the summer of massacre is 2011 anthology horror film written and directed by joe castro .

it is listed in guinness world records as the slasher film with the largest bodycount , at 155 .

the summer of massacre

if hell had a movie night , “ the summer of massacre ” would be the star attraction .
hotel transylvania 3 : summer vacation stars plan their dream summer getaways to some memorable movie settings .
aicn horror : new horrors war of the dead , summer of massacre , dorm of the dead , a darker reality , . . .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the summer of massacre near you .
a summer of massacre is an anthology film that includes the chapters “rampage” , “lump” , “son of the boogeyman” , “burn” and “final scene” .
tags 2011 brinke stevens cleve hall felip winslett joe castro lisa m . garcia nick principe scott barrows steven j . escobar the summer of massacre
. though with all that he’s contributed to , i think “the summer of massacre” might just be the pinnacle piece for him and his imaginative instinct for macabre .
the massacre of st . bartholomew’s day had for its background the political and religious rivalries of the court of france . admiral
shakespeare in the park ' s production of
the taming of the shrew
last summer also poked fun at trump .
breaking glass brings ' the summer of massacre ' to blu - ray on a bd - 25 disc housed in a keepcase . after some logos and warnings the disc transitions to a standard menu .
not to be taken seriously , summer of massacre would be a great drinking game where a group of friends must do a shot or chug a beer whenever someone dies . just watch out for alcohol poisoning because this film has a massive and bloody body count . those not looking for substance with their gore should seek out summer of massacre ; an impressive , grue - strewn gorefest .
…the huguenot party in the massacre of st . bartholomew’s day in august 1572 . other massacres followed in the provinces . …
texas chainsaw massacre director tobe hooper . ( photo courtesy mpi / dark sky films )
cruel summer : baywatch , valerian and the city of a thousand planets , the mummy and king arthur . composite : film stills
and its production of
troilus and cressida
last summer was set up as an allegory about the war in afghanistan .
the presenters will share stories and history of their respective families related to the massacre , but the journey of reconciliation between the two presenters will also be given special relevance .
the summer of massacre is an anthology film depicting various events that occurred , in i can only assume is los angeles , that are massacres in their own right . there is no through story and there’s not really a story in any of the individual segments either .
you’re one of four screenwriters credited on a brighter summer day . could you describe your collaboration , and who was responsible for which parts of the writing process ?
the news of the massacre was welcomed by philip ii of spain , and pope gregory xiii had a medal struck to celebrate the event . protestant nations were horrified . to explain the massacre , charles , assuming responsibility for it , claimed that there had been a huguenot plot against the crown .
includes unlimited streaming of black sweater massacre via the free bandcamp app , plus high - quality download in mp3 , flac and more .
an indication that broadcasters were aiming to fix the problem by this summer has not been met . see earlier story here .
time to break out the canoes and camp fires because the summer season at the lake begins now . what could go wrong ? some cute girls , some cool guys . . . an escape convict from a federal prison with a thirst for blood lol . they forgot to mention that in the ad . adam & eve pictures and old mill entertainment present : summer lake massacre .
…of this period was the massacre of st . bartholomew’s day . on the night of aug . 24 / 25 , 1572 , after a council at which the queen mother catherine de médicis , king charles ix , the duke d’anjou ( later henry iii ) , and the guises were present , there occurred a massacre in which coligny and…
one of the major riots of the “red summer” of 1919 , the race riot in elaine , arkansas , was also one of the deadliest . though exact numbers are unknown , it is estimated over 200 african americans were killed along with five whites during the white hysteria of a pending uprising of black sharecroppers .
i am a big supporter of indie horror and certainly respect the time , creativity and money it takes to bring ones vision to the big screen . but in the grand scheme of why we like indie horror for all of its promise , a cool hook is not enough to make a summer of massacre succeed . and patty – let’s just be friends .
the issue of war or peace in the netherlands was closely linked with the massacre of st . bartholomew’s day in paris on august 23–24 , 1572 . upon this occasion , following an abortive attempt against the life of the admiral gaspard de…
the summer of massacre is like if you took a three minute horror movie that some kid made for you tube with computer - generated gore and only the remnants of a story and stretched it out for almost 100 minutes . it’s boring , dumb , offensive , and most importantly not scary at all .
islamic state terrorists are plotting to attack tourists on holiday this summer at spanish , french and italian resorts , intelligence agencies believe .
doctor who magazine # 233 , 20th december 1995 , “archive : the massacre of st bartholomew ' s eve” by andrew pixley , marvel comics uk ltd .
the summer of massacre immediately caught my attention upon learning that it was certified by the guinness book of world records for having the highest body count ever recorded in a film . it’s a great gimmick to get genre fans interested in a film that they likely would have never bothered with otherwise . unfortunately , the world record is the only thing the movie has going for it .
q : while you were certainly careful to resist that presentist impulse and let the story of the massacre and its aftermath unfold on its own terms , you also clearly highlight some ways in which the malmedy massacre can help us to understand aspects of contemporary political life . do you worry at all that the resonance of the “fake news” phenomenon could obscure the particular contemporary relevance you had in mind ?
forty years after it scared the pants off america — and territories beyond — tobe hooper’s ultimate scare machine the texas chain saw massacre is returning to the big screen this summer in freshly restored form . hooper himself worked on the restoration and recently told entertainment weekly “the film works as well , if not better , than it originally did . ”
a summer of massacre is confusingly written and horribly acted , with a soundtrack that thumps away endlessly and cgi effects that would be more at home in a battle between the roadrunner and wile e . coyote . the most interesting story of all was “lump” , but then that girl ( guy ) is so absolutely gross with this oozing back - sac of goo that it wasn’t fun to watch .
q : you delivered the manuscript for the malmedy massacre in late summer 2016 , before we all became aware of the role that deliberately untruthful stories played in the american election , and the “fake news” label became a ubiquitous political barb . and yet those developments have now shaped responses to the book . could you say anything about the experience of having a work of history be received into a political moment that differs in such significant ways from that in which it was crafted ?
e’re coming to the end of a particularly chilly summer in hollywood . it’s been a brutal week for movie theater chains as they ready their quarterly earnings reports for shareholders and warn those investors that they’re not going to like what they see . the amc theater chain is hemorrhaging money , with a 27 % decrease in value over the summer , ticket sales have fallen 10 . 8 % across the board ,
the white terror , which is depicted in a brighter summer day , was an experience shared by everyone , both bensheng ren and waisheng ren . and a brighter summer day wasn’t the only film to discuss it ; there was also wan jen’s super citizen ko ( 1995 ) . so that part of the film wasn’t particularly controversial , and edward wasn’t interested in provoking anyone with that subject matter .
muhammad , the founder of islam and the proclaimer of the qurʾān . muhammad is traditionally said to have…
fans of the so - bad - it ' s - awesome effects on the tim & eric awesome show great job ! will delight in the spectacle of computerized gore on display in summer of massacre . the makers of this film seem to be using the same style , as none of the effects are realistic by any means , but they are damn fun to witness . blood spurts in an excessive fashion . faces are turned to pulp . every hit , slice , scorch , blast , or kick to a person results in a cartoonish guesstimation of anatomy and violence inflicted upon it .
as one of the strongest political statements in the cinema of that era . what were the challenges of making a film that addressed the white terror ?
instead of crippling the huguenot party as catherine had hoped it would do , the massacre revived hatred between roman catholics and huguenots and helped provoke a renewal of hostilities . thenceforth the huguenots abandoned john calvin ’s principle of obedience to the civil magistrate—that is , to the royal authority—and adopted the view that rebellion and tyrannicide were justifiable under certain circumstances .
though the term only surfaced after remy’s work on the book was complete , the malmedy massacre can be read as a “fake news” autopsy , a resonance now shaping the book’s reception . below , we discuss responses to the book with remy .
but when the mysterious carrie shows up , counselors begin disappearing one by one . soon , caesar and otto find themselves at the edge of a summer camp killer ' s blade as they run , duck , and swoosh for their lives !
shakespeare in the park , a venerable new york city institution that offers free outdoor theater to anyone willing to wait in line for tickets , lost the backing of two major sponsors over the weekend in the wake of a conservative outcry over this summer ' s production of
julius caesar .
here ' s what ' s going on .
aja still vividly remembers the first time he and his writing and producing partner gregory levasseur saw the film .
