Episode 26: Fulci Lives! Goes Live

In Episode 26, we highlight some of the works of Lucio Fulci. We discuss Zombie Hell House 1981, The Beyond 1981, and Zombi 2 1979/1980. We discuss the differences between Fulci and his contemporaries. We talk about what traits go into a Fulci film and discuss some of the highlights from the Fulci movies that we have seen lately.

As usual, we go over some feedback and we discuss why Sam has a fear of mustaches!

Download this Episode Directly!

This episode's music:

1. Faith No More - Surprise You're Dead (Requested by Rotten138)
2. Spineshank - Synthetic
3. COC - The Door

Zombie Hell House (House by the Cemetery)



The Beyond



Zombi 2

Imitate Sam Contest Poll Goes Live!

I had grandiose plans for the voting on the "Imitate Sam Contest" polling system. Unfortunately I haven't had any time to put it together and I don't see me getting time in the future, so I just added it to the forums.

Anyhow, in order to vote you need to visit the forums (and sign up if you haven't yet), click the "Contests" forum and enter the "Imitate Sam Contest Poll!!!" topic. There you can listen to the entries and vote!

Voting will be open until Friday, March 13th so make sure to vote!

To finish up... No, the picture of Jack has nothing to do with the poll... just thought it looked pretty!

Doctors Rounds 02

Here’s the second of Doctor Smirnoff’s weekly round-up of the best current horror movie & game news. We want to hear your opinions, so get posting your thoughts on the forums soon!


SAW VI Plot Revealed…??

SAW VI is due to open in cinemas across the world this October and, after the dull offering that was SAW V, it had better have one hell of a twist before the game is finally over (assuming this is the final episode, as planned). In the meantime, Xbox Live is showing SAW V over its movie streaming service.

But it would seem that someone at either Microsoft of Lionsgate has made a school-boy error and featured the wrong synopsis in their advert for the movie… a synopsis now rumoured to be the outline for SAW VI:

“One man. One plan. One foot. Yes, the Doctor is in! With a strange twist of fate and a revengeful plot, get ready for the most anticipated event of Saw. Face your fears at his operating table. Know that no one is safe from his sickness. Chills and screams are his true pleasure. Blood? You'll be drenched in it.”

If you ask me (and even if you don’t) this sounds like more of a spin-off than the conclusion of the existing storyline. Could it be that this refers to the SAW video game we know to be in the works? If so, it looks like an interesting angle, although I always liked that the fate of Doctor Gordon was the one remaining mystery. We have a few gamers on the Forums and even fewer SAW fans… what do you think?


No HOUSE for Re-Animator…

RE-ANIMATOR is a film that gets much love here at Cadaver Lab and rightly so. I recently had chance to catch up to with the misadventures of Dr. Herbert West and now count BRIDE OF RE-ANIMATOR in my list of favourite horror movies.

Well, Dan & Ben over at MONDO MOVIE recently interviewed none other than director Stuart Gordon, and took the opportunity to ask him about the long-gestating ‘HOUSE OF RE-ANIMATOR’, to which Gordon responded:

“That had to be abandoned. It was going to be about the Bush administration, the idea of re-animating Dick Cheney. It’s pretty much old news now and I don’t think it’s going to happen. In a way I’m glad that it doesn’t need to happen… If McCain would have, God forbid, been voted in, we could have ended up making it about Sarah Palin taking over – that would have been a real horror movie!”

This is sad news to me. I would love to see Jeffrey Coombs reprise this role and IMDB even has William H. Macy listed as the President, which would have been cool. Still, at least there’s the ongoing talk of bringing back RE-ANIMATOR as a BUFFY style television series… right?


Craven Wants Cash to SCREAM Again…

Whilst there’s still no script, director or cast, Wes Craven is still speaking about SCREAM 4 as if the start of production is imminent. And he’s seemingly playing hard-ball. Craven definitely wants in on any sequel or reboot. But, only if he gets financial recognition for his contribution to the past movies on top of is fee for any work on a new addition to the franchise!

