Now, three weeks later, I’m pleased to announce that the site is moving to its own domain. From here forward, you can find all my rantings, ravings, reviews, and news at TheHorrorGeek.com. I hope you’ll all follow me over to the new URL–update your bookmarks, sign up for the new feed, and hang out with me at the new site. It’s exactly the same as this one, just with my old URL.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Deftly combining elements from Return of the Living Dead, Night of the Creeps, and, oddly enough, John Hughes’ ‘80s teen flicks, Dance of the Dead is at both once intimately familiar and totally unique. A film that gives us just what we expect from the premise, but does so with enough characterization, heart, and attention to detail to make it seem fresher than it should.

The kids at Cosa High School are preparing for the Prom-but a toxic leak from a nearby nuclear power plant is bringing the dead back to life. Only a group of nerds, oddballs, and loners can save the day-and maybe, the Prom-from becoming another footnote in zombie cinema history.

I’ve long posited that the best genre films are the ones that keep things simple. If a plot can be explained in a sentence or two, the film has a much higher chance of being successful. Writer Joe Ballarini and director Gregg Bishop seem to have a firm grasp on this concept and employ it beautifully in Dance of the Dead. There’s really nothing extraneous in the script or the finished film-it’s lean, mean, and ready to take a chomp out of adventurous audiences.

There are a number of different factors that make the movie work so well. First is the script, which is smart, filled with memorable characters (who get some great lines) and genuinely funny. Ballarini has clearly done his homework when it comes to drawing ideas from his inspirations-he pulls concepts and situations from all of the aforementioned films but manages to put a spin on them that makes them feel more like homage than plagiarism. This isn’t to say that all of Dance of the Dead merely cribs ideas from other movies, because it doesn’t-Ballarini brings his own things to the table as well, most notably his characters.

The film focuses on slacker student Jimmy (Jared Kusnitz). Jimmy doesn’t take anything seriously-not his grades, not his relationship with class vice-president Lindsey (Greyson Chadwick), nor his job delivering pizza. He’s more content to make a joke than stand up for a cause, but he’s very easy to identify with. The rest of the cast is equally well-drawn, The sci-fi club guys provide comic relief, the cheerleader isn’t a bitch, the bully finds a purpose in life, and the punk band gets to save the mainstream instead of railing against it. It would have been easy to just phone in the characters, crafting a series of clichés we’ve all seen before, but instead we’re treated to archetypal characters we can quickly identify but they continually surprise you with their depth. Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my favorite character, a surly graveyard attendant who just keeps killing the zombies so he can keep his job (which is basically another homage, this one to Michele Soavi’s Cemetery Man).

Gregg Bishop shows a real flair for the material and for getting every dime of his budget up on the screen. Dance of the Dead has more style and panache than just about anything to come out of the Hollywood horror mill in recent memory. The scene compositions are almost comic-like at various points in the film, but it works. The film has some real standout sequences (the dead rising is one, with the fresher corpses practically exploding from their graves while the older ones shamble around like classic zombies) and it never skimps on the gore. Bishop isn’t shy about splashing the blood and guts around which was greatly appreciated by this reviewer.

It’s not all blood and roses, though. Some of the jokes do miss and one plot element (involving the punk band) seems forced and arbitrarily introduced in order to re-use it again at the climax (where it’s no more believable), but the whole is greater than the few places where the film falters. Dance of the Dead is the “big gun” release of Lionsgate’s new Ghosthouse Underground imprint (created, apparently, to create with Dimension Extreme, Dimension’s direct to DVD genre imprint). As a debut, it bodes well for the label’s future. As a calling card for Bishop and first time screenwriter Ballarini, one can merely hope it’s a sign of things to come. Horror needs guys like this-men not afraid to challenge the genre’s conventions and approach the traditional from new angles. Men not afraid to love the genre they’re working in. Let’s hope we see more from both of these talents.

