The Horror Geek – News, Rants and Reviews From The Horror Geek!

With After Dark’s latest Horrorfest right around the corner (January 29th), it’s about time we hear what the final film featured in the “8 Films to Die For” is this year. In case the title of this post didn’t give it away, it’s Chris Moore’s Kill Theory. That’s the official poster art above.

The film sounds like your traditional slasher flick, but with a slight variation. College kids head out to the woods and run into your standard issue psychopath. Rather than having said psycho knock off the kids one by one, Kill Theory instead forces the victims to take part in an unpleasant game where they’re forced to kill each other in hopes of surviving. It’s kinda like Kinji Fukasaku’s Battle Royale crossed with Friday the 13th.

I try to keep my expectations in check when it comes to films, but I have to say that this year’s Horrorfest is really caught my interest. The Graves, Dread, Final Exam, and Kill Theory all sound like potential winners–which is a step up from previous years. Whether they all turn out to be good remains to be seen, but I’m actually looking forward to seeing the festival’s selections this year.

Expect reviews on this and the other entries sometime in February.

Now that Ti West’s House of the Devil has demonstrated there’s an audience for modern day horror styled after exploitation films from the ’70s and ’80s, I suspect we’ll see a lot more new genre offerings taking playing up the “retro” look in their advertising and presentation. I can’t say for sure that’s what’s happened with The Violent Kind, but looking at the one sheet above, it’s clear that the Butcher Brothers have gone back to the past for inspiration. I’m cool with that–I miss the art and films of that era.

The poster has the faux aged look and visual design of countless low-budget flicks from the golden era, plus it has lots of blood, which is always a plus.

STYD scored an official synopsis for the film. Here it is:

Troubled Cody (Cory Knauf), a second-generation member of a violent and notorious Nor-Cal biker gang, rides out with his friends to party at a cabin located deep within the redwood forest. At the end of the wild evening, things take a turn for the worse when Cody’s ex-girlfriend Michelle (Tiffany Shepis) is discovered wandering aimlessly and covered in blood, screaming and convulsing as if she were possessed by something unworldly. Cody and the others try desperately to help Michelle while stuck in the middle of nowhere, but their plans are quickly ruined when another malicious gang, seemingly from the 1950s, shows up “looking for a few kicks…the violent kind.” However, this ominous “Rockabilly” gang is not there to pick a fight. They want what’s mysteriously growing inside of Michelle – something very evil and powerful – and they will stop at nothing to get it!

Arrow in the Head scored a first look at the newest poster for Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher’s French zombie film, The Horde–and I’m more excited than ever for this film. That’s the new poster above–you can find the stills here.

Basically, the film has cops and gangsters battling it out in an apartment building when a zombie outbreak occurs. With this new variable in play, they must form an uneasy alliance if they wish to survive the undead onslaught. The film has played some festivals, but there are currently no announced plans to bring it to North America. Let’s hope they remedy that situation soon.

One of my favorite low budget films of the past few years was Outpost–because I’m a sucker for all things Nazi and zombie. It’s not a flawless film, but I found it to be surprisingly engaging and definitely recommend it to anyone who likes military-themed horror flicks. Because of my love for the film, few people were more excited than me when a sequel was announced.

It’s been a few months since we’ve heard any news concerning the film, but yesterday finally the saw the arrival of the film’s newest poster. My early impressions? I’m digging the hell out of it.

If that’s not enough to get you excited, peep this official synopsis for the film:

The year is 1945, the closing stages of WW2, and a German scientist by the name of Klausener is working on frightening new technology with the power to create an immortal Nazi army. Flash forward to present day, and a NATO task force is hurriedly deployed to Eastern Europe, where a sinister enemy appears to be mercilessly killing everything in its path. But this is no ordinary foe. Only Helena, a gutsy investigator on the trail of notorious war-criminal Klausener, accepts the reality of what they are facing, a battalion of Nazi Storm-Troopers, a veritable zombie army on the march. With the help of Wallace, a man who’s been chasing Nazi secrets for years, the two of them team up with a Special Forces Unit to venture deep behind enemy lines. Their mission to fight their way back to the source of this evil army and prevent the seemingly inevitable rise of the 4th Reich.

Outpost II: Black Sun begins shooting early next year. Check out more concept art at the official website.

Fresh off its debut at Austin’s Butt-Numb-a-Thon event (I really need to get to Austin one of these days…), here’s a clean, unwatermarked look at the poster for Adam Green’s highly anticipated follow up to Hatchet, Frozen.

