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STYD broke news yesterday that rumors of a fourth Resident Evil film are true.

According to their studio source, the newest installment is going to happen and executives are aiming for a September 17, 2010 release date. This news is reportedly supported by an internal memo circulating through the Sony offices.

Resident Evil 4 seems like a no-brainer and I always figured we’d see it sooner rather than later (despite everyone’s insistence that the last film was the end of the line. If it had been, they probably would have gone with a less open ending…)

No official word on who will direct (Paul WS Anderson was working on the script a few months back), but all signs seem to indicate that Milla Jovovich will be returning.

More on this one as details emerge.

Capcom was nice enough to send out a new trailer for the forthcoming Wii-exclusive Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Judging by the video, the game seems to be shaping up quite nicely. It’s a veritable checklist of all the things that make RE cool–Leon and Claire, zombies, headshots, cheesy dialogue, and an appearance by Ada Wong. It may not be Resident Evil 5 in terms of graphics, but it should satisfy the average Wii owner’s craving for zombie slaughtering mayhem.

Look for The Darkside Chronicles to shamble onto the Nintendo Wii sometime later this year.

It’s like poster day around here. Everyone apparently decided to dump a bunch of one-sheets on us before they bailed for a long holiday weekend.

Sorority Row is inching ever closer to its September 11th release date–and as the days pass we’re starting to see more bits and pieces of the remake. Set photos have turned up, the trailer’s floating around out there, and now there’s this new poster for the film. As far as posters go, this one isn’t particularly exciting–but it does highlight all of the young women who’ll be trying to stay out of harm’s way.

The remake follows a group of sorority sisters who’re being slaughtered one by one after accidentally killing one of their own and covering it up. Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Audrina Partridge, Rumer Willis, and Jamie Chung star in the slasher flick. Stewart Hendler will be handling the directorial duties.

A few days ago, I posted a new trailer for the viral outbreak flick Carriers. Today I come with news that the official website has now launched.

You can point your browser here to check it out for yourself. Honestly, though, I have to wonder why studios do these websites for films. They’re always pretty bare bones affairs and this one is no exception. There’s not much on the site at the moment–save for the trailer, a “text me when this hits theaters” button, and a PG-13 rating logo (boo…). It’s not like anyone’s gonna spend a whole lot of time there. Almost doesn’t seem worth the effort of putting it up in the first place.

Enough musing from me, though. Here’s the official synopsis:

“A deadly virus has spread across the globe. Contagion is everywhere, no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. Four young attractive people race through the back roads of the American West to the pounding beat of a vacation soundtrack. Their aim is to retreat to a secluded Utopian beach in the Gulf of Mexico, where they could peacefully wait out the pandemic and survive the apocalyptic disease. Carriers follow their getaway through a surreal and dangerous world where laws and rules no longer apply.

Their plans take a grim turn when their car breaks down on an isolated road, starting a chain of events that will seal the fate of each of them in an inexorable and horrifying voyage of hell through a western landscape populated by only the hideous dead or the twisted living. Their desperate retreat south turns into a deadly battle against infected children, homicidal doctors, crazed survivalists, rabid dogs, and finally, each other. The virus is the least of their problems as horrible choices must be made in the face of lost humanity.”

Expect to get infected on September 4th.

I’ve gotta be honest–The Collector sounds cool, but I’m not entirely convinced that it’s going to be good.

Written by screenwriting duo Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton (who’ve given us the Feast franchise and three Saw flicks), the story of a family held hostage by a masked madman with a penchant for booby traps sounds a little too familiar to inspire confidence. That being said, it’s been getting rave reviews from everyone who’s managed to see the pre-release screenings of the film. With that in mind, I hope my concerns wind up being unjustified.

Anyway, a new one sheet debuted this week (courtesy of Fangoria). Looks spiffy–the Collector sort of reminds me of David Cronenberg’s Buttonface in Nightbreed.

