STEPHEN KING OUTSIDERS

CUJO (1983)

Donna Trenton (Dee Wallace) is a frustrated suburban housewife whose life is in turmoil after her husband Vic learns about her having an affair. Brett Camber (Billy Jacoby) is a young boy and a son of a mechanic, Joe, (Ed Lauter) whose only companion is a St. Bernard named "Cujo." Cujo is bitten by a bat with rabies and his behavior begins to change. While the dog begins to succumb to the disease, Brett and his mother leave for Connecticut to visit his mother's sister. When Donna and her young son, Tad (Danny Pintauro), drive out to the home where Cujo and the Cambers live, the gentle Cujo has been driven insane by rabies and has killed Joe and the Cambers' neighbor. Worse, their car gives out near the Camber's house and Donna and Tad are trapped inside while the massive dog waits outside, attacking repeatedly, all while Vic is out of town on a business trip...

Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. "Cujo" is an ancient Indian word meaning "unstoppable force". Stephen King cites this film as having the most effective scare of any of the movies based on his works, referring to the jolting scare where Cujo first leaps at the passenger window of the car. The film was #58 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

Director: Lewis Teague
Writter: Lauren Currier, Book: Stephen King (novel)
Starring: Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh-Kelly, Christopher Stone, Ed Lauter
Running Time: 91min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0k21yeVMbM

Rating: 8.5/10

DOLAN'S CADILLAC (2009)

In Las Vegas, school teachers Robinson and his wife Elizabeth are trying for a baby. While horse riding through the desert one evening, Elizabeth witnesses the execution of two coyotes and an illegal immigrant by the human trafficker Jimmy Dolan and decides to report the incident to the police. However, she loses her cellular and Dolan finds it, tracks her address down and threatens her. Elizabeth goes to the FBI with Robinson and they move to a safe house under the protection of two agents. When Elizabeth sneaks from the house to buy pregnancy tests, her car explodes and she dies. Robinson decides to avenge Elizabeth's death...

Based on a short story of the same name by Stephen King. Sylvester Stallone was originally slated to play the role of Jimmy Dolan. He was later replaced with Christian Slater. In Vegas Dolan stays at The Montressor Hotel. This is a tip to the story that inspired Stephen King to write 'Dolan's Cadillac' - Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado'.

Director: Jeff Beesley
Writter: Richard Dooling, Book: Stephen King (short story)
Starring: Wes Bentley, Christian Slater, Emmanuelle Vaugier
Running Time: 105min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Mv-f_08j4

Rating: 8/10

NEEDFUL THINGS (1993)
Leland Gaunt comes to Sheriff Alan Pangborn's pleasant little New England town, and opens a store. What this kindly Satan sells is whatever you need, from a surcease from pain to an object which you have always coveted. The Faustian price is, of course, corruption, and soon the poor sheriff's town is wracked by jealousy, spite, and violence.

Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. The setting of Needful Things is a fictional town called Castle Rock, Maine - as in Stephen King's novel. The distribution company Castle Rock was named after it when it released Stand by Me (1986). Castle Rock was also the setting for The Dead Zone (1983), Cujo (1983), and The Dark Half (1993).

Director: Fraser C. Heston
Writter: W.D. Richter, Book: Stephen King (novel)
Starring: Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, J. T. Walsh
Running Time: 120min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFfdgoGJeEI&feature=related

Rating: 7/10

SERIAL KILLING


MANHUNTER (1986)

Will Graham is a former FBI agent who recently retired to Florida with his wife Molly and their young son. Graham was a 'profiler'; one who profiles criminal's behavior and tries to put his mind into the minds of criminals to examine their thoughts while visiting crime scenes. Will is called out of his self-imposed retirement at the request of his former boss Jack Crawford to help the FBI catch an elusive serial killer, known to the press as the 'Tooth Fairy', who randomly kills whole families in their houses during nights of the full moon and leaves bite marks on his victims...

The film was originally going to use the novel's title, Red Dragon. When Year of the Dragon bombed at the box office in 1985, producer Dino De Laurentiis decided to change the title. The cinematographer was Dante Spinotti, who also served as the director of photography on Red Dragon, the 2002 film version of the novel. Despite generally positive critical reviews, the film performed poorly at the box office.

Director: Michael Mann
Writter: Michael Mann, Book: Thomas Harris
Starring: William Petersen, Kim Greist, Brian Cox, Dennis Farina, Tom Noonan
Running Time: 120min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czVMfUd5dFI

Rating: 9.5/10


HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER (1986)

Henry likes to kill people, in different ways each time. Henry shares an apartment with Otis. When Otis' sister comes to stay, we see both sides of Henry; the "guy-next-door" and the serial killer.

The character of Henry is loosely based on real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. In prison, Henry Lee Lucas confessed to over 600 murders, claiming he committed roughly one murder a week between his release from prison in 1975 to his arrest in 1983. The film was shot on 16mm in less than a month with a budget of only $110,000. A sequel, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Part 2, was released in 1996.

Director: John McNaughton
Writter: Richard Fire, John McNaughton
Starring: Michael Rooker, Tom Towles, Tracy Arnold
Running Time: 83min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU3P6WXzvXU

Rating: 8/10


AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000)

A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as mental instability and blood lust lead him to serial killing...

Based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. The soundtrack for the film was scored by John Cale, with artists such as David Bowie, The Cure, and New Order.

Director: Mary Harron
Writters: Mary Harron, Guinevere Turner, Book: Bret Easton Ellis
Starring: Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Reese Witherspoon, Chloë Sevigny, Jared Leto, Justin Theroux
Running Time: 101min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU3P6WXzvXU

Rating: 8/10


PEEPING TOM (1960)

Mark Lewis, works as a focus puller in a British film studio. On his off hours, he supplies a local porno shop with cheesecake photos and also dabbles in filmmaking. A lonely, unfriendly, sexually repressed fellow, Mark is obsessed with the effects of fear and how they are registered on the face and behavior of the frightened. This obsession dates from the time when, as a child, he served as the subject of some cold-blooded experiments in the psychology of terror conducted by his own scientist father. As a grown man, Mark becomes a compulsive murderer who kills women and records their contorted features and dying gasps on film...

