French director David Moreau has been accused of sexual assault by a crew member on his movie “King,” which wrapped filming on Oct. 9. The female crew member, whose name has not been disclosed, filed a police complaint in Montpellier, in the south of France.
The news was first reported by Le Parisien newspaper and the filing of the police complaint was confirmed to Variety by the producer of “King,” a big-budget family movie which is produced by Maneki Films, Full House and Pathé. A preliminary investigation into the claim will soon be launched by Montpellier’s prosecutors, according to Le Parisien. The complaint alleges that the sexual assault took place on Sept. 12 and 13 in Sète, in the south of France, outside the “King” shoot and working hours.
Moreau’s representative has not responded to request for comment.
The film producer told Le Parisien that she came to the set as...
The news was first reported by Le Parisien newspaper and the filing of the police complaint was confirmed to Variety by the producer of “King,” a big-budget family movie which is produced by Maneki Films, Full House and Pathé. A preliminary investigation into the claim will soon be launched by Montpellier’s prosecutors, according to Le Parisien. The complaint alleges that the sexual assault took place on Sept. 12 and 13 in Sète, in the south of France, outside the “King” shoot and working hours.
Moreau’s representative has not responded to request for comment.
The film producer told Le Parisien that she came to the set as...
- 11/6/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
For the next three months, join me for a summer abroad, as I check out foreign films from countries that have made a big splash in the horror community. Of course, in the spirit of this column, I’ll be taking a peek at movies that may not be as well-known as some of the classics from their particular country. Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to find a few surprises together.
June is here and we have just passed the summer solstice, so the days are long and the sun is warm. I would imagine that means you are craving a movie that will leave you curled up in a ball weeping into clenched fists right about now. Well, you’re in luck, because our first stop on this summer tour is France. Now, you may be thinking, Since when is France depressing? It’s the land of smoking in outdoor cafés,...
June is here and we have just passed the summer solstice, so the days are long and the sun is warm. I would imagine that means you are craving a movie that will leave you curled up in a ball weeping into clenched fists right about now. Well, you’re in luck, because our first stop on this summer tour is France. Now, you may be thinking, Since when is France depressing? It’s the land of smoking in outdoor cafés,...
- 6/27/2018
- by Bryan Christopher
- DailyDead
English language film has long been a place for some of the greatest horror film directors of all time. All the way back to Alfred Hitchcock, we have seen the genre grow and develop sub-genres, thanks to the public’s ongoing thirst for fear and the possibility of danger around every turn. But, for every Saw or Hostel or terrible remake of classic English-language horror films, there are inventive, terrifying films made somewhere else that inspire and even outdo many of our best Western world horror films. This list will count down the fifty definitive horror films with a main language that isn’t English; some may have some English-language parts in them, but they are, for the most part, foreign. Enlighten yourself. Broaden your horizons. People can get murdered and tortured in every language.
50. Kuroneko (1968)
English Title: Black Cat
Directed by: Kaneto Shindo
Japanese for “Black Cat,” Kuroneko is...
50. Kuroneko (1968)
English Title: Black Cat
Directed by: Kaneto Shindo
Japanese for “Black Cat,” Kuroneko is...
- 10/23/2015
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
English language film has long been a place for some of the greatest horror film directors of all time. All the way back to Alfred Hitchcock, we have seen the genre grow and develop sub-genres, thanks to the public’s ongoing thirst for fear and the possibility of danger around every turn. But, for every Saw or Hostel or terrible remake of classic English-language horror films, there are inventive, terrifying films made somewhere else that inspire and even outdo many of our best Western world horror films. This list will count down the fifty definitive horror films with a main language that isn’t English; some may have some English-language parts in them, but they are, for the most part, foreign. Enlighten yourself. Broaden your horizons. People can get murdered and tortured in every language.
50. Kuroneko (1968)
English Title: Black Cat
Directed by: Kaneto Shindo
Japanese for “Black Cat,” Kuroneko is...
50. Kuroneko (1968)
English Title: Black Cat
Directed by: Kaneto Shindo
Japanese for “Black Cat,” Kuroneko is...
- 7/7/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
It’s that wonderful, frightful, cool and creepy time of year again, when everything including the leaves on the trees are dying and our taste buds are craving sugary sweets and pies made from the guts of our jack-o-lanterns. It’s October, which means Halloween is nearly upon us! Get you costumes completed, your home haunts constructed and your candy collected for trick’r treaters, because you have to make time to watch some of the scariest movies this time of year.
