Sorry, Neil

Seeing as I called Neil Marshall a slaphead the other day and didn't really give him the credit he deserves for making two cracking Brit horrors (I haven't actually SEEN Doomsday either, so it's a bit off of me to call it, although a friend of mine did say he didn't like it...), here's the synopsis of the soon-to-be-released latest filum from the man himself... once again, not horror, but may be borderline...

CENTURION - IN CINEMAS 23^rd APRIL 2010

FIGHT OR DIE.

Written and directed by Neil Marshall (THE DESCENT) CENTURION stars Michael Fassbender (INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, HUNGER), Dominic West (300, THE WIRE) and Olga Kurylenko (QUANTUM OF SOLACE, HITMAN).

A relentless, action-packed thriller in the tradition of APOCALYPTO, LAST OF THE MOHICANS and DELIVERANCE, CENTURION is set against a background of conquest and invasion and is the gripping story of a fight for survival…

AD 117. The Roman Empire stretches from Egypt to Spain, and East as far as the Black Sea. But in northern Britain, the relentless onslaught of conquest has ground to a halt in face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy: the savage and terrifying Picts.

Quintus Dias (Fassbender), sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus’ (West) legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth and destroy their leader Gorlacon.

But when the legion is ambushed on unfamiliar ground, and Virilus taken captive, Quintus faces a desperate struggle to keep his small platoon alive behind enemy lines.  Enduring the harsh terrain and evading their remorseless Pict pursuers led by revenge-hungry Pict Warrior Etain (Kurylenko), the band of soldiers race to rescue their General and to reach the safety of the Roman frontier.

CENTURION also features an exciting supporting cast including JJ Field (TELSTAR), Liam Cunningham (THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY, HUNGER), Noel Clarke (ADULTHOOD), Riz Ahmed (SHIFTY), David Morrissey (NOWHERE BOY) Imogen Poots (28 WEEKS LATER) and Dimitri Leonidas (TORMENTED).

Produced by Academy Award® Winner Christian Colson (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE) and Robert Jones, CENTURION reunites Marshall with his key collaborators from THE DESCENT: Production Designer Simon Bowles and Director of Photography Sam McCurdy. The film was shot on location in Aviemore, Scotland and Farnham in Surrey.

CENTURION is a Pathé Productions presentation, in association with the UK Film Council, of a Celador Films Production, of A Film by Neil Marshall. CENTURION will be released for Pathé Productions Ltd. by Warner Bros. Pictures UK on 23^rd April 2010.

Boogie Woogie... holy mackerel is that Heather Graham?

Not horror, but I've just been told about this rather... (ahem) interesting looking Brit film which is on its way to a cinema screen near you. And it stars genre stalwart Christopher Lee, along with genre near-stalwarts Joanna Lumley and Jaime Winstone.
This sneak peak is really rather enjoyable, I have to say. Especially if you like Ms Winstone (and let's face it, who doesn't?)

Countdown is progressing... enjoy this trip... etc

You may have noticed a flurry of activity on this blog recently (okay, today). That's cos I'm working towards a big relaunch of the British Horror Films website to mark its 10th anniversary in April, and this blog will become far more involved with the site at that point. So stick with us folks, and sorry it's been a bit shit for the past year.

Marshall talks horror again

Slapheaded some-time auteur and occasional wrong-turning dunderhead Neil "Dog Soldiers" Marshall has told Empire magazine he's set to do another horror film. Good job too, seeing as he's not altogether great at doing anything else (Doomsday, anyone? No?).
In an interview he says of the film, called Slaughterford: "it's not intended to be tongue-in-cheek. It's very much in the tradition of classic British horror, from Dennis Wheatley to Hammer via Amicus. There's humour, certainly, as well as romance, horror and tragedy. But mostly it'll be scary as hell."


You can read the interview (well, part of it) here:
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=27051

The Asphyx on DVD

The 1972 horror / photography epic The Asphyx has apparently just been re-released as a shiny DVD all cleaned up for a 21st century audience. I haven't seen it for yonks, but I wasn't particularly impressed when I did...

http://britishhorrorfilms.co.uk/asphyx.shtml

Perhaps having an eye-searing good print of it might change my view.
You can read more about the DVD here...
http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=72242

Lloyd on film

Hellooo. And before you ask, this is not just an excuse to show a picture of a young lady in her smalls. Okay, it is. Anyhoo, tangerine-tastic, shops-in-her-jimjams scouse princess Danielle Lloyd (above) apparently appears in the new Brit horror "Cut", which was "filmed in one continuous take" and thus sounds probably a bit shite to me. But in case I'm wrong, it's out on DVD for you to take a gander. (Thanks to the Liverpool Echo for this one).

Salvage

Ah Brookside. Never watched it myself, but I'm told it was great, what with all them lesbian kisses under the patio and stuff. Anyway, there's a new Brit horror film on the way this month called Salvage, and it was apparently filmed on the now-defunct set of the now-defunct soap. From the trailer it looks like a laugh a minute (much like the show itself) and also satisfyingly squelchy and gory. Check it out... it's playing in selected cinemas on the 19th and then coming out on DVD almost immediately on the 22nd (Disney eat your heart out, that's what I call a quick turnaround).