Scream 4 Advance Reviews Are In

Or, What I Wouldn't Do For A Press Pass (Updated)


I had been dreading that I might have to advise you dear readers, to take a deep breath before plunging into these, the advance reviews of Scream 4 from the Australian screening via Roadshow Films. But thank thee lord, this is not to be the case (I had to take a deep breath and light a cigarette to calm my nerves anyhow before I began reading). Within the last 24 hours, the reviews and Tweets and everything in between has been pouring in and I have yet to read nary a negative response in connection to Scream 4 (these are from uber-fans though, which either makes them bias in their opinions or the perfect barometer for the film's strengths and faults, depending on your perspective). If advance word of mouth is to be believed, it would appear as though Kevin Williamson, Wes Craven and Co. have really outdone themselves this time; fashioning a triumphant return to Scream's bloody, acerbic world that respects what came before and honors what the fans have wanted while simultaneously turning everything on its head in a gloriously brutal, emotional, funny, tension filled "mind fuck" of a film. Yes, I keep coming across that phrasing in relation to the film's story, "mind fuck" (one review going so far as to compare the film's script turns to plot twists from television's brain-bending LOST). Really? A Scream film a "mind fuck"? As if I couldn't be more intrigued. The fact remains however (cynical lad that I am), I'm doing everything within my power to refrain from getting too excited as I would hate for the hype to outshine the reality. Though, as I read more and more about the film, my willpower to remain staunchly blank faced and impartial is getting increasingly harder to maintain. The Thursday night / Friday morning midnight screening that I plan on attending couldn't get here fast enough.

- The leading authority on all things Scream related, Scream-Trilogy.net has posted their advance, spoiler free review which you can read here. Additionally, they are hosting the live, streaming red carpet premier here.

- (Updated) Fangoria's Samuel Zimmerman has lukewarm things to say about Scream 4, sadly. You can read his review here.

- (Updated) Joshua Miller over at CHUD.com has an equally middle of the road review, chalking Scream 4 up to "meh"

- (Updated) While DreadCentral's Andrew Kasch has slightly better things to say about it.

- (Updated) A man who has been entrenched in all things Scream lately, Shock Till You Drop's Ryan Turek (writer and director of Still Screaming: The Ultimate Scary Movie Retrospective) just posted his review, and though he finds faults with the film, his final vote lands on the positive side.

- (Updated) Rotten Tomatoes began compiling it's collection of Scream 4 reviews earlier today, and though there are more than a few harsh words spoken of it (and it has been yo-yoing back and forth from "rotten" to "fresh") it is at the moment "certifiably fresh" with a consensus of 61% (the original Scream maintains a score of 82% while Scream 2 possesses a 81% rating and Scream 3 a dismal 37%). Personally, when it comes to horror films I am less than interested in what mainstream critics have to say about them (unless of course, they are good things) seeing as how the genre is almost always disrespected for the very things that we fright fans love about it. I'll use the general critics' opinions as an advisory compass of sorts, but seldom do I take their conclusions to heart. Consider this your advisory compass. Cherry pick their words accordingly because one shouldn't forget how they usually look down their noses at anything with a body count.

- (Updated) Bloody-Disgusting's Brad Mishka (aka Mr. Disgusting, who oftentimes I very much disagree with) has very kind things to say about the movie here

- Concurrently, Glenn Dunks over at StalePopcorn has posted his very glowing review (also spoiler free) and though he admits that Scream 4 isn't a perfect film, he also makes grand statements such as this one: "[Scream 4] could perhaps rank as the greatest franchise revival in cinema history". Wow. Wrap that sucker up, I'll take it.

Meanwhile, sentiments such as these having been flooding Glenn's Twitter account:

"I'm almost at a loss for words. It's so bloody good! Bloody being the apt word. Amazing. Amazing!"

"Scream 4 saves its sharpest knives for its audience. Best US horror sequel in years. Take a bow."

"Well and truly worth the wait. Fans of the original will be well served by this sequel/reboot. All hail!"

"It's really legitimately good. The final act is some of the craziest cinema I've seen in AAAAGES!"

"A right ol' swift kick to the balls. Done by people who know what they're doing. Showing how to do a sequel RIGHT."

"Respect to Scream 4! After nearly a decade of gore and torture but few thrills, great horror finally returns. Jumpy & satirical fun had by all!"

Honestly, the beaming positivity and enthusiasm for what the Australian audience just witnessed goes on and on and on. So what of you dear readers? Are you excited yet?