With Craven attached to any and all remakes of his past material, no matter how great (HILLS HAVE EYES), crappy (HILLS HAVE EYES 2) or completely unnecessary (LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT), it seems that he’s playing the same game as John Carpenter has over the past few years... i.e. cashing in the chips whilst the going’s good.

Personally, I think it’s unfortunate to see the individuals who best used the genre to speak out against capitalism and conformity actually seek to embrace it by feeding the Hollywood remake-machine. What are your thoughts? Are they right to do so? Was it inevitable? Let us know on the Forums…


Raimi’s Return a “perfect” DRAG…

Everybody wants Sam Raimi to return to horror. I mean c’mon, the guy gave us Ash, the deadites, Dutch angles and introduced the world to Bruce ‘The Chin’ Campbell. But after such a long period of time away from directing the genre, could he still have that magic that made us all avoid lonely cabins or books inked in blood and bound in skin?

Well, those lucky bar-stewards over at Bloody Disgusting recently attended an early screening of Sam Raimi’s return to horror, DRAG ME TO HELL. Their opinion?

“DRAG ME TO HELL was quite simply the most PERFECT horror film I’ve seen in a long, long while.”

If this is an accurate review of the film in it’s current form – and Bloody Disgusting are usually overly harsh, if anything, in their reviews – then ladies and gentleman, it would seem that the King has indeed entered the building to show all the pretenders how it’s really done.

Yes, you may consider me excited.

Episode 25: What's on Sam's iPod?

Due to some unforeseen schedule conflicts and unavoidable coincidences, we weren't able to bring you our Lucio Fulci episode. Don't worry though because we will be talking about the gore-meister himself next week. Since we had to scrape together a show topic and Sam was out of town, we were limited to the horror movies that Sam had on his iPod.

Fortunately he had a few decent flicks... not saying we're including them in this show, but nonetheless. This week we talk about Thir13en Ghosts (2001), Candyman 1992, and The Ring from 2002.

We are also very lucky to be able to play three tracks by our own "KreugerDude" a.k.a. Johnny Sanders. Visit his Myspace page HERE.

Download the Episode Directly

Thir13en Ghosts




Candyman



The Ring

Sam's Chiropractor or Dr. Herbert West

I have been a little concerned about my chiropractor ever since seeing the Reanimator. I'm wondering if I am being slipped a little something else besides adjustments and ointments. You decide...

Show Topic Change Episode 25

As we were preparing for our full-blown Lucio Fulci show, we ran into a couple of problems. Actually we only ran into one problem. My copy of Zombi 2 hasn't arrived from Amazon yet. It's been 3 weeks and apparently they had an inventory snafu.

Anyhow, with a short time to put a show together, our options have become limited. Also, since Sam is out of town we were a little limited on what topics we could do. He told me that he is armed with a set of movies on his iPod that we could choose from. The flicks that he had would have presented a problem as far as coming up with a theme... So, this week we are proud to present "What's on Sam's iPod"!!! Three films that Sam happened to have on his iPod are now the basis for the next episode!

Friends of the Show: The Ligntning Bug's Lair

Hello Everybody! Time for another installment of our Friends of the Show series. This week, we're focusing on The Lightning Bug's Lair (TLB).

First of all, I'd like to share the description of the site written by T.L. Bugg himself:

The Lightning Bug is the Boss Man of the Moon. When he's not teaching people how to talk like him ("reaaaal sexy") or taking his flying wing out for a spin, he enjoys watching and reviewing all kinds of cult, exploitation, sci fi, b-movies, and horror goodness to bring to the people of Earth. New reviews come out every couple of days so check back early and often.

