★★☆☆☆ Dark Nature (2009), the directorial feature debut from BAFTA-winning writer Marc de Launay, promises much but ultimately fails to deliver on its lofty ambitions. This Scottish slash fest - starring a cast of virtual unknowns including Len McCaffer, Imogen Toner and Vanya Eadie - plays out like a heavily diluted episode of Midsomer Murders. However, when you consider that the said television show has more life in a typical two-hour episode than this flawed attempt at a people-in-peril chiller manages in its slight 76 minutes, you know that you're in for trouble before the opening credits have even finished rolling.
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- 1/1/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Well, folks, 2010 is officially in the can, and unlike 2009 horror movie fans took it in the can a lot less this year. Sure the last twelve months had its fair share of lows, but it also brought us a couple of new classics. As always we covered every single one of them mostly in great detail for you.
Now, with a fresh movie-watching start before us, we're taking our usual yearly look back at the good, the bad, the Wtf, and everything in between.
Don't just read along, though ... give us your lists in the comments section below. We wanna hear from you regarding what we nailed and what we dropped the ball on, so let the games begin!
Dig on our Best of and Worst of lists for 2010 by following the links below!
[The Buz]
[Thom Carnell]
[The Foywonder]
[Heather Wixson]
[Gareth Jones]
[MattFini]
[Nomad]
[The Woman in Black]
[Uncle Creepy]
[Andrew Kasch]
The Buz's Picks
As per usual I failed this year as a horror fan and a movie fan in general.
Now, with a fresh movie-watching start before us, we're taking our usual yearly look back at the good, the bad, the Wtf, and everything in between.
Don't just read along, though ... give us your lists in the comments section below. We wanna hear from you regarding what we nailed and what we dropped the ball on, so let the games begin!
Dig on our Best of and Worst of lists for 2010 by following the links below!
[The Buz]
[Thom Carnell]
[The Foywonder]
[Heather Wixson]
[Gareth Jones]
[MattFini]
[Nomad]
[The Woman in Black]
[Uncle Creepy]
[Andrew Kasch]
The Buz's Picks
As per usual I failed this year as a horror fan and a movie fan in general.
- 1/2/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Sparrow Movie PosterThe Polish shot, campers-in-the-woods film Sparrow now has a blood red poster, with a tagline. The lines on the graphic read: "If you go down to the woods today you're sure of a big surprise." The teaser seems to echo that, as six friends find a stalker and a machete instead of campfires, ghost stories, and natural landscapes. This film has set a goal of releasing in 2010, possibly September, and this independent film hopes to bring a unique take to the cliche of campers being slaughtered in the woods theme. All the available info', including a second poster - showing the killer, is below.
The synopsis for Sparrow here:
"Six teenage friends, Matt, Cindy, Kirsty, Duncan, Sitcom, and Dawn set off on a camping trip in the forest. However ‘Camp Happy Dreams’ turns out to be ‘Camp Nightmare’ as legend states it’s the site of a presumed historic murder.
The synopsis for Sparrow here:
"Six teenage friends, Matt, Cindy, Kirsty, Duncan, Sitcom, and Dawn set off on a camping trip in the forest. However ‘Camp Happy Dreams’ turns out to be ‘Camp Nightmare’ as legend states it’s the site of a presumed historic murder.
- 9/8/2010
- by 28DaysLaterAnalysis@gmail.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
There are lots of goodies hitting DVD and Blu-ray this week with the standouts being the long-awaited Tell Tale, post-apocalyptic father and son saga The Road, and pick of the week True Blood: The Complete Second Season.
But those are just the high profile releases. There's also the suspenseful, funny, gory Babysitter Wanted, UK thriller Dark Nature, atmospheric supernatural tale Finale, demonic The Landlord, and Someone's Knocking at the Door, which bills itself as a tribute to old fashioned horror films.
Bowing on Blu-ray are City of the Living Dead (available as a special edition DVD as well), 1981's Clash of the Titans, Class of Nuke 'Em High, It Waits, and The Shortcut. Rounding things out is a collector's tin of Machine Girl.
