As regular readers of this blog can imagine, I’m both anticipating and dreading the sequel to Hostel. The first one was my favourite horror movie of the past few years, and the last thing I want to see is some hastily assembled follow-up that doesn’t come close to matching the quality of the original.

Due to potential spoilers, I’m treading carefully when it comes to advance reviews, but I did find a few that revealed very little in the way of surprises. Please be warned that my tolerance for slight spoilers may be greater then your own. Twitch is especially interesting in revealing some of the influences they feel Roth shows in this outing, particularly concerning gialli.

“Whereas while he was toying with Hostel 2 and writing the sequel, Roth went to Rome where he met such great Italian directors as Sergio Martino, who made the amazing I Corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale (Torso, 1973). Roth also saw other films like Avere vent’anni (To Be Twenty, 1978) by Fernando Di Leo—”Which was just so fucking sick; the ending of this movie I just couldn’t fucking believe it”—and L’ultimo treno della notte (Night Train Murders, 1975) by Aldo Lado. These were all early 70’s giallo films; not the operatic Argento-style giallo but the realistic-style giallo.”

What I’m finding most surprising about the reviews so far is how many people admit to enjoying the first film, when at the time I felt as if I were in a definite minority. It’s those reviews that I’m most interested in, largely because many of the negative reviews seemed to have missed the point to the extent that they had watched an entirely different film and I somehow doubt I can trust their judgement.

When Rue Morgue decided to conduct an interview with Uwe Boll, they were met with at least a few exclamations of disdain from long-time readers on their message board, people who would normally just skip parts they’re not interested in. I find that an interview with a filmmaker who may be considered “bad” can be almost as enlightening as those with “good” directors. In the case of Uwe Boll, at least part of the fascination is in answering that eternal question; how is it that he continues to get work? In a profile/interview with the good doctor, Guardian Unlimited peels away the layers of Uwe Boll to discover what lies underneath.

“There’s something impressive about the fact he has identified his strengths and, somehow, prospered. “In the end, I picked it this way,” he says, “If I was to sit in LA with an agent and he promoted me as a director to producers there - ‘This is Boll, the genius, from Germany’, and I had to look like a real arty guy, I would fail totally.”

It’s a concise yet detailed look at the man behind the magic, and well worth a look even if you’re not a Boll fanatic like me, if only to learn more about the enemy.

A man returns to his hometown to uncover the decades-old mystery that resulted in his wife’s murder. With puppets.

I think it’s admirable that after creating the Saw franchise and initiating the recent trend of gritty horror films James Wan and Leigh Whannell have decided to take a step in a different direction with their follow-up film, Dead Silence. Unfortunately, they haven’t started with a clean slate, bringing with them a load of baggage from Saw that muddies the proceedings.

Dead Silence is filled to the brim with characters discussing what’s going on without very much actually happening. Stories and folktales are evoked, added upon, then proven untrue, making for a very frustrating experience. The scenes where Wan most emulates silent films and the old Universal horror movies prove to be the most effective, particularly in their use of sound, but these elements are immediately undercut by machine gun editing and a techo-metal soundtrack so as not to lose it’s core audience. The whole thing is wishy-washy, never completely having faith in its own vision.

While the acting was touch and go, with Donnie Wahlberg standing out as the most sardonic cop this side of Tom Atkins, lead actor Ryan Kwanten gave the blandest performance I have seen in years and was one of the main reasons the film tanks. To be fair, his presence was in keeping with the pace of the rest of the movie, where seemingly important plot points were revealed with little to no emphasis placed upon them. Sure we learn why everything is happening to the characters, but the answers are delivered in such a matter-of-fact manner that not even the victims register shock.

A complicated storyline doesn’t necessarily equal a complex one. And it should be noted that despite all the CGI, elaborate sets and stattaco editing, the creepiest part of the movie was a simple tableau of an old lady with a ventriloquist’s dummy sitting on her lap. I just wish there had been more of an emphasis on that.

First there was news of Frank Henenlotter’s triumphant return to horror, now another batch of ’80s NYC trash peddlers are making a comeback. After discovering that there was a website devoted to a Street Trash sequel, Creature Corner rang up producer Roy Frumkes to find out if the rumour is true.

I’ve been going to conventions, and jeez, in Cleveland back in October at Cinema Wasteland, we had 2,000 people lined up with posters and things. So the fanbase is out there, and it’s huge. And they’re always excited if we mention anything about a possibility of another film. The only difference between Jimmy and my vision of it, I think, is that he sees it as being Street Trash 2 but I think 20 years is so long it should be Street Trash 3. Just leave out the middle one, and then if we go back and do another one we can do Street Trash 2: The Missing Viper Bottles.

So it appears both the director and producer are ready to bring this forward, with the possible inclusion of some original cast members even. How cool would a Bad Biology/Street Trash 2 double bill be?

Is the return of the cherished monster rally a healthy indicator of creature features to come, or is have we just reached the bottom of the barrel and are mixing things up just to appear fresh? In all likelihood it was Underworld that started the trend with its war between Werewolves and Vampires, but a few years later another project is hoping to combine vampires with the current fan favourite, zombies. From CHUD.

