dread

After Dark's 4th annual Horrorfest doesn't start until the 29th of January, but that hasn't stopped the company from unveiling their plans to bring this year's line-up to DVD.

If you can't make it out to a theater to see this year's entries, breathe easy. Video ETA is reporting that the films will make their DVD debut as part of a box set on March 23rd. That's a really short turnaround time on the discs, but since the films only play theatrically for a week, I suppose it works out. I suspect knowing that the films will be on DVD so soon after the theatrical dates might convince some folks to just skip the theater entirely--but I wasn't a business or marketing major so what do I know?

The box set will retail for $159.98 and features Dread, Lake Mungo, The Graves, The Final, Zombies of Mass Destruction, The Reeds, Kill Theory, and Hidden. It seems a given that individual disc versions will also be available in that same time frame.

The fourth annual After Dark Horrorfest runs theatrically from January 29th through February 4th. You can learn more by checking out the official website.

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.

Save for Frontiere(s), the French torture porn-y flick deemed "too graphic for theaters," I have never been too fond of the After Dark Film Fest, the January-based horror festival that gives horror fans a chance to see eight new flicks over the course of a weekend. Most of the films are relatively lackluster and barely worth a mention, while the others are so epically bad some of the words I use to describe them are merely portmanteau's of other filthy words. But I digress.

Until now only seven films have been announced for the popular horror festival, which is set to hit theaters on January 29th. Among these are Zombies of Mass Destruction, a review of which can be found here; Clive Barker's Dread, which screened at Fantastic Fest; and Lake Mungo, which despite a ridiculous name, looks pretty excellent. Dread Central, however, is now reporting that Kill Theory has been announced as the eighth and final film. From the After Dark website:

Are you capable of the unthinkable? That's the question seven college students face when they visit a secluded vacation home to celebrate graduation and are put to a horrific test by a mysterious killer. By 6 am the following morning, only one of them can remain alive. Whoever that person is will be allowed to walk away with his or her life.

However, if morning comes and more than one is still breathing, everyone dies. Trapped in a deadly game, they're forced to kill one another in order to survive. Friends and couples must test their trust, and as the clock ticks away: alliances form, tension escalates, and hope begins to fade. Some will fight for love, some to survive, but all will change. Because deep down... we're all killers.

I have high hopes for this year's line-up, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Trailer resides after the jump.

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