With a script on the go, great early box office numbers in the can and key financiers up for it, a third Dune film – Dune: Messiah – is looking like a certainty.
Dune: Part Two is in cinemas right now and happily, everything looks to be going well for Denis Villeneuve’s big-budget slice of sci-fi cinema. The film is getting great reviews (here’s ours) and making plenty of cash at the box office too.
Our own Ryan Lambie called it ‘2024’s first truly great multiplex film’ and critics tend to be in agreement that the ever-reliant Villeneuve has done the business again.
Those good vibes seem to have extended as far as Legendary Entertainment, the film’s production company and co-financier. The company’s CEO, Josh Grode was asked this week about a third Dune film and he expressed confidence that it would happen, stating:
“We have to...
Dune: Part Two is in cinemas right now and happily, everything looks to be going well for Denis Villeneuve’s big-budget slice of sci-fi cinema. The film is getting great reviews (here’s ours) and making plenty of cash at the box office too.
Our own Ryan Lambie called it ‘2024’s first truly great multiplex film’ and critics tend to be in agreement that the ever-reliant Villeneuve has done the business again.
Those good vibes seem to have extended as far as Legendary Entertainment, the film’s production company and co-financier. The company’s CEO, Josh Grode was asked this week about a third Dune film and he expressed confidence that it would happen, stating:
“We have to...
- 3/5/2024
- by Dan Cooper
- Film Stories
Jason Statham will be protecting his bees on the telly, as The Beekeeper’s Sky Cinema debut is now confirmed in the UK.
It’s been quite lovely to report on The Beekeeper this year in particular, the action thriller starring Jason Statham where The Stath, well, keeps bees. As we’ve written several times on this site already this year alone, it’s a really good movie, with The Statham back to the kind of in-camera action that he built his career up on.
Directed by David Ayer – who we spoke to for a podcast special here – there’s much to enjoy with The Beekeeper, and hopes are high for a sequel too. Its solid box office returns on a modest budget certainly help in that department.
In the UK, the film was released by Sky Cinema into UK cinemas in early January. Sky is giving its cinema released films a 45 day theatrical window.
It’s been quite lovely to report on The Beekeeper this year in particular, the action thriller starring Jason Statham where The Stath, well, keeps bees. As we’ve written several times on this site already this year alone, it’s a really good movie, with The Statham back to the kind of in-camera action that he built his career up on.
Directed by David Ayer – who we spoke to for a podcast special here – there’s much to enjoy with The Beekeeper, and hopes are high for a sequel too. Its solid box office returns on a modest budget certainly help in that department.
In the UK, the film was released by Sky Cinema into UK cinemas in early January. Sky is giving its cinema released films a 45 day theatrical window.
- 3/5/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
Despite not being officially greenlit yet, Denis Villeneuve has been hard at work on the script on a third Dune film. He has offered a tantalising update on it, too.
Dune Part II is hitting cinemas this Friday and the cast and crew of the mammoth blockbuster have been hard at work promoting the film all over the world.
The latest update comes from the film’s New York premiere where The Hollywood Reporter asked director Denis Villeneuve about the state of the third Dune film, based on Frank Herbert’s Dune: Messiah.
“I agreed to make Part One and Part Two back to back and now I think I will need to digest this experience and I want to come back with a strong screenplay,” he explained. “It’s almost done but it needs work, a bit, now.”
Warner Bros., the studio behind Part I and II, hasn’t...
Dune Part II is hitting cinemas this Friday and the cast and crew of the mammoth blockbuster have been hard at work promoting the film all over the world.
The latest update comes from the film’s New York premiere where The Hollywood Reporter asked director Denis Villeneuve about the state of the third Dune film, based on Frank Herbert’s Dune: Messiah.
“I agreed to make Part One and Part Two back to back and now I think I will need to digest this experience and I want to come back with a strong screenplay,” he explained. “It’s almost done but it needs work, a bit, now.”
Warner Bros., the studio behind Part I and II, hasn’t...
- 2/27/2024
- by Maria Lattila
- Film Stories
As 2023 draws to a close, a few words from us to you, as well as an update on the website over the coming week or two.
To the fine readers of Film Stories,
As is traditional, we wanted to pen an end of year letter to you fine people. This starts with a thank you. It has to start with a thank you. 2023 has been a brutally, brutally difficult year in the world of independent publishing and yet so many of you have stuck with us. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that, and on some of our most difficult days here, it’s very much kept us going.
This has been A Bit Of A Year.
Print publishing is difficult. The changes at whatever Twitter’s called now have made it much harder to get the word out about stuff. Google seems to prioritise AI-written stuff.
To the fine readers of Film Stories,
As is traditional, we wanted to pen an end of year letter to you fine people. This starts with a thank you. It has to start with a thank you. 2023 has been a brutally, brutally difficult year in the world of independent publishing and yet so many of you have stuck with us. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that, and on some of our most difficult days here, it’s very much kept us going.
This has been A Bit Of A Year.
Print publishing is difficult. The changes at whatever Twitter’s called now have made it much harder to get the word out about stuff. Google seems to prioritise AI-written stuff.
- 12/22/2023
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
James Cameron’s eagerly-awaited remasters of True Lies, Aliens and The Abyss have come in for some pushback…
We’re still some months away from the physical media 4K releases of a bunch of James Cameron films, but the digital releases of the movies in question have caused a few eyebrows to be raised.
This week, in the US at least, the digital 4K remasters of True Lies, The Abyss and Aliens have debuted. The remastering work is set to be the basis of next March’s much-anticipated 4K disc releases. And whilst the file size of the disc version is going to significantly exceed that of a download, there are still a few little niggles that are cropping up.
True Lies is the transfer that appears to be coming in for the most pushback. Over at the Blu-ray.com forum, there’s a growing thread with screencaps from the release,...
We’re still some months away from the physical media 4K releases of a bunch of James Cameron films, but the digital releases of the movies in question have caused a few eyebrows to be raised.
This week, in the US at least, the digital 4K remasters of True Lies, The Abyss and Aliens have debuted. The remastering work is set to be the basis of next March’s much-anticipated 4K disc releases. And whilst the file size of the disc version is going to significantly exceed that of a download, there are still a few little niggles that are cropping up.
True Lies is the transfer that appears to be coming in for the most pushback. Over at the Blu-ray.com forum, there’s a growing thread with screencaps from the release,...
- 12/15/2023
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
Gareth Edwards’ The Creator is landing on Disney+ in the middle of January, it’s now been confirmed: more here.
Gareth Edward’s The Creator may not have won universal praise, but those who loved it, really, really loved it. Our own Ryan Lambie included. The film didn’t set the box office alight, sadly, although a $104m return isn’t going to cause Disney too many headaches. Sadly though, it was the kind of money that looks like it influenced the decision to sell on Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders. Sigh.
Anyway, The Creator.
We’ve already covered the fact that Disney is giving the movie a full physical media outing, and that’s going to be heading our way in the UK on January 15th 2024. You can find more details on the release here.
We’ve also now got the official confirmation of when it’s going to hit streaming,...
Gareth Edward’s The Creator may not have won universal praise, but those who loved it, really, really loved it. Our own Ryan Lambie included. The film didn’t set the box office alight, sadly, although a $104m return isn’t going to cause Disney too many headaches. Sadly though, it was the kind of money that looks like it influenced the decision to sell on Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders. Sigh.
Anyway, The Creator.
We’ve already covered the fact that Disney is giving the movie a full physical media outing, and that’s going to be heading our way in the UK on January 15th 2024. You can find more details on the release here.
We’ve also now got the official confirmation of when it’s going to hit streaming,...
- 12/14/2023
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
Terrifier 3 is going to have a budget several times that of Terrifier 2 – and a UK cinema release has been confirmed too.
A day or two back, we got the confirmation of a fresh sequel to a film with very low budget roots. That’d be Saw XI, that’s landing in cinemas next September. However, what promises to be an even more profitable venture is just a few weeks behind it.
That’d be Terrifier 3, the horror franchise that puts a vicious, murdering clown at its heart. The second film in particular was made for a fraction over $200,000, and ended up scaling the US box office chart. The $15m box office take might not be Marvel levels, but it’s a return that independent horror films very rarely get to see. And the franchise is clearly on an upwards trajectory too.
Terrifier 3 thus promises to be even bigger.
A day or two back, we got the confirmation of a fresh sequel to a film with very low budget roots. That’d be Saw XI, that’s landing in cinemas next September. However, what promises to be an even more profitable venture is just a few weeks behind it.
That’d be Terrifier 3, the horror franchise that puts a vicious, murdering clown at its heart. The second film in particular was made for a fraction over $200,000, and ended up scaling the US box office chart. The $15m box office take might not be Marvel levels, but it’s a return that independent horror films very rarely get to see. And the franchise is clearly on an upwards trajectory too.
