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Showing posts from September, 2012

Matt Bellamy reviews Looper

Read nothing, avoid spoilers, and do not watch a single clip or frame outside of the trailer -- you've been warned!  The latest from writer-director Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom) is his most accessible film yet but don't let that fool you into thinking this is a lesser effort, or selling out to Hollywood, you will leave the theatre with your head swimming! The bare bones plot is that in the year 2074, time travel is available although highly illegal and is only utilized by criminal organizations. When they wish to dispose of a body, these criminals send their victims back 30 years to a specific location, at a specific time where hitmen await them to blow them away and then incinerate their bodies, effectively erasing them from time. Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Joe, one of these hitmen referred to as "loopers", he lives the high life when he isn't working, he parties hard and abuses drugs more than recreationally. When one of his target

Trailer, poster for sci-fi horror flick Almost Human

Talk about swooping in under the radar, but I just got me some excited (yup, that's English) for writer/director Joe Begos' upcoming flick Almost Human. Yes the budget looks low, but the carnage and story are sound. And who doesn't want to see a flick that combines alien abduction and mass murder? I know I do! This scream 80s horror, and we love our 80s horror in The Basement. Even that glorious poster to your left has that awesome 80s vibe! Two years ago Mark disappeared from his home in a brilliant flash of light as his friend, Seth, watched. Now a series of gruesome murders leads Seth to believe that Mark is back . . . and he's not himself. Almost Human stars Graham Skipper, Josh Ethier and Vanessa Leigh. No word yet on when it's coming out, but we'll keep you posted. This looks like our kind of movie!

Shawn and Charles "Charlie Bronson"

So I decided to take in the story of Charles Bronson. No, not that one!  A story about United Kingdom's most violent prisoner. The movie featured Tom Hardy (Bane for batman fans) as he descended into chaos and violence.  The film takes two angles, as Hardy "hosts" the movie in a deluge of fucked up "stage" segments, not to be outdone by the more violent "prison" segments. This flick was all kinds of fucked up, for me, and I really dug it.  It was strange as hell, but interesting enough to carry all the strangeness.  Accented by violence.  Hardy is amazing in this.  Destined for insane movie parts, I suppose.  But he does them sooo well.   There is a looney bin segment that is weird too...just all kinds of weird and cool.  Definitely worth a watch.  Twice for me. haha. Way outside my normal selection of movies, but...I'm gonna go ahead and give this strange fucker a good. 

The Basement will see Dead Shadows

A few short days ago we unleashed upon you our new day and time slot. We also gave you the skinny on the films that will be on the chopping block during our season opener -- The Lost Coast Tapes and The Fields. Oh, how quickly things change . . . Shawn and I have the opportunity to check out a film we've talked about a fair bit on the show and on this site -- Dead Shadows!  That's right, the one starring actor/writer/director/Dark Fest 2012 guest -- The Arrow himself -- John Fallon. Director David Cholewa's horror film just had its French premiere at L'Etrange Festival in Paris and will soon screen at The Sitges Film Festival in Spain. We're also hopeful that it will play at our own Dark Fest 2013 next year. For now, we're thrilled to watch and review Dead Shadows on our season premiere Thursday, Oct. 4 at 10 p.m. PST . . . only on 92.5FM CFBX Kamloops and www.thex.ca . The podcast version goes live the next day! To do this, we've bumped our thou

Short film Familiar headed to a festival near you

If any of you were listening to us last season you'll know that we have mad love for the Fatal Pictures short film Familiar. A horror story through and through, Familiar is about a middle-aged man who suspects that the negative impulses he feels are not his own. It's some of the most intense 25 minutes ever put on film.  To prove it to you, here's the trailer: FATAL PICTURES presents FAMILIAR (2011) The Teaser from Zach Green on Vimeo .   Some of you Basement Dwellers will have the chance to check out director Richard Powell and producer Zach Green's film as Familiar is set to screen at a number of festivals. We've included the list below.  Now get your asses out there and support this film. The Basement demands it!   New York City Horror Film Festival , November 8th (2012) Telluride Horror Show , October 12 th 13 th 14th (2012) Celluloid Screams , October 26th 27th 28th (2012) Bram Stoker International Film Festival , October 25th 26t