In Huston’s novel, vampires are, of course, afflicted with a virus, causing them to give up Diet Coke and forcing them to drink blood to survive. They’re keeping a low profile in Manhattan, but have their own sub-societal culture, complete with cliques varying from corporate suits to biker gangs. The protagonist is private eye Joe Pitt, hired to track down a high-profile daughter in the middle of a subculture at war against zombies, wraiths and the infighting vampire factions.

Alright, so they’re probably pre-Romero zombies as opposed to the modern type. But it’s just a matter of time before we once again see werewolves, vampires, the undead and mad scientists rubbing shoulders once again.

Despite some stiff competition, when it comes to revered horror movies Jaws inevitably makes the top. When studios announce their goal of remaking a classic horror movie they’re usually greeted with exhausted, barely noticeable scorn. When Bryan Singer announced that he had absolutely no intention of remaking Jaws, fans went into a frenzy, based for no other reason than on the proximity of the words “Jaws” and “remake” to one another. Such is the power of Jaws.

With that in mind, it surely comes as no surprise that a group of fans have taken it upon themselves to create the ultimate Jaws documentary, entitled “Shark Is Still Working,” that clocks in at an amazing 3 hours and 14 minutes, over an hour longer than the movie itself.

The film features new interviews with Steven Spielberg, cast members Roy Scheider (who also provides the film’s narration), Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown, cinematographer Bill Butler, production designer Joe Alves, composer John Williams, and nearly every surviving member of the “Jaws” production that you could wish for. The film also includes the last on-camera interview with “Jaws” novelist Peter Benchley, which should mean a lot to appreciative fans of Benchley’s creation.

The film also takes time out with people who weren’t involved in Jaws in a professional capacity, but have respect for the Great White as fans, including fillmmakers such as Bryan Singer, Robert Rodriquez, and Eli Roth. I’m not anything remotely close to an obsessive Jaws fan, but I would still love to delve into something this obsessive.

Rue Morgue’s The Abbatoir managed to sneak in a small conversation with Rob Zombie during the shooting of his Halloween remake. I’m not entirely sure, but this may be the only interview Zombie has given since he began production. During their talk Zombie discusses the virture of remakes, dream casting, and internet rumours.

“For a few minutes, when I first started, someone would always email me and go, “Is it true so-and-so is Laurie Strode?” “No, it’s not true, I don’t even know who that person is you’re mentioning.” But then it would get posted anyway and y’know, I’m done, I can’t address nonsense all day long, I’ve got actual work to do. Clearly, they would sit at home, think of something and just put it out there because there was no basis in anything ever. Life’s too short to address bullshit all day long.”

I do have to take issue with one comment Dave makes about The Devil’s Rejects. The main reason I enjoyed that film was because I felt it went nowhere near romanticizing The Fireflys. In fact, I thought the entire thing was the exact opposite, with the clan coming off as a group of worthless schlubs who couldn’t keep their shit together for more than a handful of days when left to their own devices.

The Academy Awards weren’t the only ones in Hollywood passing out statuettes this weekend. The 27th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards were handed out for rather dubious distinctions in modern cinema. Surprisingly, horror was almost completely shut out of every category it was eligible for. The big loser of the night was Basic Instinct 2, which beat out Bloodrayne, The Wicker Man remake and Lady In the Water for Worst Picture. In fact, of the nominated horror-related films only two received any recognition. Carmen Electra took home Worst Supporting Actress for Scary Movie 4, and Lady in the Water nabbed two wins for both Worst Director and Worst Supporting Actor for Lady in the Water. I’m just glad that, though Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The Beginning deserved some recognition, Little Man was the recipient of the award for Worst Remake or Rip-Off. Shameless.

The New York Comic-Con wasn’t the only shindig going down this month. George A. Romero appeared at Haunt X over a week ago, and SyFyPortal caught his Q + A.

Someone else asks, “Why do the dead come back?”

“Why does it matter?”

The whole thing is a pretty decent read, with Romero dishing on YouTube, Masters of Horror and Mr. Rogers. And as a bonus, check out this gossip page from The National Post. Only in Canada would George A. Romero merit a mention on the society page.

I was doing housework last night, so I decided to have the Academy Awards playing in the background as I tidied. This was the first time in years that I had watched or listened to it. One thing that I had forgotten was how moved I usually get when some of the less-known recipients receive their awards. I’m a big softy.

In horror, Pan’s Labryinth picked up half of the awards it was nominated for, including Best Achievement in Make-up, Best Achievement in Art Direction and Best Achievement in Cinematography. The major category it was up for, Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, was won by The Lives of Others. I’ve heard great things about that movie, and hope to catch it sometime soon. The only other notably creepy nominee was Monster House, which slipped into the Best Animated Feature Film of the Year category and lost out to Happy Feet.

