E3 2014: Alien Isolation “Survive” Trailer: Be Still, Your Beating Heart (Or Else)…

Posted on June 10, 2014 by geelw

Or else what?, you ask? Well, I’m sure one of those androids has superior hearing and can scope out that you’re hiding in a locker and that sole Alien in the game? Your ticker thumping away like the ghost of Gene Krupa pounding on a big kettle drum just might make you hope that big ugly thing is deaf in the head. Anyway, I’m gathering that The Creative Assembly’s upcoming Alien: Isolation will be certainly wiping away any memories of Aliens: Colonial Marines as it delivers a horror/sci-fi experience that’s closer to the tone and spirit of the first film and isn’t yet another first-person shooter for the pile. as noted earlier, I’m loving that The CA ha gone and made this for older as well as next-gen platforms, as the game will sell better on the PS3 and Xbox 360 thanks to both systems’ larger installed bases. However, I’m HOPING that anyone expecting a run ‘n gun experience realizes they should probably go watch Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic first to see what they’ll be in for.

The Walking Dead Pinball? Believe It Or Else, I’m On Board With This One…

Posted on June 4, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, soooo… this is a thing that’s actually happening, but as that post title says, I’m completely okay with it. Thankfully, it’s coming from Telltale Games, Skybound and the digital pinball geniuses at Zen Studios, so it’ll at least be familiar and faithful to fans of the episodic game series. The funny thing is I believe this is the only Walking Dead game to NOT get a Mature rating. Pinball isn’t inherently “violent” at all… unless you’re the type to get into fist fights over who gets to go first. Er, anyway… Press release below the jump – the game ships out his summer, but will be shown at E3 this year if you happen to be attending and need something a wee bit different and unusual to play around with.
Continue reading →

The Green Inferno: Eli Roth Lets The “Save The Planet” Crowd Have Both Barrels…

Posted on June 2, 2014 by geelw

So, what’s up in the jungle, Jim? Not much but lots of death and leftovers! Anyway, here’s the plot of this upcoming horror flick, suitable for no one under the age of slashenteen without a cast iron stomach:

A group of college students take their humanitarian protest from New York to the Amazon jungle only to get kidnapped by the native tribe they came to save. A tribe that still practices the ancient tribal rite of cannibalism, with a healthy appetite for intruders.

(thanks, Movieclips Trailers!)
Well, there goes my plans to visit even the nearest sunny park around here at this point. Guaranteed to cause all sorts of outrage when it’s released (mostly among people who won’t see it under any circumstances, I’d bet), The Green Inferno is a throwback to the gory glory days of exploitation horror films and nope, I’m not planning on seeing this in a theater at all.

If I do decide to commit to this flick and it’s NOT a media screening with relatively normal people in attendance squealing and hiding under the seats, it’ll be in the comfort of my own home where I can shut it off and find something else to do if I’m feeling queasy. I’m gathering the home video and/or cable versions will have more footage and on disc, I’d hope there’s a nice behind the scenes documentary that gets into how this was made. I didn’t make it through Cannibal Holocaust (this film’s inspiration) in one sitting, but I think I can handle this… I think… (cue creepy music that gets me wanting to go watch a Caillou box set instead on a permanent loop)…

Movie Review: APP

Posted on June 2, 2014 by geelw

As the first second screen “horror” film, Bobby Boermans’ APP dares to ask you to not only keep your cell phone ON during its entire running time, it wants you to download an app just for the purposes of getting the most out of the wild ride it sends you on for a very brisk 75 minutes.

However, if the very idea of having a phone buzzing away a few times on your lap as you watch a film outrages you to no end, you can watch the film without a phone and still enjoy it quite thoroughly. It’s certainly worth seeing this one both ways (which I did for the purposes of this review) as the phone-enabled parts are cleverly crafted to not distract from the film at all, giving you enough time to glance down then back up without missing anything important.
Continue reading →

Among The Sleep Launch Trailer: Baby Steps Better Be Big Ones In This Unique Horror Game…

Posted on May 31, 2014 by geelw

Krillbite Studios creepy horror game presented from the viewpoint of a two-year old, Among the Sleep is now available for purchase on Steam, gog.com and the Humble Bundle Store, so if you’re a fan of horror-themed video games and want something that’s fresh and shows off indie development at its finest, well… you know what to do. While it’s not the only game like this out there (Baby Blues has been on Desura for a while), Krillbite’s game takes a more colorfully stylized and surreal approach to its visuals and story. That talking teddy bear kind of freaks me out (even if he’s supposed to be friendly!). Naturally, you’ll want to NOT let your own two-year old anywhere near this game unless you like changing diapers three times as much as you normally do during the average day. Then again, I bet a few adults would pee or poop themselves if they played this just because they jump out of their skin at the drop of a hat…