Luke Skywalker gets Airborne

Not in the Han-got-tired-of-Luke's-bullshit-and-knocked-his-ass-the-fuck-out kind of way. But veteran actor Mark Hamill does star in the new Twilight Zone-esque thriller Airborne, due Oct. 2 from Image Entertainment. As Britain is battered by a storm, one last plane takes off. Shortly after, the handful of passengers start disappearing one by one. Those who remain frantically try to discover who or what is behind the disappearances before they share the same fate. British thrillers can be pretty good -- Kill List and the Disappearance of Alice Creed anyone? -- and it's nice to see Hamill get some work. Airborne also stars Alan Ford, Gemma Atkinson and Julian Glover. No trailer, but we do have a clip for your eye holes. This could be one that turns up early into Season Four.

Jason's Top Five favourite movie posters

Regular listeners to the show will know our Top Five segment that pops up from time to time. Every Top Five features five things Shawn and I like or don't like about film or film-related things. Think theatre experiences, geek Christmas presents, kills. And given our long and storied history with movies, Shawn and I have little trouble finding five things to talk about. Today Top Five finds its way to the site, and I'm kicking it off by highlighting five of my favourite movie posters. Just five? It was hard to narrow the list down -- and ask me in two days and the list could change -- but these are five posters that have always stuck with me. Hell, several of them were on my bedroom wall as a kid. You'll notice right away that there's one similarity between them -- they are hand drawn. Back in the day movie posters were art. And all five of these are works of art. Here they are, in no particular order: Leviathan Shit movie, awesome poster. Simple, effect a

Another look at Paranormal Activity 4

I admit, as much as I dig the Paranormal Activity franchise, I'm having a hard time getting excited for this latest entry. It's not that I don't doubt it will be good, it's just that this is part four and, well, that's about it really. The film's release is coming up awfully quick -- Oct. 19 to be exact -- and we know little about the plot. I've heard it has to do with the witches that were discovered at the end of the last installment and explains what happened to Katie and the little boy. I doubt most of the footage in the below trailer will end up in the final film because that's what Hollywood does these days. Am I getting too jaded? Paranormal Activity 4 is directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. No word yet if Katie Featherston and her boobs will make an appearance, but we can hope.

The Basement reopens Oct. 4!

Not that we've closed because this site has been updated constantly during our summer hiatus and the reviews and podcast specials have been plentiful. But the radio show that drives everything we do in The Basement is back next week -- Oct. 4 at 10 p.m. PST to be exact! And you'll find us at 92.5FM CFBX Kamloops and www.thex.ca ! The podcast will be available the following morning and every Friday after. What's in store for this, our fourth season? More of the same bitches! We get thousands of listeners a week. Why mess with a good thing? All we can promise is the same irreverent -- and often offensive -- humour, witty banter and movie reviews and related conversations for 60 glorious minutes a week. This season's run will last 22 to 24 episodes. Shawn and I pledge to give the show our all. It's been good to us, as have our listeners. And we've met some kick ass people like John Fallon (with Shawn and I in the above pic), Brooke Lewis and Harry Manfred

Jason revisits Black Dynamite

Comedy is subjective, but I haven't met a man, women or beast who doesn't dig the shit out of Michael Jai White and Scott Sanders's send up of 1970 Blaxploitation movies -- Black Dynamite. Can you dig? Black Dynamite is the greatest African-American action star of the 1970s. When his only brother is killed by The Man it's up to him to find justice. Pure and simple, this is one of the funniest movies ever made. It's a brilliant satire, and far more successful than spoofs like Scary Movie or the even the Airplane films. Why? Because it plays itself razor straight. What our man Christopher R. Mihm does for 1950s drive-in movies, White and Sanders have done for Blaxploitation. For one, you can tell these guys not only love the genre, but they know it inside and out. They know what made the movies so awesome and so unintentionally funny at the same time. They aren't laughing at Shaft or Boss Nigger, they're laughing with them. And because they do, so do

Jason reviews Apartment 143 (Emergo)

