News

Mixed martial arts thriller “Glass Dragon” has been picked up for international sales by MPI Media. The company is launching the title at the Cannes Market.

The film, now in post-production, is produced by Asia-facing Los Angeles company Eleven Arts and Re:Anime, a firm that adapts beloved anime series into captivating live-action films.

“Glass Dragon” stars Miki Mizuno (“Bayside Shakedown”), a martial artist and single mother who has to accelerate her life plans when things go badly wrong for her and her daughter. The picture also stars the veteran martial arts film star Mark Dacascos (“Cradle 2 the Grave,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “John Wick 3,” “Iron Chef America”). Other acting credits got to Maryjun Takahashi (“Rurouni Kenshin”) and Kiki Sukezane (“Westworld,” “Lost in Space”).

The film marks the feature directorial debut of Nik Shaw, the Los Angeles-based director and producer behind Re:Anime, whose short films have generated over 100 million views and 1 million subscribers on YouTube.

As I realized after having an interview with him a couple of weeks ago, before becoming famous as the protagonist of films like “A Sun” ,The Falls” and “Leave Me Alone” Chen Yi-wen also had a very interesting career as a director, which, stopped, though, in 2006 with just five titles. As such, I took it upon myself to check all of them, with “A Chance to Die”, a film ordered by Sino-Japanese producers, and the one with the lowest score on IMDb for some reason, being the first.

The intro is quite indicative of the rest of the movie, with violence, sex and rapid pace giving the tone, before we stumble upon a team of maverick criminals intruding on a drug deal in Taipei, stealing millons of cash and leaving two Japanese dead. While triad bosses become fret over the situation, and their inner antagonism becomes more and more intense,...

The family drama has always been one of the flagships of Japanese cinema, with local filmmakers having perfected a style that was initiated in the 50’s and was established in its current form through the films of Hirokazu Koreeda. “Goodbye, Grandpa” follows these lines, closely.

Goodbye, Grandpa screened at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian cinema, running from January 7 to February 14.

The story uses the regular “trick” of the death that brings the family together. This time the deceased is the grandfather, Isao, whose funeral brings together all members of the household of Harunos to the rural place Isao’s children grew up. Akio is the older brother, whose wife, Jun, has divorced him, and has two children he seems to know very little about; Yohei, the older son who has some psychological problems rarely leaving his house and Chiharu, a high-school student who seems really cool and mature for her age.

The family drama has always been one of the flagships of Japanese cinema, with local filmmakers having perfected a style that was initiated in the 50’s and was established in its current form through the films of Hirokazu Koreeda. “Goodbye, Grandpa” follows these lines, closely.

Goodbye Grandpa is screening at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival

The story uses the regular “trick” of the death that brings the family together. This time the deceased is the grandfather, Isao, whose funeral brings together all members of the household of Harunos to the rural place Isao’s children grew up. Akio is the older brother, whose wife, Jun, has divorced him, and has two children he seems to know very little about; Yohei, the older son who has some psychological problems rarely leaving his house and Chiharu, a high-school student who seems really cool and mature for her age. The younger brother is Seiji,...

“Guilty of Romance” was the film that established Sion Sono as the foremost representative of the genre, surpassing the previous master, Takashi Miike.

Two axes

The film unfolds in two axes, although without the usual use of flashbacks. The first one, which is loosely based on the 1997 murder of Yasuko Watanabe, takes place in the present. Detective Yoshida investigates a murder incident in Maruyama-cho, a love district in Tokyo, where a dismembered body has been found in an abandoned building. The missing parts have been replaced with the matching ones from a plastic doll.

The second axis, which takes place before the first, focuses on Izumi, a dedicated spouse and housewife, who is married to a famous erotic novelist, Yukio Kikuchi. He spends most of his day outside his home, trying to find inspiration for his books, while she tries to brew the perfect tea for him and to place his slippers the appropriate way.

For 10 years, Five Flavours Film Festival has been presenting the best cinema from Asia, its meanings and contexts. Initially, the Festival focused solely on Vietnamese films, but it evolved to become a yearly review of the cinema of East and Southeast Asia, the only such event in the country.