K & B Radio Breaking News Bulletin

With Your Host Stevie Wayne

---Director Angel Sala And The Sitges Festival Charged With Exhibition Of Child Pornography For Screening A Serbian Film - Some seriously disturbing news came outta Barcelona today with word that the Sitges Film Festival - one of the largest, oldest, distinguished and most respected genre film events in the world - and the festival's director Angel Sala have been charged with the exhibition of child pornography in relation to a screening of A Serbian Film, a horrific masterpiece, at the 2010 edition of the festival.

Lets not mince words, A Serbian Film (aka Српски филм / Srpski film) is cinema at it's most extreme. It's a thoroughly shocking film. However, it's designed to be just that, a movie that ruffles feathers and gets under people's skin. It was made to raise people's tempers and get them talking and asking questions. Is it art? Is it socially relevant? Is it shock value for the sake of shock value? We here at The October Country think the answers would be yes, yes, and sorta. But child pornography? That is absolutely knee-jerk, reactionary rubbish of the highest order. The scene that tends to be cited of the offending "crime" is depicted entirely off screen, with it's sexual violence implied rather than depicted. Plus (and I'm not entirely 100% certain about this) I think it's safe to assume that the infant portrayed in the aforementioned scene is fake. Yep, good 'ol foam and latex. Accusing somebody of filming child pornography with such a prop would be like calling Tom Savini the ringleader of a successful snuff film circuit. We can only hope that the courts recognize this erroneous judgment and throw the case out.

Apparently, there have been murmurs that something was coming down the line after subsequent screenings of A Serbian Film were banned throughout Spain but charging Sitges and Angel Sala with exhibiting child pornography is beyond the pale excessive. The festival, and Sala, could be facing serious jail time and / or hefty fines if convicted. We think it's time for everybody to sit back, take a deep breath and allow reason and common sense to take hold of their rash, exaggerated response.



Update:

According to Spanish Website El Pais, Sitges festival director Angel Sala has been formally charged with the exhibition of "child pornography" in connection with the October 2010 screening of the film in Spain.

As translated: "The prosecution accuses the Board of a crime of child pornography display to allow the screening of the film, in which there are two images that allegedly transgress the law: the violation of a newborn baby and a sex with a child of five.

"The prosecution believes that Hall was able to commit a crime under article 189.7 of the Penal Code, punishable by three months to one year imprisonment or a fine on anyone who 'produces, sells, distributes, exhibited to or facilitate by any means pornographic material which not having been used directly minors or incompetent, his voice is used or modified or altered image,' " the site adds. You can click here to read the article in its entirety.

Additionally John Squires over at the awesome Freddy In Space has more, including information on how you can lend your voice to combating this frightening, ridiculous indulgence in censorship.

This has been a K & B Radio news bulletin. We now return to our regularly scheduled broadcast.

The Anticipation Is Killing Me

Dead Island

If you are a fan of horror, video games or zombies (and if you're not, what are you doing here), you would have had to have been living under a rock these past couple of days to not have caught wind of the trailer debut for Techland's (for Microsoft Windows) Dead Island. Nearly overnight, the fanboy excitement went from zero to...well, a number that is really high. I actually think that it broke the buzz o'meter as all of the internet was seemingly rumbling at it's arrival. Truth: it's been a long time since your host was so overwhelmed by the undeniable coolness of a trailer that I completely forgot to keep hold of my trademark, healthy cynicism. Which, is exactly what happened 15 seconds into this thing. Yes, I am now one voice out of thousands voraciously feeding the hype machine, and you will be too once you've had your mind blown by Dead Island's stellar teaser trailer. Even though we've been told that the trailer's "footage and characters may not even represent the actual game". Which would be a bummer really if this teaser in no way exemplifies the tone, quality and emotional resonance of the finished product. I mean, when was the last time I got teared up from a video game trailer? Exactly.

What's even crazier, is that in the aftermath of the online hysteria following Dead Island's trailer debut, is that a film deal transpired. Yes already, not even a day afterwords (that's got to be some sort of record). Producer/Universal exec Sean Daniel (The Mummy, The Wolfman) scored the movie rights reports Hitflix: "Daniel recently established The Sean Daniel Company, and they're the ones who bought the rights to the game. Techland, the Polish developer for the game, has got to be dancing in the streets right now. This is a game that had been delayed and that had fallen off the radar after being announced a few years ago. As soon as that trailer, created by Axis Animation, popped up online, Dead Island went from 'troubled game that's taken forever to come out' to 'game everyone will play this fall because the awareness on it is gigantic."

I'm less thrilled about this news. I mean, hows about we see the actual game first? Call me a snob, but I belong to that camp of people that think movie adaptations of video games (not to mention board games and theme park rides for that matter, you know who you are) are the absolute bottom of the "creative" barrel (somebody convincingly justify the existence of films like Alone in the Dark, Doom and House of the Dead to me and maybe I'll change my tune). In the end, they are what they are and they certainly have their fans, but I imagine that like every other video game film adaptation, I'll simply opt to stay at home (though I do have my fingers crossed that they'll get it right this time, in regards to the upcoming Silent Hill 2 movie...see even I can't help myself sometimes).