[ we ] used to go from video club to video club and empty the shelves of all the horror movies like pirates ,
says the paris - born filmmaker .
because at the time in the early 1990s in france , we couldn ' t find any great scary movies in the theater . i remember one summer vacation we watched , almost back - to - back , [ wes craven ' s ] the last house on the left and the texas chainsaw massacre . those two movies were shocking , unexpected experiences that made a huge impression on us . in particular , the texas chainsaw massacre became one of the most influential movies for me , especially in terms of what i did in the horror genre afterward .
the doctor and steven find themselves in 1572 france , just prior to the mass slaughter of the protestant huguenots by catherine de medici . while the doctor goes to visit apothecary charles preslin , steven becomes embroiled in the lives of several prominent huguenots , and must come to terms with the doctor ' s unwillingness to alter history to stop the imminent massacre .
hung hung ( credited in a brighter summer day as yan hong - ya ) is a taiwanese poet , filmmaker , and dramatist who was a close collaborator on several of yang’s films and served as one of his three screenwriting partners on a brighter summer day . hung first worked with yang on the director’s 1986 film the terrorizers , a stylistically bold portrait of globalization and alienation in contemporary taipei that won the silver leopard at the locarno film festival . last month , hung spoke with me via skype about his working relationship with yang , as well as a brighter summer day ’s truncated distribution and slow path to critical acclaim , and the real - life roots of its intricate narrative . ( i translated hung’s remarks into english ; our original conversation was conducted in mandarin . )
even before the terrorizers , edward was already interested in making a brighter summer day , and in many ways the two films have important thematic parallels—particularly this idea of a society killing its own people . the terrorizers was about a contemporary moment in the 1980s , and you could say a brighter summer day goes back and imagines how these “terrorizers” grew up . edward wanted to understand how this social instability and fear took hold , and how these people came to be who they were .
one of the worst assaults on african americans in our country’s history will be the focus of an upcoming program sponsored by the delta cultural center . reflection and reconciliation : the elaine massacre will be held on sunday , april 23 , at 2 p . m . at beth el heritage hall , 406 perry st .
…on august 24 came the st . bartholomew’s day massacre , in which thousands of french protestants were massacred by royal forces . the marriage was publicly styled the “scarlet nuptials” because of the bloodshed . ordered by his brother - in - law charles ix to abjure his protestant faith , henry yielded . his conversion to roman catholicism…
will the filmmaker’s classic tale of cannibalistically - inclined lunatics and the college - age kids they try to turn into barbecue wow a new generation of cinemagoers ? that remains to be seen . but we can say that , four decades after hooper and co - writer kim henkel first introduced us to gunnar hansen’s leatherface and the rest of the film’s demented crew , the brutal trailer for the restored texas chain saw massacre is not one for the faint of heart nor weak of stomach .
while the past few months have seen a handful of highly visible exceptions ( wonder woman , for one , raked in a princely $ 400m to claim the no 2 spot for the year to date in box - office gross ) , the articles declaring 2017 to be the greatest movie summer on record refer mainly to the preponderance of high quality films making the rounds rather than big - impact blockbusters .
the police dogs that sniffed through the cabin of the truck probably picked up the scent of the killer ( they certainly had no interest in the pakistani ) , but of course that trail has long since grown cold .
while responding to customer complaints on sunday , the airline tweeted ,
no matter what your political stance may be , the graphic staging of julius caesar at this summer ' s free shakespeare in the park does not reflect delta air lines ' values .
delta continued ,
their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste . we have notified them of our decision to end our sponsorship as the official airline of the public theater effective immediately .
there actually weren’t any limitations . the controversy surrounding a city of sadness had more to do with the fact that it depicted the 228 incident [ an infamous massacre that took place on february 28 , 1947 , in which tens of thousands of taiwanese protesters were killed by the kuomintang government ] . although martial law had ended , there was still very little public discussion of 228 , so the film did cause a stir—though ultimately it was never censored . a city of sadness reflected the experience of bensheng ren [ the ethnic chinese who established roots in taiwan before the beginning of the chinese communist revolution in 1949 ] .
studio recording for the massacre began on january 21st , and continued on consecutive fridays ; doctor who returned to its usual studio home of riverside 1 for this serial . hartnell was absent on january 28th while he enjoyed his week ' s vacation .
in the past , in fact , jäger has complained about the difficulty of deporting unsuccessful asylum seekers back to north africa . “it cannot be possible that these countries do not take their citizens back . the german federal government must use every opportunity to change this attitude , ” he said last summer .
castro seems to have bit off more than he could chew , having served as writer , director , producer , actor , makeup and visual effects . while i question the amount of effort that went into some of those aspects ( he seems to use the term “experimental” as an excuse for having no story and bad effects ) , i have no doubt that an abundance of time was spent in post - production to accomplish all of the death scenes . but the movie needs a lot more than that to save it . it’s an admirable attempt and it’s nice that they got their small place in history with the world record , but otherwise the summer of massacre is just another bad movie .
the dublin review of books is pleased to present a handsome book of over 500 pages celebrating some of the finest writing from its first ten years .
i usually like to go into movies without knowing a lot about them – preferring just enough to know whether i will actually be interested in watching it . sometimes , however , this backfires . i put in the dvd for the summer of massacre , not knowing anything about it but going in with the feeling that the title was kind of corny . within five minutes of the movie i had a feeling i was in for a very…interesting ride . i tried to like this movie , i really did . i wanted to like it . i wanted to be able to say that this was awesome…but i can’t .
' the summer of massacre ' is an absolutely atrocious film . the directing , acting , and visual effects are all nearly incompetent . i admire the filmmakers ' passion and the independent spirit of the production , but those factors can ' t make up for the finished product ' s lofty flaws . the video and audio are both pretty bad , suffering from budgetary and technical problems . supplements are decent , giving viewers a peek at the director ' s enthusiasm and hard work . though i tried , i really couldn ' t find anything to like about the movie , and with its lackluster technical presentation , this really is a disc to avoid .
when i went to make my first film , house of 1000 corpses , i didn ' t consciously think it at the time at all—we were just making the movie—but when i look back on it , i think , ' that is exactly the product of someone obsessed with the texas chainsaw massacre and the rocky horror picture show . and somehow , in his mind , he put them together in a blender , '
zombie says .
but when i went to make my second film , the devil ' s rejects , it was really the quality of those ' 70s movies like the texas chainsaw massacre that i was trying to emulate .
by late 1965 , the story had acquired a new title , the massacre of st bartholomew ' s eve - - after the shorter “the massacre of st bartholomew” had briefly been employed from around august - - and was designated serial w . the director assigned to it was paddy russell . russell had started her career as an actress before becoming one of the bbc ' s first female directors in 1961 . three years later she made the decision to go freelance , but continued to work on bbc programmes such as compact . russell had been the first director assigned to inside the spaceship in early 1964 , but was unavailable for the required dates . she would now become the first woman to helm a doctor who story after all .
the national endowment for the arts makes grants to nonprofit organizations for specific projects . in the past , the new york shakespeare festival has received project - based nea grants to support performances of shakespeare in the park by the public theater . however , no nea funds have been awarded to support this summer ' s shakespeare in the park production of julius caesar and there are no nea funds supporting the new york state council on the arts ' grant to public theater or its performances .
this is the latest album from the reigning monarchs , with the production costs being made possible by their fans . this newest effort contains a mix of influences and genre - bending styles from surf - ska punkabilly to gothic modern loungecore . black sweater massacre is the only album of its kind and the only one you ' ll need . . . til we decide to make another .
positive reviews do not a hit make – consider the sad example of atomic blonde , a glossy action flick which has barely recouped its $ 30m budget despite glowing notices and charlize theron as a bisexual martial arts amazon in black lingerie – and we’re in a severe drought of crowd - pleasers operating on a studio scale . it feels like the ink has scarcely dried on last year’s postmortem of the summer wreckage , and yet the time has come to undertake the solemn work of surveying the damage once again .
the critics who covered the 1824 salon , delécluze , gros , auguste chauvin , adolphe thiers and even stendhal , writing from very different perspectives , were still under the powerful influence of aristotelian aesthetics , a keystone of academic art . as mac namidhe argues convincingly , they looked at the paintings of the 1820s expecting to find there the unities of time , space and action that the academy , and even its critics , saw as essential for all great art . the massacre at chios defied this demand , stressing the passive suffering of the greeks who are about to be slain by the conquering turkish troops in place of heroic action , leaving a void at its centre , where the dramatic focus should be in academic art , and refusing to provide the precision and clarity of detail or evenness of paint application that convention demanded .
the film ' s realism is , of course , a major part of its legacy .
because of hooper ' s very realistic tone , the texas chainsaw massacre creates an experience for the viewer that is beyond any other movie—the fact that you absolutely follow the journey of some people into something that is so crude , so violent and brutal , and unflinching ,
says writer - director alexandre aja , whose own horror moviemaking resume includes high tension , a remake of the hills have eyes , and this month ' s horns , starring daniel radcliffe .
with maybe the exception of deliverance and the last house on the left , i cannot see any other movie that has that kind of impact on the viewer .
one of the most amazing tricks in filmmaking in the [ horror ] genre is the fact that when you really look at the movie , you realize there is almost no blood or graphic violence onscreen ,
aja says .
it ' s the editing , the rawness , the craziness of what you see that makes the experience so intense . your mind creates what you don ' t see in the movie and fills in the gaps to see all the ' massacre ' that hooper doesn ' t actually show onscreen .