The 10th edition is held in Warsaw, on November 16-23 (Muranów and Kinoteka cinemas), and in Wrocław on November 18-24 (New Horizons Cinema).

This year’s edition of Five Flavours is the biggest in history – it presents over 40 productions. The program combines artistic and commercial cinema, allowing the audience to experience the best Asian films have to offer. On the one hand, there are the intimate stories with a social angle, on the other – fresh, innovative blockbusters, filled with the sheer joy of cinematic creation, attracting millions of viewers in their homelands.

Three

This diversity is already visible in the choice...

“Fast and Furious 6″ star Joe Taslim stars in director Steve Shiel’s adventure thriller “Dead Mine,” being released by Xlrator Media on DVD May 28. The film, which also stars Sam Hazeldine (“The Raven”) and Miki Mizuno (“Guilty of Romance”) is also on VOD now. Taslim stars as a treasure hunter who has lead his team deep inside a World War II bunker with no exact way out. The film seems to start off with an “Indiana Jones” flair, but instead of having to face boulders and poisonous spikes, the crew must face the scariest kinds of traps possible; beings who are out to kill. Here’s the official synopsis of [ Read More ]

The post Exclusive: Clip From Dead Mine Reveals Terror And Mystery appeared first on Shockya.com.

An exclusive clip for XLrator Media's next horror offering Dead Mine has arrived, and it proves once and for all that if someone originally had buried something, it may just be a pretty damned good idea to leave it be. Then again... what fun is that?

XLrator Media released Dead Mine on VOD on May 2nd with the Blu-ray and DVD to follow on May 28th. Look for it in your local fright flick emporium!

Directed and co-written (with Ziad Semaan) by UK director Steven Sheil (Mum & Dad), the film stars cult Japanese action star Miki Mizuno (Bayside Shakedown), Ario Bayu, UK actors Sam Hazeldine and Les Loveday, and Malaysian actress Carmen Soo.

Synopsis:

The legend of Yamashita's Gold lures a treasure hunter and his group deep into the Indonesian jungle. Once they are trapped in an abandoned World War II Japanese bunker, they face the terrifying reality that the...

Title: Dead Mine Directed by: Steven Sheil Starring: Ario Bayu, Sam Hazeldine, Mike Lewis, Les Loveday, Miki Mizuno, Carmen Soo, James Taenaka, Joe Taslim, Bang Tigor Available on VOD 05/02/13 & DVD 05/28/2013 The legend of Yamashita’s Gold drives a rich treasure hunter, his “golddigger” girlfriend, a researcher, engineer and some armed mercenaries as protection to the middle of the jungle in Indonesia. They are shot at by some unknown gunmen and are forced into a mine which caves in on them after a convenient grenade blast. The team venture downward where they discover the mine was converted into an underground bunker by the Japanese during WWII. Deep into the [ Read More ]

The post Dead Mine Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. This week’s feature includes a trailer for The Cabining, details on All Hallows’ Eve, and much more:

The Cabining: “Todd and Bruce, a hapless screenwriting team, get one last shot at success thanks to Todd’s wealthy stepdad, Serge. If they pen a worthy horror script, Serge will fund the entire project. But there is one condition – the script must be complete in two weeks. With the deadline looming and no fresh ideas, Todd and Bruce head to Shangri-La, a serene artist’s retreat, with the hope that the peace and company of fellow artists will inspire greatness… or, failing greatness, at least enough for straight-to-dvd. Shangri-La proves to be anything but serene, as the artists die off one by one, seemingly by accident. Bruce convinces Todd to soak in this...

Here's the thing... when something is long buried and it takes everything that you've got and then some to get to, before you put in the effort, take a moment and think to yourself, "Maybe this was made hard to get to for a reason." That advice may save your life.

But then again, if everyone followed it, we wouldn't have movies. Below you'll find another look at the trailer and artwork for Dead Mine, which XLrator Media released on VOD May 2nd and will issue on Blu-ray and DVD on May 28th.

Directed and co-written (with Ziad Semaan) by UK director Steven Sheil (Mum & Dad), the film stars cult Japanese action star Miki Mizuno (Bayside Shakedown), Ario Bayu, UK actors Sam Hazeldine and Les Loveday, and Malaysian actress Carmen Soo.

