grace

When filmmakers are trying to get a production off the ground, the first thing they'll often do is create a piece of key sales art to entice investors. This is usually a rudimentary collage of cast names and some visual inkling of plot that is only ever intended to be seen by people with large checks to write in conference rooms at venues like the American Film Market or even the Cannes International Film Festival. I understand that this is not final artwork, that these Photoshop jobs are often created before a single frame of the movie is even filmed (and sometimes before a single word of the script is written). But that doesn't explain why all sales art looks like something that fell off of a Blockbuster shelf in 1996.

Now I don't go around collecting these digital bits of marketing minutia, though they do always stick with me (and never because I'm so impressed with the font choice), but when I saw the sales art for The Ward, John Carpenter's first return to feature film making since Ghosts of Mars, I decided to go round up some examples. The first one that came to mind was a dreadful bit of imagery intended to sell Bai Ling as some kind of a menacing mermaid in Hydrophobia 3D, but then I also remembered the Cannes promo art for Rambo V: The Savage Hunt, which looks like Sylvester Stallone overlayed atop the poster for Anaconda.

A few Google searches later and I had a handful of images that reinforced my suspicion that all sales art falls out of a wormhole to the mid-90s. So please, lets do a little experiment. Imagine that you have a couple million to spend on a film. Now scroll down and tell me if you see anything that could make you want to break out the checkbook and scrawl out a long chain of zeros.

Well, most of you readers have kept up with the buzz on this year's Grace, a fairly gruesome look at life after birth where they shouldn't be any, and probably already know where I'm going with this.

Those of you who haven't and dig the sound of a young woman (Jordan Ladd) doing anything and everything to keep her undead newborn fed should probably check the flick out before reading any further.

I've gotten behind on my usually-faithful upkeep of a monthly DVD guide, so when Weinberg sent a long a list of all the titles hitting shelves today, I was a little overwhelmed. My wallet has been taking a pounding lately, and this new crop of catalog films newly minted for Blu-ray is certainly not going to let up on the beat down.

Best of the New Releases: Grace, "Fear Itself"
Paul Solet's pregnancy horror film Grace has already been covered here and there on HorrorSquad, but I'll re-cap: I don't like it, Weinberg loves it, and Goss likes it, but doesn't love it. The Blu-ray has been available for the past few weeks exclusively at Best Buy, but today marks the expansion of the both the Grace Blu and DVD flavors to all fine retailers.

The other noteworthy title of the week is the release of NBC's "Masters of Horror" spin-off, "Fear Itself". I haven't seen all of the episodes in the set, mainly because NBC didn't air them all, but it's like all other horror anthology shows. Some episodes work, most don't. I've got a soft-spot for anthologies, though, so this is a rental queue jumper for me.

Grace, Directed by Paul Solet, 2009
There's a reason Paul Solet's feature film debut has already garnered a handful of posts here at HorrorSquad and it's the same reason Scott Weinberg called me at 7am to talk about my review of the film. Grace is divisive. Personally I found little that interested me in the film, feeling its thin script was self-serving, opting more often than not to leapfrog over its own characters in order to deliver a twisted image or two.

Scott, on the other hand, completely disagrees with me. In his review at FEARnet he said, "So while I'm sure there's a perfectly good B-movie to be mined from Solet's concept, the simple fact is that this writer / director has a lot more on his mind than just a few good jolts and a handful of gooey gore. Like the best films (horror or otherwise), Grace works on a variety of disparate levels, and it's tough to find a "weak link" in this debut feature. The pacing, the tone, the cast, the score, the confident approach to some potentially nefarious subject matter ... this is not a horror film that feels like it comes from a first-timer."

So, hey, if you want me advice, add Grace to your queue and let it arrive when the Netflix Gods deem it so. If you want Scott's, hop into a car and grab the DVD or Blu-ray during Best Buy's exclusive, in-store-only pre-sale before it's wide release on September 15th.

I'm going to sound like a corporate shill here ... but I don't care. It could be Best Buy, the Weinsteins, or (gasp) Blockbuster who'd be worthy of my geekish affections ... provided they gave me something I wanted! And that's precisely the case this week with Best Buy. Here's why:

Amazon.com lists the Shaun of the Dead (and Hot Fuzz!) blu-rays as September 22 releases. Pre-order on both is a rock-solid $18.99. Additionally, Amazon lists the controversial indie horror Grace as a September 15 release, and that pre-order will set you back $19.99. Damn good prices for new blus if you ask me...

OR you could walk right into your local Best Buy and say in a loud, steady voice "Harry, I want you to sell me Shaun. And Grace. Hell, throw Fuzz in there too," because YOU, fine store, have offered these items a month before anyone else has. So head on over to BB while these "early exclusives" are still in stock.

P.S. They're $20 each.