…on the eve of the feast day of st . bartholomew , and several thousand more perished in massacres in provincial cities . this notorious episode was the signal for the fifth civil war , which ended in 1576 with the peace of monsieur , allowing the huguenots freedom of worship outside paris . opposition to…
in a brighter summer day , he doesn’t bother to explain the different gangs and their backgrounds ; he simply uses the expressions of the actors to hint that some are the children of military families and some are the children of civil servants . this is a distinction that foreign audiences and even taiwanese viewers who did not live through that era would have a tough time ascertaining . but it wasn’t our goal to give the viewer a thorough explanation of each and every character ; as long as they were compelling , that was enough for us .
as the summer progressed , wiles and tosh realised they had a problem on their hands with regard to the doctor ' s female companion . they had decided to dispense with vicki and replace her with trojan handmaiden katarina , only to realise that that character ' s primitive origins made her less than ideal for viewer identification . they therefore elected to kill off katarina in the serial which would precede “the war of god” , the daleks ' master plan . as a result , it appears that lucarotti was asked to incorporate a new companion , young protestant maid anne chaplet , into his scripts . anne would escape the huguenot massacre by joining the doctor and steven in the tardis .
after punching out the police chief ' s mentally challenged brother , an effete tough guy , caesar , is on the run . together , he and his slovenly half brother , otto , take on new identities as counselors at the strangely vacant camp sunsmile . the would - be summer camp has attracted a motley crew of hollywood outcasts , all with something to hide .
meanwhile , in december , both wiles and tosh had resigned from doctor who after encountering numerous difficulties during the making of the epic the daleks ' master plan . tosh was the first to leave the programme , handing over to gerry davis in mid - january 1966 . davis ' first credit would come on the fourth episode of the massacre ; this meant that tosh could receive a co - writing credit on this installment , something typically forbidden for a bbc story editor .
the biggest omissions were the scenes involving xiao si’r’s father and the white terror [ a period of martial law between 1949 and 1987 , during which taiwan’s kuomintang government suppressed political dissidents ] . the shorter version took the focus off of the political content and placed it more heavily on the stories of the children .
for hooper , the newer , shinier chainsaw is more than just a piece of moving - picture memorabilia . it ' s a chance for audiences to revisit the political underpinnings that led to the film ' s creation in the first place . though it ' s easy to think of the film as a straight - up horror movie , the texas chainsaw massacre also belongs to the new hollywood movement that was happening during the 1970s , an era when films were being influenced by the pervasive disillusionment resulting from events like watergate and the vietnam war .
on august 18 , 1572 , catherine’s daughter , margaret of france ( marguerite de valois ) , was married to the huguenot henry of navarre ( the future henry iv of france ) , and a large part of the huguenot nobility came to paris for the wedding . the attempt on admiral coligny’s life four days later failed ; he was only wounded . to placate the angry huguenots , the government agreed to investigate the assassination attempt . fearing discovery of her complicity , catherine met secretly with a group of nobles at the tuileries palace to plot the complete extermination of the huguenot leaders , who were still in paris for the wedding festivities . charles was persuaded to approve of the scheme , and , on the night of august 23 , members of the paris municipality were called to the louvre and given their orders .
the veteran actor shares lessons she’s learned from working with some of the world’s greatest filmmakers .
were nice enough to give my faithful readers of aicn horror a sneak preview of the first episode . on the 31st , the first episode will be free ; then the remainder of the 8 - episode season will be pay - to - download .
in composing his storyline , lucarotti made use of an interest expressed by both wiles and william hartnell to have the star play different roles in the programme . ( indeed , hartnell had earlier suggested he could play the doctor ' s evil time travelling progeny in a story called “the son of doctor who” ! ) this led to the creation of the abbot of amboise , named for the central french town which was the site of a 1560 huguenot conspiracy against the catholic house of guise .
the portrayal of pretty much every woman here is especially annoying . not only do each of them attempt to yodel their christina aguilera - ed version of the song the band just sang five seconds ago around the bonfire to fit the situation they are in , but they are also simply cast as distractions and groupies . a song is sung by one of the band members ; one of the undistinguishable blondes sits at the
so german law enforcement tried to pin amri down , and they got pretty close . but it’s also possible that the investigators underestimated one piece of serious information : a report by the state police in north rhein - westphalia , which is dated from july , shows that amri was heard talking about carrying out attacks this summer . whether this piece of evidence was judged insufficient or ignored is still unclear .
television reception problems continue to plague local viewers , with the the dreaded ‘atmospheric ducting’ problem interfering with the signal of commercial broadcasts at times of temperature fluctuation . unfortunately these fluctuations occur at the beginning and end of the day , coinciding with peak viewing times .
as if sxsw , the film festival currently taking place in austin , tx , didn’t have enough cinematic treats to make you want to relocate , they’re now host to the 4k premiere of the texas chain saw massacre ! tobe hooper’s seminal horror celebrates its’ 40th anniversary this year , and current rightsholder dark sky films have been hard at work in mastering the film in 4k for a theatrical re - release this summer . dark sky previously issued a pristine and special features stacked blu - ray release a couple of years back , but i think it’s safe to assume another edition will be released now that 4k ready television sets are being aggressively rolled out . exact screening dates of where you can see the re - release in theaters is sure to be revealed soon .
there’s no question i am in the position of being in the right place at the right time . but the unexpected resonance of parts of the malmedy massacre should remind historians—and the presses that publish their work—not to give in to the presentist temptation . while the british historian e . h . carr was certainly right in claiming that historical research is always in significant part an ongoing dialog between the present and the past , we cannot allow present concerns to over - determine what we research and write about . we must also remain equally , if not more , concerned about what has changed and in recovering what has been lost .
suppose we are currently making the same mistake we made at the outset of this drama — suppose the dark crevices of the russia scandal run not just a little deeper but a lot deeper .
in the opening days of the battle of the bulge , members of a waffen ss division executed 84 american prisoners of war near the belgian town of malmedy . after a long and painstaking investigation , the u . s . army tried and convicted 74 accused perpetrators , but a concerted effort to delegitimize and overturn the convictions immediately ushered in a decade of controversy over accusations that vengeance - seeking american interrogators had tricked and tortured the defendants and forced them to sign false confessions . by 1957 each of the convicted men had been released .
he is also accused of having close links with leaders of the terrorist organisation isis who are based in syria and iraq .
the ending suggests that baldwin’s the ghost may return for some sort of sequel . here’s hoping that won’t be the case .
in the first chapter of her book margaret mac namidhe cites fellow art historian beth wright’s description of eugène delacroix as an “illustrious rather than a well - known figure” . many of those who profoundly admire delacroix’s work do so on the basis of their familiarity with paintings such as liberty storming the barricades , the death of sardanapalus , the women of algiers , a number of paintings of animals in frenzied action and portraits of friends such as chopin , george sand and paganini . few people take the trouble to trek around the great public spaces that hold his huge mural schemes . and since the latter do not reproduce well in books , knowledge of the artist’s work is limited for the general art lover , even if his reputation is not disputed .
the film fleshes itself out by delving into the relations between the finnish , american , and russian soldiers , casting the american as the soldier less gung ho about working together . in a commanding performance , andrew tiernan stars as the most sensible ( and most badass ) of the soldiers and delivers a gruff and powerful performance as he hits all of the action beats with a lot of gristle as well as provides some soul to the quieter scenes in the film . given the backdrop of world war ii when this film is set , war of the dead does seem to want to make a statement about the fragility of international relations at the time and today , but doesn ' t let that get in the way of making some gripping scenes of battle and action with the unkillable dead .
not at all . i wrote the malmedy massacre because i had become fascinated by the post - trial controversy . the present moment was also very much on my mind . i believed we needed a more historically informed debate about both interrogation methods and military courts . another purpose was to contribute to what i would call the “untangling” of modern german history . for several decades now , german , north american , and israeli scholars have—often in the face of considerable resistance—revealed the extent to which our understanding of nazi germany has been shaped by former nazis and their sympathizers . yet another aim was to call attention to a strain of german and american anti - semitism that became the lifeblood of the malmedy case controversy .
son of the boogeyman a woman goes into the house in the neighborhood that is presumed to be the dwelling of the boogeyman , and is raped by a grotesque guy . later this guy strikes out to kill his offspring .
click here to check out my retro - reviews of friday the 13th and the stinky 2009 remake .
the defining lesson of this year’s flop crop : there’s no such thing as a sure thing . we’ve watched studios incrementally move away from original , creator - driven projects seen as “risky” ( meanwhile , the first - time director jordan peele’s get out is the most profitable film of the year , with a $ 175m payday on a measly $ 4 . 5m budget ) towards franchises and other projects ostensibly boasting built - in audiences through brand recognition . but this summer , audiences drew a line under what they’ll buy into on simple merit of nostalgia or the sunk - time fallacy , and now the chickens of failure have come home to roost .
