AnthonyDiblasi

The After Dark Horrorfest 4 lineup is looking good and Clive Barker's new film Dread is on my must see list. The story comes from Barker's Books of Blood--one book in my library that is well worn after years of adoration. Check out the brand spanking new trailer that Shock Till You Drop posted for Dread after the jump.

The story surrounds three college students who set out to make a documentary about fear, but become the subjects as their most terrifying fears are realized and brought to life. Anthony DiBlasi, a producing partner of Barkers, directs the film–working from his own screenplay. Jackson Rathbone (Twilight Saga and The Last Airbender) stars alongside Shaun Evans (Boy A), Hanne Steen and Laura Donnelly. Clive Barker is a producer for the film.

Shock is co-hosting a sneak preview of Dread in Los Angeles at the New Beverly Cinema on January 23, with the cast and crew in attendance. The rest of us will humbly have to wait until January 29 when it hits theaters.

If it has Clive Barker's name on it, I'm going to see it. And lucky for fans of the author his newest adaptation, Dread, is part of the After Dark Horrorfest, 8 Films to Die For series that hits theaters January 29, 2010. The festival runs for one week in theaters across the United States until February 5, 2010, making it the largest nationwide film festival.

Dread comes from volume two of Barker's Books of Blood. Several of the stories have been adapted into movies including Lord of Illusions and Candyman. Anthony DiBlasi has been Barker's producing pal (Book of Blood, Midnight Meat Train) and will be directing Dread--working from his own screenplay. He's also attached as co-producer for the 3D remake of Hellraiser which is currently in development. Jackson Rathbone (Twilight Saga) stars in Dread alongside Shaun Evans (Boy A), Hanne Steen and Laura Donnelly. Clive Barker is staying on as producer for the film.

The story surrounds three college students who set out to make a documentary about fear but become the subjects as their most terrifying fears are realized and brought to life. As the study progresses, one of the students begins to seek salvation from his obsessions by exploiting the terrors of his fellow participants.

You can become a fan of Dread on Facebook and check out DiBlasi's pre-script notes and other goodies. Hit the jump to check out some stills.

Dread (UK/US): I'm going to act like I don't know how Clive Barker's original short story played out, as I didn't know when going into the film, but that still leaves this adaptation a bit too long-winded for its own good. Stephen (Jackson Rathbone) and Quaid (Shaun Evans) team up for a college project on what people fear most, and sure enough, this little social experiment of theirs goes too far. It's an interesting premise, eventually carried out to a foreseeable but intense climax, shot moodily throughout by first-time director Anthony DiBlasi, but the redundant dorm-worthy moralizing delivered by our fairly obvious villain and a tacked-own ain't-that-wicked twist only make it more apparent that Dread was a story perhaps better deserving of, say, a "Masters of Horror" episode rather than a feature-length treatment.

Watch video after the jump