While I had to miss opening night of Night of the Living Dead Live — damn you, Dark Prince Bunnykins! — the theatrical version of the classic zombie film, put on by the fine folks of Hamilton, Ontario’s Nictophobia Films at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille, looks to be a fun (and funny) take on George Romero’s debut feature. The DLB spoke to co-writer/director Chris Bond, the man behind Evil Dead: The Musical, and executive producer Phil Pattison about resurrecting NotLD on stage.
Heather (Alexandra Daddario) is menaced by Leatherface (Dan Yeager)
TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D
Starring Alexandra Daddario, Trey Songz, and Tania Raymonde
Directed by John Luessenhop
Written by Adam Marcus & Debra Sullivan and Kirsten Elms
VVS Films
Nearly 40 years after its release, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is no longer “just” a horror classic. It is a brand, with the direct sequel Texas Chainsaw 3D, out today, just the latest iteration in a line of sequels, prequels, and remakes. The fact that this new Chainsaw manages to draw fresh blood makes it all the more impressive because, really, who thought this might actually be good?
The DLB recently spoke to director Quentin Tarantino for MSN Canada about his new movie DJANGO UNCHAINED. Perhaps surprisingly, the film — a Western — is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Fangoria. I reached out to Fango editor Chris Alexander to explain their choice:
Starring Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington and Sean Bean
Written and directed by Michael J. Bassett
Alliance
Having been on the Silent Hill: Revelation 3D set, I can tell you that the people who made it were committed, enthusiastic, and looking forward to taking the legacy of the first Silent Hill film, as well as that of the video games upon which the franchise is based, and moving them forward with the sequel.
The Toronto After Dark Film Festival returns to the newly renovated Bloor Hot Docs Cinema this year, opening with two highly anticipated entries, the Irish horror comedy Grabbers, screening at 6:45, and The Soska Sisters’ blackly comic American Mary (as seen above).
As I’m about to head out the door to see Paranormal Activity 4 (review tomorrow), The DLB will have to cut and paste each summary:
Starring Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, and Vincent D’Onofrio
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Written by Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill
Alliance
How far would you go to secure your own legacy? That is the question at the heart of Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose writer-director Scott Derrickson’s return to horror after helming the underrated sci-fi remake The Day the Earth Stood Still.
The DLB recently spoke to Russell Cherrington, the restoration director of Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut, the extended/re-purposed version of Clive Barker’s notoriously troubled second film as a director, for MSN Canada. You can read that article here.
Cherrington, alongside Mark Miller from Barker’s Seraphim Films and effects animator Paul Jones, will be in Toronto tonight (July 19) to present the new Nightbreed as part of Rue Morgue Magazine‘s Cinemacabre film series. The screening starts at 9pm and takes place at the TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St. West).
Toronto After Dark returns to The Bloor Cinema tonight for the final installment of its summer series. First up, at 7 pm, is music video director Joseph Kahn’s Detention. The Hunger Games‘ Josh Hutcherson stars in this horror comedy about a killer stalking the halls of Grizzly Lake, and reviews have been surprisingly positive.
The cast of Detention
Next up, at 9:45pm is V/H/S. A found footage anthology film that scared the shit out of Sundance audiences, it sees a group of thieves screening a series of disturbing videotapes during the search for a piece of rare footage. Directors on the film include David Bruckner, Glenn McQuaid, Ti West, Chad Villella, Justin Martinez, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Nicholas Tecosky, Simon Barrett and Tyler Gillett.
Winnipeg-born actor Kristopher Turner will soon be seen across North America starring as psychiatrist Dr. Gavin Murphy in the upcoming CTV/NBC hospital drama Saving Hope. But before he landed that prestigious gig (as well as his recurring role on the MuchMusic drama The L.A. Complex), Turner starred in first-time director Casey Walker’s horror comedy A Little Bit Zombie as Steve, a harried husband-to-be who tries to keep his brain cravings hidden from his future bride.
Are you a horror comedy fan?