Horror Geek Rating: 4 out of 5

A few days back, I posted a story about the upcoming second collaboration between Guillermo Del Toro and Juan Antonio Bayona (the first being the very disturbing and surreal film The Orphanage). The film is called Hater and it’s an adaptation of a David Moody novel.

The guys over at Twitch got a chance to sit down with Bayona recently, and the filmmaker had some interesting things to say about his upcoming project. Here are some highlights.

When asked to describe the story of Hater, Bayona summed it up as follows:

“Hater is about a sudden epidemic of hate that comes from nowhere and happens to everybody. It doesn’t care about race, sex or heritage. The media tells the story in a way that one has to wonder if everything is really happening, or maybe if it’s all result of collective hysteria.  The uncertainty is frightening: nobody knows who will survive at the end of the day or who will die. What I really liked about the story was that it deals with the real world we are living. It asks if we want to live in a world where we are controlled from above, through fear. Hater is an answer to that fear: it shows what can happen when people react to it with uncontrollable fury. That’s an excellent start for a movie.”

He also offered up this thoughtful answer when asked to describe how Hater would compare to his previous film, The Orphanage:

“When a director gives himself to the story, he ends up soaking the movie with his own style. Hater is a horror tale, but it’s also a very emotional story. It will be much more violent than The Orphanage, because it deals with hate as the main emotion. But it also talks about forgiveness, sacrifice and even love.“

Point your browser in the direction of Twitch to read more about how the relationship between Bayona and Del Toro works.

I have to say that this film is rapidly moving up my list of most anticipated titles-which is pretty impressive since they haven’t started shooting, the book isn’t out yet, and we haven’t even seen a piece of production art. The collaboration between Del Toro and Bayona, coupled with their previous work, and the stuff that’s being said about this film in the early stages, is enough to have piqued my interest. And hey, at least it’s not a remake, right?

Good news for slasher film fans-Bob Clark’s cult classic 1974 horror movie, Black Christmas, will be given the Blu-Ray treatment with a release date set for November 11^th of this year.

For those not familiar with the film (or people who only saw the bullshit remake), Black Christmas is one of the progenitors of modern American slasher cinema (alongside Mario Bava’s Bay of Blood). It tells a surprisingly nuanced tale of a group of sorority sisters stalked by a maniacal killer, known only as Billy, during the holiday break. It’s extremely creepy (the phone calls Billy makes to taunt the girls is the stuff of horror film legend) and features cult film legend John Saxon in a prominent role.

This new disc will be distributed by Koch Entertainment and features a 5.1 Surround Sound and a 16×9 1080p Blu-Ray transfer as well as two hours of bonus materials, including: two original scenes with a new vocal soundtrack, “The 12 Days of Black Christmas”, a documentary featuring current interviews with Art Hindle, Doug McGrath & Lynne Griffin among others, separate interview segments with Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder, a midnight screening Q&A session with John Saxon, Bob Clark & Carl Zittrer, and animated menus.

The holiday season just got a little darker-in a good way.

I debated about actually posting this, since I’ve seen it all over the place for the past day or so, but I figured maybe someone here hadn’t read it yet. Plus I had comments.

The guys over at FilmSchoolRejects compiled a top ten list of the creepiest masked horror film killers of all time. As far as lists go, it’s pretty decent. It’s got the usual suspects (Jason, Michael Myers, Leatherface) and a few surprise choices as well. I’ll also have to assume that the appearance of the characters from The Strangers (in the number 7 slot) has more to do with the film sponsoring the article than genuine creep factor (I think the masks from that film are nice, but I wouldn’t put them in my own top 10).