There you have it! Within this description is about everything you need to know about The Lightning Bug's Lair. First of all, let's start with what was explained explicitly. This site is focused on reviewing cult, exploitation, sci-fi, b-movie, and horror movies. When I go to this site, I always make sure to have my netflix account opened and my "Movies to Get" list in front of me. The reason for this is that TLB does a great job of focusing on movies that I've never heard of but I wish I had. TLB also does a great job of focusing on the important points of a movie and using poignant verbiage such that I don't feel like I'm reading through a bunch of fluff searching for a nugget of interesting info.

To describe the what the the implicit part of the description above is the fun sense of humor that Mr. Bugg shows in these stories.He seems to enjoy what he does and hasn't become too cynical to have it affect the writing. There is a rating system that consists of 1/2 bugs to 5 bugs. Even for the films that received one bug or less, the review wasn't negative or angry, but more like sarcastic and funny.

Along with the main reviews and topics discussed, TLB also has many sidebar attractions. Some examples are Ladies' Night where some of the female contributors take the reins with their ideas and reviews, and B.L.O.G. which stands for the Beautiful Ladies of the Genre. There are many more sidebars, but none so appropriate, as we prepare for the Lucio Fulci show, as the Fulciary where Lucio Fulci's work is discussed (along with other Italian directors' work).

TLB is a member of LAMB (Large Association of Movie Blogs) and HorrorSociety.com's top 100 site's list. Their ranking in these lists are decided by hits and votes.

Head on over to http://www.thelightningbugslair.com/ to check it out. Don't forget to vote in the HorrorSociety's top 100 (linked on the page).

Give T.L. Bugg your patronage. You will definitely not be disappointed. Just remember to have your list of "movies you want to see" open because you will definitely see something you've never heard of.

Doctor's Rounds 01

“Doctors Rounds” is a new, regular feature produced by Cadaverlab contributor, Doctor Smirnoff, summarising the most interesting (and bizarre) current stories related to horror movies & games. We hope you enjoy the column and hope to see your feedback on the forums soon!


Jason Vorhees: Possible Zombie, Definite Record Breaker!

Setting a new record for an R-rated movie, the remake of FRIDAY 13TH is reported to have a weekend projected gross of over $60million – having made almost $20m on it’s opening night. So, for all the criticism these remakes keep attracting, it’s fairly obvious to see why that the masses are willing to hand over the cash to see them! Good thing? Bad thing? Post your thoughts on the forums!

Even Newer NIGHTMARE Gets Director…

With the blood on Jason’s trademark machete barely dry after his weekend box-office massacre (see above), Michael Bay’s remake factory Platinum Dunes is already moving things forward with their retelling of A Nightmare on Elm Street.

And in a similar move to their approach to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they’ve signed on a renowned music video director to bring us their vision of a Robert Englund-less Freddy.

It was announced this week that stepping behind the lens will be Sam Bayer - who apparently directed the instantly iconic video for Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' way back in the 90’s…

Whoever he is, Bayer must have made a positive impression on Platinum Dunes as he’s not only signed on to Nightmare but also FIASCO HEIGHTS, an original thriller set to be released by Universal.

Barker on New Pinhead Design…

Author, artist, director and Master of the Macabre™, Clive Barker has given his thoughts on Gary Tunnicliffe’s preliminary designs for Pinhead (found here), ahead of Pascal Laugier (Martyrs) reimagining of HELLRAISER. Barker’s main gripe?:

"The whole point about Pinhead is that he is geometrically severe… the energy of the character comes out of the fact that you have surgical precision... By turning the bloodless cuts or scarifications into bloody, irregular gashes removes the point of what made the character interesting in the first place."

There seems to be a question mark around Tunnicliffe’s involvement in the new HELLRAISER. He as stated that his services were requested due to his work on parts 2–8. However, it is also rumoured that he is infact not involved at this point and was hoping to use the video as the start of a viral campaign and petition for his return!

In any case, I think we now know which way Clive Barker will be voting!

