Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Monster Fight From Outlander



io9.com has posted a clip from the Viking vs Alien Monster flick Outlander. While some are finding themselves able to go see the much-anticipated movie in an actual cinema (including Kaiju Search-Robot Avery, I might add), those of us who must wait until the thing comes out on DVD are forced to content ourselves with such snippets as these.



Check out the fight below or go to io9.com to see it larger.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Update: Sacrifice

While there's been no visual sighting of the giant monster involved, Bob Nelson's in-development monster film Sacrifice is apparently stomping along in fine style. Tomorrow, on the film's website, there will be an open live chat on the movie's progress, where you can ask the questions that are preying on your mind.

Meanwhile Kaiju Search-Robot Avery reports that the first official teaser poster has been "leaked" to him, and here it is:



The poster will be available for purchasing from the site.

At the same time, Brick Cave Media is releasing a new story, "Origins", which reveals the monster's backstory. It will be available for purchase -- or comes free with the poster.

As if that's not enough, a short (5 minute) film called "Convention" (Bob is keen on single-word titles obviously) will also debut on the night. It's a spoof of the "Sacrifice" crew's struggles to get their film made.

So roll up and Sacrifice yourself to the excitement.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Giant Monster Birds

Another B-flick from the SciFi Channel, this one creature-featuring giant monster birds mutated from (going on the DVD cover art) some sort of butcher bird, gene-spliced with pteradactyl DNA (going on the trailer). As indicated by the symbol on the DVD, we're once again dealing with a contagion -- perhaps the most popular fear preyed upon by contemporary horror films.


Flu Birds [aka Flu Bird Horror] (US-2008; dir. Leigh Scott)

A bunch of the usual teen/20-somethings get eaten and/or infected with the virus. Check out the trailer below (or go to YouTube for an HD version):




Monday, January 19, 2009

Update: Flowers for the Dead

Director of the in-post-production Night of the Living Dead homage, Flowers for the Dead, Joseph Barbarisi, has sent us an update on the progress of his film.
"We might have a chance to have Flowers for the Dead screened at 'The Living Dead Fest' in Evans City PA where the original Night of the Living Dead was filmed. It is planned that the Living Dead Fest will take place every year to celebrate what is one of the greatest horror films ever made.

"Meanwhile actor/special effect contributer to Flowers for the Dead, Rich Moschella, has put up a look behind the scenes of Flowers shot on the last two days of filming. Nice soundtrack to go along with it..."

You can watch the doco below -- or better still check it out in high definition on YouTube.


An extensive interview with Barbarisi and a detailed look at the film's inspirations are available on Undead Backbrain.

Information on the Living Dead Festival can be found here and on their website here.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Update: Alien Trespass

Below is the newly released trailer for the 50s scifi B-flick pastiche film, Alien Trespass (to be released in April 2009):



Alien Trespass
(US-2009; dir. R.W. Goodwin)

More information here.

Evil Giant Bongs



Now, you know a sequel to a movie from Full Moon about a giant bong and the stoners who seek it, directed by Charles Band, is going to be a class act, right?

Well, here's proof!

[WARNING! The following trailer contains drug-taking and nudity, so close your eyes if you're under 14... or 40 for that matter]





Evil Bong 2: King Bong (US-2009; dir. Charles Band)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

FInally, Outlander arrives

Well, Outlander finally arrives -- in the US anyway. After speculation that a cinema release would not be forthcoming, Quiet Earth reveals that the alien monster vs vikings creature feature opens in select theatres in the US on 23 January. You can find a list of cities in which it will be showing here.

What's more, below is the final poster:



This film has been long in coming and, despite massive enthusiasm from genre fans and many positive reviews, it appears the Weinstein Company still isn't granting it a big release. I'm sure we here in the Land of Oz will have to wait for the DVD.

Outlander (US-2008; dir. Howard McCain)
During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan (Caviezel), a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking's Iron Age weaponry.
The film stars James Caviezel, Ron Perlman, John Hurt, Sophia Myles, and Jack Huston, if you were wondering. Fairly impressive cast, actually.

For more information, including the trailer, here and here and... oh, do a search on the Undead Backbrain site.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

New: Jack the Giant Killer

Variety reports that J.D Caruso (Disturbia) is filming a version of the folktale Jack and the Beanstalk (last lensed in 1962 by Nathan Juran, with Jim Danforth's stop-motion animation), as Jack the Giant Killer, for New Line.



