Snap

[SXSW '13] First Look At ‘Snap’; Demon Comedy ‘Milo’ To Premiere

Marking its 20th Anniversary, the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival has announced the features lineup for this year’s Festival, running March 8 – 16, 2013 in Austin, Texas. They’ve announced 109 of the features that will screen over the course of nine days at SXSW 2013. While the Midnighters feature section and the Short Film program will be announced on February 6, two genre projects have already been revealed.

First up is the world premiere of the Duplass Brothers’ Milo, directed by Jacob Vaughan. In the comedy starring Ken Marino, Gillian Jacobs, Peter Stormare, Stephen Root and Mary Kay Place, “A man discovers that his chronic stomach problems are due to the fact that he has a demon baby living in his colon.” Check out the EFM sales poster inside.

We’ve also added your first ever look at Youssef Delara and Victor Teran’s Snap, starring Jake Hoffman, Nikki Reed, Thomas Dekker (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Scott Bakula, and Jason Priestley. The film is “A stylish psychological thriller set against the underground dub step DJ scene that takes the audience on a dark and terrifying journey into the depths of the psychopathic mind as it threatens to explode into horrific violence.

Take a look at Jake Hoffman and Thomas Dekker in the film below. READ MORE

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[Fantastic Fest '12] Corey Mitchell’s Mini-Reviews: Day 6 – ‘The King Of Pigs,’ ‘Bring Me The Head Of Machine Gun Woman,’ ‘Berberian Sound Studio,’ & ‘Aftershock’

The 8th annual Fantastic Fest ends for me after 6 days. The sci/fi, fantasy, martial arts, Asian fantastic, and horror film festival offers up a little something for all genre lovers. Sadly, I cannot make it through the entire 8-day span as I have two daughters to take care of and a book to write.

It is my duty to bring you the most horror and/or horror-related film reviews possible. With less than 20 feature films considered to be true horror, I will occasionally spotlight other non-horror films that will, hopefully, appeal to our readers here at Bloody Disgusting.

Be sure to be on the lookout in Austin, Texas from October 25-27, 2013, for my very own Housecore Horror Film Festival. I will be joined by my partner, former Pantera lead singer and heavy metal legend Philip H. Anselmo. We will be bringing 100% horror and heavy metal to the Lone Star state!

Check out Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5 for more Fantastic Fest reviews! READ MORE

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[Fantastic Fest '12 Review] Brad Thinks ‘The Conspiracy’ Is A Rabbit Hole Worth Going Down

Director Christopher MacBride’s Conspiracy is playing the ongoing Fantastic Fest in Austin. In the film, “Two young documentary filmmakers are drawn into a shadowy world of secret societies when the subject of their film simply disappears. Have his investigations led to his demise?

And now Brad (Mr. Disgusting) writes in with his review. In short, he found a lot to like. “The film builds tremendous amounts of suspense as they go from a safe place of laughing at a “wacko” to the sudden haunting realization that all of this “may be true.” And, if so, are they in danger? The tension builds to an incredible third act that can best be described as Eyes Wide Shut with more scares, but less boobage.

Click here for the full review! READ MORE

withyourfriends2012admat

Skrillex And Pretty Lights Announce “With Your Friends” Festival

Skrillex and Pretty Lights have announced the “With Your Friends” festival, which will take place in Nashville, TN on Oct. 26th and 27th. Supporting acts will come from Nas, Santigold, 12th Planet, Dillon Francis, Michel Menert, and TOKiMONSTA. The festival will take place on the waterfront in downtown Nashville and there are plans for a private, post-festival event that will take place at an as-of-yet undetermined location.

Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, Aug. 29th here. READ MORE

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[TIFF '12] ‘Byzantium’ To Premiere, Bloody New Imagery!

While we wait for the elusive Midnight Madness line-up, we’ve scored a list of the first titles playing at this September’s 37th Toronto International Film Festival. Films announced include titles in the Galas and Special Presentations programmes. The announced films include 17 Galas and 45 Special Presentations, including 38 world premieres.

Although horror is slim pickings (for now), the one premiere that stands out is Neil Jordan’s Byzantium, starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Riley and Saoirse Ronan

In the film, “Two mysterious women seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium. Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence.

We’ve also landed a handful of new stills from the hotly anticipated vampire thriller.

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2012.

[SXSW '12] Fiery Clip, New Still and Poster For ‘Modus Anomali’!

 [SXSW 12] Fiery Clip, New Still and Poster For Modus Anomali!

