scream, Best Science Fiction Movie, Best Director, Best Ensemble, Holy Sh*t Scene of the Year and a nod in the all-new Fight-to-the-Death Scene of the Year category. Comic book-inspired blockbusters “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Watchmen” each nabbed 13 nominations, while HBO’s vampire-themed television series “True Blood” garnered nine nominations. A full list of categories and nominations are included below.
Ballots were sent out to Spike TV’s “SCREAM 2009” advisory board, consisting of some of the most respected and well-known members of the horror, sci-fi, fantasy and comic book worlds who were responsible for advising on categories and determining nominees in each category. All films, television shows and comic books were deemed eligible for inclusion if they were released between August 9, 2008 and July 15, 2009 and were representative of the genres listed. Winners will be determined by online voting at scream.spike.com.
Esteemed members of this year’s advisory board* include:
*A full list of Spike TV’s 2009 Advisory Board members can be found on spike.com.
Tim Burton, (writer/director/producer “Edward Scissorhands”)
Wes Craven (writer/director “A Nightmare on Elm Street”)
Roland Emmerich (writer/producer/director, “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “2012”)
Neil Gaiman (writer/producer “Beowulf,” “Stardust,” “Mirrormask”)
Frank Miller (writer/producer/director “Sin City,” “300,” writer/producer “The Spirit”)
Eli Roth (writer/producer/director, “Hostel,” “Cell”, “Cabin Fever”)
Zack Snyder (director, “300,” “Watchmen”)
Beginning today, Monday, August 31 and continuing until Saturday, October 17 fans can vote for their favorites, as well as view exclusive red carpet and backstage coverage of the event, by visiting scream.spike.com.
The official sponsors of Spike TV’s “SCREAM 2009” are Subaru and Taco Bell.
Following are several of the categories and nominees for Spike TV’s “SCREAM 2009:” For the full list fans can go to scream.spike.com.
THE ULTIMATE SCREAM
-“Drag Me to Hell”
-“Let the Right One In”
-“Star Trek”
-“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
-“Up”
BEST FANTASY MOVIE
-“Coraline”
-“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
-“Twilight”
-“Up”
-“Watchmen”
-“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”
BEST HORROR MOVIE
-“Dead Snow”
-“Drag Me to Hell”
-“Friday the 13th”
-“Let the Right One In”
-“My Bloody Valentine 3D”
-“Splinter”
BEST SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE
-“Knowing”
-“Moon”
-“Outlander”
-“Star Trek”
-“Terminator Salvation”
-“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
BEST ACTOR IN A FANTASY MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Ed Asner; “Up”
-Hugh Jackman; “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”
-Robert Pattinson; “Twilight”
-Brad Pitt; “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
-Daniel Radcliffe; “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
-Michael Sheen; “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”
BEST ACTOR IN A HORROR MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Bruce Campbell; “My Name is Bruce”
-Michael C. Hall; “Dexter”
-Kåre Hedebrant; “Let the Right One In”
-Justin Long; “Drag Me to Hell”
-Ryan Kwanten; “True Blood”
-Stephen Moyer; “True Blood”
BEST ACTRESS IN A HORROR MOVIE OR TV SHOW
– Jennifer Carpenter; “Quarantine”
– Jaime King; “My Bloody Valentine 3D”
-Lina Leandersson; “Let the Right One In”
-Alison Lohman; “Drag Me to Hell”
-Anna Paquin; “True Blood”
-Monica Potter; “The Last House on the Left”
BEST ACTRESS IN A FANTASY MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Scarlett Johansson; “The Spirit”
-Jaime King; “The Spirit”
-Rhona Mitra; “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”
-Kristen Stewart; “Twilight”
-Emma Watson; “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
BEST COMIC BOOK
-Green Lantern
-Hack/Slash
-Kick-Ass
-Thor
-The Walking Dead
-Wolverine: Old Man Logan
BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE
-“Dragonball Evolution”
-“Punisher: War Zone”
-“The Spirit”
-“Watchmen”
BEST DIRECTOR
-J.J. Abrams; “Star Trek”
-Tomas Alfredson; “Let the Right One In”
-Michael Bay; “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
-Duncan Jones; “Moon”
-Pete Doctor & Bob Peterson; “Up”
-Sam Raimi; “Drag Me to Hell”
BEST VILLAIN
-Eric Bana as Nero; “Star Trek”
-Cam Gigandet as James; “Twilight”
-Lorna Raver as Mrs. Ganush; :Drag Me to Hell”
-Liev Schrieber as Victor Creed/Sabretooth; “X-Men”
-Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman; “True Blood”
THE HOLY SHIT! SCENE OF THE YEAR
-The Death Eaters Attack London; “Harry Potter and thr Half-Blood Prince”
-The Destruction of Manhattan; “Watchmen”
-Space Dive onto Orbital Drill; “Star Trek”
-The Séance; “Drag Me to Hell”
-The Subway Crash; “Knowing”
-The Swimming Pool Scene; “Let the Right One In”
MOST MEMORABLE MUTILATION
-The Arm Removal Surgery; “Splinter”
-Arms Cut Off by Rotary Saw; “Watchmen”
-The Eyeball Cake; “Drag Me to Hell”
-Head Ripped Apart by Nazi Zombies; “Dead Snow”
-The Pendulum; “Saw V”
-The Swimming Pool Scene; “Let the Right One In”
BEST ACTOR IN A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Nicolas Cage; “Knowing”
-Josh Holloway; “Lost”
-Shia LaBeouf; “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
-Chris Pine; “Star Trek”
-Zachary Quinto; “Star Trek”
-Sam Rockwell; “Moon”
BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Moon Bloodgood; “Terminator Salvation”
-Eliza Dushku; “dollhouse”
