Elijah Wood has been on my interview list for a while. While some people may be wondering where Elijah has been hiding recently, those people are silly, sheltered cinema fans who haven't been enjoying his recent genre turns in films like Maniac, Grand Piano, Cooties, and his most recent film, Nacho Vigalondo's Open Windows. Elijah wasn't the only one though, as Vigalondo has been on my list as well with movies like Timecrimes, Extraterrestrial, and The ABCs Of Death to boast. This year's South by Southwest festival was just an ongoing geekout for the horror movie lover slowly consuming my soul, and this interview continued my obvious nerding.
Thanks to the good people over at Magnet Releasing and Drafthouse Films, we've got an exclusive look at their brand new movie ABCs Of Death 2, which opens on most VOD platforms TODAY with a limited theatrical release on October 31st.
While I don't think Keanu Reeves ever left the Hollywood spotlight, his new film John Wick claims that the actor is finally returning to action-hero glory in full force. After a few martial-arts-heavy films in 47 Ronin and Man Of Tai Chi, Reeves once again becomes a gun-toting badass who leaves a looming pile of bodies in his wake - but with a little more kick than usual. John Wick is a physically demanding role that requires a tremendous amount of what Keanu dubbed "Gun-Fu" choreography, blending shootouts and hand-to-hand combat with some punishing stunt-work. Welcome back Keanu, it's nice to see you having fun again!
Delivery: The Beast Within plays out like a fireworks display that hopes you'll only remember the grand finale, not the preceding hour's worth of uneventful build-up material we're forced to sit through.
Earlier this year I reviewed a film called Knights Of Badassdom, and even though I had fun with the fantastical LARP-er adventure, it's not the film I wanted to see. While Joe Lynch is credited as the director, the version audiences received does not reflect Lynch's vision in the least, as Indivest CEO Wade Bradley hacked away at Knights Of Badassdom until a watered-down version permitted mainstream appeal. Again, while I certainly had some fun watching the likes of Peter Dinklage and Steve Zahn fight a summoned evil, I couldn't shake a neutered feeling that lacked Lynch's signature horror ideals.
Even though Joe Lynch has abandoned straightforward horror in order to make more action-centric adventures, the filmmaker's genre love stills finds a way into any project he tackles. His latest offering, Everly, may present itself as a contained survival story at first glance, but once the gore kicks in and insides start finding their way outside, Lynch's horror mentalities once again make themselves known. This is one of the factors that makes Everly more than just a Salma Hayek vessel with guns and explosions, and one of the main reasons I gave Lynch's film a favorable review coming out of Fantastic Fest.
While filmmaker Alexandre Aja is typically known for ridiculously gory horror movies like Piranha 3D and High Tension, his latest film, Horns, is a sinful departure into Young Adult territory that maintains a hard-R bite. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Aja's adaptation of Joe Hill's original novel follows a boy who sprouts horns that force people to reveal their darkest thoughts and secrets, a helpful tool that Radcliffe takes advantage of while hunting his ex-girlfriend's killer. It's a darkly comedic journey into tragic waters, one that's benefitted by Aja's direction when psychedelic hallucinations and explosive visual attacks are called upon. I caught the film at Fantastic Fest this past week and enjoyed the hell out of it, where I also had the distinct honor of talking with Alexandre Aja, who was in attendance.
Gomez-Rejon's classic-slasher-update finds a unique way to repurpose Charles B. Pierce's original material, creating a sequel/remake hybrid that's fun enough for some cheap date night scares.