The title derives from the slang expression 'peeping Tom' describing a voyeur. Its controversial subject and the extremely harsh reception by critics effectively destroyed Powell's career as a director in the United Kingdom. However, it attracted a cult following, and in later years, it has been re-evaluated and is now considered a masterpiece.

Director: Michael Powell
Writters: Leo Marks
Starring: Carl Boehm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley
Running Time: 101min
Country: United Kingdom
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU3P6WXzvXU

Rating: 9/10

POOR POOR GIRL...


ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968)

A young couple move into a new apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins controlling her life...

Based on the bestselling 1967 novel by Ira Levin. The film received mostly positive reviews and earned numerous nominations and awards. The American Film Institute ranked the film 9th in their 100 Years…100 Thrills list. The official tagline of the film is "Pray for Rosemary's Baby."
For the scene where Rosemary is raped by Satan, Rosemary's Baby ranked #23 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments. Contrary to an urban legend, Anton LaVey did not play the role of Satan in the rape scene of Rosemary's Baby. In fact it was actor Clay Tanner, and no technical advisor was used.
Thirty years after he wrote Rosemary's Baby, Ira Levin wrote Son of Rosemary, a sequel which he dedicated to the film's star, Mia Farrow.
A 2009-2010 remake of Rosemary's Baby was briefly considered. The intended producers were Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller.
The remake fell through in 2008.


Director: Roman Polanski
Writter: Roman Polanski, Book: Ira Levin
Starring: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy
Running Time: 136min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otPyEsObI1M

Rating: 10/10


THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (2007)

Inspired by true events, the film is set in 1958 and follows the story of two adolescent girls (Blythe Auffarth and Madeline Taylor) who, upon losing their parents in an accident, are sent to live with their Aunt Ruth (Blanche Baker), a sadistic psychopath. Unbeknownst to the residents of the small New Jersey suburb, the girls endure brutal punishment and torture at the hands of their aunt and three cousins.

Film adaptation of the 1989 novel of the same name by Jack Ketchum. It is loosely based on the true story of the murder of Sylvia Likens.
See also:
"An American Crime", which leans more in the direction of a documentary telling of the Likens story was scheduled for release at roughly the same time, but not released until a Showtime premiere in mid-2008.


Director: Gregory Wilson
Writter: Screenplay: Daniel Farrands, Philip Nutman, Novel: Jack Ketchum
Starring: Daniel Manche, Blanche Baker, Blythe Auffarth, Madeline Taylor
Running Time: 97min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=typY725pjZ4

Rating: 7/10


I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (2010)

New York short story writer Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton) rents an isolated cottage by a lake in the countryside to write her first novel. The arrival in town of the attractive and independent young woman attracts the attention of Johnny (Eron Tabor), the gas station manager, and Stanley (Anthony Nichols) and Andy (Gunter Kleemann), two unemployed youths who hang around the gas station. Jennifer receives a grocery delivery from Matthew (Richard Pace), who is shy and apparently mildly mentally retarded, and befriends him. Matthew is friends with the other three men and reports back to them about the beautiful woman he met, claiming he saw her breasts...

A remake of the controversial 1978 cult classic of the same name.

Director: Steven R. Monroe
Writter: Jeffrey Reddick
Starring: Sarah Butler, Chad Lindberg, Daniel Franzese, Rodney Eastman, Jeff Branson
Running Time: 107min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3zDSzULMqM

Rating: 6/10


ORPHAN (2009)

Kate and John Coleman are rebuilding their troubled marriage. Kate had a drinking problem, but is in therapy and is doing well. She has been sober for one year. The couple decides to adopt a child. When they meet the nine-year-old Russian girl, Esther, at the St. Marina Orphanage, they immediately fall in love with the well-educated orphan...

The film's content, depicting a murderous adopted person, was not well received by the adoption community. The controversy caused filmmakers to change a line in one of their trailers from "It must be difficult to love an adopted child as much as your own," to "I don’t think Mommy likes me very much."

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writter: David Leslie Johnson, Story: Alex Mace
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder, Jimmy Bennett
Running Time: 123min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ywOPNNii9w

Rating: 8/10

FOUND FOOTAGE GENRE TIMELINE


1980 CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST
A New York anthropologist named Professor Harold Monroe travels to the wild, inhospitable jungles of South America to find out what happened to a documentary film crew that disappeared two months before while filming a documentary about primitive cannibal tribes deep in the rain forest. With the help of two local guides, Professor Monroe encounters two tribes, the Yacumo and the Yanomamo. While under the hospitality of the latter tribe, he finds the remains of the crew and several reels of their undeveloped film...

Cannibal Holocaust achieved notability because its graphic violence aroused controversy. After its premiere in Italy, it was seized by a local magistrate, and Deodato was arrested on obscenity charges. He was charged with making a snuff film, due to rumors that some actors were killed on camera.

Director: Ruggero Deodato
Writter: Gianfranco Clerici
Starring: Robert Kerman, Carl Gabriel Yorke, Francesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen, Luca Barbareschi
Running Time: 96min
Country: Italy
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ-Xp6VC7RQ

Rating: 6,5/10


1999 THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT

Three film students travel to Maryland to make a student film about a local urban legend... The Blair Witch. The three went into the woods on a two day hike to find the Blair Witch, and never came back. One year later, the students film and video was found in the woods. The footage was compiled and made into a movie. The Blair Witch Project...

The film relates the story of three young student filmmakers (Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams) who hike into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland to film a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair Witch, and subsequently go missing. The viewer is told that the three were never found, although their video and sound equipment (along with most of the footage they shot) was discovered a year later. This "recovered footage" is presented as the film the viewer is watching.

Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Writter: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Starring: Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams
Running Time: 86min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZu1cTg-xUM&feature=related

Rating: 9/10

2007 PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

In 2006, Katie (Katie Featherston) and her boyfriend, Micah (Micah Sloat), are a young couple who recently moved into a two-story tract house in suburban San Diego, California. Katie claims that a ghostly presence has haunted her since her childhood and believes that it has followed her to their new home. She hires a psychic, Dr. Fredrichs (Mark Fredrichs), who assesses that she is being haunted not by a ghost, but by a demon...

Originally developed as an independent feature, the film was acquired by Paramount Pictures after representatives attending to a screening were impressed by it.

Director: Oren Peli
Writter: Oren Peli
Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat
Running Time: 86 min., 99 min.(Director's cut)
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_UxLEqd074

Rating: 8/10

2010 THE LAST EXORCISM

The evangelical Reverend Cotton Marcus was raised by his father to be a preacher. He agrees that the filmmaker Iris Reisen and the cameraman Daniel Moskowitz make a documentary about his life. Cotton tells that when her wife Shanna Marcus had troubles in the delivery of their son Justin, he prioritized the doctor help to God and since then he questions his faith. Further, he tells that exorcisms are frauds but the results are good for the believers because they believe it is true. When Cotton is summoned by the farmer Louis Sweetzer to perform an exorcism in his daughter Nell, Cotton sees the chance to prove to the documentary crew what he has just told. They head to Ivanwood and they have a hostile reception from Louis's son Caleb. Cotton performs the exorcism in Nell, exposing his tricks to the camera, but sooner they learn that the dysfunctional Sweetzer family has serious problems...

It was announced that a poster for the film was banned in public UK places, due to the nature of the poster (described as "offensive", "distressing", and "unsuitable for public viewing") which received 77 complaints, of which two people claimed the girl in the poster seemed to have "suffered a sexual assault". It was then decided the advert was not allowed to be seen again in that format.

Director: Daniel Stamm
Writter: Huck Botko, Andrew Gurland
Starring: Patrick Fabian, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum
Running Time: 87min.
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NcYXzZCQsE

Rating: 7/10

LATEST OBSSESSIONS (7)


SAUNA (2008)
As a 25-year war between Russia and Sweden concludes, two brothers who are part of an effort to outline new border accords become undone by their actions, and their mistreatment of a young woman during their journey.

Director: Antti-Jussi Annila
Writter: Iiro Küttner
Starring: Ville Virtanen, Tommi Eronen, Viktor Klimenko
Running Time: 83min
Country: Finland
Official Web Site: http://www.bronsonclub.com/sauna/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si8IqpZc8Fo

Rating: 9/10

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 (2010)

In 2006, a "burglary" occurs at the home of Kristi (Sprague Grayden) and Dan Rey (Brian Boland). Every single room is completely trashed except for their infant son Hunter's bedroom. The only thing stolen is a necklace that Kristi's sister, Katie (Katie Featherston), had given to her. Dan installs a number of security cameras throughout the house to watch over their baby son, Hunter. The family starts to hear noises and see items fall or move on their own. Martine (Vivis Cortez), the family housekeeper and nanny, believes evil spirits are the cause and attempts to cleanse the house of "evil spirits," and Dan fires her after catching her burning sage. Katie and Kristi talk about being tormented by a demon or unknown spirit when they were children. Dan's daughter, Ali (Molly Ephraim), begins investigating the mysterious happenings. She discovers that on occasion, a human can make a deal with a demon for wealth or power by forfeiting the life of their firstborn son...

The film is a parallel prequel to the 2007 film Paranormal Activity, beginning two months before and following up with the events depicted in the original film.

Director: Tod Williams
Writters: Michael R. Perry, Christopher Landon, Tom Pabst, Oren Peli
Starring: David Bierend, Brian Boland, Molly Ephraim, Katie Featherston, Seth Ginsberg, Sprague Grayden
Running Time: 91min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07XbSk7Rjt4

Rating: 9/10

BURIED (2010)

Paul Conroy, a US truck driver, awakens buried alive, bound and gagged, with only a Zippo and a BlackBerry. Although he initially has no idea as to how he got there, he soon starts to piece together what has happened to him. Gradually, Paul remembers that he and several other convoys were ambushed by insurgents, then all the other truck drivers were killed shortly before he blacked out. After finding the cellphone, Paul attempts to contact his wife and his employers (who gave him a safety number if anything like this should occur) but is able only to leave a message for both of them...

Director: Rodrigo Cortés
Writters: Chris Sparling
Starring: Ryan Reynolds
Running Time: 94min
Country: Spain, United States, France
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1Yyhxq56Xg

Rating: 9/10

CLIVE BARKER WRITER

CANDYMAN (1992)

Helen Lyle is a graduate student conducting research for her thesis on urban legends. While interviewing freshmen about their superstitions, she hears about a local legend known as Candyman, who is summoned by anyone who looks into a mirror and chants his name five times (similar to the Bloody Mary folkloric tale). However, summoning him often costs the individual their own life. Later that evening, Helen and her friend Bernadette jokingly call Candyman's name into the mirror in Helen's bathroom but nothing happens.
While conducting her research, Helen enters the notorious gang-ridden territory known as Cabrini–Green, the site of a recent unsolved murder.

Based on the short story "The Forbidden" by Clive Barker, though the film's scenario is switched from England to Chicago.

Director: Bernard Rose
Writter: Clive Barker(Short story), Bernard Rose(screenplay)
Starring: Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd, Xander Berkeley, Vanessa A. Williams
Running Time: 99min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lFxWo_C2qs

Rating: 9/10

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN (2008)

The film opens as a well dressed, barrel chested man stalks the late-night passengers of a subway train. He kills several people with a meat hammer and a butcher's hook. He dispatches his prey with unnatural strength. He wears a ring on his finger, adorned with an eight pointed star. We are then introduced to Leon (Bradley Cooper), a photographer who heads into the city's subway system at night to take photographs and saves a woman from a group of guys harassing her. The next day, he discovers the girl has gone missing. Leon is intrigued and begins to investigate newsreels about similar disappearances. His investigation leads him to a butcher named Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), who he suspects has been killing subway passengers for as long as ten years.

