The great thing about these types of shorts is that you can’t ask for much, but sometimes you get a surprise and sometimes they go somewhere. While some elements are underdeveloped, the idea is often there, and that’s what makes them awesome. In BBQ Massacre, we have four friends out camping with an RV, a lot of shit jokes, and an uninvited guest. I’ll leave it at that and let you watch the 8:50 minute short. I will say, however, that there’s a connection to Hannibal.

Bryan Wolford is also behind the short films Myctophobia, Shivers Down Your Spine: Bait, Whisper, and Shadows. BBQ Massacre stars Melissa Chirellowood, Steve Christopher, Darrin Ford, Brittany Lynch, and Gary Taylor.

Rock Hard \m/

This film by Christian Bisceglia (writer/director) and Ascanio Malgarini (director) damn near fell into the “pass” bin. Originally titled Fairytale, The Haunting of Helena got off to a bad start. There are a few reasons for this: It moves too fast in terms of plot and story, which leads to dismal character development, and then Bisceglia and Malgarini try to scare you in every scene with creepy music and a number of potential jump scares. They went at it, and the went at it aggressively, unfortunately they overdid it.

These points alone could potentially turn away most audiences. Add in the low-budget look of the film, and you might end up with 10% of your original audience.

When I said the film moves fast, I’m talking Flash fast. The Haunting of Helena got to the haunting within five minutes; most films take 20 minutes to introduce you to the challenge faced by your protagonists.

SPOILERS AHEAD

To summarize the film, we have Sophia (Harriet MacMasters-Green), a recently divorced single mother. She and her daughter, Helena (Sabrina Jolie Perez), have just moved to a new apartment in Italy, while her father, Robert (Jarreth J. Merz), takes up residence in Cancun. While moving in, Sophia finds an old armoire in the building’s storage area and has it moved into their apartment. The armoire and the apartment are haunted and soon Helena begins to feel the effects, which includes an irrational obsession with losing and acquiring teeth, resulting in institutionalization…

And I won’t ruin the rest of the movie for you, because it’s the second half of The Haunting of Helena that truly excels. Two-thirds of the film plods along in a fairly predictable manner (the filmmakers really didn’t even make an attempt to conceal what needed to be done), but toward the end, you get jerked in an entirely new direction with no warning. In most cases this would be cause to destroy a movie, but it totally works here and is actually the movie’s saving grace.

While you’ll never empathize for any of these characters, you truly are just an observer, there is a scene that reminded me of The Exorcist, when Regan is being examined and studied in the hospital with her mother at her side. There’s something similar here, but like I said, you won’t care.

There are a couple of other points that stood out for me: the creepy neighbor was humorously named “Mr. Ferri”; what do bugs and mosquitos have to do with this ghost’s haunting?; and why didn’t Sophia climb over that damn piano instead of trying to squeeze between it and the wall?

The Verdict: 2.5 out of 5 stars

If you live for haunting/ghost films, then you should see The Haunting of Helena. If you don’t, then don’t. I get that this is a foreign film, which often have different ways of telling a story, but I felt it just had too many issues to fall in love with it. Still, there is a scene in it that won’t quickly be forgotten by horror fans, which is to say that there are redeeming qualities to the film… and it does get better by the end.

Rock Hard \m/

Yell! Rating (x/5 Skulls):

2.5 out of 5 stars

Year Released:

21 June 2013 (limited); 18 June 2013 (VOD)

Directors:

Christian Bisceglia, Ascanio Malgarini

Cast/Crew

Harriet MacMasters-Green, Sabrina Jolie Perez, Jarreth J. Merz

Genre

Horror, Ghost, Thriller

Official URL:

The Haunting of Helena

‘Sin City: A Dame To Kill For’ Release Date Pushed Way Back

If you’re looking forward to Sin City: A Dame To Kill For this October, forget it. The release date for Robert Rodriguez’s sequel to the visually stunning Sin City has been pushed way back. Sorry to break the news to you this afternoon, but the film won’t be out in theaters until August 22, 2014. Details are limited at the moment, leaving me as confused as you.

As far as I know, it could be production issues, shooting conflicts with the huge cast of high-profile stars, or maybe a marketing issue. Honestly, anything could be the reason with a film of this caliber. At least Rodriguez’ next film, Machete Kills, is still on pace for release in September.

Like we previously said, the cast of Sin City: A Dame To Kill For is mega huge, it includes:

Eva Green as “Ava Lord”
Mickey Rourke as “Marv”
Jessica Alba as “Nancy”
Bruce Willis as “Hartigan”
Rosario Dawson as “Gail”
Jaime King as “Goldie/Wendy”
Josh Brolin as “Dwight”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as “Johnny”
Dennis Haysbert as “Manute”
Christopher Meloni as “Mort”
Jeremy Piven as “Bob”
Jamie Chung as “Miho”
Ray Liotta as “Joey”
Juno Temple as “Sally”
Julia Garner as “Marcy”

Look for more details to be announced shortly.