Terrifier 3 thus promises to be even bigger.
- 12/13/2023
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
The Avatar creator James Cameron has opened up about the many trips to Pandora that are on our horizon.
James Cameron has spoken to People magazine where amongst other things, he confirmed that the third Avatar film is still on track for a December 2025 release.
Cameron and his team were able to get most of the shooting for Avatar 3 (and some of the fourth film) done in the space between the pandemic and this year’s strikes. As such, the filmmaker reckons that so far work on the third instalment has been much smoother than with its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.
“Three is actually much more straightforward than two,” says Cameron.
“Two, we got hit with the pandemic in the middle of it and we were interrupted, and then we had to reboot and reboot the production and all that sort of thing. And it was a scramble to get it done.
James Cameron has spoken to People magazine where amongst other things, he confirmed that the third Avatar film is still on track for a December 2025 release.
Cameron and his team were able to get most of the shooting for Avatar 3 (and some of the fourth film) done in the space between the pandemic and this year’s strikes. As such, the filmmaker reckons that so far work on the third instalment has been much smoother than with its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.
“Three is actually much more straightforward than two,” says Cameron.
“Two, we got hit with the pandemic in the middle of it and we were interrupted, and then we had to reboot and reboot the production and all that sort of thing. And it was a scramble to get it done.
- 12/13/2023
- by Dan Cooper
- Film Stories
Whilst he doesn’t say much, Barry Keoghan pretty much confirms we’ll be seeing him play the Clown Prince of Crime in Matt Reeve’s follow-up to 2022’s The Batman.
Before the strikes threw everything into chaos this year, the plan for Matt Reeves follow-up to The Batman was pretty straightforward. He was writing the screenplay in the spring of this year ahead of plans to shoot in March of 2024. That would in turn lead to a 2025 release.
As of right now we have no idea if that’s still the case, after all, Matt Reeves was unable to work on the script for several months due to the writers’ strike, whilst it’s easy to imagine the chaos that scheduling studio space in 2024 could be.
Still, ETalk managed to catch up with Barry Keoghan, who had a small but memorable role in the first film as as the Joker,...
Before the strikes threw everything into chaos this year, the plan for Matt Reeves follow-up to The Batman was pretty straightforward. He was writing the screenplay in the spring of this year ahead of plans to shoot in March of 2024. That would in turn lead to a 2025 release.
As of right now we have no idea if that’s still the case, after all, Matt Reeves was unable to work on the script for several months due to the writers’ strike, whilst it’s easy to imagine the chaos that scheduling studio space in 2024 could be.
Still, ETalk managed to catch up with Barry Keoghan, who had a small but memorable role in the first film as as the Joker,...
- 12/12/2023
- by Dan Cooper
- Film Stories
The Wonder Woman game being developed by Monolith Productions might be a live-service title, in line with Warner Bros.’ stated goals.
A job advert for Monolith Productions seems to indicate that the studio’s upcoming Wonder Woman game might be a live-service title.
The advert, which was spotted by Wccftech, is for a ‘Lead Software Engineer, Gameplay’. “As a Gameplay Lead, you will lead the team responsible for core gameplay systems inherent to Monolith’s proprietary engine, including combat, movement, the Nemesis system, and more!” reads the job description.
(Nb. Monolith pioneered the Nemesis system in its 2014 game Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor, which sees some enemies return to dog the player again and again. Warner Bros. then patented the Nemesis system in 2015, as Ryan Lambie discusses in this exploration of the ups and downs of patented game mechanics. But I digress.)
The really interesting part of the job description, however,...
A job advert for Monolith Productions seems to indicate that the studio’s upcoming Wonder Woman game might be a live-service title.
The advert, which was spotted by Wccftech, is for a ‘Lead Software Engineer, Gameplay’. “As a Gameplay Lead, you will lead the team responsible for core gameplay systems inherent to Monolith’s proprietary engine, including combat, movement, the Nemesis system, and more!” reads the job description.
(Nb. Monolith pioneered the Nemesis system in its 2014 game Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor, which sees some enemies return to dog the player again and again. Warner Bros. then patented the Nemesis system in 2015, as Ryan Lambie discusses in this exploration of the ups and downs of patented game mechanics. But I digress.)
The really interesting part of the job description, however,...
- 11/16/2023
- by Lewis Packwood
- Film Stories
This Rick And Morty review contains spoilers.
Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 2
In the season premiere, we were told Rick’s portal gun was still nonfunctional and learned that Rick Prime is out there and is probably going to try to kill Rick, Morty, and, I don’t know, everybody else? The guy just seems to like killing. Recent comments from the show’s creators suggest that we can expect to see this plotline continued this season, but you can’t lore all the time, so the second episode of season six returns to more familiar territory with a quintessential Rick and Morty one-off sci-fi adventure.
“Rick: A Mort Well Lived” is quintessential in that it does that standard Rick and Morty thing of taking a sci-fi concept and then devoting an entire episode to expanding upon it—pulling it apart, exploring the inner-workings of it, and, ideally, imbuing it...
Rick and Morty Season 6 Episode 2
In the season premiere, we were told Rick’s portal gun was still nonfunctional and learned that Rick Prime is out there and is probably going to try to kill Rick, Morty, and, I don’t know, everybody else? The guy just seems to like killing. Recent comments from the show’s creators suggest that we can expect to see this plotline continued this season, but you can’t lore all the time, so the second episode of season six returns to more familiar territory with a quintessential Rick and Morty one-off sci-fi adventure.
“Rick: A Mort Well Lived” is quintessential in that it does that standard Rick and Morty thing of taking a sci-fi concept and then devoting an entire episode to expanding upon it—pulling it apart, exploring the inner-workings of it, and, ideally, imbuing it...
- 9/12/2022
- by Joe Matar
- Den of Geek
When Ivan Reitman passed away on Feb. 12, 2022 at the age of 75, the Canadian producer, director, and screenwriter was justifiably remembered as one of the driving forces of cinematic comedy for more than four decades. After all, he produced National Lampoon’s Animal House–one of the classic farces of its time–in 1978, before moving on to direct a string of other well-remembered entries in the genre, including Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Twins (1988), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and Dave (1993), while producing films such as Space Jam (1996), Private Parts (1997), and Old School (2003).
Of course Reitman is best remembered for directing Ghostbusters, the seminal 1984 film that spawned a franchise and has influenced an entire subgenre, the horror comedy, ever since its release.
Ghostbusters wasn’t Reitman’s only foray into horror territory, however. His second feature film as a director was a low-budget horror comedy called Cannibal Girls (released in 1973 and starring Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin!
Of course Reitman is best remembered for directing Ghostbusters, the seminal 1984 film that spawned a franchise and has influenced an entire subgenre, the horror comedy, ever since its release.
Ghostbusters wasn’t Reitman’s only foray into horror territory, however. His second feature film as a director was a low-budget horror comedy called Cannibal Girls (released in 1973 and starring Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin!
- 2/27/2022
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
It’s sometimes fun to wonder if the reason February is the shortest month of the year is because folks want to get on to March as soon as possible. This month’s cold, damp, and often a 28-day excuse to stay inside. Even so, that doesn’t mean you have to be bored doing so!
Indeed, for those inclined to stay home but not interested in watching the Winter Olympics, Netflix has refilled its library with a variety of films. Admittedly, many of these lean on the action or broad comedy side, with romantic offerings being surprisingly slim for the month of Valentine’s Day, but if you’re in the mood for a cape or cowl, a terrifying chiller or something that will make you a giggler, then we have a list of solid offerings down below.
Batman Begins (2005)
February 1
It’s kind of strange to think that...
Indeed, for those inclined to stay home but not interested in watching the Winter Olympics, Netflix has refilled its library with a variety of films. Admittedly, many of these lean on the action or broad comedy side, with romantic offerings being surprisingly slim for the month of Valentine’s Day, but if you’re in the mood for a cape or cowl, a terrifying chiller or something that will make you a giggler, then we have a list of solid offerings down below.
Batman Begins (2005)
February 1
It’s kind of strange to think that...
- 1/31/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Last month saw a clutch of cult British sci-fi TV added to the UK’s Britbox streaming service under the ‘Out of this World’ banner. From Thursday the 10th of September, a choice crop of new additions will be joining the likes of The Prisoner, Space 1999, Sapphire and Steel, UFO and the selection of Gerry Anderson treats already available.
Coming to Britbox in the UK will be all four seasons of Terry Nation’s Blake’s 7 plus all three seasons of Nation’s post-apocalyptic Survivors joining at the later date of Thursday the 17th of September. There’ll also be 1967’s Quatermass and the Pit, plus a good portion of 1961’s The Avengers, Hammer’s 1966 One Million Years BC, with the terrific, weird Nic Roeg/David Bowie film The Man Who Fell to Earth thrown in for good measure.