Based on Clive Barker's 1984 short story of the same name, which can be found in Volume One of Barker's collection Books of Blood.

Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Writter: Clive Barker(Short story), Jeff Buhler(screenplay)
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Brooke Shields, Roger Bart, Ted Raimi
Running Time: 100min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk4u8dOOEcE

Rating: 7,5/10

DREAD (2009)

The outcast cinema student, Stephen Grace, does not drive cars due to the trauma of losing his brother in a car accident. He befriends, Quaid, who since the age of 6 has experienced dreadful nightmares and daydreams about the death of his parents. Quaid proposes they research about each one's innermost fear. Stephen sees the chance of developing an original thesis for college and invites his friend, Cheryl, to work with them. Among the interviewees, Stephen talks to his colleague, Abby who works with him in the library. Abby has a complex about the way she looks. When the work is almost complete, Quaid has an outburst at one interviewee's and ends up destroying the camera and editing equipment. Stephen begins to re-evaluate the situation.

Based on Clive Barker's 1984 short story of the same name, which can be found in Volume One of Barker's collection Books of Blood.

Director: Anthony DiBlasi
Writter: Clive Barker(Short story), Anthony DiBlasi(screenplay)
Starring: Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Evans, Paloma Faith, Hanne Steen, Laura Donnelly,
Running Time: 108min
Country: United Kingdom
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrrpBC3aqpY

Rating: 7/10

CLIVE BARKER WRITER & DIRECTOR


HELLRAISER (1987)
A man and wife who move into an old house and discover a hideous creature - the man's half-brother, who is also the woman's former lover - hiding upstairs. Having lost his earthly body to a trio of S&M demons, the Cenobites, he is brought back into existence by a drop of blood on the floor. He soon forces his former mistress to bring him his necessary human sacrifices to complete his body... but the Cenobites won't be happy about this...

The story is based upon the novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, who also wrote the screenplay and directed the film. It is the first film in the Hellraiser series. Seven sequels followed with the eighth, Hellraiser: Revelations, now in the works. A remake of the original Hellraiser film has also been announced and will be presented in 3D.

Director: Clive Barker
Writter: Clive Barker
Starring: Andrew Robinson, Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman, Oliver Smith, Doug Bradley
Running Time: 94min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAx34IZ8bTk

Rating: 9,5/10
NIGHTBREED (1990)

Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer) is a young man plagued by dreams of a city called Midian, a place where monsters can go to be forgiven and accepted. As a means of coping with these recurring nightmares, and at the request of his girlfriend Lori (Anne Bobby), Boone is seeing psychotherapist Dr. Phillip K. Decker (David Cronenberg), who is in reality a serial killer. Donning a grotesque mask, Decker has been murdering families who he sees as disgusting "breeders". In their last session together, Decker attempts to pin the blame for his killing spree on Boone. Decker cites the fact that Boone has described the victims while he was under hypnosis as the key evidence. He gives Boone a bottle of Lithium and twenty four hours to turn himself in. Boone wanders the streets in a hallucinogenic haze, and is hit by a truck. He is taken to a hospital where the doctor informs him that he was under the effects of LSD and not Lithium. Boone realizes that Decker has set him up...

Based on his novella Cabal, Barker has expressed disappointment with the final cut and longs for the recovery of the reels so it might be re-edited.

Director: Clive Barker
Writter: Clive Barker
Starring: Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Charles Haid, Doug Bradley
Running Time: 108min / Uncut: 159 min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MntiEGXQFk

Rating: 8,5/10

LORD OF ILLUSIONS (1995)

During a routine case in L.A., NY private investigator Harry D'Amour stumbles over members of a fanatic cult, who are waiting for the resurrection of their leader Nix. 13 years ago Nix was calmed down by his best trainee Swann. In the meantime Swann is advanced to a populary illusionist like David Copperfield and is married to the charming Dorothea. She hires D'Amour to protect Swann against the evil cult members. Short time later Swann is killed by one of his own tricks and the occurrences are turning over. And it crackles between Dorothea and D'Amour...

The film is based on his earlier short story, The Last Illusion (from Books of BloodVol. 6), and it presents Barker's signature character Harry D'Amour onscreen for the first time. Barker asserts that the director's cut of this film is his definitive version, as the theatrical release does not represent his true vision.

Director: Clive Barker
Writter: Clive Barker
Starring: Scott Bakula, Kevin J. O'Connor, Famke Janssen, J. Trevor Edmond
Running Time: 109min / Director's cut: 120 min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyJvOuxZDHY

Rating: 7,5/10

HORROR TV SERIES

THE KINGDOM (1994-1997)
(Danish title: Riget)

The Kingdom is the most technologically advanced hospital in Denmark, a gleaming bastion of medical science. A rash of uncanny occurrences, however, begins to weaken the staff's faith in science-a phantom ambulance pulls in every night, but disappears; voices echo in the elevator shaft; and a pregnant doctor's fetus seems to be developing much faster than is natural. At the goading of a spiritualist patient, some employees work to let supernatural forces rest.

American horror writer Stephen King developed a thirteen-episode mini-series based on Riget, under the title Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital, which was broadcast in 2004. The plot retained many of the elements of Riget, transferring the location of the hospital to Lewiston, Maine, and placing it on the site of a mill built before the Civil War.

Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Ernst-Hugo Järegård, Kirsten Rolffes, Holger Juul Hansen, Søren Pilmark, Ghita Nørby, Baard Owe
No. of episodes: 8
Country: Denmark
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5McczZo-u4o

Rating: 9,5/10


THE WALKING DEAD (2010-...)