for those of you who like your horror with a heavy dose of action , adrenaline and ballz , i present to you war of the dead . though it lacks the scope of max brooks ' world war z , it incorporates a lot of the attention to military that occurs throughout that book and most likely will occur in the upcoming brad pitt production . war of the dead views like an episode of band of brothers with zombies as american , russian , and finnish soldiers attempt to work together in a battle where the nazi soldiers they are fighting simply will not have the decency to die .
folks and the participants in the contest . so below are the winners of the contest and their most frightening sounds , all fascinating reads and admittedly frightening .
unhappy that two proposals had now been passed over by the doctor who production office after believing he had been guaranteed a commission by spooner , lucarotti involved his agents . to resolve the matter , tosh agreed to discuss a new storyline with lucarotti . drawing on wiles ' desire to make use of religious conflict in doctor who , it was apparently tosh who suggested the 1572 huguenot massacre as a potential setting . lucarotti was commissioned to write “the war of god” on july 9th .
in the malmedy massacre : the war crimes trial controversy , historian steven remy shows how the torture accusations were invented and disseminated by a network of american and german trial critics , including the accused soldiers , their aggrieved american defense attorney , army officials , prominent german clergymen , and a then - unknown american senator making his demagogic debut , joseph mccarthy . conspiratorial anti - semitism , a gullible american press , and ex - nazis and their sympathizers all contributed to our enduring misunderstanding of one of world war ii’s most infamous crimes .
although he had done some work on forthcoming stories , particularly the celestial toymaker , the massacre of st bartholomew ' s eve marked donald tosh ' s final doctor who credit . he went on to further writing and story editing , including sir arthur conan doyle ' s sherlock holmes . in 1967 , tosh submitted a proposal for a doctor who adventure entitled “the rosacrutians” ( or “the rose marriners” ) which was not taken forward . tosh left television in the mid - seventies to become the caretaker of st mawes castle in cornwall .
the question hansen is most often asked about the making of the film is :
was it fun ?
his stock answer ?
not a bit of it .
that the film was shot in texas in the middle of summer did not help .
i think it was one side or the other of 100 degrees for almost all of the shooting ,
hansen recalls .
and it was central texas , which means it was quite humid . for me i think it was also bad because i wore a mask . and that mask was made out of latex . so even though i could breathe through it fine , it was tight up against my skin , so i was always soaking wet under it . and then i had a wool suit and wore wool trousers the whole time .
in early december , jackie lane was cast as dodo . lane , who sometimes acted under the name “jackie lenya” , had appeared in programmes including coronation street and compact , as well as in theatre . in the summer of 1963 , lane had turned down the opportunity to play another companion , susan ; at the time she was not interested in taking on a long - term assignment . on december 29th , lane was contracted to play dodo for thirteen episodes ( encompassing the final part of the massacre as well as serials x , y and z ) , with an option for twelve more . wiles hoped that dodo could be made distinctive by having lane ' s long hair styled differently in every story . this plan had to be scuppered , however , when lane opted for a very short haircut soon after passing her audition .
i think that whole scene was the most intense part of the movie and all of us were slightly insane by then .
—gunnar hansen ( leatherface )
just before the release of her new film you were never really here , lynne ramsay spoke with us about her early moviegoing life in glasgow , the version of herself that emerges on set , and the mind - expanding power of chess .
most significantly , wiles and tosh eventually realised that adopting anne as an ongoing character would present many of the same difficulties as katarina . tosh therefore rewrote the ending to have anne remain in france and included a new coda to the story , set in modern - day england . this introduced dorothea “dodo” chaplet , by implication a descendant of anne ' s ( which meant that she somehow escaped the massacre ) . dodo - - a character devised by wiles and tosh - - would now be the doctor ' s new companion . upon learning of the extent of tosh ' s changes , lucarotti asked that his name be removed from the credits ; this request was ultimately rescinded .
in the wake of two back - to - back mass murders on chico ' s frat row , loner brent chirino must infiltrate the ranks of a popular fraternity to investigate his twin brother ' s murder at the hands of the serial killer known as
motherface .
professor lai and edward used to play basketball and speak english together , and we’d joke about them being “americans . ” i think being able to stand on the sidelines as an observer , an outsider , gave edward the courage to raise certain questions in the film . he had actually experienced or observed the world he was depicting in a brighter summer day , but after living abroad , he had a stronger sense of the contrast between the social freedoms in the u . s . and the repression in taiwan . this gave him a unique ability to perceive and grapple with the social problems back home .
picking up exactly where the original left off . this 3rd installment tells the tale of cindy and her little sister candy fighting the good fight with the help of their friends against evil . . . see full summary »
i was studying theater at university , and my professor , lai sheng - chuan [ stan lai ] , was a friend of hou hsiao - hsien , edward yang , and other figures in the new taiwan cinema . when i became interested in working in movies , professor lai introduced me to edward . during my summer vacation in 1986 , i went to work on his film the terrorizers as an assistant director .
director marko mäkilaakso does a good job of incorporating the action with the horror . though he does seem to like to use slo mo a bit excessively to highlight dramatic events , most of the time he does so effectively . i ' d put war of the dead in the same category as the underworld series , using all kinds of flashy camerawork in its action - oriented tale .
i think one of the major problems i had with this film is that it killed off one of the coolest characters in the series . crazy ralph ( walt gorney ) may have been made fun of when he warned the campers that “camp crystal lake has a death curse ! ” but it made for some of the most memorable scenes in the early parts of the series . killing off ralph in this one might have added to the body count , but it took out one of the characters that could have made for some nice continuity from one movie to the next and offered some of the local flavor as well . what did ralph know about the lake ? what made him crazy ? we’ll never know .
the scariest sound i ' ve ever heard was last year , when i was lying in my bed reading when i heard the movement of something in the walls of my room . on its own this would not be that bad but i was right in the middle of reading hp lovecraft’s
the rats in the wall
and as i neared the end of the story the movement i heard in the walls got more and more frantic to the point where i left my house and crashed on my friends couch .
it’s the continuity that makes the first few friday the 13th’s so special . the latter films forgot all of that . this one began where the first ended ; acknowledging the history that was just building . it made you want to seek out the original and watch it back to back . sure the storyline is almost identical , but the evolution of the killer from pamela voorhees to her son in this one felt like parts of a bigger story .
delta airlines was the first to end its sponsorship , announcing yesterday that it would no longer be
the official airline of the public theater ,
the organization that produces shakespeare in the park .
he feared that the threshold for ‘acceptable service’ may be something like receiving signal 90 per cent of the time which the service may reach , the issue being that the 10 per cent the stations are offline are peak viewing times .
the second chapter is lovingly referred to as lump . laurie ( laid to rest’s nick principe in a role that some may consider offensive ) is a deformed , mentally challenged paraplegic on experimental steroids in an effort to treat her spina bifida . she is on the brink of death , but her bitch of a sister , kimberly ann ( lisa m . garcia ) , decides to speed up the process . while out in the woods with a group of friends , kimberly pushes the laurie’s wheelchair off a cliff . the only problem is that laurie won’t die . in fact , she can walk now , and she wants revenge . brinke stevens ( the slumber party massacre ) cameos as the girls’ mother .
fun fact : hooper deliberately limited the amount of onscreen violence in ( dashed ) hopes of getting a pg rating . ( the mpaa settled on an
r .
)
it was a cool summer’s evening in devon when i met luke massey . he had arrived with some highly specialist night vision cameras for one of the shoots for the bbc series ‘the burrowers’ . our plan was to film myself and a load of rabbits on a thermal imaging camera to illustrate how active these animals became after dark . but as is often the case with new technology there were problems and delays . just as well , it gave us the chance to find some common ground over the hunting issues in malta . luke then mailed me some links to some films i hadn’t seen and to one which couldn’t be shown because the hunters had seriously threatened one of the central participants . this increased our desire to do something ourselves .


dark universe is a 1993 horror/science-fiction film starring blake pickett , cherie scott , bently title , john maynard , paul austin saunders , patrick moran , tom ferguson , steve barkett , and joe estevez as rod kendrick .

the soundtrack was composed by jeffrey walton .

the film was written by patrick moran , executive-produced by fred olen ray , grant austin waldman , and jim wynorski , and directed by steve latshaw .