Doctor Who-wise, UK subscribers will be able to stream 1965 Peter Cushing...
Coming to Britbox in the UK will be all four seasons of Terry Nation’s Blake’s 7 plus all three seasons of Nation’s post-apocalyptic Survivors joining at the later date of Thursday the 17th of September. There’ll also be 1967’s Quatermass and the Pit, plus a good portion of 1961’s The Avengers, Hammer’s 1966 One Million Years BC, with the terrific, weird Nic Roeg/David Bowie film The Man Who Fell to Earth thrown in for good measure.
Doctor Who-wise, UK subscribers will be able to stream 1965 Peter Cushing...
- 9/8/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
In 2015, Michaela Coel’s screenwriting debut was the brilliant Chewing Gum, an E4 comedy that earned her two Baftas, an Rts win, several nominations and a considerable weight of expectation for what she’d write next.
What Coel wrote next is I May Destroy You, a BBC-HBO co-production announced last year under the working title of January 22nd. It’s the autobiographically inspired story of Bella (played by Coel), a young London writer whose drink is spiked on a night out. When she tries to piece together the events of what happened, Bella goes on a personal journey through trauma and pain that examines questions of sexual consent, liberation and exploitation in contemporary London.
Arriving on HBO and BBC One this June, here’s the latest trailer and more…
I May Destroy You Geek Lowdown
How many episodes are there? 12 x 30-minute episodes in season one
Air date:...
What Coel wrote next is I May Destroy You, a BBC-HBO co-production announced last year under the working title of January 22nd. It’s the autobiographically inspired story of Bella (played by Coel), a young London writer whose drink is spiked on a night out. When she tries to piece together the events of what happened, Bella goes on a personal journey through trauma and pain that examines questions of sexual consent, liberation and exploitation in contemporary London.
Arriving on HBO and BBC One this June, here’s the latest trailer and more…
I May Destroy You Geek Lowdown
How many episodes are there? 12 x 30-minute episodes in season one
Air date:...
- 5/27/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining turns 40 years old this week. Despite being the filmmaker’s late-in-life stab at commercialism after the failure of Barry Lyndon, his single attempt at horror remains one of the most artful, and hauntingly confounding, chillers ever produced. It turned Stephen King’s traditional haunted hotel yarn into a metaphysical nightmare of… well, just about anything you want. As Rodney Ascher’s Room 237 documentary explored, there are Kubrick conspiracy theorists who will tell you The Shining is about everything from white guilt over the generational mass murder of American Indians (plausible) to a confession of Kubrick’s complicity in faking the moon landing (bonkers). Ryan Lambie took a more evidence-based approach in considering the immutability of evil in Kubrick’s Overlook Hotel, which gets to the essence of the movie’s macabre ending where Jack Nicholson’s chipper axe murderer, Jack Torrance, joins the party of the dead forevermore.
- 5/23/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Ah. Hear that? Probably not, but what should be sounding in the distance is an assortment of pigs and/or cows grilling; the laughter of children running through fields of green; and some radio playing infectious pop music faintly in the distance.
After all, it’s Memorial Day weekend.
For most Americans that means it’s time to celebrate the longest days of the year with trips to the beach, mountains, or a backyard barbecue pit. This year, however, it means Zooming friends and family from your living room couch and firing up your streaming service of choice. Still, even if movie season 2020 appears to be mostly cancelled, there’s still a long history of summer movies to choose from!
… And for Den of Geek, it means looking back at our favorite summer entertainment: going to the movies. The kinds that are big on popcorn thrills, populist frills, and warm night chills.
After all, it’s Memorial Day weekend.
For most Americans that means it’s time to celebrate the longest days of the year with trips to the beach, mountains, or a backyard barbecue pit. This year, however, it means Zooming friends and family from your living room couch and firing up your streaming service of choice. Still, even if movie season 2020 appears to be mostly cancelled, there’s still a long history of summer movies to choose from!
… And for Den of Geek, it means looking back at our favorite summer entertainment: going to the movies. The kinds that are big on popcorn thrills, populist frills, and warm night chills.
- 5/22/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Demolition Man 2 may yet break free from its proverbial project cryoprison. That’s because Sylvester Stallone, who headlined the cheeky 1993 action/sci-fi cult classic, has dropped the intriguing news that the highly-hypothesized sequel is on the docket over at Warner Bros.
Stallone made the revelatory statement in a rather casual manner during a Q&a on his Instagram, answering a fan’s question about a potential Demolition Man sequel with a surprisingly potent—albeit brief—reveal of the project’s apparent position on the studio’s backlog. As Stallone answers of the sequel prospects:
“I think it’s coming. We’re working on it right now with Warner Brothers. It’s looking fantastic. So, that should come out, that’s going to happen.”
While that is the extent of Stallone’s sequel comment, it nevertheless adds fuel to the fire of Demolition Man 2, which has long been a topic of...
Stallone made the revelatory statement in a rather casual manner during a Q&a on his Instagram, answering a fan’s question about a potential Demolition Man sequel with a surprisingly potent—albeit brief—reveal of the project’s apparent position on the studio’s backlog. As Stallone answers of the sequel prospects:
“I think it’s coming. We’re working on it right now with Warner Brothers. It’s looking fantastic. So, that should come out, that’s going to happen.”
While that is the extent of Stallone’s sequel comment, it nevertheless adds fuel to the fire of Demolition Man 2, which has long been a topic of...
- 5/5/2020
- by Joseph Baxter
- Den of Geek
Arriving when the comfort of nostalgia is perhaps needed most, Streets of Rage 4 is an absolute celebration of ’90s beat ‘em ups that stands toe-to-toe with its beloved predecessors. This surprise sequel is certainly worthy of one of the absolute gems of the Sega Genesis era.
It’s been more than 25 years since the release of Streets of Rage 3, but this fourth entry will feel familiar to anyone who’s played the previous games in the franchise. Axel, Adam, and Blaze are all here, plus more than a dozen other unlockable characters. Two newcomers — Cherry Hunter, the guitar-wielding daughter of Adam, and the cybernetically modified Floyd Iraia — are welcome additions to the cast that fit in perfectly with the series’ other gritty and colorful personalities.
Developers Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games largely take a hands-off approach to the gameplay. In other words, don’t fix what isn’t broken.
It’s been more than 25 years since the release of Streets of Rage 3, but this fourth entry will feel familiar to anyone who’s played the previous games in the franchise. Axel, Adam, and Blaze are all here, plus more than a dozen other unlockable characters. Two newcomers — Cherry Hunter, the guitar-wielding daughter of Adam, and the cybernetically modified Floyd Iraia — are welcome additions to the cast that fit in perfectly with the series’ other gritty and colorful personalities.
Developers Dotemu, Lizardcube, and Guard Crush Games largely take a hands-off approach to the gameplay. In other words, don’t fix what isn’t broken.
- 4/29/2020
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
Universal Pictures has pushed back the release of its Candyman remake/reboot from June 12 to September 25 of this year, according to Variety.
Candyman was actually one of the last holdouts on Universal’s upcoming slate. Tentpoles such as F9: The Fast and Furious Saga, Minions: The Rise of Gru and Sing 2 have been moved to later this year, next year or Tba, while this month’s Trolls World Tour is still meeting its April 10 release date, only on demand.
Other major spring and summer releases that have been shifted into the future include Black Widow, Mulan, Wonder Woman 1984, Top Gun: Maverick, No Time to Die, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Morbius.
With theaters remaining closed for at least several more months due to the Covid-19 pandemic — and with the most optimistic forecasts suggesting that they could start re-opening in July — the studios are essentially writing off the lucrative summer movie schedule.
Candyman was actually one of the last holdouts on Universal’s upcoming slate. Tentpoles such as F9: The Fast and Furious Saga, Minions: The Rise of Gru and Sing 2 have been moved to later this year, next year or Tba, while this month’s Trolls World Tour is still meeting its April 10 release date, only on demand.
Other major spring and summer releases that have been shifted into the future include Black Widow, Mulan, Wonder Woman 1984, Top Gun: Maverick, No Time to Die, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Morbius.
With theaters remaining closed for at least several more months due to the Covid-19 pandemic — and with the most optimistic forecasts suggesting that they could start re-opening in July — the studios are essentially writing off the lucrative summer movie schedule.
- 4/3/2020
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Oct 24, 2019
From killer sofas to murderous clocks, cinema’s full of evil in unexpected places. Here are a few of our favorites…
Note: The following contains spoilers.
As several decades of cinema have informed us, evil takes many forms. Aside from all the serial killers and ancient demons waiting to either leap out of the shadows and murder us, or simply scare us into a weeping ruin, movies are also full of killer cars, malevolent dolls and rampaging animals to contend with.
Given that entire lists could be generated from those menaces outlined above, we’ll be dealing with more obscure manifestations of evil here. The sort of demonic objects you might win on The Generation Game if it were presented by the Devil, or the kind of unlikely scenarios you'd encounter if you were the star of a horror film directed by Benny Hill.