Leading up to the SXSW Film Festival we brought you these two crazy awesome teaser trailers for the Indonesian horror flick Modus Anomali, an English-language thriller from The Forbidden Door filmmaker Joko Anwar.

During a vacation in the woods, a man tries to find his family who mysteriously disappear, while being hunted by a sadistic killer. His only clues are several alarm clocks which seem to tell him about a deadline to something he doesn’t know.” Rio Dewanto, Hannah Al Rashid, Izziati Amara Isman, Aridh Tritama, Surya Saputra, Marsha Timothy, Sadha Triyudha and Jose Gamo all star in the World Preimere.

I was able to catch the film (yet to review it) and it was pretty fantastic, featuring a plot twist that’ll blow your friggin’ mind all over the wall. Sorry to tease, since there’s still no U.S. distribution, but at least you can enjoy the above new still, alongside the following poster and first clip that sets the fiery tone of the flick. READ MORE

[SXSW '12] Be Immediately Captivated By The Shocking ‘Modus Anomali’ Trailer!

 [SXSW 12] Be Immediately Captivated By The Shocking Modus Anomali Trailer!

Announced as part of this coming March’s SXSW Film Festival is the Indonesian horror flick Modus Anomali, which comes from The Forbidden Door filmmaker Joko Anwar.

During a vacation in the woods, a man tries to find his family who mysteriously disappear, while being hunted by a sadistic killer. His only clues are several alarm clocks which seem to tell him about a deadline to something he doesn’t know.

We’ve just added the trailer below that’s an instant success. In a short preview we’re immediately drawn in with some intense footage and a shocking turn of events that catapulted my interest from “non-existent” to “must-see.” We’ve also added some art and an early teaser video.

Rio Dewanto, Hannah Al Rashid, Izziati Amara Isman, Aridh Tritama, Surya Saputra, Marsha Timothy, Sadha Triyudha and Jose Gamo all star in the World Preimere. READ MORE

Interview

[Sundance '12] Interview: ‘Grabbers’ Filmmakers Jon Wright and Kevin Lehane

 [Sundance 12] Interview: Grabbers Filmmakers Jon Wright and Kevin Lehane

The Sundance Film Festival midnight movie Grabbers can claim at least one thing we’ve never seen before. There has never before been a movie where the secret to beating the monsters was to get totally drunk. Sure, Shaun of the Dead had heroes defeat zombies despite being drunk, but this is the first time it’s actually a strategy.

Irish writer Kevin Lehane and director Jon Wright made a film about bloodsucking aliens invading Ireland, and the local cops figure out if they’re drunk, the monsters won’t touch their blood. Partied out by the end of the week, Lehane and Wright chatted with me Wednesday afternoon over waters and Diet Cokes, but still a lively discussion about drinking, movie monsters and good CG. READ MORE

Interview

[Sundance '12] Interview: ‘Black Rock’ Director and Star Katie Aselton

BlackRock12212 [Sundance 12] Interview: Black Rock Director and Star Katie Aselton

Black Rock (review) sold to LD Entertainment immediately following its first midnight screening in the Sundance Film Festival’s Park City at Midnight Category.

Directed by Katie Aselton, the film stars Aselton, Lake Bell and Kate Bosworth as three friends on a camping trip who run afoul of three hunters who turn violent. It becomes a gritty fight to survive in the woods.

By Thursday of Sundance, Aselton was as exhausted as we were. She even offered to have a snuggle session instead of an interview, but I wasn’t smooth enough to take her up on it so I just went with a normal interview. Some spoilers follow in our talk, but they’re good spoilers about violence and nudity! READ MORE

Metallica Announces Orion Music + More Fest

 Metallica Announces Orion Music + More Fest
Metallica, hot on the heels of their 30th anniversary concert celebrations, has announced the Orion Music + More festival in Atlantic City, New Jersey on June 23rd and 24th. The festival will feature multiple music stages plus “lifestyle elements that reflect each of the band’s members many personal interests” (I have no idea what that means). Metallica will headline both nights, playing The Black Album in its entirety on one night and Ride The Lightning on the other night.
From punk to country, over 20 bands will perform, including: Arctic Monkeys, Avenged Sevenfold, Modest Mouse, The Gaslight Anthem, Cage The Elephant, Fucked Up, Best Coast, Hot Snakes, Titus Andronicus, Gary Clark Jr., Lucero, Roky Erickson, The Black Angels, The Sword, Liturgy, and more to be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets go on sale this Saturday at the official website.

READ MORE

Interview

[Sundance '12] Interview: ‘John Dies at the End’ Director Don Coscarelli!

