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The Last Exorcism’s Eli Roth and Eric Newman Reunite for Psycho Killer

Krystal Clark — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:38:21 +0000

Eli Roth has such a good time scaring the sh*t out of people. He puts the most horrifying things on screen for the sake of entertainment and he does it with a smile. His last project The Last Exorcism, was a sleeper hit that he co-produced with Eric Newman, and guess what? They’re are at it again. According to Variety, they’ll join forces for a new project called Psycho Killer.

If the title Psycho Killer doesn’t make you think of a 1970s B-movie horror film we don’t know what will. The trade is reporting that Roth and Newman will both produce the project that centers on ” a nameless, masked murderer who leaves a trail of victims across the U.S. In a chance encounter on the plains of Nebraska, he kills a highway patrolman. The only witness, the patrolman’s young wife — also an officer — sets out to hunt the killer down.”

So this movie is about female empowerment? If his wife is the only person who can stop him she must be kick-ass, right? Roth and Newman can afford producing such niche features because they know how to cater to their audience. The Last Exorcism cost under $2 million to make and it grossed $41 million at the domestic box office. Everyone involved made more than their fair of money off that film and with Psycho Killer they want to do it again!

What do you think of Newman and Roth reuniting for Psycho Killer?

The Last Exorcism: Movie Review

Krystal Clark — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:38:18 +0000

The Last Exorcism is the latest in a long list of movies about demon possession. The film is backed by horror producer Eli Roth, who’s known for pushing the boundaries of good taste for the sake of entertainment. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t push any envelopes or break any barriers, it’s just here. It’s just another exorcism flick to throw in with the huge batch that already clutter Hollywood’s film library.

Here’s the review…

The Players:

Director: Daniel Stamm
Screenwriters: Huck Botko, Andrew Gurland
Cast: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones, Tony Bentley
Cinematography: Zoltan Honti
Original Music By: Nathan Barr

The Plot:

The Last Exorcism centers on a small Louisiana town where a teenage girl has been possessed by the devil. A popular reverend named Cotton Marcus comes in with a television crew in tow to document her exorcism, not knowing that it will be his last. He appears upon the request of a heavily religious father who’s seeking relief for his daughter, unfortunately Marcus isn’t the real deal. In fact, he no longer believes in demon possession, which poses a serious problem when a real exorcism is needed.

The Good:

The Performances: All of the actors used in this film have solid resumes, but none of them are big names. You believe that these are real people from a small town because you don’t know them and their performances are so genuine. You’re not distracted by outside personas, which really helps you buy the characters.
The Story’s Point of View: This movie is like Rosemary’s Baby meets The Blair Witch in terms of its story and cinematography. The film is shown from the perspective of the camera man, we see what he sees. If he turns the camera off the movie’s over. He represents us as viewers and that was an interesting way to tell an “exorcism story.”

The Bad:

The Narrative: Because of the way the story is told (reality TV style) events just happen. There’s no real narrative, things just occur and we deal with them. There’s a nice intro in the beginning that sets up the character of Cotton Marcus and his crew but from that point on we just follow them and watch the sh*t hit the fan.
It’s Boring: In terms of horror movies this one is pretty mediocre. There’s probably one or two good jump scares in it but other than that it’s not really terrifying.
The Possession: The actual possession of the girl was bland and uninteresting. She didn’t do anything that we haven’t already seen. If you’re expecting to see some out of control crazy demonic sequences, they’re not here.

Overall:

The Last Exorcism starts off promising but falls flat. It’s not particularly scary and the possessed girl isn’t interesting to watch, which is a major problem for this movie considering its title.

Rating: 6/10

The Last Exorcism hits theaters on August 27, 2010.

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Do you plan on seeing The Last Exorcism this weekend?

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Eli Roth Gives Thanksgiving Script Update

Krystal Clark — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 01:48:30 +0000

Do you remember Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s joint venture Grindhouse? It was an ode to old school B-movies that featured Death Proof and Planet Horror. In the beginning and middle of the films there were fake movie trailers that included Machete, Thanksgiving, and my personal favorite Don’t by Edgar Wright. Machete has already been made into a feature length film, and according to Eli Roth Thanksgiving is not too far behind.