The Walking Dead tells the story of the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse; it follows a small group of survivors, traveling across the desolate United States in search of a new home away from the shuffling hordes of the undead. The group is led by Rick Grimes, who was a sheriff's deputy in King County, Georgia, before the zombie outbreak. As their situation grows more and more grim, the group's desperation to survive pushes them to the brink of insanity. At every turn they are faced with unspeakable horrors- both from the dead, and from the scattered remains of a struggling human populace.

Director: Frank Darabont
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Steven Yeun
No. of episodes: 6
Country: United States
Website: http://www.amctv.com/originals/The-Walking-Dead/
SUPERNATURAL (2005-...)

This television drama is about two brothers, Sam and Dean, who were raised by their father, John, to hunt and kill all things that go "bump in the night" after his wife, Mary, was murdered by something supernaturally evil when the boys were young. 22 years later the brothers set out on a journey, fighting evil along the way, to find their recently missing father who, when they finally meet up with, reveals he knows what killed their mother, a demon, and has found a way to track and kill it. Meanwhile, Sam starts to develop frightening abilities that include death visions, visions of people dying before it actually happens. These visions are somehow connected to the demon who murdered his mother...

Creator: Eric Kripke
Starring: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles
No. of episodes: 115 (6 seasons)
Country: United States
Website: http://www.cwtv.com/shows/supernatural
MASTERS OF HORROR (2005-2007)

In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, California. The original ten “masters” attending were John Carpenter, Larry Cohen, Don Coscarelli,Joe Dante, Guillermo Del Toro, Garris, Stuart Gordon, Tobe Hooper, John Landis and Bill Malone.Subsequently, Garris organized regular dinners with the group and invited other horror and genre directors to attend including Dario Argento, Eli Roth, David Cronenberg, Lucky McKee, Tim Sullivan, Wes Craven,Joe Lynch, William Lustig, Ernest Dickerson, Kat O’ Shea, Robert Rodriguez, James Gunn, Mary Lambert, Tom Holland, Peter Medak, Lloyd Kaufman and others.
In 2005, Garris created and produced an original anthology television series of one hour movies, written and directed by many of the "Masters" which was originally broadcast in the U.S. on the Showtime cable network. In several international territories, the films were released theatrically.

Creator: Mick Garris
No. of episodes: 26
Country: United States, Canada

Rating: 7,5/10

LATEST OBSSESSIONS (6)

A TALE OF TWO SISTERS (2003)

A girl, Su-Mi, is brought to a psychiatrist. She is unresponsive until shown a picture of her family. She is taken home by her father (Moo-Hyeon) along with her timid sister, Su-Yeon, where they are met by their difficult stepmother (Eun-Joo). That night Su-Yeon awakes to find somebody in her room and she flees to her sister. Su-Mi promises Su-Yeon that she will always be there for her and they fall asleep. Su-Mi awakens after a nightmare to find that Su-Yeon has begun her period, as has her stepmother, on the very same day. The girls look at some old photos, which reveal that Eun-Joo was a doctor and a coworker of their father. Su-Mi sees bruises on Su-Yeong's arms and accuses Eun-Joo. At dinner with guests - Sun-Kyu (Eun-Joo's brother) and his wife - Eun-Joo acts strangely. During dinner, Sun-Kyu's wife begins to choke and convulse on the floor. After they leave, Eun Joo investigates around, only to be startled by a hand that reaches out as she tries to pick up a pin...

Director: Ji-woon Kim
Writter: Ji-woon Kim
Starring: Im Soo Jung, Moon Geun-young, Yeom Jeong-ah, Kim Kap-su
Running Time: 115min
Country: Korea
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anF5XiN8QY8

Rating: 9/10


LAKE MUNGO (2008)

Sixteen-year-old ALICE PALMER drowns while swimming in the local dam. When her body is recovered and a verdict of accidental death returned, her grieving family buries her. The family then experiences a series of strange and inexplicable events centered in and around their home. Profoundly unsettled, the Palmers seek the help of psychic and parapsychologist, RAY KEMENY. Ray discovers that Alice led a secret, double life. A series of clues lead the family to Lake Mungo where Alice's secret past emerges...

Director: Joel Anderson
Writter: Joel Anderson
Starring: Talia Zucker, Rosie Traynor, David Pledger
Running Time: 89min
Country: Australia
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2ISuVvP-XI

Rating: 8/10

TIMECRIMES (2007)
(Spanish: Los Cronocrímenes)

The protagonist Hector (Karra Elejalde) sits on a lawn chair outside his new country home, surveying the nearby wooded hillside through a set of binoculars, after receiving a strange phone call. Nearby his wife has just assembled a new coffee table, and, banteringly, he bets he will buy the groceries if the table fits through the front door. Then as his wife (Candela Fernández) returns to take out the car to buy groceries, having lost the bet, he catches sight of a woman removing her shirt amidst the trees and curious, goes to investigate. Finding the woman-but supine, naked and senseless he approaches but is attacked and stabbed in the arm with a pair of scissors by a sinister figure wrapped in a grotesque pink head bandage...

TimeCrimes director Nacho Vigalondo revealed that David Cronenberg is in the running to direct the upcoming English language remake of the popular Fantastic Fest award winner.

Director: Nacho Vigalondo
Writter: Nacho Vigalondo
Starring: Karra Elejalde, Bárbara Goenaga, Nacho Vigalondo, Candela Fernández
Running Time: 88min
Country: Spain
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcGj9waK3u4

Rating: 8,5/10

THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL (2009)

The film opens on a voyeuristic shot of college student Samantha Hughes (Jocelin Donahue) as she looks at an apartment. She cannot afford the security deposit, but the landlady agrees to accept the first month's rent instead. Samantha needs the apartment because her roommate is a slob who frequently has sex with her boyfriend all night long. When she sees a flyer advertising a babysitting job, Samantha calls the number and leaves a voice mail. The pay phone rings after she has hung up, and Mr. Ullman (Tom Noonan) arranges to pick her up outside the Student Affairs office. However, he never shows up. Ullman leaves a message with Samantha's roommate, and when Samantha calls him back, he apologizes for standing her up and offers her $100 to babysit that night. Seeing the money as the only way to afford her first month's rent, Samantha agrees, and her friend Megan (Greta Gerwig) drives her to the house which is in the country. Megan is very skeptical, and begs Samantha to let her stay with her. When they get to the house, Ullman is very evasive when Megan asks him basic questions about who he is. He mentions the evening's lunar eclipse and how the town is the best place on Earth to see it. Eventually, he confesses that there is no child to babysit, only his mother...