Now, for the editorializing. Go read the list if you haven’t already since I’m going to talk about the things that got omitted and the order of some of the listings. Go ahead, I’ll wait…

First off, the inclusion of the masks from Alice, Sweet Alice, Torso, and Dark Night of the Scarecrow are nice touches. They give the list an air of legitimacy that says “hey, we’re not just some dorks who have only seen mainstream American slasher flicks”. I’d bet money most of the people reading that list haven’t seen any of those three movies. So, kudos for attempting to broaden people’s horizons. I do have some issues with those choices and their placement, however. First off, the Alice, Sweet Alice mask should be higher. That’s a freaky mask-certainly freakier than anything in The Strangers. Second, while I love the Torso mask, I think it’s kind of plain for this list. The guys make the point that part of what’s cool about it is that you probably already have it in your closet, but I’m on the fence. Finally, I love Dark Night of the Scarecrow (which scared the piss out of me as a little kid), but I don’t know about giving it the top spot. It’s a cool mask (and the picture they have on the site doesn’t do it justice), but number one? I don’t know.

I’d have loved this list if they’d tweaked it a bit more-drop Torso and replace it with the far creepier Button Face mask David Cronenberg wears in Clive Barker’s Nightbreed. It has the same sort of functionality, but it looks about a hundred times freakier.

The other omission that bugs me is that of the owl-masked killer in Michele Soavi’s Stagefright. That mask is almost comical at first (it looks like a giant mascot head), but as the film progresses and it gets bloodier and filthier, it starts to become really unsettling.

I know I’m probably forgetting a few others that should have been included (getting old sucks), but all things considered, the FSR list is a good one. What do you think? Post some of your suggestions for the scariest horror film masks ever in the comment section.

Paul W.S. Anderson spoke to England’s Sunday Sun recently, and naturally the topic of Resident Evil 4 was brought up. Anderson says that once he’s done writing a remake of The Long Good Friday, RE4 would most likely be the next project on his docket. He didn’t drop any information about the planned plot of the fourth installment of the popular franchise, but it’s a pretty safe bet that it’ll all somehow revolve around Milla Jovovich fighting zombies created by the Umbrella Corporation. Now, when that turns out to be the film’s plot, remember you heard it here first. Oh, and it remains unclear as to whether Anderson will direct the next installment or not. Seems unlikely, as he allowed Russell (Highlander) Mulcahy to direct the last one.

I was gonna rant here about awful videogame adaptations, Resident Evil, George Romero and Lucio Fulci, but screw it…I got nothing. Move along folks, there’s nothing to see here.

Entertainment Weekly has a story in this week’s issue about Johnny Depp’s upcoming film schedule. The article had this to say about Depp’s planned updating of Dark Shadows:

“Two long discussed Depp projects appear kaput for now: Shantarum, based on a novel about a heroin addict’s adventures in India, and the movie version of the 60’s vampire soap Dark Shadows, a childhood favorite of the actor’s.“

To be honest, this is good news. I’ve never understood the fascination with Dark Shadows. Yeah, it was a show about vampires and ghosts-but it was still a goddamn soap opera. I mean, Marlena was possessed by Satan on Days of Our Lives at some point (I only know this because my sister watches the show…I swear) and you didn’t see a big influx of horror fans tuning in to that show, did you? I’ve seen a few episodes of DS, and let me tell ya, I’d rather have spent that time jamming rusty re-used heroin needles into my eyeballs. The thought of seeing a new version of this on the big screen (even with Depp in it) gives me hives.

That’s my problem though, so for those of you who actually read the reviews, allow me to regale you with the various highs and lows of Jason Murphy’s low budget splatter flick.

Zombies Zombies Zombies is pretty high concept for a low budget movie. Treading pretty much the same ground as the Jenna Jameson/Robert Englund vehicle, Zombie Strippers, Zombies Zombies Zombies screenwriter Anthony Giordano runs with the idea that if zombies are great and strippers are great, then putting them together should be fantastic. It may well be, but I don’t think either film has fully realized the potential awesomeness inherent in the premise.

The film’s plot centers around a group of strippers (Jessica Barton, Hollie Winnard, and Lyanna Tumaneng) and various friends, patrons, family members, and a pimp who must hole up in a strip club (creatively named The Grind House) when a group of drug addicted prostitutes turn into the walking dead after ingesting some bad crack. It’s a really simple plot and it actually has a lot of potential-which makes it all the more disappointing that Giordano and Murphy don’t really know what to do with it.

