Zombieland provides rules for surviving zombie attack
SAN DIEGO — The horror-comedy “Zombieland” looks at the world after a zombie invasion and two men who are doing everything they can to survive the aftermath.
The cast of “Zombieland” talked about the project at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
“It was high time I got offered a zombie movie,” said Woody Harrelson, who plays gun-toting zombie battler Tallahassee.
“I thought, this is probably going to be a silly movie, ‘Zombieland’? What?” he said. “And then reading it, I found it absolutely riveting. … Anyway, they wrote an amazing script, it’s a page-turner.”
“Zombieland” was conceived as a television pilot but was adapted to a feature film when it seemed it would be too expensive to realize on TV.
Jesse Eisenberg plays Tallahassee’s nerdy partner, Columbus. Columbus is a bit of a wimp with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
This prompts him to create a list — 47 rules of how to survive in Zombieland.
Along the way, Tallahassee and Columbus meet up with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).
“I was not as put off by the idea of it being a zombie movie, because I thought it would be kind of cool,” Stone said. “And then it was wonderful, and I learned I would get to shoot a gun. I went to a gun range a couple times and learned how to shoot a pump shotgun, so that was kind of nice.”
The shoot took place over 42 days in Georgia. While that’s not a long shoot, director Ruben Fleischer said it seemed long enough to him.
“I come from a low-budget, music video and short film background, so for me it seemed like a really long amount of time,” he told the Comic-Con crowd.
- by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Trailer for Nightmare on Elm Street remake
The trailer for the remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street,” with Jackie Earle Haley (”Watchmen,” “Bad News Bears”) as Freddy Krueger. Feel free to share your thoughts about the remake in the comments!
Briana Evigan says slasher film Sorority Row is tongue-in-cheek fun
LOS ANGELES — Briana Evigan is one of a pair of famous daughters in “Sorority Row,” opening in theaters today. The daughter of “B.J. and the Bear” star Greg Evigan co-stars with Rumer Willis, the daughter of actors Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.
Evigan said Willis doesn’t at all have a stereotypical Hollywood personality.
“She’s got the sweet, shy, honest personality going on,” Evigan, 22, said.
As for her own industry parents (her mother is a former ballerina, agent and model), Evigan said they will give her feedback on projects but don’t impose on what she does.
“I send them scripts sometimes when I get a job and ask them what they think,” Evigan said.
“Sometimes my dad will attack my script with notes and hand it back to me with hundreds of notes all over it. And he says take or leave it. … if you hate ‘em, throw ‘em, and if you love ‘em, use ‘em. And other than that, he checks out my head every time I get home to make sure it’s not bigger.”
The slasher film “Sorority Row” is a throwback to the 1980s, and Evigan said viewers are supposed to have some fun along with the violence and body count.
“After I watched it, I was like, ‘Nobody can make fun of us, because there’s so much making fun of ourselves already in the film,’ and I love that,” she said. “There’s definitely that tongue-in-cheek feel.”
“Sorority Row” is a loose remake of 1983’s “House on Sorority Row.” It is directed by Stewart Hendler.
Evigan plays Cassidy, who disagrees with the judgment made by the sorority girls after they are caught up in a prank gone wrong. Despite her character disagreeing with the other characters, Evigan said she and her co-stars became fast friends.
“Every single one of us got along very well,” she said. “The cool thing was because we became such close friends so quickly, we could be open (in our work).”
As for her own favorite horror films, Evigan prefers less gore.
“(My favorites are) ‘The Shining,’ ‘Psycho,’ ‘Alien,’ ‘Carrie.’ I like the classics a little more. I’m not into the gore, (or) ‘watch me cut your body open.’”
- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Stan Helsing cast jokes at Comic-Con
SAN DIEGO — Writer/director Bo Zenga and the cast of Stan Helsing held a riotous, freewheeling panel at Comic-Con International on Friday night. Attendees were introduced to several clips from the film, which features four partygoers running across parodies of six top horror characters.
