Eldorado release still uncertain, website launches with loads of clips

I honestly don’t know whether the announced release of Eldorado in January will go ahead. Richard Driscoll obviously thinks it will but other ‘interested parties’ assure me that Driscoll does not own the rights and any such release would be illegal. There's talk of 'cease and desist' orders. I’ve placed a pre-order with Amazon just in case!

This is the DVD sleeve. For some reason (possibly contractual) it completely fails to mention or depict any of the star names and instead shows Michael Barber (who was a regular background artist in Ashes for Ashes) wearing a clown mask. Despite the ‘18’ certificate, the film has not yet been through the BBFC.

What is really exciting however is the launch a few days ago of a website at www.eldorado3d.com which has a bunch of video interviews containing lots of clips from the film, plus stacks of stills. The ‘trailers’ all seem to be basically the same thing with a different star at the end, and the ‘virals’ are a rather awful series of videos in which professional Johnny Depp impersonator Danny Lopez does a surprisingly bad Captain Jack Sparrow impression. There’s even a Twitter thing so you can keep up to date with stuff.

Among the things I’ve learned are: all the songs were recorded by local club/session singers and then (rather obviously) mimed by the stars; the David Carradine footage was lifted from another of his ‘last films’; there was a week or so of location work in Las Vegas and the Nevada desert; and Daryl Hannah shot all her scenes in LA.

The Twitter/Facebook news feed reckons that Dan Aykroyd and the Belushi estate have sanctioned the use of the Blues Brothers characters. Here’s the most recent news: “Eldorado 3D may only be the first of many spin off Blues Brothers films to feature the Jews Brothers from Eldorado 3D after the reaction from distributors around the world. Lead actor Steven Craine and film director Richard Driscoll are currently in negotiations.” Like any announcement from Richard Driscoll, this should be taken with a big pinch of salt. (Craine and Driscoll are, of course, the same person.)

If this release goes ahead then presumably Grindhouse 2wo will use only spare footage from the Eldorado shoot. Unless Driscoll is preparing it as some sort of contingency plan. Interestingly, some sites list Rebecca Lynley among the Grindhouse 2wo cast - she was the original female lead in Eldorado but left the production after shooting started for reasons that are unclear. I wonder if she - or any of the named cast - know they’re in a film called Grindhouse 2wo...

Also of note is this planned re-release of the Driscoll-produced Dennis Nilson biopic Cold Light of Day which spelled Nilson’s name correctly when Screen Edge released it on VHS in the late 1990s but now claims to be “Based on the true story of Denis Nielson”!

Synopsis and teaser art for The Warning (aka Ward 8)

Black and Blue films have released new promo art and a synopsis for The Warning (previously announced as Ward 8) which is currently shooting and is pencilled in for release next December.

The Warning is directed by Alexander Williams (aka Dominic Burns: Airborne, Cut, UFO) and stars the unbelievably busy Simon Phillips (Strippers vs Werewolves, Airborne, Kill Keith, The Reverend), Rita Ramnani (Umbrage: The First Vampire), Peter Barrett (Airborne, UFO), Grace Vallorani (The Power) and Charlotte Lewis (Sket).

Alessandro Leone and Alain Wildberger are producing with Jonathan Sothcott as executive producer. JS says: "This is the first time Black and Blue Films have dipped their toe in the found footage waters and following in the footsteps of The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity series is quite a challenge, but we Brits have always found a way to put a new spin on horror genre staples and with The Warning director Alexander Williams has given us a powerful, nightmarishly scary journey into fear. There are none of the familiar Black and Blue faces in this film, no Danny Dyer or Colin Salmon - this is a raw, uncompromising genre picture that is going to really get under peoples' skin!"

• The Warning Facebook page

Synopsis
We were warned in an ancient Mayan prophecy that the 21st December 2012 would be the beginning of the end, but not how and where this new era would unveil itself. Until now.

