AFTERSHOCK

Chile,with its beautiful people and its picturesque scenery is the backdrop to Nicolas Lopez's AFTERSHOCK.

The movie follows 6 party going hipsters as the live their lives to the fullest travelling throughout Chile.

Their night of partying leads to their final destination ,the small town of Valaparaiso,

In Valaparaiso,the night of clubbing comes to an earth shattering halt,literally.

Inspired by the actual earthquake that plagued Chile,our party goers are trapped in the epicenter with bodies strewn throughout the town.So not only must they survive the earthquake ,there is also the threat of escaped prisoners from a local prison overtaking everything.

Co-written and produced and starring  horrormeister Eli Roth, AFTERSHOCK is a blend of 1970's disaster flicks and a splash of modern day stalker tension.

AFTERSHOCK leaves the viewer thinking what would they do and how would they react being forced into this horrific natural disaster.

An intriguing story with characters and acting that is worth investing in.

The final score...

Mother Nature-WON

Human Nature-0

AFTERSHOCK breaks ground on May 10th

MAMA - Terrifyingly Beautiful

Guillermo del Toro presents Mama, a supernatural thriller that tells the haunting tale of two little girls who disappeared into the woods the day that their parents were killed. When they are rescued years later and begin a new life, they find that someone or something still wants to come tuck them in at night.

Five years ago, sisters Victoria and Lilly vanished from their suburban neighborhood without a trace. Since then, their Uncle Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain), have been madly searching for them. But when, incredibly, the kids are found alive in a decrepit cabin, the couple wonders if the girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home.

As Annabel tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house. Are the sisters experiencing traumatic stress, or is a ghost coming to visit them? How did the broken girls survive those years all alone? As she answers these disturbing questions, the new mother will find that the whispers she hears at bedtime are coming from the lips of a deadly presence.

And so begins the journey that writer/producer Barbera Muschietti and brother writer/director Andy Muschietti set into motion. Based on the short film by the same name, MAMA is one of the most well crafted suspenseful thrillers in recent memory.The story(also co-written by Neil Cross of the BBC's LUTHER fame)is thrilling and fast paced ,giving the movie goer just enough time to catch their breath before the next jump out of your seat scene unravels.
 Chastain and Waldau offer up great performances as the impromptu parents to these two children from the wild. There is always something creepy about children in these kind of thrillers.Megan Carpentier (Victoria), Isabelle Nelisse (Lily),and Morgan McGarry(Young Victoria) are no exception.They present believable performances that truly standout. 
  This film being somewhat the succubus of the eerie short film,MAMA is terrifyingly beautiful. Muschietti presents a satisfying companion piece to the original.
 Even though this production is conjured up in the Muschietti's proverbial sandbox,there is definitely evidence that del Toro brought his shovel and bucket to play with.
 To finally showcase his/their horror sensibilities into a Hollywood, del Toro along with The Muschietti's give the tale a bleak yet satisfying ending that may be commonplace in the independent film realm but welcoming and refreshing to a studio funded film.

'til next time Cabrones!!!

PACIFIC RIM Invades The San Diego Comic Con

The line to gain access inside of The San Diego Comic Con's Hall H, snaked its way to literally almost two miles long.The hall has the capacity to hold 5000+ eager fanatics ,all waiting to get a glimpse of not only exclusive footage from their favorite upcoming films but to have a rare opportunity to experience it with the creators behind them.The line was always to capacity.Fans had camped for days to hopefully be fortunate enough to get out of the humidity and into an air-conditioned exhibit hall, to share a once in a life time experience.
I had the great fortune of being one of the 5000+ to attend the highly anticipated LEGENDARY/WARNER BROS.presentation of Guillermo del Toro's Giant Robots vs.Giant Monsters extravaganza, PACIFIC RIM
The presentation was moderated by Chris Hardwick,founder of The Nerdist Channel.
First to enter the illustrious panel was founder of LEGENDARY PICTURES,Thomas Tull.Before he introduced the guests of honor.The screens came alive revealing three gigantic displays.
the one on the left reveals concepts and blueprints from the film.The screen on the right contained never before seen Behind the scenes footage of the production.The middle screen was fashioned to be a metal blast door with the PACRIM logo.
Then Tull  introduced director, Guillermo del Toro and stars Charlie Hunnam,Charlie Day, Ron Perlman,and Rinko Kikuchi.
The footage of the panel is on YouTube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmVYCpKFNaI&feature=youtu.be

