Reviewed by Kevin Scott, MoreHorror.com
House of the Dead 2 (2005)
Director: Michael Hurst
Writers: Mark A. Altman, Michael Roesch, Peter Scheerer
Cast: Emanuelle Vauguier (Alexandria), Ed Quinn (Ellis), Sticky Fingaz (Dalton), Nadine Velazquez (Rodriguez), Sid Haig (Professor Curien)
I can’t believe that I’m singing the praises of a “House of the Dead” movie. The first one was such a big disappointment, that a sequel that was so dissimilar to it in every way was a pretty welcome sight. I’m not a gamer, and perhaps I might have enjoyed the original, a bit more if I had. Doubtful, but maybe.
This one has Sid Haig, the hardest working man in exploitation film for four decades and counting as a professor that has come up with a way to reanimate the dead. He picks up a test subject/victim from the local college. She ends up being the...
House of the Dead 2 (2005)
Director: Michael Hurst
Writers: Mark A. Altman, Michael Roesch, Peter Scheerer
Cast: Emanuelle Vauguier (Alexandria), Ed Quinn (Ellis), Sticky Fingaz (Dalton), Nadine Velazquez (Rodriguez), Sid Haig (Professor Curien)
I can’t believe that I’m singing the praises of a “House of the Dead” movie. The first one was such a big disappointment, that a sequel that was so dissimilar to it in every way was a pretty welcome sight. I’m not a gamer, and perhaps I might have enjoyed the original, a bit more if I had. Doubtful, but maybe.
This one has Sid Haig, the hardest working man in exploitation film for four decades and counting as a professor that has come up with a way to reanimate the dead. He picks up a test subject/victim from the local college. She ends up being the...
- 4/20/2014
- by admin
- MoreHorror
This is a massive week of releases featuring a handful of films even I have to catch up with (not to mention there’s something for everyone in today’s line-up). But enough rambling, on to the goods!
Finally on DVD in the Us this week is the Canadian pseudo-zombie film Pontypool (review, amazon) from one of my favourite Canadian directors Bruce McDonald. Be sure to watch through the end credits! And by the way, the Us DVD cover art is pretty awesome.
Highlander director Russell Mulcahy’s private investigator drama Give 'em Hell, Malone (amazon) hits store shelves. It stars a great cast featuring Thomas Jane, Doug Hutchison and Ving Rhames. Fans of hard-boiled revenge thrillers may want to take a peek at Takanori Tsujimoto’s Hard Revenge Milly (amazon).
If a gorgeous looking prison escape drama is more your cup of tea, Rupert Wyatt’s The Escapist (amazon...
Finally on DVD in the Us this week is the Canadian pseudo-zombie film Pontypool (review, amazon) from one of my favourite Canadian directors Bruce McDonald. Be sure to watch through the end credits! And by the way, the Us DVD cover art is pretty awesome.
Highlander director Russell Mulcahy’s private investigator drama Give 'em Hell, Malone (amazon) hits store shelves. It stars a great cast featuring Thomas Jane, Doug Hutchison and Ving Rhames. Fans of hard-boiled revenge thrillers may want to take a peek at Takanori Tsujimoto’s Hard Revenge Milly (amazon).
If a gorgeous looking prison escape drama is more your cup of tea, Rupert Wyatt’s The Escapist (amazon...
- 1/26/2010
- QuietEarth.us
The original Alone in the Dark currently sits at 2.3 out of 10 on IMDb, so the only place Alone in the Dark 2 can go is up, right? The first trailer for Alone in the Dark 2 looks average, with only Lance Henricksen standing out in the cast. The DVD hits the streets January 26, 2010, but horror fans might want to hold tight until some early reviews come in. The trailer for Alone in the Dark 2 is past the break.
A short synopsis for Alone in the Dark 2 here:
"When the night falls, and the creatures of the dark are crawling out of the shadows, there is only one man who stands between us and evil: Edward Carnby (Quiet Earth)."