In December 2011 a strange futuristic-looking artifact was uncovered in an uncharted Mayan temple in Mexico - examination of the artifact revealed binary coded information which appeared to be encoded footage. The content was unlocked by students at Chicago state university and appeared to be several hours of video footage heralding the end of the world… time stamped in the near future.

Investigation of those featured in the footage produced several names and the authorities attempted to question those involved about the validity of the footage.

But all of the people featured in this footage have disappeared… 

21 British horror films coming your way in 2012 (and 25 more to watch out for)

Confirmed/tentative release dates, in chronological order

Don’t Let Him In (US DVD)

dir. Kelly Smith

Interesting-looking indie about going on holiday with a psycho. Already released in France and the Netherlands, the American disc on 3rd January will be its first release in an English-language territory.

• website

Kill List (US VOD and theatrical)

dir. Ben Wheatley

Some folks love it, some folks hate it*. This utterly marmite film, already out on UK DVD, gets a VOD release in the States on 4th January and a limited US theatrical release from 3 February. (*I hate it.) 

• my review
• website

Stag Night of the Dead (UK DVD)

dir. Napoleon Jones

Broad zombie comedy about a bunch of lads and a stripper facing off against the undead. Released on VOD in November 2010, this finally comes to DVD on 9th January courtesy of Left Films.

• my review
• website

Bordello Death Tales (UK DVD)

dir. Pat Higgins, Al Ronald and James Eaves

Premiering in September 2010, this massively entertaining anthology from three of the best directors around was originally announced for DVD release in August 2011 but was moved to 16th January.

• my review

The Wicker Tree (US theatrical)

dir. Robin Hardy

Hardy’s long-awaited follow-up to The Wicker Man played festivals last year and is set to open in US cinemas on 27th January. I haven’t seen it yet and I can’t say I’m that desperate.

• website

Stalker (UK DVD)

dir. Martin Kemp

Loose remake of Exposé from Jonathan Sothcott’s reliable film factory Black and Blue Films had a limited theatrical release in October and comes to DVD on 30th January.

• my review

Eldorado (UK DVD)

dir. Richard Driscoll

Featuring an amazing cast-list and undeniably the first ever British comedy-horror-musical-western shot in 3D, this is listed for a 30th January release. But that assumes the film isn’t hit with a cease-and-desist order by certain interested parties. I’ve placed a pre-order just in case.

• website

Passengers (UK theatrical?)

dir. John Hales

The debut feature by Hales, starring Narnia’s Anna Popplewell, concerns a group of lads who accidentally kill a nurse and then find themselves picked off one by one. Ratio Films announced an unspecified January 2012 release but the lack of anything more detailed suggests it could be later.

The Woman in Black (US/UK theatrical)

dir. James Watkins

You’ve all seen the terrific trailers for this one. A gothic Hammer horror starring Daniel Radcliffe. Hopes are high. It’s scheduled to open in US cinemas on 3rd February and in the UK one week later.

• website

Stormhouse (US DVD)

dir. Dan Turner

Shot in 2010 and premiering last June, this indie horror has been generating a lot of interest from its festival screenings and it’s high on my list of films I want to see. It’s set for DVD/VOD release in the States on 7th February.

The Dead (US DVD)

dir. Howard and Jon Ford

The Ford Brothers’ stunning African-set zombie film is easily one of the most politically and socially relevant horror films of recent years. One of the best too. Already available on UK disc, it hits American DVD on 14th February.

• website

Demons Never Die (UK DVD)

dir. Arjun Rose

This teen slasher (filmed as Suicide Kids) played cinemas in October and benefited from publicity surrounding the casting of Tulisa Wotsit off X-Factor. Comes to DVD on 20th February.

Grindhouse 2wo (UK DVD)

dir. Richard Driscoll

Cobbled together using left-over footage from Eldorado, this twofer (Man Hunt and Stripper with a Shotgun) boasts some of the same extraordinary cast but also has the same debatable legal/contractual status so the listed release date of 27th February should only be considered ‘pencilled in’.

