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Cameron Disapproves of 'Piranha 3D'

By Jason Murphy (Subscribe to Jason Murphy's posts), Posted Aug 30th 2010 10:30AM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Horror
I haven't seen Piranha 3D yet. I know, I'm a bad horror nerd. After the love letter that our own Brian Salisbury wrote to the 3D gore-and-boob fest, I still haven't seen it. I'll rectify that soon, and in spades. In fact, I may pay to see it 3 or 4 times just to spite the sanctimonious, holier-than-thou screed that James Cameron lets loose with in Vanity Fair. As shamelessly grabbed from Shock Til You Drop, Cameron, when quizzed about his relationship to the Piranha franchise, took the opportunity to unleash:

You've got to remember: I worked on Piranha 2 for a few days and got fired off of it; I don't put it on my official filmography. So there's no sort of fond connection for me whatsoever," he told them. "In fact, I would go even farther and say that . . . I tend almost never to throw other films under the bus, but that is exactly an example of what we should not be doing in 3-D. Because it just cheapens the medium and reminds you of the bad 3-D horror films from the 70s and 80s, like Friday the 13th 3-D. When moves got to the bottom of the barrel of their creativity and at the last gasp of their financial lifespan, they did a 3-D version to get the last few drops of blood out of the turnip. And that's not what's happening now with 3-D.

Well, hello, Mr. FancyPants! So you claim that a 3-D version of a horror movie is the last gasp of their financial lifespan and you use Friday the 13th 3-D as an example? There have been NINE more movies featuring Jason since then. I'm not defending the Friday films as pinnacles of cinema, but the 'King of the World' just comes off as a didactic ass here.

Sinister Scenes: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

By Jason Murphy (Subscribe to Jason Murphy's posts), Posted Aug 27th 2010 4:45PM
Filed under: Trailers/Clips, Horror
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Those words set my synapses on fire. It's a Pavlovian response. My ears immediately perk up at the sound of a chainsaw or at John Laroquette's deep tones. You know how you can always pick your name out of a bustling party if someone utters it? I can do that, but it's whenever someone says 'Leatherface'. I even live just a few miles from where the original was filmed, but that was by chance. I promise. I'm not that guy. Yes, I've seen the film more times than is healthy, along with all of the deteriorating sequels and remakes. Few films have yet to capture the carnal, teeth-grinding insanity of the original. Even if Tobe Hooper claims he was shooting for a PG rating, you will be hard pressed to find that few things that will punch you in the throat like this flick.

And after the jump is my favorite scene. It's not just my favorite scene in the film. I think it's my favorite death scene of all time. The quiet leading up to it, the spooky pig noises, and the first appearance of Leatherface himself turn the entire film on its ear.


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Watch This: The First Trailer For 'A Horrible Way To Die'

By Jason Murphy (Subscribe to Jason Murphy's posts), Posted Aug 27th 2010 2:25PM
Filed under: Trailers/Clips, Horror
With the Toronto International Film Festival right around the corner, the trailer has just launched for one of the many films making it's premiere there. Adam Wingard, who made a handful of movies I've never heard of, brings us A Horrible Way to Die. The tale follows an escaped murderer in pursuit of his ex-girlfriend, who has fled to start a new life in a small town. OK, so that premise doesn't do much for you. In fact, it sounds like something you'd find on Lifetime, something you would go out of the way not to watch. That said, it does have the unbridled manliness of both AJ Bowen and his beard. AJ, as readers of HorrorSquad may know, is a friend of the site and has joined us for a chat to discuss the cult hit he starred in, The Signal.

But back to the trailer. Remember that 'Lifetime' jab I took at the premise? I take it back. Check out the trailer HERE. Looks kind of intense, does it not? While Bowen is caught up in the pre-release hype of Hatchet II, hopefully we'll be able to get some tidbits about this indie excursion from him, as well.

The Deadly Debates: Poltergeist

By Jason Murphy (Subscribe to Jason Murphy's posts), Posted Aug 27th 2010 1:15PM
Filed under: Features, Discussion Posts, Horror
I'm in an impossible position here. It's a dilemma that only Jigsaw himself could come up with. Or maybe my partner, @Kaylakro. With this video, I've found that I have to argue against Poltergeist. Not only was it difficult to come up with solid points to use in my attack, but it felt like such a betrayal. I was selling out the Freeling family! I would have had an easier time drowning a kitten or smashing my DVD collection with a hammer. Before you spam me with well-deserved hate, let me once again explain the conceit of The Deadly Debates. Kayla and I choose a film. One of us takes for and the other, against. I've had some lay-ups in the past, arguing for The Exorcist or against Troll 2, but this one? This one really tests my acumen as a master of debate.