In an effort to assist you in your cinematic scare-fest, we’ve come up with a list of the scariest movies to watch on Halloween… with one caveat. We have excluded virtually all “slasher” flicks. Why? Well, let’s just say we all know them, we all love them on some level, but really… don’t we all want something more in our scary movies? In honor of...
In an effort to assist you in your cinematic scare-fest, we’ve come up with a list of the scariest movies to watch on Halloween… with one caveat. We have excluded virtually all “slasher” flicks. Why? Well, let’s just say we all know them, we all love them on some level, but really… don’t we all want something more in our scary movies? In honor of...
- 10/30/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
★★★☆☆ A low-concept, micro-budget British horror may not be the most enticing of premises, but thanks to two standout performances from rising stars Alice Englert (Ginger & Rosa) and Iain De Caestecker (most recently seen in Scott Graham's feature debut Shell) Jeremy Lovering's In Fear (2013) is a far more rewarding experience than its disconcerting production notes would suggest. With the majority of modern horrors praying on the fears and anxieties of modern life with a series of gore-heavy, bloodcurdling frights, In Fear takes a far more restrained, yet psychologically penetrating approach to unsettling its audience.
We join young lovers Tom (De Caestecker) and Lucy (Englert) in the passionate parturition of their two-week-old romance. They're on their way to a music festival in Ireland; Tom has decided that a surprise night in a picturesque rural hotel beforehand might also make for an impressive romantic gesture. However, the pair soon become lost,...
We join young lovers Tom (De Caestecker) and Lucy (Englert) in the passionate parturition of their two-week-old romance. They're on their way to a music festival in Ireland; Tom has decided that a surprise night in a picturesque rural hotel beforehand might also make for an impressive romantic gesture. However, the pair soon become lost,...
- 8/22/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Ils (Them)
Written by David Moreau & Xavier Palud
Directed by David Moreau & Xavier Palud
France/Romania
The unknown has been a common theme in horror since the very first horror movies. It used to be possibly the most common theme in the entire horror genre. Somewhere along the way the various studios, directors, producers, and writers responsible for the many horror films released every year forgot about the theme of the unknown. Horror no longer became about the unknown, instead it was about the brutally visceral. The more the years went by, and as the more modern age of horror was breached, fear of the unknown became an almost forgotten theme of the horror genre.
At some point fear of the unknown started staging a mini comeback amid all the found footage, torture porn, and gorier horror films. Horror movies were once again being released that focused on what the...
Written by David Moreau & Xavier Palud
Directed by David Moreau & Xavier Palud
France/Romania
The unknown has been a common theme in horror since the very first horror movies. It used to be possibly the most common theme in the entire horror genre. Somewhere along the way the various studios, directors, producers, and writers responsible for the many horror films released every year forgot about the theme of the unknown. Horror no longer became about the unknown, instead it was about the brutally visceral. The more the years went by, and as the more modern age of horror was breached, fear of the unknown became an almost forgotten theme of the horror genre.
At some point fear of the unknown started staging a mini comeback amid all the found footage, torture porn, and gorier horror films. Horror movies were once again being released that focused on what the...
- 3/21/2013
- by Bill Thompson
- SoundOnSight
Rating: 2.0/5.0
Chicago – The set-up for the domestic horror of “In Their Skin” immediately brings to mind excellent thrillers like Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games,” David Moreau & Xavier Palud’s “Them,” and Bryan Bertino’s underrated “The Strangers.” There’s something inherently terrifying about being assaulted in a place you consider safe – your home. When home is no longer protected, what is? Sadly, Jeremy Power Regimbal’s intense drama doesn’t offer anything significant to a horror genre filled with superior choices. Regimbal does the best with what he’s given but it’s Joshua Close’s obvious script and a mediocre ensemble that fail to deliver.
A family – Mary (Selma Blair), Mark (Joshua Close), and Brendon (Quinn Lord) – head to an isolated retreat home after the death of their little girl. Racked with grief already, the trio is surprised to encounter another family – Bobby (James D’Arcy), Jane (Rachel Miner...
Chicago – The set-up for the domestic horror of “In Their Skin” immediately brings to mind excellent thrillers like Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games,” David Moreau & Xavier Palud’s “Them,” and Bryan Bertino’s underrated “The Strangers.” There’s something inherently terrifying about being assaulted in a place you consider safe – your home. When home is no longer protected, what is? Sadly, Jeremy Power Regimbal’s intense drama doesn’t offer anything significant to a horror genre filled with superior choices. Regimbal does the best with what he’s given but it’s Joshua Close’s obvious script and a mediocre ensemble that fail to deliver.
