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| ©. 24Framespersecond.net - for Asian, world, and horror movies news and reviews 2006. All Rights Reserved. Content from this site may be used if accreditation is given. Stills/images etc are copyright to their respective creators, and no breach of copyright is deliberately intended. |
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The
Korean version of the website for the upcoming Japanese Horror
‘Otoshimono - Ghost Train’ has gone live, and
it’s a tad more graphic with the scares than its Japanese
counterpart.The main trailer on the site has a few snippets
of extra footage. There are also some TV spots to be seen.
These are mostly repeats of parts of the main trail, but TV
spot 3 is worth a look.
Alfonso
Cuaron Director of ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban’ heads off in very different direction creatively
with his latest project based on the novel by PD James ‘Children
of Men’. Synopsis: Children of Men envisages a world
one generation from now that has fallen into anarchy on the
heels of an infertility defect in the population. The year
is 2027 and the world's youngest citizen has just died at
18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction.
Set against a backdrop of London torn apart by violence and
warring nationalistic sects, Children of Men follows disillusioned
bureaucrat Theo (
Just
turned up what looks like a great new frightener from Japan.
Otoshimono aka 'Ghost Train' follows some of the same traditional
ideas of Japanese ghost story telling, (yes you guessed it
there's a girl in it with long black hair) but from the trailer
at least this appears to very well produced, and a cut above
a lot of Horror films that have come out of Japan in the last
12 months. Story: On her way to school, high school girl
Nana sees a train accident. But this is just the beginning
of the nightmare that awaits her. Nana and her friend Kanae
come across various bizarre phenomena, including red fingerprints
and a female spirit who "lives" on the station platform.
One day, Nana's younger sister is lost, and the only possibility
seems to be that she had been taken by these spirits. The
missing tracks. The predictions that a mysterious woman makes.
Weird incidents which happen one after another. Entangled
series of frights and mysteries lead to a shocking climax.
The film is due out in Japan in Sept. 'Ghost
Train'
We first
covered news on ‘30 days of night' back in 
Well
this certainly seems to be the week for ‘Power of the
Dark Crystal’ news. A Presentation reel shown at Comic-Con
2006 has turned up on Youtube showing the Director Genndy
Tartakovsky talking about the genesis of the original film,
and the creative process going into his new production of
"Power of The Dark Crystal". Tartakovsky who originally
earned notoriety for creating the frantic children's show
"Dexter's Laboratory" and the highly stylized, ultra-violent
series "Samurai Jack" — recently gained mainstream
prominence when he was selected by George Lucas to create
a cartoon series to fill the gaps between the second and third
episodes of the "Star Wars" prequels. Being Youtube
the video and audio quality isn’t the best, but you
can hear Tartakovsky’s commentary. Keep an eye out near
the end for the money shot, for load of new concept art for
the film. Check it out from the link below.
Now
we often feel the need to dip a toe into the waters (if the
film warrants it) of independent horror. It’s certainly
the case of the upcoming movie from Nott Entertainment. With
Its cracking tag line of “Kill the Fresh Ones First”
‘The quick and the undead’ seems to have all the
makings of great looking indy Zombie survival movie. Synopsis:
Eighty-Five years ago, a viral outbreak turned three quarters
of the world’s population into the walking dead. Now
in this new west, bounty hunters must hunt the undead for
gold. Join us in a world where the good are bad, and the bad
are even worse. If you are not quick, you are the undead.
Great stuff! 
