Descent Keeps Creatures Real

Neil Marshall, who directed the SF horror film The Descent, told SCI FI Wire he didn't reveal the film's scary underground creatures to his all-female cast until they were on set in order to get a genuine fear reaction. "I wasn't sure what their reactions would be, whether they would really come across as frightening, so I waited until we were filming before I even showed it to them," Marshall said in an interview.

In The Descent, a group of adventure-loving friends goes spelunking in an unexplored cave and runs afoul of a race of blind, meat-eating humanoid creatures. Marshall said that he went caving with his stars to prepare them for their parts. And he kept the look of the creatures a surprise until the last moment.

"It was a great moment for them," Marshall said. "It saved up some of the angst for them. The guys were hidden in a corner in the dark. When [the actresses] saw the creatures and screamed, that was the first time they saw them, and those reactions are real. They went running. They were repulsed, and they were screaming. Then, they all started laughing."

The Descent opens Aug. 4 in the United States.

- The Monster

Ghost Rider Goes Back To Source

Mark Steven Johnson, who wrote and directed Nicolas Cage's upcoming Ghost Rider, told SCI FI Wire that he based the movie on the original comics that appeared in the late 1970s and early '80s. "Mine's the original," Johnson said in an interview at Comic-Con International in San Diego. "Mine's Johnny Blaze. It's really pretty much the classic story. You know, very, very few changes. But it's all about selling your soul."

Ghost Rider, based on the Marvel Comics series, centers on Blaze (Cage), a motorcycle stunt rider who moonlights as an avenging demon with a flaming skull. The comics originally appeared from 1973 to '83. A second series, which appeared from 1990 to '98, centered on a different character, Daniel Ketch, who was later revealed to be Johnny Blaze's brother.

The movie makes a few changes to the original story. In the movie, it's the character of Johnny Blaze's father for whom Johnny makes his deal to sell his soul, not his mentor, as in the comics. "In our case, it's the father, not the stepfather, but the father who has lung cancer, who, having to leave the girl behind and ... being cursed and having to hit the road. All that stuff is in." But Johnson added that he made use of later incarnations of the comic for the film's unique look. "The spiked jacket," he said. "This isn't the blue full-body jumpsuit, you know? ... And the motorcycle he had in the early comics, I wasn't a big fan of. I thought we could do better." He added: "The Caretaker [played by Sam Elliott] from the Ketch years is a character I always liked a lot. You know, I wanted to find a way to use him. As was Blackheart [the villian from the Ketch series]. So a lot of it was taken from later. But the origin and a lot of the heart and the soul of it was from the Johnny years." Ghost Rider opens Feb. 16, 2007.

Sony Pictures - Ghost Rider Offical Website

- The Monster

The Tooth Fairy coming to DVD August 8

Cavities can be the Root of all Evil!

Remember the innocence of putting a tooth under a pillow at night and finding it mysteriously transformed into a reward the next morning? My, how times have changed…Anchor Bay Entertainment, an IDT Entertainment Company, extracts the dark side of a beloved childhood ritual with The Tooth Fairy ! Co-written and produced by legendary producer Stephen J. Cannell (“The A Team”, “Hunter”, “Profit”, “21 Jump Street”) and featuring such horror alums as P.J. Soles ( Halloween, The Devil's Rejects ) and Jesse Hutch ( Freddy Vs. Jason ) , The Tooth Fairy turns the innocent fairy tale into the ultimate nightmare! Presented uncut with never-before-seen footage, The Tooth Fairy also offers bonus features, including an audio commentary and behind-the-scenes interviews, that viewers can really sink their teeth into! Open wide for The Tooth Fairy on August 8, 2006 , with an SRP of $19.98. Pre-book date is June 28th.

Directed by Chuck Bowman from a teleplay by Stephen J. Cannell, Corey Strode and Cookie Rae Brown and starring Carrie Fleming (“Masters of Horror: Dario Argento's Jenifer”), The Tooth Fairy rips to shreds the whimsical icon. Amid the idyllic splendor of the Northern California woods, a quaint country inn offers respite for the weary traveler. It also harbors a dark secret. Almost sixty years earlier, it was the crumbling home of a malevolent witch who lured in children, stole their teeth, butchered their bodies, and cursed their souls to wander the earth forever. Now, the witch's slumber has been disturbed, and her vengeful spirit seeks the slaughter of all who stay there. And for one eleven -year-old girl with a loose molar and an active imagination, the ultimate horror begins with a visit from The Tooth Fairy...

