Horror « Ideology of Madness

Movie Review: Black Death

Relatively new horror movie director Christopher Smith is definitely going to be someone to keep an eye on. His first feature-length, Creep, was a creepy flick set in a subway and starred Franka Potente (Run Lola Run). From there, he did the pretty damn great Severance (imagine Office Space meets Hostel), then his American debut, Triangle, featuring Melissa George in a “Twilight Zone”-ish tale of creepiness on the open seas.

Black Death is his first period piece, starring Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings) as the leader of a group of knights tasked with investigating the tales of a small town practicing necromancy, returning the dead back to life. They take a young monk with them as a guide.

mild spoilers follow…

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Written on February 28th, 2011 , Horror, Movies & TV

Movie Review: Altitude

Kaare Andrews does more than just draw pretty. The artist behind the recent relaunch Astonishing X-Men and Spider-Man: Reign (a Dark Knight Returns-esque take on Spidey) is also a movie director. His first feature length film is the low budget horror flick Altitude, starring Jessica Lowndes (“90210″) and Julianna Guill (Friday the 13th remake – the chick with perfect nipple placement).

In Altitude, a group of teens decides to take a plane trip to a concert, as one of them is now recently a licensed pilot. The problem is, they end up navigating into a seeming unending storm, and suddenly, they’re under siege by a giant tentacled creature.

I’ve been dying to see Altitude. I mean, watching the trailer, it looks like Cthulu in the clouds, stalking a group of teens? What can go wrong with that, right?

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Written on February 23rd, 2011 , Horror, Movies & TV

Carry On, My Wayward Son…into Animation!

Source: Bloody Disgusting

So a while back we told you about how the Japanese division of Warner Brothers is working on Supernatural: The Animation, a 22-episode series from Madhouse (Batman: Gotham Knight and Death Note). The project is set to remake the best episodes from the live-action television show, as well as have original episodes that will show adventures Winchester brothers’ childhood (maybe some based on the Wildstorm comic series?), and episodes featuring side characters from the TV show. Jared Padalecki has signed on to voice Sam for all 22 episode of the English dubs, with Jensen Ackles only set to voice the final two (odd choice, there). Supernatural: The Animation is due out in in Japan on February 23rd, with an English US version I’m sure sometime in 2011.

Check out a trailer for the series below!

Supernatural – Japanese Animated Preview
Uploaded by dreadcentral. – Classic TV and last night’s shows, online.

I’m still trying to decide if this is awesome or not, especially with Kansas’ “Carry On My Wayward Son” playing over Japanese dialog. What say you?

Written on February 22nd, 2011 , Animated, Horror, Movies & TV, Television

Movie Review: Rare Exports

I’ve been really kind of excited for Rare Exports. Despite the fact that I can’t think of a single good Christmas horror film off the top of my head (besides the original Black Christmas), I have a soft spot for films in that genre. Something about the mixture of the holiday with the darkness of horror intrigues me, and of course, I have an affinity for horror movies with snow in them.

So Rare Exports, a Finnish horror film, had me with my ears perked, anxiously awaiting its release. I’d heard some good things about the film – that it was almost like a Goonies-esque movie about a child who’s father (and his father’s friends) kidnap Santa Claus for ransom. Except that this wasn’t the Coca-Cola Santa we’re used to seeing – no, this was the Santa of legend, who spanked kids with a rod until they bled, and boiled naughty children in stew. Not only that, coming to save Santa would be his diabolical elves, evil nasty creatures who killed people and children.

So yeah…I was intrigued. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on February 11th, 2011 , Horror, Movies & TV

Clip from Kevin Smith’s Red State

Kevin Smith has kind of been the talk of the town in the last year. Between his Southwest Airlines incident, and his opinions about bloggers and media in general, as well as announcing that his next movie, about hockey, will be his last, he’s kind of been all over the internet. Kevin Smith has put together a “horror” film that premiered at Sundance (to mixed reviews) called Red State.

In Red State, three friends (including Kyle Gallner from the Nightmare on Elm Street remake) answer an online ad to have sex (simultaneously) with a woman in a remote area of the country. She drugs them, and they find themselves trapped by an extremist religious group. Check out a clip below from MTV.

Movie Trailers – Movies Blog

Red State is out on October 19th, but Smith is traveling the country showing off the film, and doing a Q&A. Check out the official site to see if he’s coming to your town. I’ll be attending the March 15th showing in Washington, DC!

