Cinefantastique Online

You are browsing the archives of 2009 March.

Over at the Horror’s Not Dead blog, Peter Hall asks, “Is THE STRANGERS the Most Effective Horror Movie since BLAIR WITCH?”
For those of you scoring at home, the answer is: No.
Hope that clarifies things.

Yahoo has posted their list of the 100 Movies to See Before You Die. Although the horror genre is, typically, under-represented, fans of science fiction and fantasy films will be pleased to see numerous favorites on the list. In fact, if one is liberal in their definition of what constitutes cinefantastique (as indeed we have [...]

Hollywood Reporter tells us that Taye Diggs (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL) and Anita Briem have joined Brandon Routh (SUPERMAN RETURNS) in the cast of DEAD OF NIGHT, a $20-million independent horror film shooting in New Orleans. Kevin Munroe (TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES) is directing from a script by Joshua Oppenheimber and Thomas Dean Donnelly, adapted from [...]

Film composer Maurice Jarre passed away March 29th in Los Angeles at the age of 84. One of the finest craftsmen during what is called the “Silver Age of Film Music,” Jarre left a legacy of significant and influential scores, including some notable efforts within the fantastic genre.
The French-born composer began scoring movies in his [...]

Regardless of who won the on-screen battle, MONSTERS VS. ALIENS was the clear winner at the box office, easily outdistancing the #2 film THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT and making as much as the next four films combined. Making its debut in 4,104 North American Theatres, the DreamWorks animated film earned an impressive $58.2-million.
Also making its [...]

This uber-high-concept piece of computer-generated animation is so good-natured that you want to like it, but it is not nearly so all-fired exciting and funny as it intends to be. Fortunately, if you can forgive the slow start and the occasionally lax pacing, you will be rewarded with enough great moments and old-movie references to justify [...]

Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily tells us that the start date for DARK SHADOWS, Johnny Depp’s feature film version of the Gothic soap opera, may have to be pushed back to accommodate director Tim Burton’s schedule:
…any rumor that Burton may bail altogether is “definitely” not true, says my insider: “He loves the project”. But his helming [...]

Yes, the housing bubble has burst; home sales are down. The news sounds bad, but there is a silver lining: namely, it’s a buyer’s market! With the world’s latest haunted house movie,  THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT, opening today, what better time for interested shoppers to investigate the possibility of purchasing their very own haunted house? With [...]

Sci Fi Japan points us to Crackle, a new online “multi-platform next-generation video entertainment network” that is loaded with movies, television episodes, and original videos. Because Crackle is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, the have a load of titles from Columbia-TriStar, which owns the distribution rights to Toho’s giant monster movies. The current feature movie [...]

The Telegraph.co.uk tells us that Uma Thurman will play Medusa in PERCY JACKSON, a modern-day take on Greek mythology directed by Chris Columbus. Pierce Brosna co-stars as a centaur, along with Sean Bean as Zeus. Reporter Tim Walker illuminates the plot:
In a departure from any recognisable Greek myth, the plot sees Poseidon’s 12-year-old half-human son [...]

I believe in not showing too much. I believe in keeping you on your toes, wondering what you’re going to see next. That is what the power of the screen is all about. It is not what you see, but what you think you see. Suggest, suggest, suggest! Don’t just show, show, show. There is [...]

Man’s best friends turns out to be a family nightmare in this mediocre made-for-television movie about a household pooch sired by satanic forces. The scares are few and far between, but the the campy concept may amuse fans of cult movies, and there is also a certain nostalgia appeal for those old enough to fondly recall [...]

In Mad about Madsen, the Philadelphia Daily offers up a brief interview with actress Virginia Madness, whose upcoming film THE HAUTNING IN CONNECTICUT, opens on March 27. Although reporter Howard Bessler focuses too much time on how a middle-aged woman can look young enough to maintain a career in Hollywood, he does manage to include [...]