Here’s the synopsis:

“The Collector follows the story of handyman and ex-con Arkin, who aims to repay a debt to his ex-wife by robbing his new employer’s country home. Unfortunately for Arkin, a far worse enemy has already laid claim to the property—and the family. As the seconds tick down to midnight, Arkin becomes a reluctant hero trapped by a masked ‘Collector’ in a maze of lethal invention—the Spanish Inquisition as imagined by Rube Goldberg—while trying to rescue the very family he came to rob.”

Look for this one to hit theaters on July 31st.

I’ve been kind of remiss when it comes to covering Chaw–it’s not that the story of a giant killer boar running around eating South Koreans doesn’t appeal to me, it’s just that every time I go to post about it something big comes along and bumps it. That ends today though.

The final one sheet for the film has been making the rounds over the past few days, but the guys at horror-movies.ca found a better quality image (only minus the credits at the bottom). Looking good so far.

If you aren’t up to date on the film, here’s the official synopsis:

“One day in a small and peaceful village Sameri, boasting no criminal cases for 10 years, a terrible accident happens. Ecologists studying wild animals on a nearby mountain discover a collection of dismembered body parts. Policeman Kim Kang-su, just transferred to Sameri from Seoul, takes the case. The victim turns out to be a grand-daughter of Chun Il-man, who was once a legendary hunter. Chun is convinced that it wasn’t a human that murdered his granddaughter but a man-eating boar, Chaw. Terrified, the people of Sameri invite one of the most famous hunters, Baek, to catch the Chaw. Baek leaps at the chance, hoping it will prove himself to be the best ever hunter. Baek, Chun, detective Sim in charge of the case, ecologist Soo-ryun and Kim (whose mother is also missing) head into the deep dark mountains to confront the beast.”

I loved Russell Mulcahy’s Razorback in my youth–here’s to hoping this film is at least as good.

Here’s a look at the trailer as well. It doesn’t have subtitles, unfortunately. I’m guessing that the scene with the hanging dead pig and gathered locals is going to play like a riff on the Tiger shark scene in Jaws. If it is, I’m 100% sold on this flick.

Synapse Films is perhaps best known for their adventurous tastes when it comes to choosing projects to bring to DVD. Over the years, the company has released films like Flavia the Heretic, Brain Damage, and Entrails of a Virgin–much to the appreciation of people like myself, who enjoy obscure genre cinema lovingly restored by people with similar sensibilities.

So, given their track record, news of any new Synapse release is cause for excitement around Casa de Bracken. Their latest, a movie entitled Sick Girl, has me even more interested than usual. I hadn’t even heard of this film prior to the DVD announcement, but after checking out the synopsis, I’m expecting good things.

SICK GIRL tells the tale of teenage girl, Izzy (Leslie Andrews). Izzy is troubled. With her parents nowhere to be found (and perhaps dead) and her older brother off fighting in Iraq, Izzy is left to take care of her younger brother Kevin all by herself. Local biker Barney offers some assistance to Izzy and Kevin - but he can’t provide any help when it comes to Izzy’s issues… With intense scenes of torture and murder, SICK GIRL delivers a mix of dry humor and extreme gore. Packed with extras, SICK GIRL also comes complete with a horror geek alert! … keep your eyes peeled for Stephen Geoffreys’ (FRIGHT NIGHT, 976-EVIL) return to horror after a 19-year absence!

Here are the disc’s technical specs:

Look for Sick Girl to start spreading her disease on August 5th. Kudos to Dread Central for bringing attention to this release.

I’m really excited about this Predators sequel/reboot/remake/whatever it is. Predator is a classic guy movie, and Predator 2 is a lot of fun despite most people not giving it a fair shake. Any time you can have a dreadlocked alien killing people at will, I’m in. So, hearing that a new film is in the works, guided by Robert Rodriguez, has me all tingly.

Rumors have been surrounding the production since it was first announced, but now we’re finally getting some official confirmation (courtesy of AICN–check out their Rodriguez interview for lots of details) on things. First up: who’s directing the movie.

