28 WEEKS LATER director to helm INTRUDERS

By Michael Gingold

Fango got in a news tidbit about INTRUDERS, an upcoming film by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, the Spanish director who first won notice with the 2001 thriller INTACTO and then helmed 2007’s superior sequel 28 WEEKS LATER.

First photo from del Toro-produced JULIA’S EYES

By Michael Gingold

An early photo from JULIA’S EYES (LOS OJOS DE JULIA), the latest chiller to have Guillermo del Toro on board as a producer, has appeared on-line with news that the movie has started selling to assorted international territories. Check out the pic after the jump.

DRAG ME TO HELL leads horror nominees for 36th Annual Saturn Awards

By Michael Gingold

The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has announced the nominees for its 36th Annual Saturn Awards (though strangely enough, as of this posting, they haven’t posted them at the org’s official website yet). Sam Raimi’s DRAG ME TO HELL turned out to be the most honored fright feature, scoring five nominations including Best Horror Film.

SOMETHING scary and funny coming from Universal

By Michael Gingold

Variety reports that Universal has made a mid-six-figure deal to buy up a horror/comedy pitch called THE SOMETHING from Rodney Rothman, who will script. The writer, whose credits include producing gigs on FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL and the upcoming GET HIM TO THE GREEK, will also serve that function on THE SOMETHING.

Filmmaker talks MACHETE MAIDENS and PATRICK remake

By Michael Gingold

Fango caught up with Australian director Mark Hartley, creator of the amazing documentary NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF OZPLOITATION!, while he was in NYC grabbing interviews for his follow-up, MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED. This project is in a similar vein, covering the history of genre filmmaking in the Philippines—though not so much homegrown product, he points out.

First set report on Aussie horror NEEDLE

By Michael Helms

No notable horror films have lurched out of Western Australia since ZOMBIE BRIGADE circa 1988. NEEDLE, shot just before Christmas 2009, is seeking to redress the situation, and goes about it with a deadly device from the 18th century. The third feature from John V. Soto, who wrote PREY (released Down Under to negligible returns last year) and co-directed CRUSH (now visible via video on demand and hitting U.S. DVD April 21) with Jeff Gerritsen, helmed NEEDLE from a script he wrote with Tony Egan.

   

SOMEONE’S KNOCKING, GOD OF VAMPIRES, VINDICATION and more indie DVD date/art news

By Michael Gingold

• Fango got the word from Breaking Glass Pictures that it has picked up Chad Ferrin’s new shocker SOMEONE’S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR for release under its Vicious Circle banner. The company also grabbed Ferrin’s previous feature EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL!, as well as the German production SLASHER.

Morse and Burke will DRIVE ANGRY

By Michael Gingold

Arrow in the Head got the first word that David Morse has joined the cast of Summit Entertainment’s 3-D action-chiller DRIVE ANGRY. This comes hard on the heels of a Moviehole announcement that Billy Burke has also signed onto the film.

Cast and director set for Gothic thriller THE MONK

By Michael Gingold

Variety reports that Vincent Cassel, fresh off Darren Aronofsky’s supernatural drama BLACK SWAN, has been cast in the title role of THE MONK for France’s Diaphana Films and Spain’s Morena Films. Based on Matthew Lewis’ 18th-century Gothic novel, the film will topline Cassel as Capucin Ambrosio, who is undone by temptation brought on by black magic and the devil himself.

SHUTTER ISLAND (Film Review)

By Michael Gingold

The first thing that should be said here about SHUTTER ISLAND is that it’s not the consistently scarifying horror film that some of the ads are making it out as—and nor is it trying to be one. While there are plenty of creepy events and imagery scattered throughout its running time, here’s a movie that truly warrants description as a “psychological thriller”—no surprise coming from Martin Scorsese, a director who has always been just as interested, if not moreso, in tortured souls as in tortured bodies.