‘Scared’
at the start lulls you into a false sense of security. At
first your think you’re in for a Thai teen University
sex romp, but as the film progresses we soon head off in a
far bloodier direction. Synopsis: During the orientation week
of a university, seniors manage a trip to a forest for first
year students. But when they arrive at the checkpoint in the
front of the forest, a park warden refuses to allow them to
enter because of the danger of incoming bad weather. One bus
turns to head home. Those occupants in the other bus agree
to take on a strange local man as a guide after he promises
to show them an alternate route, one that involves taking
the bus over a narrow, ancient wooden bridge. The bridge implodes
under the weight of the bus, blood, panic and severed limbs
let fly. As the surviving students recover their senses, they
soon realize they are left stranded in a forest full of lethal
traps with no way of sending word that they need help. Walking
through the forest they find a deserted town. At this mysterious
place the horror begins in earnest, as the students are killed
off one by one by forces unseen. Check out a review of 'Scared'
over at the friend of our site 'Blackhole reviews' 
Independent
film director J T Seaton's whose most well known work to date
is '
'Hometown
legend' is a new Korean horror based on a well known television
series of the same name. The series is now ready to hit the
big screen, produced by Studio Box and first-time director
Kim Ji-hwan. The films story revolves around a man who falls
in love with twin sisters, but the girls jealous rivalry over
the man leads to a tale of death and revenge from beyond the
grave. The movie is due for release in August, by Prime Entertainment.
With
Pan’s Labyrinth is done and dusted the Mexican director
has turned his thoughts to his next project… with at
least two movies vying for the privilege. The two main contenders
are Hellboy 2 or an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's , 'At The
Mountains Of Madness', the novel about an Antarctic expedition
which happens upon an ancient and terrifying civilization.
Del Toro isn’t sure which one will be first, he revealed
at a Pan’s Labyrinth panel at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Hellboy 2 is the one he’d probably wish to press ahead
with, but with the movie currently searching for a studio
(Sony dropped it, and Paramount are also apparently making
very non committal noise re the film), del Toro is pessimistic
of its immediate chances. 'At The Mountains Of Madness', set
up at Warner's, has a much better chance of going first –
del Toro was scouting locations in last week and was effusive
about the movie’s potential. “Oh man, you should
see the maquettes,” he told the audience. “They
are so beautiful, you will be crying and jerking yourself
off in a corner at the same time.” Personally I would
love to see him have a try at Lovecraft. There have been few
if any decent adaptations to film of his novels.The '
As
we didn't cover this when it first came out in Japan I thought
we would give it an airing as its shortly due for its Korean
release. Yukihiko Tsutsumi's 'Forbidden Siren' or 'Sairen'
is
based on the PlayStation 2 game Siren 2 (Sairen 2). The screenplay
was written by Naoya Takayama. Synopsis: A writer moves
to a remote island with his daughter and young son. After
settling into their new home, a neighbor arrives to welcome
them and give them a breakdown of the local rules; most important:
do not under any circumstance go outside when the island's
siren starts wailing. 
Yes
indeed the first full trailer for Darren Aronofsky's sci-fi
epic 'The fountain' has arrived, which confirms just how visually
stunning this movie is going to be.
The
English language final cinema version of the poster (left)
for the slick and often quite chilling new French thriller
'13 Tzameti' has appeared. This gritty film noir is due out
in the States on the 28th July. If you haven't watched the
trailer for this stylish movie yet I'd recommend you go check
it out.
On
a weekend boating excursion, husband and wife, Rob and Pia
become lost in a heavy storm and end up in the most unlikely
place – a desolate swamp surrounded by thick forest.
With their boat in disarray their only solution is to look
for help or seek shelter of some kind. They finally come across
a decrepit house and barn with no one home. However, there
are definite signs of the house being inhabited, and the enormous
crop of marijuana in the barn suggests the homeowners may
not welcome their presence. Even worse, there is no telephone
or means of communication to the outside world. But when the
deranged, redneck owners, Brett, Jimmy and their even more
terrifying father Poppy return, Rob and Pia realize a fear
far beyond anything they have ever known. 
Well
isn't that always the way. No sooner have we announced the
exclusive discovery of the first trailer for Christopher
Smith's biting horror satire 'Severance', we also now find
they have brought the official site online. Not much content
as yet, but the trailer is now available for viewing in a
far clearer Quicktime version.