A family – Mary (Selma Blair), Mark (Joshua Close), and Brendon (Quinn Lord) – head to an isolated retreat home after the death of their little girl. Racked with grief already, the trio is surprised to encounter another family – Bobby (James D’Arcy), Jane (Rachel Miner...
- 11/9/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Many film websites published “decade’s best horror films” lists in late 2009/early 2010. While these lists collectively provided a rough snapshot of the genre’s ups and downs during that time, with more time to reflect, it becomes increasingly clear what an important period the 2000’s were for the horror genre on a global scale.
Not only did this decade easily and obviously eclipse the comparatively arid 1990’s in both volume of production and overall quality, the 2000’s can also be looked at as a crucial one for horror cinema despite the justified outrage about the American film industry’s widespread strip-mining of classics and foreign films for remakes/re-boots and its saturation of the market with teen-friendly PG-13 rated horror films.
While by no means as groundbreaking as the 1970’s or as sentimentally regarded as the 1980’s, the 2000’s will be recalled as the decade that, despite well-founded criticisms...
Not only did this decade easily and obviously eclipse the comparatively arid 1990’s in both volume of production and overall quality, the 2000’s can also be looked at as a crucial one for horror cinema despite the justified outrage about the American film industry’s widespread strip-mining of classics and foreign films for remakes/re-boots and its saturation of the market with teen-friendly PG-13 rated horror films.
While by no means as groundbreaking as the 1970’s or as sentimentally regarded as the 1980’s, the 2000’s will be recalled as the decade that, despite well-founded criticisms...
- 11/4/2012
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
Special Mention: The Fake Trailers from Grindhouse (2007, USA): The four fake trailers featured in the otherwise disappointing Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double-feature: Machete by Robert Rodriguez, Werewolf Women of the SS by Rob Zombie, Thanksgiving by Eli Roth and Don’t by Edgar Wright-are all very entertaining trips down horror/exploitation film memory lane and are easily the best part of the film.
****
2) Other Notable Horror Films Of The 2000’s:
This list focuses on films that are partially successful and even touch on brilliance at times but ultimately don’t pull everything together to fully deliver on their promise.
Intacto (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2001, Spain):
This film about a group of people blessed with supernatural good luck has a great premise, several great scenes-the revelation of the plane crash early in the film, the blindfolded race through the trees and the Russian roulette climax-plus the welcome presence of...
****
2) Other Notable Horror Films Of The 2000’s:
This list focuses on films that are partially successful and even touch on brilliance at times but ultimately don’t pull everything together to fully deliver on their promise.
Intacto (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2001, Spain):
This film about a group of people blessed with supernatural good luck has a great premise, several great scenes-the revelation of the plane crash early in the film, the blindfolded race through the trees and the Russian roulette climax-plus the welcome presence of...
- 11/4/2012
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
Taylor Kitsch in Disney's John Carter Mars Movie Directed by Wall-e's Andrew Stanton, and starring Taylor Kitsch in the title role, Disney's $250 million-budgeted sci-fi/adventure John Carter opened on Wednesday in France. Though by far the biggest new release that day, John Carter sold a relatively modest 66,583 tickets at 505 sites according to Cbo-Box Office — placing it in the sixth slot among the year's top opening-day movies, smack between Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, starring the internationally popular Leonardo DiCaprio, and the 3D adventure Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, which stars Josh Hutcherson, Dwayne Johnson, and Vanessa Hudgens. According to France Soir, John Carter doesn't have much time to continue its box-office dominance among the new releases in France. Opening next Wednesday is Florent-Emilio Siri's Cloclo, starring Jérémie Renier as '60s and '70s singing sensation Claude François and Benoît Magimel as François' manager, Paul Lederman. The biopic,...
- 3/9/2012
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Xavier Palud, the director of the fantastic little French film ‘Ils’ (Them), is back, with a new flick a cat and mouse horror thriller titled À l'aveugle (aka ‘Blind’). Being French it of course looks painfully stylish, and aside from the fact Palud directs - if we need even more reason to up the must see factor - you can add to the pot that its produced by the one and only Luc Besson. Blind open in France in March. Synopsis: The mutilated body of a young woman was found at his home. No sign of a break in, no witnesses, the crime is perfect. The investigation is entrusted to the captain Lassalle, an experienced cop and lonely, destroyed by the death of his wife. While other equally bloody murders are committed, Lassalle’s suspicions begin to fall on an implausible suspect...a blind man, Narvik. But the suspect's alibi...