Sometimes all you want at the end of a long work week is 90 minutes of entertainment and, in the case of a fright flick, scares. Then along comes a movie that gives you all that and more. Cue Apartment 143. A team of parapsychologists try to figure out a strange phenomenon occurring in an apartment building. Sounds simple right? Well, it is and it isn't. And that's what makes Apartment 143 so fucking good. First off, the hand of Rodrigo Cortes -- he who wrote and directed the brilliant Buried -- is all over this movie. He's the writer/producer/editor here and it shows. This is a film that transcends the found-footage genre while playing within it. Sure, there's scares. But there's a surprisingly effective hit of drama as well. Not annoying drama, but a layer of brains and pathos you don't usually get in a movie like this. Case in point, Kai Lennox deserves an Oscar for his performance. He has a scene where his distraught father character just unloads a

Fear puts on a happy face in Smiley

Urban legends are perfect material for a horror flick. Hell, there are three movies out there in the Urban Legend franchise. But I've never heard of the one about Smiley before. Then again, it's probably just the brainchild of writer Glasgow Phillips and co-writer/director Michael J. Gallagher. But that's cool too. Any excuse for some slasher-killer goodness. After learning of an urban legend in which a demented serial killer named Smiley can be summoned through the Internet, mentally fragile Ashley (Caitlin Gerard) must decide whether she is losing her mind or becoming Smiley's next victim. Smiley is a pretty freaky looking dude and Gerard is a pretty hot looking chick. These two elements are a good start. The preview doesn't deviate too much from what one would expect -- teens, killer, murder -- but the film does star veteran cool dude Keith David, so what the fuck!?! We'll check it out. Smiley hits VOD on Oct. 11 and starts a limited theatrical r

Latest Looper poster a work of art

Literally, it's a piece of art. No photoshop, no superimposed heads -- this is a nice, drawn/painted poster. Classy! Which is what the word is on writer/director Rian (Brick) Johnson's film. It sits at 96-per-cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which is no small feat. The sci-fi/action flick sounds like something special. And, with a cast that includes Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt, us movie geeks are likely in for a real treat. In 2072, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self. Now, check out the poster by way of the boys at JoBlo.com! Looper opens next Friday.

Re-release trailer for John Carpenter's Halloween is 48 seconds of awesome

Last week we let you know that John Carpenter's Halloween was returning to theatres to mark its 35th anniversary. Today we've got a trailer letting you know the same thing. You're welcome. Compas International Pictures, Trancas International Films and Screenvision are re-releasing Carpenter's classic in select theatres throughout the month of October. A list of theatres is available at HalloweenOnScreen.com. I'm pretty sure it's not coming to a theatre near us. But for any of you lucky bastards who do get to see it . . . I respect and hate you all at the same time! Just kidding. But I'd love to catch it on the big screen.

Jackie Robinson biopic 42 enters The Basement

Yeah, I know -- what the fuck is wrong with us?!? First a trailer for The Hobbit and now one for a baseball movie. Street. Cred. Lost. Well, TFB. The Jackie Robinson biopic 42 looks like a damn fine movie. And it stars Indiana Jones/Han Solo/Blade Runner himself Harrison Ford as Robinson's manager. Plus it's written and directed by Brian Helgeland, who's brought us such bad ass flicks as Payback, Mystic River and Man on Fire. I defy anyone not to get carried away by this trailer. Robinson was the first black man in Major League Baseball and his story deserves to be told. Even non-baseball fans can agree to that. But I'll let the preview speak for itself. 42 hits theatres April 13, 2013.

The Collection trailer will kill your ass!

