3dHorror

I don't care much for Feast and I'm not a fan of the Saw series but writer Patrick Melton and co-writer/director Marcus Dunstan's The Collector is definitely my cup of team and Melton recently spoke with Dread Central about the possibility of a sequel to the home invasion horror flick. He also chatted with Dread about Saw II, 3D technology, the Oscar's awkward nod to horror films and more.

The duo is penning the script for the latest installment in the Saw series (lucky number 7) and director Kevin Greutert is halfway through principal photography after a studio debacle where Lionsgate went head-to-head with Paramount and exercised an option in Greutert's contract to force him off Paranormal Activity 2 and back to the Saw series. Adding insult to injury, this happened literally a few weeks before filming. What kind of film can you expect when the helmer has been unwillingly plopped into a chair just days away from shooting? Melton is keeping the faith:

" ... If anyone can do it, it's Kevin. He's been involved in every single Saw movie, and he directed the last one so he knows the limitations of the crew and the limitations of the resources, and so he's been able to adapt pretty quickly, and it's looking good. Because we are playing with the idea that this may be the last Saw movie and we are trying to wrap things up, it's made it a ton more ambitious."

There seems to be no prerequisite for the 3D horror movie market lately. If it exists, it's being made into a 3D movie. Yes, the U.S. horror market wants to bring you the best and worst in all its eye-popping glory. Now Italy is tapping into the 3D craze and director Marcello Avallone (Specters, Last Cut) is crawling out of the woodwork after ten years to bring you a 3D version of The Turn of the Screw.

The Vito Matassino produced, English-language adaptation of the Henry James ghost novella will be Italy's first new generation 3D feature film. James' story revolves around a young woman who becomes a governess to two small orphaned children for their always absent uncle. She lives with the children at a country estate and begins to see strange figures around the grounds, whose eerie identity is eventually revealed.

There have been countless film and operatic adaptations of James' story, which uses the supernatural more like a psychological extension of fear or disquieting manifestation rather than a clean-cut ghost story. The 3D format seems unlikely for a story with such Gothic overtones, but perhaps the technology will be used to bring the haunting atmosphere to life rather than as a vehicle for ghostly figures.

Dread Central played detective today and found this promo trailer for the film which you can see after the jump. Who will put more Goth in Gothic horror--the Hammer produced The Woman in Black or the Italo horror version of The Turn of the Screw?

In November Hammer Films announced they had their sights set on an adaptation of Susan Hill's 1983 ghost story, The Woman in Black. Hammer President and CEO Simon Oakes announced yesterday that everything is official. We already reported that Jane Goldman, who worked on Neil Gaiman's Stardust and most recently the potty-mouthed Kick-Ass, will be writing the screenplay and now the film has a director. James Watkins (Eden Lake, Methuselah) will be directing the classic, Gothic tale that takes place in a small English town.

Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer, is ordered to travel to a remote village to take care of a recently deceased client's papers. He works alone in the client's isolated house and begins to uncover tragic secrets, leading to the sighting a mysterious woman dressed in black. The locals are hush-hush about things, forcing Kipps to investigate solo--racing to desperately learn the true identity of the mysterious woman.

It was originally reported that The Woman in Black would be released in 3D, but nothing was confirmed in Hammer's recent announcement. I don't normally equate British ghost stories with 3D technology (under Hammer's name even!) but stranger things have happened. As a huge fan of Gothic horror, I'm looking forward to seeing this one on the big screen. It feels like a great throwback to the heyday of iconic Hammer horror films.

I haven't seen the 1987 Tibor Takács film, The Gate, in its entirety but people either seem to love it or pass it off as a goofy kids flick. Well, the gateway to hell is being reopened by director Alex Winter and in 3D format. Academy Award winning special effects guru, Randall William Cook, is designing the creatures for the remake and new creature design will be done by visionary artist H.R. Giger (Alien). Visiting the Giger Bar in Switzerland is on my list of things to do before I die. Just sayin'.

You probably remember Alex Winter in front of the camera in The Lost Boys and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, but he made his directing debut with Freaked in 1993 which was soon followed by Fever in 1999. Since then he has been keeping busy with several writing projects, as well as directing music videos, commercials and working on Ben 10: Race Against Time for the Cartoon Network.

After the jump you can check out the full synopsis of The Gate 3D which revolves around two friends who discover the gateway to a demonic world in their own backyard. There's also some more concept art to peek at.

And in more 3D news, Zebediah de Soto's animated prequel to George A. Romero's 1968 zombie classic, Night of the Living Dead, has announced an official cast. The Hollywood Reporter has listed Jesse Corti, Danielle Harris, Bill Moseley, Joe Pilato, Alona Tal and Cornell Womack as the voices for De Soto's CGI happy, 3D re-imagining of the film.

You already know the story; zombies attack humans and humans fight to stay alive. Corti (Heroes) will play a news reporter and Womack (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) is a no-nonsense New York cop. Harris (Halloween II) is a woman coming to grips with the absence of her family and Pilato (Dawn of the Dead 1978) is voicing Harry Cooper--a regular Joe who lives for his injured daughter. His wife Helen, played by Tal (Supernatural), blames her husband for all the ills of the world. Moseley (Carnivale) is reprising the role he had in the 1990 live-action remake, Living Dead, as a Wall Street-type with a money talks attitude. De Soto said the casting is "a nod to Romero fans." Perhaps he forgot that Romero fans don't like when you get all rapey with one of their favorite films.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but Hollywood tends to break things. If a formula worked once, it will invariably be remade, repackaged, and resold over and over again until the equation is no longer profitable. But occasionally the Hollywood hive mindset is not content with merely breaking something. Every now and then it has to rape and pillage, and thus we shall soon have Night of the Living Dead: Origins. Wallow in these few key bits from The Hollywood Reporter's news on the matter:

"Zombie movie "Night of the Living Dead" is coming back, this time in a 3D CGI format and without the involvement of George Romero." ... "On the story front, De Soto, who wrote the script with David R. Schwartz, wants to update the tale partially by bringing out the characters' backstories and make what he called "an American-style anime."" ... "The aim of the process is to make tennis balls on a stick representing real people or monsters a thing of the past by allowing actors interact with CG elements as if they are tangible." ... "De Soto was a fan of the original "Living Dead" and once the trio realized the rights were in the public domain, zeroed in on that project."