The film attempts to recreate the 1970s and 1980s style of horror films, using filming techniques and technology similar to those used in that era.

Director: Ti West
Writter: Ti West
Starring: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov
Running Time: 95min
Country: United States
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SOur3WwZvM

Rating: 7,5/10

LONG LIVE THE 70s! (2)



SUSPIRIA (1977)

During a night of rain and thunder, a young American ballet student, Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper), lands in Munich to attend a prestigious dance academy in Freiburg. When she reaches the school, she witnesses another student, Pat Hingle (Eva Axén), fleeing the building in a panic. Unable to gain access herself, Suzy stays in town for the night. Pat arrives at a friend's apartment where she is attacked and murdered...

Soundtrack
The Italian rock music band Goblin composed most of the film's musical score. Goblin also composed music for several other films by Dario Argento. In the film's opening credits, they are incorrectly referred to as "The Goblins". The score for Suspiria is considered a unique masterpiece. Like Ennio Morricone's compositions for Sergio Leone, Goblin's score for Suspiria was created before the film was shot.
Goblin frontman Claudio Simonetti later formed a heavy metal band, Daemonia, and the 2001 Anchor Bay DVD release contains a video of the band playing a reworking of the Suspiria theme song. This DVD edition also contains the entire original soundtrack as a bonus CD, long out of print in North America.
Goblin's main title theme for Suspiria was named as one of the best songs released between 1977 and 1979 in The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present.

Director: Dario Argento
Producer: Claudio Argento
Writter: Dario Argento, Daria Nicolodi
Starring: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini
Running Time: 92 min(Rated), 98 minutes(Unrated)
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8zbV_fFkYs&feature=fvw

Rating: 9/10


THE LEGEND OF THE HELL HOUSE (1973)

Physicist Lionel Barrett is enlisted by an eccentric millionaire, Mr Deutsch, to make an investigation into "survival after death" in "the one place where it has yet to be refuted". This is the Belasco House: the "Mount Everest of haunted houses," originally owned by the notorious "Roaring Giant" Emeric Belasco, a six-foot-five perverted millionaire and supposed murderer, who disappeared soon after a massacre at his home. The house is believed to be haunted by numerous spirits; the victims of Belasco's twisted and sadistic desires. Accompanying Barrett are his wife, Ann, as well as two mediums: a mental medium and Spiritualist minister, Florence Tanner, and a physical medium, Ben Fischer, who is also the sole survivor of an earlier investigation. The rationalist Barrett is rudely skeptical of Tanner's Christian faith and spiritual beliefs, asserting that there is nothing but unfocused electromagnetic energy in the house...

Dialogue from the film has been sampled in popular songs by the bands Anaal Nathrakh, Skinny Puppy and Orbital.

Director: John Hough
Producer: Albert Fennell, Norman T. Herman, James H. Nicholson(executive), Susan Hart (executive)
Writter: Novel & screenplay: Richard Matheson
Starring: Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowall, Clive Revill, Gayle Hunnicutt, Roland Culver
Running Time: 95min
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MDF9vZVd_s

Rating: 7,5/10


THE WICKER MAN (1973)

Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) is sent an anonymous letter recommending that he investigate the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison, on the remote Hebridean island of Summerisle (a fictional island apparently inspired by the real-life Summer Isles of the Inner Hebrides).
He flies to the island and during his investigations discovers that the entire population participates in a Celtic neopaganism cult, believing in re-incarnation, worshipping the sun and engaging in fertility rituals and sexual magic in order to appease immanent natural forces.

Director: Robin Hardy
Producer: Peter Snell
Writter: Anthony Shaffer
Starring: Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, Britt Ekland
Running Time: 88min
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FdV-O8o7ok

Rating: 8,5/10


THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972)

Mari Collingwood (Sandra Peabody) plans to celebrate her seventeenth birthday by attending a concert with her friend, Phyllis Stone (Lucy Grantham). Her parents (Gaylord St James and Cynthia Carr) express concern both at the band and Mari's friendship with Phyllis. They let her go, giving her a peace symbol necklace as a gift before she leaves. Phyllis and Mari go to the city for the concert. On the way, they hear a news report on the car radio of a recent prison escape, involving violent criminals by the names of Krug Stillo(David Hess), a rapist and serial killer, his son Junior (Marc Sheffler), Sadie (Jeramie Rain), a psychopath and Fred "Weasel" Podowski (Fred J. Lincoln) a child molester, peeping tom and murderer. After the concert, Mari and Phyllis stroll the streets, seeking someone who might sell marijuana. They find Junior, who leads them back to an apartment, where they are immediately trapped by the criminals. Phyllis tries to escape, then tries to reason with the criminals to let her go and is punched in the stomach and raped...

The story is based on the 13th century Swedish ballad "Töres dotter i Wänge", which was also adapted into the 1960 Swedish film The Virgin Spring, directed by Ingmar Bergman.

