“Freakwolf Productions is happy to announce that their upcoming short film Myctophobia begins production in February as part of the short film compilation The Collective Volume 4. The theme of all the films on The Collective Volume 4 is emotions. Writer/Director Bryan Wolford was given Fear and while researching different phobias Bryan settled on Myctophobia which is labeled as a Fear of Darkness. He then crafted a story about Kelly who has a fear of the dark and while at home by herself the lights go out. She soon finds herself bombarded by sights and sounds that only strengthen her fear of the dark. Is all of it really happening or only in her head? The Collective Volume 4 is scheduled to premiere at the
Days Of The Dead convention (www.daysofthedead.net) on July 6th -July 8th in Indianapolis, Indiana.

With Myctophobia we want to bring a great atmospheric story to your screen. Sure blood and guts are fun sometimes but we want our viewers to feel Kelly’s dread in their stomachs. We will prove that you don’t need a big budget to produce  big scares. We want to bring that fear of darkness to life in front of your eyes and make you start to worry when you shut your lights off at night that you get a small pit in your stomach and try to convince yourself that the noise you just heard  was only the cat in the living room. Wait . . . do you even have a cat?

The project is currently fund raising through Indie Go Go in the hopes of raising a small amount of money to make sure the cast and crew gets a little pocket change out of the experience and to help pay for some special effects for the film. All of the filming with be done over a weekend in late February thus keeping the costs low. Anyone can donate to the project through the Indie Go Go page and receive incentives like signed copies of The Collective Volume 4, an invite to the cast and crew screening, and a cast and crew exclusive t-shirt. Info for donations can be found at IndieGoGo.Com/Myctophobia.

The main character of Kelly will be played by Kitsie Duncan. Kitsie has gained a dedicated following in the Indiana horror scene as a scream queen in numerous horror films and helps her husband Chris Jay in a producer role for their production company Darkrider Studios (www.darkriderstudios.com) which produces their own films as well as providing multiple media services. She was a producer and actress in the film Lethal Obsession which has made the rounds at
horror film festivals and horror conventions across the country.”

See the full Press Release here.

You know legendary maniacs Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger. Now meet Leslie Vernon, the next great psycho-slasher. Nathan Baesel of INVASION stars as Vernon, a good-natured killing machine who invites a documentary film crew to follow him as he reminisces with his murder mentor (Scott Wilson of IN COLD BLOOD), evades his psychiatrist/nemesis (Robert Englund of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET), deconstructs Freudian symbolism, and meticulously plots his upcoming slaughter spree. But when the actual carnage begins, where do you draw the line between voyeuristic thrills, mythic evil, and good old- fashioned slasher movie mayhem? Angela Goethals (24) and Zelda Rubinstein (POLTERGEIST) co-stars in this ingeniously twisted and awardwinning shocker that Film Threat hails as “a masterpiece…”.

Get the Blu-Ray or DVD.

There has been talk of a potential sequel for awhile now. The filmmakers are working to get funding to get the movie greenlit. This is where we all come in. They are not asking for donations. But, if you are interested, they are asking people to pre-order the sequel. You are not charged until they reach their goal. Kind of like how Kickstarter works. You can pre-order the DVD or Blu-Ray, get a poster, be an extra in the movie, be killed onscreen, etc.

You can find full info about Before the Mask: The Return of Leslie Vernon on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BeforeTheMask.

This is the second annual Drunken Zombie screening but is actually the first year it was been a full blown film festival. Last year they screened the great indie horror films IT’S MY PARTY AND I’LL DIE IF I WANT TO and had the world premiere of ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. They had a great turn out and everyone enjoyed themselves. Now they have a full weekend full of horror greatness. So mark your calendars and make sure you are ready to see some of the great indie horror films they will be presenting.

For more info head to www.drunkenzombie.com and any questions email Bryan at bryan@drunkenzombie.com. For info about the Peoria Theater check out www.peoriatheater.com.

I finally got around to watching this and regret not seeing it opening weekend with a crowded audience.