Synopsis:

The legend of Yamashita's Gold lures a treasure hunter and his group deep into the Indonesian jungle. Once...

Click here to read our french "Dead Mine" movie review, directed by Steven Sheil with Joe Taslim, Ario Bayu, Miki Mizuno starring.The legend of Yamashita's Gold lures a treasure hunter and his group deep into the Indonesian jungle. Once they are trapped in an abandoned World War II Japanese bunker, they face the terrifying reality that the only way out is to go further in....

Check out the trailer and photos from XLRator Media's Dead Mine, starring Joe Taslim (The Raid, Fast and Furious 6), Sam Hazeldine (The Raven) and Miki Mizuno (Guilty of Romance). The legend of Yamashita's Gold lures a treasure hunter and his group deep into the Indonesian jungle. Once they are trapped in an abandoned World War II Japanese bunker, they face the terrifying reality that the only way out is to go further in. Steven Sheil directs as well as scripting with Ziad Semaan. Catch Dead Mine on VOD on May 2, 2013 and on DVD on May 28, 2013.

We haven't talked much about Dead Mine, a co-production of HBO Asia and Singapore-based Infinite Studios, but with XLrator Media poised to release the Indonesian flick on Blu-ray and DVD in the Us on May 28th, we've gotten our hands on its trailer and artwork.

Directed and co-written (with Ziad Semaan) by UK director Steven Sheil (Mum & Dad), the film stars cult Japanese action star Miki Mizuno (Bayside Shakedown), Ario Bayu, UK actors Sam Hazeldine and Les Loveday, and Malaysian actress Carmen Soo.

Synopsis:

The legend of Yamashita's Gold lures a treasure hunter and his group deep into the Indonesian jungle. Once they are trapped in an abandoned World War II Japanese bunker, they face the terrifying reality that the only way out is to go farther in.

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Joe Taslim, who some of you might have spotted in the Fast and Furious 6 trailer, headlines this Indonesia-set movie from Mum & Dad director Steven Sheil, with Sam Hazeldine (The Raven) and Miki Mizuno (Guilty of Romance) in supporting roles. The action/horror movie is headed to the U.S. in May through XLRator Media who'll be releasing it via VOD on the 2nd before it gets a DVD release on May 28th. Here's the official synopsis: The legend of Yamashita's Gold lures a treasure hunter and his group deep into the Indonesian jungle. Once they are trapped in an abandoned World War II Japanese bunker, they face the terrifying reality that the only way out is to go further in. You can see the full-sized...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Director Steven Sheil created quite a stir with his debut feature Mum & Dad, a low budget affair that proved the UK based director could accomplish rather a lot with just a little. For his second effort Sheil packed up and headed to Indonesia for Dead Mine, an action-horror effort with an international cast that includes The Raid and Fast Six star Joe Taslim and Guilty Of Romance's Miki Mizuno. The project was backed locally by HBO Asia and with their release window coming up the network has released the first action packed trailer for the film. Are those samurai warriors the result of a World War II chemical weapons program? Why yes, yes they are....

Dead Mine is an upcoming film from director Steven Sheil (Mum and Dad) that features treasure hunters in the Indonesian jungle. They are searching for Yamashita's Gold and Yamashita is an actual figure from history. He was a Japanese Naval officer and later Commander-in-Chief of the entire Japanese Navy. So, it is not hard to fathom that Yamashita had wealth of some sorts. Will the looters find his buried wealth?

That is an answer that film fans will have to wait for and another question involves the film's genre. Is this a horror film or thriller? Likely, Dead Mine is a combination of both genres. With Sheil already comfortable with horror in his picture Mum and Dad, then it is likely that this feature will also house some elements of horror. As well, the title gives some clues to its genre. Hopefully, Dead Mine is both horrifying and thrilling as a horror movie should be.