While out promoting his latest film The Last Exorcism, Cinemablend talked to Roth about the progress he’s made with Thanksgiving.

I’ve been working on the script with my co-writer, Jeff Rendell, who plays the pilgrim in the trailer. And it’s me imitating Jeff’s voice [for the narration]. But Jeff has been working. I said that his deal is he has to work on the script while I’m promoting The Last Exorcism, and as soon as I’m done in mid-September he’s going to fly to California, we’re going to sit down, and bang out the script.

If you haven’t seen the trailer that started it all you can watch it below. It’s filled with turkeys, pilgrims, murder, the usual!

Are you excited to see Thanksgiving hit the big screen?

Eli Roth Speaks Out Against Animal Violence

Laura Aguirre — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:00:27 +0000

Eli Roth may be known for his heavy participation in violent films, but the Inglorious Basterds star believes violence should stay in a place where it’s all make-believe — the movie screen.

The “Splat Pack” icon is putting his quirky sense of humor to good use to put an end to animal cruelty in a PETA public service announcement. Roth both directed and stars in the PSA, which launched yesterday on MySpace.

Take a look at the video below.

No one expected the Hostel director to speak out against violence, but Roth was actually eager to lend his voice to PETA’s campaign.

“I have been forever linked with violence in movies, and that’s OK, ’cause to me it was all make-believe. and I always thought, no matter what I am doing on a movie set, there is nothing worse than what’s going on in the real world. I mean, people do horrible things to animals,” said Roth in an exclusive PETA interview which can be viewed on PETA’s blog site.

Roth also talked about his upcoming project, a sci-fi action film called Endangered Species. Is it another gory project, or has Roth left the the horror behind for a more compassionate take on life? While Roth didn’t reveal any huge details he did mention that, “PETA supporters [would] certainly enjoy it.”

What do you think of Eli Roth’s public announcement to stop animal violence?

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds Interview

Mali Elfman — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:00:14 +0000

We have done some thorough interviews with the actors from the latest epic war film, Inglourious Basterds, but the series really isn’t complete without talking to the man behind the film, Quentin Tarantino. If you haven’t had a chance, take a look at our interviews with B.J. Novak, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Melanie Laurent, and Christoph Waltz.

When we spoke to the self proclaimed cinephile, Tarantino revealed how he came up with the idea for the film, his favorite characters, and the lackluster reviews the movie received at Cannes.

Check out what he had to say in our interview below…

In the promotions for this film Brad Pitt’s Aldo Raine is front and center, even though the story focuses more on Shossana and Landa. Where did Raine come from?

QT: I disagree with that take. This is totally not trying to bend over and make Brad [Pitt] seem bigger than he already is, but I think it is a movie with three leads. In no order, Hans Landa, Shossana, and Aldo Raine. The thing is, even the whole structure of the movie to me, was to set up the first three chapters for these three characters. You get Shossana’s backstory even though you don’t know her in the first chapter, and in the third chapter you do. I mean in it’s own way, Frederick Zoller, is one of the goddamn leads. [laughs] You know what I mean? In a way, the whole movie revolves around him. If he hadn’t done any of the things that he did, there would almost be no movie later.

To me, that is kind of the structure of it. The first three stories, and then from chapter four until the end, is like the straight-ahead adventure. If it were a Devil’s Brigade movie from the mid-60’s that Mike Myers scene would be the first scene of the movie; as he sends them on their mission. I really like proposing things and bringing them up, but not answering them, and letting you figure out stuff. You might be right or you might be wrong. As far as you’re concerned, you are always right. The minute I start throwing my two cents in then everyone lets go of what they have come up with. For instance, I don’t explain the scar; you’ve got to explain the scar. How did he get the scar?

How did you come up with Landa’s character, and why did you cast Christoph Waltz?