It tells the well-known tale:
When a princess is kidnapped, a long-standing peace between men and giants becomes threatened, and a young farmer is given an opportunity to lead a dangerous expedition to the giant kingdom to rescue her. (Variety)
Reportedly, it will take an "adult" view of the story, whatever that means. Variety reports Darren Lemke (a Lost writer) and Mark Bomback as scripters, with Neal Moritz and David Dobkin as producers. No date is given.

This appears to be a different project to one reported by German site Zelluloid, which suggests a modernised version of the same tale:
This action adventure centers around a man, who journeys from modern New York into a more primitive country, in order to protect a village and a princess there from evil and fantastical creatures. (Roughly translated from zelluloid.de)
This site lists Sam Raimi and Joshua Donen as producers, from a script by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. This corresponds to an entry in IMDb, which names Buckaroo Entertainment as the company concerned and describes the film as an action/comedy/fantasy. A release date of 2009 is given on this one.

IMDb also has a Jack the Giant Killer project listed for 2011, though no details are available. Presumably, this is the same one as reported by Variety.

So that's two versions of the same story coming our way. Interesting.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Another 20,000 Leagues

Not content to get the geek world in a tizz about his upcoming Terminator Salvation, director McG is now taking on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo -- a prequel to Jules Verne's famous novel about the misanthropic captain of the piratic submarine Nautilus.

The novel was one of the first to be adapted to film -- as a short by Georges Méliès in 1907 under the title 20000 lieues sous les mers, and then full-length in 1916 by Stuart Paton.



Of course, apart from the Nautilus itself, one of the most famous things about the story -- particularly cinematic versions -- is this scene (here taken from an early illustrated version of the novel):


One wonders whether McG will be featuring some such cephalopoidal character in his prequel, which, as scripted by Bill Marsilli (Deja Vu), is an origin story, no doubt depicting the development of Nemo's rather negative attitudes toward humanity and the creation of his dreaded warship.

The prequel is being produced by McG for Disney, who of course were responsible for the famous and memorable 1954 version, starring Kirk Douglas and James Mason. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was the first live-action film made by the Disney Studios. It became the second-highest grossing film of its year and won three Oscars.

Dragon Hunter

Mid-range epic fantasy of the dragonish kind, Dragon Hunter can't help sounding a little like Lord of the Rings-lite. Still, it doesn't look too bad.

Dragon Hunter (US-2008; dir. Steve Shimek)


Synopsis:

Orphaned as a baby when his parents were killed in a vicious orc attack, Kendrick of Elwood was raised by his elder brother, Darius. Though only nine at the time, Darius devoted his life to Kendrick's care and to purging orcs from their land.

Now, after years of absence, a new danger emerges, more lethal than the threat of orcs or men. Reports of dragon attacks spread like wildfire through the panicked land. In memory of his mother's prophesies of a mighty Dragon Hunter in their bloodline, Darius leads Kendrick on a perilous journey to the castle of Ocard -- the Dragon Hunter training grounds. As they battle through evil men and orc-infested lands, they align with a band of rogue warriors who swear their allegiance in this hazardous quest.



Wednesday, January 7, 2009

And now, Guilala Goes Into Advertising

After being revived for Minoru Kawasaki's Girara no gyakushû: Tôya-ko Samitto kikiippatsu [aka Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit!], Guilala "the Giant Space Chicken" appears to have found a job in advertising.

Check out this great commercial for an employment website (though I recommend that you watch it here instead -- in high definition and much larger, as it looks great):



For more information on Guilala, go to the Undead Backbrain website.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Update: Galactic Raiders

Remember this chap?



He's from the stop-motion indie scifi film, Galactic Raiders, which we first introduced on Undead Backbrain back in April last year.