The Tooth Fairy DVD provides a full set of extras including:
Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1), enhanced for 16x9 TVs
Uncut Version – Never-Before-Seen Footage
Audio Commentary with Director Chuck Bowman, Producer/Writer Stephen. J. Cannell and Actor Jesse Hutch
Hatchet Job: The Making of The Tooth Fairy
Cast and crew interviews
Trailer

The Infested Sound: Episode 17: “Lady in the Water”

Jeff and Phil are back this week as they scrounge up 4 bucks and make their way to the theater to see "Lady in the Water".

Check out The Infested Sound as they give there reviews of the film, and find out what is on its way to the theater...

Infesting the web with the sounds of the DEAD! One of the web's most entertaining horror podcasts... The Infested Sound

Shauna Macdonald - Descent Was Dirty Job

From Sci-Fi Wire:
Shauna Macdonald, the Scottish actress who stars in the upcoming SF horror movie The Descent, told SCI FI Wire that making the film was a grueling physical experience, compounded by the fact that she was called upon to, among other indignities, roll through dirt and sand, get soaked in blood spatter and then be immersed in a red, goopy liquid that looks like a mix of blood and water. The film, directed by Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers), follows six friends and adventurers who become trapped in a cave inhabited by blind humanoid creatures that pick them off one by one.

"The film was shot chronologically, so we got dirtier and dirtier throughout the seven weeks of shooting," Macdonald (The Mutant Chronicles) said in an interview. "So it was layer upon layer, and you couldn't even get all the dirt off at night. And it didn't matter because you knew that at 6 o'clock the next morning you were just going to be sprayed with more dirt. It was makeup dirt, and they sprayed baby oil to make the sweat."

Macdonald added: "But then we were rolling around in this sand that you didn't see, so we had sand sticking to us. Then they had dust they blew on us and makeup blood, but the makeup blood made your skin stuck together. So, in your tiny crevices, which were sticking together, you had sand and dirt and oil. When we went to the pub or to dinner after shooting, we still had some stuff on us. One of the girls, Natalie [Mendoza], said she went to the gym and still had these huge makeup bruises on her, and people thought she'd been battered. We got to the point where we didn't even see it anymore, the blood and the dirt." The Descent descends into theaters on August 4.

- The Monster

Eureka Breaks Ratings Record

SCI FI's new original series Eureka garnered the network's highest-ever ratings for a series telecast in its history. The July 18 two-hour premiere got a 3.2 household rating, or 4 million viewers. That included 1.9 million aged 25-54 and 1.7 million aged 18-49.

Eureka was the number-one cable program on July 18 in household ratings, total viewers and in the 25-54 and 18-49 demographics.

Eureka was also the highest-rated and most-watched premiere telecast of a cable original series in Tuesday prime time this year.

Nestled in the Pacific Northwest, Eureka is a seemingly ordinary town whose residents lead ordinary lives … at least to the naked eye. Shrouded in secrecy, the picturesque hamlet is actually a community of scientific geniuses assembled by the government to conduct top-secret research. It airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Day of the Dead Remake Casting Confirmed

Brand new 'Day' for trio
Rhames, Suvari, Cannon set for undead redo

From Variety:
Ving Rhames, Mena Suvari and Nick Cannon have been cast in "Day of the Dead," the remake of George Romero's cult horror classic being produced by Millennium Films and Emmett/Furla Films.

Michael Welch, Annalynne McCord, Stark Sands and Christa Campbell round out the cast for the film, which follows a group of scientists and military personnel holed up in an underground bunker because the world above is overrun with zombies.

Steve Miner is directing the zombie pic from a screenplay by Jeffrey Reddick.

- The Monster

28 Days Later Shunned By Gamemakers

Film-to-game adaptation of zombie flick was offered but had no reasonable takers, says movie's producer.

At the Develop conference going down in Brighton, England, DNA Films producer Andrew MacDonald told an audience that he shopped around the idea of making a game based on 28 Days Later, one of his studios' films, reports gamesindustry.biz. Filled with ultraquick zombies, gritty action, and a relatively realistic sci-fi premise, one would think the film, directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Shallow Grave), would make good source material for an interactive game--however, game publishers didn't. Indie houses did take interest, but required DNA to foot the bill for development--something the studio could not afford to do. Bungie's Marty O'Donnell, who happened to be in the audience, mentioned that it was the film's script, written by Alex Garland (The Beach), that led the studio to offer $1 million for Garland to pen the Halo movie.

A sequel to 28 Days Later, titled, 28 Weeks Later, is currently in production - and MacDonald is also presently working on a movie titled Sunshine, which is an original science-fiction film.

