Movies
Behind-the-Scenes ‘Chatroom’ Featurette
Arriving in UK cinemas on December 22 is Ringu director Hideo Nakata’s thriller Chatroom, which dives deep into the world of cyber bullying. If you click on over to Empire you can watch the first of many featurettes, this one focusing on “Aaron Johnson”. The pic is a psychological thriller about teenagers who encourage each other’s destructive behavior. You’ll find a trailer, poster and images by clicking the title above. Based on Nakata’s recent track record, I have to say I’m not expecting much out of this.
“When jaded teens Jim, Eva, Emily and Mo meet William online, they’re seduced by his charisma. But William isn’t what he seems. He’s calculating and manipulative and doesn’t have time for people in the real world. Jim is vulnerable and he has no idea how dangerous his new friendship with William will be. When Jim confesses he’s on anti-depressants, William knows he’s found a victim. He vows to help Jim off his drugs, and the rest of the group fall in line. What begins as friendly advice to help Jim becomes twisted and Eva and Mo realise the deadly game William’s playing, but the wheels are in motion. Jim is set on a path of self- destruction, and is going to do the unthinkable. As Eva, Emily and Mo try to save Jim, William begins a terrifying game of cat and mouse chasing them across the internet, shutting down their systems, and cutting them off from his victim. Fantasy meets reality when William and Jim are face to face in rush hour on the underground. Without the faceless security of the online world, everything becomes real. It’s now a race against time to save Jim, but the clock is ticking… and we fear someone must die.”
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallis.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
You must be logged in to post a comment.