- 1/30/2012
- 24framespersecond.net
While we're bringing you Luc Besson / Europacorp trailers, here's another one, although it might be slightly further below your radar than Lock-Out. This one's for the French-language À l'aveugle (The Blind Man), starring Lambert Wilson and Jacques Gamblin, and directed by Xavier Palud.Need a translation? We think we can just about cope. Gamblin is detective Lassalle, who's investigating a cold case that doesn't seem quite so cold anymore. There's been a new murder, and the killer always uses the same method, which is to cut his victim into small pieces. The police bring in everyone who appeared on surveillance cameras in the time preceding the murder, among whom is Wilson's blind Narvik. He's asked if he saw anything when he was with the murdered woman. He says he saw nothing. Well duh.Lassalle has unshakeable faith that Narvik is the killer, but can't prove it. Narvik says he's flattered...
- 1/27/2012
- EmpireOnline
Xavier Palud, the director of the ridiculously bad remake of The Eye and the stellar little French film Ils (Them), is back with another tale of murder and mayhem from his homeland. Get ready to meet the Blind Man, or À l'aveugle for you purists out there, in this new trailer.
Directed by Palud and produced by Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element), the flick stars Jacques Gamblin, Lambert Wilson, Raphaëlle Agogué, and Nathalie Vignes.
In the film Gamblin plays a solitary cop investigating a cold case, who suspects that a blind man (Wilson) is the killer, sparking a battle of wits between the two. Look for domestic release details soon as the flick has just entered post-production.
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Lose your sight in the comments section below!
Directed by Palud and produced by Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element), the flick stars Jacques Gamblin, Lambert Wilson, Raphaëlle Agogué, and Nathalie Vignes.
In the film Gamblin plays a solitary cop investigating a cold case, who suspects that a blind man (Wilson) is the killer, sparking a battle of wits between the two. Look for domestic release details soon as the flick has just entered post-production.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Lose your sight in the comments section below!
- 1/24/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Blind Man, the new film from director Xavier Palud (The Eye, Them) and producer Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element) is now in post production. Lambert Wilson (Dante 01) and Jacques Gamblin star in the film. And now there's a French Trailer to whet your appetite. Scripted by writer-director Eric Besnard (Ca$h) from an original idea by Luc Besson, Man is a cat-and-mouse serial killer thriller that goes into production early September in Paris. Palud's third feature has "Gamblin as a solitary cop investigating a cold case. He suspects that a blind man (Wilson) is the killer, sparking a battle of wits." Hit the jump to check out the French Trailer!
- 1/23/2012
- bloody-disgusting.com
French director Xavier Palud learned a hard lesson in Hollywood politics. After bursting on to the scene in 2006 as the co-director of French shocker Them (Ils), Palud was on top of the world - one half of a directing duo being courted by the biggest powers that be in the film industry. The duo jumped at the chance to work in Hollywood but, unfortunately, they jumped at the wrong project and were saddled with the ill fated remake of The Eye.Moreau simply has not worked at all in the four years since The Eye. He has no subsequent credits on the IMDb at all. Palud has not fared much better, directing only a single episode of a television series in 2011. But now...
- 1/23/2012
- Screen Anarchy
I know many of you may be thinking enough already with the American remakes of foreign films. French horror thriller Them is set to be remade for American audiences. Variety reports that Spanish commercial director David Alcalde is set to take the helm.
The original film was written and directed by French helmers David Moreau and Xavier Palud in 2006. The story focuses on "a young couple who are terrorized in their secluded country home." StudioCanal and Nostromo Pictures are producing the remake. They recently brought us Rodrigo Cortes' Buried and are behind the upcoming thriller Red Lights, with Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver.
Alcade is a respected commercial director in both Spain and Mexico, having directed more than 200 commercials. He also directed the short film Happy Birthday to You, which won Screamfest in 2006 and was well received at the San Sebastian and Slamdance Film Festivals.
Check out the trailer...
The original film was written and directed by French helmers David Moreau and Xavier Palud in 2006. The story focuses on "a young couple who are terrorized in their secluded country home." StudioCanal and Nostromo Pictures are producing the remake. They recently brought us Rodrigo Cortes' Buried and are behind the upcoming thriller Red Lights, with Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver.