Action-horror flick Dead Mine, directed by Steven Sheil, and horror-science fiction picture The Side Effect, written and directed by Ti West, have both begun closing deals at the European Film Market, according to Variety. Dead Mine (pictured) follows an amateur treasure hunter as he leads a group "deep into the Indonesian jungle" on the hunt for a hidden cache of gold, per a description by Film Biz Asia. "Once they find themselves trapped in what is seemingly an abandoned WWII Japanese bunker they face the terrifying reality that the only way out is further in." Sam Hazeldine and Joe Taslim (The Raid) star, along with Miki Mizuno (Guilty of Romance) and Ario Bayu (The Forbidden Door). The film has completed production, and distribution deals...

With the European Film Market in full swing in Berlin, get ready for a Ton of updates headed you way to keep you abreast of every gory little detail. First up...

According to Screen Daily, Celluloid Nightmares has picked up international rights outside Asia to English-language action horror Dead Mine, co-produced by HBO Asia and Singapore-based Infinite Studios.

"It tells the story of a group of treasure hunters who venture into the Indonesian jungle to search for gold looted by Japanese forces during World War II. But they find themselves under attack and trapped underground in a Japanese Imperial Army bunker."

Directed and co-written by UK director Steven Sheil (Mum & Dad), the film stars cult Japanese action star Miki Mizuno (Bayside Shakedown), UK actors Sam Hazeldine and Les Loveday, and Malaysian actress Carmen Soo.

The film, currently in post-production, marks the first time that HBO Asia has produced a feature in Asia.

Celluloid Nightmares has picked up international rights outside Asia to English-language action horror Dead Mine, co-produced by HBO Asia and Singapore-based Infinite Studios, reports Screen Daily. "It tells the story of a group of treasure hunters who venture into the Indonesian jungle to search for gold looted by Japanese forces during World War II. But they find themselves under attack and trapped underground in a Japanese Imperial Army bunker." Directed and co-written by UK director Steven Sheil (Mum & Dad), the film stars cult Japanese action star Miki Mizuno (Bayside Shakedown), UK actors Sam Hazeldine and Les Loveday and Malaysian actress Carmen Soo. The film, currently in post-production, marks the first time that HBO Asia has produced a feature in Asia. Celluloid Nightmares will also represent Japanese rights. Infinite Studios, previously called Infinite Frameworks, is a production and facilities company which is constructing new studio developments in Singapore and the Indonesian island of Batam.

Director: Sono Sion. Review: Adam Wing. Completing Sono Sion’s famed ‘Hate Trilogy’, Guilty of Romance walks the same path as serial killer shocker Cold Fish and Love Exposure. Megumi Kagurazaka’s outstanding talents team up with the famed director once again, along with Makoto Togashi (Memories of Matsuko), Miki Mizuno (Hard Revenge Milly) and Kanji Tsuda (Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl). The story revolves around a bored housewife who awakens her sexual identity by thrusting herself into a world of prostitution. This being a Sono Sion film, there’s also time for a little degradation and murder. This being a Sono Sion film, a significantly longer cut played out to a packed house at Cannes, but the UK version comes in at just under 112 minutes, with less emphasis on the crime investigation and more time put aside for boobies. Guilty of Romance is available on DVD and Blu-ray now.

[With Sion Sono's Guilty Of Romance now screening in Sitges we revisit our previous review.]Once again Japan's Sion Sono tackles a true crime story with Guilty Of Romance - last year's Cold Fish also had roots in real events - and once again the results are a devastating look into the dark heart of humanity. A twisted fusion of sex and death Guilty Of Romance will surely shock those unfamiliar with Sono's previous work while challenging his long time fans with one of his most unsettling works.Kazuko (Miki Mizuno) is a police officer called in to investigate a murder - the call arriving as she is in mid-liaison with an unseen lover, the victim cut into pieces with the pieces used to create two...

Japanese auteur and explorer of the darker recesses of human behaviour Sono Sion follows up his off the wall serial killer shocker “Cold Fish” with more true crime psycho drama in “Guilty of Romance”. The film again reunites the director with gravure idol turned actress Megumi Kagurazaka, with whom he worked with on “Cold Fish”, and who also features in his upcoming “Himizu”, starring here alongside Makoto Togashi (“Memories of Matsuko”), Miki Mizuno (“Hard Revenge, Milly”) and Kanji Tsuda (“Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl”) in a tale of a bored housewife falling into depravity as she explores her sexual identity. Having played in a significantly longer 144 minute form to a packed house at Cannes, the film has now been released in a director approved international version, edited to 112 minutes, presumably to more specifically focus on its themes and main protagonists. The film is framed by a murder investigation carried out...