Add in a few more offerings we'll let you guys discover for yourselves, and May 25th offers a pretty damn good haul all in all!
-...
But those are just the high profile releases. There's also the suspenseful, funny, gory Babysitter Wanted, UK thriller Dark Nature, atmospheric supernatural tale Finale, demonic The Landlord, and Someone's Knocking at the Door, which bills itself as a tribute to old fashioned horror films.
Bowing on Blu-ray are City of the Living Dead (available as a special edition DVD as well), 1981's Clash of the Titans, Class of Nuke 'Em High, It Waits, and The Shortcut. Rounding things out is a collector's tin of Machine Girl.
Add in a few more offerings we'll let you guys discover for yourselves, and May 25th offers a pretty damn good haul all in all!
-...
- 5/25/2010
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
DVD Playhouse—May 2010
By
Allen Gardner
Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Cameron beat his own title as box office champ, set with Titanic over a decade ago, with this eye-popping sci-fi epic about a paraplegic Marine name Sully (Sam Worthington), who takes the form of an “avatar,” or virtual being, to go undercover on the planet Pandora, attempting to infiltrate the native Na’vi to gather intelligence that will aid a joint corporate and military operation to rape the planet of its natural resources, destroying its indigenous population in the process. When Sully suddenly “goes native,” he locks horns with the company CEO (Giovanni Ribisi) and his gung-ho commanding officer (Stephen Lang, in a wonderful, scenery-chewing turn from a long-underrated actor). Thought of by many scholars and film buffs as a “game-changer” as much as the first Star Wars film was—and they may be right. While Cameron’s politically-correct...
By
Allen Gardner
Avatar (20th Century Fox) James Cameron beat his own title as box office champ, set with Titanic over a decade ago, with this eye-popping sci-fi epic about a paraplegic Marine name Sully (Sam Worthington), who takes the form of an “avatar,” or virtual being, to go undercover on the planet Pandora, attempting to infiltrate the native Na’vi to gather intelligence that will aid a joint corporate and military operation to rape the planet of its natural resources, destroying its indigenous population in the process. When Sully suddenly “goes native,” he locks horns with the company CEO (Giovanni Ribisi) and his gung-ho commanding officer (Stephen Lang, in a wonderful, scenery-chewing turn from a long-underrated actor). Thought of by many scholars and film buffs as a “game-changer” as much as the first Star Wars film was—and they may be right. While Cameron’s politically-correct...
- 5/18/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Only one genre related Blu-ray hits stores this week -- Escape from L.A. -- but a decent crop of DVDs accompanies it, including the documentary to end all documentaries, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy.
In addition we get a couple of two-packs, Pulse/Sick Nurses and Midnight Movie/Killer Movie. I find the latter pairing interesting -- and helpful -- as I've never quite been able to remember which movie is which when it comes to those two flicks. There's also an odd three-pack: Severed: Forest of the Dead/Shallow Ground/The Rage.
Now that Paul Wesley is on everyone's radar thanks to "The Vampire Diaries", his previous brief outing as an angel in TV's "Fallen" has of course hit DVD. The pilot for another failed TV show, "Virtuality", also comes out on disc this week.
Lionsgate is finally releasing Cold Storage, UK "shocker" Dark Nature is a welcome visitor to our shores,...
In addition we get a couple of two-packs, Pulse/Sick Nurses and Midnight Movie/Killer Movie. I find the latter pairing interesting -- and helpful -- as I've never quite been able to remember which movie is which when it comes to those two flicks. There's also an odd three-pack: Severed: Forest of the Dead/Shallow Ground/The Rage.
Now that Paul Wesley is on everyone's radar thanks to "The Vampire Diaries", his previous brief outing as an angel in TV's "Fallen" has of course hit DVD. The pilot for another failed TV show, "Virtuality", also comes out on disc this week.
Lionsgate is finally releasing Cold Storage, UK "shocker" Dark Nature is a welcome visitor to our shores,...