Techland's Press Release:

Terror. Violence. Madness. Bedlam. A holiday paradise gone mad. A tropical island turns into total chaos after a mysterious zombie outbreak. Cut off from the rest of the world, the player’s only chance to survive is to fight to the death and find a way to escape from the island.

Deep Silver announced today that it will publish Dead Island, the upcoming gruesome zombie slasher by renowned developer Techland. Dead Island combines first-person action with a heavy focus on melee combat, character development and customization of a vast array of weapons. All of these gameplay features are presented in a dark story inspired by classic zombie movies with a gritty and engrossing campaign that can be played with up to four players in co-op mode.

Set in an open world tropical island, hordes of different festering zombies await players around every corner while they embark on a variety of thrilling missions through the holiday resort. With firearms and ammunition being scarce the player must rely on utilizing found items as weapons for self-defense and fight off zombie hordes in intense melee combat. A diverse range of items can be collected and will later serve to transform the player’s ordinary makeshift weapons into serious instruments of destruction.

In addition to satisfying even the most bloodthirsty action fan’s fantasy, Dead Island also features role-playing elements which allow the player to develop one of the game’s unique character classes according to their preferences, all the while learning new skills and fresh tactics during their journey through the perilous environments of the island. What’s more, anytime during a game up to four players can seamlessly join together and experience the intense combat and immersive story with cooperative gameplay.

With the all-new Chrome Engine 5 powering Dead Island, the game will use the latest installment of Techland’s acclaimed proprietary game engine, allowing the player to experience the tropical island paradise in graphical splendor with diverse environments like lush forests and detailed city environments.

Dead Island will be released worldwide for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC later this year.

My trigger fingers are absolutely itching to pound some zombie brains.

Visit Dead Island's official website: here.

The Anticipation Is Killing Me

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

Its a rare day when you'll find us eagerly awaiting the release of a remake here at The October Country. A rare day indeed. I'll just come out and say it, we're staunchly opposed to the remake trend (or "whore copies" as I like to call them as the term befits their true nature) that has swept Hollywood since the success of Marcus Nispel's 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre re-imagining (Jesus, seven years of this drek?) and has consumed any chance or likelihood that anything original will go into production by a major studio more than once a year as a result. Yet, here we are. To say that we aren't foaming at the mouth and chewing our lips with over-sized incisors at the prospect of what has been done to the 1973 made for TV movie / obscure cult classic Don't Be Afraid of the Dark in the very capable hands of producer Guillermo del Toro (Cronos, The Devil's Backbone) would be, well, underselling our enthusiasm.

The original '73 movie was an effectively creepy, (mostly) successful attempt in wringing genuine chills from it's strange, small premise. The premise being that of young couple Sally (Kim Darby) and Alex (Jim Hutton) inherriting an old mansion from Sally's deceased grandmother, recently deceased. Upon moving in, Sally discovers a small portion of the fireplace in the basement den has been bricked up and asks the estate's handyman, Mr. Harris (William Demarest), why that is. Mr. Harris informs her that her grandmother had it sealed up after the death of her husband and the bricked up mysetry is better off left alone. Of course, it wouldn't be much of a horror movie if Sally heeded her handyman's advice, so soon after she busies herself with removing some of the bricks herself. Unable to fully free them all, she manages to clear away enough that a small door is revealed to be hidden behind them. Leaving it at that, Sally resumes renovating the house alone, as her lawyer husband (more often than naught) is away at the office striving to make partner at his firm. It isn't long after that Sally's nightly torment begins. The lights routinely go out, beckoning voices can be heard and tiny, hideous, scurrying figures are glimpsed within the darkness. Something very evil has been awakened behind that small door in the fireplace. Something that very much would like to drag Sally off into it's world of enternal darkness.

The original Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, though displaying a genuine, errie atmosphere throughout it's proceedings and more than once shows itself capable of raising the hair on our arms (plus it scores points for it's anti-television downbeat ending), hasn't aged all that well. The problem lies with the film's creatures, simply put, made rather ineffective and silly by some unfortunate, dated makeup SFX that I'm assuming were results of the film's limited TV budget. Though they might have chilled some's blood back in '73 (I imagine young ones were particularly scarred by the film, I would have been) unfortunately, they nearly undo all the nicely crafted suspense and dread built up to the point of their reveal. In retrospect, its a shame that the creatures living behind that small door weren't kept in the shadows entirely, because it is in the darkness where they truly exude their power to unnerve. Though I am not a proponent of that tiring Hollywood excuse that just because something has aged, or not aged well, is reason enough to overhaul a franchise or existing property, the creatures from the remake have already been glimpsed in the teaser trailer and boy, are they an improvemnet. Recalling the demonic visage of the pint sized minions of 1987's The Gate (those things did traumatize me), what we have briefly seen of them promises to be terrifyingly memorable.

