Skype gets Deadly in Trailer for Horror 'Unfriended'

It doesn't matter how far technology evolves, Hollywood will find a way to turn it into a horror movie. We've already seen how the Internet can be used for everything from stalking to "catfishing" to bullying, and now in the new film Unfriended we're learning that even Skype can be made into something nefarious.

A twist on the found-footage horror, but not totally unlike the recent thriller Open Windows, Unfriended takes place totally over a computer screen in real time. It begins when a video of a high schooler named Lara is uploaded to the Internet, showing her drunk, passed out, and possibly sexually assaulted. Soon after she's captured on tape committing suicide, but months later a group of friends in a Skype group call are terrorized by a user who knows way too much about everything.

It's a pretty clever setup from director Levan Gabriadze but the trick will be keeping the stylistic touches interesting for the duration. Given the idea was hatched by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) and is produced by Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity), there's every reason to think Unfriended could be a sleeper hit when it boots up on April 17th.


Unfriended : première bande annonce (VO) by Fan Actu

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First Trailer for Horror Remake 'The Town that Dreaded Sundown'

Back in 1976 Charles Pierce directed and starred in The Town that Dreaded Sundown, a film which to my mind is memorable only for how ridiculous it became after a genuinely tense start. It was based on the real-life murders of a serial killer known as the Phantom Killer who stalked the town of Texarcana, Texas, and if Pierce had played it straight the film might have worked, but damn...that trombone scene just ruined it.  Thirty years later and American Horror Story creator Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is attempting to get it right with a contemporary remake that looks pretty impressive.

Produced by Ryan Murphy (Glee) and Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, with a script by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Carrie), the new version gets a little meta by taking place 65 years after the original killings as very similar murders start taking place. Addison Timlin, Joshua Leonard (The Blair Witch Project), Edward Hermann, and Gary Cole star, and this one looks like a vast improvement in the tension department.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown will debut at Fantastic Fest but doesn't have a release date.


The Town that Dreaded Sundown - Trailer by Dread Central

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Jon M. Chu to Direct Live-Action 'Jem and the Holograms'

Here's what we know about Jon M. Chu as a director: he's really good with song and dance films, such as Step Up 2 and the Justin Bieber concert docs; and G.I. Joe: Retaliation showed his love of '80s cartoon properties. So why not take on a film that rolls all of those passions into one?

In a surprising announcement, Chu revealed he will team up with Paranormal Activity producer Jason Blum to bring Jem and the Holograms to the big screen. It will be a live-action version of the cartoon which centered on Jerrica, a normal woman who, with the aid of a supercomputer known as Synergy, is able to transform into the mysterious lead singer, Jem. With her band, the Holograms, she battles rival bands such as The Misfits and The Stingers while keeping her identity a secret. It's a totally dated concept but kind of makes sense in today's American Idol culture.The original 'toon was a co-production of Hasbro and Marvel (!!!), and was branched off into toys and comics. Head to Comic-Con and you'll find no shortage of cosplayers dressed up as Jem and her loyal bandmates.

For the record, my wife is a Jem fanatic and will probably squeal with glee over this news.

An open casting call is underway with Chu encouraging everybody with some singing and dancing talent to throw their name into the ring. You can check out the full announcement, plus a refresher on Jem below.For more, just head on over to the film's rapidly-prepared official site.

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Jennifer Lopez to Star in Blumhouse Productions' Horror 'The Boy Next Door'

After a spectacular run a few years ago, we haven't seen as much from Jennifer Lopez of late. She recently made the odd career move by co-starring in Jason Statham's Parker, and while she was actually quite good in it, it seemed like a role she wouldn't have even considered before. But she might be making a comeback, lining up the Chilean miner film The 33 for next year, and now she's joining the ultra-successful horror studio Blumhouse Productions for their next project, The Boy Next Door.

The studio behind low-budget hits Paranormal Activity, The Purge, and Insidious has tapped Rob Cohen (XXX) to direct the genre flick, which has Lopez "as a newly separated mother who begins an affair with a new teenage neighbor who befriends her son. Trouble ensues, however, when she tries to abruptly end the relationship."  Barbara Curry will pen the script, with the small-scale film budgeted around $4M, fitting right into the Blumhouse sweet spot.

While Lopez has been less of a presence on the big screen, she's gearing up to return for her most prominent gig as a judge on American Idol.

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Olivia Wilde and Mark Duplass to star in horror thriller 'Reawakening'

Somehow, the two busiest talents in Hollywood have found time in their busy schedules to star in a new project together. The ubiquitous Olivia Wilde has appeared in nine movies over the last two years, and has a whopping seven due out in 2014. Mark Duplass has been steadily making the move beyond his indie beginnings, taking over the big and small screen as a writer, director, and leading man. Now both will star in a promising new thriller from one of horror's top producers and the director of one of last year's best documentaries.

David Gelb (Jiro Dreams of Sushi) is set to direct Reawakening, a horror thriller produced by Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity, Sinister) that follows a team of scientists who discover a serum that can bring the dead back to life. After the lead scientist's daughter dies, she is given the experimental formula, leading to horrifying results. Luke Dawson and Jeremy Slater wrote the script, which sounds an awful lot like a Flatliners update to me. It's an interesting change of pace for Gelb, jumping from a film about food to a genre that is tough to master right out of the gate.

No timetable has been set for production so Duplass should have plenty of time to film the Melissa McCarthy comedy, Tammy. Wilde will be seen this summer in the indie comedy, Drinking Buddies, and has Ron Howard's Rush coming in September. [THR]

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'Sinister' sequel officially in the works

While most of the mega studios scramble around spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a film hoping to just break even, producer Jason Blum has made an art of turning a profit out of practically no budget at all. As one of the minds behind the found footage Paranormal Activity franchise, Insidious, and 2011's horror hit Sinister, nobody's been more in the black than him. Insidious Chapter 2 is coming later this year, newly bumped a few weeks down to September 20th, and now a sequel to Sinister is in the works.

Deadline reports that Blum will produce Sinister 2, bringing back Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill to pen the script. Only this time Derrickson won't be taking on the directing reins, meaning a new helmer will have to be found. Assuming this develops into a series like Paranormal Activity, the director isn't going to mean much, anyway.

The original film starred Ethan Hawke as a true crime novelist who moves his family into a new home, always a bad idea, and discovers a box of home movies of all the murdered families that have lived there. No need to spoil what happens next, but let's just say it's really gruesome and quite sinister. Whomp! No word on if Hawke will come back, but I'm betting he at least makes a cameo to set up the story of the next set of victims.

Insidious made close to $100M on a budget around $1.5M, while Sinister hauled in $87M at around a $3M cost. At those numbers there's every reason for Blum to expand his horror empire and keep it going for years.

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