Here is our...
From killer sofas to murderous clocks, cinema’s full of evil in unexpected places. Here are a few of our favorites…
Note: The following contains spoilers.
As several decades of cinema have informed us, evil takes many forms. Aside from all the serial killers and ancient demons waiting to either leap out of the shadows and murder us, or simply scare us into a weeping ruin, movies are also full of killer cars, malevolent dolls and rampaging animals to contend with.
Given that entire lists could be generated from those menaces outlined above, we’ll be dealing with more obscure manifestations of evil here. The sort of demonic objects you might win on The Generation Game if it were presented by the Devil, or the kind of unlikely scenarios you'd encounter if you were the star of a horror film directed by Benny Hill.
Here is our...
- 10/24/2019
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Oct 29, 2019
We look at 10 horror-themed videogames from the 1980s, and their varied attempts to provoke fear with low-res graphics...
As Sheriff Leigh Brackett correctly stated in John Carpenter's slasher classic, "It's Halloween - everyone's entitled to one good scare!" And scare us Halloween did, along with any number of horror movies before and since. But, with the day of pumpkins, trick-or-treaters, and apple bobbing almost upon us, this got us wondering: at what point did video games become scary?
These days, we fully expect modern video games to have us cowering behind our sofas, with present-day computers and consoles able to render all sorts of things you need for a properly scary story: rain, blood, that sort of thing. But way back in the mists of time, at the dawn of the video game medium, that kind of realism simply wasn't possible.
Instead, the makers of early...
We look at 10 horror-themed videogames from the 1980s, and their varied attempts to provoke fear with low-res graphics...
As Sheriff Leigh Brackett correctly stated in John Carpenter's slasher classic, "It's Halloween - everyone's entitled to one good scare!" And scare us Halloween did, along with any number of horror movies before and since. But, with the day of pumpkins, trick-or-treaters, and apple bobbing almost upon us, this got us wondering: at what point did video games become scary?
These days, we fully expect modern video games to have us cowering behind our sofas, with present-day computers and consoles able to render all sorts of things you need for a properly scary story: rain, blood, that sort of thing. But way back in the mists of time, at the dawn of the video game medium, that kind of realism simply wasn't possible.
Instead, the makers of early...
- 10/10/2018
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Oct 10, 2018
We look at 10 horror-themed videogames from the 1980s, and their varied attempts to provoke fear with low-res graphics...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
As Sheriff Leigh Brackett correctly stated in John Carpenter's slasher classic, "It's Halloween - everyone's entitled to one good scare!" And scare us Halloween did, along with any number of horror movies before and since. But, with the day of pumpkins, trick-or-treaters, and apple bobbing almost upon us, this got us wondering: at what point did video games become scary?
These days, we fully expect modern video games to have us cowering behind our sofas, with present-day computers and consoles able to render all sorts of things you need for a properly scary story: rain, blood, that sort of thing. But way back in the mists of time, at the dawn of the video game medium, that kind of realism simply wasn't possible.
We look at 10 horror-themed videogames from the 1980s, and their varied attempts to provoke fear with low-res graphics...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
As Sheriff Leigh Brackett correctly stated in John Carpenter's slasher classic, "It's Halloween - everyone's entitled to one good scare!" And scare us Halloween did, along with any number of horror movies before and since. But, with the day of pumpkins, trick-or-treaters, and apple bobbing almost upon us, this got us wondering: at what point did video games become scary?
These days, we fully expect modern video games to have us cowering behind our sofas, with present-day computers and consoles able to render all sorts of things you need for a properly scary story: rain, blood, that sort of thing. But way back in the mists of time, at the dawn of the video game medium, that kind of realism simply wasn't possible.
- 10/10/2018
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Oct 14, 2019
A hockey mask, blunt instruments, and a heck of a lot of gore: we look back at Namco’s arcade video game hit, Splatterhouse.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
In the realm of video games at least, the 1980s was a comparatively sunny period: it was the era that gave us bright and cheerful classics like Super Mario Bros., Bubble Bobble, and Monty Mole. Yet beneath that pleasant exterior stirred something darker and much nastier. Just ask Namco.
Thirty years ago, Namco was best known for the zip and vim of its arcade games. It conquered the world with Pac-Man, the first video game to introduce a cartoon-character hero and a subsequent storm of merchandising. Before and after, Namco turned alien extermination into a colorful pastime with games like Galaxian and Galaga, it turned the apprehension of burglars into a slapstick platformer with Mappy,...
A hockey mask, blunt instruments, and a heck of a lot of gore: we look back at Namco’s arcade video game hit, Splatterhouse.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
In the realm of video games at least, the 1980s was a comparatively sunny period: it was the era that gave us bright and cheerful classics like Super Mario Bros., Bubble Bobble, and Monty Mole. Yet beneath that pleasant exterior stirred something darker and much nastier. Just ask Namco.
Thirty years ago, Namco was best known for the zip and vim of its arcade games. It conquered the world with Pac-Man, the first video game to introduce a cartoon-character hero and a subsequent storm of merchandising. Before and after, Namco turned alien extermination into a colorful pastime with games like Galaxian and Galaga, it turned the apprehension of burglars into a slapstick platformer with Mappy,...
- 7/3/2018
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Oct 26, 2019
James Cameron’s The Terminator makes brilliant use of foreshadowing to build suspense, Ryan writes...
Nb: The following contains spoilers for The Terminator.
If a film endures for any length of time beyond its initial burst of popularity, one of the likely reasons is because of the craft and attention to detail put into it by its makers.
The Terminator, originally released in 1984, remains a genre classic for precisely this reason: a low-budget film that combines elements of sci-fi and slasher horror, it is, in essence, a pure b-movie - the kind of fodder that draws crowds and then vanishes from memory a few weeks later. Yet writer-director James Cameron made the film with such precision and care that, despite the odd rough edge here and there, it remains thrilling over 30 years later.
One of the things that The Terminator does so well, aside from the...
James Cameron’s The Terminator makes brilliant use of foreshadowing to build suspense, Ryan writes...
Nb: The following contains spoilers for The Terminator.
If a film endures for any length of time beyond its initial burst of popularity, one of the likely reasons is because of the craft and attention to detail put into it by its makers.
The Terminator, originally released in 1984, remains a genre classic for precisely this reason: a low-budget film that combines elements of sci-fi and slasher horror, it is, in essence, a pure b-movie - the kind of fodder that draws crowds and then vanishes from memory a few weeks later. Yet writer-director James Cameron made the film with such precision and care that, despite the odd rough edge here and there, it remains thrilling over 30 years later.
One of the things that The Terminator does so well, aside from the...
- 6/14/2018
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Joseph Baxter Nov 12, 2018
The Bumblebee movie looks like it might give the Transformers movies a soul.
Transformers: The Last Knight may not have performed so well, but there's still Bumblebee on the horizon - the first of Paramount's live-action Transformers movies that doesn't have Michael Bay behind the camera.
Starring Hailee Steinfeld, this is an origin of sorts, since it takes place in the 1980s and deals with the discovery of Bumblebee (one of those heroic Autobots) on a Californian trash heap. And for added nostalgic appeal, Bumblebee is in his original Generation One guise of a Vw Beetle, which, for anyone slightly nonplussed by the fussy designs of Bay's Transformers movies, is a welcome change of pace.
Bumblebee is the live-action debut from director Travis Knight, founder of Laika Studios and director of the charming Kubo And The Two Strings.
Bumblebee Story
Here's the official synopsis.
The Bumblebee movie looks like it might give the Transformers movies a soul.
Transformers: The Last Knight may not have performed so well, but there's still Bumblebee on the horizon - the first of Paramount's live-action Transformers movies that doesn't have Michael Bay behind the camera.
Starring Hailee Steinfeld, this is an origin of sorts, since it takes place in the 1980s and deals with the discovery of Bumblebee (one of those heroic Autobots) on a Californian trash heap. And for added nostalgic appeal, Bumblebee is in his original Generation One guise of a Vw Beetle, which, for anyone slightly nonplussed by the fussy designs of Bay's Transformers movies, is a welcome change of pace.
Bumblebee is the live-action debut from director Travis Knight, founder of Laika Studios and director of the charming Kubo And The Two Strings.
Bumblebee Story
Here's the official synopsis.
- 6/5/2018
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Joseph Baxter Sep 24, 2018
The Bumblebee movie looks like it might give the Transformers movies a soul.
Transformers: The Last Knight may not have performed so well, but there's still Bumblebee on the horizon - the first of Paramount's live-action transforming robot flicks that doesn't have Michael Bay behind the camera.