Other bright spots feeding my hope that I won't regret spotlighting this film in a few months: The cast is talented (Guy Pierce and Katie Holmes, whom suprisingly doesn't bother me when her face isn't on the cover of a tabloid in relation to her wacko husband). Guillermo del Toro has a distinctive visual style that is always welcome (the influence of which can be found in everything from set design and creature effects) and oftentimes makes for a unique, imaginative world that is always an honor to visit. It appears (judging from the tidbits of material that has been released thus far) as though his stamp of creativity has been left on this film too. What I can only hope for, in regards to the remake, is that the integrity of the original's paced atmosphere has been kept intact, favoring mood over cheap jump scares and big money, special effects overkill. In short, don't let this be another Haunting remake. Please, gods.

Miramax Film's Press Release:

Prodeucers Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, The Orphanage) and Mark Johnson (Chronicles of Narnia) join forces to deliver Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, a tale of hair-raising, spine-chilling horror.

Sally Hurst (Bailee Madison), a lonely, withdrawn child, has just arrived in Rhode Island to live with her father Alex (Guy Pierce) and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) at the 19th-Century mansion they are restoring. While exploring the sprawling estate, the young girl discovers a hidden basement, undisturbed since the strange disappearance of the mansion's builder a century ago. When Sally unwittingly lets loose a race of ancient, dark-dwelling creatures who conspire to drag her down into the mysterious house's bottomless depths, she must convince Alex and Kim that it's not a fantasy - before the evil lurking in the dark consumes them all.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark's Teaser trailer:

"Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" Trailer
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The Anticipation Is Killing Me

Vanishing on 7th Street

There is a lot of love for Brad Anderson around these parts. Director of the instant classic and don't-watch-this-if-you-are-afraid-of-the-dark creep-fest Session 9, as well as the criminally underexposed The Machinist, to say that I get a little excited whenever a new project of his is coming down the pipeline would be, well an understatement. For my money, I believe Brad Anderson to be a member of that illustrious cadre of filmmakers currently toiling away at the fringes of the genre that though their work goes largely unseen by mainstream audiences, they are in fact making films that will one day be on those seasonal "100 Best Horror Films of All Time" lists that crop up every year around October. Hell for the most part, I believe Session 9 had already been granted that status by writers other than myself, it's just that most people aren't aware of this. Ever since 2008's Transsiberian, Anderson has been passing the time shooting episodes of various television shows, most notably FOX's critical darling yet viewer starved Fringe (seriously, watch this show and thank me later). I'd been recently wondering if Anderson was up to anything in the feature film arena, when news broke that indeed he had been and was premiering a new horror film, Vanishing On 7th Street, at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival. Early buzz has been mixed, with advanced reviews alternating back and forth from negative to positive. There's been comparisons and accusations of ripping off everything from Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend, to the 2010 Remedy Entertainment video game Alan Wake (not to mention 1984's cult classic Night Of The Comet of all things), have been fired in it's direction. I'll reserve any judgment on the matter until after I've seen the final cut though. However, I will level this criticism it's way. While both are capable actors, I think that I am going to find Hayden Christensen and John Leguizamo's presence in the film...distracting. Not in a good way either. I think both actor's faces are a little to familiar for me to truly lose myself in their characters but then I guess I shall see. End of minor criticism.

Now, on to the film in question because honestly I am chewing at the bit to set my eyes on this sucker. In fact, I'm already creeped out.

Magnet Releasing's Press Release:

From director Brad Anderson (Session 9, Transsiberian, The Machinist) comes VANISHING ON 7TH STREET, a terrifying, apocalyptic thriller that taps into one of humankind’s most primal anxieties: fear of the dark. An unexplained blackout plunges the city of Detroit into total darkness, and by the time the sun rises, only a few people remain—surrounded by heaps of empty clothing, abandoned cars and lengthening shadows. A small handful of strangers that have survived the night (Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton, John Leguizamo and newcomer Jacob Latimore) each find their way to a rundown bar, whose gasoline-powered generator and stockpile of food and drink make it the last refuge in a deserted city. With daylight beginning to disappear completely and whispering shadows surrounding the survivors, they soon discover that the enemy is the darkness itself, and only the few remaining light sources can keep them safe. As time begins to run out for them, darkness closes in and they must face the ultimate terror.

Vanishing On 7th Street's Teaser Trailer:








Vanishing on 7th Street Trailer
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