Mere minutes ago we hit you with the trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Now we're unleashing something that's more our thang on you Basement Dwellers. Marcus Dunstan's The Collector was OK fun. A wee bit unbelievable, but still offered boobies and a grisly death or two. His follow up, The Collection, looks like it's going to be a bat-shit crazy good time! The sequel picks up soon after The Collector ends. Arkin (Josh Stewart) escapes with his life from the vicious grips of The Collector during an entrapment party where the villain adds beautiful Elena (Emma Fitzpatrick) to his collection. Instead of recovering from the trauma, Arkin is suddenly abducted from the hospital by mercenaries hired by Elena's wealthy father. Arkin is blackmailed to team up with the mercenaries and track down The Collector's booby trapped warehouse and save Elena. I'm gonna come out and say it: the first 30 seconds or so of this preview sold me. And the res

Behold! The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey trailer

As a somewhat self-respecting film site, we would be stupid not to post the trailer for Peter Jackson's long awaited return to Middle Earth. That said, this isn't the kind of movie we're really all about here in The Basement. We're into the smaller, grislier stuff. With boobies. Still, this is a movie everyone on the planet is likely going to see -- Shawn and I included -- and it's pretty much guaranteed to not suck. So here we go: Pretty damn cool right? Thought so. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens everywhere Dec. 14.

The Halloween remake that could have been

We're not big on remakes in The Basement, but this little gem is pretty fucking cool! The folks over at Bloody Disgusting got a hold of an animated storyboard pitch by Federico D’Alessandro, the head Storyboard Artist and Animatics Supervisor over at Marvel Studios, who created the short for Platinum Dunes when the Halloween remake was first proposed Apparently this version was up against Rob Zombie's, although from what I understand Platinum Dunes didn't come on board until the recent Halloween 3D was proposed and then dumped. But I've been wrong before. This is still a cool look at a Halloween film that could have been. And being a Halloween nut, I dig it a lot. What say you, Basement Dwellers?

Sinister red-band trailer all sound and scares

That's right, there's not one word of dialogue or exposition uttered in the below R-rated preview for the upcoming horror flick Sinister -- a film some are calling the scariest of the year. We originally intended to review Scott Derrickson's film on our season opener, but its release was delayed until Oct. 12, so pooh on that. No worries. It looks uber creepy, so we're all over it like a fat kid on some kind of candy. Ethan Hawke stars as a true-crime novelist who discovers that a family was murdered in his new home . . . and that his family could be in the path of an evil supernatural entity. I dig this trailer a lot. It's a prime example of how sound and images play a key role in scary movies. You don't need buckets of blood to be unsettling -- although we never object to gore in The Basement -- and this trailer is unsettling. Now turn out the lights and watch!

Full plot revealed for Billy Trigger

Who here's excited for the upcoming action flick Billy Trigger? All of you? Damn straight you are! And with good reason too -- this is the first full-length feature financed by popular movie fansite JoBlo.com and it stars actor/writer/director/DarkFest2012 guest John Fallon (The Arrow of Arrow in the Head) and blacksploitation star Fred Williamson. If that's not enough to get you pumped, we don't know what is. The full plot synopsis for Billy Trigger hit today, and we're gonna lay it all out for you right now: Irish mobster Billy Trigger has been the O’Brien family’s number one enforcer for three years now. And for good reason: he is cold, calculating and relentless and has never tackled a job he couldn’t finish. His life is trouble-free and solitary and consists mainly of three things: loose women, doing the work and cashing in. That’s until Pops (Williamson), the head of the organization, hands him his next assignment. Trigger is tasked to look over Pops’ young

All 31 movies for The Month of Horror

Y'all are aware that Basement contributor Matt Bellamy is back next month for The Month of Horror right? Good. 'Cause he is, watching and reviewing 31 horror movies from Oct. 1 until All Hallows Eve. Because he's cool that way. Bellamy recently completed his list of films, which I've included below. This way you get a taste of the awesomeness that will be The Month of Horror! There's only 13 days to go folks. Stick with us! Mon, Oct. 1 - The Cabin in the Woods Tues, Oct. 2 - Cold Prey Wed, Oct. 3 - Hostel Thurs, Oct. 4 - Child's Play Fri, Oct. 5 - The Signal Sat, Oct. 6 - Drag Me To Hell Sun, Oct. 7 - Event Horizon Mon, Oct. 8 - Planet Terror Tues, Oct. 9 - Death Proof Wed, Oct. 10 - Videodrome Thurs, Oct. 11 - Pet Semetary Fri, Oct. 12 - Scream Sat, Oct. 13 - Human Centipede 2 Sun, Oct. 14 - The Blair Witch Project Mon, Oct. 15 - Piranha 3D Tues, Oct. 16 - Final Destination Wed, Oct. 17 - Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer Thurs, Oct. 18 - Splinter Fri, Oct