Starring Hailee Steinfeld, this is an origin of sorts, since it takes place in the 1980s and deals with the discovery of Bumblebee (one of those heroic Autobots) on a Californian trash heap. And for added nostalgic appeal, Bumblebee is in his original Generation One guise of a Vw Beetle, which, for anyone slightly nonplussed by the fussy designs of Bay's Transformers movies, is a welcome change of pace.
Bumblebee is the live-action debut from director Travis Knight, founder of Laika Studios and director of the charming Kubo And The Two Strings.
Bumblebee Trailer
Check out the brand new Bumblebee trailer,...
The Bumblebee movie looks like it might give the Transformers movies a soul.
Transformers: The Last Knight may not have performed so well, but there's still Bumblebee on the horizon - the first of Paramount's live-action transforming robot flicks that doesn't have Michael Bay behind the camera.
Starring Hailee Steinfeld, this is an origin of sorts, since it takes place in the 1980s and deals with the discovery of Bumblebee (one of those heroic Autobots) on a Californian trash heap. And for added nostalgic appeal, Bumblebee is in his original Generation One guise of a Vw Beetle, which, for anyone slightly nonplussed by the fussy designs of Bay's Transformers movies, is a welcome change of pace.
Bumblebee is the live-action debut from director Travis Knight, founder of Laika Studios and director of the charming Kubo And The Two Strings.
Bumblebee Trailer
Check out the brand new Bumblebee trailer,...
- 6/5/2018
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Feb 7, 2019
What you need to know about the Monster Hunter movie, including latest news, release date, cast, and more!
British director Paul W.S. Anderson turned the hit video game franchise Resident Evil into a long-running film series in the early 2000s, and he's set to do the same thing again with another property owned by Japanese publisher Capcom.
As its name implies, Monster Hunter is a sprawling fantasy game that involves protecting townsfolk from marauding creatures. It's logical fodder, then, for an energetic special effects movie - something Anderson's traded in for several years now. Like the last of the Resident Evil adaptations, Anderson's Monster Hunter is filming in South Africa, with the budget set at a fairly moderate $60 million.
The project is funded by a coalition of companies, including Constantin Films and a couple of outfits in China and Japan. Unsurprisingly, it'll be the first in a...
What you need to know about the Monster Hunter movie, including latest news, release date, cast, and more!
British director Paul W.S. Anderson turned the hit video game franchise Resident Evil into a long-running film series in the early 2000s, and he's set to do the same thing again with another property owned by Japanese publisher Capcom.
As its name implies, Monster Hunter is a sprawling fantasy game that involves protecting townsfolk from marauding creatures. It's logical fodder, then, for an energetic special effects movie - something Anderson's traded in for several years now. Like the last of the Resident Evil adaptations, Anderson's Monster Hunter is filming in South Africa, with the budget set at a fairly moderate $60 million.
The project is funded by a coalition of companies, including Constantin Films and a couple of outfits in China and Japan. Unsurprisingly, it'll be the first in a...
- 5/14/2018
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Mar 15, 2019
Released in 1985, the anime Megazone 23 makes for an ideal companion piece to the Wachowskis’ 1999 hit, The Matrix...
When the Wachowskis were laying out their vision for what would become The Matrix in the late '90s, they sat down producer Joel Silver and showed him a VHS tape of Ghost in the Shell - Mamoru Oshii’s classic anime adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s manga.
With The Matrix, the Wachowskis wanted to mix up a heady cocktail of Hong Kong action, cyberpunk, philosophy, eastern and western myth, as well as the bold stylings of Japanese and American comic books. But they also wanted to draw on the cool design, camera angles, and sense of dynamism seen in the best Japanese anime. Ghost in the Shell has certain story elements in common with The Matrix - most obviously the cyberpunk idea of physically jacking into a virtual space...
Released in 1985, the anime Megazone 23 makes for an ideal companion piece to the Wachowskis’ 1999 hit, The Matrix...
When the Wachowskis were laying out their vision for what would become The Matrix in the late '90s, they sat down producer Joel Silver and showed him a VHS tape of Ghost in the Shell - Mamoru Oshii’s classic anime adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s manga.
With The Matrix, the Wachowskis wanted to mix up a heady cocktail of Hong Kong action, cyberpunk, philosophy, eastern and western myth, as well as the bold stylings of Japanese and American comic books. But they also wanted to draw on the cool design, camera angles, and sense of dynamism seen in the best Japanese anime. Ghost in the Shell has certain story elements in common with The Matrix - most obviously the cyberpunk idea of physically jacking into a virtual space...
- 4/27/2018
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Apr 18, 2019
From shooters and platformers to puzzlers and RPGs, here are the 50 underrated games on the Sega Genesis...
In the late '80s and '90s, Sega enjoyed a golden period of success. The Sega Genesis became a hugely popular console in America and Europe. Although it faced tougher competition in Japan from Nintendo's Super Nintendo, games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, and a range of licensed sports titles made the Genesis a zeitgeist-grabbing hit in the west.
Yet, while Sonic and several other core hits were responsible for selling a legion of systems, there was also a range of other cracking titles among the Genesis' hundreds of releases. With apologies if we've missed any of your favorites, here's our selection of 50 Sega Genesis games that never quite got the mega-selling attention they deserved...
50. El Viento
Admittedly, the hack-and-slash action...
From shooters and platformers to puzzlers and RPGs, here are the 50 underrated games on the Sega Genesis...
In the late '80s and '90s, Sega enjoyed a golden period of success. The Sega Genesis became a hugely popular console in America and Europe. Although it faced tougher competition in Japan from Nintendo's Super Nintendo, games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, and a range of licensed sports titles made the Genesis a zeitgeist-grabbing hit in the west.
Yet, while Sonic and several other core hits were responsible for selling a legion of systems, there was also a range of other cracking titles among the Genesis' hundreds of releases. With apologies if we've missed any of your favorites, here's our selection of 50 Sega Genesis games that never quite got the mega-selling attention they deserved...
50. El Viento
Admittedly, the hack-and-slash action...
- 4/23/2018
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Apr 22, 2019
The Game Boy’s Super Mario Land is sometimes regarded as an oddity today. We argue that it’s actually a bit of a classic...
In 1947, a 60-something-year-old American named George Adamski took the first of several photos of what he claimed was a Venusian Scout Ship - a mysterious craft from another world. The images were widely printed in newspapers and magazines, and the ship depicted in them - saucer-shaped, with a domed roof and round windows - did much to define the look of unidentified flying objects at the height of the '40s and '50s UFO flap.
More than four decades later, Adamski’s flying saucers landed in a highly unexpected venue: Super Mario Land. Right at the start of world 2-1, there’s one hovering right in the middle of the screen, with its round portholes, unmistakable shape - like a dustbin...
The Game Boy’s Super Mario Land is sometimes regarded as an oddity today. We argue that it’s actually a bit of a classic...
In 1947, a 60-something-year-old American named George Adamski took the first of several photos of what he claimed was a Venusian Scout Ship - a mysterious craft from another world. The images were widely printed in newspapers and magazines, and the ship depicted in them - saucer-shaped, with a domed roof and round windows - did much to define the look of unidentified flying objects at the height of the '40s and '50s UFO flap.
More than four decades later, Adamski’s flying saucers landed in a highly unexpected venue: Super Mario Land. Right at the start of world 2-1, there’s one hovering right in the middle of the screen, with its round portholes, unmistakable shape - like a dustbin...
- 1/9/2018
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie May 31, 2019
Brilliantly played by Michael Ironside, Richter is Total Recall’s best villain - and also just a guy having the worst day of his life...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
There’s a moment in Total Recall - Paul Verhoeven’s flat-out classic 1990 action film - that perfectly sums up the tension between its hero and villain. Beefy everyman Doug Quaid has just "discovered" that his entire life is a sham: his wife isn’t really his wife, and his memories are all false - they were somehow implanted by an unknown agency determined to hide his true identity.
On learning the truth, Quaid finds himself pursued by a group of assassins, led by Richter - played with startling intensity by Michael Ironside. After a blazing gun battle, Quaid escapes the villains’ clutches by ducking into a subway car, and it’s here that...
Brilliantly played by Michael Ironside, Richter is Total Recall’s best villain - and also just a guy having the worst day of his life...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
There’s a moment in Total Recall - Paul Verhoeven’s flat-out classic 1990 action film - that perfectly sums up the tension between its hero and villain. Beefy everyman Doug Quaid has just "discovered" that his entire life is a sham: his wife isn’t really his wife, and his memories are all false - they were somehow implanted by an unknown agency determined to hide his true identity.
On learning the truth, Quaid finds himself pursued by a group of assassins, led by Richter - played with startling intensity by Michael Ironside. After a blazing gun battle, Quaid escapes the villains’ clutches by ducking into a subway car, and it’s here that...
- 11/30/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Jan 13, 2019
Super Mario Bros: The Movie remains a remarkable (and bizarre) video game movie. Here's why...
