Tagged: monster

The Top 5 Most Anticipated Monster Movies That Aren’t ‘Pacific Rim’!

Monster movies, why the hell are they so few and far between? I just can’t get enough of a good creature feature. It seems all the hype is around Pacific Rim if you’re a monster fanatic. I’m excited to check that one out, but still it looks a little too Hollywood Blockbustery. A little too slick and videogamey. I’m sure it’ll be fun as hell but there’s only so much glittery CGI a guy can take in one summer!

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So I figured I’d see what else was out there that could be promising and a bit more under the radar. So here’s five movies that just might please fans of monster flicks like myself! So in no particular order….

1. Dead Shadows

No idea when this French “End of the World” horror movie is going to be released but I’d bet as we are getting ready for a few big Hollywood “End of the World” movies to hit soon I’ll bet this one isn’t far behind! Still it looks like something that could end up being a lot of fun, though seemingly heavy on the CG. This one has a the awesome old “comet crash brings monsters”  vibe to it-check it!

2. Under the Bed

This one looks right up my alley and I’ve already read some pretty good reviews for it. It’s supposed to have a kind of Joe Dante feel to it. To me it’s bringing to mind movies like The Gate and Gremlins, but from what I’ve heard toward the movies third act it amps up the gore with a pretty epic “kids vs. monsters” battle. I mean who doesn’t love seeing kids fight monsters?!

3. Game of Werewolves

This cool looking little Spanish werewolf movie has yet to be released in the United States but it has already got a pretty cool rep building for it. I am a sucker for a fun Werewolf movie and the Underworld franchise just ain’t cutting it! So I have my fingers crossed that this lycan werewolf horror comedy is gonna bring the goods! Supposedly Joe Dante has a new Werewolf film in the works too called “Monster Love” I wish there was a trailer for that one because I’m sure it’ll be awesome!

4. Knights of Badassdom

When the HELL is this thing gonna get released?! It’s been sitting in limbo for long enough and it looks like a delightful Horror comedy. It involves a bunch of LARPERS that accidentally summon and real life demon from an ancient book. They’ll get a shot to try out their real skills in a fight for their life. Lets hope this gets a release date soon becuz it looks like a load of fun!

5. Exists

Why can’t anyone ever make a cool Bigfoot movie? There are a ton of them out there and the best one is STILL Harry and The Hendersons! We came close with ‘Abominable’ back in 2006, which is probably the best killer Bigfoot flick out there, yet still it lacked something. And most recently we got a a few more found footage Sasquatch movies, Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes, Willow Creek & The Woodsman some were decent but none of them left much of a mark. So I am hoping that ‘Exists’ will be worth the wait, simply because it’s an Eduardo Sanchez film. Sanchez is best known for directing the Blair Witch Project so he clearly understands the genre and if you don’t think he can pull of a creature feature then you need to check out his awesome alien flick “Altered”. Expect a trailer soon but in the mean time he gives us the scoop here:

Lastly here’s a call to support “Harbinger Down” a movie in the works by ADI the same people that brought you those magnificent monsters in Tremors amongst others! they’re using all practical effects and using 1982’s The Thing as inspiration, this is exciting!

Evil Dead 4: Less Talk More Rock Mr. Raimi!

Here we go again and again….So it seems the big news is that Sam Raimi has mentioned that he’s going to write the script this summer for Evil Dead 4 with his brother. Apparently he mentioned this in an interview promoting his new “Oz the Great & Powerful” movie opening soon. First I really can’t say I am excited for this new Wizard of Oz prequel, Raimi to me seems like the new Tim Burton and unfortunately that’s not a compliment. Aside from his sorta return to form film “Drag Me to Hell” it’s been a while since he’s put out anything too stellar. This Oz film reminds me of more of the same “Alice in Wonderland” style glittery forgettable Hollywood schlock. I just don’t have any interest in sitting through more of that type of stuff anymore. However a piece of me got excited about this Evil Dead script thing and then I remembered he promised back in 2008 that part 4 was in the works back at the San Diego Comic-Con and then I remember he’s been making these promises since the early 2000’s!