 [Sundance 12] Interview: John Dies at the End Director Don Coscarelli!

The long awaited new Don Coscarelli movie John Dies at the End (review) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the Park City at Midnight category.

In the adaptation from the director of Phantasm and Bubba Ho-Tep, “It’s a drug that promises an out-of-body experience with each hit. On the street they call it Soy Sauce, and users drift across time and dimensions. But some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly a silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead is John and David, a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can these two stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can’t.

This film had a little help from Hollywood A-lister Paul Giamatti, who produced and plays a role in the film. He wanted to work with Coscarelli on Bubba Nosferatu, the aborted Bubba Ho-Tep sequel, so offered his services when Coscarelli read the David Wong book John Dies at the End. READ MORE

Interview

[Sundance '12] Interview: ‘The Pact’ Director Nicholas McCarthy & Star Caity Lotz

The Pact (review) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, starring “Death Valley“‘s Caity Lotz as a woman who returns to her family home after her mother’s death and her sister’s disappearance. Reluctant to even face the family history, Annie (Lotz) finds there are even more forces in the house than just her bad family memories.

Bloody Disgusting stringer Fred Topel caught up with Lotz, along with the film’s director, Nicholas McCarthy, to talk about the supernatural haunter that was acquired by IFC Films. READ MORE

[Sundance '12] Review: ‘Black Rock’ Survival Hampered By Character’s Dumb Decisions

BlackRock12212 [Sundance 12] Review: Black Rock Survival Hampered By Characters Dumb Decisions

One of the Sundance films I was personally most excited to see was Black Rock, Katie Aselton’s survival horror tale that followed three childhood friends as they set aside their personal issues and reunite for a girls’ weekend on a remote island off the coast of Maine. One wrong move turns their weekend getaway into a deadly fight for survival.

Written and produced by the Mumblecore kings known as the Duplass brothers, who burst onto the scene with their Sundance entry Baghead, I expected a bit more. Here’s what Ryan Daley had to say:

There’s plenty of nail-biting tension in ‘Black Rock’, but that tension fades with every stupid decision the characters make, and audience frustration eventually builds to the bursting point. It‘s one of those movies that makes you want to yell at the screen.”

Click the title above for the entire review. Keep up with all of our Sundance coverage here. Watch for interviews this coming week! READ MORE

[Sundance '12] Review: ‘John Dies at the End’

 [Sundance 12] Review: John Dies at the End

One of the Park City at Midnight titles Ryan Daley missed out on was Don Coscarelli’s (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep) incredibly bizarre and entertaining John Dies at the End, which we now have reviewed courtesy of Fred Topel.

‘John Dies at the End’ is a wonderful irreverent horror movie. The great thing about irreverence is I think you have to have reverence before you can remove it. Don Coscarelli celebrates his and our love of monsters and cataclysm by reframing their cinematic power.”

You’ll find his full review by clicking the title above. We’ll bring you distro news as soon as it’s announced.

It’s a drug that promises an out-of-body experience with each hit. On the street they call it Soy Sauce, and users drift across time and dimensions. But some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly a silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead is John and David, a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can these two stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can’t.READ MORE

[Sundance '12]: IFC Midnight Makes A ‘Pact’ To Distribute!

 [Sundance 12]: IFC Midnight Makes A Pact To Distribute!

Nicolas McCarthy’s The Pact, which debuted at Sundance as a short some time ago, had its feature length premiere at Sundance last week and was just acquired by IFC Midnight.

According to IFC’s Press Release, “IFC Midnight announced today from the 2012 SundanceFilm Festival that the company is acquiring North American rights, to writer-director Nicholas McCarthy’s THE PACT. The film, which premiered in the festival’s Midnight section on January 20, stars Caity Lotz, Casper Van Dien, Haley Hudson, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Sam Ball, and Agnes Bruckner. The film was produced by Preferred Content’s Ross M. Dinerstein, and executive produced by Jamie Carmichael at Content, as part of a new multi-film financing deal between Preferred Content and Content Film.

Hit the jump for a clip!

Agnes Bruckner (Venom, Vacancy 2, The Woods, Kill Theory), Sam Ball (“The Event”), Haley Hudson (“Ghost Whisperer”, Killer Pad) and Kathleen Rose Perkins (“Lie to Me,” “Trust Me”) and Casper Van Dien also star in the ghost story said to be in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Dario Argento’s Suspiria and Hideo Nakata’s Ringu, “as a woman struggles to come to grips with her past in the wake of her mother’s death, an unsettling presence emerges in her childhood home.