QT: The thing about Landa is, I honestly did not know who Christoph was when he came in. He is a TV actor in Germany, and he is well known for doing miniseries and stuff. He came in and picked up the script and half way through the reading of that first scene, I knew I had found my guy. Again it was great because I didn’t have anybody in mind, so the character could become the character. If I were writing it for somebody else, maybe he wouldn’t be so multi-lingual, because then he couldn’t do that. If Landa is just Landa, he could speak every dialogue. When I finished writing the character, it was obvious that Landa is a linguistic genius. So, I was going to need an actor who was a linguistic genius. If this character on the page is ever going to get on the screen, that doesn’t mean fluent in languages. That means a linguistic genius and that is Christoph.

How did you end up casting an African American character in a period piece like this?

QT: Yeah, I know. The thing about Marcel is you know he is a Frenchman. There were a whole lot of Blacks living in Paris in the 20’s and 30’s. The thing that is very fascinating is, I have heard some people say, “Well, wouldn’t the Nazis round them up?” No, no, no, no. Hitler was very clear about how he felt about Blacks, but they didn’t do anything to them. Basically, where they were coming from, they didn’t have a “Black problem”, the way they had a “Jewish problem”, the way they had a “homosexual problem”, the way they had a “gypsy problem”, or a “Communist problem.” France was the only place you were going to find them. They weren’t the scourges of Europe as far as Hitler was concerned. The ironic reality is this, if I was a Black guy in Nazi occupied France I’d keep a low profile to be sure, having said that, he would have more rights in Nazi occupied Paris than he would have in downtown Dallas at that same time. Marcel could walk into a restaurant and order a dinner. Marcel could walk up to a bar and sit at the bar amongst white people. Now that’s irony for you.

You have been working on this film for years now, what inspired you to make it?

QT: I just got a kick out of the original. I like the rip-off quality of Italian exploitation movies. They are kind of not serious, and that is what I like about them. This movie has that. Also, I love the title. I really did love the title. Even when I worked at Video Archives, Inglourious Basterds became our name for a bunch of guys on a mission movie. It was like a genre. That was the name that we gave the genre. Now they call it macaroni combat. But you know, it had a really interesting story. There is an aspect about the original story that I don’t do in this movie, but it was really neat. It was a bunch of soldiers that are prisoners, that are on their way to a Court Marshall. Their convoy is attacked by a German plane, so now they are in war torn France. They can’t go to the Americans because they are going to go to jail for the rest of their lives and they can’t go to the Germans, so they are trying to get to Switzerland. Now, that’s a really good idea for a story. When I bought it, I didn’t know how much of this was going to be a remake, but at least I could use the title.

How did the story evolve over time?

QT: When I started writing it years ago, I had all the characters, but I had a different story line in mind. It was just too big. I just kept making it a miniseries as opposed to a movie. It was just getting so unwieldy. I was like, “What am I saying? I’m too big for movies? Movies are just too puny a canvas for me to paint on? I can’t even possibly comprehend making it three hours? That is just too short!” You know? I kind of had to get over myself, to tell you the truth. So, I put it away and did little Kill Bill, which turned into Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2. This tells you where I was coming from at the time. When I came back to it in 2008 I loved the story, but I just couldn’t tell it as a movie. So, I came up with a whole new story, and that story is the Fredrick Zoller story; the story of him being a war hero, then making this movie, and now the mission would be blowing up the Premier. So, that’s new.

There were a lot of comments about the length of the film. Do you think you should have cut it down?

QT: Well, no. Look, I am guilty of this too, alright. It is the number one thing you say when you go to a film festival, especially when you go to Cannes. What did you think of the movie? “It was too long!” But, you are also seeing 9 or 10 movies in the course of four days. I didn’t think it was too long, but I heard those comments. You hear those comments, but I wasn’t necessarily responding to them per se. We kind of weren’t done when we were in Cannes. What happened with it is, we did tiny nipping and tucking. It is interesting because the movie is actually a minute longer than it was at Cannes. But you know what? You do some nipping, and pruning, and monkey around with a couple scenes and all of the sudden, one minute longer plays ten minutes less.

