Entries Tagged 'vampires' ↓
Temptation (2010)
June 14th, 2010 — 2010, British horror, Caroline Haines, Catherine Taylor, From The Feeds, goth, Horror Reviews, independent, lesbians, low-budget, Noel Penaflor, sexy, strippers, vampires, woman directed
Review by Noel Penaflor London, England… A beautiful young woman is climbing onto a bridge. Apparently her day hasn’t been going well because her inner monologue states that she should just jump, get it over with before it’s too late. Makes sense, one just doesn’t climb onto a bridge’s railing in the middle of the [...]
Acclaimed Horror Author Gabrielle Faust Signs With The Lowry Agency
May 18th, 2010 — author, From The Feeds, Gabrielle Faust, Horror Literature, News, publishing info, staff writer, vampires
We are excited to announce that our staff writer and acclaimed horror author Gabrielle Faust has officially signed on with the Nashville-based entertainment agency, The Lowry Agency. Faust will be the first author they have signed for representation.
“Gabrielle Faust is a true visionary in her field. Her writing is crisp, concise, clear, imaginative and leaves your [...]
Book Review: Lucas Manson by Thomas Hauck
May 17th, 2010 — book review, crime, cults, Fatally Yours, From The Feeds, Horror Literature, murders, religious, rituals, serial killer, Thomas Hauck, vampires
Review by Sarah “Fatally Yours†Jahier
From the back cover:
“When Special Agent Mark Dylan investigates a gruesome homicide, he uncovers the terrifying world of the Kingdom Seven Family Temple and its leader, the charismatic and ruthless Minister Lucas Manson. As Dylan and his partner Jill Kelly penetrate the secret inner sanctum of the temple, they [...]
Vampire Weekend
March 10th, 2010 — From The Feeds, movies, vampires
Had seen I Thirst earlier, there's no question it would have made my twenty-five of the decade horror list. It's a thriller, horror and dark romance all seamlessly stitched together. A priest becomes infected with a bizarre virus that gives him an insatiable thirst for blood... among other things. A desperate housewife trapped in an unhappy marriage. Sparks -- er, blood flies when they cross paths. Think Let The Right One In with grown-ups. If you've seen Chan-wook Park's Oldboy, you know that he can go to some pretty dark places, so be warned. Still, it's good to see all these horror imports with complex characters.
Daybreakers is a slick sci-fi/horror film that sometimes feels a bit hindered by its modest twenty-something million dollar budget. The global vampire domination premise does sound like something from a discarded Blade script, but the likes of Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill help keep the story grounded. Decent effects and action -- especially when you consider the budget. The (Blu-Ray) DVD promises cool extras like a feature-length documentary, so that might be worth checking out.
Near Dark
December 22nd, 2009 — From The Feeds, throwback, vampires
Haven't seen this in ages, but I stumbled across it on IFC last week. First, I have to say, the trailer is god-awful, but surprisingly, the film still holds up -- save for some cheesy 80s synth music. Near Dark suffers the unfortunate fate of being overshadowed by that *other* vampire flick released earlier in 1987, The Lost Boys. Who could compete with the power of The Coreys back then?! The similar boy-meets-alluring-girl plot didn't help matters either. But once you get past that, there's a much more compelling story here. One uninterested in slick special effects or romanticizing vampirism. They're desperate, immortal junkies who sleep during the day, on the move at night, looking for their next fix. Their drug of choice just happens to be the blood of some poor, unfortunate soul. The vampires in Near Dark don't sparkle in sunlight, they catch fire and burn.
Really strong cast here. Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton are the standouts.
Kathryn Bigelow's gritty and unpleasant take on bloodsuckers was a turn-off to moviegoers looking for cool escapism. Grossed a little over $3 million at the box office. 30 Days of Night tried the same feral vampire route and had some modest success, but audiences (tween girls) went gaga for the sparkly stuff. If you didn't know, there's a remake in the works... *shudder*
I've written scripts with ghosts, werewolves, zombies, etc. but nothing with vampires. Guess it goes on 2010 to-do list -- just what Hollywood's looking for, another vampire spec script!
Now I have to pick up the 2 disc DVD for Bigelow's commentary and the making-of documentary. Probably gonna check out The Hurt Locker as well...
Daybreakers One Sheet
October 15th, 2009 — From The Feeds, movies, vampires
Don't know about you, but this reminds me of the human farms/batteries in The Matrix and Blade: Trinity. A lot. The last thing you want to do is evoke memories of a really bad vampire film. Still, I like the premise, so I'll try to block out any thoughts of vampires strutting around in red leather pants.
Buffy Summers vs. Edward Cullen
September 1st, 2009 — buffy, From The Feeds, twilight, vampires
Pretty funny.