Director: Wes Craven
Producer: Sean S. Cunningham
Writter: Wes Craven
Starring: Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred J. Lincoln, Jeramie Rain
Running Time: 91min
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W9KPhmYYtg

Rating: 7,5/10

LONG LIVE THE 70's! (1)



DON'T LOOK NOW (1973)

Don't Look Now tells the story of a couple, Laura (Julie Christie) and John Baxter (Donald Sutherland) whose young daughter has recently drowned in a tragic accident at home. Their grief puts a sudden pressure on their marriage.
Seeking a change of scenery and an opportunity to work through their loss, they take a "working vacation" to Venice, where John has been contracted to restore an ancient church. While John attends to this project Laura is befriended by two strange elderly sisters, one of whom is blind and claims to be in psychic contact with the Baxters' dead daughter. Laura is drawn to the sisters, but John finds their influence on her unsettling and suspects them of deceit. The ensuing drama is set against a subplot involving a serial killer who has eluded the police. John catches glimpses of a child-like figure in red raingear who resembles his dead daughter, although the figure vanishes whenever John pursues it. He begins to question his own sanity and that of his wife as Laura appears to be completely under the command of the sisters, who in turn suggest that John shares their gift of a "second sight"...

Director: Nicolas Roeg
Producer: Peter Katz
Writter: Screenplay:Allan Scott, Chris Bryant, Story: Daphne du Maurier
Starring: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland
Running Time: 110min
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYICwstBwnM

Rating: 10/10


THE TENANT (1976)
(French: Le Locataire)

Trelkowski (Polanski), a quiet and inconspicuous man, rents an apartment in France where the previous tenant, Simone Choule, attempted to commit suicide by throwing herself out of the window and through a pane of glass. He goes to visit her in the hospital, but finds her all bandaged up and unable to talk; she instead lets out a disturbing cry upon seeing him before she dies afterwards. Trelkowski meets Simone's friend, Stella (Adjani), at the hospital. He tries to comfort her but dares not say that he never knew Simone, pretending instead to be another friend of hers. They leave together and go out for a drink and a Bruce Lee movie Enter The Dragon, where they fondle each other. However outside the theater they part ways.
As Trelkowski occupies the apartment he is soon unreasonably chastised by his neighbors and his landowner Monsieur Zy (Douglas) for hosting a party with his friends, making too much noise in general, not joining in on a petition against another neighbor, etc. Trelkowski attempts to adapt, but is himself disturbed by the frequent sight of his neighbors standing blankly in the toilet room (which he can see from his own window) and the discovery of a hole in his apartment with a human tooth stashed inside...

Director: Roman Polanski
Producer: Hercules Bellville
Writter: Gérard Brach, Roman Polanski, Novel: Roland Topor
Starring: Roman Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, Jo Van Fleet
Running Time: 125min
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmhIMbdecEU

Rating: 10/10


THE CHANGELING (1980)

The story is based upon events experienced by writer Russell Hunter while he was living in the Henry Treat Rogers Mansion of Denver, Colorado.

Scott stars as Dr. John Russell, a composer living in New York City, who moves cross-country to Washington state following the tragic deaths of his wife and daughter in a traffic accident while on a winter vacation in upstate New York. In suburbanSeattle, Russell rents a large, old, and eerie-looking Victorian-era mansion and begins piecing his life back together. However, Dr. Russell soon discovers that he has unexpected company in his new home when a poltergeist, the ghost of a murdered child, haunts the house...

Director: Peter Medak
Producer: Chessman Park Productions, Tiberius Film Productions
Writter: Russell Hunter, William Gray, Diana Maddox
Starring: George C. Scott, Trish VanDevere, Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos
Running Time: 115min
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jZDq8sK6a8

Rating: 9,5/10



THE BROOD (1979)

The Brood was named 88th on the "Chicago Film Critics Association's 100 Scariest Movies of All-Time". The film was Cronenberg's first major success.
A novelization was written by Richard Starks.

An unconventional psychotherapist (Oliver Reed) has created a technique called "psychoplasmics." He encourages his patients to "go all the way through it" and allow their negative emotions (rage, fear, etc.) to cause their bodies to undergo (usually radical) physical change. A man who was verbally abused by his father develops welts over his body as a way of expressing his pain. Another patient develops lymphatic cancer, supposedly a manifestation of his self-hatred. In the case of the principal characters, it causes a woman, Nola Carveth (Samantha Eggar), to parthenogenetically birth strange, mutated children and, via a telepathic bond, have them act out whatever negative emotions the mother is feeling at the time...

Director: David Cronenberg
Producer: Claude Heroux
Writter: David Cronenberg
Starring: Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle
Running Time: 92min
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSfZunKpRVM

Rating: 9/10

TANGERINE DREAM'S MUSIC


NEAR DARK (1987)

One night, Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar), a young man in a small Oklahoma town, meets Mae (Jenny Wright), an attractive young drifter. Just before sunrise, she bites him on the neck then runs off. The rising sun causes Caleb's flesh to begin to burn. Mae comes with a group of roaming vampires and takes him away...

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Producer: Steven-Charles Jaffe
Writter: Eric Red, Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Bill Paxton
Running Time: 95min

Music by Tangerine Dream

Rating: 9/10


THE KEEP (1983)

The film focuses on a deserted citadel (the “Keep” of the title) in WWII Romania within which lies entrapped a dangerous and malevolent entity named Radu Molasar. When the humble German Wehrmacht occupies the castle to control the Dinu Mountain Pass, Molasar is unwittingly unleashed from deep within the innermost recesses of the citadel by a pair of treasure-seeking soldiers and he consumes their life energy...

Director: Michael Mann
Producer: Gene Kirkwood, Howard W. Koch Jr.
Writter: Michael Mann, Novel: F. Paul Wilson
Starring: Scott Glenn, Gabriel Byrne, Jürgen Prochnow, Ian McKellen, Alberta Watson, Bruce Payne
Running Time: 96min

Music by Tangerine Dream

Rating: 7,5/10


FIRESTARTER (1984)

Andrew and Vicky McGee met while earning money as guinea pigs for an experiment at college. The experiment was shrouded in suspicion and mystery, and seemed to be related to psychic abilities. The two were married and had a daughter Charile, who has the ability to start fires by merely thinking about it. Naturally, the government takes a great interest in Charlie, and operatives from the secret department known as "The Shop" want to quarrantine and study her...

