Tekken Tops the 3rd Annual Straight-to-DVD Movie Awards

Video game adaptation Tekken has won Best Picture in the 3rd Annual Straight-to-DVD Movie Awards, also grabbing the best Sci-Fi/Fantasy award. Other winners include Tamer Hassan who won best actor for his performance in Bonded by Blood, which also took Best Director for helmer Sacha Bennett. Romola Garai won Best Actress for her work in Glorious 39. Ballistica took both Worst Picture and Title-S0-Bad-It’s Good kudos.

Here’s the full list:

Best Picture: Tekken

Best Actor: Tamer Hassan, Bonded by Blood

Best Actress: Romola Garai, Glorious 39

Best Director: Sacha Bennett, Bonded by Blood

Worst Picture: Ballistica

Best Comedy: A Matter of Size

Best Horror: Hostel: Part III

Best Action/Thriller: The Man From Nowhere

Best Family Film: Barbie: Princess Charm School

Best Documentary: Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles

Best Sci Fi/Fantasy: Tekken

Title-So-Bad-It’s-Good: Ballistica

The Hunters Reviews: “Unorthodox but Enjoyable”

The Hunters is the debut feature from director Chris Briant, who also stars as Le Saint, a detective who uncovers a human game reserve near an abandoned fort. The reviews are strong, citing the slow build from crime drama into all out horror at the end, bolstered by solid characterizations.  Michael Allen at 28 Days Later Analysis calls it “very compelling,” noting the “strong visual style” and “great intercutting and use of impressionism.”   Horror Asylum’s Ian Martin says Briant “successfully moulds some very believable characters, without needing to feed us too much information on them.” Alice Nelson of DVD Verdict calls the film “unorthodox but quite enjoyable,” adding, “If this film is any indication, Chris Briant has talent as both a director and an actor.” She warns however, that “the synopsis is wrong everywhere you look, even on [the film's] own packaging,” and that Glee star Dianna Agron’s role in the film is grossly overstated in the advertising, “…if you’re expecting to get your Glee fix while watching The Hunters, you’re going to be sorely disappointed…”

In a stark contrast, IMDb users give the film 4.3/10 stars with 751 votes counted.

The Hunters is available now on DVD and Amazon instant video.

Warning: This is a red-band trailer.

Coming Soon: Chop

From the gorehounds at Bloody Disgusting comes Chop, a darkly comedic riff on the “torture porn” genre made famous by the Saw and Hostel franchises. Directed by first-timer Trent Haaga (screenwriter of Deadgirl), Chop stars Troma vet Will Keenan (Tromeo and Juliet, the excellent Terror Firmer) as Lance Reed, a businessman who is kidnapped by a man known only as The Stranger. The Stranger is seeking retribution for a crime that Lance may or may not have committed, and to pry the information out of him he puts him through a series of trials as well as systematically cuts his limbs off until Lance finally admits to the skeletons in his closet.

Chop has gotten favorable reviews thus far, with Jay Seaver of EFilmCritic giving the movie three stars but also cautions that the film is not for everyone and the “combination of slapstick and sadism is something that many fans may not go for”. U.K. horror site Flick Feast praises the acting and comedic timing of Keenan, as well as the work of Haaga in making the sure the film never feels staged in any way despite its lacking budget.

I’m a huge fan of Will Keenan’s work; in the two Troma films I’ve seen him in, he’s been able to rise above the more ridiculous (okay, it’s Troma, all ridiculous) elements and deliver a really good performance, especially in Terror Firmer. And from what I’ve read about Chop, this may just be his best work yet and will hopefully lead him into some more high-profile roles. I’m definitely excited to check this one out, to see how well sadism and black comedy mix. I’m hoping for it to err on the side of great, but you never know; the fact that the trailer all but sells it as a straight horror movie is a bit telling.

Chop arrives on DVD and Video on Demand December 27, 2011 the same day as Hostel Part III, which opens up an intriguing idea for a double feature.

Mirrors 2 and Prowl Nominated for Reaper Awards

Straight-to-DVD sequel Mirrors 2 and bloodsucker-fest Prowl have been nominated for Reaper Awards in the Best Limited Release/Direct-to-Video Title category.  The Reaper Awards, entering their third year, celebrate the best in horror and thrillers on home video and are one of the few awards to have any sort of straight-to-DVD category.  The awards are presented by Home Media Magazine and DreadCentral.com.  Although Mirrors 2 came out in October of last year, it is still eligible since the awards draw their titles from August 2010 through July 31, 2011.  Mirrors and Prowl will take on limited releases Frozen, Black Death, and I Spit on Your Grave as well as motion comic Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8.

You can vote here, but do it by the 16th!

Awards are announced on October 24th.