Steve Howey, who starred on “Reba,” plays the title character, Stan Helsing. Kenan Thompson, Leslie Nielsen, Diora Baird and Desi Lydic joined Howey and Zenga on the panel.
Asked how he liked appearing in a Superman-like spandex suit the entire film, Thompson said, “It made me want to start running, stuff like that. Working out.”
Multiple fans expressed appreciation for the careers of Nielsen and Thompson. Nielsen, of course, boasts a 50-plus year movie career, while Thompson has been on television for most of his life, with roles in “All That” and “Kenan and Kel.”
Nielsen plays a waitress in “Stan Helsing,” spending his role in drag.
“It’s not often you get a chance to make that switch and get away with it,” he said.
Thompson said the slasher parody idea drew him to the film.
“I grew up in the 80s, so I was close to slasher films growing up,” he said. “And it was one of the few movies going last summer, so I jumped on that.”
Nielsen, 83, indicated he has no plans to retire.
“I hope to keep doing funny movies til I drop dead,” he said.
- Matt Price
Slasher film ‘Laid to Rest’ won’t disappoint horror fans, actor says
Thomas Dekker, left, and Anthony Fitzgerald in "Laid to Rest."
Missing Lena Headey and Thomas Dekker after FOX cancelled “Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles”? You can catch them in the movie “Laid to Rest,” now available on DVD.
Anthony Fitzgerald, who co-stars in the film, talked to The Oklahoman about the slasher movie, and his character’s possible Oklahoma ties.
“I play a very obnoxious kind of party kid who’s in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m on my way to a rave in Atlanta, and when we were filming it, we joked that we might be from Oklahoma; we’re two young guys on college spring break more or less.”
Fitzgerald went to college in Kansas, and one of his best friends attended college in Oklahoma.
“I’ve been to Oklahoma many many times,” Fitzgerald, who now lives in Los Angeles, said. “I’ve flown out there and driven out there, and I’m a huge fan of Garth Brooks.”
But you won’t hear Fitzgerald’s character humming “Friends in Low Places.”
“In real life, if you have a killer chasing you, you don’t have time to explain how old you are, where you come from, your parents and all that stuff,” Fitzgerald said. “And that’s why I’m proud of ‘Laid to Rest,’ I think it’s a very accurate portrayal of what you would do in a situation. You’d be very afraid. You’d lock the door. You wouldn’t run up the stairs, you’d run out the door.”
“Laid to Rest” is directed by Robert Hall, who was a special makeup effects creator on “Sarah Connor Chronicles,” as well as a special makeup designer on “Angel” and “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.”
“If you are a horror fan, then this movie will not disappoint,” Fitzgerald said. “The movie revolves around Chrome Skull, the lead, played by Nick Principe, chasing our lead female, who has a case of dementia-slash-amnesia, and doesn’t know who she is or why she’s being chased. You end up finding out why the killer is chasing her towards the end of the movie.”
- by Matthew Price
From Tuesday’s The Oklahoman
FEARnet spotlights Sam Raimi
The video on demand horror network FEARnet is offering a five-film showcase of Sam Raimi horror selections, starting with the classic “Evil Dead 2.” Check back each day with FEARnet for a new release.
Want more Sam Raimi, including some “Spider-Man 4″ news?
Raimi hints in a FEARnet video that Morbius the vampire could be a possible villain for “Spider-Man 4″ in this video.
“The best villains, they have some positive qualities,” Raimi says.
In another video, Raimi discusses coming back to horror for “Drag Me to Hell.”
To see a preview clip for “Drag Me to Hell,” click here.
“Vampire Killers” stakes out World Wide Web
Doug Hutchison’s web series “Vampire Killers” features a group of sexy vampires and those who hunt them. An edited version of episode 2 is embedded above from YouTube. To see the complete series, visit www.vampirekillers.tv. See my interview with Doug Hutchison, who currently stars as Horace Goodspeed in “Lost” and recently played Looney Bin Jim in “Punisher War Zone,” in Friday’s The Oklahoman or online at NewsOK.com.