Alcade is a respected commercial director in both Spain and Mexico, having directed more than 200 commercials. He also directed the short film Happy Birthday to You, which won Screamfest in 2006 and was well received at the San Sebastian and Slamdance Film Festivals.
Check out the trailer...
- 10/28/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
Hollywood is busily remaking every movie released in the past 30 years, but they haven't totally abandoned one of their most time-honored traditions: remaking movies from elsewhere. Today Variety is reporting that commercials director David Alcade will make his feature debut at the helm of an English-language remake of French horror/thriller Them (Ils). He'll be stepping into the director's chair for StudioCanal and Nostromo Pictures. Not to be mistaken for the classic atomic-age Them!, which chronicled the rise of giant, irradiated ants in the American Southwest... say, why don't they remake that? I'd sit through a Them! remake. Wait...where was I? Oh, right. Them. No exclamation point. No giant ants. (Sigh.) Directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, the original French flick tells the story of a young teacher and her novelist husband who move into a remote, wooded estate. What seems like a restful new home becomes a...
- 10/26/2011
- cinemablend.com
Commercials helmer David Alcalde is slated to direct the English language remake of "Them" for Studiocanal and Nostromo Pictures says Variety.
Based on David Moreau and Xavier Palud's 2006 French horror film "Ils", the story follows a young couple living in an isolated home who are terrorized by hooded assailants over the course of one terrifying night.
"Ils" had only limited success in France but was a surprise hit internationally with interest in the remake already high.
Based on David Moreau and Xavier Palud's 2006 French horror film "Ils", the story follows a young couple living in an isolated home who are terrorized by hooded assailants over the course of one terrifying night.
"Ils" had only limited success in France but was a surprise hit internationally with interest in the remake already high.
- 10/26/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The latest in a never-ending line of American horror remakes, Variety says that StudioCanal will bring a new version of the 2006 French thriller Them (or Ils) to the screen, which commercial director David Alcalde will be helming. The original film, written & directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, centered on “a young couple living in an isolated home who are terrorized by hooded assailants over the course of one terrifying night.” (Insert obvious joke about this already being remade as The Strangers here.) Adrian Guerra of Nostromo Pictures, who’s collaborated with Rodrigo Cortés on Buried and Red Lights, will be producing,
To make a judgement on how this could turn out, the two main things to look at here are a) the directing work of Alcalde, and b) reviews of the original movie. The former is actually somewhat tough to get a grasp on; though random ones picked from YouTube aren’t bad,...
To make a judgement on how this could turn out, the two main things to look at here are a) the directing work of Alcalde, and b) reviews of the original movie. The former is actually somewhat tough to get a grasp on; though random ones picked from YouTube aren’t bad,...
- 10/26/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
It was announced back in 2008 that Rogue Pictures was to remake David Moreau, Xavier Palud's awesome French home invasion slasher Them (Ils) as Six. Nothing ever came of it and now StudioCanal has landed the rights tapping commercials helmer David Alcalde to direct. The original concerned a young married couple living in an isolated home who are terrorized by hooded assailants over the course of one terrifying night. One of the most respected commercials directors working out of both Spain and Mexico, Alcalde has over 200 spots to his credit. His short film "Happy Birthday to You" won Screamfest in 2006 and was well-received at the San Sebastian and Slamdance Film Festivals. Helmer was previously attached to direct Gold Circle Films' remake of the Spanish horror film Who Can Kill a Child?...
- 10/26/2011
- bloody-disgusting.com
It only took four years, but it looks like the Hollywood machine is moving forward with a remake to 2007's Them . Variety reports David Alcalde has been tapped to direct for StudioCanal. His background includes a few short films and a number of commercials. The original was helmed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud. Both went on to give us Lionsgate redo of The Eye . During interviews for that film, Moreau and Palud told Shock that a Them was being discussed. Part home invasion film and part survival horror, Them concerned a couple who were preyed upon by unknown attackers wearing hoodies. It was released here in the U.S. by Dark Sky Films.
- 10/25/2011
- shocktillyoudrop.com
America has long held a fascination with serial killers, and now it looks like France is taking a turn with Blind Man, which Xavier Palud (Ils [Them], The Eye) is set to direct for Luc Besson's EuropaCorp, which also holds French distribution and international sales rights.
According to Variety Palud (pictured right) will be directing Lambert Wilson (Sahara, Of Gods and Men) and Jacques Gamblin (The First Day of the Rest of Your Life, Safe Conduct), both of whom are attached to star in the film, which was scripted by writer-director Eric Besnard (Ca$h) from an original idea by Besson.
