Home Media Magazine - January 20-26, 2008 - (Page 14) BUYING GUIDE TALENT TALK HORROR Edited by Kyra Kudick www.homemediamagazine.com I ALLUMINATION FILMWORKS Arriving Jan. 29 is The Unknown Trilogy (DVD $29.98), a trio of scary stories about the shadowy spaces between life and death (see review, page 21). Out March 4 (prebook Jan. 29) is Carver (DVD $29.98), based on the true story of five friends who stumble upon a gruesome killing spree. I BRAIN DAMAGE FILMS Streeting Feb. 5 are Dead House, about a vacation gone wrong; Demon Seduction, a gory alien story; Home Made, about the making of a snuff film; and Sabbath, a zombie tale about the end times. DVDs are $14.98 each. ‘The Attic’ ‘Pet Sematary’ director Mary Lambert discusses her new psychological thriller By Billy Gil HORROR Director Mary Lambert knows what she likes and doesn’t like in a horror film. Likes: psychologically gray films that deal with perception versus reality. Dislikes: bloody popcorn flicks where girls get dismembered. “Not all horror movies are interesting to me,” said the veteran filmmaker, whose body of work includes Pet Sematary, Pet Sematary II and Urban Legends: Bloody Mary. “It’s not interesting to me to see people being tortured. I’m more interested in a film where there’s a myth, where I can find a metaphor for the villain … that opens doors inside of me. I mean, gee, I know I don’t want to be tortured.” Mary Lambert NO FLOWERS IN I ECHO BRIDGE HOME ENTERTAINMENT Arriving Feb. 26 (prebook Jan. 20) is Inside (DVD $26.99), how a young man’s obsession with strangers backfires. Awake Her new film, The Attic, explores the dissonance between the real and the imagined for a sick young woman — and the devastating effect it has on those around her. It streets Jan. 15 (DVD $29.98), from Allumination Filmworks. The Attic follows Emma (Elisabeth Moss of “The West Wing” and “Invasion”), whose life slowly dissolves when her family moves into a seemingly idyllic yet sinister Victorian house. Emma hears voices and sees a girl who looks just like her in the house’s attic. Emma becomes convinced the girl is her twin sister, Beth, who her parents say they never had. Real or imagined, Beth’s presence soon becomes dangerous for all. “The Attic is a classic ghost story in the tradition of The Shining and The Changeling,” said Cheryl Freeman, president and CEO of Allumination Filmworks. “The emphasis on psychological suspense has been brilliantly realized by director Mary Lambert.” Similar to a film such as The Shining, the terror Emma sees can be real or imagined, depending on your point of view. What made it interesting to Lambert is that for most of the film, Emma’s reality is what viewers see. “She’s never diagnosed by a medical team in the film, [nor is it said] that she has paranoid schizophrenia or severe bipolar disorder; that’s not really what the movie is about,” Lambert said. “Is this a physical thing that can be cured, or are there psychotic forces that are causing her to have a breakdown?” The cast also features Jason Lewis (“Sex and the City,” Mr. Brooks, “Brothers and Sisters”), John Savage (The Deer Hunter, Do the Right Thing, “Carnivale”), Catherine Mary Stewart (Night of the Comet, Weekend at Bernie’s) and Thomas Jay Ryan (Henry Fool, Fay Grim). I GENIUS PRODUCTS Out Feb. 12 is Furnace (DVD $19.95), the investigation of a prison haunting. Due March 4 (prebook Jan. 22) are Awake (DVD $28.95), in which a failed anesthetic makes a man endure a painful surgery conscious but paralyzed; and Automation Transfusion (DVD $19.95), where three teens fight a town of zombies. I LIFESIZE ENTERTAINMENT Coming April 1 is Fear House (DVD $19.98), the story of a reclusive writer trapped in her See COMING UP, Page 18 Lionsgate Scares Up More ‘Films to Die For’ By Kyra Kudick ionsgate will release the second installation of “After Dark Horrorfest: 8 Films to Die For” on DVD March 18 (prebook Feb. 20). The eight films in the set were shown theatrically nationwide during the second annual After Dark Horrorfest Nov. 9-18, 2007. The weeklong festival is the brainchild of Courtney Solomon, CEO and partner of After Dark Films, who wanted L 14 to bring horror films with more graphic content to theaters. “He looks for films that are a little bit out there — extreme,” said Chela Johnson, VP of marketing for Lionsgate. She said the films, found at both major film festivals and smaller horror festivals, are all chosen for their excellent quality. The previous “After Dark Horrorfest” DVD collection (released last March) contained seven of the top 10 best-selling direct-to-video horror titles, and represented 28% of all DTV horror sales, said Johnson citing extrapolated Nielsen data. This year’s collection features Crazy Eights, Nightmare Man, Tooth and Nail, Unearthed, The Deaths of Ian Stone, Mulberry Street, Lake Dead and Borderland. The titles are available separately for $19.98 each, or in an eight-DVD boxed set for $159.84. All the DVDs include the “Miss Horrorfest Contest” webisodes. The popular webisodes, with a reported 45 million hits, feature the eight semifinalists living in a house and competing in a variety of contests for the crown. Filmed in a reality TV format, the webisodes also are available at YouTube.com. Nightmare Man, Mulberry Street and Borderland include features such as audio commentary, extended or deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, storyboards and makeup tests. Borderland, which is based on a true story, also has a featurette that includes actual police footage from the investigation of the events. Home Media Magazine January 20–26, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://YouTube.com
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