Saturday 23 August 2008

Fear(s) Of The Dark

(London Premiere)

Take a trip into adventurous animation in the new style Renaissance and Persepolis trend with a creepy cartoon anthology. Comic book legends Charles Burns and Blutch lend their inimitable designs to the weird bogeyman haunting the far reaches of our collective subconscious. From a besotted student whose girlfriend is rather strange in her ardent affections to a Japanese student menaced by a long-dead samurai to the spooky goings-on in a remote house of shadows to a pack of hounds on a bloodthirsty rampage, famous graphic artists present their visions of terror in a creatively rich and beautiful black-and-white Pop Art portmanteau of phobias. Impressively disconcerting and showcasing a stunning range of animation styles, Fear(s) Of The Dark is arty and arcane in its drive to cause sleepless nights. It's one of Guillermo Del Toro's favourite fade-to-grey movies of the moment. Need we say any more?

80 minutes

Directors
Blutch
Marie Caillou
Jerry Kramski
Pierre Di Sciullo
Lorenzo Mattotti
Richard McGuire
Romain Slocombe
Michel Pirus

Starring
Nicole Garcia

USA 2008

Distributor: Metrodome

Dance Of The Dead

(London Premiere)

Strictly Dead Dancing! Hard to imagine but director Gregg Bishop takes tired zombie splatter to giddy, deft and innovative heights with a comedy horror gem that hits the gore ground running and never loses its hilarious sparkle or marvelous momentum. Working from a consistently clever screenplay by first-timer Joe Ballarini, a toxic leak from a nearby nuclear plant causes the dead to rise just as Cosa High School pupils get ready for their Hawaiian Hula themed prom night. And the only ones who can save the day are the geeks, outcasts and weirdos who weren't cool enough to score a date. Owing joyful debts to George Romero’s Dead, Dan O’Bannon’s Return and John Hughes’ smart teens, the carnage is spectacular, the grave bursting sensational and the sly performances a delight. Everything you want from uproarious scares to bloody mayhem in a blast of an experience you won’t quickly forget.

95 minutes

Director
Gregg Bishop

Starring
Jared Kusnitz
Greyson Chadwick


USA 2008

Manhunt

It’s the summer of 1974. Four friends have planned a recreational weekend hiking and camping in the forest. At a remote truck stop they pick up an anxious hitchhiker who only after a short ride demands they stop the vehicle. She is clearly frightened of something…but what she can’t begin to describe in her carsick terror. Suddenly the group are ambushed and left unconscious. When they wake up deep in the woods, all they can hear is the sound of a hunting horn. The game is on and they realise with nightmare shock that they are the prey… The goriest movie ever to come out of Scandinavia, Patrik Syversen’s debut feature is an intense and brutal character-driven survival horror in the fine Cold Prey tradition. The screaming terror is made more genuine by terrific camerawork that doesn’t allow any time to relax for even one second.

78 minutes

Director
Patrik Syversen

Starring
Henriette Brusgaard
Jorn Bjorn Fuller Gee

Norway 2007

The Chaser

(UK Premiere)

The hunter and the hunted: the ultimate chase begins in the incredible but true South Korean box office hit. Disgraced ex-cop Joong-ho Eom runs a faltering call girl racket in Seoul’s red light district. His girls are disappearing and he thinks they are running away, but the truth is they are being tortured, murdered and buried by impotent serial killer Young-min Jee. Unwittingly sending Mi-jin Kim to meet the same 'client', he realizes his mistake too late and accidentally tracks Young-min down. But the incompetent police force can’t find evidence to arrest him even though Young-min confesses. With only 12 hours left for the police to detain him or set him free, Joong-ho searches for Mi-jin as proof not knowing if she's alive or dead. Director Hong-jin Na applies David Fincher's dark Zodiac style, uncomfortable atmosphere and cruel Seven twists in a suspense chiller headed for an American remake.

123 minutes

Director: Hong-jin Na

Starring
Yun-seok Kim
Jung-woo Ha
Yeong-hie Seo
In-gi Jung
Hyo-ju Park

South Korea 2008
Distributor: Metrodome

Bubba's Chili Parlor

(World Premiere)

What could a B-movie nut working at TGI Fridays in downtown Dallas do during his time off? Get his friends and family to appear in homage to the 1970s Drive-In experiences of his youth, that's what. Bartender-turned-director Joey Evans put his tips where his mouth was and directed a splatter horror, ensuring grindhouse familiarity remained intact by including fake intermissions and commercials. Bubba runs a respectable chili parlor in rural Texas. Everything is fine until he receives some free government meat. Little does he know this special delivery is tainted with a mutated strain of virulent Mad Cow Disease. With infected zombies already on the loose, anyone who tastes his new batch of world famous chili will soon join the army of the undead. Anarchy begins, and the Zombie Lord, a regal, bloody, detached head, begins his reign of terror from the parking lot. A rip-roaring micro-budget gem with heart.

80 minutes

Director
Joey Evans

Starring
S Mike Davis
Chris Daly
Audrey Elizabeth Evans
Brad Kane
Sarah Pettit

USA 2008

Distributor: FrightFest

The Midnight Meat Train

(UK Premiere)

Horror express based on a novella from Clive Barker's 'Books of Blood.' Struggling photographer Leon Kauffman wants to capture the dark heart of New York City for an art gallery exhibition. Desperate for inspiration he snaps a subway mugging that puts him on the trail of a serial killer butchering victims on late night trains. But the police don’t believe him and become suspicious of his 'stalkerazzi' methods. Determined to prove his innocence he continues to track the silent stranger on the train. In the bowels of the Big Apple rail network he unearths a sick and twisted secret. Bolstered by director Ryuhei Kitamura's (Versus) superb direction - full of Dario Argento -style crisply shot composition and stunning Brian De Palma -type camera choreography - The Midnight Meat Train is a profoundly disturbing, viscerally mesmerizing, ultra-gory, white-knuckle thrill ride that terrifies to the end of the line. Mind the doors!

98 minutes

Director Ryuhei Kitamura

Starring Bradley Cooper
Vinnie Jones
Leslie Bibb
Brooke Shields
Roger Bart


USA 2008

Distributor: Lionsgate

Tokyo Gore Police

(UK Premiere)

The splatter is unequalled and the mutilation mayhem astonishing in the debut feature from Japanese special make-up and effects guru Yoshihiro Nishimura. Future Tokyo is plagued by a bio-mechanical virus taking the form of a key-shaped tumour. This causes homicidal psychosis in the Infected, dubbed 'engineers' for their ability to manufacture weapons out of flesh wounds. Ruka is an officer in the privatised police force tasked with tracking and eradicating this murder-crazed breed. Locating the mysterious source of the contagion, Key Man, her investigations uncover a history of genetic experimentation and abuses of power that not only caused her father's death but also lead to the highest echelons of fascist law and order. David Cronenberg body horror and insane RoboCop-style TV commercial inserts meet freaky Samurai bondage splat-stick starring Eiihi Shiina of Audition fame. Hold on tight for the bloodiest, most outrageous and inventively enjoyable shocker in ages.

108 minutes

Director
Yoshihiro Nishimura

Starring
Eiihi Shiina
Itsuji Itao
Yukihide Benny
Jiji Bu
Ikuko Sawada

Japan, 2008

Distributor: Eleven Arts Inc