Director
Ekachai UEKRONGTHAM (left) has achieved phenomenal success
for his debut feature 
Its
funny sometimes where you find information about a film. In
this case, a far more detailed synopsis for the upcoming science
fiction Zombie flick 'Mutant Chronicles' has turned up on
the local government website for the isle of Man. For those
who's knowledge of British geography is a little shaky, the
isle of Man is small island off the west coast of the UK.
They are apparently filming some of the large exterior battle
scenes for the film there, hence the mention on the site.
On reading the synopsis I have to say I'm even more encouraged.
The story really sounds quite promising. Check it out for
yourself 
Yes
indeed we've been the first to turn up the trailer for Christopher
Smith's biting horror satire 'Severance', and bloody (in more
ways than one) good it looks too! The film tells the story
of international arms dealers Palisade Defence who reward
its six-member sales division with a weekend team-building
retreat in the mountains of Eastern Europe. However, the agenda
for their trip quickly changes when the group finds themselves
set upon by a renegade band of war-crazed soldiers seeking
revenge. Forced to defend themselves, the group of corporate
execs finds that while 'there's no I in team', there are a
couple in 'kill or be killed. Severance opens in the UK in
August. From the link to Pathe films select 'Coming soon'
, 'Severance', then finally 'trailer'. Enjoy! 
New
from director KUROSAWA Kiyoshi (who's most well known work
to date is '
The
website for 'Dog
bites Dog' the upcoming hardcore
Hong Kong gangster film has gone live. Described on 'kaijushakedown'
"as like swallowing
a handful of broken glass" we can I think safely say
this film wont be pulling many punches. No new trailer as
yet, but there's a ton of stills to feast your eyes on. Also
the the backing music for the site is cool. Suggests the soundtrack
for the movie might very well be worth a listen too. Bonus!
With
the amount of comic to film adaptations coming out these days
we could be excused for suffering from a certain amount of
Comic book fatigue. But every once in a while one comes along
that catches the attention more than usual. As with 'Tag'.
Universal Pictures has acquired the rights to the horror comic
book published by Boom! Studios. The Hollywood Reporter says
Marc Platt will produce the adaptation along with Ross Richie
and Andrew Cosby via their Boom Entertainment Inc. 'Tag' is
set in motion when an average Joe strolls down the street
after a fight with his girlfriend when a random stranger tags
him, handing off an ancient pagan curse. He begins to literally
die, seeing his body begin to decompose every day before his
very eyes. Cursed, he must either surrender or find the next
victim to tag. Now that is having a bad day! You can get a
bit more of the background story over at Boom Studios website.
And
full of interesting things to see it is to! Check out the
great stills gallery and a far better quality trailer.
Wesley
Snipes might have hung up his big Blade coat for now –
but that doesn’t mean he’s giving up the fight
with the undead altogether.Far from it – he’s
just signed up to the lead in Andrew Goth’s Gallowwalker.
Snipes will play Kaos, a mysterious gunman who finds his life
becomes a little supernaturally complicated when his nun mother
(no, really) breaks her faith with God to save his life. Sadly
for them, her actions put a curse on Kaos, which results in
every one of the victims who died by his gun coming back to
exact revenge. Don't you hate it when that happens. Goth is
re-teaming with scribe Joanne Reay, who wrote his last dance
with the dead, the Luke Goss-starring Cold And Dead. He’ll
start shooting (as will Wesley) in Namibia next month. 
The
English language version of the website for the upcoming Spanish
Thriller starring Gary Oldman has just gone live. Set in the
Summer of 1978 'The Backwoods' tells the story of an English
couple Lucy (Virginie Ledoyen) and Norman (Paddy Considine)
who are going through a difficult patch in their relationship.
