Cinefantastique Online

The Mighty Movie Podcast brings you interviews with the makers of horror, fantasy & science fiction films, conducted by Dan Persons.

Ryan Gosling in DRIVE.
Somehow, it seems like it was only a matter of time before director Nicolas Winding Refn hitched his camera to a hurtling piece of American metal and did a full-on car chase film. In DRIVE, Ryan Gosling plays a guy named… wait for it… Driver, a stunt man with [...]

Standing for Justice: Andy Lau confronts the intangible in DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME.
Cause for celebration, indeed: Hong Kong director Tsui Hark is back, and if anything, his vision has gotten more crazily energetic and eye-dazzling in his latest effort. In DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME, Andy [...]

Bailee Madison in DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK
Guillermo del Toro says that, as a kid, he harbored great affection for the TV-movie version of DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, enough so that he and his friends used to creep each other out merely by whispering the name, “Salllllleeeee.” The years have passed and [...]

Couples Night in the Cockpit: A moment from Winsor McCay's THE FLYING HOUSE.
Think of it as one spiritual brother reaching out to another over the span of almost an entire century: Bill Plympton — the innovative animator known for his edgy surrealism and distinctive, hand-drawn style — has decided to rejuvenate the [...]

Hellflower on Wheels: Tyler Dawson (left) and Evan Glodell prep for the end of civilization as we know it in BELLFLOWER.
The course of true love is never easy. When an imposing, MAD-MAX-like, fire-breathing automobile intervenes, it can get downright complicated. Evan Glodell’s BELLFLOWER is the tale of two Southern Californians — [...]

Mint on the Pillow, Imminent Confrontation with the Unknown in the Suitcase: Eric Balfour gets his glow on in DO NOT DISTURB.
Shot on the proverbial shoestring over seven quick production days, DO NOT DISTURB is a curious little anthology film with some interesting names attached. Mali Elfman — daughter of Danny — wrote [...]

A defiant tire stands down the law in RUBBER.
Yes, RUBBER was released theatrically on April 1st. No, it’s not some kind of a joke — I’ve seen it, I know. It’s actually a film about a tire that gains consciousness in the middle of the desert, finds it has the power to destroy objects and [...]

It's Always Darkest Before It Gets Even Darker: Thandie Newton and Hayden Christen brave the shadows in VANISHING ON 7TH STREET.
Brad Anderson knows his way around old school horror — you know, the kind that relies on atmosphere and suggestion, the kind values the power of the disturbing thought as much as or [...]

Waiting for the End of the World: (l to r) Juno Temple, Thomas Dekker, and Haley Bennett in KABOOM.
His previous film, SMILEY FACE, seems to have perked director Gregg Araki up considerably. There’s a fatality to his newest, KABOOM — dealing with the imminent end of the world and all that — but [...]

THE IRON GIANT
In 1999, Warner’s released THE IRON GIANT. Well… released may not be the best term. Slipped into theaters under the cover of night so that anyone who might be remotely interested couldn’t possibly know of its existence… yeah, that’s the term. Despite the stealth marketing, director Brad Bird’s animated [...]

Torn Between Two Worlds: Ghost lover Manolo Cardona (center of image) and pregnant wife Tatiana Astengo (far right) put the pressure on Cristian Mercado in UNDERTOW.
The triangles just keep getting more complicated, don’t they? In the new Peruvian film, UNDERTOW, fisherman Miguel (Cristian Mercado) is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his child by [...]

I Sing the Afterlife Electric: A trippy moment from ENTER THE VOID.
Kinda sorry I’m going to see LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS in IMAX 3D this weekend, and not Gaspar Noé’s new film, ENTER THE VOID. This is the movie that could benefit from the full, immersive, 3D treatment: a swirling, gliding, electric voyage into life [...]

Centuri-run!: Michael Fassbender gets a workout in CENTURION.
CENTURION tends to focus on the resilience side of human existance, what with swords, hatchets, and various other implements of death being wielded hither and yon and a small clutch of battle-scarred soldiers trying to survive their onslaughts. Based on the historical myth of a [...]