Keep up with all Sundance news! READ MORE

[Sundance '12]: ‘V/H/S’ Sells To Magnolia, Three Of The Film’s Producers Poisoned!

VHSLandscape12612 [Sundance 12]: V/H/S Sells To Magnolia, Three Of The Films Producers Poisoned!

Let this be a lesson. One that encourages you to pursue your dreams, but to avoid Dick Clark’s in the Salt Lake City Airport while doing so.

I’m sure you Bloody-Disgusting readers are as caught up as you need to be on what V/H/S is. My interviews with seven of the filmmakers were all published last week, leading many of you to wonder aloud, “how many people directed this d*mn thing?” And, “Does Joe Swanberg play Dexter?” If you’re not familiar with the film, feel free to click on that red title and learn all about it.

And then hit the jump for the epic story that unfolded because of it. READ MORE

[Sundance '12]: Spanish Language Trailer For ‘Red Lights’ Is More Confusing Than ‘Inception’! At Least If You Don’t Speak Spanish!

 [Sundance 12]: Spanish Language Trailer For Red Lights Is More Confusing Than Inception! At Least If You Dont Speak Spanish!

Rodrigo Cortes’ Red Lights, the supernatural thriller starring Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, and Cillian Murphy, had its world premiere last week at the still ongoing Sundance Film Festival. The film also sold to Millenium entertainment last night.

While some reviews are negative, including Ryan Daley’s take here, there’s still quite a bit of buzz for the project.

Now we have a Spanish language trailer for the film, which actually looks pretty cool but doesn’t clear much up. Even though I took Spanish in both high school and college, I apparently can’t speak a word.

In the film, “ De Niro stars as Simon Silver, a legendary psychic, perhaps the most famously gifted of all time, who returns after thirty years of mysterious absence to become the world’s greatest challenge to orthodox science and professional skeptics. Meanwhile, paranormal fraud investigator Tom (Cillian Murphy) begins to develop a dense obsession Silver, whose magnetism is enhanced dangerously with each new manifestation of inexplicable phenomena.

Hit the jump for the Spanish Trailer!
READ MORE

[Sundance '12]: ‘Red Lights’ Picked Up By Millenium

 [Sundance 12]: Red Lights Picked Up By Millenium

Rodrigo Cortes’ Red Lights, the supernatural thriller starring Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, and Cillian Murphy, had its world premiere last week at the still ongoing Sundance Film Festival.

While word of mouth on the film was mixed, it seemed to have no problem selling to Millenium Entertainment.

Per Variety, “Millennium Entertainment has “Red Lights” in its sights, as CEO Bill Lee’s distribution company has closed a deal to acquire U.S. rights to Rodrigo Cortes’ paranormal thriller. Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.

‘We are thrilled with ‘Red Lights’ and excited to distribute the film,’ said Lee. ‘This definitely has theatrical potential and we plan to give it a standard theatrical platform release, with ancillaries coming 90-100 days later. We came to Sundance with the intention of buying ‘Red Lights’ if it was good, and we thought Rodrigo did a fabulous job with the film. UTA was teriffic to deal with, and we’re both thrilled and proud to distribute the film.’ READ MORE

[Sundance '12] Review: ‘Grabbers’ Is A Fun Diversion That Ends Up Showing Too Much

 [Sundance 12] Review: Grabbers Is A Fun Diversion That Ends Up Showing Too Much

Pegged as Waking Dead meets Tremors, with tentacles, Jon Wright directs the Irish horror comedy Grabbers. Richard Coyle, Ruth Bradley and Russell Tovey in the film that takes to “a sleepy Irish fishing village forced to fend off a blood-sucking sea creature.

The film premiered at the ongoing Sundance Film Festival and now BD’s Ryan Daley writes in with his review. I’ve been hearing good things about the movie and while Daley liked it well enough, I hope I like it just a little bit more.

I realize it sounds like I’m beefing with a completely enjoyable monster flick, and what’s my problem, right? Why not just leave it alone, let it be what it is? Because a monster movie can be both fun and scary. Don‘t get me wrong, I liked the hell out ‘Grabbers’, but if it had revealed its monster just a little less often, and been just a little more menacing in its approach, it could have transcended mere likeability on the way to horror greatness.

Click here for the review. READ MORE

[Sundance '12] Review: ‘Red Lights’ Is A Misguided And Boring Waste Of Potential

 [Sundance 12] Review: Red Lights Is A Misguided And Boring Waste Of Potential

Playing the Sundance Film Festival this week is Red Lights, Rodrigo Cortes’ followup to Buried.