dark universe ( film )

plot unknown . described as a film in universal ' s
dark universe
franchise .
plot unknown . described as the second film in universal ' s
dark universe
franchise .
universal’s ‘dark universe’ films will have wildly different budgets ; warner bros . considering legal action over the name
2 . matt schneps and phil sadler the creators of a private universe describe their motivation for making the film .
universal monsters are coming back with a vengeance in the dark universe , and we have the dates to howl about .
in a conversation with heat vision , kurtzman discusses the future of the dark universe and the surprising way his first job as a production assistant on heat came full circle while directing the film .
inspired by the success of marvel’s cinematic universe , the dark universe is a planned reboot of all of universal’s classic monster characters including the bride of frankenstein and the creature from the black lagoon .
the dark universe is a combined setting of monster films produced by universal pictures , featuring reimagined takes of the classic universal horror characters .
10 . a private universe 20 years later a session about the making of a private universe , with remarks from the creators , education leaders , and heather , the former middle schooler featured in the film .
plot unknown . feature film based on one of universal pictures ' classic monster characters .
canon discontinuity : dracula untold , which was intended to be the first in this line of films when it was made , is separate from the dark universe , its role as the first film being taken by the mummy .
a remake of the 1930s monster movie starring boris karloff ( don’t go in hoping for a remake of brendan fraser’s movie ) , the mummy is the first film in the brand new dark universe , a cinematic universe which universal aims to emulate the marvel cinematic universe with remakes of the studio’s classic 1930s monster films including the invisible man and bride of frankenstein .
but the name dark universe could prove problematic for universal . warner bros . already has plans for the title with a supernatural - themed justice league movie and a series of announced comic books branded under the dark universe banner . warners is mulling legal action , according to a studio source .
this weekend , “ the mummy ” inaugurates universal pictures’ dark universe , a streak of films centered on famous monsters that first appeared onscreen in the 1920s and ‘30s . but the studio didn’t even wait for the tom cruise spectacle to find success before moving forward with its dark universe initiative .
with “ the mummy , ” starring tom cruise and sofia boutella , releasing this weekend , universal is officially kicking off its “ dark universe . ”
dark matter by blake crouch 342 pp . crown . $ 26 . 99 .
5 . bassam shakhashiri the head of the nsf education directorate , which funded a private universe in 1981 , used the film to rebuild federal support for science education .
the first instalment in universal pictures’ dark universe series , the mummy , was shot on location in namibia , london and surrey . the film’s opening scenes were shot in and around the coastal city of swakopmund , which was doubled for egypt and iraq .
in a new interview with fandom , kurtzman casually added a few additional titles to the dark universe queue : “dracula , ” “frankenstein , ” “phantom of the opera” and “the hunchback of notre dame . ” especially notable : “phantom of the opera” and “the hunchback of notre dame” had not yet been mentioned among chatter about the dark universe’s development . meanwhile , “dracula untold , ” the 2014 fantasy starring luke evans , was originally intended to kick off the dark universe , but universal has since sidelined that film as a standalone , opting to launch the sequence with “the mummy” instead .
i feel like i’ve been hearing about the film and television adaptations of this series for a while .
kurtzman , the writer behind the transformers and rebooted star trek film series , is a key architect of the universe as a producer , and also worked on the story for the mummy .
universal pictures has been talking up its interconnected universe of monster movies for a few years now . with the first entry , the mummy , arriving on june 9th , the studio has today given the universe a name and announced the next film in the planned franchise .
however , the most interesting thing to note from a new article about the creation of dark universe is that not every film will be a giant tentpole release . in fact , a producer who specializes in low - budget horror wants to take a stab at one of the movies .
the high - stakes blockbuster arrives with so - so tracking as tom cruise leads a risky foray into the
dark universe ,
a superhero - style series of interconnected films .
the “modern woman in a very classic tale” is a bit of a tease for bride of frankenstein while the “danny” langley refers to is in fact composer danny elfman . elfman wrote the main dark universe theme , which was revealed in a sizzle reel featuring clips from the classic universal monster films and the unveiling of the dark universe logo . check it out below .
the film from director alex kurtzman is launching dark universe , based on universal ' s monsters . universal has a number of films in the works , with bride of frankenstein up next in 2019 . stars attached to the universe include tom cruise ( the mummy ' s nick morton ) , johnny depp ( the invisible man ) , javier bardem ( frankenstein’s monster ) , and russell crowe , whose dr . jekyll is introduced in the mummy and will be a linchpin to the universe .
originally intended to launch with 2014 ' s dracula untold , development of the dark universe was postponed when that film underperformed . it instead began with 2017 ' s the mummy reboot , starring tom cruise as canon foreigner nick morton , russell crowe as dr . jekyll , and sofia boutella as the titular mummy .
universal pictures’ long - discussed plans for a shared cinematic universe reviving its classic movie monsters got off to a shaky start in with the mummy , which arrived in june to negative reviews and a disappointing worldwide box office of $ 397 . 6 million . now alex kurtzman , the film’s director and one of the architects of the dark universe , is casting doubt on his own future with the franchise .
universal ' s bigger issue comes from its lack of memorable , beloved protagonists to stitch such a cinematic universe together . sure , a high - budget monster - versus - monster film could have fun , silly moments , but the current contenders for
best cinematic universe
( as in , marvel ,
not exactly . people are describing the dark tower as a sequel or continuation of the entire novel series .
asked whether he’s still involved with the dark universe , kurtzman told ign , “you know the truth is , i don’t know . i really don’t know . i haven’t really decided is the honest answer . ”
the first great movie character universe was a vision of carl laemmle jr . ' s ,
says sean daniel , who produced this mummy and the last three .
so creating this dark universe brand and bringing back these characters makes sense . done right , people will always love monster movies .
the mummy premieres today in uk cinemas nationwide . the film stars tom cruise , sofia boutella , annabelle wallis and courtney b vance .
the trailer for the dark tower dropped early this morning , giving us our first glimpse of the long - awaited adaptation of stephen king’s epic series . but this film isn’t your typical adaptation , where the movie is largely based on the novel . this movie is actually a kind of sequel to the entire series , and there are bigger plans beyond just a film franchise for the story .
a dark force threatens alpha , a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets . special operatives valerian and laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just alpha , but the future of the universe .
the mummy is not only raising the dead , it ' s giving rise to a new shared universe .
copyright © 2005 - 2018 / film . privacy policy / cookie policy . web design by pro blog design . logo concept by : illumination ink
the movies will collectively be known as the dark universe , and the bride of frankenstein is set to follow the mummy on february 14th , 2019 . that film will star javier badem as frankenstein’s creation , though no casting has been confirmed for the titular monster . bill condon ( beauty and the beast , dreamgirls ) will direct from a script by david koepp ( spider - man , mission : impossible ) . it looks set to be more of a gothic romance as opposed to the blockbuster action film that is the mummy .
with “the mummy , ” starring tom cruise and sofia boutella , releasing this weekend , universal is officially kicking off its “dark universe . ” though reviews for “the mummy” have been unfavorable and box office tracking is far from through the roof , the studio hasn’t said it will slow down on its planned monster universe . the films will mine [ … ]
3 . irwin shapiro the former head of the harvard - smithsonian center for astrophysics reminisces about his role in getting harvard to sign off on the film .
how much do you think the reception to the mummy will affect plans going forward ? the studio is said to be considering a range of budgets for the dark universe , so there ' s potentially a lot of variety there for these monsters movies .
it remains to be seen whether this series will follow the modern
cinematic universe
model as codified by the marvel cinematic universe or blend closer to the original as it goes on . the first film seemed like it swung more modern but given because of that performance the second has been delayed to rework the script , that might change in order to allow bride of frankenstein to roll along .
the dark tower is close , now . the crimson king awaits . soon roland will raise the horn of eld . and blow . urltoken
another interesting tidbit involves warner bros . , who aren’t happy with universal’s chosen name for their cinematic universe . when i initially wrote about the dark universe reveal , i joked that wb probably wasn’t going to be happy because that was also the working title of their superhero movie that would have teamed up various supernatural dc comics characters ( a project more commonly known as justice league dark around the internet ) . but this may not turn out to be a laughing matter , as thr claims warner bros . is considering legal action :
the film has struggled with critics and is poised to come in at no . 2 at the u . s . box office this weekend , but it is headed to a huge international debut . universal is banking on that international appeal , as well as a slate of projects that could include a mix of big - budget , medium - range , and even lower - budget monster movies , to make dark universe a success .