The Reverend (UK theatrical?)

dir. Neil Jones

Last I heard, this star-packed feature from Stuart Brennan’s Burn Hand Films - Rutger Hauer! Doug Bradley! Emily Booth! - was being lined up for a limited release in February. Exact date TBC. I really want to see this.

• website 

Deviation (UK theatrical? and DVD)

dir. JK Amalou

A two-hander, shot mostly in-car, about not accepting a lift from a psychopath. Starring Anna Walton from Vampire Diary and Danny Dyer from everything else. The UK DVD is scheduled for 5th March and it’s likely that Revolver will do a limited theatrical release before that.

• website 

The Porcelain Man (US DVD)

dir. Sameer Kumar Madhar

Shot in November 2002, this ultra-cheapie had a single screening at Warwick University in July 2004 and then disappeared. But Chemical Burn Entertainment have rescued it from oblivion and are planning a Stateside release, nearly ten years on. Features some of the most half-hearted zombie (in)action you’ll ever see.

• my review

Devil’s Bridge (UK DVD)

dir. Chris Crow

The Welsh Straw Dogs is lined up to hit shelves on 19th March. I don’t know a great deal about this one but I hear good things.

• website 

Kill Keith (UK DVD)

dir. Andy Thompson

Listen, I thought this comedy about a serial killer stalking D-list celebs was great, no matter what anyone else thinks. It had a brief theatrical outing in November but most people will watch it at home after the disc is released on 26th March.

• my review
• website

Vampires: Brighter in Darkness (UK DVD)

dir. Jason Davitt

Specialist label Peccadillo Pictures have delivered some great horror films recently. This latest, adapted from a cable TV series, is a sort of British gay Twilight (as if Twilight wasn’t gay enough!). It made its festival debut in October and hits DVD on 2nd April.

The Harsh Light of Day (UK theatrical)

dir. Oliver Milburn

An author with a knowledge of the occult receives a visit from a mysterious stranger who promises to help him find his wife’s killers. I’m looking forward to this one which is scheduled to play selected cinemas from 13th April. Not to be confused with the Bruce Willis actioner Cold Light of Day released the week before! 

• website 

Storage 24 (UK theatrical)

dir. Johannes Roberts

A top-secret military cargo escapes from a plane crash and traps a bunch of folk inside a dark storage facility. Roberts’ last feature was the excellent F so I’m very much looking forward to this one, especially as it is produced by, and stars, Noel Clarke. Lined up for a cinema release on 29th June. 

Other films to watch for in 2012

No release dates announced yet. Some of these have played festivals in recent months. And there’s plenty more where these came from...

• Airborne (d.Dominic Burns) Terror on a pilotless plane. Stars Mark Hamill. 
• Before Dawn (d. Dominic Brunt) Zombie feature directed by Paddy off Emmerdale! 
• Cockneys vs Zombies (d.Matthias Hoene) Zombies! Cockneys too! Also Richard Briers! 
• The Devil’s Business (d.Sean Hogan) Hit-men and Satanism. A bit like Kill List but with an ending. 
• Elfie Hopkins (d.Ryan Andrews) Creepy fun with Ray and Jaime Winstone. 
• Final Project (d.Jason Ford) “Blair Witch meets The Wicker Man on a council estate” aka Community 
• The Forgotten (d.Oliver Frampton) Urban ghost story 
• Gangsters, Guns and Zombies (d.Matt Mitchell) Zombies! Guns too! Also gangsters! 
• The Glass Man (d.Cristian Solimeno) An innocent man driven to extremes. 
• Grabbers (d.Jon Wright) Russell Tovey and Richard Coyle vs tentacled beasties. 
• Guinea Pigs (d.Ian Clark) Drug trial goes horribly wrong. 
• Harold’s Going Stiff (d.Keith Wright) Gentle, cross-generational romance. With zombies. 
• The Haunting of Harry Payne (d.Martyn Pick) Psychic ex-gangster battles Norfolk ghosts. 
• Heretic (d.Peter Handford) Catholic priest faces possibly supernatural revenge for abusing teenage girl. 
• Inbred (d.Alex Chandon) Straw Dogs in Yorkshire, from the director of Cradle of Fear. 
• In the Dark Half (d.Alastair Siddons) “Psychological ghost story.” 
• Love Bite (d.Andy De Emmony) I was a British teenage werewolf. 
• Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection (d.James Plumb) Zombies in Wales. 
• Patient 17 (d.Tuyet Le) Supernatural medical chiller. 
• Stalled (d.Christian James) Trapped in a toilet by a zombie apocalypse. From the makers of Freak Out. 
• Strippers vs Werewolves (d.Jonathan Glendening) Werewolves! Strippers too! Also Robert Englund! 
• Three’s a Shroud (d.various) Multi-director anthology, with teddy bears. 
• Warhouse (d.Luke Massey) Soldier repeats same horrific day over and over again. 
• Young, High and Dead (d.Luke Brady) Dead! High too! Also young! 
• The Zombie King (d.Aidan Belizaire) Edward Furlong! Corey Feldman too! Also zombies!