Palud's third feature, which goes into production in early September in Paris, has Gamblin as a solitary cop investigating a cold case. He suspects that a blind man (Wilson) is the killer, sparking a battle of wits.
We're not sure if this one is more thriller or horror, but...
According to Variety Palud (pictured right) will be directing Lambert Wilson (Sahara, Of Gods and Men) and Jacques Gamblin (The First Day of the Rest of Your Life, Safe Conduct), both of whom are attached to star in the film, which was scripted by writer-director Eric Besnard (Ca$h) from an original idea by Besson.
Palud's third feature, which goes into production in early September in Paris, has Gamblin as a solitary cop investigating a cold case. He suspects that a blind man (Wilson) is the killer, sparking a battle of wits.
We're not sure if this one is more thriller or horror, but...
- 5/31/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
While some serial killer thrillers end up like Se7en, others become Blitz; this is why it's so incredibly difficult to decide whether or not to cover each announced serial killer flick. Worse comes to worse we can always abandon coverage, like we did with Lionsgate UK's Blitz, which ended up an action thriller instead of something darker (as promised). Lambert Wilson and Jacques Gamblin are attached to star in EuropaCorp thriller The Blind Man, with The Eye/Them director Xavier Palud at the helm. Scripted by writer-director Eric Besnard (Ca$h) from an original idea by Luc Besson, Man is a cat-and-mouse serial killer thriller that goes into production early September in Paris. Palud's third feature has "Gamblin as a solitary cop investigating a cold case. He suspects that a blind man (Wilson) is the killer, sparking a battle of wits."...
- 5/31/2011
- bloody-disgusting.com
Xavier Palud, one of the director's behind Them and 2008's The Eye remake, has signed up to direct Blind Man . The film is described as a serial killer thriller; Luc Besson concocted the idea and Eric Besnard penned the script. Lambert Wilson and Jacques Gamblin will star. The latter is a cop who suspects a blind man is a killer.
- 5/31/2011
- shocktillyoudrop.com
While his American remake of The Eye left a whole lot to be desired, we still dug Them (Ils) enough to keep track of just what director Xavier Palud has on his agenda.
According to Deadline New York "Ambush Entertainment has set Xavier Palud to direct Below the Surface, a John Kelly-scripted thriller that will begin pre-production in Puerto Rico in February".
Below the Surface centers on a group of scientists and a military escort who are sent to a secluded South Pacific island to investigate the disappearance of a research team that had been testing a drug designed to keep a person awake and functional for indefinite periods. The team then finds itself in the grip of a mysterious illness, and they try to avoid the same fate that befell the researchers.
Look for more on this one soon!
- Uncle Creepy
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news?...
According to Deadline New York "Ambush Entertainment has set Xavier Palud to direct Below the Surface, a John Kelly-scripted thriller that will begin pre-production in Puerto Rico in February".
Below the Surface centers on a group of scientists and a military escort who are sent to a secluded South Pacific island to investigate the disappearance of a research team that had been testing a drug designed to keep a person awake and functional for indefinite periods. The team then finds itself in the grip of a mysterious illness, and they try to avoid the same fate that befell the researchers.
Look for more on this one soon!
- Uncle Creepy
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news?...
- 10/4/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Ambush Entertainment has set Xavier Palud to direct Below The Surface, a John Kelly-scripted thriller that will begin pre-production in Puerto Rico in February. Palud, who directed The Eye and Them, takes on a thriller about a group of scientists and a military escort who are sent to a secluded South Pacific island to investigate the disappearance of a research team that had been testing a drug designed to keep a person awake and functional for indefinite periods. The team then finds itself in the grip of a mysterious illness, and they to avoid the same fate that befell the researchers. The film will be produced by Ambush partners Miranda Bailey and Matthew Leutwyler, along with Dooma Wendschuh and Andrew Levitas of Sekretagent Productions. Ambush returned from the Toronto International Film Festival with an IFC distribution deal for its raucous James Gunn-directed pic Super right after its world premiere midnight screening,...
- 10/4/2010
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Who here remembers that Xavier Palud - co-director of Them - also helmed a remake of The Eye ? No one? Okay, good. Perhaps he'll fare better with Below the Surface . Palud will direct the thriller for Ambush Entertainment's Miranda Bailey and Matthew Leutwyler ( Dead & Breakfast ), the team behind James Gunn's upcoming Super . The film follows a research team who are sent to a South Pacific island to investigate the disappearance of their colleagues. It seems they were testing a new drug to keep people awake for an indefinite period, however, they have vanished. Now, the new group must investigate this mysterious and contend with an illness or suffer the same fate as their pals.