- The Monster

Universal Legacy Series - Dracula, Frankenstein

Universal has officially announced 75th Anniversary releases of Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi, and Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff. Each of the two-disc packages will be available to own from the 26th September, priced at around $26.98 a pop. Each of the films will be presented in digitally remastered 1.33:1 full frame - along with English 2.0 Mono tracks. Dracula will include both the 1 hour 14 minute, and 1 hour 44 minute Spanish versions of the film - along with an intro to the Spanish version by Lupita Tovar Kohner, a commentary with the film historian David J Shal, a second commentary with the screenwriter of Dracula: Deal and Loving It, and a feature on the score by Phil Glass. Completing the set will be a Lugosi: The Dark Prince documentary, 'The Road to Dracula', 'Monster Tracks', a postage montage, and trailers.

Frankenstein will include a commentary with historian Christopher Frayling, a second commentary with Rudy Behlmer, a Karloff: The Gentle Monster documentary, 'Monster Tracks', a short film entitled 'Boo!', a Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster documentary, a 'Frankenstein Archives' feature, and the theatrical trailer.

Dracula Year Zero

Universal has acquired the spec script Dracula Year Zero by newcomer writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless and set it up with Michael De Luca to produce via his De Luca Productions, Variety reported.

The story explores the origin of Dracula, weaving vampire mythology with the true history of Prince Vlad the Impaler, depicting Dracula as a flawed hero in a tragic love story set in a dark age of magic and war.

Alissa Phillips of De Luca Productions, who brought the project in, will serve as co-producer. Donna Langley, president of production, and Jeffrey Kirschenbaum will oversee the project.

Universal was home to the original 1931 Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi and based on Bram Stoker's horror novel, published in 1897.

The Horror Podcast - Episode 21

For one night only, The Horror Podcast returns to pleasure your earlobes for one more time. This week the guys talk about The Kindred, Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Suzy from Jeff over at The Infested Sound.

Click here to subscribe to the Horror Podcast or click here to download the MP3.

Enjoy the horror...

- The Monster

First Casting News for Hills Sequel

From DreadCentral.com:
Word has come down today from a very reliable source that Michael Bailey Smith is all set to return to the Hills, but not in the role of Pluto this time. According to what we were able to find out, Smith will be taking on an entirely different position in the mutant family this time, that of their leader.

As you may recall, Craven is writing the script with son Jonathan, and when it was first announced they were in talks with Deathwatch/Wilderness director Michael J. Bassett to direct, which would also be badass news if it comes to pass. Shooting is expected to start up this September in Morocco, so I’m sure we’ll have a confirmation by then!

For more news and information on the new Hills Have Eyes Sequel head on over to DreadCentral.

- The Monster

Wes Craven Looking Into Game Development?

From Gamespot:
When Wes Craven was given the final speaking slot at the inaugural MI6 game-marketing conference this week in San Francisco, the choice likely raised a few eyebrows. Previously, the director's most visible tie to the world of games was the 1989 Nintendo Entertainment System game based on his film, Nightmare on Elm Street.

Craven was booked to speak about fostering customer loyalty, marketing, and creating anticipation for a product from his perspective as a film director. However, after the conference was over, he spoke with San Jose Mercury News writer Dean Takahashi about his possible work as a game designer. After discussing the director's presentation and attitudes toward gaming in general, Takahashi writes on his blog that the director "said he was in talks to create an original game, but wouldn't elaborate."

Film directors getting into game development is a growing trend. Hong Kong action director John Woo is overseeing the development of Midway's Stranglehold, King Kong director Peter Jackson was hands-on with Ubisoft's interactive adaptation of his big-budget remake, and Steven Spielberg last year signed on to create three next-generation games based on original properties with Electronic Arts.

As for horror directors getting into film, Craven will have some company on that front, too. Halloween helmer John Carpenter is working with Titan Productions on Psychopath, a game that he already has plans to adapt into a movie. Hellraiser director Clive Barker has also dabbled in games, finding critical success with 2001's Undying and falling short with the canceled Demonik.

The Complete Toxic Avenger Box Set

From DavisDVD:
In 1984, a legend was born that forever changed the face of American cinema... After falling into a misplaced barrel of nuclear waste, nerdy 90-pound janitor Melvin Junko was transformed into a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength! The rest, as they say, is history. Davis DVD announced today Troma Video's The Complete Toxic Avenger, due on September 5th, which will include special editions of The Toxic Avenger, The Toxic Avenger Part II, The Toxic Avenger Part III and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part IV, each in their unrated director's cuts. Also included in this six-disc set are all 13 episodes of the Toxic Crusaders cartoon, presented for the first time ever on DVD! Retail is $59.99

- The Monster

Happy July 4th - From Monsters A Go-Go

Have a Happy 4th of July.

From Monsters A Go-Go