Horror Squad, Horror Movies, News, Trailers, and More

We're still over a month away from The Descent Part 2's American DVD debut (brought to you by the folks at Lionsgate), but that doesn't mean it's too early to make audience's aware of the title. The New York Post's PopWrap blog got dibs on the first trailer for the film--and it looks like it should please fans of the original.

The sequel picks up where Neil Marshall's film left off. Lone survivor Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) escapes from the caves but is forced to return with a rescue team. Naturally, this new group runs afoul of the subterranean mutants that populated the first film. It's like going back for a second helping at the human buffet! The creatures appear to be a little more feral and savage this time out.

This film is bypassing theaters in favor of a direct to DVD release on April 27th. Extras haven't been officially confirmed yet, but I posted the tentative list almost a month ago. You can peruse that article by clicking here.

Jump past the break to check out the official trailer for The Descent Part 2

Dinoshark isn't SyFy's only "killer mutant shark running amok" movie planned for this year. No, when you've got a concept as full of win as that one, you milk it for all it's worth. If the idea of a killer prehistoric dinosaur shark doesn't get you excited, then perhaps the idea of a shark merged with an octopus will...

Roger Corman (and his brand new honorary Oscar) will produce Sharktopus--which is a very descriptive title and should let anyone who reads it know what they're in for. Declan O'Brien is directing (he also helmed the awful Wrong Turn 3) and news has now emerged (thanks to Uncle Creepy and the Dread Central gang) that Eric Roberts has been cast in the lead role. Yes, Eric Roberts, Oscar winner for Runaway Train will be going mano y Sharktopus with the titular creature. Between Roberts and Corman, this is probably the most Oscar winners to ever work on a SyFy channel movie.

The actor will play a research scientist who creates a top secret weapon--the Sharktopus--to combat pirates. The beast is controlled by some sort of electrical implants. If you guessed they somehow stop working and Sharktopus winds up rampaging near a beach, you too could be a screenwriter.

Early word is that we'll see Sharktopus on SyFy sometime later this year. In the meantime, you can catch Dinoshark on Saturday night at 9 EST/8 CST.

Adam Gierasch's remake of cult horror flick Night of the Demons has had a long and hard road to release. If this news from Dread Central is to be believed (and I'm sure it is...) that road's about to get longer.

The film, which was supposed to have a wide theatrical release last October was then tentatively shifted to February. That didn't pan out, and now Gierasch is saying that his film should have "a decently wide release" on September 23rd. Details about who might be distributing the film are still scarce, but I think a September debut suits the title better than a February one would have.

The remake stars Diora Baird, Monica Keena, Bobbi Sue Luther, Jonathan Beach, Michael Copon, Tiffany Shepis, and Edward Furlong, and Shannon Elizabeth as the demonic Angela. The original is considered a cult classic amongst horror geeks, so here's hoping Gierasch--who also helmed the film Autopsy--can create a movie that lives up to its inspiration.

Cruise on over to Dread Central for more on this, a proposed musical tie-in for select cities, and a handful of new stills from the production.

Buried, actor Ryan Reynolds' latest feature film, debuted at Sundance back in January. Early response seems to have been largely positive, with one reviewer claiming it's "an ingenious exercise in sustained tension that would make Alfred Hitchcock turn over in his grave." That may be slightly hyperbolic, but the film has gotten good marks over at RottenTomatoes.

The film was clearly impressive enough that Lionsgate snatched it up for distribution during its festival run--and now they've announced their release plans for Rodrigo Cortes' film. Mark your calendars for September 24th--because that's the day the film gets its official theatrical release.

Buried finds Reynolds playing a US contractor in Iraq. He awakens to find himself buried in a coffin with only a cellphone and a flashlight to keep him company. What follows is a race against time to escape his sandy tomb before his air supply runs out.

The film does appear to be a little more "thriller" than out and out "horror", but a tale featuring a guy buried alive in the vastness of the desert still sounds pretty horrific to me.

Jump past the break to check out the trailer.

Hollywood and horror lost another talent this morning. Former child star Corey Haim was found dead of an apparent accidental drug overdose at his Burbank apartment. He was 38 years old.

If you grew up in the 1980s, then odds are you saw a veritable truckload of Haim's work. The actor--along with frequent co-star and friend Corey Feldman--became an instant celebrity and a teen heartthrob. Haim was everywhere for a few years--in theatrical features and direct-to-video movies alike--but as time passed and his well-documented addictions grew, we came to know more about the actor's offscreen problems than what he was working on next. There was perhaps nothing more painful than seeing just how far he'd fallen in the reality series The Two Coreys.

Let's not dwell on that--let's instead remember Corey for the good things he brought us. Haim didn't do a lot of horror films, but the ones he did appear in were memorable. He turned up in the cinematic adaptation of Stephen King's story Silver Bullet and in Dean Koontz's killer monster flick Watchers.