Jason revisits The Company of Wolves

Neil Jordan's 1984 riff on Little Red Riding Hood was the first movie I "discovered." Until then, my life had been all Hollywood all the time. This was the first off-the-radar flick I took a chance on and it cemented my love for obscure, independent movies. If it wasn't for The Company of Wolves, The Basement wouldn't exist. Sold as a horror movie, The Company of Wolves is actually more a symbolic folklore about werewolves, or rather their sexual connotation. Granny tells her granddaughter Rosaleen strange, disturbing tales about innocent maidens falling in love with handsome, heavily eyebrowed strangers. All the stories are somehow reducible to loss of innocence, and fear of/hunger for a newly acquired sexuality. Sounds pretty deep and heavy right? Boring? Not at all. This movie is as fast paced as any fright flick and equally as entertaining. But it's charged with a sexuality that is hard to explain; yet it takes you in at the same time. The Compan

Jason reviews Munger Road

First rule of filmmaking, boys and girls: don't end your movie with the statement To Be Continued. Just don't. That said, the 85 or so minutes that proceeded that moment in Munger Road aren't bad. On the eve of the annual Scarecrow Festival, two St. Charles police officers search for a return killer the same night four teenagers go missing on Munger Road.  Munger Road is not for everybody. Gore fans will hate it because all the kills take place off camera, which I admit pissed me off after a while. I know you're a low-budget movie and you don't need buckets of blood to be scary. I get that. John Carpenter got it in 1978. But he still killed people on camera, he just did it without blood. And it worked great. Jeez! Now that we're over that, Munger Road is a decent enough horror movie that plays with the urban legends surrounding the real Munger Road in Bartlett, Ill. This is material ripe for a horror movie, and writer/director Nicholas Smith is a compe

John Carpenter's Halloween returns to theatres

In honour of the classic film's 35th anniversary, Compas International Pictures, Trancas International Films and Screenvision are re-releasing John Carpenter's Halloween in theatres throughout the month of October! How exciting is that? Very fucking exciting. And frustrating, as the odds of it hitting our neck of the woods are slim to none. Jerks. But we've got the groovy poster for the re-release by way of the folks at HalloweenMovies.com. It's nice and simple, much like Carpenter's film. Cheers to artist Austin Hinderliter for the fine job. A list of theatres is available at HalloweenOnScreen.com. All I can say is this is totally awesome and I'd kill to attend a screening. Kill I tells yah!

The buzz is back in Texas Chainsaw 3D

I've avoided posting anything on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot because I generally hate the idea of rebooting anything, especially a horror franchise that already had a reboot 10 short years ago. How many times I can write reboot in a sentence? More than once is too much. Now we've got a trailer for the upcoming Texas Chainsaw 3D, which means we're not only getting an unwanted remake, but one that'll cost us three extra dollar to watch. Suck squared. At least the cast is pretty. We've got Alexandra Daddario once again playing a horror victim (she was stalked before in Bereavement). And she's backed up nicely by Tania Raymonde. And yeah, Leatherface and his chainsaw are back. I've never understood the appeal of these movie as they're far from my favourite horror franchise. I did dig the 2003 version with Jessica Biel, but enough already. For those who care, Texas Chainsaw 3D hits theatres Jan. 4, 2013 under the direction of John Luessenho

Brooke Lewis takes on space invaders in Tripod War

We don't know much about the upcoming alien invasion movie Tripod War other than it's directed by Neil Johnson and features our favourite scream queen, Brooke Lewis. Then again, what more do we need to know!?!? Sold! Unfortunately all we can provide for you is the poster and a very fun looking preview. Clearly, this is a B-movie riff on War of the Worlds and other alien invasion flicks . . . only with Brooke Lewis and some gory deaths. Like I said already, sold! On with the poster: We'll keep you updated on the project as details develop. Until then, groove on the preview below!