Melancholia (15)

(Lars Von Trier, 2010, Den/Swe/Fra/Ger) Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgård. 136 mins

Never have crippling depression and the end of the world looked so appealing. Personal and planetary orbits are fatalistically set on collision course in Von Trier's latest, as two sisters struggle with life, the universe and each other, but despite the grimness, its strange beauty stays with you.

The Debt (15)

(John Madden, 2010, Us) Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington. 113 mins

A trio of Israeli agents try to abduct a former Nazi, then deal with the fallout decades later in this structurally (over)ambitious spy epic.

Red State (18)

(Kevin Smith, 2011, Us) Michael Parks, Melissa Leo, John Goodman. 88 mins

Smith takes aim at Christian fundamentalism in this cultish horror, which doesn't have the firepower it needs.

The Green Wave (Nc)

(Ali Samadi Ahadi, 2010, Ger) 80 mins

Documentary on Iran's 2009 democratic uprising, mixing reportage, animation and tweets and blogs.

Now that our new house is settling, we wanted to bring back our weekly DVD & Blu-Ray Releases posts. We are calling this weekly post “Home Invasion”. If you plan on purchasing these items via Amazon, all you need to do is click on the buttons provided or on the artwork and not only do you get the same price you normally would with Amazon, but you help us out a little bit as well – which is all we ask because this list does take some time to put together.

All Descriptions are from Amazon.com unless otherwise noted. We have excluded the Netflix code on this particular post. This is due to all of the changes with Netflix and their DVD mailing program. If you want us to include the code in future Home Invasion posts, where you just click a button to add it to your queue, leave us a comment below.

Yes! Sion Sono's new flick Guilty Of Romance made its debut at Cannes this year and there's a new trailer for it, ahead of it's September 30th UK release. Not due out in Japan until November, the film is yet another dark, violent drama from the man behind Cold Fish, Love Exposure and Suicide Club. This one stars Miki Mizuno (of Hard Revenge Milly fame). Makoto Togashi (Inugami) and Megumi Kagurazaka (Cold Fish). No word on a Us release yet, but hopefully we'll find out about that soon.

It’s just little over a month away until Mill Creek Entertainment will be releasing Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris and the entire 90′s Gamera trilogy on Blu-ray on September 27th. Sci Fi Japan has now provided the official details on the special features for the set.

Gamera: Guardian Of The Universe:

Gamera Behind the Scenes

Camera Test and Special Effects

Gamera 2: Attack Of The Legion:

Uncut Version of the The Salvo Scene

Behind the Scenes of the Kasuminome Airfield Scene, Miki Mizuno’s First Experience, The Subway Jerks to a Halt, The Police Block Off Odori Station, Identifying the Crater, Impressive Scream, Jumping Off a Jeep, On-set in a Subway Tunnel

Shooting Groups of Legions

Safety First, How to Wear a Small Legion Suit

For Yukino’s Fans

Creating the Costume for Legion

Legion with Damage

Civilian Houses Blasted

Explosion Shots in Kasuminome

Special Effect explosions...

The Japanese poster for Sion Sono's true-crime drama Guilty of Romance has been released. If nothing, it gives you a good look at the three main female characters in the film. Starting from top to bottom we have Miki Mizuno as Kazuko, the police officer investigating the grisly murders. Then Megumi Kagurazaka as Izumi, the neglected housewife who find new life in the adult entertainment industry. And Makoto Togashi as Mitsuko, a professor of literature who doubles as a street hooker at night.And then there is one of the corpses at the bottom, the missing body parts having been replaced by pieces of mannequins. Nice. Set just before the turn of the 21st century, a grisly murder occurs in Maruyama-cho, Shibuya -- a love hotel district -- a woman was...