DVDetails for THE COLLECTOR

By Michael Gingold

Fango got the scoop on the special features that have been collected for the DVD and Blu-ray releases of THE COLLECTOR, coming April 6 from Vivendi Entertainment. The directorial debut of Marcus Dunstan, who scripted with his FEAST trilogy/SAW sequels writing partner Patrick Melton, the film follows a small-time burglar (Josh Stewart) as he attempts to rip off a wealthy family’s mansion one night and runs into a far deadlier home invader, who has set murderous traps for him and the house’s owners.

Exclusive Interview: Hugo Weaving on THE WOLFMAN

By Lee Gambin

Universal’s eagerly anticipated update of THE WOLFMAN was unleashed in cinemas everywhere this past Friday, and one of its stars, the MATRIX films’ Hugo Weaving, gave Fango some of his time to talk up the lycanthropic epic. We spoke to him while he was in the midst of the Melbourne (Australia) Theatre Company’s production of the acclaimed play GOD OF CARNAGE.

Writer/actress talks THE GHOST OF SLAUGHTERFORD

By Michael Gingold

We reported the other day on an upcoming supernatural feature called THE GHOST OF SLAUGHTERFORD, but the news break omitted one very important name: screenwriter Axelle Carolyn, who will also star in the movie. A former Fango scribe who has since appeared in a number of features and short films (including DOOMSDAY and CENTURION for GHOST executive producer Neil Marshall, as well as THE DESCENT: PART 2), Carolyn dropped us a line to give us a bit of background about the project.

Details on scary/sexy DEMONIC II/FOREST OF THE DAMNED II

By Michael Gingold

Mark Evans, co-writer and co-producer of the new DEMONIC II (a.k.a. FOREST OF THE DAMNED II), got in touch to talk up the sequel, for which an official website has opened. The movie is a follow-up to the 2005 feature known as FOREST OF THE DAMNED overseas and retitled DEMONIC for its 2006 U.S. DVD release; the original’s director/co-writer, Johannes Roberts, is an associate producer on the new film.

Werewolves are only HUMAN in SAUNA director’s latest

By Michael Gingold

Screen Daily reports that Finnish director Antti-Jussi Annila will follow up his well-received chiller SAUNA with a werewolf movie called HUMAN. As the title suggests, this is a reverse-transformation tale—about a wolf that becomes a man.

Get viral with THE CRAZIES’ Operation Scarlet Omega

By Michael Gingold

Dread Central has been reporting on all the viral activity going on surrounding the upcoming release of Overture Films and director Breck Eisner’s THE CRAZIES, and today had an update on Operation Scarlet Omega. That’s a government/military program dealing with security breaches at chemical facilities—like the one that causes all the madness in the movie’s setting of Ogden Marsh, Iowa.

Clive Barker’s Dark Bazaar at Toy Fair 2010

By David McKendry

At the current Toy Fair event in NYC, Fango dropped by the showroom of JAKKS Pacific, where we got an up-close-and-personal look at this Halloween’s sweetest costumes. From JAKKS subsidiary Disguise comes Clive Barker’s Dark Bazaar, a costume lineup based on the original artwork of the author/artist/filmmaker and horror legend. See some pics after the jump!

THE DESCENT: PART 2 DVDetails

By Michael Gingold

Fango got ahold of the specs for the DVD of THE DESCENT: PART 2, coming from Lionsgate Home Entertainment April 27. The sequel to Neil Marshall’s subterranean scare film, directed by Jon Harris from a script by James McCarthy, J. Blakeson and James Watkins, sends the first film’s heroine Sarah (returning star Shauna McDonald) back into the monster-infested caves with a rescue party in an attempt to save any of her friends who may have survived the creatures’ attack.

Freddy, his new glove and more at Toy Fair 2010

By Bekah McKendry

Fango spent another exciting day at Toy Fair 2010 (see our first report here), checking out the licensed products and original terrors coming to frighten you this year. Read on past the jump for the details and pics…

More info, DVD release and art for MEADOWOODS

By Michael Gingold

We first reported here about a new independent horror feature called MEADOWOODS, which was being virally promoted via a couple of disturbing on-line videos. Now we have more info about the movie, as well as the scoop on its DVD release and a first look at the cover.