Contagion!

SNOWTOWN does well at AACTA Awards

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:09:08 +1100

The inaugural Samsung AACTA Awards were held at the Sydney Opera House a couple of nights ago and it was good to see SNOWTOWN taking out a bunch of awards. The Madman released film was nominated for 10 awards and took out 6 of them. Included were Best Direction (Justin Kurzel), Best Lead Actor (Daniel Henshall), Best Adapted Screenplay (Shaun Grant), Best Supporting Actress (Louise Grant) as well as Best Sound and Best Editing. One of my personal favourite local films so I was excited it did really well…

Not a surprise, the Roadshow feel-good canine-drama RED DOG took out Best Film. It’s been so huge that it was always going to happen. Hope he get’s some solid dog treats for his hard work!

Anybody who hasn’t seen these films, they are both available here in Australia on blu-ray and DVD so check them out! I’m sure they’ll be all over the world soon…

You can see a full list of all nominations and winners over at AACTA site by clicking here.

Hope you all have a chilling Friday the 13th!

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:13:24 +1100

Hope you all have a chilling Friday the 13th!

AMC home of GOODFELLAS TV show Talks have been out there for a...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:47:00 +1100

AMC home of GOODFELLAS TV show

Talks have been out there for a GOODFELLAS television series for some time now, but it has just been announced that AMC - home to such hits as THE WALKING DEAD, BREAKING BAD and MAD MEN - are going to be developing the show.

Originally a 1990 Martin Scorsese directed movie about the life of mobster Henry Hill, Nicholas Pileggi and Irwin Winkler are the only two people from the film that are on board for the show with a bunch of others now involved and Scorsese nowhere to be seen.

AMC have a good track record but one can’t help but be worried. I’m all for a good new mafia television show, but not at the expense of a classic movie. We’ll see what happens…

Happy new year to everybody from Contagion!

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:05:13 +1100

I hope and trust you all had a good new year! Let’s hope 2012 brings us lots of great visual entertainment full of everything we love! Expect more giveaways as well as news and reviews from us this year. Thanks for the support…

THE EVIL DEAD remake heads to New Zealand and gets April 2013 release

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:24:00 +1100

I’m sure everyone has been keeping an eye on details surrounding the remake of THE EVIL DEAD. Being a Kiwi, I am excited that the people behind this have announced that the film will start shooting in March in New Zealand! A day after this news it was revealed they’re also hoping to release the film on 12th April, 2013.

The main plot is the same as the original with a bunch of friends holed up in a remote cabin who uncover the Book of the Dead which causes demonic possession within the group and leaves them fighting for survival. The script has been revised though so the grounds for going out there are different and as announced ages ago there will be no specific Ash character. Should still be cool though!

Lionsgate to do a reboot of 2000’s classic AMERICAN...

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:48:00 +1100

Lionsgate to do a reboot of 2000’s classic AMERICAN PSYCHO

Why? It was only ten years ago and, seriously, who could be better as the psychotic Patrick Bateman than Christian Bale? Could be years away from hitting screens but let’s see how this unfolds…

Official trailer and stills for HOSTEL: PART III

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:52:00 +1100

The HOSTEL franchise is a favourite for many and HOSTEL: PART III is due out on Unrated DVD in America on December 27th and should follow shortly after here in Australia. Check out the synopsis and trailer below as well as a link to 30+ high-res images from the movie.

High stakes gambling takes on a sinister new meaning in this third chapter of the terrifying HOSTEL series. While attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas, four friends are enticed by two sexy escorts to join them at a private party way off the Strip. Once there, they are horrified to find themselves the subjects of a perverse game of torture, where members of the Elite Hunting Club are hosting the most sadistic show in town.

The guys over at Bloody-Disgusting.com have unleashed a massive gallery of stills. Click here to check it out. Be warned of some spoilers included though.

WIN A DOUBLE-PASS TO SEE SHARK NIGHT 3D!

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:35:22 +1100

Thanks to Icon Film Distribution and Contagion, we’re giving 10 people the chance to win a double-pass to see SHARK NIGHT 3D at the cinema. The movie was released here on November 10th. The first 10 people to send an email to andrew@contagionzine.com with the subject line “SHARK NIGHT 3D” will win and passes will be sent out straight away. You must be an Australian resident and please include mailing address in the email.

Check below for the synopsis, official trailer and movie poster!

A group of friends spend a weekend at a lakeside house only to find that danger lurks beneath the waters. Yet their biggest fear is realised when they discover that the lake’s shark inhabitants are not their only enemy. When attempts to skip town fail one by one, these college kids-or the ones who are left-will have to battle their enemies head-on in order to survive.

THE EVIL DEAD reboot could go either way

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:27:00 +1100

Plans for a THE EVIL DEAD reboot has been the talk for some time now and over the last few weeks a fair amount of new info has surfaced.

