Penny Dreadful
SFX's high priestess of horror
Sex- crazed zombies, cellphones and the loveliness of
Stephen King
Zis for Zeitgeist
When is a zombie not a zombie? When it’s your dead ex- girlfriend popping up whenever you’re shagging your new girlfriend. Nina
Forever ( out 22 February on DVD) was one of the breakout hits from FrightFest, a lo- fi, intelligent, Brit three- hander about grief and loss which also happens to have lots of humour, gore and nudity. It’s not the new zomromcom however, but a far fresher, more serious project. My only reservation might be to ask who this is for? Same question for Pride And Prejudice
And Zombies ( in cinemas from 11 February). Later in the year ( June) look out for Cell, the not- really- a- zombie- movie based on the Stephen King novel where a mobile phone signal turns callers into violent drones – it stars John Cusack and Samuel L Jackson and has promise from the King credentials alone. Then there’s She Who Brings Gifts, based on the MR Carey bestseller The Girl With All The Gifts, which has every chance of being the undead hit of 2016. It tells of sensitive, sentient little Melanie, who might be the hope for salvation despite being a bit undead herself.
Bad call?
More on mobile phones this spring too, as
Rings ( previously The Ring 3D) hits schedules in April. The Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki will play a supporting role as a professor helping a young couple who’ve watched the cursed movie from the first two films. “One interesting thing they needed to tackle is that nobody’s watching VHS tapes anymore,” stated Galecki. “Now people can be cursed over their phones.” A professor who’s obsessed with the ring just makes me think of the Big Bang episode with the LOTR One Ring prop. Precious.
Gohard or go to hell
It’s as surprising to me as anyone that movie of the month goes to New Zealand film
Deathgasm ( out 29 February), another former FrightFest flick I was entirely put off by the name. In fact it’s a joyful paean to death metal as scrawny outcast Brodie inadvisedly inherits some sacred sheet music from a mysterious muso and accidentally calls down the apocalypse on his small town, when he plays it in his garage with his new band Deathgasm. With teenage angst, loads of gore, a soundtrack with contributions from people called “Skull Fist” and “Nunslaughter”, it’s surprisingly good- natured. The first half is better than the second but at best it’s like Detention in the world of What We Do In The Shadows, and at worst it’s Peter Jackson does Home And Away.
Kingof kindness
The Green Inferno is finally coming out on 12 February ( DVD on 22 February) despite being completed in 2013. I saw it in 2014 and it’s not great ( it’s really gory, the first setpiece is eye- popping but the characters are so irritating and the politics so dodgy that it gets boring fast). Apparently Stephen King was a big fan though, tweeting: “[ It’s] like a glorious throwback to the drive- in movies of my youth: bloody, gripping, hard to watch, but you can’t look away.” I love Stephen King. I honestly do. But, um, he’s quoted on quite a lot of things isn’t he? Glancing across just one shelf of books I can see four with King quotes on the cover ( two of which are genuinely great – Sarah Lotz’s The Three and Nick Cutter’s The Troop). Even the book I’ve just finished ( a decent crime novel called The Poison Artist by Jonathan Moore) has one: “I haven’t read anything so terrifying since Red Dragon” ( yes you have, you’ve read Nick Cutter’s The Troop!). King is… well, he’s the king. So what we’ve learned is I’m a git and he’s a very well- read genius who likes lots of things. Who happens to hate Kubrick’s The Shining and love The Green Inferno…