However, Haim will always be best known as Sam, the teenaged vampire killer in Joel Schumacher's classic The Lost Boys. That role encapsulated everything we loved about Corey Haim--his sense of humor, his charm, and yes, even his acting ability. Corey may not have come to the end we'd all have hoped, but his legacy lives on in the work he leaves behind.

Rest in peace, Corey.

Thailand's film scene appears to be booming. Seems like I'm reading about some new and exciting project from the country at least once a week--which doesn't put it quite on par with Japan, Hong Kong, or South Korea, but is still impressive when you stop to consider where they were just a few short years ago.

The country's filmmakers seem to have developed a genuine love for horror cinema, which pleases me to no end. I've seen quite a few clips from Thai horror flicks over the past year or so, and while the films look typical of modern Asian horror cinema (meaning lots of ghost stories), they've all been intriguing enough to pique my interest. The latest title to blip onto my radar is Die a Violent Death (AKA Still), an anthology horror film that takes a cue from Law & Order by "ripping its stories straight from the headlines."

Twitch snagged an English subtitled trailer for the film, which showcases the four tales of terror from the movie. The stories involve a haunted hotel room, a prison suicide, a nightclub fire, and a corpse stashed inside an apartment building's water tank (gross). None of the stories sound blazingly original, but the trailer looks good--aside from the poorly done English subtitles--and I imagine fans of Asian ghost stories that feature at least a little blood and gore will find the film worth checking out.

No word yet on an American release, but I'll keep you posted. Jump past the break to view the trailer.

Dreamworks has been threatening us with a Fright Night remake for quite awhile now, but those threats have mostly been empty. That could be changing, as the LA Times is reporting the project has been moved on to the high priority fast track.

As proof that this isn't just Dreamworks blowing more smoke, the article breaks news that Craig Gillespie is now in negotiations to take the reins on the remake. Reports indicate that the studio was mulling over several filmmakers, but decided Gillespie was their man and began serious negotiations on Friday. The director is best known for the romantic comedy Lars and the Real Girl and the Billy Bob Thornton vehicle Mr. Woodcock. Buffy the Vampire Slayer scribe Marti Noxon is working on the screenplay.

The original Fright Night found a teenaged horror film fan Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) teaming up with creature feature host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) to battle a vampire who's moved in next door and set his sights on Charley's girlfriend. Directed by Tom Holland, it's one of the better examples of how to mix horror and comedy without alienating either audience.

If Gillespie does sign on for the project, the next big step would appear to be casting. I don't particularly care who plays Charley in a remake, but I do care about who they get to play Peter Vincent. McDowall will be a tough act to follow--who would you cast in that pivotal role?

It's been about a month since we got our first look at Srdjan Spasojevic's debut feature, A Serbian Film. Unfortunately, that trailer ran like a slideshow and didn't feature any English subtitles. It's a testament to just how much I love grimy faux snuff films with lots of porn elements that I didn't care and watched the clip several times anyway.

Luckily, the less patient of you can now see this brand new clip for A Serbian Film (courtesy of our good friends at Twitch)--which not only runs at 24 frames per second (or whatever video clips run at), but also features English subtitles. Not that you'd need them--the language of rough sex and snuff cinema are universal.

The film, which is set to be featured at SXSW, is about a retired porn star drawn back into the business with an offer he can't refuse. Part of the deal involves him being completely unaware of what the film's script involves (probably not a big thing for someone used to working in porn...), but as you can no doubt guess, it's really about wild sex and murder.

Without having seen it, I'd venture to guess that the title, A Serbian Film, is a sly play on western audience's expectations. If snuff films were real, I think most Americans could imagine them happening in somewhere like Serbia. This is probably what many people imagine when they hear the phrase "Serbian cinema".

Jump past the break for a look at the new trailer. It's completely Not Safe For Work--unless you work from your house, like I do. If that's the case, have at it.

We brought you news earlier this week regarding Warner Bros.' acquisition of Vincenzo Natali's science-run-amok film Splice. The movie is being released on Dark Castle genre imprint and is set to debut this June 4--right in the middle of summer blockbuster season.

In preparation for this momentous event, Fangoria has learned that Natali will be re-editing parts of the film. The studio (and Natali) want Splice to be as accessible as possible, hence both sides have decided to adjust the finished version of the film--meaning if you were lucky enough to catch this at Sitges or Sundance, the wide theatrical release will be slightly different from what you saw.

"You're going to see a slightly nipped-and-tucked version," Natali reveals. "I'm actually going into the editing room next week, and if they're true to their word, it's just going to be cosmetic. It really comes down to Joel. He loves the movie and actually enjoys the parts that would scare most producers away. He's being very courageous releasing this. There are also a few things I'm changing after seeing the film with an audience. I believe what will come out of it will be a new and improved cut, but in essence, it'll be the same film."

Here's to hoping that Warner Bros. is indeed true to their word--because Natali's film is pretty great as is if festival audiences are any indication. It's hard to hear a story about a studio asking for edits and not automatically think the worst, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.