What's Happening In Horror

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2011 is turning out to be a pretty good year for horror movies so far, isn't it? I had a couple problems with Scream 4 but mostly I enjoyed the experience. Same with James Wan's Insidious, although I feel less guarded with my enthusiastic recommendation of that one (even if "The Further"'s a wee bit silly). I Saw the Devil (did I really never review that movie? WTF?) came and went a couple of months ago but man do some of its images linger in the mind. I'll have to give it another watch and write something up at some point, it demands it.

And then tomorrow Stake Land, Jim Mickle's post-vamp-apocalyptic throat-ripper, which is really quite good too, opens here in NYC. The following Friday it'll start playing On Demand, as well as moving to a few other cities around the country. You should catch it. I'm not the only person saying it's good! It's gotten very good reviews, see! If you care about seeing smart, original horror films that pay attention to their characters (sad that that's something I've got to point out as daring these days, but there it is), then seek it out. It has Kelly McGillis as a nun, for god's sake! Ya can't go wrong with that. There's another free screening tonight in Brooklyn, if you're around here. The director will be there for a Q&A. 

Oh and if you haven't checked out the so-called "character prequels" that they've been releasing for the film, head over to Apple to watch them. One's directed by Larry "Wendigo" Fessenden, and another's directed by Danielle "star of Hatchet and Hatchet 2 and four Halloween movies" Harris. She's in Stake Land herself, but her short film's not about her character I don't think. I was trying to hold off on posting about these, there's supposed to be another one showing up (the one about McGillis's nun character) that's directed by JT Petty, who you've heard me talk about here before. He directed S&Man (my review) and The Borrowers and is a talented young horror filmmaker in my opinion - I'm psyched to see what he'll do with Stake Land's world. That one's not up yet but it'll probably be up soon, since the film is officially out as of tomorrow. And then there was that creepy-ass video I posted last week. It got one of my favorite comments ever!
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