Weekly Horror Round up - Saturday 18th July

From Nosferatu’s director’s head to a 1980’s classic horror here’s Bradley Hadcroft with his latest horror round up…

– Nosferatu director loses his head.

As reported by Variety this week the German press carried a story detailing how the metal coffin of film director F.W.Murnau(Above left) had been targeted by grave robbers who promptly made of with his head.

Once voted the 33rd best director of all time by Entertainment Weekly, nestling snugly between Sam Peckinpah(Straw Dogs) and David Lean(Lawrence of Arabia),F.W.Murnau was best known for vampire in desperate need of a manicure movie Nosferatu(above right) .

Murnau died when his over zealous Filipino valet bailed his car with him in it (pictured here) in 1931 and his eulogy was delivered by none other than Fritz Lang(Metropolis).

Wax residue was found near the grave and bony fingers are this week being pointed in the direction of the poor old occultists who always seem to get blamed for everything.If devil worshipers were involved then it is highly likely that it was Murnau’s cinematic interpretation of Faust(imagine Trading Places but for a soul)that got their black hoods a’twitching.

– Annihilation :

Alex Garland(Ex Machina) revealed details of his new film project this week during an interview with Movies.com and in an ironic twist it will be a book adaptation. Garland will stay firmly planted in horror/Sci-Fi territory as he tackles the first installment of Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy Annihilation.

To get an idea of the subject matter Garland has to work with here is the synopsis of the book from the authors official page:

“Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.

This is the twelfth expedition.“

To get a further idea of tone here is an excerpt from a review of the book posted on In The Mouth of Dorkness :

“Did you like Lost? Do you like weird, challenging stories that hint at much bigger things? Do you enjoy that unsettling feeling created in the best horror (not the jump-scare/gore horror that is so common, but the real, intellectually terrifying stuff)? I do, and this delivers. Alienness and the slow, creeping madness it instills in people gives the book a terrible menace that builds and builds. What could possibly be worse or more shattering than the previous discovery? Try the next one.“

This is what Alex had to say to Movies.com regarding his mindset for the new film :

“The one I’m working on now is definitely in the adrenaline-ized mode.It’s in the sort of darker, stranger, propulsive space. It’s more like Dredd and 28 Days Later. Never Let Me Go and Ex Machina basically are reflective, quiet, talky movies, and this has some of the same sort of propulsion, I’d say, of 28 Days and some of the hallucinogenic aspects of Dredd, but they’re way more ramped up. Way, way more ramped up.”

There is no information yet on the plans for the two other parts of the trilogy Authority and Acceptance other than the rights have also been secured by Paramount Pictures/Scott Rudin Productions.

Below is a map of Area X :

According to Garland Annihilation will begin filming in April 2016.

– Death Watch

Monday 20th July will see a special screening of 1980’s dystopian doom merchant Death Watch.It is more relevant today than ever and you can consider your self well cult if you buy a ticket here at The Space Merchants .

Here is the synopsis from the Science Fiction Theatre Facebook page :

“Before Big Brother there was Death Watch.
Media mogul Vincent Ferriman (Harry Dean Stanton) wants to create the most popular reality television show ever. He cajoles journalist Roddy (Harvey Keitel) into having cameras implanted in his eyes and sets him on the trail of terminally ill Katherine Mortenhoe (Romy Schneider), but this unwitting celebrity has other ideas.”

You can watch Robbie Coltrane(From Hell) drive a Limo in his first ever film role at The Victoria, 451 Queensbridge Road, E8 3AS at 7pm.

Trailer Watch :

– Tales of Halloween

After securing the prestigious closing film slot at this years Film Four Frightfest this seasonal anthology movie finally revealed it’s full trailer and it looks like a total blast.

Here is the description from the festivals official site:

“Ten tales of terror unfold in a sleepy American suburb on All Hallows Eve as ghouls, imps, aliens, goblins, demons, axe murders and serial killers roam the witching hour. You’ll meet Sweet Tooth, The Weak and the Wicked, Rusty Rex and the Grim Grinning Ghost in an anthology of power nightmares directed by the cream of the scream industry crop.”

– The Hive

The trailer for this new horror film from Midnight Road Entertainment dropped this week and it appears to be a kinetic mash up of various genres.

Here is the description used when it premiered at Fantastic Fest last year :

“Adam jolts awake inside a boarded up infirmary with no recollection of who he is or how he ended up here. With threatening sounds penetrating from the outside, Adam has no choice but to reach deep into his memories to try and piece together what has happened to him. With the help of mementos he finds, Adam starts to piece together the puzzle that once was his life. He remembers his best friend Clark, Clark’s girlfriend Jess, and the love of his life Katie, but there are other memories as well… Memories that couldn’t be his…”

– The Boy

The trailer for controversial Elijah Wood(Maniac) produced horror drama The Boy appeared this week.The Director Craig William Macneill has served his time on the short film scene and this graduation to full feature caused quite a stir when it premiered at this years SXSW from which the description below is derived.

“It’s the summer of 1989. 9-year-old Ted Henley (Jared Breeze) and his father John (David Morse) are the proprietors of The Mt. Vista Motel, a crumbling resort buried in the mountains of the American West. Since Ted’s mother left, John has drifted into despondency—leaving Ted to fend for himself. In this isolation, unchecked by the bounds of parenting, Ted’s darker impulses begin to manifest. The arrival of a mysterious drifter, William Colby (Rainn Wilson), captivates young Ted and the two form a unique friendship – setting the stage for Ted’s final, unnerving metamorphosis. THE BOY is a chilling, intimate portrait of a 9-year-old sociopath’s growing fascination with death.”

The Boy will be released stateside in August 2015 on as yet unspecified formats.

DVD Release of the week :

New England fishing town Potters Bluff has a secret to hide and anyone visiting runs the risk of being speared to death, burned alive or worse.James Farentino(Bulletproof) plays the unfortunate sheriff who must unravel this gruesome mystery of vicious murder and resurrection.

Trimmed of 30 seconds by the BBFC in 1990 in order to obtain an 18 certificate and banned in both Norway and Finland until the early 2000’s this grisly horror thriller has a mean streak a mile wide.This fully uncut version from Icon Entertainment represents a dirt cheap opportunity to own a really classy horror film with a surprisingly solid pedigree.

Directed by Gary Sherman who made the quality cannibal classic Death Line and with lovely lens work from the brilliant Steven Poster who shot Donnie Darko the film was heavily marketed as the follow up project to Alien.

The special effects work comes from Stan Winston(Terminator 2: Judgment Day,Avatar) and their practical nature means they have stood the test of time and are right up there with anything being produced today.One particularly nasty example of needle trauma is the only cinematic competition for Zombie Flesh Eaters and it’s infamous splintered eyeball sequence.

Get your early 80’s classic horror fix for under £6 here.

It will take your breath away……….ALL of it !!!!