Rob Zombie's Halloween, Return to Sleepaway Camp update, and the Gears of War Movie

As this blog continues to grow so will my intense hatred for horror movie remakes. I mean, what the fuck, really? Was it really necessary to remake Texas Chainsaw Massacre or the Hills Have Eyes? Short of the Dawn of the Dead remake, it's all shit. And because of horror remakes being so damn saturated these days, movies like Saw and Hostel are becoming box office standouts by default because they're the only original ideas being bought up by major studios. Believe me, I'm marking this rant to be continued...

However, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited when I heard Rob Zombie got John Carpenter's approval to remake Halloween. Why? Because of Zombie's first two flicks I know he is one of us. If there's ANYONE I'm OK with remaking a classic, it's Zombie. Well, for now at least, until I see it.

Apparently an early draft of Zombie's script has hit the web. By all standards almost anything Hollywood has been hiding in it's chiuahua sized bladder leaks to the web, and thankfully our friends over at retroslashers.net scooped a copy for urinalysis.

The review was basically a B, but it was the kind of B that you would give a hot girl that really deserved a C, but because she's hot she gets the benefit of the doubt (Amber Tamblyn, anyone?)

Word is Zombie intends to focus a lot more on Michael's childhood, which pretty much went completely fucking unexplained in the original aside from Michael killing his family. We also get a look at Michael's relationship with Dr. Loomis as he grew older. My favorite part, by far, is we're supposed to see that young Mr. Myers actually fashioned multiple masks which he wore to reflect his mood. Nice touch Dragula.

Cons include the lack of the daytime stalking we got in the original, but some other Pros are bloodier deaths and answers to questions such as where Michael got his jumpsuit, where Laurie's parents are, and how Michael got to Judith's headstone. Plus we get to see hot girls dress up like they're living in the 70's, which I find oddly hot, that is unless they go into full on character and heat up the retro bush.

And oh, Zombie recently said the first trailer will be tacked onto Grindhouse, as if Grindhouse could really get any better. Another to be continued conversation...

Some new RTSC news

Our friends over at sleepawaycampmovies.com have completey redone the site, and added some juicy Return to Sleepaway Camp updates.

So far we got a FAQ on the most ambiguous sequel ever, including answers to why the hell it still isn't out.

Even better, there's 6 interviews with cast members. Five of them are with new commers, and one's with Jonathan Tierston who played Ricky (Angela's cousin) in the original. Unfortunately half of his interview is about his band, but we do get to see even more clips of the film, as well as some history behind it.

Best thing is, the interviews are even further evidence that the movie was actually made. Thank God.

They also posted a reunion page for the SC reunion of the cast and crew back in '01. Very cool stuff.

Check it all out at sleepawaycampmovies.com

And Finally, the Gears of War movies

Gears of War was picked up by New Line Cinema. If the movie can be anywhere near as good as the game then I'm all for it. And, I'm getting increasingly excited with this new flood of videogames turned to movies. Why? Because finally studios are picking the right fucking games.

Gears of War the game was like playing a movie, and in 2009 I'll be able to relieve it and be a lot more lazy in the process.

Time to get a bit whiney though. I've been getting this itch to adapt a good game into a screenplay. Mostly for personal reasons, but if I can get a bite well hey I'm all for it. Now, first idea was to do a Castlevania adaptation. Well, it's already been done by the dude that did Alien vs Predator.

Next idea was Gears of War, which just got optioned. Now I'm starting to think I'm on the right track. A little less procrastination, a little more screenplay, uh, -nation. (?) Anyway, Metal Gear Solid has already been optioned also, so I need some suggestions. Devil May Cry anyone?

Still to come...Why exactly does Hollywood Remake Horror Fims more then any other genre? Why does Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon matter so much? Just really how amazing can Grindhouse be? Stay tuned

The final Spider Man 3 Trailer

It's 3 a.m. and I should be in bed but there's no way I couldn't write something about this.

The good folks over at comingsoon.net just posted links to the final Spider Man 3 trailer. Lets face it, what's really getting everyone so excited about this one...VENOM! And on yeah, Venom is in the final trailer.