-Megan Fox; “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
-Lena Headey; “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”
-Katee Sackhoff; “Battlestar Galactica”
-Zoe Saldana; “Star Trek”
Editorials
‘Malevolence’: The Overlooked Mid-2000s Love Letter to John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’
Written and Directed by Stevan Mena on a budget of around $200,000, Malevolence was only released in ten theaters after it was purchased by Anchor Bay and released direct-to-DVD like so many other indie horrors. This one has many of the same pratfalls as its bargain bin brethren, which have probably helped to keep it hidden all these years. But it also has some unforgettable moments that will make horror fans (especially fans of the original Halloween) smile and point at the TV like Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Malevolence is the story of a silent and masked killer told through the lens of a group of bank robbers hiding out after a score. The bank robbery is only experienced audibly from the outside of the bank, but whether the film has the budgetary means to handle this portion well or not, the idea of mixing a bank robbery tale into a masked slasher movie is a strong one.
Of course, the bank robbery goes wrong and the crew is split up. Once the table is fully set, we have three bank robbers, an innocent mom and her young daughter as hostages, and a masked man lurking in the shadows who looks like a mix between baghead Jason from Friday the 13th Part 2 and the killer from The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Let the slashing begin.
Many films have tried to recreate the aesthetic notes of John Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween, and at its best Malevolence is the equivalent of a shockingly good cover song.
Though the acting and script are at times lacking, the direction, score, and cinematography come together for little moments of old-school slasher goodness that will send tingles up your spine. It’s no Halloween, to be clear, but it does Halloween reasonably proud. The nighttime shots come lit with the same blue lighting and the musical notes of the score pop off at such specific moments, fans might find themselves laughing out loud at the absurdity of how hard the homages hit. When the killer jumps into frame, accompanied by the aforementioned musical notes, he does so sharply and with the same slow intensity as Michael Myers. Other films in the subgenre (and even a few in the Halloween franchise) will tell you this isn’t an easy thing to duplicate.
The production and costume designs of Malevolence hint at love letters to other classic horror films as well. The country location not only provides for an opening Halloween IV fans will appreciate but the abandoned meat plant and the furnishings inside make for some great callbacks to 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. All of this is buoyed and accentuated by cinematography that you rarely see in today’s low-budget films. The film is shot on 35mm film by A&E documentary filmmaker Tsuyoshi Kimono, who gives Malevolence an old-school, grainy, 1970s aesthetic that feels completely natural and not like a cheap gimmick.
Malevolence is a movie that no doubt has some glaring imperfections but it is also a movie that is peppered with moments of potential. There’s a reason they made a follow-up prequel titled Malevolence 2: Bereavement years later (and another after that) that starred both Michael Biehn and Alexandra Daddario! That film tells the origin story of our baghead, Martin Bristol. Something the first film touches on a little bit, at least enough to give you the gist of what happened here. Long story short, a six-year-old boy was kidnapped by a serial killer and for years forced to watch him hunt, torture, and kill his victims. Which brings me to another fascinating aspect of Malevolence. The ending. SPOILER WARNING.
After the mother and child are saved from the killer, our slasher is gone, his bloody mask left on the floor. The camera pans around different areas of the town, showing all the places he may be lurking. If you’re down with the fact that it’s pretty obvious this is all an intentional love letter and not a bad rip-off, it’s pretty fun. Where Malevolence makes its own mark is in the true crime moments to follow. Law enforcement officers pull up to the plant and uncover a multitude of horrors. They find the notebooks of the original killer, which explain that he kidnapped the boy, taught him how to hunt, and was now being hunted by him. This also happened to be his final entry. We discover a hauntingly long line of bodies covered in white sheets: the bodies of the many missing persons the town had for years been searching for. And there are a whole lot of them. This moment really adds a cool layer of serial killer creepiness to the film.
Ultimately, Malevolence is a low-budget movie with some obvious deficiencies on full display. Enough of them that I can imagine many viewers giving up on the film before they get to what makes it so special, which probably explains how it has gone so far under the radar all these years. But the film is a wonderful ode to slashers that have come before it and still finds a way to bring an originality of its own by tying a bank robbery story into a slasher affair. Give Malevolence a chance the next time you’re in the mood for a nice little old school slasher movie.
Malevolence is now streaming on Tubi and Peacock.
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