- 10/4/2010
- shocktillyoudrop.com
The 2000's—the decade of iPods, social networking websites and economic hardship—were an interesting decade for horror movies, to say the least. You either loved them, or you downright hated them. From remakes, re-imaginings, reboots, restarts and resets to foreign imports to a resurgence of low-grade schlock, the 2000's were not without gore for fans across the globe....
At the end of the 90s, horror movies were almost non-existent. They were doing nothing new—trying only to steal the fame that Scream harnessed in 1995. Theatres were flooded with neo-Slasher knockoffs, and mediocrity ran amok. If it weren’t for The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense, the 90s would have drowned in a sea of its own plainness. Once the 90s ended and the new millennium began, horror slowly glided on the watered-down plotlines of the should-not-be-classics of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend,...
At the end of the 90s, horror movies were almost non-existent. They were doing nothing new—trying only to steal the fame that Scream harnessed in 1995. Theatres were flooded with neo-Slasher knockoffs, and mediocrity ran amok. If it weren’t for The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense, the 90s would have drowned in a sea of its own plainness. Once the 90s ended and the new millennium began, horror slowly glided on the watered-down plotlines of the should-not-be-classics of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend,...
- 12/13/2009
- by admin
- Horrorbid
This past year was a pretty damn good one for horror—as long as you didn’t depend on the mainstream. While most of the wide-release features conformed safely to formula, much more daring and interesting stuff was cropping up all over the art-house, festival and DVD scene.
Perhaps no better example can be drawn than the fact that while the bloodless, predictable Twilight was sucking millions of bucks out of tween girls at the multiplexes, the small Swedish import Let The Right One In, a modern classic on the same theme, was quietly knocking out audiences on a much smaller scale. Not everything the studios gave us in 2008 was negligible; a couple of titles from the majors made my top 10, and The Ruins and The Strangers would be among the runners-up. But there are far more indie features swarming like piranhas just below my list…
1.) Let The Right One In...
Perhaps no better example can be drawn than the fact that while the bloodless, predictable Twilight was sucking millions of bucks out of tween girls at the multiplexes, the small Swedish import Let The Right One In, a modern classic on the same theme, was quietly knocking out audiences on a much smaller scale. Not everything the studios gave us in 2008 was negligible; a couple of titles from the majors made my top 10, and The Ruins and The Strangers would be among the runners-up. But there are far more indie features swarming like piranhas just below my list…
1.) Let The Right One In...
- 12/29/2008
- Fangoria
Considering that it ranks as one of the best of the J-horror style films, it's surprising that it took this long for an American remake of The Eye, originally made by the Pang brothers.
Less surprising is that this version directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud (Them) sacrifices the quietly creepy qualities of the original in favor of ramped-up horror film techniques that by now seem distressingly familiar.
Starring Jessica Alba as a blind girl who gains both her sight and the ability to see dead people, the film opened Friday without being screened for the press.
Sebastian Gutierrez's screenplay hews fairly closely to the original in its story about Sydney Wells (Alba), a concert violinist blind since childhood who regains her vision thanks to a double cornea transplant. ("Stem cell research changed the game," a therapist informs her, in a not too subtly political piece of dialogue.)
Unfortunately, Sydney's newfound ability to see comes with a price. When the bandages are removed after the operation (revealing a surprising lack of swelling), she soon finds herself afflicted with horrific visions, involving both fiery disasters and a succession of vaguely menacing figures who are no longer alive. Needless to say, this results in a lot of embarrassing situations in which she sees things that are invisible to the other people in her life, including her sister (a wasted Parker Posey), her orchestra leader (a similarly wasted Rade Serbedzija) and her vision therapist (Alessandro Nivola).
Sydney eventually figures out that the problem stems from her eyes' donor, a young Mexican woman. Traveling with her therapist across the border, the pair discover that the woman had similar visions, particularly one relating to a devastating fire. It all winds up, in typical American horror film fashion, with a spectacular finale involving an explosive highway accident.
The filmmakers do an effective job of conveying the main character's visual disorientation before getting to the main business at hand. But though some of the sequences are impressively spooky -- like the one in which Sydney encounters a startled woman who has just been killed in an accident -- their effectiveness is marred by such overkill as the shrieking ghouls who escort the ghosts.