Now there's about 10 different trailers and video blogs and featurettes on the web for Spider Man 3, but the only inkling we've seen of Venom is about a 1 frame shot of him jumping toward the screen. That clip didn't even come out til about 2 months ago, and since then everything surrounding this movie has been Venom-less.

Until now. And it's not as though the final trailer has a lot of Venom, but it definitely shows Venom's full figure, in motion, fighting Spidey and swinging on his oh so kick ass black web. It's only a few seconds, but if you're a true nerd/geek like myself, you can pause it and see him full bore, swinging around!!!!!

There's 2 trailers, one domestic and one international. I recommend the internation trailer; more Venom and a significantly larger video (by larger I mean screen size, the domestic one is the size of a figure skater).

Internation Trailer Domestic Trailer

Enjoy

The Sequel to the best Slasher movie ever

Since the title of this post contains the phrase "best slasher movie ever," I'll go ahead and get that outta the way.

Sleepaway Camp is the best slasher movie ever. In my opinion, of course. Since this post isn't about the best slasher film ever, but instead the sequel, I won't go into detail why it is the best slasher ever. If you want to know, call me or email me (jud.scott@gmail.com) and we can discuss.

What this post is about is perhaps the most intriguing story ever surrounding a sequel to a movie.

Now, Sleepaway Camp was released in 1983 by writer/directer/film student Robert Hiltzik. Since then 2 sequels were released. Part 2 could be one of the 10 best slasher's of all time and part 3 in of itself is a hilarious satirical take on the slasher genre. They both hold their own in the slasher flick canon.

However, Hiltzik had nothing to do with the sequels (they were made by one Michael Simpson) and before they were even released he wrote his own sequel in 1985. No studio optioned it, instead they went for Simpson's for reasons I do not know.

In the early 1992 a 4th Sleepaway Camp went into production. "Sleepaway Camp 4: The Survivor" was never finished, either due to production costs, or because it was complete shit. Because of a huge fanbase, the original Sleepaway Camp Survival Guide boxset contained a DVD with the 34 minutes of footage from part 4. It was never completed.

In 2000 Robert Hiltzik rewrote his sequel to Sleepaway Camp and finally got some financing. "Return to Sleepaway Camp" was put into production a few years after, and since then it has become not only an internet sensation, but a complete and utter mystery.

Sleepaway Camp fans have been harping over Hiltzik's sequel since word came out, yet no one really knows of a release date, or even if it will ever be released. Hell, there are rumors floating that the sequel itself is a rumor and was never even made. Word is the film was wrapped in '04 or '05, but Fangoria magazine, a reputable resource, printed an article saying reshoots took place to make some of the death scenes even gorier. Fucking awesome right?

But here's the best part. Just recently someone actually found raw footage of what's rumored to be the actual ending of "Return to Sleepaway Camp." I found out about this in January, and since then I've tomb raider'd the web to try and find it.

Well I found it, and it is fucking incredible. The raw footage has no sound, and the time signatures stamped on it denote that it is in fact raw footage and not technically part of the final cut. Those who posted it had to deal with legal relegations to take it down before a lawsuit went into action. Thankfully our friends over at YouTube.com still have it up. I won't post the link, but just search the movie title and you will find it.

The interesting part about the supposed ending being leaked is that it validates that "Return to Sleepaway Camp" was at least somewhat shot, and, for myself and campers everywhere, it gives hope that the final product will at some point see light of day.

The people over at retroslashers.net (an outstanding horror resource) have produced their own Sleepaway Camp fan site titled, aptly enough, the Sleepaway Camp Official Site. There you can read about various rumors surrounding the sequel's release, as well as an entire page dealing with the original main character, Angela, and her role in the sequel (if you're a Sleepaway Camp fan that page will make you wet).

I've dug into the IMDB message boards , fan sites across the web, and even wikipedia to try and come to some conclusion about the progress of the film. The release date is perhaps the most anticipated piece of information that no one can even make a guess on. There aren't even any rumors about a release date, which is just as shocking as the quote on quote "leaked ending."