They decide to spend some time at the house that their friends
Paul (Gary Oldman) and his wife Isabel (Aitana Sanchez-Gijón)
have bought in the north of Spain. Hidden away in the middle
of a forest, and very much off the beaten track, the house
seems ideal for some peaceful holidays. Their tranquil summer
turns to horror when they discover a girl with horribly mutilated
hands in a house in the forest. The locals aren't happy with
the outsiders interference and for taking the girl from the
house, and soon cultural differences start a whirlpool of
violence between them. 'The Backwoods' apparently received
very mixed reviews at its premiere at Cannes this year, but
I would say it should be worth a watch even if its just to
see Oldman in action. You can check out the new teaser trailer,
on the official site 
Whilst
having a browse seeing what's new in the world of Thai Cinema
this week, I picked up on this good looking new comedy thriller.
'A stranger of mine' is the number one film in Thailand this
week, and its actually from Japan. The Movie covers three
episodes as seen from the viewpoints of five people. Devastated
busninessman 'Miyata' who has lost the love of his life, a
detective who is tired of his job, a Yakuza boss having trouble
running his organization, a woman thrown into despair by a
two-timing fiance, and a con woman who twists men around her
finger - are sandwiched between a short prologue and epilogue.
The relationships between seemingly simple and isolated episodes
begin to surface one after the other as the story progresses,
bringing friendships to light and exposing the complicated
nature of human beings. The film opens in Tokyo on the 16th
July. 
The
English language teaser poster for the slick and often quite
chilling new French thriller '13 Tzameti', has arrived online.
This is due to the movies imminent release in the States on
the 28th July. Synopsis :A clean-faced 20-year-old, Sebastien,
leads an impoverished life with his immigrant family, constantly
struggling to find the money for their next meal. When hired
to repair the roof of the morphine-addicted Godon (Philippe
Passon), Sebastien eavesdrops in on a conversation which appears
to offer a quick and easy solution to his money troubles.
When Godon suddenly falls dead Sebastien decides to follow
the instructions, meant for the recently deceased addict,
in a desperate bid to secure some income for himself and his
family. He then becomes embroiled in what appears to be a
wild goose chase, taking on the identity of Godon and following
a series of clues which lead him ever closer to his impending
fate. The trail eventually leads Sebastien into the heart
of the French countryside and face to face with a ring of
clandestine gamblers who bet on human lives. From this point
on there is no turning back. Check out the the teaser
trailer to see why I call this film chilling. '13
Tzameti' is thoroughly French. Grim, gritty,
and stylish as hell. You can see why it
won the Prize for Best First Feature at the Venice International
Film Festival, and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. '
Death
note the new film based on the Manga of the same name has
been riding high in the Japanese cinema charts since in opened.
From the trailers you can 'see' why, but of course following
what's going on in the dialog for most of us has been a no
no. Now some kind person has subbed the trailer, which make
it a damn sight easier to work out what's going on. 
Now
this upcoming Spanish film does sound very interesting. Virtually
the whole movie was filmed in buildings specially loaned to
the production by the Spanish ministry of defense. 'La Hora
Fria' aka 'The cold hour' tells the story of eight survivors
of a nuclear war who live an isolated near ruined fallout
facility. Unable to leave they live in a perpetual fear, and
their food and medicines are running dangerously low. To find
them must leave the 'safe area'. But outside the safety of
the small zone that is still habitable is a threat of which
they do not even dare to speak off. I love a good sci-fi horror.
So far this sounds like it might well fit the bill. The film
is currently in post production so no website or trailers
as yet. In the mean time we will have to be patient and make
do with some screen shots.
Chinese director
Li Shaohong is set to bring a new psychological horror to
the screen. Li said the theme of the movie is a door, an ordinary
thing in daily life but wherever people go, they have relations
with doors. "Doors not only keep things in but also let
a lot slip out". To prepare for the project, Li spent
a year studying the thriller. "Nowadays audiences are
not easily scared. I originally thought shooting a thriller
was not difficult, but as I understood more about the film,
I was attracted.” The project has also attracted big
hitter support in the form of well-known producer Li Xiaowan,
Berlin Silver Bear photographer Zeng Nianping and heartthrobs
Chen Kun and Huang Jue. Information about the plot is still
proving difficult to find, but the premise sounds interesting.