I certainly am now. That movie was one of the most fun I’ve ever had working on a set. It was a blast. And most of it came down to our director Casey Walker who had complete control over this film. It was a crowdsourced movie before even Facebook was around. He started crowdsourcing it in 2006. It’s been a grassroots project right from the beginning, and with this being his first big feature and having complete control over it, it was such a freeing experience to be able to be creating this and not having other producer notes coming over our head; like, we got to make the movie that we wanted to make.
What can horror fans expect from this movie?
In the same way it’s paying homage to and making fun of the horror genre, it’s making fun of the romantic comedy genre. It’s sort of taking the piss out of and paying homage to all those zombie worlds.
Saving Hope premieres on CTV and NBC Thursday, June 7, at 9 pm ET/PT.
Meagan Tandy and Katrina Bowden in Piranha 3DD (Dimension Films)
Katrina Bowden co-stars in the horror-comedy sequel Piranha 3DD, which opens wide today. The 30 Rock star plays the virginal Shelby, not her first venture into the genre as she also starred in the underrated Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. Bowden can next be see in the Toronto-shot psychological thriller Nurse 3D co-starring opposite Paz de la Huerta (Into the Void, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.
Katrina, you’ve starred in a couple of horror films now, including Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. Are you a horror or horror-comedy fan?
I like horror-comedy. I think it’s a really fun genre, and when it’s done well it’s really great to watch.
Horror movies I’m not so great with. I get so scared. I’m kind of a baby when it comes to that. I’ve never really been a horror fan myself, going out to go see the new horror movies, for the only reason being that I can’t really handle them. I respect how they’re made; I think it’s a really cool genre to be part of it and to make.
What do you like about your character Shelby?
She’s kind of like the damsel-in-distress. She’s kind of shy and a little bit more reserved, but then everything bad that happens to her and has all these close calls and she almost dies. She’s in no way a hero type of person, but it was fun to play a shy type of girl.
What is your director John Gulager really good at?
He’s really good at making things look really gross. The blood, the vomiting scene, he was very excited to do that scene. I think I did that five times because he wanted the puke-up to be the perfect one. And he’s really good at setting things up to be really shocking. He did all the Feast movies; that’s kind of his thing and he does it really well, and he does it in a funny, humorous way.
Not Katrina Bowden
What was the mood like on set?
It was fun. It was very light-hearted and fun, and we all had a good time. We all knew we were getting ourselves into something… we’re going to be covered in blood and be in the water, and we were down for anything.
Without giving away too much, your character Shelby is involved in a rather nasty sexual encounter with a boy and a piranha. What was that scene like to film, especially given how bloody it gets?
It was pretty difficult. I think like any kind of love scene, it’s really uncomfortable to shoot, but then you add all these extra elements into it, it becomes that much more uncomfortable and awkward for everyone.
So that was a really hard night, wondering how it was going to turn out. I wanted it to look good and be funny and realistic. It was a hard scene to shoot, but I think it turned out really well. It was worth it.
What was it like working with the piranha themselves?
That was actually really cool because the guys who did the special effects for the movie they made all that, and I just find that fascinating that they can create these kinds of things that can move and do things and spit blood. They’re really beautiful in person. I think it’s cool that they did so much practically instead of relying on CGI for everything.
You also star in the upcoming horror film Nurse3D. What was it like to work with your co-star Paz de La Huerta?
She’s definitely a very intense person. Not the easiest person to work with, but it really helps her craft. She just dives into a character, even if her character happens to be a psychopathic serial killer. So it doesn’t really equal a fun working environment, but I think it will help the movie definitely.
Are you eager to have fans see a darker side of you in that film?
Yeah. I was really eager to do some darker roles or something more intense or different from what I’ve already done. I think it’s challenging
Both that film and Piranha 3DD are in 3D. What are the challenges of working in 3D?
I do like 3D. I think it’s a really cool way to shoot a film as an element that a lot of movies don’t have. It makes it a little more difficult shooting-wise because there are more shots where you have to be conscious of where things are in terms of where the camera is. But it’s fun, and it’s not really that much different from shooting a regular movie.