6 / 13 / 18 : not a whole lot is going on with the franchise as of right now . . . . but channing tatum is rumored to be starring in ' van helsing ' . all of the upcoming movies in universal ' s dark universe franchise .
following the disappointing response to solo , lucasfilm is reportedly focusing its attention on star wars : episode ix and what the next trilogy of star wars film will be after that .
the stars are out for universal ' s
monster universe
plans . . . but , uh , where ' s drac ?
universal’s dark universe feels like gamble . what if audiences don’t embrace the mummy ? what if their burgeoning cinematic universe built around classic monsters like frankenstein and the invisible man dies on the vine ? we’ll see which direction the wind blows in the weeks ahead , but with a bill condon - directed bride of frankenstein waiting in the wings and more movies in the works , universal seems to be counting on this thing working out .
the mummy has been released and the dark universe is here . a new 21st century take on the beloved universal monsters from the 1930s and ' 40s , this is something fans have either anticipated or feared , but as it ' s here , we explore what it will transform into next .
near the end of the film , judy lawson fires a single - shot flare pistol at the monster . moments later , she fires a second time with no evidence of having reloaded .
the implication here is that the film is set after the dark tower ( the novel ) : roland has been sent back to the beginning of his quest , and the events of the gunslinger will play out in a slightly different way . as we saw in the trailer , he meets jake chambers , and is going after the man in black . so , the film could essentially be an adaptation of the gunslinger , but a continuation of the story at the same time . it also looks like it’ll be set partially in our own world .
he continues : “our experience with the mummy provided a rare chance to ten young people to be attached for training in various departments on the production . namibia could expect more tourists this year as a result of our locations having been featured in the film . film tourism is a growing phenomenon worldwide , stimulated by the growth of the entertainment industry and the increase in international travel . ”
in addition to the mummy and the bride of frankenstein , the dark universe is also slated to include a creature from the black lagoon entry , as well as films centered around the invisible man , van helsing , wolf man , frankenstein , dracula , phantom of the opera and the hunchback of notre dame .
to understand the film , you need to know a little bit about the books that the film is associated with . stephen king is easily one of the best - known genre writers in the world . while king is known as a horror writer , having written classics like carrie and the shining , he’s more than that : he experiments with epic fantasy , horror , and science fiction . the dark tower , as a series , is a bit of a mash - up of all those genres , and it’s a series he considers his magnum opus .
the next and only officially slated dark universe movie is a remake of the crown jewel in universal monsters canon : bride of frankenstein . the original was released in 1935 and still remains as one of the few truly breathtaking examples of a horror sequel that builds on what came before and makes its own wonderful achievement .
that appears to be the logic coming from the programming wizards at universal studios . the film production company took the ( mummy ) wraps off its
dark universe
initiative on monday , and its intent is clear : to
reboot
the company ' s old monster - movie franchises over the next few years with big - name actors , interconnecting plots , and a rising tide of evil—a tide , of course , that can only be stopped by good guys who don ' t always follow the rules .
6 . joel mintzes the science education research director for the follow - on series minds of our own discusses the research base for a private universe .
8 . heather mars talk heather mars , the middle schooler in a private universe , recalls the reaction to the video and her subsequent experiences in education .
but then there’s this interesting tidbit . jason blum of blumhouse productions , the company behind get out , split , the purge movies , the paranormal activit y series , the insidious movies , and tons of other horror films ( both great and terrible ) is interested in playing a role in dark universe . here’s the relevant information from thr :
who says cinematic universes have to be so expensive ? why can’t dark universe consist of modestly budgeted gothic horror movies instead of summer tentpoles ? we’ll see how things proceed , but the news that universal is open to making films of all sizes and budgets bodes well for a horror movie universe where some of the entries are actually , you know , horror movies . honestly , i’d much rather see jason blum and some fresh talent tackle a classic monster and try to make it scary again than another giant spectacle .
on may 22 , universal pictures unveiled its
dark universe ,
an umbrella under which its monster movies will be released . at least five films are on the way , including the invisible man ( with johnny depp ) , dr . jekyll ( russell crowe ) , frankenstein ' s monster ( javier bardem ) and bride of frankenstein ( not yet cast ) . but the future of the universe hinges on the performance of june 9 ' s the mummy , a tom cruise - led reboot of a trilogy of films started in 1999 . early tracking suggests the alex kurtzman - directed film may debut in the low $ 40 million range in north america — a modest opening salvo for what is hoped to be a series that could someday rival dc and marvel .
the invisible man of the 21st century will also like all dark universe movies be produced by alex kurtzman and chris morgan , and is being written by ed solomon ( now you see me , charlie’s angels ) . the picture is also ostensibly based on h . g . wells’ 1897 . yet , that novel , as well as the ’33 film that starred claude rains as the eponymous translucent face , made the invisible man a rather dangerous and insane scientist . one wonders that if this is the beginning of a new franchise for depp , whether it will be possible to keep that homicidal mania here ?
the production’s stay in swakopmund required 650 members of cast and crew , 215 of whom were sourced locally while the rest were brought in from south africa and the uk . moonlighting film production services were hired to help coordinate the shoot .
the central saint martins building in camden was also staged as a hospital for a shoot in april 2016 , with 180 cast and crew present . the site was recently featured in woody harrelson’s live - feature film , lost in london .
behind the scenes , universal execs are said to be especially concerned about mummy , even though insiders say a $ 40 million bow ( plus a strong overseas haul ) would be enough to move forward with the universe as planned . comcast , universal ' s parent company , is giving the film its so - called symphony marketing push in the u . s . in which multiplatform divisions work together to promote a single project . and the film is expected to do the majority of its business abroad , where cruise continues to be a major draw . the mummy will open day - and - date in more than 60 markets , including china .
universal isn’t the only studio attempting to reap the benefits of a cinematic universe without bothering to put in the groundwork . zack snyder’s batman v superman : dawn of justice ( with ben affleck as the caped crusader ) was supposed to put rocket fuel in the dc extended universe ( dceu ) ’s engine by setting the comics’ two biggest beasts in opposition . but audiences so far seem much more keen on patty jenkins’ wonder woman , an old - school superhero origins movie with the previously unknown gal gadot in the lead , and a film that would have made the perfect introduction to a slow - building shared universe . it remains to be seen whether the forthcoming justice league can take advantage of this unexpected but completely welcome fillip for the dceu – that joss whedon is involved is a positive sign .
last we heard , the show is due to enter production this year , with a 10–13 episode season slated to hit in 2018 . the film is set to hit theaters this summer , so it’ll likely tie in with that as a prequel . depending on how well the dark tower does at the box office , it’ll probably be part of a strategy similar to what marvel is doing with its films and various television shows . we’ll find out in august .
the last gunslinger , roland deschain , has been locked in an eternal battle with walter o ' dim , also known as the man in black , determined to prevent him from toppling the dark tower , which holds the universe together . with the fate of the worlds at stake , good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only roland can defend the tower from the man in black .
behind the scenes , koepp is working with the mummy director alex kurtzman and writer christopher mcquarrie , plus writer chris morgan ( the fate of the furious ) , as universal’s dark universe braintrust . the studio isn’t rushing any of the other films into production , however , choosing instead to give the creative teams to ample time with each project . “the enterprise masterfully developed by chris and alex will allow each subsequent chapter the right time to find the perfect cast , filmmakers , and vision to fulfill it , ” said universal pictures chairman donna langley in a statement . “as we launch dark universe with danny’s provocative theme before the mummy and collaborate with a brilliant filmmaker like bill to weave the story of a very modern woman in a very classic tale , we feel confident we’re off to a tremendous start . ”
starring tom cruise , annabelle wallis , sofia boutella , jake johnson , courtney b . vance and russell crowe , the mummy grossed just $ 74 . 5 million domestically on an estimated $ 125 million production budget . one positive that could keep the dark universe afloat is that the film performed well overseas . still , universal hopes to be able to tap into the domestic audience next time around . “i think every movie will be different , ” kurtzman said . “i certainly know that the legacy of the monsters have endured across the world throughout the years . almost a century . so i have to believe american audiences will find it too with the right ingredients . ”
andjene andreas of the namibia film commission explains : “the production took place around the rossing mountains , sunset dunes , pyramid dunes , swakop canyons ( pictured below ) , tent dunes , rossing mountain airstrip and messum crater which are all in the erongo region . ”
) have beloved heroes spilling from all sides . universal has van helsing ( whose 2004 film made tons of money in spite of sucking ) , and . . . uh . . . another generic , flat tom cruise character . maybe
scary german guy
from
the softly , softly approach to universe - building is not the only trick universal seems to be missing . apart from jackson , the marvel cinematic universe flourished largely by casting unlikely actors in the key roles . the iron man and avengers movies helped transform the likes of robert downey jr and scarlett johansson into star names , but neither would have been automatic first pick to lead a new franchise 10 years ago .
by contrast , the “dark universe” seems to be on a rabid mission to hire as many middle - aged hollywood a - listers as possible , from tom cruise as soldier - of - fortune nick morton in the mummy , to crowe as jekyll / hyde and johnny depp as the upcoming invisible man . we’re expected to find out soon who is playing the bride of frankenstein in 2019’s bill condon - directed effort , with rumours swirling around angelina jolie .