Written on February 9th, 2011 , Horror, Movies & TV

Movie Review: Dead Space – Aftermath

I really, really enjoyed the first Dead Space video game. I felt it was challenging (though sometimes a bit too challenging), genuinely creepy and scary, and, most of all, INTENSE. I spent a good portion of the game on the edge of my seat, guiding Isaac through the abandoned space station, worried about what would be around the next corner, or how low my ammo is. It’s a truly exciting video game experience, and I really recommend checking it out if you’re into the survival horror genre.

That being said, the original animated tie-in movie, Dead Space: Downfall was really just a bit meh. The animation was a bit rough, the story kind of generic, and ultimately just felt a bit throwaway. I mean, it gave me a bit more insight into the events of the game (without having to read all the journals and stuff that you pick up during the game), but overall I just didn’t leave the experience feeling overwhelmed. I was just … whelmed. The Dante’s Inferno tie-in animated movie (from the same production company) really actually just kind of dragged for me, despite being a relatively short film. So Dead Space: Aftermath didn’t have a lot going for it… Read the rest of this entry »

Written on February 8th, 2011 , Animated, Console Gaming, Games, Horror, Movies & TV, Video Games

Watch Ghostwatch for free!

One of my favorite horror movies (of all time!) is a television movie named Ghostwatch, which aired on the BBC1 on Halloween in 1992. It was a horror mockumentary (like Blair Witch or Paranormal Activity), but was presented as ‘live’ television. It was only aired once in the UK and caused a storm of controversy from folks who thought it was real. Ghostwatch holds the record for the highest rated single drama in the UK of all time with a peak audience of 11.5 million viewers, and an estimated 30,000 calls to the BBC switchboard in a single hour.

I’m not going to tell you much about the film and ruin it for you, but the basic premise is that a news crew investigates one of the most haunted areas in the UK, and ends up finding more than they bargained for. Ghostwatch begs repeat viewings, as there’s a ton of hidden stuff in it, including multiple appearances of paranormal activity.

I just discovered that the ENTIRE film is online, in one large chunk, for free, courtesy of Google Videos. Give it a watch below (you can expand to the full window for easier viewing)!

When you’re done giving the flick a watch, check out its Wikipedia page to see if you missed anything!

Written on January 22nd, 2011 , Horror, Movies & TV, Television

Movie Review: Season of the Witch (2011)

Nicholas Cage is kind of going through a weird time right now. I remember years ago when him being in a movie was a sign of the movie being at least some kind of quality. Then, at some point, it turned into the realization that these films weren’t actually good…just guilty pleasures. And then they became less pleasurable and, save for the National Treasure movies, Cage became kind of a joke, with his unusual hair pieces and his wacky roles and seeming inability to say no to a paycheck, regardless of the quality of movie.

January is typically a breeding ground for mediocre or awful movies, so it seems appropriate that the newest Cage vehicle, Season of the Witch, would be released in this month, given his history. But is it better than you’ve heard? Or another in a stream of bad Nic Cage flicks? Read the rest of this entry »

Written on January 17th, 2011 , Fantasy, Horror, Movies & TV

Paul’s Horror Flicks: Night of the Demons (2009)

“She stuck a lipstick in her boob and it fell out of her pussy!”

Yes, that line is uttered in the 2009 remake of Night of the Demons, a gore-filled comedic type horror film featuring a bevy of recognizable actors, including Monica Keena, Edward Furlong, Tiffany Shepis, and Shannon Elizabeth. In it, a house party goes REALLY bad when dead bodies are found under the house and demons possess the party goers.

It plays like Evil Dead 2, but with sex It’s a horror movie that remembers what it’s like to not only be fun, but also to take itself seriously enough to make sure it has smart writing and decent acting. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on November 11th, 2010 , Horror, Movies & TV Tags: paul's horror flix

Funnybooks with Aron and Paulie: Halloweenies!

The year is 2010. Police are called to IdeologyofMadness.com only to discover that podcast personality Tim has been stabbed to death by his 12 year-old co-host. After being institutionalized for 6 episodes, Jonathan breaks out mere days before Halloween. No one knows nor would wish to learn what will happen on October 31st, other than Landreth’s physciatrist Dr. Paul, that is. He knows Jonathan is coming back to Funnybooks, but by the time anyone realizes it, it’ll be too late!