The main thing that has shocked/surprised people is the absence of Ash as a character and Bruce Campbell as an actor (although a cameo by him hasn’t been outlawed). Despite this the main blueprint of Raimi’s original is in place with a group of friends going to an old cabin, finding the Book of the Dead and unleashing a bunch of crazy Deadites. The motivation for the trip is different though because it seems one of the characters is taking his younger sister out there to help kick her drug habit and her withdrawals make it hard to see that she’s actually possessed.

This could go either way. Could be rad. Could go wrong. Higher budget and better effects. It was a classic though. What do you think?

Diablo Cody (JENNIFER’S BODY, JUNO) has written the reboot and it will be directed by Fede Alvarez (ATAQUE DE PANICO) though it is yet to have any production or release dates. We’ll keep you posted!

Contagion getting back to it after a break

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:18:04 +1100

So, I just had a nice little holiday in NYC for two weeks. Back to the grind now though. Winners of the last giveaway will be contacted today and news should start filtering back through over next few days. Hope everyone had an amazing Halloween! :)

GIVEAWAY!!! WIN 1 OF 2 AWESOME 'REVENGE OF KOREAN CINEMA' PACKS!!!

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:40:00 +1100

To celebrate the recent release of Chul-Soo Jang’s BEDEVILLED, Madman Entertainment and Contagion! are giving two lucky people the chance to win a rad ‘REVENGE OF KOREAN CINEMA’ pack that includes BEDEVILLED and four other awesome titles!

If you’re an Australian resident please read on for the rules. It’s so simple to win!

Entering to score one of these packs is as simple as:

If you’re a Tumblr user, reblog this post and you’ll get three (3) entries in to the lucky dip to win.
Or, just like this post to get one (1) entry in the lucky dip to win.
Or, if you’re not a Tumblr user, then log in to the comments section below with either your Disqus, Facebook or Twitter details and leave a comment to get one (1) entry in the lucky dip to win.

Conditions of entry and the rules are:

You must be an Australian resident.
The giveaway will run from Thursday, 20th October, 2011 through to Friday, 28th October, 2011.
Winners will be selected at random in the week following and packs will be sent out shortly after that.
If you’re entering through Tumblr you will need to have your ‘ask’ box on so we can contact you if you’re a winner.
If entering any other way we will contact you through your account you use to log in with.

Good luck, everyone!

THE DEVIL INSIDE shapes up to be the best exorcist of the recent bundle

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:09:02 +1100

Everyone’s a sucker for a good exorcism movie and THE DEVIL INSIDE looks like it’s going to be the best of the recent bunch. Brent Bell’s creepy looking film is due to hit cinemas very early 2012 and Paramount Insurge is creating quite the buzz for it.

Below you will find the official synopsis and the official trailer for the film. What do you think of it?

“In 1989, emergency responders received a 9-1-1 call from Maria Rossi (Suzan Crowley) confessing that she had brutally killed three people. 20 years later, her daughter Isabella (Fernanda Andrade) seeks to understand the truth about what happened that night. She travels to the Centrino Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Italy where her mother has been locked away to determine if her mother is mentally ill or demonically possessed. When she recruits two young exorcists (Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth) to cure her mom using unconventional methods combining both science and religion, they come face-to-face with pure evil in the form of four powerful demons possessing Maria. Many have been possessed by one; only one has been possessed by many.”

Troma's CLASS OF NUKE 'EM HIGH and POULTRYGEIST up for grabs

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:18:00 +1100

It wasn’t that long ago that Troma’s MOTHER’S DAY got remade by Darren Lynn Bousman (SAW II-IV) and it recently got announced THE TOXIC AVENGER is getting a big-budget make-over as well, so it really is no surprise that apparently a few more Troma classics are in negotiations to be transformed.

If you haven’t seen them, CLASS OF NUKE ‘EM HIGH was made in 1986 and told the story of how a radioactive spill contaminated heaps of marijuana that was being smoked by students at Tromaville High School. While POULTRYGEIST was a 2006 release about a fried chicken restaurant built on a sacred Indian burial ground causing hordes of demonic chickens to attack everyone.

Interesting…

Xavier Gens' amazing THE DIVIDE trailer

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:37:00 +1100

Xavier Gens, the director of one of the greatest French modern horror films FRONTIER(S), has dropped a brand new trailer for his post-apocalyptic thriller THE DIVIDE. The movie is due for cinema release early next year and stars Michael Biehn (TERMINATOR, ALIENS), Milo Ventimiglia (HEROES, PATHOLOGY), Lauren German (HOSTEL, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), Rosanna Arquette (PULP FICTION) and more. Labelled as graphic and violent, check out the synopsis, trailer and poster below:

Nine strangers—all tenants of a New York high rise apartment—escape a nuclear attack by hiding out in the building’s bunker-like basement. Trapped for days underground with no hope for rescue, and only unspeakable horrors awaiting them on the other side of the bunker door, the group begins to descend into madness, each turning on one another with physical and psycho-sexual torment. As supplies dwindle, and tensions flare, and they grow increasingly unhinged by their close quarters and hopelessness, each act against one another becomes more depraved than the next. While everyone in the bunker allows themselves to be overcome by desperation and lose their humanity, one survivor holds onto a thin chance for escape even with no promise of salvation on the outside.