- 5/3/2010
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
After last week's Avatar feeding frenzy, there aren't too many high-profile releases hitting stores this week, but the good news is there are a handful of limited release films that have finally found their way to DVD and Blu-ray. It's Complicated starring Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep is the one mainstream title out today, but beyond that we've got Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the sequel to Pierre Morel's French parkour action flick District B13: Ultimatum, and Oliver Hirschbiegel's Five Minutes of Heaven, plus The Descent: Part 2 and the horror spoof Transylmania. Blu-ray releases include Traffic, Armageddon, Dune and a Criterion edition of Ang Lee's Ride with the Devil, while TV on DVD picks include the first two seasons of the updated post-apocalyptic BBC series Survivors. See anything worth buying or renting? It's Complicated [1] (+ Blu-ray [2]) The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus [3] (+ Blu-ray [4]) The Descent: Part 2...
- 4/27/2010
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Director: Marc de Launay.
Writer: Eddie Harrison.
Dark Nature was previewed here February 16th and director Marc de Launay (Winning Streak) has forwarded a copy here, courtesy of Mandragora Productions (Dark Nature Preview). The film was shot in Scotland and Launay describes the film as "an eco-thriller [that] took inspiration from the zeitgeist of 1970's productions like Deliverance" (Dark). Shot on a budget, Dark Nature envisions an earth hell bent on man's removal for the destruction of her once healthy landscapes. Killers change, but the thrilling nature of the film stays throughout.
There is a virus in the air that infects the living with murderous impulses. Soon, loved ones kill loved ones in an unnatural shift from man vs. nature to nature vs. man. The only questions are who is next, and will the virus stop? Fans will have to to check out Launay's film to find those answers, but there...
Writer: Eddie Harrison.
Dark Nature was previewed here February 16th and director Marc de Launay (Winning Streak) has forwarded a copy here, courtesy of Mandragora Productions (Dark Nature Preview). The film was shot in Scotland and Launay describes the film as "an eco-thriller [that] took inspiration from the zeitgeist of 1970's productions like Deliverance" (Dark). Shot on a budget, Dark Nature envisions an earth hell bent on man's removal for the destruction of her once healthy landscapes. Killers change, but the thrilling nature of the film stays throughout.
There is a virus in the air that infects the living with murderous impulses. Soon, loved ones kill loved ones in an unnatural shift from man vs. nature to nature vs. man. The only questions are who is next, and will the virus stop? Fans will have to to check out Launay's film to find those answers, but there...
- 3/28/2010
- by Michael Ross Allen
- 28 Days Later Analysis
It's that time again. Another big horror release - this time, the long-awaited remake of George Romero's The Crazies - is upon us and we're looking to hear what you thought of the film. Use the comment boards below to spew that opinion of yours. Keep it clean, keep it intelligent and, please, respect those who read the site and keep it spoiler-free (or put up an appropriate warning). Coverage roundup: Review | The Challenges & Dark Nature of Breck Eisner's The Crazies | Set Report | Director Breck Eisner Interview | Timothy Olyphant Interview | Radha Mitchell Interview | Joe Anderson Interview | Danielle Panabaker Interview | Behind the FX with Robert Hall | Video Interviews With Olyphant & Pannabaker | Video Interviews With Mitchell & Anderson...
- 2/26/2010
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Dark Nature was shot in the rolling foothills of Scotland and the film is a hilarious turn on the routine slasher film. Cat and mouse chases abound, yet Dark Nature is more than blood and guts. A review from the Scottish Daily states that the screenplay is excellent and sure to develop a "cult following" (Daily). The film also quirts "rivers of raspberry sauce [blood]" and two early reviews appear satisfied with Marc De Launay's independent venture. The film also has comedic elements, with a family looking for a relaxing time only to find knife wounds and maniacs on the loose (Daily). The film has made its way to North American markets quickly and Dark Nature will be available in multiple formats April 27th.
The synopsis/pitch for the feature here:
"Dark Nature's story revolves around a family holiday gone wrong, as a mother and daughter's trip to an...
The synopsis/pitch for the feature here:
"Dark Nature's story revolves around a family holiday gone wrong, as a mother and daughter's trip to an...
- 2/16/2010
- by Michael Ross Allen
- 28 Days Later Analysis
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