Some horror flicks we can all grab at once, like Drag Me to Hell or Orphan or that mega-awesome Prom Night remake ... but when it comes to a little indie like Paul Solet's Grace, well, things take a little bit longer. Some of us were there at the now-legendary "fainters" Sundance screening, and others have been fortunate enough to catch the flick during its award-laden festival run. MOST of you will get to see the film on DVD (September 15!), but a lucky few ... namely, any horror geek with 15 bucks who lives near New York or Los Angeles ... can see Grace this weekend!

The highly-acclaimed and darkly amusing horror film is about a stillborn infant who comes back to life and causes all sorts of problems for her parents. And grandparents. Oh, and mom's former lover. And a cat. It's a quiet, strange, and smoothly intelligent little horror flick, trust me. Plus Mr. Solet and Grace producer Adam Green will be in attendance at the first L.A. screenings, and they're precisely the sort of filmmakers who'll talk horror till the sun comes up.

Los Angelenos can meet Grace at the Sunset 5, while the Noo Yawkas can enjoy the infantile mayhem at the Village East. For more on this fine, freaky film, have a look through the official website.

After a long flight on my part and a far longer drive for both of us, Scott Weinberg and I have finally arrived in Montréal for the FanTasia International Film Festival (their thirteenth, our first). The genre-heavy festival lasts for nearly three weeks; alas, we've but one to spare, so without much further ado, here's a look at what I've seen already and what I hope to see before Scott tips his own hand with a title or two to recommend.

Of the features playing, I can highly recommend Michael Paul Stephenson's Troll 2 doc, Best Worst Movie; the Aussie revenge thriller, The Horseman (not to be confused with the barely-seen Dennis Quaid vehicle,Horsemen); and Paul Solet's beautifully bloody baby horror, Grace. Those looking for something a bit stranger might end up being a bit more fond of Black and The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle than I was, though I also seemed more easily pleased by the Nazi zombies of Dead Snow than most, so I guess it all balances out. My enthusiasm for the ultra-kitschy likes of Alien Trespass and Lesbian Vampire Killers, not to mention the admittedly boundary-pushing Deadgirl, is all a bit less than what's already been mentioned, so let's just leave those at that.

By Will Goss

In some opposite-ish corner of the world right now (from me anyway), the New Zealand International Film Festival kicks off today for the rest of the month, before making further provincial rounds through next November. (Damn, now that's a film festival!) It makes all the more sense that people might want to plan ahead for the highlights, and what better way to do that than to bequeath some awards for the films right from the get-go?

Incredibly Strange programmer Ant Timpson (who's perfectly normal himself, I swear it; that's the name of their specifically oddball selections) has rightfully singled out SXSW '09 alums like Best Worst Movie, Drag Me to Hell, Grace, The Horseman and Winnebago Man for particular accolades (i.e. "Best Film to Show Filmmakers That Low-Budget Doesn't Mean Twenty-Somethings Sitting in Cafes Talking About Their Boring Relationships"), not to mention a couple of other picks.

Timpson sums up his mentality thusly: "I already know these films are very special. I don't need a jury to tell me what I already know. I'm giving these films awards in advance because 99% of the public don't care what films win awards AFTER they've screened, they want to know BEFORE they screen..." Believe me you, the man has a point. The real question is, how will such thinking play in the States?

September 15th is when you patient horror freaks can finally get your mitts on Grace, which is just now winding down its very successful festival run. Produced by horror geek Adam Green and directed by first-timer Paul Solet, Grace played Sundance (where people fainted), SXSW (where people ate cheese fries), and a bunch of smaller festivals with good taste ... but now it's (almost) time for the horror fans of the world to have their say.

The tale of a newborn with ... strange urges ... and the mother who loves her anyway, Grace will hit disc with a ton of extra features. Shock indicates that we'll be getting about a half-dozen featurettes and a filmmaker commentary. (Two commentaries if you opt for the Blu-Ray!) I firmly believe that Grace is (easily) one of the best horror films of the year, and we look forward to discussing it with you come mid-September. In the meantime, here's Snider's Cinematical review, and also mine from FEARnet!

I'll keep this short: There's a horror flick coming out later this year called Grace. Lots of people (including me and Eric Snider) like it a lot, such as former Cinematical scribe (and mother of five) Kim Voynar, who went to the Sundance screening after I basically commanded her to. When I saw her later she was both grateful (for recommending it) and angry (for not seeing it with her). Then it hit Austin and earned even more fans -- and not just horror geeks, mind you, although they're the ones who seemed to dig it the most.

The flick is still shuffling through the festival circuit, but Anchor Bay will deliver the DVD before year's end, and it looks like my pals over at FEARnet have scored the first look at the "red-band" (R rated) trailer for Grace. Click right here to take a look at the rather impressive new promo clip, and then come back for some friendly advice. (Pause.) OK, back? Good: This movie is not suitable for pregnant women. Frankly you should spend three years in jail if you show Grace to a pregnant woman. Ten years if you make it a double feature with Inside.