H2: (Flash)Back to Haddonfield…

Alongside reports of Malcolm McDowell reprising his role of Dr. Loomis in H2, Rob Zombie’s sequel to his own remake of HALLOWEEN, comes confirmation that Daeg Farch will also be returning as “young Michael Myers”. Other definite cast members joining McDowell and Farch are Bill Moseley and fellow TCM2 star Caroline “Stretch” Williams.

Those who have seen the Directors Cut of Zombie’s HALLOWEEN will recall that Loomis survived in that version, making a return possible. However, the signing of Farch can only mean one thing – flashbacks!

As a fan of the SAW franchise, I’m used to seeing gratuitous flashbacks to the one strand of originality that made the first movie interesting. So this isn’t that much of a shock for me… but how about you? Post your thoughts on the forums!

Episode 24: Poppin' Sam's Cherry

As uncomfortable as the title makes us, we decided to take care of some business on this show. We thought we'd pop Sam's cherry. Now... all of you sick-minded bastards can relax, we're using that to describe the fact that we want to break Sam out of his "noob" status. We chose three films to talk about this week, all of which have some kind of significance in the horror genre as a whole and some would say that one can't be a true horror fan until one has seen these. So for those who wanted to try to catch us pressure washing the aluminum trombone, I am sorry!

Although we could have added so many great titles to this list, this week we're going to discuss Nosferatu 1922, City of the Living Dead 1980, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974.

Download Episode Directly

Nosferatu 1922 - One of the first horror movies ever made, Nosferatu A Symphony of Horror uses skilled acting and great atmosphere to portray the message that is typically illustrated through speech. Here's a taste:

City of the Living Dead 1980 - Written and directed by Lucio Fulci, you know that this is going to be one gory ride. Having the award of being the only film that actually made Mike barf, this film delivers on the violence and gore. Here's a trailer:

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974 - Tobe Hooper's gritty masterpiece. We are treated to the most psychotic family in existence (except for maybe the family in Mum and Dad). One of Mike's all-time favorite movies, this is a dirty, nasty, ugly, film.

Also, don't forget to check out a little link that McPierce shared with us:

The Texas Chainsaw Manicure @ Yahoo! Video

Music for this episode:

• Suicidal Tendencies - I'll Hate You Better
• Tomahawk - Rape this Day
• The Sword - Freya
  

Angry Gnome in Heavy Metal Magazine Update!

It's official! The Spring issue of Heavy Metal Magazine is hitting the stands tomorrow. This issue is going to feature Shawn Gabborin's story Home Late!

Here is the link to purchase the issue online.

Let's make sure to support our resident Comic Creator by purchasing the issue and letting Heavy Metal know how much we loved Home Late!

Robert Best on Bubba Ho Tep

So, it turns out Elvis is alive and living out his final years in a nursing home. Except no one believes he's Elvis. They think he's just a crazy old man. Which he may be. Then again, he might be Elvis. And did I mention that Elvis is played by Bruce Campbell? How cool is that?

Elvis' best friend in the nursing home is an old African-American man. Who swears he's JFK, alive and hidden in a nursing home. And he's played by Ossie Davis. Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. Again, how cool is that?

And all is not well at the nursing home. A mummy, dressed up like a cowboy, is killing the residents at night. I'd tell you how, but that would spoil it. Let's just say he's killing them and it's up to Elvis and JFK to stop him.

I love this movie. It's as much fun as it sounds. And it turns out that an aging, foul-mouthed Elvis is the role Bruce Campbell was born to play. Other than Ash, of course.

Watch it!

Tweet Me? WTF?

Mike here... Just signed up on Twitter. I tried to find everybody who I thought would be on there, but I'm sure there are many more that I missed. I don't know the correct twit-equite or what, so maybe I'm just a big whore, but go to http://twitter.com/mikecadaverlab to follow.

I didn't know what Twitter was really before today, but I can see how it can get addictive as hell.

See you up there!

Can I Please be Uninvited?

So I checked out The Uninvited and took one for the team. You know, Mike and I went to go try to see the Unborn when it came out and were accosted by teeny boppers while we were going to wait in line. Luckily, we decided to give it up and find something else to do. That same crowd showed up to The Uninvited and made it a very Unfun movie.