Ennio Morricone received his honorary Academy Aawrd, and I got chills when they played the theme from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Oooeeeoooeeeooo wa wa wa. Clint Eastwood presented the award, and as he rattled off a list of some of Morricone’s more memorable films I swear he slipped Red Sonja in there. Probably the best part of the show. I can just imagine Clint kicking back with some brewskies and relaxing with sword and sorcery b-movies. Morricone’s contributions to horror received no love in the montage, but they did mention The Thing and Exorcist II - The Heretic in the title scrawl. Congratulations, maestro!

Other small horror-related moments included mentions of Darren McGavin, Richard Fleischer and others in the montage of the recently deceased, as well as Forest Whitaker giving a shout-out to drive-ins during his acceptance speech for Best Actor. I bet Joe Bob Briggs was happy.

The infamous gossips at Page Six of the New York Post reveal the story behind Eli Roth’s new poster for Hostel II, which shows actress Bijou Phillips nude and beheaded. Uh oh.

Even better, the photo shoot for it was at the El Royale apartment complex in Hollywood with all the windows open. “The neighbors got an eyeful,” said our spy. Not that Phillips cares - she’s an exhibitionist.

Sex mixed with violence and a dash of dehumanization? Roth is mixing up a heady brew of controversy over this one. Maybe the MPAA-approved meat poster didn’t get the reaction he was hoping for. You can see the poster here, but be warned, it is definitely NSFW.

Eli Roth has confirmed at the New York Comic-Con that his next project after Hostel II will in fact be an adaptation of Stephen King’s Cell, the script for which is currently being written by 1408 screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. In other Roth news, Cinematical chatted to the director at the convention as he tried to juggle press conferences with meeting King to discuss the feature, and they certainly let him cut loose.

“…you know, the ‘Saw’ guys, we check in with each other. They call me and they’re like ‘Oh, we just filmed this fuckin’ scene and we got this guy and he’s got all these piercings and we’re going to rip ‘em out and he blows up.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, Fuck! I had cut to interior torture room, Whitney gets her belly button ring ripped out.’ And I just crossed it out of the script. ‘Goddamn it! That was the perfect torture!’. We actually check in with each other, none of us want to repeat the same deaths they’re doing. I notice there’s the same plastic sheeting in ‘Saw III’ then we had in ‘Hostel: Part II’ but it’s okay. I guess Jigsaw and the factory, they all go to the same Torture Depot. We check in and talk about every kill and about what got in through the MPAA. There’s a real good ‘Splat Pack Line of Communication’.”

While he’s at it Roth expounds on The Signal, Thanksgiving, Tarantino and Woody Allen.

It’s obvious that the New York Comic-Con would be a hotbed of nerd activity, but I still find it shocking over just how much of that nerd energy is devoted to horror. From Eli Roth to Wes Craven to Stephen King, it appears that the convention was bursting with news from the world of horror. One unlikely name to add to that list would be Kevin Smith. As some of you may remember, Smith has been threatening to film a horror movie for a few months now. At the convention he solidified his stance somewhat by stating that he intends to shoot two films back-to-back within a year.

“The comedy we need some winter weather for us, so I imagine sometime post-January we’ll be shooting that. But the horror movie we don’t … need winter for, so I think we’ll be doing that kind of like soon. And then we’ll probably see which one is done first and put it out there.”

Smith has always been hit or miss for me, but I will be interested to see how someone does in a genre they’ve expressed a distaste for.

I had no idea what a big deal the New York Comic-Con would be. One of the major announcements to come out of the convention is the confimation that J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5, is currently working up the script for Max Brooks’ World War Z. IGN relates some of what he had to say about the project.

“It’s very political, very smart, very cagey, but there’s no main character. So you have to create who the interviewer is and give him some background and bring him from place to place to place to place. And they said, ‘Feel free to get as political as you want, as incisive as you want, to play with it. You could look at this as a Katrina kind of catastrophe.’ But I’m being very faithful to the book, letter by letter when I can, and I’m on about page 70 right now and I’m really happy with it.”

Straczynski also mentions the possibility that since the film is being produced under Brad Pitt’s company that the actor may appear in the movie. I’m not that familiar with Straczynski’s work, but as I understand it he takes a very hard line on realism within genre, something a project like this could use. Here’s hoping he’s the right choice.

I used to read like a locust eats. Instead of picking my way through different titles by different authors I would pick one author and just devour practically everything he or she wrote then move onto the next victim. One advantage of this approach is that I’m fairly well-rounded in what I’ve read, but unfortunately I made my way through so many of them so quickly that most stories barely made a dent. One that did was Clive Barker’s Midnight Meat Train, which has been hovering over a cinematic production for some time now. Rope of Silicon reveals some interesting casting choices.

Vinnie Jones is set to star opposite Bradley Cooper in Clive Barker’s The Midnight Meat Train based on Barker’s short story published in his popular “Books of Blood” series. Jones will portray Mahogany, a serial killer who rides the midnight subways, looking for victims to butcher before the train reaches the last stop. Leslie Bibb and Brooke Shields have also taken roles in the film scheduled to begin production next month in Los Angeles.

I really like Vinne Jones, and I think a palpable sense of physical menace is almost mandatory for the role of Mahogany, so I certainly hope he’s capable of contributing to the subtler terrors in the story. If, that is, any are retained.