And I have to admit, I failed.

For those of you who have no business reading this website, Poltergeist is about your typical suburban family. After discovering their home is infested with ghosts, their daughter, young Carol Anne, mysteriously vanishes. What follows is an escalating battle with dark forces and a spectacle of Spielberg wizardry.

Check out the video after the jump. Let us know what you think!
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Doctor Who Visits MIT

By Jason Murphy (Subscribe to Jason Murphy's posts), Posted Aug 27th 2010 11:04AM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
Oh, those wacky uber-nerds. While their collective brainpower could be out genetically engineering things and constructing new science-y stuff like molecules and . . . things. Instead, they're putting a TARDIS on top of a campus building. Greeting incoming freshmen as they make their way around campus is Doctor Who's own 1950's-era London police box. This is just the latest in the university's long history of IHTFP's (Interesting Hacks to Fascinate People). It's been going on for decades. Some of them must have taken an Ocean's 11 level of time, money, and planning, but all of them have various degrees of geek cred. I may mock these budding geniuses, but in reality, I'm jealous. Had I seen something like this at my unnamed university, I would have squealed with joy. But no, I had to deal with the more traditional college pranks of spraying urine on people or finding a dead squirrel nailed to the door of my dorm.

Thanks to Wired for the scoop. Check out larger photos of the hack here.

'X-Men: First Class' to Be A Period Piece

By Jason Murphy (Subscribe to Jason Murphy's posts), Posted Aug 23rd 2010 11:02AM
Filed under: Movie News, News/Reactions, Sci-Fi
Like many of you, I've been skeptical about any new movies in the X-universe. After the abysmal X-Men: Last Stand, I was ready to let that series rest for a few years and let it rise up again with a reboot later. I never was a huge fan of the originals. I liked them a lot, but didn't think they were all they could have been. The lukewarm Wolverine movie didn't really help bolster my confidence either. Of course, Fox has to churn out another X-Men film lest they lose the rights back to Marvel. And then Bryan Singer went stumbling back to the franchise after his own failures. Then things started to look up. After flirting with the series and almost directing the third entry, Matthew Vaughn has of course signed on to direct this X-Men prequel. Fanboys are reasonably suspicious about this. Casting rumors and announcements have been flying fast and furious as the shooting date rapidly approaches.

Things seem to be falling into place, however. There's a good director and Michael Fassbender is in it. And now they announce they're shooting it as a period piece. I get giddy just thinking of it. While The Fantastic Four certainly should have been set in the 1960's, I'll settle for seeing the X-Men. According to Ain't It Cool News, we'll see the early years of the Xavier/Magneto relationship and a mostly new cast of characters against the backdrop of the Kennedy era. In the article, Singer promises looks more faithful to what we've seen in the comics. That's a welcome change from the black leather ensemble from the first films. My only concern is, if it's a retro flick, it should have the actual original lineup as the team, in spite of the previous films.

Read the original article here.

And for the love of God, can we get some actual Sentinels this time?

Sillof Takes Star Wars To Feudal Japan

By Jason Murphy (Subscribe to Jason Murphy's posts), Posted Aug 23rd 2010 9:32AM
Filed under: Features, Fan Made, Photo Galleries, Sci-Fi
It's no secret to any film fan that one of the many wells that George Lucas drew from when conceiving Star Wars is Kurosawa's the Hidden Fortress. I still haven't managed to watch it. Don't look at me like that! I've been busy. Even without that knowledge, the elements of Bushido are obvious in the Jedi Order. Custom toy designer Sillof has made the easy transition by re-designing the principal characters with a samurai flair.

If you follow anything geeky around the web, you've probably seen Sillof's work. He's the mad genius behind the gorgeous Steampunk Star Wars re-imagining. His work isn't just clunky, reassembled toys with some Sculpey mashed onto them. These figures are truly inspired and Sillof obviously does his research into whatever other genre he's sliding the existing characters into. He even goes so far as to mock-up an article about this fictional film. I don't know much about this guy, if he's professional or just an obsessive hobbyist, but Lucasfilm would do well to see that these are mass-produced. I would buy them in bulk.

Check out the feudal era Star Wars characters here and be sure to peruse the rest of the site. Follow the craftsman on Twitter for future updates.
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