You’ll be seeing lots of Vin Diesel this summer; he has Furious 6 in theaters now, it was also announced that he will be returning as Xander Cage in Triple X, and the third installment in The Chronicles of Riddick film franchise is just around the corner.

Riddick: Rule the Dark, a sci-fi thriller, is finally coming out before the end of the summer and it’s the one everyone should be looking forward to. Why? Well, first, he doesn’t look like a douchebag in it. Second, his character is far more intriguing than all the others. Just look how ultra cool Diesel is in this new glossy poster designed exclusively for the San Diego Comic-Con.

By the way, he will be making an appearance at the Comic-Con annual event next month, plus a new international trailer with additional footage is currently circulating to help promote the film even further.

You can check out the slick new trailer right above, and make sure you mark September 6th in your calender for Riddick: Rule the Dark.

It’s not to be missed!

The production was clearly intense, and it has generated much buzz for the film. Above, you can watch two great clips that contain over 10 minutes of select B-roll footage of some of these chaotic scenes courtesy of Daily Dead.

World War Z opens in theaters this Friday, June 21, 2013.

Curse Of Chucky

A rumored release date is currently circulating for the sixth installment of the Child’s Play saga, Curse of Chucky. According to a number of horror sources, including Bloody-Disgusting and Shock Till You Drop, Chucky is on his way to Blu-ray/DVD again on September 26th. However, this release date for Curse of Chucky is unofficial, and is likely to change, but you can still expect for the fall. Curse of Chucky will also be available on VOD and may get a limited theatrical run around the same time.

Before those official details get announced, we have some behind-the-scene pics from Curse of Chucky to share with you right below.

You can also get a better look at the new Chucky on the cover of the soundtrack released a few weeks ago by the film’s star, Fiona Dourif.

Behind-The-Scenes Pics from Curse of Chucky

Now, the journey continues with Nicholas Burton, an American turbine engineer located in India rather than the African setting of the first film. He must cross the ferociously infested nation to save his local wife, Ishani Sharma, and unborn child from the living dead before it’s too late. Sure, it may sound like a typical search and rescue type of horror film, but if you have seen the first installment, then you already know The Ford Brothers have the talent to deliver a kick-ass and scary sequel with slow zombies. Not that fast running zombie shit that director George A. Romero and makeup artist Tom Savini clearly hate.

The Dead 2: India will premiere as the opening film of Film4 FrightFest 2013. The news was announced ahead of the festival’s full program, which will be officially revealed at 2:00 p.m. on June 28th.

Directors Howard and Jon Ford had the following to say about the annual festival that runs from August 22-26, 2013, in the Empire Cinema, Leicester Square, London.

“It’s truly an honor to be the opening film – mind-blowing! Being at FrightFest for The Dead was such an incredible experience for us and one of the highlights of our whole journey with the film. It’s an awesome event with a brilliant crowd and we both sincerely cannot wait to see you all there!”

This time the clip is completely safe for work, no gore or blood, just plain old talk about the “Bayou Butcher”. So enjoy!

Hatchet III will premiere on VOD and digital download, including select theaters on June 14, 2013.

Unfortuntely, an official date isn’t attached to it yet, but NBC promised to pick up Hannibal some time in between January and May, or later. So it’s definitely coming, but before we think about the following season, let’s finish off the first with two more episodes left.

We have a brief promo above of what’s coming up tonight. Take a look!

Hannibal Episode 12 – RELEVÉS

After Georgia Madchen (Ellen Muth) dies in an explosion, Will (Hugh Dancy) asserts that the copy cat killer is still alive. The BAU team links Abigail (Kacey Rohl) to the Minnesota Shrike victims and plan to arrest her only to find Will has checked her out of the hospital. Will’s hallucinations intensify, causing him to lose Abigail in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Hannibal’s (Mads Milkkelson) subtle manipulation convinces Jack (Laurence Fishburne) that Will is capable of murder. Hannibal makes an astonishing admission to Abigail. Gillian Anderson, Lara Jean Chorostecki, guest.

Now, get ready for The Frankenstein Theory. This film, from the creators of The Last Exorcism and directed by Andrew Weiner, had its video premiere on March 1, 2013, in the U.S., and on July 2, 2013, it will be made available in Canada as well.

Yes, the trailer looks awesome, even if it echoes what we saw in the Norwegian film, Trollhunter.

The Frankenstein Theory description:

The Frankenstein Theory asks, “What if the most chilling novel of all time was actually based on a true account of a horrific experiment gone awry?” When he is suspended from his university job for his outlandish ideas, Professor John Venkenheim leads a documentary film crew to the rim of the Arctic Circle in a desperate effort to vindicate his academic reputation. His theory: Mary Shelley’s ghastly story, Frankenstein, is, in fact, a work of non-fiction disguised as fantasy.

In the vast, frozen wilderness, Venkenheim and his team search for the legendary monster, a creature mired in mystery and drenched in blood. What they find is an unspeakable truth more terrifying than any fiction… a nightmare from which there is no waking.

Rock Hard \m/