Once again Japan's Sion Sono tackles a true crime story with Guilty Of Romance - last year's Cold Fish also had roots in real events - and once again the results are a devastating look into the dark heart of humanity. A twisted fusion of sex and death Guilty Of Romance will surely shock those unfamiliar with Sono's previous work while challenging his long time fans with one of his most unsettling works.Kazuko (Miki Mizuno) is a police officer called in to investigate a murder - the call arriving as she is in mid-liaison with an unseen lover, the victim cut into pieces with the pieces used to create two separate corpses using mannequin pieces to augment the body. What Kazuko finds while trying...

Written and directed by Takanori Tsujimoto (Kill) and starring Miki Mizuno (Sasori; Carved) as the eponymous heroine, the extreme Japanese splatter action-thriller Hard Revenge Milly and its sequel Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle come to DVD in April as a special double-bill release courtesy of Cine Asia.

Following in the bloody footsteps of The Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police by way of Mad Max, Robocop and The Bionic Woman, Hard Revenge Milly is a hyper-violent tale of vengeful retribution garnished with geysers of gore and viscera dished out by a heroine who is to die for. Boasting incredible, over-the-top special makeup effects by the Japanese king of gore, Yoshihiro Nishimura (the man responsible for the breathtaking effects seen in RoboGeisha, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl, Samurai Princess, The Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police), superbly choreographed sword and fist fight sequences and introducing a hot new female action star in the form Miki Mizuno,...

More low budget Japanese mayhem arrives in the form of “Hard Revenge Milly” and “Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle”, originally released a couple of years back and now slicing their way onto region 2 DVD as a double bill via Cine Asia. The two were written and directed by Takanori Tsujimoto, who also worked on “Ghost in the Shell” legend Mamoru Oshii’s sword fighting omnibus “Kill”, along with Kenta Fukasaku (“Battle Royale 2”, “X-Cross”) and Minoru Tahara. Both feature Miki Mizuno (“Carved”) in the titular lead role, and revolve around the usual tales of revenge and spurting geysers of blood. The films should also be of particular interest to aficionados since the special effects were provided by Yoshihiro Nishimura, quickly becoming one of the best known figures in the Japanese gore business, having worked on key genre hits “The Machine Girl”, “Tokyo Gore Police”, and more recently “Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein...

Takanori Tsujimoto's Hard Revenge Milly (2008) and its follow-up Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle (2009) are part of the growing trend of low-budget Japanese splatter action flicks. This trend, which was arguably kicked into high gear by Tokyo Gore Police, has lead to plenty of indistinguishable films, but the Hard Revenge Milly series rise above the pack due to Tsujimoto's skills in staging action and Yoshihiro Nishimura's typically berserk effects. Well Go USA has released both titles on a single Region 1 DVD that should satisfy those seeking a taste of two of the better films in this style.

In Hard Revenge Milly, fictional post-apocalyptic Yokohama City is overrun with violence with the Jack Brothers being the worst of numerous criminal gangs. Milly (Miki Mizuno) is one of the many victims of the Jack Brothers (Mitsuki Koga and Tetsuya Nakamura). The brothers kill her husband and baby for no reason, which...

Now here's some great news! Us film distributor Well Go USA is going to be releasing Hard Revenge Milly and it's sequel Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle on R1 DVD in January of 2010! Violent martial arts action directed by Takanori Tsujimoto, starring Miki Mizuno and with Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, The Machine Girl, Robogeisha, etc) doing the effects!! Can't wait! Synopsis: Hard Revenge Milly. In post a apocalyptic Japan, Yokohama City has become an epicenter of violence ruled by a vicious gang. The worst of the new breed of criminals, The Jack Brothers . When The Jack Brothers viciously murder Milly's husband and daughter leaving her to die, she vows revenge. She learns the art of sword combat from a master swordsman named Jubei, and eventually sets off to confront The Jack Brothers and fulfill her destiny.

• IFC Films and Mpi Media Group gave Fango the first look at cover art for their DVD release of Pontypool (pictured), the acclaimed and unusual zombie thriller starring Stephen McHattie. Also coming this winter from the two companies is another well-received genre film, the Argentinean ghost story The Appeared.