'The door' is due for release this Halloween. More info as
we get it.
Find
out what's caught our eye from this months new dvd releases
The
first promo stills have started to show up on the net for
Zhang Yimou’s 'House Of Flying Daggers' follow-up 'Curse
Of The Golden Flower.'
Check out the link below for a peek at them.
'Joblo.com'
have picked up on the first trailer for Christian Bale's new
thriller 'Harsh Times'. The film is the directorial debut
of ' 
Yes
indeed the time is nearly upon us!! 'Frightfest' is the UK's
premiere horror venue, running from August 25th to 28th it
will be showcasing some of the best horror from around the
world. Some of the highlights include 'Severance', 'Hatchet',
'Them', and two films I have been itching to see for months!
'The Host' And 'Re-Cycle'. Full details of the fantastic lineup
can been seen on the Frightfest website 
This
great looking Swedish Horror-comedy comes with the intriguing
tag line "One Month ´Til Dawn... " It has
the look of a film that didn't have a huge budget, but what
they did with it seems great! Synopsis: Annika, a medical
doctor and her 17-year old daughter Saga have just moved to
a small cold town far up north, as Annika is going to work
at the hospital there.At her new school Saga meets a bizarre
girl named Vega. Annika
as well soon discovers
things aren't quite right at the hospital either, and
the small community is struck by a series of deaths. And pretty
soon, all hell breaks lose. 
The
website for Marilyn Manson’s upcoming film about Lewis
Carroll is now online. Manson will direct, and the flick is
being produced by Blue Light for Wild Bunch. For those not
familiar with the synopsis: A haunted writer in an isolated
castle is tormented by sleepless nights and visions of a girl
named Alice. He finds himself becoming a symptom of his own
invention. “Now all my nightmares know my name.”
He is Lewis Carroll. Terrified of what waits for him each
night. There is little new content as yet to comment
on, except for a few new stills. But I will say that the image
of the rabbit is really damn creepy!
Yes
indeed you read correctly. A Russian studio has started filming
a (3 part no less) epic of the life of Genghis Khan. What
exactly would Russians know about one of the worlds greatest
conquerors we might ask? Well my knowledge of Russian and
Mongol history could be called shaky to say the
least, but according to the history books in his time Khan
annexed a third of the known world, including a damn big chunk
of Russia. It seems the quickly emerging Russian film industry
is starting to get very clever about where to look for new
material. For this film Director Sergei Bodrov looked in another
direction: not westward, toward Europe or Hollywood, but eastward,
toward Asia. In particular, Mongolia will provide the inspiration
and scenery for his newest project. Titled "Mongol,"
the film is the first part of a projected trilogy about the
13th-century conqueror Genghis Khan. Given the growing success
of Asian films on the global market -- especially movies such
as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero,"
which combined the genres of the action film and the historical
costume drama -- eastward seems like a logical direction.
During a recent interview , Bodrov said that he hoped to duplicate
the success of recent films from Hong Kong and China. "Mongol"
-- which has an impressive budget (for a Russian production)
of between $10 million and $12 million -- is subtitled "Part
One" and planned as the first part of a trilogy. The
first film will follow Genghis through his early years, while
the second will show the period of his conquests and the trilogy
will close with a film about his old age.. An international
cast is being assembled for "Mongol." The Asian-American
actor Channing Tatum ("Coach Carter") will star
in "Part One" as the young Genghis, while Tadanobu
Asano ("Zatoichi") will play his brother. Bodrov
plans to start filming "Mongol" this summer, and
the movie is slated for release in 2007. You can see some
stills from the film