Coming Soon: Sweatshop

Usually the only thing you have to worry about when throwing a rave in an abandoned warehouse is running out of X, but in Sweatshop—out on DVD September 13th—a larger concern is that dude in a welder’s mask running around smashing people to bits with a big-ass foundry hammer.  Sweatshop is the sophomore effort of writer/director Stacy Davidson, who co-writes here with Ted Geoghegan (Don’t Wake the Dead).  The film stars Ashley Kay and Brent Himes—who had smaller roles in Davidson’s debut, Domain of the Damned—as well as Peyton Wetzel (Psychic Experiment).  And if you’re wondering just how realistic the smashy-smashy is, the film took the Best Special Effects prize at the New York City Horror Film Fest.

Super Hybrid Reivews: “Stupid, but Effective”

While no one seems to really like killer-car flick Super Hybrid, some reviewers at least find a couple of pleasing aspects to the chiller.  FEARnet’s Scott Weinberg finds the premise behind the car—that it is, in fact, a shapeshifting monster capable of turning into any car it wants—original enough, and appreciates the look of the film—”for a silly Canadian low-budget car-monster movie, Super Hybrid is surprisingly nice to look at”—and ultimately finds it “mindless but adequately colorful.”  Mike Long at DVD Sleuth has a similar reaction: “The story is pretty stupid, but the movie is one of the better ‘it came out of nowhere’ low-budget horror movies which I’ve seen lately.” Porfle at HK and Cult Film makes an equally conditional recommendation:

“If you’re in the mood for a low-budget version of ALIEN with a car instead of an alien and a parking garage instead of a spaceship, and you aren’t expecting something on the level of CHRISTINE, you can probably have some fun watching SUPER HYBRID.”

IMDb users aren’t nearly as forgiving.  They give it 3.8/10 stars with 322 votes counted.

Super Hybrid, starring Oded Fehr, is out now.

Bloodrayne: The Third Reich Interviews: Uwe Boll and Natassia Malthe

With the recent release of Bloodrayne: The Third Reich, it’s time to hear once again from the filmmaker critics love to hate, Uwe Boll.  FEARnet has an exclusive interview with the director, in which he talks about the evolution of the Bloodrayne franchise, his response to criticism, and working with Rayne herself, Natassia Malthe.

FEARnet also has an interview with Malthe, in which she discusses how her dance background prepared her for stuntwork and the difficulties of filming a lesbian love scene (Uwe gives his version in his interview).

Fangoria also interviews Malthe, with the added benefit of the interviewer being one of the critics Boll famously boxed in 2006.

Bloodrayne: The Third Reich also stars Michael Pare and Clint Howard.  It’s available now on Blu-ray and DVD.

Watch the Opening Scene of Super Hybrid

Anchor Bay has released the opening scene from their upcoming car-gone-mad horror flick Super Hybrid, available August 23rd on Blu-ray and DVD.  In the film, a shapeshifting monster automobile goes all tear-ass on humanity.  In the opening scene, we see it claim its first victims.  Super Hybrid stars Oded Fehr, Shannon Beckner, and Ryan Kennedy and is helmed by One Missed Call director Eric Vallette.

Watch the clip:

And while we’re at it, here’s the trailer:

Ghost from the Machine Reviews: “An Impressive Debut”

Reviews are generally positive for indie chiller Ghost from the Machine (née Phasma Ex Machina), the debut effort of writer/director Matt Osterman.  The film, which centers on a grieving son’s (Sasha Andreev) efforts to use science to conjure the spirits of his recently departed parents, is being hailed as an “impressive debut” from both Variety’s Dennis Harvey and Twitch’s Andrew Mack.  Mack says that what the film “may lack in budget it more than makes up for with good looks, good story and good chills.”  Harvey adds, “Reminiscent of The Sixth Sense in its subtle creepiness, and indie Primer in its tech-geek angle, pic isn’t a knockout but demonstrates professional skill and psychological acuity.” eFilmCritic’s Jay Seaver finds the plot a bit contrived, but commends the performances, “Andreev is particularly good at portraying this particular form of survivor’s guilt. There’s something a little deadened in his Cody, though not to the point of exaggeration.”

IMDb users are not nearly as enthusiastic.  It currently rates at 2.7/10, with 24 votes counted.

Ghost from the Machine arrives July 26th.  You can pre-order it here.

Ghost From The Machine (2011) Trailer from Phasma Ex Machina on Vimeo.

Forget Me Not Interviews: Writers, Director, Stars

FEARnet did a couple of exclusive interviews with the writers, director, and stars of Forget Me Not back in ’09 when it premiered at Screamfest.  The film, just now coming out straight-to-DVD, centers on a vengeful spirit that attacks a small town during graduation weekend.  FEARnet interviewed co-writer/director Tyler Oliver and co-writer Jamieson Stern, who discussed the origins of the story and their working relationship.  They also interview the leads, Carly Schroeder (Firewall, Mean Creek) and Micah Alberti (American Pie Presents Band Camp), who discuss getting their roles and cast bonding.

Stern has since gone on to co-write High School, a direct-to-video title with Snoop Dogg due next year.  Schroeder will appear in the thriller Creeper alongside Wes Bentley, Christian Slater, and Stephen Dorff later this year.

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