A Darker Truth
August 31st, 2009 — From The Feeds, vampires
While I'm intrigued by the idea of using a web series to promote a film or TV project, a lot of them tend to let me down in the execution. "A Darker Truth" was created for the CW's "Vampire Diaries". The acting was weak and the production values weren't much better. Why should we care that so-and-so killed your sister? Really difficult to tell a meaningful story in that short time frame -- although I believe the Japanese have been successful with cell phone soaps. Still, it is the first episode. I won't pass final judgment until a few more installments.
Vampin
August 29th, 2009 — From The Feeds, new moon, twilight, vampires
Is it just me or does Michael Sheen look like some kind of vampire pimp?
Queen of the Damned
July 30th, 2009 — From The Feeds, throwback thursdays, vampires
Amazing soundtrack. Amazingly bad film. I could never get into Anne Rice's novels, but "Interview with the Vampire" was a fairly entertaining adaptation. Hmmm. Maybe "bad" is the wrong word. How about cheap? I believe the budget for this sequel was half of the original, 35 million. Going from Tom Cruise to Stuart Townsend saved the studio a couple bucks, but probably hurt them in the long run. And the late Aaliyah Haughton as Akasha, was the result of stunt casting more than her acting ability -- a trend that continues...
Blade
July 16th, 2009 — From The Feeds, throwback thursdays, vampires
Spidey gets all the credit, but it was really an obscure C-level character that jump-started the comic book movie renaissance -- honestly, I'm not so sure that was a such good thing these days. It was a perfect storm of martial arts, blaxploitation, horror, electronica and comic book sensibilities. There was something for everyone. The "Blade" and "Underworld" films are what really inspired me to take a crack at a genre mash-up script. Some of the effects, especially in the third act, look especially dated, but it's still a fun romp.
I'm not buying those recent reports that reference a blurb from 2008, about a Deacon Frost prequel/trilogy directed by Stephen Norrington. Cool character, but who the heck is clamoring for a Deacon Frost movie!? If you're out there, speak up!
These days vampires are all sparkly in daylight, go to high school and some don't even feed on humans!? Makes me sick to my stomach. There was talk about a Blade reboot a while back, I just hope they come up with a good story. If anyone's interested, I have an idea...
Blood: The Last Vampire
July 8th, 2009 — From The Feeds, movies, vampires
I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to action/horror flicks like "Blade", "Hellboy" and "Underworld" -- I'll even cop to watching "Van Helsing" on more than one occasion, so obviously I'm gonna flip for a movie about a hot, brooding vampire slayer who takes out vamps with her trusty samurai sword, right? Eh, not so much...
While the film tries admirably to capture/expand on the short anime that it's based on, the result is mostly flat. Especially the dramatic scenes -- Come on, Scream! This isn't supposed to be "Memoirs of a Geisha"! Are the action scenes original and kick ass? Hmm...
Look familiar?
Saya hunts Chiropterans -- let's just call them vampires, but she's really after a specific vamp for clichéd reasons that we'll learn as the story predictably unfolds. One of her missions winds up leaving a "loose end" named Alice. Saya's forced to protect Alice from the vamps who want her dead, as well as the human "cleaners" that she works with.
Not a total train wreck, "Blood" does have its moments (like the goofy afro vampire fight above), but too often becomes weighed down by the cheesy and uninspired. I've seen better monsters on "Dr. Who". Basically, the film couldn't compete visually with the anime, especially with a modest 35 million dollar budget. The expanded story didn't do it any favors either. There's a twist near the end that Helen Keller and Ray Charles could've seen coming a mile away. I also question the sequence where the antagonist has the obligatory villain monologue in English and not in her more comfortable native tongue (with English subtitles). Finally, I can't think of a film that ends with a more forced line of dialogue. The lesson here? Less is more. Watch the anime, wait for this on DVD -- which will probably be sooner than later.
Daybreakers Trailer
June 26th, 2009 — From The Feeds, vampires
I hated the one sheet, but this really got my attention.
Fright Night
June 18th, 2009 — From The Feeds, movies, throwback thursdays, vampires
Classic flick from the 80s -- okay, "classic" might be a little strong, but a fun romp nevertheless. "Fright Night" is sorta like "Disturbia" with a vampire as the creepy next door neighbor. A rare mix of horror and humor that actually works. Decent special effects for its time. Between this and "A Princess Bride", I've always wondered why villain Chris Sarandon didn't get juicier roles. The film is a lot better than the cheesy trailer would lead you to believe. Plans for a remake taking place at an amusement park (!?!) were scrapped not too long ago.
Vamp Diaries Preview
June 17th, 2009 — From The Feeds, television, vampires
Wasn't planning on another post about a show that has yet to air, but this extended preview recently popped up on youtube. Noticed some tweaks to the script. Turned out a little better than I expected. Judge for yourself...