QT: It was funny though. The thing is, especially in this script, I really made it a point to be disciplined on this. I didn’t really want an unwieldy movie, and I knew I didn’t have time to shoot a bunch of stuff that may or may not make the cut. I was more disciplined with this script than I have been in a long time. So, it is not like I have tons of stuff left over. I have stuff that I wrote, but it never made the final script.

Were you influenced by the likes of Robert Aldrich, Samuel Fuller, or Sergio Leone? What other directors have had a positive effect on you?

QT: Oh, yeah. You better believe they were big influences. Sergio Leone is my favorite director of all time. I don’t think this is it, but I remember when I first started the movie after Jackie Brown, it was one of the things that I wanted to be my The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, and it was. I love those guys’ work. Oddly enough though, as much as I love Sergio Leone, if you are familiar with a lot of those directors, I think my work resembles more of Sergio Corbucci. Not that I am trying to do either of those guys, but he is the other master as far as I’m concerned. I think my films are closer to his than Leone’s.

This didn’t feel like a WWII movie as much as a movie based on WWII movies. Where do your homages to these directors get your signature?

QT: Echoes of something is not the same thing as recreating scenes. It is very, very different. Look, everyone knows that I love movies, so I can’t hide that, nor do I want to hide that. Because of it, it’s like I have a target on me. Most critics are cinephiles to one degree or another, so there is nothing a cinephile loves more than showing off their knowledge. They want to play games with the mastermind when they sit down to watch my movies, and they start playing a game of “spot the reference” that a lot of is completely of their own making. The other thing is, that was legitimate when it came to Kill Bill. That was very legitimate.

Well, how do you toe the line between an homage and recreating a scene from another film?

QT: It [Kill Bill] was a “movie” movie. There was an aspect of the Bride, not just fighting through her death list, she is fighting through the whole history of exploitation cinema, with every character on that list representing a different genre. That is just such a movie mad thing that’s totally okay to have the checklist. This is different. I am not doing that. I have no problem evoking the macaroni combat. I have no problem saying, “I am working inside of a genre.” I think every movie is a genre. An Eric Rohmer movie is a genre movie, and if you make a movie like his, you are kind of making an Eric Rohmer-style movie. Thus, making it a genre. It is the same thing with [John] Cassavetes.

Your movies are very dialogue driven, and some people have complained about that. Are you concerned about losing that in your films?

QT: I have to say I get a little “huh” when they say it is too talky. When you go to a play, do you think it is too talky? I am in good company. Well, you know it comes and goes depending on the artist. I saw Funny People, and I think it is one of the best movies I have seen this year. I think it is a true auteur piece of work, and that is all dialogue. Comedies are known for having mostly dialogue. Basically, you gotta be able to pull it off. Paul Thomas Anderson, his dialogue is as good as mine, but he breaks it up where he has the 20 minute opening that is silent in There Will Be Blood.

You like to draw attention to the fact that the audience is watching a movie. Some people complain that it pulls them out of the story. What do you think?

QT: To me, that is one of those fake arguments. I don’t know about you, but I always know I am watching a movie when I am watching a movie. I have never forgotten while I was watching a movie that I was watching a movie. No more that I have forgotten I was driving a car while I was driving a car. I can have my heart ripped out, but I know I’m watching a movie.

Is there more footage that may come out on the DVD or a different Director’s Cut of Inglourious Basterds?

QT: Not really to tell you truth. We were working on this at such an accelerated pace, I couldn’t afford to shoot stuff that I didn’t think was going to make the film. I always pride myself on my director’s cut that plays in 3,000 theaters. I take a lot of pride in that. There are two sections that I shot that I’m actually not going to put on the DVD. One is because it is more of Shossana’s back-story from 1941 to 1944, and you know, I don’t want to show that at all now. I really want the audience to actually come up with it in their own mind about how she survived. I want that to be like you own movie in your head, and I want you to figure it out. The other one is a backstory on Eli Roth’s character, Donowitz. It didn’t fit into the section that I had planned it, but it worked so well that if the movie is a hit, and if I were to do a prequel with the Basterds, I could just plug it right into the other movie. So, I think I will save it on the chance that the movie is popular.