This is a movie about a girl who has had a horrible accident take her mother who was dying of a terminal illness, which results in Anna trying to kill herself and being put in a mental institution. The story picks up 10 months later when Anna is allowed to leave only to find out that her mother's nurse who was played by Elizabeth Banks (hottie) has moved in and is Anna's father's girlfriend. Anna plots with her sister Alex to find out what really happened the night of her mother's death which leads to some twists and turns, and dramatic music.

I'll have to admit that there were some good scare moments, but they could have taken a page out of the Japanese Horror genre and put more subtle scares in. Case in point - there was a moment where Anna is in the attic going through her mother's old stuff and I fully expected to see something like a dead hand move in the background. No such luck. The scary moments were prefaced by intense music and slow moving motions to doors so not very surprising at all. There was a moment that I cringed. It involved a graphic, gruesome discovery, with a visual and audio that I will not soon forget while two people start making out. That's all I am going to say because it really was the highpoint of the movie and I wouldn't want you to expect it.

Now I generally judge a movie on how realistic the reactions of the characters are to information revealed and what they do with that information. Another example - Anna finds out that Elizabeth Banks character has changed her name and is not who she says she is. For some inexplicable reason Anna and Alex decide not to approach their father with the information, instead they decide to attend a dinner party and then go to the police the next day. Wouldn't you think you should tell someone close to you about potentially important info like that? Sorry, I shouldn't be knit-picky about stuff like that but I do.

All of this is set up to give us a "giant twist" that seems to give all of the teeny boppers a headache (at least what I could tell from posts they had put on Fandango about the movie). The twist wasn't that hard to follow, but it is a twist that we have seen way to often as of late. I am not going to give it away, but I can give you a list of movies that end the same way if you would like it. Overall, the journey was alright, but the girls talking and screaming and then laughing at themselves screaming was enough to annoy me. I give this a redbox, and it would probably be better without the teenage audience and their commentary.

Dr. Smirnoff Shares an Interview with "The Chin"

One of our British friends, Dr. Smirnoff, found an awesome interview with Bruce Campbell. This interview was broadcast on BBC radio on February 6th. This interview will only be available to listen to until 4:02pm Friday 13th February (That's about 11:02 am next Friday). Here's some text that Dr. Smirnoff sent along with the link:

The Chin was interviewed by the BBC on Radio 5 Live as part of the weekly movie hour with Mark Kermode (reknowned film critic and horror fan who used to write for Fangoria). Anyway, the reason this is of even limited interest is due to the fact that Mr. Campbell basically says there will never be an Evil Dead 4... big news for us fans, no?

Follow this link!

Friends of the Show: Angry Gnome Comics

Shawn Gabborin and his wife Stephanie are the creators of Angry Gnome Comics. Shawn does the writing while Stephanie excels at illustrating the stories that Shawn comes up with. I have to admit that the Short Stack by Angry Gnome was my first real experience with comics at all. I have purchased and read issues1-3 of their Short Stack series as well as issues 1-3 of Victor Season. Let's just say that Angry Gnome loves their stories dark!

Shawn has since recommended many other comics that I have checked out including The Walking Dead and Preacher trades. Between Shawn's original work and his recommendations, I have become a convert and I have found myself frequenting local comic shops on a regular basis.

We have recently received news that one of Shawn's stories is going to be featured in Heavy Metal Magazine! The story that will be featured is called Home Late which is written by Shawn Gabborin and illustrated by Mario Cau. It will be in Heavy Metal Magazine issue 122 which is one of their special Spring issues. HERE is a link to their special issues page. At the time of this writing, it hasn't been placed on that page yet, but hopefully it will soon. The issue is due to be available on February 10th. Note: the issue cover in this story is not the cover of the spring issue. It is the cover of the fall issue... but what a great cover!