The plot is very simple.  4 guys go to Vegas for a night on the town before one of them gets married.  We see them toast to a night they will never forget.  Cut to the next day where 3 of them wake up and do not remember a thing about last night.  Including where the groom is.  The movie revolves around them re-tracing their steps trying to find their friend before his wedding.

Throw in a baby, a tiger, a missing tooth and a naked asian man in the trunk of their car for good measure.

I do not want to spoil any of this movie.  Go see it.

It’s ok, not great or anything.  But if you go into it with zero expectations then you probably will not be disappointed.

*Spoilers below*

This movie takes place 2 years after the first one with Sam about to enter college.  Now for some reason, he chose a college that does not allow freshman parking.  If I had a robot car, I think that would be something to look for.  We see that the military is working with the autobots take down decepticons.  And we are introduced to some new autobots: Sideswipe, ReeCee, and the twins (I forget their names)

As Sam is packing, a piece of the allspark falls out of his clothes (guess he really doesn’t like to do laundry) and he touches it.  Gaining some knowledge that the Fallen, keader of the decepticons, has been looking for for thousands of years.  At college, Sam is attacked by a human-looking decepticon and the chase ensues.

We get some more fight – leading to the death of Optimus Prime.  More running.  We meet the guy from Section 7 again.  Who is working in his parents deli.  With him, Sam and company go find Jetfire.  We learn the transformers had been on earth a long long time ago.  And that they are going to use a machine to convert our sun’s energy into energon.  Extinguishing it in the process. Jetfire transports everyone to Egypt so the machine can be destroyed before it is activated.  Sam finds the Matrix, a device that is needed to trigger the machine.  It may also restore Optimus Prime.  So they contact the military and get Optimus and the other autobots airlifted in.  Just in time to fight all the decepticons converging on their location.   The Fallen is among them.  Apparently only a Prime can defeat him and Optimus was the last of the Primes.

There is more robot-on-robot violence resulting in Sam getting hurt.  He sees a vision of robot heaven…I guess you would call it.  The past Primes tell Sam that it was always his destiny to get to that point.  He then revives Optimus Prime.  But as the Matrix is reviving him, The Fallen yanks the Matrix from his chest and goes to the energon machine to begin converting our sun.  Jetfire gives his life so Optimus can live and take on the fallen.  Optimus saves the day.

Ok.  I left some of the plot vague.  Notice how I never mentioned any of the new or old autobots in the description.  That is because ,except for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, they do not really do much.  The twins for instance (I am not going to get into how stereotyped they were with the gold tooth, inability to read, etc.) did zero for the story.  Nothing.  The other autobots shown were basically cannonfodder.  Other than having someone nice to look at for the majority of the movie, Megan Fox’s character really didn’t need to be there.  The autobot/decepticon fight in the desert was vague as well.  The designs on the various robots are so similar, you cannot really tell who is who.

I think an edited down version of say 90 minutes versus the 2 hours 40 minutes would probably make this a more enjoyable movie.

You have got to see this movie in the theater. But be sure to use the restroom before you go. This movie clocks in at 2 hours 30 minutes. Plus 15 minutes or so of trailers. Including trailers for the new Bond movie and Watchmen. Side note – the Watchmen trailer looks awesome!

Heath Ledger’s Joker is very disturbing to watch. Definitely not Jack Nicholson’s or Cesar Romero’s Joker. Not quite as demented as the Joker is currently in DC comics, but in some ways worse. Christian Bale gives an excellent performance as Batman/Bruce Wayne. Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a good performance as Rachel Dawes. Gary Oldman’s Jim Gordon is spot on. While Aaron Eckhart is no Billy Dee Williams, his Harvey Dent was a good addition to Gotham City. Morgan Freeman has redeemed himself in my eyes with his portrayal of Lucius Fox (I am referring to his part in Wanted). Michael Caine gives an adequate performance of Alfred. just not sure why, but I feel another actor would be better for that role. Not sure who, but Michael Caine just doesn’t feel right as Alfred.

This movie is rated PG-13. The level of violence has increased dramatically from Batman Begins. Some is implied off-camera, but I would heed the rating this time out and leave the kiddies at home. At the very least watch it yourself first before taking your kids to make sure you are ok with them watching this level of violence.