Karl Urban talks Dredd 3D in this featurette

Who's psyched for some Dredd 3D? All of you? Good. You can stay. Shawn and I are pretty convinced the upcoming adaptation of the popular British comic book character is gonna own. And advance buzz out of the festival circuit -- most recently TIFF 2012 -- is almost overwhelmingly positive. So here's hoping the film lives up to the hype once it hits on Sept. 21. Below is a featurette that shows a bunch of new images and has Dredd himself, Karl Urban, and the character's creator, John Wagner, talking up the hero. Urban is perfectly cast, in my opinion. In case you don't know what director Pete Travis's film is all about, here's the rundown: In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.  Here's the featurette. I am the law!

First official look at Vin Diesel in Fast Six

Vin Diesel loves his fans. That's why the uber star has faithfully shared pics from his upcoming film Riddick and now Fast Six on his Facebook page. Speaking of Facebook, go like our fan page bitches! Ahem, back to Vin Diesel. The Fast and the Furious star posted the above image on his Facebook page today, which probably counts as the first official still from the action sequel. It doesn't show much beyond himself, co-stars Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson and a shotgun, but it's a start. The film is currently shooting in London, England with a cast that includes Jordana Brewster, Gina Carano, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, and The Raid's Joe Taslim.  Fast Six hits theatres May 24, 2013.

Shawn Reviews: Ted

Are you a fan of the show Family Guy?  If not, and it offends you, GTFO. This was Seth Macfarlane's first kick, at the cat, on the big screen.  In terms of that, it was a solid "Chuck Norris roundhouse" of a kick.  Well for me anyways. I'm a fan of Family guy. I've always wondered what the hell Seth would do, without the boundaries of prime time T.V. Was not disappointed in the least. This was not Family Guy, either.  This was a story about a teddy bear brought to life, by a fucked up magical wish. Flash fucking Gordon.  Yeah, I said that.  He's in it.  Patrick Stewart as the narrator and even Tiffany (I Think We're Alone Now), was included, in a very disturbing way. The trailers are what scared me. I thought this might be like The Other Guys (starring Wahlberg), where the trailers showed all the funny bits.  Then the rest of the movie sucked. This was not the case here.  The parts they show in the trailers were just parts of the movie.  Th

Plot details, poster for Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

Several weeks back we gave you a look at the trailer for the latest entry in the Universal Soldier franchise. Now we can tell you what the fuck it's all about. Best bit of news, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren are front and centre in the movie, as they are on the poster below. And it sounds like they are the bad guys. WTF over!?!? But cool I say! As for the plot, read on Basement Dwellers: The film follows surviving Unisols Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) who must battle anarchy and build a new order ruled by Unisols without government oversight. They are weeding out the weak and constantly testing their strongest warriors in brutal, life-and-death combat. Luc has emerged operating the Unisol Church of Eventualism, a self-help organization that takes in wayward Unisols whom the government has been secretly operating as remote-controlled sleeper agents. His mission is to liberate these Unisols from the implanted memories an

A couple of bad asses join Gina Carano In the Blood

We've heard nothing about the upcoming action/thriller In the Blood until today, when The Basement learned MMA star and hottie Gina Carano would be joined by a couple of bad asses like Machete and the bad guy from Avatar. Carano stars as a wife who's husband disappears while the couple are vacationing in the Caribbean. Believing he's been kidnapped, she passionately pursues the men responsible. Stpehen Lang plays Carano's hard-nosed father, who raised her with a particular set of skills, skills that make her a nightmare for bad people everywhere. Danny Trejo will play one of said bad people. John Stockwell directs the film, which begins shooting in November with a release some time in 2013. This sounds like a direct-to-DVD feature, but Carano's presence has me interested. She was the best part of Haywire, and has all the chops she needs to be the next big action heroine. Lang and Trejo are sufficiently bad ass, but our eyes are on Carano.