So far, no release date is confirmed. No studio has said to have picked up distribution rights, and no studio has said to be releasing it straight to DVD. Robert Hiltzik, the writer and director, has yet to come out to speak on any aspect of the film, and no one from the crew or talent have slipped up or said anything about where the movie stands. Vincent Pastore, of "Sopranos" fame, is in the film and even in his interviews about the "Sopranos" he's asked about "Return to Sleepaway Camp." He hasn't shed any light about a release either.

In all my years I've never seen more of a mystery surrounding the release of a single film. I'd give anything to find out if it's coming out or not. For the most part when rumors surround a movie it either goes public about going into production, or goes public about being scrapped altogether. "Return to Sleepaway Camp" has somehow remained in between for almost 4 years.

The official site has posted a bootleg trailer of the film shown at a horror convention a few years back (the trailer features Isaac Hayes as the chef, get it!!!!!) and even a behind the scenes featurette with one of the main characters of the first movie who has returned, yes, after 14 years, to star in the sequel.

What it comes down to is the old cliche: only time will tell. And I really hate cliches. I mean, really hate them. And the fact I have to use one to close this post is really disconcerning. Kind of like Han Solo getting mad at Leia because he thinks she likes Luke.

But like what Lando expects of Han in Jedi, deep down in my heart, I just know those shields will come down and the mystery of "Return to Sleepaway Camp" will finally be revealed.

A Quick Update to the Let Down I'll Have to Get Used To

That I never updated my first post from last fall came to my attention by way of my good friend and co-worker Nasty Nick Longo.

After I found out through IMDB that "Meg" was already in production to be filmed and that there was in fact a finished script already purchased was confirmed after the author of the book, Steve Alten, promptly returned an email I sent inquiring:

Judson
MEG was optioned to New Line Cinema a few years ago, they hired Shane Salerno to do the script. he is working on a 4th draft as we speak.

As such, the door is closed on MEG. Sorry.

Best of luck with the writing! Stay with it.

--Steve Alten

So I was only a few years late. Interestingly enough, Shane Salerno, the guy who will be credited with the final script, also wrote Shaft and Alien vs. Predator 2, and helped write Armageddon. I can't help but laugh thinking that Steve Alten is breaking the news to a portfolio-less and universally unknown screenwriter that his prized smash hit novel Meg is no longer available for adaptation because the dude that wrote Armageddon already did it.

Here's the IMDB site for the flick. Fucking Jan de Bont is attached to direct. I'm already unexcited.

"300" review

A solemn victory of transpose with notorious visuals and dramatic inceptions of valor. And lots of slow motion.

Translation

I liked it. Will I be talking about it in 3 days? Yes. Will I be thinking about it in 3 days? Probably not.

300 is unquestionably a beautiful film to watch, start to finish, there's nothing on screen that you won't enjoy seeing. The second near perfect transition of a Frank Miller novel on the screen, there's nothing that doesn't drip his influence. That I joyfully applaud.

The directing was also spot on. I can't say it was brilliant, because the film wasn't brilliant, but it was exactly necessary to the product. Nearly every scene is grand in its own right, not unlike a single page in Miller's novels. As grandios as we all anticipated after the first trailer came out last year.

What keeps me from praising this film outright though is what I was just talking about. Confusing? Let me explain.

I knew this movie would quench the proverbial visual thirst. You knew this movie would look amazing. The fact that how the movie looked was the best part of the movie is what led me to walk away asking myself, "thats it?" Now, how a movie looks does not mean how it was directed. Don't kid yourself. I already said it was directed very well. However, I wanted to see what the next scene looked like more then I cared about what was going to happen.

The first battle is, on its own stage, epic. And thankfully there's plenty of fighting, so don't worry about any lack there of. Although King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) pledging the bravery of the Spartans, and their insatiable passion for battling the Persians, does get a bit repetitive. Actually, it's pretty much the only thing talked about for the last hour and a half of the film. After the first battle he need not say another word about it, because we just saw it.

