Horror Movie News and Reviews - Horror Express.com

DIMENSION FLOODS MARKET WITH SHELVED FILMS

Miramax is dead. Oh sure, the name is going to be around for several years and you'll still see films released by the studio. I'm sure they'll even release a few good ones in the coming years and maybe even redeem themselves by reclaiming the indie street cred that the studio was known for. But Miramax as we have come to know it is dead. Another shakeup with the Disney corporation has caused Bob and Harvey Weinstein to announce their departure from Miramax this year. The Weinsteins founded the independent company and have been widely seen as the face of Miramax for it's 20 plus year history.

Miramax is of course the studio responsible for some of the most incredible independent films. They are also responsible for their subsidiary Dimension Films, which has released a number of horror films. My feelings towards Dimension have been well documented on this website. Now, it looks like Dimension will dump a lot of products that have remained unreleased for years. Why? For the simple reason that they have no choice.

What this means to horror fans is that we will finally be seeing several films we've been hearing about for years. This includes several entries in established franchises.

THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER was supposed to be a return to form for the franchise after the disastrous THE CROW: CITY OF ANGELS and THE CROW: SALVATION (not to mention that shitty TV show). Directed by Lance Mungia (SIX-STRING SAMURAI), WICKED PRAYER follows Jimmy Cuervo (not to be confused with his alcoholic brother, Jose) as he returns from the dead to exact revenge on the gang leader that killed him in a ritualistic bid for immortality. Edward Furlong (TERMINATOR 2) plays the new Crow while ANGEL's David Boreanaz is the bad guy. The film also stars Tara Reid and Dennis Hopper. It was filmed in summer 2003. Although originally planned as a theatrical release, it will be released directly to DVD on July 18th to no one's surprise.

The seventh and eighth HELLRAISER films will also be unleashed. Both filmed concurrently in Romania, the seventh film is called HELLRAISER: DEADER. It follows a journalist researching a Bucharest cult known as the Deaders who are somehow involved with the Cenobites. The eigth film, HELLRAISER: HELLWORLD (pictured above) involves a group of five friends addicted to an online role playing game called Hellworld. They are invited to a special game which turns out to be Pinhead and his cronies sucking more people into their world. Both films are directed by Rick Bota, who helmed the sixth installment HELLRAISER: HELLSEEKER, which astonishingly enough, I enjoyed. These plots however, eek. The two films were shot in 2002. HELLRAISER: DEADER will get a DVD release in June with HELLWORLD set to follow in September.

Another series long thought dead was THE PROPHECY. But in fact, Dimension backed a fourth and fifth installment of the series, also shot in Romania. Neither film will star Christopher Walken who made his exit at the end of PROPHESY III: THE ASCENSION. These two films, PROPHESY: UPRISING and PROPHESY: FORSAKEN will both star Kari Wuher and Doug Bradley (Pinhead from the HELLRAISER films) and is according to UHM, is about "an ancient manuscript that is still writing itself wich fortells the coming of the Antichrist." Okay. Both films were directed by Joel Soisson, a screenwriter and producer whose only other directing credit was MANIAC COP 3. Filmed in 2003, the two films are set to be released within the next few months.

The DRACULA trilogy that began with DRACULA 2000 and continued with DRACULA II: ASCENSION (What? How many ascensions can there be?) concludes with DRACULA III: THE LEGACY. Two of the vamp hunters from ASCENSION team up and hunt down the prince of darkness, who has sealed himself away from the world. Like the first two films, this was directed by longtime Wes Craven collaborator, Patrick Lussier. Filmed in 2003, it will get a DVD release in July.

The glut also includes several films already released in other countries which will finally be released in the U.S. This includes Renny Harlin's MINDHUNTERS, which has had its release date shifted but will now finally be shown theatrically in May. The film stars Val Kilmer (who I never hated unlike the rest of the planet), Christian Slater, L.L. Cool J. and a bunch of others.

It also includes a number of films that Miramax/Dimension had bought the rights to but has sat on for several years. THE NAMELESS is the earlier film directed by Jaume Balagueró and was based on a novel by Ramsey Campbell. Critically acclaimed in every other country, it was not shown here because Dimension couldn't figure out what to do with it. Dimension also released Balagueró's DARKNESS after it reamined in limbo for two and half years. It had a semi-successful theatrical run in which its running time was cut by more than 10 minutes to secure a "PG-13" rating. It will of course be released to DVD with the option of an "Unrated" version which is actually the same thing the rest of the world saw. THE NAMELESS will be released on DVD the same day, April 26th.

Brian Gilbert's THE GATHERING was shelved by Dimension back in 2001. Gilbert gave the studio prestige hits like TOM & VIV and WILDE. Of course, the studio has a sorry track record when it comes to loyalty so THE GATHERING gathered nothing but dust and Gilbert has been unable to make anything since. The film stars Christina Ricci as a young woman who finds herself trapped in a town with no recollection of why she is there. Then things start getting really weird. I guess, I haven't seen it yet, remember?

The most high-profile project that will hopefully be released is another Ricci vehicle, PROZAC NATION, based upon the book of the same name. A drama about a woman suffering from depression and confined to an institution, it will probably be released under the more prestigious Miramax banner. Still, it's of interest to fans who like this sort of thing, especially since the book gained such a cult following in the 1990s. Like THE GATHERING, PROZAC NATION was filmed in 2001 and has remained unreleased for reasons that remain unclear.

Anyone heard of AFTER IMAGE? Yeah, me neither, but it's a psycholgical thriller starring John Mellancamp that has been gathering dust since 2001.

CYPHER is the hotly anticipated follow-up from CUBE director Vincenzo Nitali, who had nothing to do with CUBE's disappointing sequels. Released everywhere else, Dimension has been sitting on it since 2002. Dimension is also slated to release Natali's latest, NECROPOLIS this year.

ZU WARRIORS is a heavily edited and reconstructed version of Tsui Hark's THE LEGEND OF ZU. Dimension has aborted several attempts to release this, but it looks like its on the way now. My suggestion: just get an import DVD like I did and see the real version.

Hopefully, this is just a partial list. Because believe it or not, Miramax and Dimension have U.S. rights to dozens of properties that have remained unreleased. It's nice to have them released finally, but it's sad that the studio didn't bother until their backs were to the wall.

Oh, and for those curious, Dimension will continue. Part of the deal struck says that the Weinsteins will hold the rights to the Dimension name although not the back catalog. Likely, Dimension will be a benchmark at a new studio. Meanwhile, Miramax will stay at Disney but in a much more limited capacity. They will have their annual budget cut to $400 million (poor baby!) from $700 million in 2004. In a more severe blow, the staff is expected to be reduced from its current 500 employees to just fifty essential personnel.

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