Not only is Shawn a very talented storyteller, but he has worked very hard to get to this point in his comic career. I just want to urge everybody to purchase the spring issue and make sure to contact Heavy Metal Magazine with your thoughts on Shawn's entry to their magazine. This is a big step for Angry Gnome Comics and we prompt everybody to support them! I will definitely be purchasing this issue... and not only because it gives me a legitimate excuse to buy Heavy Metal Magazine without my wife thinking I'm just getting it to look at the hot chicks!

If you want more information on Angry Gnome Comics visit their site or go directly to their store

Friends of the Show Series

Over the past six months that we've been putting out the podcast, we've made some friends. Friends that are working to build up the horror community as a whole. I am actually surprised at the amount of talent that is out there both from those who are writers, illustrators, and musicians, but also from those who create informative and fun podcasts, blogs, and websites.

We're going to do a series of stories about independent horror community contributors. Not because we think they need our help to get noticed, but more to show our appreciation of the support that they've given our show. Since life gets busy, the frequency of these stories showing up on the front page may be a little sketchy, but both Sam and I appreciate their support and want to make sure everybody who visits the site knows who these people are.

Episode 23: Vampire Origins

This week's topic is Vampire Origins. We talk about different myths and legends from around the globe regarding the origination of the vampire. Since we ran a little long, we weren't able to get into the depth that we would have liked, but we are able to discuss some very interesting myths.

We are treated to a few "Impersonate Sam" entries. We also go over some voicemails and emails. One email even mentions how Sam can pop his cherry.

Download Directly

We discuss three films that focus on the origination story of the vampires involved:

Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters (2002):

I've actually found this whole film on Youtube. If you follow THIS link, you will be pointed to part one. It is broken into many 10 minute parts. You will be able to see subsequent parts in the "Related Videos" section of the page. For those of you who want to take a quick peek at the first 10 minutes, here it is:

Dracula 2000 (2000):

A decent film with an awesome vampire origin story. This film has one of the greatest reveals of any movie in the last 10 years. Unfortunately many genre cliches are present and quite distracting. Here is the trailer:

Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000):

As luck would have it, this entire film is also on Youtube. Both Sam and I really enjoyed this historical look at Vlad Tepes' story... before he became a vampire. Great acting, great set design, and an interesting story make this made for TV film very enjoyable. Again, here is a link to the first portion of the film. Look at the "Related Videos" section for subsequent selections.

Musical Selections for this episode:

• Nevermore - The Heart Collector
• Monster Magnet - See You in Hell
• Sentenced - Drain Me
  

Robert R. Best's Review of Aswang

So, say you've decided to put your unborn child up for adoption. And a weird rich guy wants to adopt your baby. And part of the deal is that you have to live with the rich guy in his isolated house until the baby is born.

The message of Aswang: don't do it!

Because it turns out an aswang is a Filipino vampire that feeds on unborn babies while still in the womb. So guess why the weird rich guy wants your baby. See, told you to listen to Aswang.

This low budget movie from the early 90's is creepy and nasty, like you would expect from a movie with this subject matter. Sometimes the low budget hampers the movie a little, but sometimes it helps too, by giving the whole thing a surreal, off feeling that really adds to the overall effect.

I liked it.

30 Days of Night... A Second Opinion

In Episode 22, we talked about 30 Days of Night and both Sam and I really enjoyed the film. Well, let's get another person's take on the subject. Here's Robert R. Best with his review:

So there's this tiny town in Alaska where, once a year, it is dark for 30 days. The few residents who stay each year hunker down for the dark cold month. Until one year, when vampires show up.

That's a nice, solid set-up. And it's handled well. The early parts of the film, before the sun has gone down, set up a good feeling of approaching doom. Someone has stolen all the cell phones and destroyed them. Someone has killed all the dogs in town. A weird stranger has shown up at the diner and is demanding bowls of raw hamburger.

Dealing with all this is the town sheriff, played surprisingly well by Josh Hartnett. He and the few residents of the town are trying to sort out what's going on when the vampires arrive.