Release Date: January 26, 2010 (DVD).
Director/writer: Michael Roesch, and Peter Scheerer.
Cast: Bill Moseley, Lance Henricksen, Rick Yune, Rachel Specter, Michael Pare and Danny Trejo.
A trailer for the DVD here:
Alone in the Dark...
A short synopsis for Alone in the Dark 2 here:
"When the night falls, and the creatures of the dark are crawling out of the shadows, there is only one man who stands between us and evil: Edward Carnby (Quiet Earth)."
Release Date: January 26, 2010 (DVD).
Director/writer: Michael Roesch, and Peter Scheerer.
Cast: Bill Moseley, Lance Henricksen, Rick Yune, Rachel Specter, Michael Pare and Danny Trejo.
A trailer for the DVD here:
Alone in the Dark...
- 1/11/2010
- by Michael Ross Allen
- 28 Days Later Analysis
If ever there was a movie that did not require a follow-up, it would be Uwe Boll's disastrous Alone in the Dark. Uwe Boll only produced this time around, allowing the makers of the direct-to-dvd House of the Dead 2, Peter Scheerer and Michael Roesch, to write and direct this second installment of the Alone in the Dark franchise that continues its grand tradition of gobbledygook storytelling.
An evil centuries old spectral witch lurks inside a lab?
The role of Edward Carnby originated by Christian Slater is now played by Rick Yune; what exactly happened at the end of the original that turned Carnby Asian?
Gone are Slater, Tara Reid, and Stephen Dorff, but what a cast they still managed to wrangle for this name-only sequel about a team of witch hunters battling it out with a wicked witch while fighting over a cursed dagger: Rick Yune, Bill Moseley,...
An evil centuries old spectral witch lurks inside a lab?
The role of Edward Carnby originated by Christian Slater is now played by Rick Yune; what exactly happened at the end of the original that turned Carnby Asian?
Gone are Slater, Tara Reid, and Stephen Dorff, but what a cast they still managed to wrangle for this name-only sequel about a team of witch hunters battling it out with a wicked witch while fighting over a cursed dagger: Rick Yune, Bill Moseley,...
- 12/4/2009
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
See the trailer for "Far Cry," starring Til Schwiger, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Natalie Aveon, Michael Paré, Craig Fairbrass, Udo Kier, Mike Dopud, Carrie Genzel, Anthony Bourdain, Ralf Moeller, Michael Teigen, D. Harlan Cutshall and Scott Cooper. Uwe Boll ("Bloodrayne," "In the Name of the King," "Alone in the Dark," "Postal") directs from the writing by Masaji Takei, Peter Scheerer and Michael Roesch. This sees DVD release via Vivendi Entertainment on November 24th and, in my opinion, looks way better than the rest of Boll's work.
- 11/18/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
A couple more cult-fave slasher flicks of the early ’80s receive the special-edition treatment via DVDs that arrive November 24. Fango got the details on a new disc of Mark Rosman’s 1983 The House On Sorority Row (the basis of the current big-screen remake Sorority Row) from Liberation Entertainment, and the DVDebut of 1980’s Silent Scream from the new Scorpion Releasing.
House On Sorority Row, previously issued on a bare-bones disc by Elite, has been given a fresh transfer from a recently discovered print for this 25th Anniversary Edition (even though the film is technically 26 years old). The film is now supplemented with:
Audio commentary by writer/director Rosman Alternate ending Photo gallery Trailer
Retail price is $19.95. Silent Scream, directed by Denny Harris from a script by Jim and Ken Wheat (who also produced) and Wallace C. Bennett, is set at a boarding house where a group of college students take up residence,...