Adapting any art form into a movie presents a tricky proposition. It is, after all, easy to fall into the trap of being too reverential to the source material. Whether it happens to be a play, novel, or old television show you're making into a feature film, there has to be an element of invention, of reworking the source material into something that stands on its own as a piece of entertainment and - dare we say it - art.
This would go some way to explaining why the 1993 feature-length adaptation of Nintendo's hit video game series only vaguely resembles the property on which it was meant to be based. Released in a busy summer season - one dominated by another flick with dinosaurs in it, Jurassic Park - Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros: The Movie remains a remarkable (and bizarre) video game movie. Here's why...
Adapting any art form into a movie presents a tricky proposition. It is, after all, easy to fall into the trap of being too reverential to the source material. Whether it happens to be a play, novel, or old television show you're making into a feature film, there has to be an element of invention, of reworking the source material into something that stands on its own as a piece of entertainment and - dare we say it - art.
This would go some way to explaining why the 1993 feature-length adaptation of Nintendo's hit video game series only vaguely resembles the property on which it was meant to be based. Released in a busy summer season - one dominated by another flick with dinosaurs in it, Jurassic Park - Super Mario Bros.
- 11/15/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Jun 25, 2019
Character deaths, screwdrivers, and blow-up dolls: John Carpenter’s The Thing had some fasinating scenes cut before release...
The following contains spoilers for The Thing.
Critically mauled on release and largely overlooked in cinemas, John Carpenter’s The Thing has only grown in stature since 1982. What were once condemned as deficiencies - its graphic gore and violence, icy tone and low-key characterization - are now generally regarded as positives. Its simple story about a group of scientists and misfits who encounter a shape-shifting alien in their Antarctic outpost, The Thing has aged remarkably well for a 35-year-old film: Rob Bottin’s practical effects are still extraordinarily imaginative, and fans still debate the finer points of its action today. Who sabotaged the fridge full of blood samples? Were MacReady and Childs still human at the end?
Behind the scenes, the story of how The Thing was made is...
Character deaths, screwdrivers, and blow-up dolls: John Carpenter’s The Thing had some fasinating scenes cut before release...
The following contains spoilers for The Thing.
Critically mauled on release and largely overlooked in cinemas, John Carpenter’s The Thing has only grown in stature since 1982. What were once condemned as deficiencies - its graphic gore and violence, icy tone and low-key characterization - are now generally regarded as positives. Its simple story about a group of scientists and misfits who encounter a shape-shifting alien in their Antarctic outpost, The Thing has aged remarkably well for a 35-year-old film: Rob Bottin’s practical effects are still extraordinarily imaginative, and fans still debate the finer points of its action today. Who sabotaged the fridge full of blood samples? Were MacReady and Childs still human at the end?
Behind the scenes, the story of how The Thing was made is...
- 11/9/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Oct 1, 2019
Far from a curse, Tobe Hooper's tiny budget made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre a timeless horror classic...
In the summer of 1973, the cast and crew of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were suffering through what was, by most accounts, a thoroughly miserable shoot. The heat and humidity were almost unbearable. The interior location where much of the film's third act took place, an old farmhouse outside Round Rock, was dressed with animal bones and blood, which had begun to stink in the broiling Texas air. The stench was so bad that some crewmembers were throwing up outside between takes.
Directed by Tobe Hooper, then a largely unknown 20-something filmmaker from Austin, the film's painfully low budget only added to the misery. Funds didn't stretch to a wardrobe of multiple costumes, so the cast were forced to wear the same filthy outfit day after day in order to maintain continuity.
Far from a curse, Tobe Hooper's tiny budget made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre a timeless horror classic...
In the summer of 1973, the cast and crew of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were suffering through what was, by most accounts, a thoroughly miserable shoot. The heat and humidity were almost unbearable. The interior location where much of the film's third act took place, an old farmhouse outside Round Rock, was dressed with animal bones and blood, which had begun to stink in the broiling Texas air. The stench was so bad that some crewmembers were throwing up outside between takes.
Directed by Tobe Hooper, then a largely unknown 20-something filmmaker from Austin, the film's painfully low budget only added to the misery. Funds didn't stretch to a wardrobe of multiple costumes, so the cast were forced to wear the same filthy outfit day after day in order to maintain continuity.
- 11/2/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Oct 2, 2018
Far from a curse, Tobe Hooper's tiny budget made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre a timeless horror classic...
In the summer of 1973, the cast and crew of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were suffering through what was, by most accounts, a thoroughly miserable shoot. The heat and humidity were almost unbearable. The interior location where much of the film's third act took place, an old farmhouse outside Round Rock, was dressed with animal bones and blood, which had begun to stink in the broiling Texas air. The stench was so bad that some crewmembers were throwing up outside between takes.
Directed by Tobe Hooper, then a largely unknown 20-something filmmaker from Austin, the film's painfully low budget only added to the misery. Funds didn't stretch to a wardrobe of multiple costumes, so the cast were forced to wear the same filthy outfit day after day in order to maintain continuity.
Far from a curse, Tobe Hooper's tiny budget made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre a timeless horror classic...
In the summer of 1973, the cast and crew of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre were suffering through what was, by most accounts, a thoroughly miserable shoot. The heat and humidity were almost unbearable. The interior location where much of the film's third act took place, an old farmhouse outside Round Rock, was dressed with animal bones and blood, which had begun to stink in the broiling Texas air. The stench was so bad that some crewmembers were throwing up outside between takes.
Directed by Tobe Hooper, then a largely unknown 20-something filmmaker from Austin, the film's painfully low budget only added to the misery. Funds didn't stretch to a wardrobe of multiple costumes, so the cast were forced to wear the same filthy outfit day after day in order to maintain continuity.
- 11/2/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Dec 13, 2019
More than two decades on, Heat is still an important film. We look at how Michael Mann's research made for a powerful crime drama.
Cool, measured, melancholy and stylish, Michael Mann's Heat was a box office hit in 1995, and 18 years on, its impact can still be felt. A story about two weary men on either side of the law - one a cop married to his profession, the other a career criminal with no intention of going straight - Heat is also a movie about Los Angeles, in all its sparkly opulence and grimy malaise. Other directors have attempted to bottle some of Heat's atmosphere and move it to another city, whether it be London (see The Sweeney or the visually striking Welcome To The Punch) or Gotham, as seen in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight: look at the way Nolan and cinematographer...
More than two decades on, Heat is still an important film. We look at how Michael Mann's research made for a powerful crime drama.
Cool, measured, melancholy and stylish, Michael Mann's Heat was a box office hit in 1995, and 18 years on, its impact can still be felt. A story about two weary men on either side of the law - one a cop married to his profession, the other a career criminal with no intention of going straight - Heat is also a movie about Los Angeles, in all its sparkly opulence and grimy malaise. Other directors have attempted to bottle some of Heat's atmosphere and move it to another city, whether it be London (see The Sweeney or the visually striking Welcome To The Punch) or Gotham, as seen in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight: look at the way Nolan and cinematographer...
- 8/21/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Feb 5, 2019
George A. Romero's zombies were about more than just eating flesh. They were a commentary on American life in the '60s.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
In April 1968, director George A. Romero threw some reels of film in the trunk of his car and took a long drive from Pittsburgh to New York. The grainy, black-and-white footage stored on those reels was little short of incendiary: then called Night of the Flesh Eaters, Romero's film would, in time, change horror cinema forever.
Shot on a budget of just $114,000, Night of the Living Dead (as it was later renamed) was aggressively lo-fi: its producer, Russell Streiner, also played one of the film's first victims - he gets the immortal line, "They're coming to get you, Barbara" before he's attacked by a shambling zombie. The copious gouts of blood splashed around were actually generous helpings of chocolate syrup.
George A. Romero's zombies were about more than just eating flesh. They were a commentary on American life in the '60s.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
In April 1968, director George A. Romero threw some reels of film in the trunk of his car and took a long drive from Pittsburgh to New York. The grainy, black-and-white footage stored on those reels was little short of incendiary: then called Night of the Flesh Eaters, Romero's film would, in time, change horror cinema forever.
Shot on a budget of just $114,000, Night of the Living Dead (as it was later renamed) was aggressively lo-fi: its producer, Russell Streiner, also played one of the film's first victims - he gets the immortal line, "They're coming to get you, Barbara" before he's attacked by a shambling zombie. The copious gouts of blood splashed around were actually generous helpings of chocolate syrup.
- 7/18/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Nov 8, 2019
What's The Shining really about? We delve into the underlying theme of Stanley Kubrick's horror classic...
Few horror films have been as closely studied and intimately dissected as Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. The simple story of a family ripped apart by the effects of a remote, haunted hotel, Kubrick's film has only grown in mystique since its release in 1980. Clearly, there's far more going on below the surface, but what does Kubrick's imagery and symbolism - much of it unique to the film, and absent from Stephen King's source novel - actually mean?