What isn't shown in the YouTube footage is the exclusive never to be seen again teaser trailer for PAC RIM.(Guillermo has expressed that there will be what he calls "radio silence" about all PAC RIM footage ,until December...when a possible trailer will be attached to THE HOBBIT.So the trailer shown in San Diego was exclusively for the Hall H attendees)
Here is my Spoiler-Free impression of the trailer.
The trailer is a slow burn that builds to what I equate to be an onslaught of visuals that gives me goosebumps every time I think about it.
Guillermo has always said that he strives to give his fans more than just 'eye-candy' but instead "eye-protein'.
Mission :Accomplished ,Senor!!!
ILM who is doing the CGI for this film has knocked it out of the park this time.
Guillermo has said that the artisans at ILM are really excited to work on this film and from the footage I've seen ,it shows!
From a work standpoint ,If you are excited about a project,I believe that the quality of craftsmanship will shine...and with this film that is definitely apparent.
No matter what your opinion of Michael Bay's TRANSFORMER trilogy is...it cannot be denied that ILM's work on the trilogy was/is some of THE BEST work out there.
Though awestruck by the CG in TRANSFORMERS...I found the action sequences too blurry and fast paced to fully absorb all the awesome effects.But in relation to PAC RIM you are able to truly appreciate all the hard work that ILM is doing because the MECHS move at a slower pace.
You can devour every turbine working and enjoy the majestry that delToro has conjured up.
A master visual storyteller without a doubt.

The mood of the trailer is very gritty.The atmosphere is very kinetic.The color palette is rich.
There are shots of the Kaiju,but they are never really fully revealed...but what is shown,one can truly feel the scope of how large and menacing these monsters are.

The soundtrack that plays throughout the teaser,if it is indeed Ramin Djawadi's score...he somehow channels his inner Han Zimmer.A very epic sounding score.

This trailer and even more so this film...one can tell that delToro truly LOVES the subject matter...
And heck who wouldn't ? It's Giant Robos vs. Giant Monsters kickin' the crap out of each other for goodness sakes.

Now,I had the great pleasure of watching this teaser three times(yes,I even HATE me) and I wish that it was on a continuous loop in my head,so that I could watch all the time..yes,folks,that's how frickin' AWESOME it is.

Telling people about, is an injustice, because there is no way to describe it...like I said before ,I get goosebumps when I talk about.Heck...I have them now as I write this.
PACIFIC RIM is delToro's loveletter to the genre
Hopefully ,delToro breaks his "radio silence" and teases us with a little nugget soon!
*fingers crossed*...hell, *tentacles crossed* as well!!!

'til next time ,Cabrones!!!

UPDATE:GdT's inSANE is onHOLD ?!!!

With E3 just around the corner, a game that we have all been waiting is mysteriously absent from THQ's upcoming game lineup.
Guillermo del Toro's inSANE was teased at last year's E3.Also, the teaser trailer and GdT's obvious excitment over the games announcement was the buzz at the 2010 VGA's as well.
It isn't news that THQ has been having some financial difficulties as of late
GdT along with concept designers Guy Davis and Francisco Ruiz Velasco have labored for over two years to bring this game to life. According to reports, THQ has halted all production of the game.
Could this be true?
Is this the end of all the hard work that Team delToro labored over?
GdT the consummate gamer had always hoped to bring his expertise to the gaming world .
He has worked very hard to learn all facets of the gaming industry in order to build his own world for all his fans and gaming fans to experience.
Let's hope that this is just a set back and that they regroup and get the ball up and running again on
inSANE.
I for one was/ am looking forward to playing in GdT's sandbox of horror.
(as of this report the link to the game is still up on THQ's site)
http://www.thq.com/us/insane/360


UPDATE:
this is just one of the sites that was brought to my attention which resulted in genration of this post.

http://www.gamepur.com/news/8080-guillermo-del-toros-insane-cancelled.html

After this post being brought to GdT's attention, he has confirmed with me that the game is still on track and production continuing.
also THQ's Danny Bilson further laid to rest the rumors by tweeting "Guillermo Del Toro's "inSane is not cancelled".

All of this is good news indeed!

'til next time Cabrones!!!

Whispers in the Walls

Vampires ,Werewolves,Demons,and Horrific Monsters all fighting for ultimate power...heard this story before?
Tired of the same ol' tale of evil versus lesser evil?
Well,prepare yourself to be taken on an unexpected journey...being collected for the first time from HUMANOIDS Publishing,comes the wildly successful graphic novel series WHISPERS IN THE WALLS http://www.humanoids.com/album/264.A gothic tale of horror from David Muñoz (co-writer of Guillermo del Toro's THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE film) ,artist Tirso,and colorist Javi Montes. Whispers in the Walls chronicles the tale set in Czechoslovakia, 1949. After the brutal murder of her parents, Sarah,now a young orphan,finds herself in an ancient children's infirmary.She is about to discover that within the walls of the infirmary lurks an ominous threat of epic proportions.

From the very first pages ,Muñoz/Tirso/Montes take the reader on a roller coaster ride that reveals horror after unexpected horror around every corner.
Muñoz's storytelling is smart and compelling while taking the reader on a slow burning supernatural journey.
While the story is king here,Tirso's visuals only add to the tale that Muñoz's has set forth.
The art is fast paced with visual sequences that are very cinematic.Adding to Tirso's artwork,Montes adds such vibrancy and moodiness with his palette selection.

This graphic novel collects the first 4 issues and adds 2 previously unpublished installments that complete this edition.
As a special addition, an added bonus section is included with conceptuals and sketchbook material along with a pinup gallery from some of today's comicbook luminaries like Tim Sale and Humberto Ramos.
I highly recommend this collected edition to those who crave smart storytelling along with spectacular visuals.
'til next time Cabrones!