House On Sorority Row, previously issued on a bare-bones disc by Elite, has been given a fresh transfer from a recently discovered print for this 25th Anniversary Edition (even though the film is technically 26 years old). The film is now supplemented with:
Audio commentary by writer/director Rosman Alternate ending Photo gallery Trailer
Retail price is $19.95. Silent Scream, directed by Denny Harris from a script by Jim and Ken Wheat (who also produced) and Wallace C. Bennett, is set at a boarding house where a group of college students take up residence,...
- 9/15/2009
- by [email protected] (Michael Gingold)
- Fangoria
Fango recently caught up with actor Rick Yune, best-known for his roles in such blockbuster action fare as The Fast And The Furious and Die Another Day and more recently seen in such low-budget efforts as The Fifth Commandment (which he also wrote and produced) and the creature-feature sequel Alone In The Dark II (pictured, and reviewed here). Considering that the latter’s producer Uwe Boll is turning Bloodrayne into a trilogy, it goes without saying that a third Alone is almost certainly guaranteed.
Even so, the Korean-born Yune, who replaced original star Christian Slater in the second installment, reveals that he will not reprise the role in any further follow-ups. “I have heard that they want to continue the Alone In The Dark series,” he tells Fango. “But I definitely will not be going back to play Edward Carnby again. I got involved with Alone In The Dark II...
Even so, the Korean-born Yune, who replaced original star Christian Slater in the second installment, reveals that he will not reprise the role in any further follow-ups. “I have heard that they want to continue the Alone In The Dark series,” he tells Fango. “But I definitely will not be going back to play Edward Carnby again. I got involved with Alone In The Dark II...
- 1/19/2009
- Fangoria
Word to the wise: for those of you who are under the assumption that Uwe Boll’s collection of barely-watchable films are entirely his fault, you are mistaken. Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer, producers of such Boll classics as House of the Dead, Bloodrayne, and screenwriters of Alone in the Dark, prove with their directorial debut, Brotherhood of Blood, that they don’t need Boll to muck up their ill-conceived horror films anymore. This time, they’ll do it themselves!
- 11/10/2008
- UGO Movies
You have to feel at least a little bit sorry for Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer, the writer/directors of the in-name-only follow-up to Uwe Boll’s notorious creature-feature flop Alone In The Dark. Having cut their teeth penning that film and the snooze-inducing House Of The Dead II, the twosome recently turned to calling the shots behind the camera with the low-budget vampire opus Brotherhood Of Blood and this far more extravagant outing—which, nevertheless, still suffers from an obvious lack of greenbacks.
Thus, whereas the original Alone In The Dark (which few people will dispute was a convoluted, badly acted mishmash of pathetically timed jump scares, lousy monster FX and sci-fi mumbo jumbo) at least looked lavish enough to pass muster as a theatrical attraction, this installment has a lot less to fall back on. So not only did the two have to try and reinvent a franchise...
Thus, whereas the original Alone In The Dark (which few people will dispute was a convoluted, badly acted mishmash of pathetically timed jump scares, lousy monster FX and sci-fi mumbo jumbo) at least looked lavish enough to pass muster as a theatrical attraction, this installment has a lot less to fall back on. So not only did the two have to try and reinvent a franchise...
- 11/5/2008
- Fangoria
You have to feel at least a little bit sorry for Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer, the writer/directors of the in-name-only follow-up to Uwe Boll’s notorious creature-feature flop Alone In The Dark. Having cut their teeth penning that film and the snooze-inducing House Of The Dead II, the twosome recently turned to calling the shots behind the camera with the low-budget vampire opus Brotherhood Of Blood and this far more extravagant outing—which, nevertheless, still suffers from an obvious lack of greenbacks.
Thus, whereas the original Alone In The Dark (which few people will dispute was a convoluted, badly acted mishmash of pathetically timed jump scares, lousy monster FX and sci-fi mumbo jumbo) at least looked lavish enough to pass muster as a theatrical attraction, this installment has a lot less to fall back on. So not only did the two have to try and reinvent a franchise...