Subplot is frivilous at best, with a back-and-forth of the war and what's going on with the Queen in Sparta. Pretty much I could have done without it altogether. But with so much slow motion I guess it was necessary to keep the film length acceptable (approximately 2 hours).

What adds up from repetitive dialogue and a snoozing subplot equals I don't really care about what happens to the characters.

But going into 300 all I cared about was the visuals and the fight scenes. Not once did I watch the trailer and think "man I really can't wait to see what happens to King Leonidas." That said, both the visuals and the fight scenes more then lived up to my expectations. Exceeded them if you will. That was all I wanted, that was all I needed. 300 definitely delivers, and in a world of C students, that's all you can really ask for. Go see it.

300 reviews, so far

Since I'm going to see 300 tonight I checked out the reviews over at rottentomaotes.com to see what the critics word was. If you're not privy to rotten tomatoes is (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/) it's a site that assigns a percentage formula to the grades of every prominent film critic in the land (print and web based) and takes a total average to give you an idea of what critics as a whole think. Not only does it implement film critics, it adds reader reviews also. I was a bit shocked to see what the total score is so far:

60%. Of 81 reviews so far 49 were good, 32 were bad. Want to know the score earlier this week? 100%. Now that's the grand total. They also have a sidebar titled "cream of the crop" which is basically the percentage based off of the most respectable critics in the land. "Cream of the crop" total: 50%.

Here's a few interesting ones:

"At least in the short run, "300" is something to see, but unless you love violence as much as a Spartan, Quentin Tarantino or a video-game-playing teenage boy, you will not be endlessly fascinated." LA Times critic Ken Turan (im still mentally teen aged, and I love violence, fucking great!)

"300 is a movie blood-drunk on its own artful excess. Guys of all ages and sexes won't be able to resist it." Peter Travers Rolling Stone

“300” is about as violent as “Apocalypto” and twice as stupid." A.O. Scott New York Times (hmmmm, this worries me a bit)

"There is so much slow motion that if they had run the entire film at normal speed, it would have been half as long. " (now this I definitely saw coming) Eric Melin SceneStealers.com

"The battle sequences are filled with grotesque spectacle: They start off entertainingly ferocious, then grow numbing with stylized spraying blood and severed heads. " (spraying bloods and severed heads!) Claudia Puig USA Today

"It's like Fight Club without the tongue-in-cheek satire, a celebration of fascistic war and violence as noble and heroic that cribs, without a shameful bat of the eyelash, from Gladiator, Braveheart..." (hmmm this one worries me a lot) Nick Schager Slant Magazine

"300 is about as subtle as a spear through the head. But it's also shamelessly entertaining, and not a bad way to make time move a little faster." (now THAT's what I'm talking about) Chris Vognar Dallas Morning News

...And of course there are many, many more. What I've gathered from this: 300 isn't as much about themes as it is about ass kicking, and as long as I get enough ass kicking on screen I'm cool with that. Any less then 30-45 ass kicking minutes, and I'll be pretty upset.

Check back late for the review.

The 300 hype
300 comes out Friday, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. But I can't help but talk about the surrounding hype. I can't think of a movie in recent memory that has been hyped this much.

I know I know, Snakes on a Plane (or SOAP if you're hip to the internet) was probably the most internet hyped movie ever. And it wasn't hyped because everyone was excited about the caliber of the film, it was hyped because people were excited about a fucking movie called Snakes on a Plane. How can you not talk about a movie called Snakes on a Plane; it coulda been an hour and a half with Sam Jackson and a white woman chained up and the title alone woulda be enough for the internet hype.

But you can't compare it to the hype of 300. And why you ask?

Because 300 is supposed to be good. Actually, it's supposed to be great. I've actually heard people, friends of mine, with movie knowledge, say it could be one of the top 10 movies ever made. All based upon a preview and a 100 clips already posted online. SOAP was never supposed to be an epic.