A lot of effort went into making these vampires very different from the romantic, tormented souls we've become used to. These vampires are feral and animalistic. Smart, but more like animals than anything else. And this presentation works, especially the excellent performance by Danny Huston as the leader of the vampires.

Its a solid movie. Above average, but missing something I can't put my finger on. There's just no real wow-factor to push this movie into greatness. And it feels like it could have been great. Still, worth seeing.

Keith Latch Bestseller Review!

As if we needed any more reason to get into Keith Latch's books, there has been another review posted by CoffeeTimeRomance.com. You ask, "Romance? What is a review of Bestseller doing on a romance site?" my answer is that Keith's books can be enjoyed by everyone. Here's the review:

Robert Caulder has always wanted to be an author but has never managed to complete a book. Then, he had a near fatal road accident, recovered from a weeklong coma, and returned home to find he could suddenly write. However, now he writes million dollar horror books, something he had never even read before.

Danielle Greer wants to be a literacy agent. When she finds unpublished author Robert Caulder’s first novel on her desk, she knows he is going to be her road to success.

When Robert writes, he does not know what he is going to write until he reads it on the screen in front of him. He knows something is helping him and believes it to be the medication he received after his accident and when that runs out, Robert turns to other drugs. But it is not just his writing ability that has changed; everything about him has become darker.

Mr Latch has an amazing writing ability. I have not read many books of this standard. His descriptions are clear and colorful; I could imagine what the characters were seeing and feeling. I found myself fascinated by the publishing process, how the author, agent and publisher interacted. I was, however, disappointed that the darker twist to the story was limited to the last few chapters of the book. I think the entity known as Always should have made his presence known earlier.

Hollie
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

Here is a link to the page

Bestseller is available for purchase HERE.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans Review

I finally made it out to see Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. I must say that having loved both earlier entries in the series, I had high hopes for this film. First of all, this was one of the few "horror" movies that I could enjoy with my wife. Our movie tastes are so different that rarely is there a film that exists in the overlap of our movie-tastes Venn diagram. Secondly, I love Rhona Mitra and I was very excited to see her in the character of Sonja.

As most of you know, this film tells the story of Lucian, a lycan destined for better things than slavery. Throughout the film we see Lucian's appointment change from a life rooted in slavery to becoming the savior of his people. Somewere along the way he falls in love with Sonja, daughter of Viktor who is the leader of the vampires. The problem is that the lycans are the slaves of the pious vampires and such a relationship is forbidden.

My feelings on this film are a little mixed. On one hand, Bill Nighy (as Viktor) and Michael Sheen (as Lucian) do a great job at portraying their respective characters. I love both actors and they did a great job portraying their characters. The film delivered the same dark style as it's predescessors. There was a good mix of CGI and practical creature effects. The only problem is at a few points, it was fairly obvious that the lycan running around was CGI. I also really enjoy the story and mythos on which the film was based.

One problem was that we face before the film even starts is that there was really no possible way to be shocked or surprised with the plot points because we already know exactly how it ends. I realize that this is a common issue with many prequels that come after the fact and deal with the same story arch as the other films in the series. The whole story in ROTL was outlined in the original Underworld.

The action was great. The battles between the vampires and the lycans treated us to great death scenes and lots of excitement. However there were parts where the story slowed down to a crawl.

After all that has been said, I enjoyed the film. It was fun. It had me rooting for the lycans against the "evil" vampire clan. As I said above, Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy did a stellar job. Michael Sheen, especially, played his character Lucian as well as he could have been played. Rhona Mitra was stunning and a great replacement as the beautiful, yet misunderstood, leading lady. This wasn't an earth-shattering film experience, but it was enjoyable.

I give this film a Buy for a couple of reasons. First of all, I need this in my collection to be a completist, but more importantly, I see this as a film that I can watch over and over. Not too heavy, not to light, but very watchable.

-- Mike