Thus, whereas the original Alone In The Dark (which few people will dispute was a convoluted, badly acted mishmash of pathetically timed jump scares, lousy monster FX and sci-fi mumbo jumbo) at least looked lavish enough to pass muster as a theatrical attraction, this installment has a lot less to fall back on. So not only did the two have to try and reinvent a franchise...
- 11/5/2008
- Fangoria
Year: 2008
DVD Release date: October 14, 2008
Directors: Michael Roesch / Peter Scheerer
Writers: Michael Roesch / Peter Scheerer
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Amazon: link
Review by: agentorange
Rating: 5.8 out of 10
Rhetorical Question of the Day: What happens when you take a crackin' script and film it in just 12 days? Yeah, pretty much. Find out more in Ao's better-late-than-never review of Brotherhood of Blood.
I think I shuddered a little bit when I saw Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer listed as the directors on the back of the DVD case for Brotherhood of Blood. I mean, the two names are essentially synonymous with "he who shall not be named within the pages of Quiet Earth" (psst... Uwe Boll) and, well, you know what they say about quilt by association and all that. I shrugged off the bad vibes almost immediately of course (as I like to give indie films a fair chance right up...
DVD Release date: October 14, 2008
Directors: Michael Roesch / Peter Scheerer
Writers: Michael Roesch / Peter Scheerer
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Amazon: link
Review by: agentorange
Rating: 5.8 out of 10
Rhetorical Question of the Day: What happens when you take a crackin' script and film it in just 12 days? Yeah, pretty much. Find out more in Ao's better-late-than-never review of Brotherhood of Blood.
I think I shuddered a little bit when I saw Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer listed as the directors on the back of the DVD case for Brotherhood of Blood. I mean, the two names are essentially synonymous with "he who shall not be named within the pages of Quiet Earth" (psst... Uwe Boll) and, well, you know what they say about quilt by association and all that. I shrugged off the bad vibes almost immediately of course (as I like to give indie films a fair chance right up...
- 10/17/2008
- QuietEarth.us
Some fantastic news this evening as Lionsgate Home Entertainment announced that they plan on releasing a whopping eight high quality horror films from Ghost House Underground on DVD October 14th. Arriving as individual releases and as a complete box set are: Greg Bishop's SXSW horror-comedy Dance Of The Dead, Lordi's Swedish pic Dark Floors, Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer's vampire pic Brotherhood Of Blood, Dave Payne's Reeker sequel No Man's Land: Rise Of The Reeker, the ghost story from Denmark entitled Room 205, Last House In The Woods, The Substitute and Trackman. Click any title above for more info on each film, along with numerous interviews, reviews, posters, stills and much, much more.
- 7/19/2008
- bloody-disgusting.com
Alone in the Dark
The spirit of Ed Wood is alive and well and living at the core of Alone in the Dark, a ridiculously inept thriller that ties together paranormal investigation, evil creatures from another world, government conspiracies and Tara Reid as a brilliant scientist in one clunky package.
That would be all very well if you were dealing with something along the lines of a satire or spoof or affectionate homage, but the fact that none of those words appear in the press notes suggests that those giggles being generated are purely unintentional.
Based on the Atari game, Alone in the Dark is the handiwork of German director Uwe Boll, whose 2003 effort, the marginally less bad The House of the Dead, also took its cue from a video game.
Although the promise of terrible dialogue and cheese-ball visual effects might hold a certain allure, Alone in the Dark should sum up the feeling experienced by those who take the bait. Then again, a cult afterlife on home video isn't completely out of the question.
The prevailing tone is established pretty much right away with a very lengthy opening crawl being simultaneously spoken by a guy doing a lame Rod Serling impression. In a nutshell, it's got something to do with an abandoned gold mine and a door that was opened between good and evil.
Cut to Christian Slater as a paranormal investigator who looks like he has watched The Matrix too many times. A man with a distinct fondness for voice-overs, Slater's Edward Carnby has his hands full looking into the disappearance of 19 people who all happen to have been raised in the same shady orphanage.