Rodney Ascher's superb 2012 documentary Room 237 pulled together some of the more outlandish theories about The Shining. It's Kubrick's veiled confession that he helped Nasa fake the 1969 Moon landings, goes one line of thinking. No, it's an allusion to the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, says a different theorist.
What's The Shining really about? We delve into the underlying theme of Stanley Kubrick's horror classic...
Few horror films have been as closely studied and intimately dissected as Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. The simple story of a family ripped apart by the effects of a remote, haunted hotel, Kubrick's film has only grown in mystique since its release in 1980. Clearly, there's far more going on below the surface, but what does Kubrick's imagery and symbolism - much of it unique to the film, and absent from Stephen King's source novel - actually mean?
Rodney Ascher's superb 2012 documentary Room 237 pulled together some of the more outlandish theories about The Shining. It's Kubrick's veiled confession that he helped Nasa fake the 1969 Moon landings, goes one line of thinking. No, it's an allusion to the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, says a different theorist.
- 4/10/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Jun 1, 2019
Commercials and TV form an integral part in Paul Verhoeven's classic sci-fi films, RoboCop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
"I looked at American society in a kind of dazed way when I was doing RoboCop," director Paul Verhoeven told Den of Geek UK a few years ago. Back in the mid-80s, when he was better known for his Dutch films like Soldier Of Orange and The Fourth Man, Verhoeven was still getting used to the pace and tone of American culture - and his outsider status arguably fed into the wry, spikily satirical edge in all three sci-fi films he made while in Hollywood.
"It was all so different from living in Holland," Verhoeven recalled. "A lot of my, let's say, amazement, at American society is in RoboCop; in the commercials, in the news reels and so forth,...
Commercials and TV form an integral part in Paul Verhoeven's classic sci-fi films, RoboCop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
"I looked at American society in a kind of dazed way when I was doing RoboCop," director Paul Verhoeven told Den of Geek UK a few years ago. Back in the mid-80s, when he was better known for his Dutch films like Soldier Of Orange and The Fourth Man, Verhoeven was still getting used to the pace and tone of American culture - and his outsider status arguably fed into the wry, spikily satirical edge in all three sci-fi films he made while in Hollywood.
"It was all so different from living in Holland," Verhoeven recalled. "A lot of my, let's say, amazement, at American society is in RoboCop; in the commercials, in the news reels and so forth,...
- 4/6/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Sep 22, 2019
At the center of Seven lies a nerve-jangling chase sequence - one that sums up David Fincher’s brilliance as a filmmaker...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
There are occasions where we have sheer luck to thank for the existence of a movie. Take Seven, David Fincher’s atmospheric thriller from 1995; had the studio behind its making, New Line, not sent Fincher the wrong draft of the script, the film may never have been made--at least, not by Fincher, who at that time was still smarting from the experience of making his debut, Alien 3.
Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker had initially written Seven as a spec script--the kind of high-concept thriller that would get him noticed, get him out of his day job at Tower Records and into a career as a writer. About two cops on the trail of a serial killer obsessed with the seven deadly sins,...
At the center of Seven lies a nerve-jangling chase sequence - one that sums up David Fincher’s brilliance as a filmmaker...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
There are occasions where we have sheer luck to thank for the existence of a movie. Take Seven, David Fincher’s atmospheric thriller from 1995; had the studio behind its making, New Line, not sent Fincher the wrong draft of the script, the film may never have been made--at least, not by Fincher, who at that time was still smarting from the experience of making his debut, Alien 3.
Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker had initially written Seven as a spec script--the kind of high-concept thriller that would get him noticed, get him out of his day job at Tower Records and into a career as a writer. About two cops on the trail of a serial killer obsessed with the seven deadly sins,...
- 4/3/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Jul 9, 2019
Mazes and Monsters provided the first feature role for a young Tom Hanks in 1982... and warned against the perils of Dungeons & Dragons...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Where there's great popularity, there's sometimes an equal and opposite backlash. Pokémon has occasionally been accused of promoting everything from Satanism to animal cruelty. The book Why Knock Rock, published in 1984, warned of the morally corrosive dangers hidden in the music of Judas Priest, Kiss, and Led Zeppelin. Before all this though, there was the moral panic surrounding Dungeons & Dragons. From humble beginnings, the role-playing game quickly became a phenomenon in the 1970s, taking the company behind it--Tactical Studies Rules, founded by Gary Gygax--from a tiny cottage industry to a 600-strong firm by the end of the decade.
Dungeons & Dragons' brilliance lies in its freeform design; with only a few raw materials--dice, counters,...
Mazes and Monsters provided the first feature role for a young Tom Hanks in 1982... and warned against the perils of Dungeons & Dragons...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Where there's great popularity, there's sometimes an equal and opposite backlash. Pokémon has occasionally been accused of promoting everything from Satanism to animal cruelty. The book Why Knock Rock, published in 1984, warned of the morally corrosive dangers hidden in the music of Judas Priest, Kiss, and Led Zeppelin. Before all this though, there was the moral panic surrounding Dungeons & Dragons. From humble beginnings, the role-playing game quickly became a phenomenon in the 1970s, taking the company behind it--Tactical Studies Rules, founded by Gary Gygax--from a tiny cottage industry to a 600-strong firm by the end of the decade.
Dungeons & Dragons' brilliance lies in its freeform design; with only a few raw materials--dice, counters,...
- 3/29/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Nov 16, 2019
Steven Spielberg's follow-up to Jaws was shrouded in mystery and had a very hush-hush production.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Shortly after the release of X-Men spin-off Logan in 2017, director James Mangold took to Twitter to vent is frustration about the clamor of interest surrounding his new movie - specifically, whether or not it had a post-credits scene.
"People wonder why I care," a clearly agitated Mangold wrote. "I care 'cause filmmakers now make films under crippling security because of parasitic gossip. Makes movies worse."
While it's certainly true that the internet allows rumors and leaks to swirl around the planet with unprecedented speed, filmmakers' desire for secrecy is far from new. The more directors and studios try to keep their upcoming projects away from the public gaze, the more intent the film press becomes on digging up a juicy story. The more...
Steven Spielberg's follow-up to Jaws was shrouded in mystery and had a very hush-hush production.
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
Shortly after the release of X-Men spin-off Logan in 2017, director James Mangold took to Twitter to vent is frustration about the clamor of interest surrounding his new movie - specifically, whether or not it had a post-credits scene.
"People wonder why I care," a clearly agitated Mangold wrote. "I care 'cause filmmakers now make films under crippling security because of parasitic gossip. Makes movies worse."
While it's certainly true that the internet allows rumors and leaks to swirl around the planet with unprecedented speed, filmmakers' desire for secrecy is far from new. The more directors and studios try to keep their upcoming projects away from the public gaze, the more intent the film press becomes on digging up a juicy story. The more...
- 3/14/2017
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Jun 26, 2019
Space horror in The Black Hole. Animated death in The Black Cauldron. The '70s and '80s were a unique period in Disney's filmmaking history.
When George Lucas started writing Star Wars in the early '70s, the space saga was intended to fill a void left behind by westerns, pirate movies and the sci-fi fantasy of old matinee serials. "Disney had abdicated its rein over the children's market," Lucas once said, according to Peter Biskind's book, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, "and nothing had replaced it."
Indeed, Disney was one of many Hollywood studios that Lucas had approached with Star Wars and they, just like Universal, United Artists, and everyone other than 20th Century Fox boss Alan Ladd Jr., had turned it down flat. Science fiction, the thinking went, was box office poison; even Lucas, who'd insisted that Roy Disney himself might have snapped...
Space horror in The Black Hole. Animated death in The Black Cauldron. The '70s and '80s were a unique period in Disney's filmmaking history.
When George Lucas started writing Star Wars in the early '70s, the space saga was intended to fill a void left behind by westerns, pirate movies and the sci-fi fantasy of old matinee serials. "Disney had abdicated its rein over the children's market," Lucas once said, according to Peter Biskind's book, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, "and nothing had replaced it."
Indeed, Disney was one of many Hollywood studios that Lucas had approached with Star Wars and they, just like Universal, United Artists, and everyone other than 20th Century Fox boss Alan Ladd Jr., had turned it down flat. Science fiction, the thinking went, was box office poison; even Lucas, who'd insisted that Roy Disney himself might have snapped...
- 12/7/2016
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Dec 20, 2018
It's always a good time to look back at the utter strangeness of Transformers: The Movie.
The following contains spoilers for Transformers: The Movie. Just thought we should mention it.
The shadow of death hung like a black curtain over Transformers: The Movie. Thanks to an edict handed down by the powers that be at Hasbro, pretty much every toy in the original Transformers 1984 line was wiped out in the course of the film's events; and by the time the noble Autobot leader Optimus Prime died at the hands of Megatron towards the end of the first act, a generation of youngsters were scarred for life.