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So what we all need now is less talk. Let’s see some REAL progress! I would love to see one last adventure with an older, wiser, grumpier Ash. Bruce is not too old for the role either he’s only 54, I am certain if he spent a little time getting into shape (or not) he could bring us all the performance we’ve been hoping for. My question is if Raimi get’s his ass in gear and makes this happen is it going to be a glittery pile of Hollywood shit? Is he going to go for an Army of Darkness style plot where it’s Bruce in front of a green screen for an hour and a half? Or will this new Evil Dead reboot “boasting no CG” set the bar for the way this fourth movie is filmed? We can only hope!  Drag Me to Hell showed a glimmer of promise for a fourth installment, yet if Ash would have been the lead character in that movie I would have been sorely disappointed. If  Evil Dead 4 is to work it’s got to push the bar real high, pushing the Horror Comedy genre to a new level and set a new standard. With all the money Raimi has now from Spider-man we had better see a movie that outshines it’s two predecessors. It’s one thing for Raimi to be a “Tim Burton” but if he becomes a modern day “George Lucas” then Evil Dead 4 (if it ever really sees the light of day) it could be a tough stain to erase from our minds for a nearly pitch perfect horror franchise….Raimi I’ll be watching you!

P.S. Hey Sam if you know what the true fans want, it’s not special effects like this!

 

The Millenium Bug: Big Dumb Monster Fun!

The Millenium Bug boasts “No CGI” was used in the making of this monster movie. It’s really is quite clear upon viewing this one that indeed no CGI was anywhere near this one & perhaps that’s what gives this little indie monster film it’s charm. It’s clearly meant to be a throwback to the creature features of yesterday in pretty much every way imaginable. Be fore warned though, don’t take this one too seriously as you’re not likely to get any realism from the plot or the special effects.

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It follows a family escaping the city during the Y2K hysteria who get abducted by a family of evil hillbillies. But wait folks, before you pass this off as another Texas Chainsaw rip I might add that a giant monster erupts from the earth and is hellbent on destroying everything in it’s path. This gargantuan monster bug looks like a missing nemesis from an old classic Godzilla flick! The entire movie was filmed on a tiny soundstage so it really has that old school movie vibe going for it. There’s something charming and sweet about movies filmed this way that’s largely missing from movies today. When the monster attacks it destroys tiny small scale model homes, trees and people. The effects are done nicely too, but as I said before this one lacks any grounding in the real world in look and plot. This movie knows exactly what it wants to be: big dumb loud fun by some people who hate modern cg drenched cinema…

Comic Book cover of the Week! A Classic Monster Brawl From Bernie Wrightson!

Bernie Wrightson is easily one of the BEST artists ever in the world of comic books and fantasy. If you want a monster drawn right in an eerie landscape he’s the man for the job. Which is why he most likely drew this weeks cover of the week.

The Incredible Hulk #197 has got the Hulk facing off against another of Marvel’s classic green behemoths Man-Thing! This issue back from 1976, when comics where only a quarter (gasp!) features these two brutes going toe to toe, of course though the evil Collector has something to do with with this deathmatch! Wrightson was well know for Swamp Thing so it’s a treat to see him pencil the mighty Man-Thing and the Hulk. Wrightson would later return for the classic Hulk & Thing team up graphic novel from 1987 “The Big Change” another awesome monster filled story…

Recent Horror Movie Gems!

I’m always on the lookout for a good horror flick! I have a hard time finding newer horror films that really deliver the goods and offer up a good scare or a good laugh. I recently I did see a few good ones and I’m gonna share a few recommendations for you so when the winter’s cold bites too hard you’ll have a few movies that you know aren’t total trash to keep your blood running hot!

The Pact (2012): I’ve gotta say this one surely delivered the scares a-plenty! This is one hell of a well done ghost story and is fully guaranteed to freak you out. This movie follows a young woman’s search for her missing sister who disappears shortly after the passing of their mother. She heads back to her hometown house where she grew up and becomes pursued by a malevolent spirit that resides in her childhood home. Sounds simple enough huh? Don’t bet on it this moviewill grab you all the way til the shocking finale-this one is a MUST for any true fan of pesky poltergeists!

It’s in the Blood (2012): Here we have another creepy new horror film featuring veteran Lance Henrikson. I doubt that means to much these days as Lance continues to star in one crappy horror flick after another these days. Well this one breaks the streak of shitty horror he’s been riding. It’s in the Blood is quite a nice little Monster movie as long as you aren’t expecting something like Pumpkinhead. No this one reunites a father with his estranged son as they embark on a hiking trip together where they face head on their haunting dark pasts that caused their separation. Once deep into the woods something begins stalking them and they desperately work together to survive the night. This one gets pretty intense and delves into some dark scenarios but it’s effective and creepy as hell.

