GHOST HOUSE PICTURES
December 5th 2006 05:21
I was looking up the name of the film my father is playing a bit part in (he gets his throat torn out by a marauding vampire!). All I knew was it was being produced by Sam Raimi. Nice work dad. No seriously, nice work. It’s an undead flick set in Alaska. Part of the movie is being shot in California and part of it is being shot in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s called 30 Days of Night, a great title. I hope the movie is as good as the title and premise.
Each year an isolated Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month when the sun sinks below the horizon. However 2007 will be the year the township wished the sun could’ve stayed put. As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. It’s up to the town’s sheriff and his wife to save the day … er, night.
Directed by David Slade (a former music clip director who made the exceptional two-hander Hard Candy – a post-modern horror film if ever there was one!), 30 Days of Night is being produced under the banner of Ghost House Pictures, a film company set up by partners Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert, to enable them to produce high concept horror films (both men formed a strong bond when they made The Evil Dead over twenty years ago).
The Grudge 2 (which was disappointing, see my review) was one of the label’s releases. However coming up we have 30 Days of Night, as well as Rise, directed by Sebastian Gutierrez. Gutierrez wrote the screenplays for the recent gimmick flick Snakes on a Plane (2006), as well as the terrible Gothika (2003), the laughable Boogeyman (2005), and next year's American remake of the Hong Kong supernatural flick The Eye.
Gutierrez directed the noirish Judas Kiss which starred his wife Carla Gugino (Sin City, and also co-starring in Rise), as well as a flick which caught my eye recently at the video store intriguing titled Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature (2001), a made-for-television movie which features the always astonishing work of animatronic master Stan Winston. I might save that one for a rainy day with the girlfriend.
That Raimi is in development with a remake of his own cult classic The Evil Dead is enough to scare any True Believin’ horrorphile. The question that roars out of my mouth is “WHY?!” The original flick is so damn good. But more importantly, it was a super low-budget, schlock fest with more ingenuity than you can throw a severed leg at.
There in lies The Rub. Raimi and Tapert must be rubbing their dirty paws with glee over the chance to up the production values ten fold. But look what happened to The Evil Dead … it turned into an absurd comedy of middle-age errors (Army of Darkness, 1992). What on earth could possibly be done with a remake of The Evil Dead that could top those over-the-top demonic shenanigans that have made The Evil Dead the supreme backwoods demonville classic that it is?
You can check out what Raimi and Tapert are all about by visiting their Ghost House. In the meantime we wait with baited breath for the release of Rise, with Lucy Lui waking up in a morgue to discover she is one of the undead. Australia gets it first by the looks; May 2007.
And 30 Days of Night, based on the graphic novel of the same name, which we’ll have to hold our fetid breath a little longer for; October 2007 for the States, the rest of the world is still in the dark.
* 30 Days of Night graphic novel cover is licensed from the GNU Free Document license on wikipedia
pic of Carla Gugino as a vampire in Rise is courtesy of Ghost House Pictures
Directed by David Slade (a former music clip director who made the exceptional two-hander Hard Candy – a post-modern horror film if ever there was one!), 30 Days of Night is being produced under the banner of Ghost House Pictures, a film company set up by partners Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert, to enable them to produce high concept horror films (both men formed a strong bond when they made The Evil Dead over twenty years ago).
The Grudge 2 (which was disappointing, see my review) was one of the label’s releases. However coming up we have 30 Days of Night, as well as Rise, directed by Sebastian Gutierrez. Gutierrez wrote the screenplays for the recent gimmick flick Snakes on a Plane (2006), as well as the terrible Gothika (2003), the laughable Boogeyman (2005), and next year's American remake of the Hong Kong supernatural flick The Eye.
Gutierrez directed the noirish Judas Kiss which starred his wife Carla Gugino (Sin City, and also co-starring in Rise), as well as a flick which caught my eye recently at the video store intriguing titled Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature (2001), a made-for-television movie which features the always astonishing work of animatronic master Stan Winston. I might save that one for a rainy day with the girlfriend.
There in lies The Rub. Raimi and Tapert must be rubbing their dirty paws with glee over the chance to up the production values ten fold. But look what happened to The Evil Dead … it turned into an absurd comedy of middle-age errors (Army of Darkness, 1992). What on earth could possibly be done with a remake of The Evil Dead that could top those over-the-top demonic shenanigans that have made The Evil Dead the supreme backwoods demonville classic that it is?
You can check out what Raimi and Tapert are all about by visiting their Ghost House. In the meantime we wait with baited breath for the release of Rise, with Lucy Lui waking up in a morgue to discover she is one of the undead. Australia gets it first by the looks; May 2007.
And 30 Days of Night, based on the graphic novel of the same name, which we’ll have to hold our fetid breath a little longer for; October 2007 for the States, the rest of the world is still in the dark.
* 30 Days of Night graphic novel cover is licensed from the GNU Free Document license on wikipedia
pic of Carla Gugino as a vampire in Rise is courtesy of Ghost House Pictures
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Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
How delightful, you must really love your father, vampire like type of thing, see I'm not such an innocent horrorphile.
What, another post already, you must be seriously overworked, I know I am, but I'm cutting down.
I've worked out what is required to get ahead, it's click readers and there must be something there of value for them to click onto.
So, it appears, I don't attract the right kind of advertisements, but I shall try a little harder to and I may well be able to reach a point that one post a fortnight might do and if there are enough clicks flow through as there are for some, I may well be able to make this a feasible paying proposition.
I was not invited here to work for free, and that was never my intention.
But, none of that should concern you , your horror reigns supreme and I just couldn't resist responding to that lovely image of your father you created. Surely, even for a small role, one such as that should attract good money. If they wish to make me look very ugly, and that would only require a miniscule amount of work may I offer myself for such a bit part at an appropriate fee, of course.
katyzzz
Comment by suitably*wounded
Eternal Days; Author: Illness, M.
Next, Hard Candy was an amazing study in psychological horror and I will eagerly look forward to anything by that director or its lead star, Ellen Page. So to say that this sounds all around interesting would be an understatement. Plus, as you mention, the entire concept (like in the little seen and often under-appreciated Insomnia) of eternal night (heh) is enticing. I can't wait.
Lastly, Rise sounds equally appealing. I'll have to look about for more information on it. It certainly appears that the Ghost House will be trudging along in the same direction as a few other production companies with similar horrific values. Like Brain Damage, etc.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I think Rise was in that horror American horror festival you pointed me towards a few weeks back ....