Like I said, I'll be the first to admit, when I saw the trailer for 300 I was as giddy as I was when I saw the first for Matrix: Reloaded. I'm just afraid that the letdown will be there, being as how 300 is basically the second coming of SinCity and Reloaded couldn't touch the original. Afraid almost to the point where I'm getting a little scared.

And for some reason, the studio, or whoever, decided the best way to promote this epic would be to post about 30 minutes of the movie to the internet. At least that's what it seems like. Take ComingSoon for instance (www.comingsoon.net/trailers, check it out it's the best), they take every online trailer and posting for a film and put the links on their site. So far here's how the list for 300: Teaser, Trailer, International Teaser, International Trailer, 12 video journal's, 5 TV spots, 10 actual clips of the movie, a behind the scenes clip, an extended clip and an interview with the Lena Headey (the female lead). Are you serious?

Really, how much of the damn movie can you post online before it comes out. I just watched a 5 minute video of Peter Parker fighting Harry Osbourne from Spider Man 3 and I feel like my wife cheated on me (not married by the way, but at least I'll know what it feels like). Luckily I've been strong enough to not watch anything posted online except for the trailers. They're on TV anyway.

Point is, would everyone think this movie is going to be so great if there wasn't this much hype? Probably not. I can't say for sure, but I can say without any doubt is that movies don't earn the title of being epic until AFTER people see it. Now it seems like studios actually feel so bad about making people wait for a movie that they put out clips to keep them from suicide. I hate it because the anticipation is part of the experience. Lucas didn't post any clips of Episode 1 back in '99, and I'll never forget being there on opening night. Was Episode 1 an all time film epic? No. Was it an event that will never be forgotten? Duh.

And 300 has that. The story is there, the actors are there (keep an eye on Dominic West), the script is obviously there and the visuals are obviously there. It better be good, and I think it's going to be. I just don't want people to think it's good after they see it because everyone already thinks it's good based soley upon the hype. I fear that much more than I fear being let down by the film itself.

*My 300 review will be posted around 3 a.m. on Thursday*

Zodiac Review (no spoilers I promise)

Before I get to the details, go see this movie. I have no cute stars or letter grades that I need to use, just trust me on this one. And if you don't...

There are three things that make a great movie: great direction, great acting, and a great script. Duh. The movie runs 2 and a half hours plus, and I know that sounds like a lot, but if you keep your eye to the screen you won't be bored the entire time. Instead of focusing on the Zodiac himself, the entire film focuses on the investigation. If you've ever heard of the Zodaic killings you know they never caught the guy, but what better way to make a film about a uncaught murderer then to see why they couldn't catch him?

Literally, 3 minutes into the film I was already hooked, which isn't so much a salute to the acting or directing as it is to the scriptwriter. The cinematic expression is subtle, but the old adage of less is more applies here greatly. We don't need grand scenes when the story keeps us hooked from beginning to end. There are some great shots, for instance all the car scenes, but Fincher does well by just letting us move with the investigation. Unforgettable characters? Not really. Characters you wan't to listen to? Absolutely.

The cast is the proverbial omelet of "where have I seen that guy before?" From old TV show actors to actors that you'd never remember their name, but have seen them in other movies. Except for Jake Gyllenhal and Robert Downey Jr. I'll be the first to admit, not a huge Gyllenhal fan, but he did outstanding. And Robert Downey Jr. is freaking acting gold (see Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, or Chaplin for that matter). It all comes back to that whole good acting, good directing and a good script = a great movie.

And this really is a great movie. I could even say incredible without feeling guilty about it because I'm a huge Fincher fan. It's refreshing to see a film really focus on what makes films good, instead of trying to implement played out and over saturated tactics that studios try to secure themselves a 20 million dollar opening weekend. This movie will never be forgotten (not unlike other Fincher classics i.e. Seven and Fight Club) and is in fact quite disturbing (the death scenes are awesome by the way) because what happens in the movie did happen in real life. The characters are real people, the events are all documented, and if you don't believe me I'll see you at wikipedia (search "the zodiac killer").

If you like it check out: JFK by Oliver Stone