[Rec]3:Genesis (2012) I have been waiting for quite some time now for this third installment to the incredibly tense REC series and this one continues the tradition albeit in a completely different way than the first two. The previous films were completely “found footage” But they were the few good ones of that tiring genre that just won’t seem to go away. Basically this one starts out like a found footage flick but shortly shifts in to a real movie. This one unlike the previous two follows a more ‘Evil Dead 2’ style and continues to deal with the demonic virus epidemic of the first two. It’s funny, gruesome & action packed. My only complaint was I was hoping for a little more out of the demonic people this time around and they ended up seeming more like traditional zombies than the hyper intense walk on the ceiling type infected we saw previously. Still though this one is a great one to watch with a bunch of friends and a bunch of drinks..

Hypothermia: Best Movie Poster Of 2012!

I am a sucker for a good creature feature and right now I have high hopes for Hypothermia! This movie will be released Oct 2nd on DVD which is right around the corner here. It seems there’s a shortage of good monster flicks these days so I am hoping this one will deliver. So far I like the plot, which is nice and simple. It follows a group of ice fishers in Maine who aren’t catching anything in their local lake. They do a little research and find out that there are no fish inhabiting the lake at all….just a weird monster beneath the ice!

So far from the still via Dreadcentral.com it looks like a weird humanoid lamprey. Hopefully the movie isn’t jam packed with shitty cg. One thing it definately has going for it though is it’s movie poster! Talk about a throwback to 80’s VHS!!

Take Me To Unicorn City Please!

Being a big fan of D&D, LARP-ing has always been a serious curiosity of mine. I hope someday to actually try it for real as it’s become quite popular over the years. However what is the real reason why it’s gotten so much attention? To me it’s apparent that it’s an easy thing to poke fun at. Yeah I do see how silly it is, I mean grown women and men playing pretend in the forest. To me though it looks like a great time and a great escape from this mundane world we currently inhabit.

This form of entertainment has been featured in quite a few films, like “Role Models”, documentaries like “Monster Camp” a more serious thriller in the awesome “Wild Hunt” and even popular music videos (Red Fang). So let’s add another comedy to the list the upcoming “Unicorn City”.

Even if it’s another tear on LARP-ers it’s still getting the word out there and getting me a step closer to some day try it for myself! Check out the trailer!

Unfortunately This is Not an Alien….

But it might as well be! I just first saw this amazing video last night-at first I was certain a new sea creature was discovered! Well unfortunately a scientist already identified it as a deep sea squid. Either way it’s new to me and totally amazing that this beast was captured on camera while drilling off coast of the UK. It’s pretyy much the strangest thing I have seen in quite sometime-proof to us monster obsessed geeks that real monsters do exist right here on earth! Yay!! Now let’s just hope we never run into this thing while snorkling!

Is There an Alternate Version of “The Thing” 2011 Prequel?

I finally got around to watching “The Thing” 2011 prequel I have been trying to avoid for so long. The original 1982 movie of the same name is probably my favorite monster movie of all time! So giving this new movie a chance after hearing about how shitty it was really was a hard thing to do-but I decided to see for myself if the movie sucked as bad as the reviews suggested. My verdict? Yeah it was pretty damn sucky.

First of all this movie was really not much of a prequel. It was basically a remake that tried to do everything the original did but just ten times less impressive. Sure it linked at the end to the Carpenter version but overall this movie didn’t bring anything new to the table. The story was pretty bland, as were the characters even though the movie was pretty well shot and looked very similar to the original-all except for the special effects.

Now we all know that the 1982 version is really the king of practical monster effects. It still remains to this day as perhaps the most creepy and realistic looking effects on screen. The new version however looked as fake and pathetic as ever. Like something out of DOOM interacting with real people. But was it always meant to be that bad? I guess not. The movie originally boasted that no CGI would be used and from what I have read 80% of it was shot with bad ass practical monster effects. Then when the movie was show to the studio they were told the monsters were too slow and they needed the monsters to be jumping around more ect. So they had to go back and reshoot and mostly cover up the old effects with CGI to give it a more modern look. By modern it ended up getting a more fake video gamey look that the kids love so much today. Anyway I am curious-is there a version out there with the original effects?! How about releasing a special edition original cut version? Well here’s a little video that shows you some of the magic that could have been in the 2011 version…