Naturally, the visions also are accompanied by deafeningly loud noises (why Sydney hears as well as sees them is a mystery), though in this film's universe, even the sound of a cappuccino maker is fraught with peril.
THE EYE
Lionsgate/Paramount Vantage
Lionsgate and Paramout Vantage present
a C/W Prods. production in association with Vertigo Entertainment
Credits:
Directors: David Moreau, Xavier Palud
Screenwriter: Sebastian Gutierrez
Producers: Paula Wagner, Don Granger, Michelle Manning
Executive producers: Mike Elliott, Peter Chan, Roy Lee, Doug Davison, Michael Paseornek, Peter Block, Tom Ortenberg, Darren Miller
Director of photography: Jeffrey Jur
Production designer: James Spencer
Music: Marco Beltrami
Costume designer: Michael Dennison
Editor: Patrick Lussier
Cast:
Sydney Wells: Jessica Alba
Dr. Paul Faulkner: Alessandro Nivola
Helen Wells: Parker Posey
Simon McCullough: Rade Serbedzija
Running time -- 97 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Less surprising is that this version directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud (Them) sacrifices the quietly creepy qualities of the original in favor of ramped-up horror film techniques that by now seem distressingly familiar.
Starring Jessica Alba as a blind girl who gains both her sight and the ability to see dead people, the film opened Friday without being screened for the press.
Sebastian Gutierrez's screenplay hews fairly closely to the original in its story about Sydney Wells (Alba), a concert violinist blind since childhood who regains her vision thanks to a double cornea transplant. ("Stem cell research changed the game," a therapist informs her, in a not too subtly political piece of dialogue.)
Unfortunately, Sydney's newfound ability to see comes with a price. When the bandages are removed after the operation (revealing a surprising lack of swelling), she soon finds herself afflicted with horrific visions, involving both fiery disasters and a succession of vaguely menacing figures who are no longer alive. Needless to say, this results in a lot of embarrassing situations in which she sees things that are invisible to the other people in her life, including her sister (a wasted Parker Posey), her orchestra leader (a similarly wasted Rade Serbedzija) and her vision therapist (Alessandro Nivola).
Sydney eventually figures out that the problem stems from her eyes' donor, a young Mexican woman. Traveling with her therapist across the border, the pair discover that the woman had similar visions, particularly one relating to a devastating fire. It all winds up, in typical American horror film fashion, with a spectacular finale involving an explosive highway accident.
The filmmakers do an effective job of conveying the main character's visual disorientation before getting to the main business at hand. But though some of the sequences are impressively spooky -- like the one in which Sydney encounters a startled woman who has just been killed in an accident -- their effectiveness is marred by such overkill as the shrieking ghouls who escort the ghosts.
Naturally, the visions also are accompanied by deafeningly loud noises (why Sydney hears as well as sees them is a mystery), though in this film's universe, even the sound of a cappuccino maker is fraught with peril.
THE EYE
Lionsgate/Paramount Vantage
Lionsgate and Paramout Vantage present
a C/W Prods. production in association with Vertigo Entertainment
Credits:
Directors: David Moreau, Xavier Palud
Screenwriter: Sebastian Gutierrez
Producers: Paula Wagner, Don Granger, Michelle Manning
Executive producers: Mike Elliott, Peter Chan, Roy Lee, Doug Davison, Michael Paseornek, Peter Block, Tom Ortenberg, Darren Miller
Director of photography: Jeffrey Jur
Production designer: James Spencer
Music: Marco Beltrami
Costume designer: Michael Dennison
Editor: Patrick Lussier
Cast:
Sydney Wells: Jessica Alba
Dr. Paul Faulkner: Alessandro Nivola
Helen Wells: Parker Posey
Simon McCullough: Rade Serbedzija
Running time -- 97 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands -- The Norwegian horror film "The Bothersome Man" (Den Brysomme Mannen), directed by Jens Lien, won the Black Tulip Award at the 23rd Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival on Wednesday.
American director Jim Mickle received a special mention for his low-budget production "Mulberry Street".
The AFFF Melies Award for best European fantasy film went to "Ils" (Them) from France, directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud.
In the first week of the festival, ex-Monty Python Terry Gilliam received a career achievement award for his body of work.
American director Jim Mickle received a special mention for his low-budget production "Mulberry Street".
The AFFF Melies Award for best European fantasy film went to "Ils" (Them) from France, directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud.
In the first week of the festival, ex-Monty Python Terry Gilliam received a career achievement award for his body of work.
- 4/26/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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