Wednesday, April 21, 2010

International House of Horrors


Mmmmm... unexplained Halloween pancakes!

This post is actually about foreign films. Or, more explicitly, foreign Horror movies. Hence, the "International" which led to the bad pun, which resulted in a picture of a rather skillfully poured skull and jack-o-lantern pancakes, even though this post has has nothing to do with Halloween.

See, that rambling nonsense above is either my own pathetic attempt at Stream-of-Consciousness; an excuse to post a seemingly random picture which has no significance other than as a very bad pun; or proof that I got the keys from the night guard after I slipped a week's worth of my sedatives into his coffee all those years ago... Huh? What? Oh... sorry.

Anyway, I've been coming across more and more clips and trailers for Horror from Europe, Asia and elsewhere that looks as intriguing as (and often more original and interesting than) almost anything Americans are making (Sam Raimi or Michael Dougherty, not withstanding). This post started thanks to a link sent to me by my buddy Sean down in D.C. of a short French horror film (which you can see as the Zombie Clip of the Week on this week's Zombie Zone). So I'd like to share some trailers you may or may not have seen, for movies of which you may or may not have heard.

First up, from France is la Horde, a movie I know I've mentioned at least once. This Tarantino-inspired movie starts out as what looks like a bad-ass caper movie and quickly degenerates into a bad-ass zombie movie. Check it out:



Damn! It's Die Hard or Live Dead!* Dawn of the Living Dead Dozen? Zombie Fiction? Okay, I'll stop. It sort of looks awesome, doesn't it? No word on a U.S. release...

i09 linked to this haunting post-apocalyptic gem from Israeli film student Dan Sachar. When It Will Be Silent is both achingly beautiful and heart-breaking. I can't wait to see what he does with a budget.

When it Will Be Silent (כשיהיה דומם) from Dan Sachar on Vimeo.



Mutants is yet another French zombie flick that hasn't seen U.S. release, which makes me sad because this trailer makes Mutants look awesome, as well. There are no subtitles here, but you really don't need them. You know the drill, by now.



Yikes!

Spanish director Juame Balaguero picks up where his original left off in [Rec]2, as a tactical team enters the building to take on the rabid zombies inside:



The sequel to Quarantine, the serviceable American remake of [Rec], is going in a different direction, taking place at an airport, I believe I read.

Here's a film about which I know nothing, but looks slick as all get out. The trailer for Thai horror film 9 Wat (Secret Sunday) has an almost Lynch-like vibe to it, contrasting and combining the mundane with the surreal most effectively:



Literally translated, "9 Wat" is "9 Temples" in English, so I really don't understand why the American title is Secret Sunday. Did the distributors think Americans are so stupid we would think 9 Temples was a religious picture?

Of course, it goes the other way around, and we will soon have the American version of 2008's Best Horror Movie. Let Me In stars Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass); Richard Jenkins (The Visitor; "Six Feet Under") and the curiously hot Elias Koteas (Shutter Island; The Thin Red Line). Directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), Let Me In has the challenge of translating a very effective Norwegian horror film into very effective American horror film. If Moretz is as good as she was in Kick-Ass, then I have hope. Here's the trailer for the original:



Interestingly, the newly revived British House of Horror, Hammer, is listed as the film's distributor, so it may be just a little less American than we thought...

I'm sure there are plenty more, and I'll report the ones that look interesting to me (as if you care what interests me - honestly, the gall of us bloggers to assume you actually care about our opinions). I think I'm overdue for a Forgotten Gems tomorrow night, on a film I came across while researching this post (yes, believe it or not, I do research stuff before talking about it).

More, anon.
Prospero

* I hereby claim that title now and forever, by the way... I can see Bruce Willis taking on a horde of hungry zombie gang-members now...

Oh, and by the way... Hogjaw.

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