a veteran writer and producer whose credits include transformers , star trek and the amazing spider - man 2 , kurtzman was tasked , along with chris morgan ( the fast and the furious franchise ) to shepherd the dark universe ; they’re expected to produce 2019’s bride of frankenstein , from beauty and the beast director bill condon . however , now kurtzman is saying , “i have to stay interested in it . i have to feel like my passion is there for it . ”
so , we’re not only getting the film , but a tv series . word broke about that last september , and the show is going to be designed to flesh out this pretty epic story that they’re telling . apparently , it’ll include idris elba ( who’s playing roland in the movie ) , and it’ll explore his backstory a bit . it’ll be based a bit on the gunslinger , and it’ll have parts of the fourth book , wizard and glass . so , in some ways , it looks like it’ll be an actual adaptation of the novels , whereas the film is a continuation of that .
part of the appeal of this universe is the big stars you ' ve attached , and in the mummy in particular , seeing tom cruise and russell crowe fight is a draw . how ' d you approach that scene ?
in addition to badem , dark universe will include the mummy stars tom cruise as nick morton ; russell crowe as dr . jekyll / mr . hyde ; and sofia boutella as the mummy herself , ahmanet . crowe’s jekyll / hyde will be the binding agent between all the movies , which will include a johnny depp - starring the invisible man , and , presumably , the wolfman and dracula . an image of all the main stars cast so far ( above ) was also revealed today .
in the technical sense of the term , blake crouch’s “dark matter” is definitely a book . even the advance galley i just read ( in one sitting ) was printed on actual paper , with an artfully designed cover and everything . but rather like the mysterious cubelike chamber invented by the physicist jason dessen in crouch’s novel — well , let’s say by at least one version of jason and perhaps by several ; indeed , perhaps by an infinite or incalculable number of jasons — “dark matter” is a portal into other dimensions of reality .
i think that variety is going to be our good friend when it comes to the evolution of dark universe . you obviously want to set a somewhat consistent tone , so that people know what to expect when you see these movies , but it would be ideal for each movie to have its own identity , which is largely going to be dependent on who is directing the films and who is starring in the films . i ' m really excited to see what bill condon does with bride of frankenstein .
aside from “the mummy , ” “bride of frankenstein” is the only planned movie to be dated thus far , to be released on feb . 14 , 2019 . “the invisible man” and “frankenstein” have already nabbed stars in johnny depp and javier bardem , respectively . angelina jolie has been linked to the lead role in “bride of frankenstein , ” but has yet to officially sign on . a new musical theme for the “ dark universe , ” composed by danny elfman , will debut in theaters ahead of “the mummy . ”
dark universe films are connected by a mysterious multinational organization known as prodigium . led by the enigmatic and brilliant dr . henry jekyll , prodigium ' s mission is to track , study , and—when necessary—destroy evil embodied in the form of monsters in our world . working outside the aegis of any government , and with practices concealed by millennia of secrecy , prodigium protects the public from knowledge of the evil that exists just beyond the thin membrane of civilized society . . . and will go to any length to contain it .
at its organizing principle , dark universe films are connected by a mysterious multi - national organization known as prodigium . led by the enigmatic and brilliant dr . henry jekyll , prodigium’s mission is to track , study and—when necessary—destroy evil embodied in the form of monsters in our world . working outside the aegis of any government , and with practices concealed by millennia of secrecy , prodigium protects the public from knowledge of the evil that exists just beyond the thin membrane of civilized society…and will go to any length to contain it .
not much is currently known about the invisible man remake other than it stars johnny depp . despite weathering recent controversies , depp is still a star with solid clout in hollywood and has always had an affinity for classic horror , which the 1933 james whale film , the invisible man , was one of the earliest forerunners for .
while the only other film in this setting whose title has been announced thus far is bill condon ' s bride of frankenstein remake , javier bardem and johnny depp have been cast as frankenstein ' s monster and the invisible man , respectively . prolific composer danny elfman composed a leitmotif for the franchise , titled
monsters legacy
.
this film has experienced a bit of a convoluted production . way back in 2007 , j . j . abrams , carlton cuse , and damon lindelof ( the people behind lost ) , first optioned the series with an eye for adapting all seven novels . nothing came of that project , and in 2010 , the rights expired .
however , king announced in 2009 , that he had an idea for another dark tower novel , and he polled his readers on his website to see which book they’d like to see first : a new dark tower novel , or a sequel to the shining . it was close , but readers picked the wind through the keyhole . ( dr . sleep , the shining’s follow - up , would come a year later . ) he wrote the wind through the keyhole , which is set about halfway through the series , but it’s a bit more standalone than the other installments .
this time around , the awareness is greater , though rival studios question why universal opted for a mummy poster without cruise . still , the film ' s first trailer has been viewed more than 179 million times , beginning with its broadcast debut in december on nbc sunday night football ; a second trailer had more than 134 million views .
‘i wanted to be able to honour the heritage and the history of the original karloff film through the summers movies , even the hammer movies , and also bring something new to the table , bring it into the modern day by making the mummy into a woman – and obviously tom cruise and russel crowe changes the game quite a bit . ’
i don’t mean that as disparagement , or mostly i don’t . “dark matter” is far too cheerful and indeed too earnest to feel cynical , even as crouch pilfers material from dozens of sources and mixmasters together multiple genres of popular fiction . this book is alternate - universe science fiction bolstered by a smidgen of theoretical physics . it’s a countdown thriller in which the hero must accomplish an impossible task in constrained circumstances to save his family . under deeper cover , it might also be a fantasy novel shaped by c . s . lewis’s “chronicles of narnia” or lev grossman’s postmodern “magicians” series .
the crucial difference between the clumsy approach taken by warner bros and universal and the more carefully crafted marvel model is that marvel was always confident in its brand . in the case of the dark universe , no amount of star quality is going to help if audiences don’t connect to this brave new world of gods and monsters . these movies need to lure us into the cinema , gauzy - eyed and rapt with fascination to see these classic monster stories retold , which is tough when the first instalment looks like a common - or - garden tom cruise action fest – 21st - century fiftysomething beefcake edition .
fans went nuts , because what king tweeted is a reference to the final book of the series , the dark tower . that’s where [ spoilers ] roland finally reaches the dark tower and faces off against a villain known as the crimson king . it’s there that he discovers that he’s gone on this quest before , many times , and is sent back to the beginning of his journey by a being known as gan each time . in prior quests , roland had left the horn of eld with a dying compatriot after a battle . in this latest version of the quest , he kept it with him , which changes things for the next cycle of the story .
on the other hand , crouch’s obsessive need for speed sometimes leads him to tread upon his better writing and his more imaginative ideas . much of his scene - setting is strictly thrillerism : an abandoned building in an industrial zone on the shore of lake michigan , a luxuriously appointed apartment , a secret high - tech facility many floors underground . but when jason finds himself in a film - noir universe where a neon sign sputters in the rain outside a hotel - room window while a shadowy stranger watches from behind a lit cigarette , or in an especially nightmarish technological upgrade of c . s . lewis’s “wood between the worlds , ” i’d have appreciated more expansiveness and more relish .
every new universe has to start somewhere ,
says box - office analyst paul dergarabedian .
if you look at [ universal ' s ] fate of the furious , 80 percent of its box office came from international . tom cruise is an international superstar , and he remains so .
‘chris morgan , who is my partner in the universal monsters , and i are working on all of them as producers , and the idea is that we’re going to do one a year , and that we’ve set a tone in this film but different directors will be able to come in on different films and bring their imprint , and unique vision to the idea of these monster movies , ’ said kurtzman .
so far , so not too bad . but then the film does something that the marvel movies , which set the template for this whole shebang , never would have . the plummy - toned jekyll messes up his injection and all of a sudden we’re confronted with the sight and sound of crowe doing his best ray - winstone - on - steroids as the fiendish , green - tinged mockney demon mr hyde .
or at least into other dimensions of media . crouch’s wayward pines trilogy became the basis for a fox television series whose pilot episode was directed by m . night shyamalan , possibly because crouch’s episodic tale about a rural idaho town that is not what it appears to be was more like a shyamalan film than anything the director has made in years . “dark matter” is surely destined for a similar fate , and as you read it on paper it inhabits a state of quantum transubstantiation , or “superposition , ” to use jason dessen’s lingo . it’s a novel right now , one that barely qualifies as beach reading because you’ll gulp it down in one afternoon , or more likely one night . but the next time you look , it will have metamorphosed into some other form .
for those obsessive enough to want every little detail about dark universe and universal’s plans for their iconic monsters , this entire hollywood reporter article is worth a read . it touches on some things we already knew : that universal still wants angelina jolie to play the bride of frankenstein ( javier bardem is on board to play frankenstein’s monster himself ) , that the studio is considering dwayne johnson to play a new version of the wolf man ( a rumor that first howled across the internet about a year ago ) , and that the studio is rightfully nervous about the mummy tracking for a $ 40 million opening at the domestic box office ( it’s budged at $ 125 million ) .
