Exclusive Update: The Killer Shrews are Back with a Vengeance

Word is that principal photography has wrapped on Steve Latshaw's long-awaited sequel/re-boot to the 1959 cult classic B-flick, The Killer Shrews -- the appropriately named Return of the Killer Shrews, which returns to the screen the character of Captain Thorne Sherman as played by original star James Best. The film is now in the important post-production stage, with the FX currently the main focus. Here Best visits SILO, the folk in charge of creating the titular beasties:

As you can see from the poster above, the film stars, apart from Best, such notables as John Schneider (best known for his role in Dukes of Hazzard and for his defining performance as Jonathan Kent in Smallville), seen here on set with Best:

Here Schneider talks about the experience: John Schneider on the set of Killer Shrews.

Also on board is Bruce Davison (Willard, X-Men, Kingdom Hospital and much else besides):

Here Davison has his say: Bruce Davison speaks about the Killer Shrews.

It was recently announced that Dean Torrance (of Jan and Dean fame) and Bruce Davison have recorded the song “Shrewd Awakening” together (written by composer for the film, Gary Griffin, and David Beard), a song that is to be featured on the soundtrack Return Of The Killer Shrews. (Source: Examiner)

Behind The Scenes:

Producer Dorothy Best here discusses the genesis of the Shrew sequel:

Check out these similar behind-the-scenes videos from the other members of the cast: 

Jennifer Lyons

Katherine Randolph

Patrick Moran (writer, producer and actor)

Holly Weber

Shaun Andrew Easter

Sean Flynn

David Browning

James Best told Undead Backbrain that they should have a trailer available very soon and will send it to us as soon as it's finished. As for the film's release, they have a broker going to AFM, the film market, on November 1-6.  "Hopefully we'll get some good reactions,"he added.

More pictures from the production can be seen on the film's Facebook page.

• Sources: James and Dorothy Best via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood
• Previous Backbrain articles:  First Details; Update 1; Casting Details; Update 2.

News of Host 2

Ever wonder what's come of the proposed sequel to the excellent giant monster flick The Host [aka Gwoemul] (South Korea-2006; dir. Joon-ho Bong)?

Well, SciFiJapan confirms that funding has been obtained and The Host 2 (Gwoemul 2) is officially greenlit.

According to the press release, THE HOST 2 is currently in the development stage with multiple scripts (including a prequel written by comic book creator Kang Full) featuring a variety of concepts. The press release also stated that the South Korean mobile telecommunications provider SK Telecom previously invested to cover expenses for planning and development of THE HOST 2. As of this writing, there is no cast or director announced for the sequel.

Check out the details here.

More Bikini-Wearing Samurai Chicks Killing Zombies

Yes, it's the sequel to Onechanbara: The Movie [aka Chanbara Beauty] (Japan-2008; dir. Yôhei Fukuda). As we mentioned earlier, it's called Onechanbara: Vortex. We've had the teaser; now here's the full trailer:

Source: TwitchFilm via Avery

Announced: Journey Sequel

Brendan Fraser's dino vehicle Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) is about to turn into a franchise, with an unusual take on the way to do it.

Click on this image to make it wallpaper size

New Line have announced the sequel, which will be directed by Eric Brevig and will once again be in 3D. The actors -- Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem -- are expected to reprise their roles from the first film, though this has not been confirmed.

As yet the sequel has no title, but the proposed plotline came about when an earlier concept that featured Atlantis was abandoned (due to a plethora of Atlantis projects already in development) and producers stumbled upon a spec script by Richard Outten, titled "Mysterious Travels". This one is an adventure tale "based on the fantasy conceit that the literary tales Gulliver's Travels, Treasure Island and Verne's own Mysterious Island all occurred on the same island." It will be "re-purposed" to fit the idea of a sequel to "Journey", something that Verne himself never attempted.

More dinosaurs. Yay! You can never have too many.

• Source: Hollywood Reporter via io9.com and Avery