Inglourious Basterds is playing nationwide in theaters everywhere.

Inglourious Basterds: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:03:56 +0000

It’s finally time for Quentin Tarantino‘s war epic Inglourious Basterds starring Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, B.J. Novak to hit theaters and all I can say is get your asses over to the theater now!

Warning: This is a review of a Tarantino film, I’m going to swear. Get the fuck over it, it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t…

Plot:

I don’t want to give too much away. All you need to know is that the film takes place during WWII in Nazi-occupied France, where a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” are sent in to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by killing Nazis in as many obscene ways as possible.

The Good:

A Short to Start: The first 20 minutes of this film are fucking phenomenal. Tarantino is known for delivering great monologues and much like Samuel L. Jackson’s “…and I will strike down upon thee…” speech in Pulp Fiction, this scene will go down in history as a great. With two people just sitting at a table, there is so much suspense, so much rich dialogue, so much great acting. It’s as perfect as it gets.
Christoph Waltz: Now, aside from the one person mentioned below, I LOVED almost every performance in the film, but none of them quite add up to Waltz who is quite possibly one of the most dynamic, interesting and entertaining actors to watch. You absolutely never knew what he was going to do next and he had you mesmerized the entire time. A close second goes to Brad Pitt, who completely transformers himself and nails the humor in his blood thirsty, Nazi scalping, character.
The Dialogue: This should be a given. Aside from blood spurting, great dialogue is the other thing we have come to love from Tarantino and he doesn’t disappoint.
The Costumes and Sets: The film looks amazing. No spot was left un-decorated. Everything from the clothes to each Basterd having their own weapon of choice, to the high-heeled cast — all of it was perfectly placed.
The Runtime: For all the bullshit we heard about Weinstein trying to get them to cut the film down, the film flies by. Just like Taratino’s past movies, although it’s long, this film doesn’t lag once and keeps you entertained at all times.
The Comedy with the Seriousness: Let’s face it, the Holocaust is still one of the most touchy subjects around. It’s not easy to make a mainstream movie about the Holocaust that has a lot of humor in it, leave it to Tarantino to pave the way. He does not shy away from the horror of the Holocaust, and yet also has no fear in setting up a joke in a scene others would think is too sensitive. He takes no prisoners and makes no exceptions, and it pays off in the end.

The Bad:

Mike Myers: He’s not supposed to be the funny one in the scene, so I don’t know why he was doing his Austin Powers impression. It doesn’t come off as funny and steals away from Michael Fassbender’s humor.
Choppy: Unlike the choppiness in Kill Bill, I could feel it in this film. Something about it didn’t flow quite as nicely as I would have liked.

Overall:

The film was fucking amazing, but one of the problems with having a director as distinctive as Tarantino, is that you A. Set ridiculously high expectation for him and B. You most likely already have a favorite film of his, that you’ve watched a million times and are willing to fight tooth and nail for. Although this is not my favorite film of his, (possibly due to my own biases) it’s a great film and even though it started an hour late and I was exhausted, it FLEW by. Not many directors who do ten minute scenes with two people talking at a table can keep you that enthralled for that long.

Rating: 8.75

Check out the film in theaters everyone August 21st!

Video: Eli Roth Talks Inglourious Basterds

Mali Elfman — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:16:31 +0000

Yesterday at the roundtable for Quentin Tarantino‘s war epic Inglourious Basterds, Eli Roth said it would be fine if we Flipped him (recorded video of him via “flip camera” – I’m trying to create a new word for it). He sat down to the table ready to not only answer our questions but entertain us with a number of great stories from the set. He talked about nearly being killed on set by filming when a fire on set got out of control, Tarantino’s strict “no cell phone, no chair village” policy, having to become “The Bear Jew” and a whole lot more.

