GoreZone Magazine’s first-ever Weekend of Horror, hosted by that Diva of Darkness Emily Booth, was a wicked delight, bringing 13 of the best – and not-so best – examples of the genre to a London cinema filled with hungry gorehounds. From the big-screen fright-fest that was The Midnight Meat Train to the bargain-basement delights of DVD offerings such as Frat House Massacre and Werewolf in a Women’s Prison, there was something from everyone – including an exclusive sneak peek at Channel 4’s gory week long Halloween horror drama, Dead Set (check out this week’s TV&Satellite Week for a preview).
Here’s my pick of GoreZone Magazine's Weekend of Horrors:
THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN (In cinemas from 31 October)
This Halloween cinema release is a one-way ticket to terror. Based on a Clive Barker Books of Blood short tale, the film centers on photographer Leon (Bradley Cooper) who finds himself in a nightmarish hell when his pursuit of the perfect photo leads him directly into the path of the century-old serial killer Mahogany (our very own Vinnie Jones, thankfully silent). Clive Barker fans will rejoice with director Ryuhei Kitamura’s action-packed bloodfest, as – not since Hellraiser – has there been such a well-crafted translation of Barker’s dark imaginings. Let's hope, however, the censors don’t interfere too much with Mahogany’s gruesome methods of dispatching his victims – they truly are eye-popping!
Check out the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm1sk1YNmvQ&fs=1
TOKYO ZOMBIE (Out now on DVD)
This wild and wacky Japanese take on the zombie-genre is an over-the-top comedy in which two garage workers, dim-witted Fujio and his jujitsu mentor Micchan, find themselves battling zombies after they bury a corpse in a mountainous rubbish dump where the dead are returning to life. Filled with quirky characters, cracking dialogue and a rocking soundtrack, Tokyo Zombie is not so much a Japanese Shaun of the Dead as a live-action manga cartoon, which spoofs zombie themes and satirizes contemporary Japanese morals. While the film’s first half follows our two heroes hilarious efforts to escape the growing zombie epidemic, the second half turns into a Rocky http://youtube.com/v/nJEmduNwjKU
NO MAN'S LAND: THE RISE OF REEKER (Out now on DVD)
This inventive prequel to 2005’s Reeker http://youtube.com/v/IobLYNDML2s
THE VANGUARD (Out now on DVD http://youtube.com/v/uKkTiENBBv0
GUTTERBALLS (To be Released)
This perverted, blood-drenched Canadian gore fest comes courtesy of Ryan Nicholson, who works mostly in the make-up departments on sci-fi favourites like Stargate SG-1 and glossy films like Ghost Rider. Following a particularly nasty rape that brings back memories of 1988’s The Accused http://youtube.com/v/dFTUrABM6DE
SICK GIRL http://youtube.com/v/XcY3SKV6yAM