Going into a film that features a plot involving zombies vs. strippers, there are certain expectations to be met. I expect that we’ll see lots of naked strippers and lots of creative zombie gore as the flesh-hungry dead feast upon the living. Zombies Zombies Zombies only meets half the expectations-and it isn’t always satisfying even then.

The film takes an extremely long time to get going, spending nearly thirty minutes introducing us to the characters. In a mainstream film, this might be a benefit. In a low budget splatter flick, this is a definite detriment-no one cares about these people, we just want to see the zombie and stripper action start. In Giordano’s defense, a few of the characters are almost interesting-if you can get past the marginal acting. Jessica Barton’s Dakota is actually sort of engaging in a “see what strippers really think of you” sort of way. Unfortunately, she’s not interesting enough to spend thirty minutes on, nor are the pimp (who’s a complete caricature), the new girl (Hollie Winnard) or anyone else in the movie. Even when a little zombie mayhem finally starts happening, it’s not very exciting as the gore is held mostly off screen…

Zombies Zombies Zombies does finally deliver the gore goods in the last act, when the remaining survivors grab chainsaws, a weed eater, and a stripper pole and settle in for the big showdown. The gore is cheaply done, but I’m not one of those people to turn my nose up at some bargain basement carnage. The FX are laughably hokey at various stages (when one character gets bit on the arm, the latex is so obvious it’s almost charming), but it fits with the rest of the film’s tone. The CGI, on the other hand, looks hopelessly outdated and lame.

Where Zombies Zombies Zombies really fails to deliver is in the nudity department. Guys picking this up expecting some skin with their gore are going to be extremely disappointed. These may be the most chaste strippers ever, judging by the amount of naked flesh on display in the film.

I didn’t go into this particular movie expecting great performances, but even with my lowered expectations, I felt let down. This is like a master’s dissertation on the thesis statement that hot chicks rarely make good actresses. The dialogue written by Giordano isn’t too bad (except for the lame attempt to pay homage to Sam Jackson in Snakes on a Plane), but listening to the cast recite it is pretty rough going. Barton’s the best of the lot, but she’s not exactly up against Laurence Olivier. Oh, and genre favorite Tiffany Shepis turns up for a few minutes in the film’s opening sequence. I found myself wishing she’d stuck around longer, given that she has sort of an affinity for hamming it up in these sorts of films.

And here we are, the moment of truth, the point where I finish this bad boy off and slap a number on the end of it. Zombies Zombies Zombies has its heart in the right place-it truly does. It’s obvious that this was a labor of love on the part of the cast and crew (as is any low budgeted feature film) and that passion shines through and makes a lot of the movie’s rough spots much easier to accept. That being said, this is a very uneven film overall-one that takes a long time to get going and doesn’t bring much new to the table or fulfill all of our expectations. Because of that, I’m giving Zombies Zombies Zombies a 2 out of 5, but with the recommendation that you check it out if you’re really into low budget splatter movies.

Horror Geek Rating: 2 out of 5

You can tell Saw V’s release date is right around the corner because all of the sudden Lions Gate is drowning us with new Saw info.

First up is a batch new images that you can check out over at Shocktillyoudrop.

If that weren’t enough, they’ve also started airing not one, but two fifteen second teasers. I’m not really down with the whole “what would Jigsaw do?” angle (that may be a gag that’s about run its course), but everything else looks pretty good. I mean, the ads make it look like every other Saw movie out there (Tobin Bell, grimy locations, the creepy doll, the unnatural lighting, etc.) but if you’re really into the whole Saw universe (and let’s face it, someone is because they keep churning these things out) you should come away from these pleased.

Saw V assaults fright fans with more devilish contraptions and convoluted plot twists on October 24^th.