Check out three videos below…

***Warning: He does give away a few minor spoilers in the first video. If you’re senstive to spoilers, skip the first video, but you should be fine with the last two.***

In our first video, Roth talks about the intensity of becoming “The Bear Jew” on set:

As we know from the posters and the trailer, his character comes complete with a leather jacket and a baseball bat. In the video below, Roth talks about how swinging a baseball bat came extremely easy to him:

And finally, he talks about the awesome-ness that is working with Quentin Tarrantino and how he has change the way that he directs films:

Roth also go the honor of directing a trailer and clips film that is shown within the film of Inglourious Basterds, which you can watch now, called Nation’s Pride.

What do you think of the interview? Are you excited to see the film?

Trailer for Nation’s Pride

Mali Elfman — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:29:19 +0000

It’s time for Nation’s Pride, the story about one of Germany’s greatest Nazi war heroes ever, Fredrick Zoller (played by Daniel Brühl). This is a film that will inspire you… the Germans… to fight for your country. Well, maybe if you live in the world of Inglourious Basterds.

Don’t worry, we haven’t skin-headed out on you. As a kind gag/viral marketing campaign, The Weinstein Company has just released a trailer for Nation’s Pride, which is a film within Quentin Tarantino‘s soon to be released war epic Inglourious Basterds.

Check out the “trailer” below…

The fake trailer plays a role in the film and is used as a tool by Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. It was directed by one of the Basterds himself, Eli Roth who has directed a few horror films (Hostel, Cabin Fever). It’s odd that Tarantino didn’t do this himself, but Roth did manage to capture that sarcastic and yet disturbing tone that Tarantino does so well.

It’s odd that this is coming out now, so close to the films release on August 14th, but better late than never.

What do you think of the trailer?

Eli Roth Says No to Hostel 3

Krystal Clark — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:30:21 +0000

One of the tell tale signs that a movie franchise needs to end is when the original director or producer decides they want no part of it. I’ve never been a huge fan of Eli Roth‘s Hostel horror series, but surprisingly as the director even he’s decided to jump ship. According to ShockTillYouDrop, Roth will not be involved with the upcoming third installment of the series. The director wants to focus more on the development of his original features rather than rehashing those from the past.

Read why Roth’s done with Hostel after the jump.

Roth spoke in a recent interview about the future of the Hostel franchise he helped create while promoting this summer’s Inglourious Basterds. When the conversation turned to his involvement with Hostel III, his response was very straight forward.

“That’s another one like ‘Cabin Fever 2,’” he told us. “The studio had made a lot of money with it so they want to keep going, and the fans, there’s demand for it, and great. If I started something and other people want to continue it, go for it. I’m just not involved in anyway. There’s no negativity about it. I just said, ‘I put everything in my life for three years into these movies. I’ve said everything I have to say with it. I feel very lucky I got to make them and the fans responded the way they did, and if you guys want to continue it, great, go ahead.’”

He goes on to say that he’s not completely against making sequels. As long as the film has a good story, he’s all for them.

“I think if it’s a great movie, what’s wrong with a great movie, whether it’s #1, 2, 3, 4?” he mused when asked whether the reception to Hostel: Part II turned him off to sequels. “I remember I loved ‘Friday the 13th Part IV. I didn’t expect that movie to be that great.

If there are any die hard Hostel fans out there (all 5 of you), you won’t be getting that signature Roth touch for the third installment. I’m pretty sure the film will go straight to DVD, so you shouldn’t feel that bad. Even though Roth has been moonlighting as a serious actor this past year he still has several directing projects on his plate. Take solace in knowing that he will once again be behind the camera to create more of his infamous “torture porn.”

What do you think about Eli Roth leaving the Hostel franchise?

Second Inglourious Basterds Trailer

Krystal Clark — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:09:28 +0000

The second official trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds has just been released and it’s bloodier than ever! The film focuses on a group of Jewish-American soldiers under the command of Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), who exact revenge on the Nazi regime during it’s occupation of WWII France. Basterds is written and directed by Tarantino, and is produced by the Weinstein Company.

View the trailer after the jump.

So far Inglourious Basterds has been on the receiving end of some mixed reviews. It’s also been criticized by it’s own studio and producers over it’s length. The film’s estimated run time clocks in at 2 hours and 40 minutes, and insiders are saying that Tarantino is being pressed to drop the extra 40. I guess we’ll find out whether or not that happens when the film debuts in theaters on August 21.

