30. V/H/S 2
With the first V/H/S only having raked in a mere $100, 345 so far, it’s a surprise that a sequel was announced. A terrifying found footage film, V/H/S consists of a series of vignettes all helmed by different directors which follow a group of students hired to retrieve a VHS tape from a desolate house.
It was only fitting that a sequel be announced around Halloween though with a new glut of directors already confirmed. Gareth Evans (The Raid), Eduardo Sanchez & Gregg Hale (The Blair Witch Project), Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun), Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre), Adam Wingard (You’re Next) and Simon Barrett (Writer of V/H/S segments) are all set to direct segments.
While you’d have to knock this writer out with a couple of bars of gold before getting her into an abandoned house to look for a sodding videotape, the sequel’s story will tread the same path as the original, thus proving characters in contemporary horror have genitals of steel. The first image has been released from the film and it was pulled from Evans’ segment. Uniting smiles and a bloody torso, it’s almost like The Hangover meets Martyrs. On a considerably smaller budget.
The first outing received a mixed bag of reviews, with only a 50% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so we’re betting that the notoriety surrounding the film’s intensity (including the fainting at Sundance) fuelled interest enough for this small indie horror to warrant a follow-up.
V/H/S 2 premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival (read our review), but no theatrical release has been announced.
29. The Mummy
Brought to life by Universal back in 1932, the original version of The Mummy featured Boris Karloff as the bandaged monster bumbling about petrifying early cinema audiences. In 1999 the studio awoke the franchise again with Billy Zane-lookalike, Arnold Vosloo as the High Priest Imhotep Mummy in Stephen Sommer’s CGI-filled adventure romp which went on to spawn two further sequels.
Now, The Mummy is being woken again! (No wonder he’s always such a murderous bastard.) This time, Underworld and Total Recall director, Len Wiseman is being pursued by the studio to helm the next reboot. A script penned by Prometheus writer Jon Spaihts is reportedly much darker than prior versions – probably best to leave the kiddies at Grandma’s for this one – and with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Cowboys & Aliens) producing, there’s a chance it will deliver.
Wiseman stated in an interview last year for his wish to create something edgier, with more twists and to craft a new vision of The Mummy – you know, so he’s scarier. While it’s all well and good promising that now, once the powers that be realise it won’t rake in the $415 million that the 1999 Brendan Fraser family friendly version did…then you can kiss that risqué R-rating goodbye.
The Mummy is scheduled to arrive in Summer 2014, probably with Kate Beckinsale in the lead.
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