andPOP » Horror

Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette Most Likely Back for More ‘Screams’

Christian Allaire — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 17:06:06 +0000

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Wes Craven recently spoke to MTV and suggested that Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette will all star in another ‘Scream’ movie.

The horror movie director said at least two more films are planned for the franchise following the recent release of ‘Scream 4,’ which was a huge hit among fans and critics alike, and that the “core characters” played by Campbell, Cox and Arquette will most likely appear in future installments.

“I imagine the core characters will continue. I suspect they’ll be with us until the end, because they just are the heart and soul of the movie and especially since we tend to kill off most of the other people,” the horror filmmaker said. And we love him for it. Who doesn’t love a good death?

“They’ll be with us. There will be some continuation of the drama of Sidney Prescott’s family and the ghosts that haunt it.”

I’m so happy by this news. Not only am I happy that they’ve successfully rebooted this franchise, but I am happy that they are staying true to the originals while adding fun, modern twists. I loved ‘Scream 4,’ so I can only imagine the amazingness that will come in future sequels. Fun, screams, blood, and more screams – what more can one ask for?

Movie Review: Thirst

Ilan Mester — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:25:20 +0000

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Few movies fit into the dark comedy, horror film and psychodrama category at the same time. “Thirst” is one of them. The latest film by South Korean director Chan-wook Park won the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival but beware, it’s not your typical vampire movie.

This was my first time seeing a Chan-wook Park film and it’ll probably be my last — not because it’s a bad movie per se, it’s just not my type. Let’s face it, just like people have preferences over blondes and brunettes, movie goers have genre preferences and gore is not one of mine. So if you love blood (and not just blood, but blood with plot), “Thirst” is definitely for you.

The film tells the story of Sang-hyun (played by South Korea’s Song-kang Ho), a priest who values life enough to risk his own by volunteering for a secret vaccine development project meant to destroy a deadly virus.

Of course, the virus takes hold of the priest and they’re forced to transfuse blood into Sang-hyun. It just so happens that the blood was infected, leading the priest to turn into a vampire.

“Thirst” starts to pick up when Sang-hyun bumps into a sickened childhood friend and his family, including his friend’s wife Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), who asks for the priest’s help in escaping her life. So the once goody-two-shoe priest finds himself embarking into a world of sexual pleasure, committing the Seven Deadly Sins.

Park, who is known for exploring human existence in most of his films, does the same with “Thirst.” He deserves a pat on the back for combining creepy humour with intense emotion which are difficult to pull of separately, let alone together. In fact, I was so engrossed in the film that at certain points, I forgot it was subtitled.

Aside from the visual effects and Park’s unique way of combining sensuality with brutality, the characters are what make this film stand out. It’s clear that the movie’s protagonist goes through a major dilemma and that’s where most of the conflict comes from. But what’s even more interesting is what happens with the supporting characters.

See, there’s no real “good guy” or “bad guy” in this film and that’s refreshing. When you’re about to label a character as the good one, something happens and you’re back to square one. This is the case for most of the supporting characters. Some scripts have difficulty developing their main character but in “Thirst,” most of the supporting characters (especially Tae-ju and her mother-in-law) go through pivotal character changes.

Complements aside, “Thirst’s” main fault (aside from its length) is that it’s more of a niche film (a.k.a for those who really dig horror and by horror I don’t mean “House of Wax”). It’s spooky, fresh and bloody, so those who like gore with context will have a feast with it (Twihards on the other hand may want to sit this one out).

Movie Column: Something Rotten in the Land of the Dead

andPOP Staff — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 22:35:23 +0000

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When the legendary director who invented the Hollywood zombie comes out with a new movie that he’s touting as “his ultimate zombie masterpiece,” it’s enough to make you sit up and take notice.

“George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead” (yes, that’s the full title) hit theatres this weekend, much to the anticipation of horror and zombie fans everywhere.

In preparation, I called up my friend and resident zombie expert, Helen Androlia.

Androlia gave me an exhaustive background on George A. Romero, his movies, and their significance within the horror genre.

Romero made Night of the Living Dead in 1968 on a tiny budget. The film made history.

Before Night of the Living Dead, there had never been a zombie movie, and so it set the rules that every zombie movie to come would follow.

“(Zombies) are us in a sort of basic form. That’s what makes them so scary.” She then looked at me, and said, “I’m a nice girl with dimples, but if I see you starting to turn, I’ll hit you in the head with a crowbar.”

It also created a template for the series of movies which Romero would go on to write and direct, all of which chronicle the collapse of civilization to the zombies (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Day of the Dead).

These three films were all very similar and when watching one, you could expect four things:
1) The black character is the one to watch, he’s the protagonist and the most interesting person.
2) People are going to die ? a lot of them. It’s not good to get too attached to anyone because the zombies may be eating him or her in the next scene.
3) The setting will be almost entirely one location where the people are under siege from zombies.
4) All of the really significant killing happens between humans and other humans; zombies just provide the necessary pressure to push humans to the breaking point.

But according to Androlia, things have changed in the horror genre since Romero directed Day of the Dead in 1985.

The focus has shifted from protagonist to antagonist with the birth of “superkillers” like Freddy, Jason, and Hannibal Lecter.

At the same time, the importance of things jumping out of the shadows and loud noises to scare people has increased, “Boo Factor” as Androlia calls it.

Because of all of this, I wasn’t too surprised that Romero broke a lot of his own rules in Land of the Dead.

The movie takes place in a fortified city, where the new social order is a sort of feudalism, with the rich living in a luxury skyscraper and everyone else living in slums, rife with corruption and vice.

Meanwhile the zombies have taken over pretty much everything, and they seem to be evolving and becoming more intelligent. Led by the smartest of the lot, they set out to lay siege to the city.

The whole thing feels like the zombie version of a Romero film. All the basic components are there, but it just sort of lurches and shambles along, all the while looking a bit rotten.

Perhaps the most telling thing was that for the late show on opening night, there were only 40 or 50 people in the audience.

The movie sits in a no man’s land between mainstream and cult that leaves everyone unsatisfied.

The hardcore zombie fans don’t care about big explosions and won’t forgive the glaring plot holes. They aren’t looking for punchy one-liners and dwarfs dressed like pimps (yes, the movie has a dwarf in a purple suit and cowboy hat).

At the same time though, zombies aren’t what conventional horror audiences are looking for. Both 28 Days Later and Resident Evil, the two biggest zombie movies in the last few years, met with lukewarm reviews at best.

There are some redeeming features. John Leugizamo pulls out a good performance, and the big budget really helps to make the zombies look better than ever, but ultimately, that’s just not enough to carry the movie.

The good news is that the “of the Dead” franchise appears to be dead, and it was good while it lasted. Dawn of the Dead is great social satire, and Day of the Dead is the most gore filled movie I have ever seen.

The bad news is that we can look forward to Diamond Dead, directed by Romero, in 2007, where a young woman must kill 365 people in a year with the help of a rock band that she accidentally killed and brought back to life.