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

"Come on Dudes and Dudettes,let's all go spend the weekend in my cabin in the woods!"

We've all seen the scenario played out a gajillion times for whatever insert reason here "____"

And Horrophiles that you are...you know that it NEVER ends well.

Well,coming to a cineplex near you this Friday The 13th( come on now...what better way and day to go see a scary flick?) Joss Whedon,writer, producer,director(Buffy,Angel,Firefly and a little indie film coming this summer called THE AVENGERS) and first time writer/director,Drew Goddard(producer of Cloverfield) present to all you horror fans...

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

Now y'all know that my reviews are pretty much always spoiler-free and THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is no exception.Actually it deserves this distinction more that ANY film I know.

The less you know and see going into this flick,the better.

I went into it seeing only the trailer and thinking that it was the run of the mill horror teen romp.

But coming from a pedigree of Whedon and Goddard I was willing to go into the screening with an open mind.

I'm glad I did.

This is one of the smartest horror films I've seen in a loooong time.

Both Whedon and Goddard LOVE the horror genre and it shows.

They have taken a plot that has been played out so many times and turned it into a horror classic.

The film pays homage to the genre that it so respectively now belongs to ,without aping any of it.

The writing is top notch.

The witty banter between the the main characters make you feel even more connected to them,

Goddard, making his debut as a director knows his audience and gives them what they are hankering for,an intelligent,fun and unrelenting horror ride that you are not soon to forget.

'til next time Cabrones!!!

The Thing (2011)

HOW DARE YOU?!!!

Do you remake Citizen Kane?

Do you reboot The Godfather?

Do you reimagine Star Wars?

(okay if you're George Lucas,I guess my rant means nothing to you)

So how can anyone remake,reboot,reimagine, John Carpenter's iconic sci-fi/thriller,THE THING?!!!

It's Sacrilegious ,no?

Enter producers ,Marc Abraham ,Eric Newman and writer Eric Heisserer who wanted to stay true to the essence of Carpenter's masterpiece and hired accordingly,first time director Matthijs van Heijningen.

Primarily renowned as an award winning commercial director,Heijningen had two criteria before he accepted the job :1)Hire Norwegian actors and 2) Utilize practical effects.That alone shows you what kind of movie the filmmakers wanted to bring to the screen and how much they respected the original film's feel.

Here's a quick synopsis:

Taking place three days before the events of The John Carpenter film,paleontologist, Kate Lloyd(Mary Elizabeth Winstead)is recruited by scientist,Sander Halversen(Ulrich Thompson) and his assistant Adam Goodman(Eric Christian Olsen) to join a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across a crashed extraterrestrial spaceship buried beneath the ice of Antarctica.They discover a frozen corpse of a creature that has seem to have died in a crash eons ago.

After recovering the creature in a frozen block of ice,they transport it back to their base and conduct an experiment that frees the alien from its frozen prison.Kate joins the crew's pilot (Joel Edgerton) to keep it from killing and imitating them one at a time,using its uncanny ability to mimic any life form it absorbs through digestion,and potentially reaching civilization.

So that is pretty much the plot in a snowball.

What I LOVED about this prequel is that it pays homage to the vision that John Carpenter had back in 1982 while not bastardizing the original that is so often the case in today's reboots.Director,Heijningen said that remaking Carpenter's version would be like drawing a moustache on the MONA LISA .Heijningen creates a visual time capsule that transports the moviegoer back to '82 ...from the painstaking reproduction of The Norwegian "Station 31" set piece to using practical creature effects that would make original film's special effects legend,Rob Bottin beam with pride.Heijningen's direction is fast paced and energetic.His slow burn storytelling is king here.Building the tension without losing momentum.(Heijningen has said that he would love to take a swing at another Universal property"An American Werewolf in London",after this outing... he could totally do it justice.)

Joel Edgerton has been having a great time as of late with WARRIOR and now THE THING.Edgerton brings a familiar gruffness that may remind purists of Kurt Russell's "MacReady" in the original but Edgerton convincingly owns his role as "Braxton Carter" without aping Russell's legendary hero.

The star in this prequel IS Mary Elizabeth Winstead .While easily compared to Sigourney Weaver's "Ripley" in the ALIEN franchise,Winstead brings about a conviction and believability to the role of Kate Lloyd ,that Ripley would be honored to kick some alien tail with.Winstead,once crowned a scream queen can now take on the mantle of "Queen of Badassery"!!!

This film is a fun popcorn flick,filled good old fashioned scares that is reminiscent of a simpler time when films were meant to fill you with terror and horror and not numbingly shock you with buckets of puss and blood.

This film is not your Daddy's THE THING ...it's this generations THE THING!!! Welcome it!Embrace it! Heck ,let it take over your body and happily do the crab walk across the cineplex floor!!!

THE THING opens Friday, October 14

'til next time Cabrones!!!