BD’s Ryan Daley writes in from the festival with his review and to say he didn’t care for the film would be putting it mildly.

What’s most frustrating about Red Lights is that it’s one of those movies that seems like it’s going to get better at any given second. The performances are great; you can tell the entire cast believes in this thing. But ultimately, the movie serves as the perfect example of an excellent idea, poorly executed. Even the final twist is poorly conceived, packing far less of a punch than Cortes probably intended––sort of an “anti-payoff”, in the words of one colleague.

In the film, “ De Niro stars as Simon Silver, a legendary psychic, perhaps the most famously gifted of all time, who returns after thirty years of mysterious absence to become the world’s greatest challenge to orthodox science and professional skeptics. Meanwhile, paranormal fraud investigator Tom (Cillian Murphy) begins to develop a dense obsession Silver, whose magnetism is enhanced dangerously with each new manifestation of inexplicable phenomena.

Click here for the review. READ MORE

[Sundance '12]: Go On A Stakeout In This New ‘Red Lights’ Clip!

 [Sundance 12]: Go On A Stakeout In This New Red Lights Clip!

Rodrigo Cortes’ Red Lights, the supernatural thriller starring Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, and Cillian Murphy, had its world premiere last week at the still ongoing Sundance Film Festival.

Word of mouth on the film is mixed, with Mr. Disgusting coming down on the side of not being a fan. A new clip from the film emerged today so you can now watch Elizabeth Olsen and Sigourney Weaver in a car scoping people, if that’s how you want to spend the next 90 seconds of your day.

In the film, De Niro stars as Simon Silver, a legendary psychic, perhaps the most famously gifted of all time, who returns after thirty years of mysterious absence to become the world’s greatest challenge to orthodox science and professional skeptics.

Meanwhile, paranormal fraud investigator Tom (Murphy) begins to develop a dense obsession Silver, whose magnetism is enhanced dangerously with each new manifestation of inexplicable phenomena.

Hit the jump for the clip! READ MORE

Exclusive

[Sundance '12]: ‘V/H/S’ Filmmaker Glenn McQuaid On Found Footage And ‘I Sell The Dead’ Vs. ‘Burke And Hare’

 [Sundance 12]: V/H/S Filmmaker Glenn McQuaid On Found Footage And I Sell The Dead Vs. Burke And Hare

Writer/Director Glenn McQuaid has been a part of the horror community for a long time but made his first big splash in 2008 with his Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman starring I Sell The Dead.

Now, as one of the directors of V/H/S – a film that breathes new life into the stagnant found footage genre – he stretches his wings outside of period horror comedy and into the more brutal slasher world.

In the film, “When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they bargained for.

Hit the jump to check out the interview! READ MORE

[Sundance '12]: Blink And You’ll Miss This Clip From ‘The Pact!’

 [Sundance 12]: Blink And Youll Miss This Clip From The Pact!

Nicolas McCarthy’s The Pact, which debuted at Sundance as a short some time ago, had its feature length premiere at Sundance just the other night.

Agnes Bruckner (Venom, Vacancy 2, The Woods, Kill Theory), Sam Ball (“The Event”), Haley Hudson (“Ghost Whisperer”, Killer Pad) and Kathleen Rose Perkins (“Lie to Me,” “Trust Me”) and Casper Van Dien also star in the ghost story said to be in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Dario Argento’s Suspiria and Hideo Nakata’s Ringu, “as a woman struggles to come to grips with her past in the wake of her mother’s death, an unsettling presence emerges in her childhood home.

While word of mouth on the film is lukewarm, the clip below actually provides a fairly legit, if obvious scare. Hit the jump to check it out!

Keep up with all Sundance news! READ MORE

Exclusive

[Sundance '12]: ‘V/H/S’ Filmmakers Radio Silence Talk About Holding The Interest Of An Online Audience And Their Feature Premiere!

VHSStill311411 [Sundance 12]: V/H/S Filmmakers Radio Silence Talk About Holding The Interest Of An Online Audience And Their Feature Premiere!

Radio Silence, formerly known as “Chad, Matt and Rob”, have become YouTube sensations over the past few years with their clever, action (and visual effects) packed shorts. They’re also the writers and directors of one of the segments of V/H/S – a film that breathes new life into the stagnant found footage genre.

I recently sat down with the guys to discuss maintaining the interest of an online audience, how they found their voice as a collective, and what new projects await them after V/H/S.

In the film, “When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they bargained for.

Hit the jump to check out the interview! READ MORE