I am not going into the plot. Don’t want to spoil it for you. But this is a must-see movie.

I give this movie a 8.5 out of 10.

I do not want to give any spoilers, but this movie was a fun romp through the Marvel universe. Edward Norton plays an excellent Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno gives the Hulk his voice. There are plenty of nods to the comic and the television show. We get to see what a version of the Super Soldier formula does to someone – with a regular dose ad a massive overdose. We get a nice fight between the Hulk and the Abomination. And we get a preview of the next Hulk movie villain.

I liked Liv Tyler as Betty Ross. I do miss Sam Elliot as General Ross, though. The only thing from this movie was some of the CGI. It could have been a lot better. But it did not take away from the movie for me at all.

I give this movie a 7.5 our of 10. (Would be higher but ‘m trying to cut down on the 8 and higher rankings. :))

This movie has good action points.  But a very very unbelievable story.   3 words: Loom of Fate.

This is an adaptation of Mark Millar’s and J.G. Jones mini-series in name only.  I watched the movie before reading the mini-series.  See the Fraternity, in the movie, is a league of assassins with super-human reflexes and reaction times.  The can curve a bullets path and other stuff.  But the part of the movie that really really took me out was that this league of assassins gets their kill orders from a giant loom.  yes a Loom.  See they look at this giant tapestry that is getting weaved from the loom looking for discrepancies.  That Morgan Freeman then converts into binary code to form a name.  Now I let this ride in the theater thinkin, ok this must be part of the original story.  Nope.

The action in this movie is good.  It is a rental.  Not a buy and not one to spend money on in the theater.

But, the original comic series would not have worked either.  It was a world where the super-villains had all teamed up about 20 years ago and wiped out the heroes.  And made everyone forget about it.  The main character is a punk kid who finds out he is the son of the Killer, a member of the Fraternity -a group of supervillains who have carved up the world into territories.  The kid does terrible, irredeemable things.  Murder, Rape, etc.  The story gives you no one to root for and has a terrible resolution.  In that regard deviating from the story and giving the main character traits that make him redeemable was a good idea.  But the movie is so radically different that it should have been called something else.

I give this movie a 4.5 out of 10.

Hellboy 2 starts with Dr.Bloom telling a young Hellboy the story of the Golden Army. In old times, Man was at war with the creatures of legend, such as elves. Man is winning the war through shear numbers, when the King has a Golden Army commissioned. This army never grows tired, nor has any conscience to get in the way. A crown allows the king to control the army. The army lays waste to the armies of Man. So much so, that the King feels regret over the slaughter. He signs a peace treaty with Man and splits the crown into 3 pieces: 2 to stay with the elves and 1 to go with Man. The King”s son goes into exile due to his disagreement with his father’s decision. This opening portion of the movie is shown in a style that reminds me of puppets. Very stylized. Like you would expect a fairytale told to a child to be shown.

In modern times, we see an auction house where the prince and his companion, Wink, release a swarm of tooth fairies to cover their theft of the piece of the crown in human hands. In the Hellboy-verse, tooth fairies are small creatures that live of calcium. They are called tooth fairies because the teeth are their first targets. Hellboy, Liz, Abe and a group of agents arrive on the scene to investigate.And the rest you will have to see for yourself.

I will let you in on one fo the new characters introduced in the movies: The Ectoplasmic Man.

Ron Perlman does an excellent job as Hellboy. Doug Jones portays Abe Sapien and handles providing the voice for Abe in good fashion. Selma Blare as Liz does a good job, but they did change the color of her flames for this movie. But that is just a fanboy nitpick. While the first movie was loosely based on the stories: Seed of Desctruction and Wake the Devil, the Golden Army is a new original story by Mike Mignola and Guillermo del Toro.

I did like the first movie better, but this is still an awesome movie. I give it an 8 out of 10.

You can definitely feel del Toro’s touch on this movie. One part did have a creature very reminiscent of one form Pan’s Labyrinth, but it worked for me. Given the Hellboy movies and del Toro’s other movies, I want him to tackle a H.P. Lovecraft adaptation. But looks like he is going to do the Hobbit movies first.