Galactic Raiders (US [in post-production]; dir. Larry Arpin)

For those who missed it, here is the teaser trailer:



Director Larry Arpin has sent the Backbrain (via Avery) a bit of an update as to the progress of the film:
Thank you for remembering me and my project. Actually, it is going quite well. I've been animating a lot. Trying to finish up reel 1. I have one more creature to go for this reel, but I have to block out what I've done so far to see what is best. I recently went to Barstow to shoot back plates on the weekend of the California fires and am right now finishing up scenes for reel 2. After this, I will be concentrating on the trailer. I am only a few months behind, and the best news of all, even during these hard financial times, I am freeing up some money so I will be able to go out and finish the remainder of the live action. I wish I can show more, but everyone will have to be patient. As long as I am working and in good health, it will be done. I promise.
No worries, Larry. We'll be patient ... though we may squirm with suppressed excitement every now and then.

Tale of a Long-Awaited Empire

In 1982 the first really memorable sword-and-sorcery film I recall seeing (when I was young and impressionable -- and I'm not counting earlier stop-motion monster adventure epics from Ray Harryhausen, such as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad) was released. The Sword and the Sorcerer (dir. Albert Pyun) predated Conan the Barbarian by only a few months. It was comparatively low-budget -- but I didn't care; magic, demons, icky ancient sorcerer, three-bladed, bolt-shooting sword and provocatively dressed women. What's not to like? And the coffin made of screaming skulls looked pretty cool to me.

Then there was magical heart surgery:



The end of the film promised a sequel with the title Tales of an Ancient Empire, but over the ensuing decades the ancient empire failed to rise.

Now director Pyun has a surprise for us. Tales of an Ancient Empire is currently in production, the actual shoot having begun in December last year, with the film scheduled for a 2010 release.



It stars Kevin Sorbo (of Hercules fame), Melissa Ordway, Janelle Taylor and Inbar Lavi.



Still cool, at least potentially!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Zombie Nazis!

Now this is what I call a Nazi zombie!



The Colonel comes from a Norwegian zombie film -- Dead Snow [aka Død Snø] (Norway-2009; dir. Tommy Wirkola) -- which is about a bunch of the usual suspects (young, attractive 20-somethings) having a holiday in the snow, when they accidentally wake up the undead fascists with all their archetypal debauchery and wicked rowdiness. And yes, there is apparently a knowing local who explains the backstory...

... how this snowy mountain side was a occupied by the Nazis in World War II. The townspeople eventually revolted against their horrible oppressors and drove Colonel Herzog and his minions into the high mountains. Supposedly they froze to death. (io9)

Sort of Shock Waves (US-1977; dir. Ken Wiederhorn) for the post-Friday the 13th crowd.

Here's the teaser trailer:





io9 has some good-looking clips from the film.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

All Good Lakes Have a Monster

This time it's Smith Mountain Lake in the Roanoke Region of Virginia. And, yes, it has a monster -- or at least, displaying proper levels of cryptozoological ambiguity, it might have.

What it certainly does have, though, is spectacularly beautiful sunsets!


Inspired by the beauty of the artificial lake and "the kindness and warm spirit" of its community, Life Out Loud Films is set to begin production of a drama that showcases both. It's tentatively called "Lake Effects", which may not tell you much but is strangely appropriate.

Lake Effects (US-[in production]; dir. Michael J. McKay)

Synopsis:
This is the story of a family raised on the lake. The oldest daughter moved away to Chicago to become a Lawyer, the youngest, an artist, now teaches art at the local elementary school and lives with her parents. When Dad dies in a sudden accident, the oldest sister returns home to SML [Smith Mountain Lake] to settle Dad’s estate. The next few weeks at the lake are filled with discoveries, tears and laughter as the two daughters finally understand why it was so important to Dad that they grow up on the lake. For Mom, it is a journey of understanding what the lake means to her personally rather than through her husband’s eyes. Of course there is humor as a local oddball leads a search for a Loch-Ness style monster/cat fish he believes lurks in the lake’s depths and a few real SML characters make appearances. It is at the end that these worlds all collide at the Wine Festival on a heartwarming and hilarious collision course. (LOLF website)
Life Out Loud Films seems to be an idealistically driven independent film production company, aiming to create opportunities "for independent and creative spirits to collaborate and produce quality films that challenge the mainstream, present human reality and speak to the heart."

Does the lake monster make an actual appearance, I wonder?

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, the website contains a lengthy article on the genesis of the project.

An epiphany while visiting her parents leads to movie producer's decision to focus action, lights and camera on Smith Mountain Lake...

Source: Life Out Loud Films website via Kaiju Search-Robot Avery