Carnby also grew up in that orphanage, so why hasn't he vanished?
For answers he turns to Aline Cedrac (Reid), an accomplished (she has the brainy glasses to prove it) anthropologist who also happens to be Carnby's ex-girlfriend and one of the few people he can really trust.
Eventually joining forces with Stephen Dorff's tough-guy government agent Richard Burke, they solve the mystery of an ancient artifact, fend off nasty, superimposed CGI creatures and keep the world (or at least Vancouver) safe from evil.
That's a piece of cake compared to the treacherous, insurmountable dialogue awaiting them, courtesy of screenwriters Elan Mastai, Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer.
As video game adaptations go, even Pong: The Movie would have a lot more personality.
Alone in the Dark
Lions Gate Films
Credits:
Director: Uwe Boll
Screenwriters: Elan Mastai, Michael Roesch, Peter Scheerer
Producers: Uwe Boll, Shawn Williamson
Wolfgang Herold
Director of photography: Mathias Neumann
Production designer: Tink
Editor: Richard Schwadel
Costume designer: Maria Livingstone
Cast:
Edward Carnby: Christian Slater
Aline Cedrac: Tara Reid
Agent Richard Burke: Stephen Dorff
Agent Miles: Will Sanderson
James Pinkerton: Ed Anders
Crewman Barnes: Robert Bruce
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 96 minutes...
That would be all very well if you were dealing with something along the lines of a satire or spoof or affectionate homage, but the fact that none of those words appear in the press notes suggests that those giggles being generated are purely unintentional.
Based on the Atari game, Alone in the Dark is the handiwork of German director Uwe Boll, whose 2003 effort, the marginally less bad The House of the Dead, also took its cue from a video game.
Although the promise of terrible dialogue and cheese-ball visual effects might hold a certain allure, Alone in the Dark should sum up the feeling experienced by those who take the bait. Then again, a cult afterlife on home video isn't completely out of the question.
The prevailing tone is established pretty much right away with a very lengthy opening crawl being simultaneously spoken by a guy doing a lame Rod Serling impression. In a nutshell, it's got something to do with an abandoned gold mine and a door that was opened between good and evil.
Cut to Christian Slater as a paranormal investigator who looks like he has watched The Matrix too many times. A man with a distinct fondness for voice-overs, Slater's Edward Carnby has his hands full looking into the disappearance of 19 people who all happen to have been raised in the same shady orphanage.
Carnby also grew up in that orphanage, so why hasn't he vanished?
For answers he turns to Aline Cedrac (Reid), an accomplished (she has the brainy glasses to prove it) anthropologist who also happens to be Carnby's ex-girlfriend and one of the few people he can really trust.
Eventually joining forces with Stephen Dorff's tough-guy government agent Richard Burke, they solve the mystery of an ancient artifact, fend off nasty, superimposed CGI creatures and keep the world (or at least Vancouver) safe from evil.
That's a piece of cake compared to the treacherous, insurmountable dialogue awaiting them, courtesy of screenwriters Elan Mastai, Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer.
As video game adaptations go, even Pong: The Movie would have a lot more personality.
Alone in the Dark
Lions Gate Films
Credits:
Director: Uwe Boll
Screenwriters: Elan Mastai, Michael Roesch, Peter Scheerer
Producers: Uwe Boll, Shawn Williamson
Wolfgang Herold
Director of photography: Mathias Neumann
Production designer: Tink
Editor: Richard Schwadel
Costume designer: Maria Livingstone
Cast:
Edward Carnby: Christian Slater
Aline Cedrac: Tara Reid
Agent Richard Burke: Stephen Dorff
Agent Miles: Will Sanderson
James Pinkerton: Ed Anders
Crewman Barnes: Robert Bruce
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 96 minutes...
- 2/23/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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