New This Week: Last Exorcism 2, Stoker, Breaking Dawn 2

This week, The Last Exorcism Part II…

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Hack-y Slasher: Nobody Gets Out Alive DVD Review

Nobody Gets Out Alive has a cool title. And that’s about it. The rest is a steady stream of horror clichés that you can see coming from a mile away and that you wish would stay a mile away. Read about it in my review of Nobody Gets Out Alive, which hits DVD on Tuesday, February 26.

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Dark Days for Dark Skies at the Box Office

Even with weak competition that saw the #1 film earn a meager $14 million, Dark Skies couldn't manage even a top-5 spot at the box office in its opening weekend, finishing in sixth place with an estimated $8.85 million. That's the smallest opening of producer Jason Blum's recent horror hits -- including Insidious, Sinister and the Paranormal Activity series -- since the original Paranormal Activity, which opened on just 12 screens in 2009. Still, with Blum's miraculous ability to squeeze high quality out of low budgets (reportedly only around $3.5 million for Dark Skies), his latest endeavor is already profitable and will only rake in more profits in the weeks to come.

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When Signs Met Insidious: Dark Skies Movie Review

Dark Skies isn’t exactly original — think Signs meets Insidious (or perhaps more accurately, Poltergeist) — but it’s another excellent entry in producer Jason Blum’s “suburban horror,” perfectly complimenting Paranormal Activity, Insidious and Sinister. Read about it in my review of Dark Skies.

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Could Halle Berry’s The Call Be Brad Anderson’s Mainstream Breakthrough?

With movies like The Machinist and Session 9 under his belt, director Brad Anderson has been the walking embodiment of cult filmmaking. All but one of his movies have earned both a “Fresh” rating on RottenTomatoes and a 6-plus rating on IMDb (His lowest rated effort, Vanishing on 7th Street, still earned a respectable 52% from critics and 4.9 from viewers.), and yet his highest box office gross to date (his early romantic comedy Next Stop, Wonderland) has been a less-than-whopping $3.4 million. Even his television directorial efforts — Fringe, The Wire, The Killing, Treme, Masters of Horror, Fear Itself — have been more critical or fan darlings than ratings hits. 

Could Halle Berry’s The Call Be Brad Anderson’s Mainstream Breakthrough?

With movies like The Machinist and Session 9 under his belt, director Brad Anderson has been the walking embodiment of cult filmmaking. All but one of his movies have earned both a “Fresh” rating on RottenTomatoes and a 6-plus rating on IMDb (His lowest rated effort, Vanishing on 7th Street, still earned a respectable 52% from critics and 4.9 from viewers.), and yet his highest box office gross to date (his early romantic comedy Next Stop, Wonderland) has been a less-than-whopping $3.4 million. Even his television directorial efforts — Fringe, The Wire, The Killing, Treme, Masters of Horror, Fear Itself — have been more critical or fan darlings than ratings hits. 

Zombieland Show Finds Its Tallahassee

The creators of Amazon’s previously announced Zombieland series have filled the last of the four major roles from the film — that of Tallahassee, played in the movie by Woody Harrelson. Kirk Ward will take on the part of the tough-talking veteran zombie killer, meaning all of the roles in the series will be played by little-known actors and actresses — the opposite strategy of rival streaming service Netflix, whose original programming features notable names like Kevin Spacey (House of Cards), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Famke Janssen (Hemlock Grove) and Steven Van Zandt (Lilyhammer). Let’s hope the money Amazon saves in stars’ salaries will go to good use in bolstering the zombie apocalypse setting of the series.

Get Hypnotized by Cult

Because one network television series about a demented cult (namely, The Following) isn’t enough, The CW presents Cult! The show features the uniquely “meta” concept of a TV series called Cult being a front for an actual cult (or at least that what I’ve gathered thus far), with the action of the show-within-the-show mirroring the action in the show. Confusing? It might help to just check it out. Cult premiered last night, but if you missed it, you can catch the premiere episode online, and new episodes continue on Tuesdays at 9:00 PM ET/PT. Check out my rundown of the main characters and episode summaries to get the scoop on who’s who and what’s what.

New This Week: Dark Skies, Sinister, The Factory, Lake Placid 4, Hollow

In a busy week, Dark Skies receives a wide theatrical release, while home video releases are led by Sinister, Lake Placid: The Final Chapter, The Factory, Hollow, Riddle …

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