– Matt Price
NecroVisioN preview, site launch
Developer 1C has launched a site for the upcoming PC game “NecroVisioN” at www.necrovision-game.com. I played a preview of this game at last year’s 1C press preview event, and now seems a good time to share my impressions:
NecroVisioN is a World War I shooter that has horror and fantasy elements. As the game begins, the gamer takes on the role of an American soldier battling Germans.
Soon, though, the game takes a supernatural turn. A war between vampires and demons is spilling to the surface, and your character must fight to save humanity.
The game was visually impressive and action-packed in the preview I played. The design is suitably scary, and the effects were well-done. A nice twist in gameplay allows the gamer to play with a weapon in each hand, if the weapon can be wielded one-handed.
Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, the game melds horror and military adventure. Look for more on NecroVisioN as the release nears.
See the full press release about the new site after the break.
– Matt Price
DVD review: The Substitute
This isn’t the 1996 Tom Berenger film, but instead a Danish import from 2007 directed by Ole Bornedal. “The Substitute” is part of the “Ghost House Underground” series of horror films selected for DVD release by Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi, the producer and director, respectively, of the “Evil Dead” films.
In “The Substitute,” an alien, puzzled by the concept of love, lands on Earth, mimics human form, and becomes a substitute teacher for a group of sixth-graders. She’s horrifically mean to them, and can read their minds. However, when the kids point this out to their parents, the kids are told they are being overly imaginative.
This is the kind of film that could have been made in the U.S. in the 1980s: A non-R rated horror film, like “The Goonies” or “The Monster Squad” that is aimed at the pre-teen audience.
Paprika Steen is suitably menacing as Ulla, the substitute. Jonas Wandschneider plays Carl, the student at the center of the film, already reeling from his mother’s death in a car accident prior to the substitute’s arrival.
“The Substitute” is clever, funny horror that’s almost entirely gore-free. There are some similarities to Robert Rodriguez’s “The Faculty,” but “The Substitute” is a better film.
Producer shares scary films
Producer Rob Tapert knows his scary movies.
He and director Sam Raimi got started together, making the “Evil Dead” films starring Bruce Campbell.
Tapert is currently working to line up films for the “Ghost House” line with Raimi. Eight branded horror movies are out now in the “Ghost House Underground” set: “Dance of the Dead,” “No Man’s Land: The Rise of the Reeker,” “The Substitute,” “Dark Floors,” “Trackman,” “Room 205,” “Last House in the Woods” and “Brotherhood of Blood.”
Tapert recently talked to The Oklahoman about the scariest movies he’d ever seen. On Halloween, if you’re looking for a last-minute rental to scare the pants off of you, here’s three recommended by a master.
The Exorcist (1973)
Two priests attempt to exorcise a demon from a 12-year-old girl. The film was directed by William Friedkin (”The French Connection”) based on the novel by William Peter Blatty.
“I saw ‘The Exorcist’ at the Woods Theater in Detroit, Michigan,” Tapert said. “I had read the book. It was the first time in my life I ever thought, this would make a great movie – and I was a kid, too. And it exceeded my expectations even then, as it was far scarier than the book.”
Halloween (1978)
Michael Myers escapes from an institution and goes on a Halloween killing spree. This film was the debut of Jamie Lee Curtis. Donald Pleasence plays a psychiatrist on the trail of the killer in this film by co-writer and director John Carpenter.
“I saw ‘Halloween’ in a packed house and in an empty house,” Tapert said. “When I saw it in a packed house, that was an experience I had never imagined before. That was a visceral experience.”
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Tobe Hooper’s tale of five friends terrorized by a killer with a chainsaw became the highest grossing independent film of all time. It was based, very loosely, on the crimes of serial killer Ed Gein.
“The first Texas Chainsaw, I saw it at midnight in college, and that was horrifying, that was really scary at the time.”
– Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