Yesssss, THE WALKING DEAD Season 2 airs in America on Sunday...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:49:00 +1100

Yesssss, THE WALKING DEAD Season 2 airs in America on Sunday night!

Let the count down begin! So excited…

SNOWTOWN review (Blu-Ray)

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:03:00 +1100

The Snowtown murders, also known as the Bodies in Barrels murders, are a dark part of Australia’s recent history that many people, even here, may not know much about. Between 1992 and 1999 the murder of 11 people took place in the state of South Australia. On May 20th 1999, after a 5-year criminal investigation, 8 victims were found in 6 barrels of acid located in an old disused bank building in Snowtown. The murders took place in various locations around Adelaide before all bodies were moved to Snowtown in early 1999. Three days later two bodies were found in a backyard in a town called Salisbury North. More mysterious deaths were linked. Four people were arrested and charged over the murders. All were convicted. Only one victim was killed in Snowtown, while none of the victims or the perpetrators were from the town.

In 2011, a judge lifted many suppression orders with details of the case to the producers of the film SNOWTOWN so they could show a dramatic account of the murders. It is the first feature length film by director Justin Kurzel and was written by Shaun Grant. Australians love their true crime stories and, in my opinion, SNOWTOWN is up there with and matches the intensity of recent greats like ANIMAL KINGDOM, WOLF CREEK and BLUE MURDER.

SNOWTOWN shows, for the most part, the relationship between John Bunting, the ringleader behind the murders, and Jamie Vlassakis who eventually turned crown witness. Bunting’s character is a calculated and creepy one. His words manipulate others and he appears to have a sense of righteousness about the killings he is committing. Vlassakis is a young boy who is having a rough time and looks up to Bunting and eventually gets caught up in the web. The movie walks a greatly balanced line between suggested violence and real violence. It is a brutal story, but instead of being too over the top, it shows the violence from the eyes of Vlassakis and his involvement and how it ultimately shapes him to help and eventually turn.

The characters and locations really drive this film. The small town environment could really be anywhere around the country. The characters could be your next-door neighbours. It’s real. It could happen right at your door step. That form of relation for a viewer makes it all the more appealing and chilling to see. Daniel Henshall’s portrayal of Bunting is the most intense thing since Ben Mendelsohn as Pope in ANIMAL KINGDOM. While Lucas Pittaway as a first time actor showing Vlassakis’ role is absolutely amazing.

There are some really cool special features on the Blu-Ray release of this film which Madman has released here in Australia this month. The standard audio commentary with the director and some deleted scenes, but also some original casting footage, a bit about the Snowtown murders and 3 of Kurzel’s previous short films.

SNOWTOWN is definitely one of my favourite movies of the year. I like true stories like this. Real emotion. Dark and heavy, but not just gore. It’s great to be having work of this quality coming out of our own country too. Buy this movie. It’ll go down as a classic in Australian cinema.

KICK-ASS meets SAW in new film VS VS is about “four...

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:40:41 +1100

KICK-ASS meets SAW in new film VS

VS is about “four superheroes that find themselves abducted by their arch nemesis and are forced to compete in a series of challenges in order to save an abandoned town full of kidnapped innocent civilians.” Getting talked up as a mixture between KICK-ASS and SAW and stars James Remar (DEXTER) and Lucas Till (X-MEN: FIRST CLASS) among others. Could be cool…

All eyez on Tupac Shakur sex tape

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:03:00 +1100

So, not generally something I’d post about but I’ve found this interesting. A bidding war over an explicit sex tape featuring the now deceased legend of the west side, Tupac Shakur, is well underway. In a little bit of California love, the 1991 tape shows Tupac smoking weed, drinking liquor and getting oral sex from an unknown woman. Back then the man was just starting to rocket and this was the same year he released his debut album 2PACALYPSE NOW. Apparently it will go for at least $150,000 and YouPorn.com among others are after it.

I’m listening to 2PAC all morning…

Delicious Zombie Meal Time The lads over at EPIC MEAL TIME have...

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:54:19 +1000

Delicious Zombie Meal Time

The lads over at EPIC MEAL TIME have put together a tasty little video for Halloween where they cook up some brains and bacon. Pan fried, deep friend, in an omelet, in burgers and more. Plenty of gore and Jack Daniels as well. Check it out!

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 trailer promising I have to admit I...

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 10:07:00 +1000

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 trailer promising

I have to admit I didn’t even watch PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 because I made myself think it was going to be lame. Paramount Pictures have just now released a full new trailer for PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 and it looks amazing! Creepy enough to you?