the short answer is that it’s an epic story about roland deschain , who’s on a quest to find the dark tower , a building that’s said to link all the worlds in existence together . he’s the last living member of an order of knights known as gunslingers , living in an alternate world ( part of king’s larger multiverse ) known as mid - world .
though reviews for “ the mummy ” have been unfavorable and box office tracking is far from through the roof , the studio hasn’t said it will slow down on its planned monster universe . the films will mine from universal ’s vault of monsters — dracula , frankenstein , invisible man , etc . — and reboot them for movies in the next few years .
the door is still open for luke evans’ vlad tepes , aka dracula , to be the count of the shared universal monsters universe . when we talked with evans in october 2016 , he definitely seemed eager about donning the fangs again and saying that discussions are continuing about connecting the two potential franchises . however , it is still currently up in the air .
leaving aside the questionable wisdom of making jekyll / hyde the central , connecting figure of this universe in the first place , did we really need to see him transform ? in the marvel movies , we didn’t meet samuel l jackson ’s fury until the end - credits scene of 2008 party - starter iron man . those movies worked because the studio slowly built up a bigger picture of a world inhabited by superheroes , rather than throwing all its cards on the table in the first half - hour . part of the fun was in seeing the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle gradually clicking into place . but kurtzman and co have hired crowe to play their main man , and just can’t resist showing him off – even though doing so ends up semi - sidelining boutella’s ancient egyptian horror in the movie that bears her name , and has no effect whatsoever on the events of the rest of the film .
detailing the london portion of the shoot , filmfixer director andrew pavord notes : “there were two main angles the production needed from the helicopter . one was an overhead shot of a convoy crossing waterloo bridge from a height of about 500 feet . the second was a low - flying panning shot of the vehicles , from about the same height as the bridge . the production managed to film what they needed in two hours . and in fact , in that time frame , only half an hour of flying was needed . ”
while the subject matter is cool , the series has the potential to do some interesting things with film . as we’ve seen , the story is playing with not just being a straight - up adaptation of the series , but being an additive part to it . additionally , we’ve seen places like disney do some interesting things with their marvel franchise : cross - over television shows and films . we’ve seen these sorts of cinematic universes with comics and science fiction , but this has the potential to become another bit thing like those properties .
what makes dark universe intriguing is that — unlike with dc and marvel — the budgets of the films will range dramatically and could even include low - budget forays . for instance , sources say universal - based microbudget horror producer jason blum has expressed interest in tackling a low - budget monsterverse outing . also , insiders are quick to point out that universal doesn’t have to buy the ip ( as disney did with marvel and lucasfilm ) because the studio has the titles in its library , dating to carl laemmle jr . ’s reign at universal when he oversaw a 1931 dracula and frankenstein , a 1932 the mummy , a 1933 the invisible man and a 1935 bride of frankenstein . still , despite their long association with the studio , most of the monsters exist in the public domain , so there’s little to stop other studios from pursuing films based on the characters .
what makes dark universe intriguing is that — unlike with dc and marvel — the budgets of the films will range dramatically and could even include low - budget forays . for instance , sources say universal - based microbudget horror producer jason blum has expressed interest in tackling a low - budget monsterverse outing . also , insiders are quick to point out that universal doesn ' t have to buy the ip ( as disney did with marvel and lucasfilm ) because the studio has the titles in its library , dating to carl laemmle jr . ' s reign at universal when he oversaw a 1931 dracula and frankenstein , a 1932 the mummy , a 1933 the invisible man and a 1935 bride of frankenstein . still , despite their long association with the studio , most of the monsters exist in the public domain , so there ' s little to stop other studios from pursuing films based on the characters .
1 . a private universe this video brings into sharp focus the dilemma facing all educators : why don ' t even the brightest students truly grasp basic science concepts ? interviews are held with high school students and ivy league graduates asking them to explain what causes the seasons and the phases of the moon . even the brightest students in the class have false ideas based on enduring misconceptions that traditional instructional methods cannot overcome .
here’s the rub : universal has no idea how “the mummy” will perform , yet it’s already staking hundreds of millions of dollars on a franchise that will stretch well into the 2020s . ( the next installment , “bride of frankenstein , ” is slated for 2019 . ) in other words , there is no verifiable proof that audiences are interested in these monster flicks , beyond the blanket notion that the characters are already household names . to boot , early box - office tracking for “the mummy” has been tame . costing a reported $ 135 million , the movie is forecasted to lose the no . 1 slot to “wonder woman” after earning a lukewarm $ 35 million domestically this weekend . like many contemporary franchises with established marketability , that puts the onus on foreign grosses , making patrons in these movies’ home country an afterthought . even if “the mummy” were to bomb outright with american audiences , the dark universe will continue , with a little parisian pizzazz tossed in , thanks to “phantom” and “hunchback . ”
the fact that crouch barely pretends to answer this — the jason with a wife and kid who narrates the story is the “real” one , of course ! — won’t slow you down much as you plow through “dark matter . ” but higher - order speculation about the nature of identity amid the quantum science of uncertainty is by no means new to science fiction , and i couldn’t help reflecting on the various ways genre masters less concerned with forward momentum — ursula k . le guin , neil gaiman , peter f . hamilton — have tangled with such things .
global audiences may very well gobble up familiar monster names for a fun weekend flick , but the full
universe
cash - in potential—toys , clothes , video games , comics , repeat screenings , etc . , etc . —will depend on these series inspiring the kind of unabashed fanboy and fangirl love that gets dumped onto other universes ' biggest stars . good luck getting anywhere near darth vader and han solo levels of fandom for dr . jekyll and . . . mick . . . chester ?
david koepp , who contributed to the script for the mummy and also wrote 2016 ' s inferno , apparently turned in a script for the film in 2016 that was well received by the studio . but much more promising is that bill condon has signed onto the project . condon is most well known these days for blockbusters like 2017 ' s box office - enchanted beauty and the beast and the fourth and fifth twilight pictures . but he won an oscar for his screenplay to gods and monsters , a movie he wrote and directed about james whale . and whale , of course , was an early hollywood auteur that directed and really masterminded the original bride of frankenstein .
with its famous opening scene at a harvard graduation , this classic of education research brings into sharp focus the dilemma facing all educators : why don ' t even the brightest students truly grasp basic science concepts ? this award - winning program traces the problem through interviews with harvard graduates and their professors , as well as with a bright ninth - grader who has some confused ideas about the orbits of the planets . equally useful for education methods classes , teacher workshops , and presentations to the public , a private universe
gunning for a marvel - esque connected universe , universal had already announced “bride of frankenstein” ( starring javier bardem as frankenstein’s monster ) and “the invisible man” ( starring johnny depp as dr . griffin ) . “the mummy” director alex kurtzman has said a “van helsing” script is in the works from jon spaihts ( ”passengers” ) and eric heisserer ( ”arrival” ) . kurtzman also revealed last year that the creature from the black lagoon and wolf man could be incorporated , as well . russell crowe’s dr . jekyll will link these films .
still , the film represents a considerable gamble for universal given that recent reboot attempts of aging intellectual property haven ' t fared well ( see alien : covenant , smurfs : the lost village and king arthur : legend of the sword ) . in addition , kurtzman , one of hollywood ' s top writers , has only one feature credit as a director — the 2012 drama people like us , which earned just $ 12 . 4 million worldwide . but these days it ' s not unusual to enlist a director with no tentpole experience for a big - budget movie ( think jurassic world ' s colin trevorrow , pirates 5 ' s joachim ronning and espen sandberg , and wonder woman ' s patty jenkins ) .
for starters , this five - actor announcement reeks of bet - hedging . universal ' s
monsters
universe contains all kinds of supernatural monster silliness , backed by nearly a century of schlocky films . but the whole thing seems half - baked without staking ( sorry ) anybody for dracula or an otherwise vampiric role , and plenty of other obvious choices are missing from this reveal : the wolfman , the creature from the black lagoon , or either of the wolves of london . ( let alone the abbott & costello tie - in possibilities ! )
that limitation is quite likely all to the good , because if we weren’t being thrust relentlessly forward in jason’s quest to figure out why he was kidnapped by a familiar - seeming stranger in the middle of the night , injected with powerful narcotics and catapulted , like howard the duck , into a world he never made , we might notice how familiar it all is . despite the light dusting of pop physics — specifically , the “many worlds” version of multiverse theory , in which virtually every choice made by every sentient being engenders a new universe — crouch is effectively repurposing and joining two well - worn channels of fictional speculation . there’s the idea of another universe as an inverted or ironic reflection of ours , as in the movie “sliding doors” or the “star trek” episode featuring an evil , bearded spock or the philip k . dick classic “the man in the high castle . ” and then there’s the literary conceit , going back at least as far as poe and dostoyevsky and henry james , that throughout our lives we remain haunted by what we might have been , by the ghosts of people we never became .