I’m no marketing or design guy, but I like this poster. At the very least, they didn’t go out and rip off some other bigger and more popular movie. There’s not much else to say about it, so here’s a plot breakdown for the film, which opens on February 5th. Click on the image to see a much larger version.

A typical day on the slopes turns into a chilling nightmare for three snowboarders when they get stranded on the chairlift before their last run. As the ski patrol switches off the night lights, they realize with growing panic that they’ve been left behind dangling high off the ground with no way down.

With the resort closed until the following weekend and frostbite and hypothermia already setting in, the trio is forced to take desperate measures to escape off the mountain before they freeze to death. Once they make their move, they discover with horror that they have much more to fear than just the frigid cold. As they combat unexpected obstacles, they start to question if their will to survive is strong enough to overcome the worst ways to die?

The guys over at Shock landed the exclusive debut of this poster for Dominic Sena’s Season of the Witch a few days ago, but now a nice unwatermarked image is available–so I’m posting it here in case you missed it.

The film stars Nic Cage and Ron Perlman. Here’s the plot breakdown:

As the Black Plague rages across 14th century Europe, one brave knight Lavey, is tasked with transporting a girl suspected of being the witch who caused the pandemic to trial. Believing she is wrongly accused, Lavey and a group of wary followers fight through a mystical and treacherous landscape to a hallowed place where her innocence can be proved and Europe’s curse can be lifted. Unbeknownst to Lavey, even darker forces await them…

You can check out the official trailer here. If you want to learn more, check out the film’s official website–which has just opened for business. The film debuts in theaters on March 19th.

Now that Buried is an official Sundance 2010 midnight movie, I’d expect we’ll be seeing a lot of promotional material for the film between now and the end of next month. As proof of my thesis, I give you the first poster for the film.

Buried, directed by Rodrigo Cortes, stars Ryan Reynolds as an American contractor working in Iraq. After being attacked by insurgents, he awakens to find himself buried alive with only a lighter and a cellphone to keep him company. Can he escape his tomb before time runs out? My guess is probably, although this is a Sundance film, where downer endings aren’t that unusual. I guess we’ll all find out for sure when it shows at the festival.

Until then, enjoy the poster.

Just a quick update since it’s a slow news day here in the wake of Thanksgiving. If you think back to last month, you’ll no doubt remember me talking about Martin Bechs’ Nazi-themed slasher flick Final Solution. I did stories here and over at Horror Squad about the poster and the teaser trailer. The film is shaping up nicely from what I can tell and I’ll be really interested in viewing the finished product when it releases next year.

In the meantime, the film’s official site is now updated. There’s still not a ton of content available for your perusal, but if you’re bored and looking to avoid the holiday shopping madness of Black Friday, poking around the new content will eat up a small chunk of your day.

Final Solution doesn’t have an official release date yet, but I’ll bring you more as Bach and company make the details available.

Finally, a Wolfman poster I can excited about…

Universal’s remake of the classic horror film seems to be in the news almost entirely for bad reasons (reports that the film isn’t very good, replacement editors, losing switching soundtrack composers, etc.) but here’s something positive– a cool looking new one sheet.

“Inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, The Wolfman brings the myth of a cursed man back to its iconic origins. Oscar® winner Benicio Del Toro stars as Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Reunited with his estranged father (Oscar® winner Anthony Hopkins), Talbot sets out to find his brother…and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself.”

Beware the full moon on February 12th.

I’m really looking forward to checking out Brian Pulido’s The Graves when it makes its theatrical debut as part of January’s After Dark: Horrorfest. That being said, I can’t say that I’m really digging this new poster for the film. I find flies kinda gross, but not in the “oh that’s awesomely sick!” kind of way. Since you can’t judge a book by its cover (at least according to popular wisdom…) I’m not going to allow some mediocre poster art to ruin my hopes for this flick.

In case you missed it before, here’s the plot breakdown:

In The Graves two inseparable sisters, Megan and Abby Graves, are taking one last wild road trip before Megan has to start a new job. The journey includes a trip through remote Arizona in search of a kitschy roadside attraction. Instead, Megan and Abby happen on Skull City Mine, a weather-beaten, abandoned mine town converted into a self-guided tour. What seems like a fun day in the sun turns into a mind-bending fight for survival against menaces both human and supernatural.

Pulido is best known for his comic book work, which includes creating cult characters Lady Death and Evil Ernie.