The Evil Within Doesn’t Scare Me (Yet) Because I Haven’t PLAYED It (Yet)…

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geelw

“Booooooo!” (*squeal!*). Meh, I’ve always disliked these “reaction” videos for games and movies because even if they are one hundred percent real, what scares one person won’t affect another and as I get older, some things don’t scare me any longer that made me fly off a chair and up to the ceiling in the past. Or, to quote one Mr. Ray Parker Jr. “I ain’t afraid of no “ghost!”

Now, I’m NOT that jaded that some horror films, reads and games don’t get me wanting a blankie and a hanky every so often. However, some of the scares in entertainment are often derived from other and far more frightening works. That said, I do trust Shinji Mikami and Bethesda Softworks to the point that The Evil Within just may put me on the ceiling if it does what it does right and often. Expect to be scared out of your wits (or not?) when the game hits stores October 21st in North America, October 23rd, and throughout Europe on October 24, 2014.

Random Film of the Week: HOUSE (1977)

Posted on May 23, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, tubesoda!)

One of the most unusual “mainstream” horror films you’ll ever see, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s 1977 film HOUSE is one of those inventively crazy movies that will stick in your head for a long while after those end credits roll.

Paradoxically, it’s tricky to talk about the film in detail and not give a lot away. But on the other hand, you could go in knowing the entire story and what happens to every character in the film before you see it and still have your mind completely blown by the bizarre visual effects and how the tone switches from comic to horror (and back and forth at that) at the drop of a hat.

Or drop of the head, in this case… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week(end): The Horror of Party Beach

Posted on May 17, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, Tommy Retro’s Blast From The Past!)

As it’s almost (but not quite) beach season (unless it’s summer when you’re actually reading this, then BEWARE!) here’s a cautionary tale for you hep cats and hip chicks looking for some fun in the soon to be summer sun: DON’T DO IT! Hell, I mean between the assorted oil and chemical spills and their assorted hasty to long term cleanups that just add MORE nasty chemicals to the waters around everywhere, you’re only bound to run into something monstrous coming out of the water (or heck, just IN the water) that wants to EAT. YOUR. FLESH! (Mua-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa!, but somewhat true! Eeeek!).

Anyway, 1964’s Horror on Party Beach kind of predicted this modern age of old-school waste making hasty retreats for beaches everywhere, but the film was SO bad that no one listened because they were busy laughing their bottoms off as this bottom of the fish barrel “Z”-grade spook-tacular stunk up a theater near them… Continue reading →

No More Nightmares: H.R. Giger (1940-2014)

Posted on May 13, 2014 by geelw

There’s not much to say here other than he’ll be SORELY missed. As an artist, his work scared the hell out of me many times and yet inspired me to experiment more with my own art without trying to emulate the man’s style one bit. His work on ALIEN, like the entire film holds up to this day to the point that I’ve recommended the movie over the years to people who didn’t know it was made back in 1979 (yep, even with those old computers and monitors in use!). Granted, you could say that classic was more the result of Ridley Scott’s solid direction, but he was absolutely inspired by Giger’s mind blowing art and there’s NO doubt at all it would have been a lesser film without it…
Continue reading →

Constantine TV Trailer: NBC Wants To Give You A Few Cases Of Vertigo…

Posted on May 13, 2014 by geelw

I’ll reserve judgment on this until I see a few episodes, but while some are championing this as awesome, I’m skeptical on a few fronts because of what’s missing and what will be missed. First off, Hellblazer works better as a title (at least to someone like me who read the original books when they were first published), but network TV with a shiny new show in need of an audience in America probably isn’t going to touch that one (right, NBC?). Second, John’s icky chain smoking is gone, no doubt because network and public outrage deems he lose his nastiest habit. Although, this may not be a bad thing as I can see the show tying into the film (some still despise) by knocking away John’s habit because he lost the taste for ciggies in the movie. Finally, and this is the touchy part (no pun intended, maybe)… in the Vertigo books, Constatine was how do we say… swinging for both teams (to be as vague as possible but not about the man’s bisexual tendencies). Granted, getting people outraged about that sort of thing is WAY too easy these days and yep, I’ll bet that NBC didn’t want to even go near that bit of business…