Ravenous Written by Ted Griffin Directed by Antonia Bird USA, 1999 Ravenous is a film that is deceitful above all things. Almost from the outset, and certainly from the trailers, it portrays itself as a horror comedy in the vein of perhaps Evil Dead II or Cabin Fever. However, as the film comes together, the viewer quickly begins to see …
The villains in children’s movies have to be less nuanced and more archetypal in their representations. Case and point: the Chernabog from Fantasia.
King Kong, released two decades before Godzilla, serves the same ostensible purpose as the original kaiju movie: dealing with a national traumatic event through a larger-than-life beast.
Lovecraft’s monsters typically defy the conceptions of the brain, so they tend to fall into a formula that doesn’t sound like ideal fodder for a visual medium.
Candyman’s designs on his victim are two-fold: exposing what was once considered taboo and pointing out that it is still considered as such.
Painted on the canvas in primitive colors was a life-size portrait of the Elephant Man. This very crude production depicted a frightful creature that could only have been possible in a nightmare. It was the figure of a man with the characteristics of an elephant. The transfiguration as not far advanced. There was still more …
Just beneath that perfectly manicured rose garden is a nest of vile insects. When the drapes are closed on the house across the street, unspeakable acts are being perpetrated. Behind those well-practiced smiles lie tortured minds, the sufferers and the perpetrators both. For every exhortation of the glorious American Dream, there is an equally on …
Monsters, Inc. Directed by Pete Docter Written by Andrew Stanton and Daniel Gerson Starring Billy Crystal, John Goodman, James Coburn, Steve Buscemi Here’s a question that has nagged at me for the last few years: what, really, is the difference between a film made by Pixar Animation Studios and a film made by DreamWorks Animation? …
There’s no better proof of Disney’s unparalleled dedication to giving you your money’s worth with their home media than two new releases, Brave and the Pixar Short Films Collection, Volume 2 (though more the former than the latter). Both Blu-rays come out today, and if you’re a Pixar completist, you’ll want to either get them …
Science Fiction can have a bit of an odd identity in the mainstream publics perception of cinema. Either perceived as a cult, nerdy genre that’s synonymous with Trekkies, gamers, and cosplay Stormtroopers or on the flip-side – a viable channel for overblown, hype-glossy action films, most serious sci-fi goes overlooked by the general film-loving audience. …
Kicking off in 2000 in the humble Prince Charles CInema in the heart of London, Frightfest has been the burning bastion of horror and cult cinema in the UK for the past eleven years and is now in the lead up to it’s twelve come August bank holiday weekend. During that time its been forced …
It’s really no surprise that a sequel to Gareth Edwards’ surprise indie hit Monsters is on its way, but don’t expect Garreth Edwards to return in the directors chair, and why should he considering he has bigger plans ahead (Godzilla). UK distributor Vertigo Films, who is now developing Monsters 2 is assigning directing duties to …
Circle 7 Animation was a short-lived division of The Walt Disney Company specializing in computer generated imagery (CGI) animation. The company was created when Disney felt Pixar would end their contract with them after negotiations were appearing to fall through. So Disney created Circle 7 to work on creating sequels to the Disney-owned Pixar properties …
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) have announced their nominations for the 2011 BAFTA Awards (the British equivalent of the Oscars). There’s no real big surprises on the list. The Social Network has been dominating awards circles in North America but The King’s Speech is leading the BAFTAs with 14 nominations, including Best …
#10 – Let Me In Directed by Matt Reeves Based on the best-selling Swedish novel “Let The Right One In” by John Ajvide Lindqvist, and the highly-acclaimed film of the same name, Let Me In is a haunting, provocative thriller and in many ways is better than the original. While originally pegged as their own …
Monsters Directed by Gareth Edwards Monsters has already been pigeonholed as this year’s District 9, a somewhat lazy comparison as although they share similar aesthetics, the film is far more of a companion piece to Duncan Jones’s similarly acclaimed Moon from last year. Whilst District 9 was a solid, entertaining example of genre engineering despite …
“Like a youthful Terrence Malick directing an early script revision of Close Encounters of The Third Kind, Monsters is an exhilarating triumph that serves as a strong contender for the film of the year.” Monsters Directed by Gareth Edwards A cloud of extra-terrestrial excitement descended on TIFF this year as the chatter surrounding Monsters reached …