Nimrod Antal, the man who gave us Vacancy, has been tapped by Rodriguez himself to helm the film that Fox hopes will move the franchise as far away from the two AVP films as possible.

I’ll be honest–I’m a little bummed about this. I thought Vacancy had a terrible ending and Antal didn’t blow me away with his direction. That was a smaller film with less expectations and it still didn’t really turn out the way it should have. How will Antal react while making a film where there’s a lot of pressure and media attention? Only time will tell–but I still think Neil Marshall was the better choice.

That being said, I’m willing to give Antal a shot. Rodriguez has hand picked the guy, and I trust the man’s judgment.

In other news, Rodriguez also says that KNB will be handling the film’s visual FX. If you’re not a horror movie nerd, you might not realize that KNB is one of the best FX houses in the biz–guys who are firm believers in practical FX work as opposed to just farming everything out to CG. That’s good news for anyone tired of fake looking CGI in every big budget movie.

With this stuff squared away, the next big hurdle is putting together a cast. I’ve little doubt that we’ll be hearing more rumors and confirmations concerning that topic in the coming weeks.

I spend every waking moment of my life trying to figure out how to get out of Florida and back to the Bay Area. News like this only exacerbates my angst. They open movies like Thirst in San Francisco–not places like Tampa. I live in a cultural black hole.

Focus Features unveiled the list of theaters premiering Park Chan Wook’s vampire film Thirst yesterday. Good news if you live in NYC, LA, or San Francisco. Not so good news if you live anywhere else. The film is slated to debut on July 31st at the following locations:

New York
Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema (143 East Houston Street, near 2nd Avenue)

Los Angeles
Laemmle’s Sunset 5 (8000 Sunset Boulevard, at Crescent Heights)

San Francisco
Landmark’s Bridge Theatre (3010 Geary Boulevard, near Blake Street)

We’ve known the basics of what the film was about for months now, but here’s a much longer official synopsis:

A priest becomes a vampire…another man’s wife is coveted…a deadly seduction triggers murder. Thirst is the new film from director Park Chan-wook (Old Boy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance). Already a boxoffice smash in Korea, Thirst was honored with the Prix du Jury [Jury Prize] at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival.

Continuing his explorations of human existence in extreme circumstances, the director spins a tale that he conceived and then developed over several years with co-screenwriter Chung Seo-kyung.

Sang-hyun (played by top Korean star Song Kang-ho, of The Host) is a priest who cherishes life; so much so, that he selflessly volunteers for a secret vaccine development project meant to eradicate a deadly virus. But the virus takes the priest, and a blood transfusion is urgently ordered up for him. The blood he receives is infected, so Sang-hyun lives – but now exists as a vampire. Struggling with his newfound carnal desire for blood, Sang-hyun’s faith is further strained when a childhood friend’s wife, Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), comes to him asking for his help in escaping her life. Sang-hyun soon plunges into a world of sensual pleasures, finding himself on intimate terms with the Seven Deadly Sins.

If you aren’t excited to see this, I have to wonder how you wound up on this site in the first place.

I suppose it’s good news that the MPAA has slapped an R rating on Jennifer’s Body–the Megan Fox horror flick written by Diablo Cody. The PG-13 rating has potentially ruined some films this summer (Terminator: Salvation) and kept fans from seeing others (Drag Me to Hell) because it’s incredibly hard to make a movie that appeals to adults if you’re stuck following the more kid-friendly guidelines of the lower rating. It’s good to see this film listed with the “no one under 17 admitted without parent or guardian” tag.

Content descriptors for the title cite “sexuality, bloody violence, language, and brief drug use” as reasons for the R. There’s no “nudity” descriptor in there, which just made about a billion horny guys cry out in agony. Maybe it’s covered in the “sexuality” description…

Jennifer‘s Body will be available for your inspection on September 18th.