Director: Mark L. Lester
Producer: Frank Capra Jr., Martha De Laurentiis
Writter: Stanley Mann, Novel: Stephen King
Starring: Drew Barrymore, David Keith, George C. Scott, Freddie Jones, Heather Locklear, Martin Sheen
Running Time: 114min

Music by Tangerine Dream

Rating: 6/10

LYCANTHROPES a.k.a WEREWOLVES (2)


AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981)

Two American college students, David Kessler (David Naughton) and Jack Goodman (Griffin Dunne), are backpacking across the Yorkshire moors. As darkness falls, and they decide to stop for the night at a pub called "The Slaughtered Lamb". Jack notices a five-pointed star on the wall. When he asks about it, the pub becomes very quiet. The pub-goers start acting very strangely. The pair decide to leave, but not before the others offer them pieces of advice such as "Beware the moon, lads" and "Keep to the road." Whilst conversing with each other and wondering what they meant, they wander off the road, onto the moors. Back at the pub, the owner gets very distressed and suggests that they go after the pair. As she says this, a sinister howling is heard. The rest of the pub-goers, having barricaded the door, decline. Back out on the moors, Jack and David have also heard the howls, and they seem to be steadily getting closer. They start back to the Slaughtered Lamb when they realize they are disorientated and lost on the moors. A full moon comes out from behind the clouds, and they remember the advice they were given earlier. The noises get steadily closer until they are stopped by a supernaturally large animal. The animal attacks both of them, and kills Jack. The animal is then shot and killed by the pub-goers, who have now emerged. David survives the mauling and is taken to a hospital in London. When he wakes up three weeks later, he does not remember what happened and is told of his friend's death. David is questioned by an arrogant inspector, and more understanding sergeant and learns that he and Jack were supposedly attacked by an escaped lunatic. David insists that they were actually attacked by a large wolf. But the inspector had already been told there were witnesses and an autopsy report of the maniac, so they deduce that David is suffering from shock...

The film was followed by a 1997 sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris, which featured a completely different cast and none of the original crew.

Director: John Landis
Producer: George Folsey Jr., Jon Peters, Peter Guber
Writter: John Landis
Starring: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter
Running Time: 97min

Rating: 9,5/10

 
THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961)

The story is set in 18th Century Spain. A beggar (Richard Wordsworth) arrives in the village of Santa Vera to find the streets deserted and the church bell tolling... and it is not a Sunday. He enquires at a bar and the locals explain that today is the wedding day of the Marques Siniestro and, by order, a public holiday. The villagers are unhappy because their taxes are paying for the wedding feast, but they are not invited. One man suggests that the beggar try his luck at the castle for "that’s where all our charity is!" The unfortunate beggar decides to take him at his word. The Marques Siniestro (Anthony Dawson) is a cruel man. When the new Marquesa (Josephine Llewellyn) is spooked by the sight of a roast goose, he humiliates the chef (Charles Lamb) in front of his guests. When a servant (Desmond Llewellyn) opens the door to the beggar, he warns him to leave. But it is too late: the Marques has already seen the beggar and invites him in. When Siniestro teases the man, his bride protests. So he offers to buy the beggar for her as a pet and gives the man ten pesetas. He then gets the beggar drunk and makes him dance for food. Finally, Siniestro makes him beg like a dog while his guests bark. Tiring of the joke, the Marques and his bride proceed to bed. But when the beggar wishes them a good night, Siniestro has him tossed into the dungeon for his 'insolence'. The imprisoned beggar is forgotten but manages to survive another fifteen years. His only human contact is with the jailer and his beautiful mute daughter (child: Loraine Carvana; adult: Yvonne Romain). Time has not been kind to the Marques either: his wife died and his friends deserted him, so that he has become a recluse in his room. When the jailer's daughter, while cleaning in the Marques' room, refuses the old man's advances, he has her thrown into the dungeon with the beggar. The beggar, driven mad by his long confinement, rapes her and then dies...

Director: Terence Fisher
Producer: Michael Carreras, Anthony Hinds
Writter: Anthony Hinds (aka John Elder)
Starring: Clifford Evans, Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain, Catherine Feller, Anthony Dawson
Running Time: 91min

Rating: 8/10

THE WOLFMAN (2010)

In 1891 in the Blackmoor woods, Ben Talbot (Simon Merrells) is confronted by a superhuman wolf-like creature. He tries to escape, but is followed and subsequently mauled and killed by the creature. Renowned Shakespearean actor Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro) is touring London in a stage production of Hamlet when he receives word of his brother's disappearance from Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), Ben's fiancé. Lawrence travels by locomotive to his family estate in Blackmoor. While sharing the train compartment with an elderly man (Max von Sydow), he is given a silver, wolf-headed cane, a piece which the man remarks he acquired in Gévaudan, France, a town renowned during the mid-eighteenth century for a string of over one hundred murders attributed to a werewolf known as the Beast of Gévaudan. Upon arriving in Blackmoor, Lawrence reunites with his estranged father, Sir John (Anthony Hopkins). It is revealed that when Lawrence was young, his mother Solana (Christina Contes) committed suicide. It was afterwards that Sir John sent Lawrence to an insane asylum in London. Lawrence then learns that Ben's mauled body had been found the day before. Lawrence goes into town to see the body, which is kept at the local slaughterhouse. He recoils from the sight of his brother; who has been viciously mauled to death by something that cannot be human. The butcher gives Ben's personal effects to Lawrence. Later, in the local tavern, Lawrence overhears the locals debate about who was responsible. Many blame a band of gypsies who are camped outside of town. Another claims that several decades earlier a similar murder had happened and that his father suspected a werewolf. Among Ben's belongings was a medallion that had been purchased from the gypsies...

Director: Joe Johnston
Producer: Scott Stuber, Benicio del Toro, Rick Yorn, Sean Daniel
Writter: Andrew Kevin Walker, David Self, Curt Siodmak (Original screenplay)
Starring: Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving
Running Time: 103min

Rating: 8/10