What do you think about the second Inglourious Basterds trailer?

Eli Roth to Remake The Funhouse

Krystal Clark — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:10 +0000

Here’s another horror remake coming your way via our favorite “torture porn” director, Eli Roth. This year he’s spent the majority of his time promoting himself as an actor. He stars in the highly anticipated Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds, which will debut in theaters this August. There’s nothing wrong with a little diversity, but Roth definitely plans to return to his horror directing roots with his next couple of projects. According to Fangoria, Roth has his eye on remaking the 1981 Tobe Hooper film, The Funhouse.

Roth is apparently a huge fan of the original film, but feels that certain things could be improved upon. ”The Funhouse is a movie where the first half is brilliant—they set up these great characters—and then they pay off none of them.” With that being said he went on to confirm that he is currently in negotiations with Universal (why am I not surprised) to produce a remake. The director is very passionate about The Funhouse, and has a specific vision of how it should come across.

It should be about the kids getting killed in horrible ways, put in different contraptions in the funhouse and the final girl being strapped into the ride and sent into the tunnels to be confronted by terrifying tableaux of her dead friends. A smart remake could be so much fun. Kill the kids in fabulous ways and continually reuse the bodies by making them freaks in the freak museum, sew their eyes shut, waxworks… That’s the stuff I want to do in a remake of The Funhouse.”

Sounds like one of the overly abundant Saw films that we see every year. I’ve never seen the original Funhouse, so I don’t know what should or shouldn’t be changed. In the late seventies, early eighties there were a lot of campy B-grade films that became cult classics as time moved on. For me, The Funhouse wasn’t one of them but if he thinks he can pull off a “smart remake,” then go for it.

What do you think of Eli Roth remaking The Funhouse? Are you a fan of the original?

Eli Roth to Direct First Sci-Fi Blockbuster

Krystal Clark — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:30:57 +0000

The multi-talented Eli Roth who directed the campy horror films Cabin Fever, Hostel, and Hostel II has spent the last two years of his career beefing up his acting resume. Roth appears in Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse segment “Death Proof”, as well as his upcoming drama Inglourious Basterds. Roth recently sat down with MTV and spoke about getting back into the groove of writing and directing. He already has a feature in development and shared a little bit about it’s plot.

“I’m almost done with my new script. I was actually almost done with it before ‘Basterds,’ but I had to put it down, and that was actually a good thing I took time away from it, but I’m going to finish that up and start shooting this fall.”

Roth is excited about the script in question because it will be his first big-budget movie. The top secret film has potential to be a sci-fi blockbuster for the director who remains coy when it comes to the project’s official title and main character.

“I don’t want to give away the title yet, because I have to make sure I own it 100%, but it’s going to be something that is really fun with lots of mass destruction,” he said. “I wanted to do something along the lines of ‘Transformers’ or ‘Cloverfield’ that was a little more science fiction-based, and with lots of chaos and mass destruction.”

“I don’t want to say what [the monster is] yet,” Roth added. “Once it gets set up, I will let everyone know. It is not aliens or robots or a virus – it’s a little more grounded. But when people hear it they are going to be like ‘That is going to be insane!’.”

Even though I wasn’t a fan of the two Hostel films I did enjoy Cabin Fever. I think Roth has a knack for directing films that allude to the ’70′s era of the horror genre. After he makes this big budget film he plans on going back to his simpler roots and bringing more gore and guts with him. He wants to make “the sickest, bloodiest, most violent slasher movie, inspired by the holiday-themed horror classics of the ‘80s. I want to make the highest body count slasher film I can.”

I’m afraid to know what he considers the sickest and the bloodiest, because I think he’s already shot some pretty grotesque stuff. I do want more details on this big budget film he’s working one, but I guess we have to wait until he gets all the legalities taken care of first.

Do you think Eli Roth can handle a film that’s on the same level as Transformers?

ScreenCrave.com » Eli Roth

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