Jason reviews Safe

Been sitting on this review for no reason other than life, she is a busy! But being a Statham enthusiast, it would be foolish of me not to share my thoughts with you fine people. Mei, a young girl whose memory holds a priceless numerical code, finds herself pursued by the Triads, the Russian mob, and corrupt NYC cops. Coming to her aid is an ex-cage fighter whose life was destroyed by the gangsters on Mei's trail.  First off, this was written and directed by Boaz Yakin, the same dude who wrote the Dolph Lundgren Punisher movie from back in the day. So it's an action movie through and through. And it stars Jason Statham, the only Jason on the planet who is cooler than I am. I assure you, ass does get kicked. I like it when ass gets kicked. I'm going to come right out and say it: this isn't one of Statham's better effort. He owns it, as he always does, but Yakin is a better director than writer. There's a lot of good ideas at play and the body of the fi

Jason and Shawn review House of Ghosts

Writer/Director Christopher R. Mihm pays tribute to the works of William Castle, the master of classic horror. Rich socialites have a tradition of throwing exclusive dinner parties. This time, they've booked a spiritual medium who promises to open a portal to the great beyond. Can the group survive the night or will ignoring the medium's warning be the last thing they ever do?   Jason: I'd like to say if you've seen on Mihm movie you've seen them all. But you really haven't. Although they do tie in nicely when one sits down and watches them all. In fact, House of Ghosts has a big tie-in to The Monster of Phantom Lake. And I dug the shit out of that! There's also a reference to Terror From Beneath the Earth.  Mihm relies on a lot of stock actors for his work, but its fun seeing them pop up here and there. No Shannon McDonough though. That girl deserves to be in everything he does! Once again, he's captured the 1950s vibe perfectl

Next on the chopping block: House of Ghosts

By now Basement Dwellers should be very familiar with the name Christopher R. Mihm. The writer/director's work was featured on two Modern/Retro 50s Night editions of the show last season with Jason and Shawn dissecting Mihm's loving tributes to Basement Cinema of a bygone era. Now the Basement Boys will close out their series of summer specials by turning the executioner's axe on the latest entry in the Mihmiverse -- House of Ghosts. This is Mihm's homage to the works of the late William Castle, whose spirit has paid a visit to The Basement in the past. Suffice to say, Mihm's latest film promises gimmicks that would make the master proud and old-school scares that would be right at home in a 1950s drive-in movie. Rich socialites have a tradition of throwing exclusive dinner parties. This time, they've booked a spiritual medium who promises to open a portal to the great beyond. Can the group survive the night or will ignoring the medium's warning be

Jason reviews Cold Prey 3

First thought that pops into my head having watched this Norwegian slasher trilogy is how incredibly different each entry is. For that reason alone, this is a series of horror movies that truly stands out from the rest. Cold Prey 3, also known as Cold Prey: The Beginning, takes place in the 80's where a group of teenagers go to visit an abandoned hotel, only to find themselves hunted by a psychotic killer through the Norwegian woods. The best thing about Cold Prey 3 is how it fleshes out everything that was eluded to in Cold Prey and Cold Prey 2. This is a prequel in every sense of the word, and one of the better ones to boot. I don't know why more horror films don't backtrack and explore their mythology instead of bringing the killer back to life and killing him again . . . and again . . . and again. Character development is the weakest link in this outing. Instead, we get a prolonged and exciting chase through the woods. I'm not complaining either. This film

Exclusive YouTube Taken 2 trailer best yet

Before Chuck Norris goes to sleep he checks under his bed for Liam Neeson. I've bitched before about how 20th Century Fox has buggered the marketing for its sequel to the smash hit Taken. But, with this new trailer released exclusively to YouTube, they got it right -- in my biased opinion of course. I'm not going to spoil it for you, just watch and enjoy. And remember: in Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter. Much kicking of ass ensues. Taken 2 opens Oct. 5. 

Oscar winner Barry Levinson finds horror in The Bay

It must be found-footage night in The Basement as we bring you another preview for just such a genre film, this time with some big-name clout at the helm. Better known for movies like Rain Man and Good Morning, Vietnam it might come as a surprise to see Barry Levinson direct a horror film. Well, he did make Sphere. The less said about that the better. But it does feel like he's slumming in my favourite genre. Still, the premise behind The Bay holds promise. Check it: chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.The footage we're shown is supposed to be taken from cameras in the area that were seized by the government only to be leaked and cobbled together into this film. Hey, it could happen. The Bay stars Kristen Connolly from The Cabin in the Woods and a bunch of other people I've never heard of. It's unleashed in theatres and on demand Nov. 2.