In retrospect, Hasbro's cold business decision - to wipe out one generation of toys in order to replace them with new ones - resulted in a far more effective movie. As well as a feature-length toy commercial, Transformers: The Movie wound...
It's always a good time to look back at the utter strangeness of Transformers: The Movie.
The following contains spoilers for Transformers: The Movie. Just thought we should mention it.
The shadow of death hung like a black curtain over Transformers: The Movie. Thanks to an edict handed down by the powers that be at Hasbro, pretty much every toy in the original Transformers 1984 line was wiped out in the course of the film's events; and by the time the noble Autobot leader Optimus Prime died at the hands of Megatron towards the end of the first act, a generation of youngsters were scarred for life.
In retrospect, Hasbro's cold business decision - to wipe out one generation of toys in order to replace them with new ones - resulted in a far more effective movie. As well as a feature-length toy commercial, Transformers: The Movie wound...
- 11/30/2016
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie May 31, 2019
Before Arrival there was Charlie Sheen in The Arrival, which was an unusual piece of 1990s sci-fi
When it came to sci-fi movies, 1996 was a crowded year: at the high end of the budget spectrum we had the invasion movies Independence Day and Mars Attacks; towards the middle we had John Carpenter's disappointing Snake Plissken sequel Escape From La, while Rutger Hauer starred in the cheap and cheerful Crossworlds and the brilliantly titled Omega Doom.
Throw in the startlingly botched Island Of Doctor Moreau, Star Trek: First Contact, and Stuart Gordon's fun sci-fi oddity Space Truckers, and you have a busy 12 months in genre movies. Somewhat lost in the static was The Arrival, a nifty genre thriller which had the misfortune of coming out just a few weeks before the bigger, splashier Independence Day. A more modest and quirkier movie than Roland Emmerich's invasion flick,...
Before Arrival there was Charlie Sheen in The Arrival, which was an unusual piece of 1990s sci-fi
When it came to sci-fi movies, 1996 was a crowded year: at the high end of the budget spectrum we had the invasion movies Independence Day and Mars Attacks; towards the middle we had John Carpenter's disappointing Snake Plissken sequel Escape From La, while Rutger Hauer starred in the cheap and cheerful Crossworlds and the brilliantly titled Omega Doom.
Throw in the startlingly botched Island Of Doctor Moreau, Star Trek: First Contact, and Stuart Gordon's fun sci-fi oddity Space Truckers, and you have a busy 12 months in genre movies. Somewhat lost in the static was The Arrival, a nifty genre thriller which had the misfortune of coming out just a few weeks before the bigger, splashier Independence Day. A more modest and quirkier movie than Roland Emmerich's invasion flick,...
- 11/2/2016
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Oct 25, 2019
To celebrate Halloween, we look back at how John Carpenter created a low-budget horror classic...
It's the spring of 1978, and John Carpenter is in the midst of a risky decision. He's reached the 20th and final day of shooting on Halloween, and has a final few hours to compose what will become the movie's opening sequence: a point-of-view shot where we're introduced to the young Michael Myers, aged six. But rather than make things easy on himself by shooting the scene as simply as possible, he's decided to film it as one, unbroken sequence, with as few edits as he can get away with - an atmosphere-building bit of camera trickery inspired by Orson Welles' Touch Of Evil.
The shot requires camera operator Ray Stella to creep around the old house (hurriedly redecorated by cast and crew alike earlier that day) with a 70lb Panaglide camera...
To celebrate Halloween, we look back at how John Carpenter created a low-budget horror classic...
It's the spring of 1978, and John Carpenter is in the midst of a risky decision. He's reached the 20th and final day of shooting on Halloween, and has a final few hours to compose what will become the movie's opening sequence: a point-of-view shot where we're introduced to the young Michael Myers, aged six. But rather than make things easy on himself by shooting the scene as simply as possible, he's decided to film it as one, unbroken sequence, with as few edits as he can get away with - an atmosphere-building bit of camera trickery inspired by Orson Welles' Touch Of Evil.
The shot requires camera operator Ray Stella to creep around the old house (hurriedly redecorated by cast and crew alike earlier that day) with a 70lb Panaglide camera...
- 10/31/2016
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Oct 18, 2018
To celebrate Halloween, we look back at how John Carpenter created a low-budget horror classic...
It's the spring of 1978, and John Carpenter is in the midst of a risky decision. He's reached the 20th and final day of shooting on Halloween, and has a final few hours to compose what will become the movie's opening sequence: a point-of-view shot where we're introduced to the young Michael Myers, aged six. But rather than make things easy on himself by shooting the scene as simply as possible, he's decided to film it as one, unbroken sequence, with as few edits as he can get away with - an atmosphere-building bit of camera trickery inspired by Orson Welles' Touch Of Evil.
The shot requires camera operator Ray Stella to creep around the old house (hurriedly redecorated by cast and crew alike earlier that day) with a 70lb Panaglide camera...
To celebrate Halloween, we look back at how John Carpenter created a low-budget horror classic...
It's the spring of 1978, and John Carpenter is in the midst of a risky decision. He's reached the 20th and final day of shooting on Halloween, and has a final few hours to compose what will become the movie's opening sequence: a point-of-view shot where we're introduced to the young Michael Myers, aged six. But rather than make things easy on himself by shooting the scene as simply as possible, he's decided to film it as one, unbroken sequence, with as few edits as he can get away with - an atmosphere-building bit of camera trickery inspired by Orson Welles' Touch Of Evil.
The shot requires camera operator Ray Stella to creep around the old house (hurriedly redecorated by cast and crew alike earlier that day) with a 70lb Panaglide camera...
- 10/31/2016
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Oct 25, 2019
Before Resident Evil, there was Sweet Home. This is how a half-forgotten film and game spawned a video game genre...
This article originally appeared at Den of Geek UK.
Ring, Audition, Dark Water, Onibaba, House, Kuroneko... Ask most film fans to name a prominent Japanese horror, and one of those titles would probably come up. Ask most video game fanatics to name a Japanese horror game, and they'd probably reply with Resident Evil, Silent Hill, or, if they're feeling a bit retro, Splatterhouse or Castlevania.
There's one name that almost certainly won't come up in conversations about either category: Sweet Home. Yet this 1989 horror, and the video game of the same name released with it, inadvertently helped define an entire genre - and even spawn the Resident Evil franchise, which is still going 20 years later.
The Sweet Home movie is a curious genre mishmash with an impressive pedigree.
Before Resident Evil, there was Sweet Home. This is how a half-forgotten film and game spawned a video game genre...
This article originally appeared at Den of Geek UK.
Ring, Audition, Dark Water, Onibaba, House, Kuroneko... Ask most film fans to name a prominent Japanese horror, and one of those titles would probably come up. Ask most video game fanatics to name a Japanese horror game, and they'd probably reply with Resident Evil, Silent Hill, or, if they're feeling a bit retro, Splatterhouse or Castlevania.
There's one name that almost certainly won't come up in conversations about either category: Sweet Home. Yet this 1989 horror, and the video game of the same name released with it, inadvertently helped define an entire genre - and even spawn the Resident Evil franchise, which is still going 20 years later.
The Sweet Home movie is a curious genre mishmash with an impressive pedigree.
- 10/31/2016
- Den of Geek
Ryan Lambie Jun 9, 2019
It was a camp classic in 1995, but did you know Congo was once going to be made in the early '80s with a real gorilla and Sean Connery?
"Congo is a dead project that will never be made" - Michael Crichton, 1983
Just about everywhere you looked in the summer of 1995, a pair of simian eyes stared back at you from the poster of Congo. Based on the best-selling Michael Crichton novel, Congo was billed as that year’s equivalent of Jurassic Park - another exciting creature feature with cutting-edge special effects and maybe just a tiny dash of horror.
“It’s a little like Alien at the beginning,” enthused director Frank Marshall, “in that it’s based in science fact, and like Indiana Jones at the end, with the lost city of Zinj.”
Determined to push Congo as a must-see summer film capable of competing with...
It was a camp classic in 1995, but did you know Congo was once going to be made in the early '80s with a real gorilla and Sean Connery?
"Congo is a dead project that will never be made" - Michael Crichton, 1983
Just about everywhere you looked in the summer of 1995, a pair of simian eyes stared back at you from the poster of Congo. Based on the best-selling Michael Crichton novel, Congo was billed as that year’s equivalent of Jurassic Park - another exciting creature feature with cutting-edge special effects and maybe just a tiny dash of horror.
“It’s a little like Alien at the beginning,” enthused director Frank Marshall, “in that it’s based in science fact, and like Indiana Jones at the end, with the lost city of Zinj.”
Determined to push Congo as a must-see summer film capable of competing with...
- 9/12/2016
- Den of Geek
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