Directed by Bruce McDonald and scripted by Tony Burgess from his book, Pontypool (streeting January 26; see our review here) casts McHattie as a shock jock who, one cold early winter morning, starts receiving mysterious reports from outside about violent and frightening acts committed by the local townspeople. It turns out that they’re infected with a spreading plague that is transmitted via speech and turns them into bloodthirsty killers. In The Appeared (a.k.a. Aparecidos, out January 12), writer/director Paco Cabezas spins the tale of a brother and sister who discover a diary documenting horrific murder and torture 20 years before.

If there's one storyline present in almost every other movie here at Fantastic Fest it's the old 'mad scientist kidnaps people and links them surgically lips to ass in an effort to create the first human centipede' plot. God, when is that trend gonna run it's course anyway? The second most common theme here though is revenge. People are wronged. And then they get bloody payback. The best of the bunch this year comes from the land of the rising sun and the murdered dolphins, and it's actually two films... Hard Revenge Milly and it's sequel, Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle. Both films are under an hour each with the first one releasing last year followed by it's sequel this year. A family is targeted by a handful of punks who kill the husband and carve out the wife's torso like she was a yellow grapefruit. Oh, and they also light the couple's baby on fire then...

Pinch me I’m dreaming! We’ve been waiting well over two (count them, Two) years to see this flick released anywhere with English subs! Joe Ma’s reboot of the classic 70’s extreme hard core revenge Manga series, Sasori (Female Scorpion Convict) is now up for release on R2 DVD, and to say we’re over the moon about this fact would be a teeny bit of an understatement. Sasori is release by Cine Asia in the U.K on August 10th. Joy! Synopsis: Faced with a do-or-die ultimatum, Nami (Miki Mizuno) is forced to commit a homicide, by a trio of sadistic murderers. Abandoned by her family and imprisoned by a brutal regime, she wins the battle for supremacy in a series of punishing bare-knuckle brawls, only to be tortured and buried alive by the ruthless warden. Left for dead, she is revived by the mysterious Corpse Collector,...

Fantasia Festival is North America’s premiere (and largest) genre film festival. It is also my favorite film festival and so I could not wait to share the highlights of this years line up. Below is just some of the films we will be reviewing on our upcoming podcasts. The Children - North American Premiere UK Dir: Tom Shankland A holiday weekend turns into a nightmarish battle for survival when children inexplicably begin to slaughter their parents. Far more frightening than Children Of The Corn or the bulk part of other killer kids pics that have preceded it, this British powerhouse shocker ranks among the best horror film offerings of recent years. The Children inverts unconditional love with an impact that will freeze your blood. Would you be able to protect yourself if the people you loved wanted to cut you to pieces without any sense or reason? The film's terrors are character-driven,...

While we wait for the schedule for Fantasia 2009 to be finalized, we did receive a couple of press release announcing the fest's line-up, and per usual, those of you who are planning to attend are in for one helluva genre extravaganza.

First up is a bit of news about the fest's extended schedule: Due to a veritable deluge of feature presentations, Fantasia is extending its 13th edition for two extra days and will therefore be taking place from July 9th to the 29th at Concordia University’s Hall Theatre. As North America’s largest genre film festival, Fantasia will once again make good on its promise to deliver diversity, innovation, entertainment, food for thought and a good dose of eccentric and biting humour.

Next is a message from Fantasia's Co-Director of International Programming, Mitch Davis, highlighting some of this year’s spotlights:

2009 marks the 100-year anniversary of Hong Kong’s film industry,...

I’m days behind on this news but with the arrival of the trailer for Fist from the same outfit Ace Deuce I was also made aware of the sequel to Takanori Tsujimoto‘s martial arts gore-fest, Hard Revenge, Milly, starring established martial artist Miki Mizuno. The sequel will come out this summer and will be aptly titled Hard Revenge, Milly - Bloody Battle.

After Milly eliminates the Jack Brothers to avenge her family, a beautiful girl named Haru (Nao Nagasawa) approaches her for help avenging her own boyfriend. Milly initially brushes her off, but eventually recognizes her passion for vengeance and agrees to train her.

Soon, Ikki (Kazuki Tsujimoto) and his brother Huma (Rei Fujita), two of Jack’s former associates, arrive to take them on. Milly makes short work of their minions and knocks Huma out cold, but the steel-armed Ikki manages to injure her severely. Will she...