Grave Encounters 2 gets a typically creepy trailer

With less than a month to go before being unleashed on VOD and theatres, it's about damn time we got a look at the sequel to the most buzzed about horror movie of 2011. That's right, Grave Encounters 2 hits on Oct. 2. The original is a favourite in The Basement, delivering one shorts shitting moment after another. It looks like the sequel is going to try and one up the original in every way, which is no mean feat. While researching the events of the original film and the subsequent disappearance of its lead, Sean Rogerson, film student Alex Wright receives a bizarre video from a mysterious blogger named DeathAwaits666 that shows Rogerson alive and trapped inside the Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital from Grave Encounters. Alex and his friends agree to meet the blogger at the infamous hospital in hopes of learning what really happened and quickly find themselves face-to-face with unspeakable evil. Realizing that they must be smarter and faster than Rogerson and his

Brooke Lewis backs twins' anti-bullying campaign

What does an award-winning scream queen and life coach do when she isn't scaring audiences and battling breast cancer? She takes on bullies, that's what! Brooke Lewis dropped The Basement a line today to let us know about seven-year-old twins Bianca and Chiara D'Ambrosio: a pair of accomplished actresses and singers who are about to release a video for their new single, Let Your Light Shine, which has a powerful anti-bullying message. In addition to the song, the girls have also created an anti-bullying T-shirt and pledge to donate proceeds from the sale of the shirts and the song to the Seth Walsh Foundation, which is dedicated to eliminating bullying through education and advocacy. Let Your Light Shine is currently available on iTunes and the video will premiere shortly. You can read more about the girls and their campaign here . We encourage you to check it out. Shawn and I have been known to give each other -- and our resident Twit Mike S -- a hard time on th

Old story, new twist in this Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters trailer

This is a movie that's been on our radar for some time now and I'm fucking psyched to finally get a look at some footage! Yup, it's the old story of Hansel and Gretel or, in this case, what happened to those two wee children after the gingerbread house/witch incident. Seems they had a hard time getting over almost being eaten and are venting on witches everywhere. I dig. Directed by Dead Snow's Tommy Wirkola, this is going to be an R-rated outing that mixes humour and over-the-top violence. Again, I dig. The preview below isn't going to be everyone's pint of ale, but I might drag my ass to the theatre to check this out on Jan. 11, 2013. Jeremy Renner, fresh of his stint in The Bourne Legacy, and former Bond girl Gemma Arterton, star.

Jim Carrey on board for Kick-Ass 2?

Sure sounds like it. In fact, the folks over at Bloody Disgusting are pretty damn convinced that Carrey is in the sequel to the 2010 comic book adaptation. Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall director Jeff Wadlow has stated that Carrey was in the running for the role of Colonel Stars. Today Wadlow tweeted, “6 days till we start shooting… and we officially have our Colonel. Alrighty f’n then! @ChloeGMoretz @MintzPlasse @donald_faison #kickass2.” According to Bloody Disgusting, Christopher Mintz-Plasse then sent a tweet asking who got the part. Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar wrote back , “Clue – he lives with 200 raccoons and parrots, owns the mask of Loki and named by Spielberg as a genius.” Sounds like Jim Carrey to me. Kick-Ass 2 is scheduled for release on June 28, 2013.

Jason reviews Cold Prey 2

If Cold Prey was a passable time killer than Cold Prey 2 is everything that movie needed to be and more. This is how you make a sequel -- bigger, better and bloodier! Jannicke wakes up in a hospital and all of her friends are dead. As she walks through the dark corridors, she thinks she is left alone. But the nightmare isn't over yet. That synopsis is a bit misleading, but you get the point. If Cold Prey is Norway's answer to Halloween than Cold Prey 2 is that country's Halloween 2 (Rick Rosenthal version). Only this movie is way better than our North American slasher classic. The best part about Cold Prey was the character development and that element is at play here. But the filmmakers bothered to create suspense, scares and some really groovy kills too. Way more people die in Cold Prey 2 and every kill is well staged; my favourite being the slaughter of three police officers toward the film's conclusion. We're not talking Laid to Rest-level deaths, but