Film 66: Credo

Alex Wakeford and Toni Harman made this utterly generic teens-vs-demon-in-old-house feature which was released in the States as The Devil's Curse. The only interesting thing about the film is the presence of Boyzone's Stephen Gately in the prologue which was added to the UK version (it's a brief flashback in the US edit).

Competent but utterly forgetable, it's the sort of movie you can't really remember even while you're still watching it. One of those films that has to go in the book but won't take up much space.

Films 64 and 65: Kannibal and Evil Calls

I'd been saving these two up and I thought: what the heck? A little festive treat - let's bang out 2,000 or so words on Richard Driscoll, the British Ed Wood.

Of course I could write a lot more. Famously, my shot-by-inept-shot review of Evil Calls ran to 20,000 words. But there's only so much room in the book. Even though they post-date my cut-off of December 2008, I couldn't resist adding a few paragraphs about the unmade Watchmen of Hellgate and the unreleased (possibly unreleasable) Eldorado.

For those of you who have never seen Kannibal or Evil Calls, they are now available under the respective titles Head Hunter and The Legend of Harrow Woods.

Holy crap! Battlefield Death Tales!

Pat Higgins has been hinting at a secret project for a while now on Twitter and can keep schtumm no longer. It's called Battlefield Death Tales and reunited Pat with his oppos from the 2010 anthology Bordello Death Tales, Al Ronald and James Eaves. And it starts shooting tomorrow!

Bordello Death Tales (which was announced for August 2011 but is now scheduled for 16th January 2012) is one of my absolute favourite films of recent years. I love the movies of all three guys - heck, I love all three guys! - and am unfeasibly excited about this.

Driscoll's 'Man Hunt' is half of a re-edited 'Eldorado'

Oh this is priceless. More news on Richard Driscoll’s Man Hunt aka Grindhouse 2wo which I first mentioned last week. Here’s the blurb on Amazon, Lovefilm etc for the film which is listed as a 27th February release:

In the style of 70's grindhouse comes MAN HUNT and STRIPPER WITH A SHOTGUN in one exciting programme that is full of zombies, cannibals, Nazi's and bare breasted ladies. If you like your cinema raw with plenty of violence than GRINDHOUSE 2wo is not to be missed.

Starring Michael Madsen, Brigitte Nielsen, Linnea Quigley, Robin Askwith and Patrick Bergin.

List of DVD extras: 

• History of Grindhouse)
• Selection of Grindhouse trailers 

Driscoll was filming scenes for this earlier this month - here’s a blog by make-up artist Emslie Mills about working on the film. But we can see from the cast list (and the fact that Steve Munro's CastingCallPro page lists his character name as the same) that what Driscoll is doing here is cobbling footage from his 3D Blues Brothers rip-off comedy-horror-musical-western Eldorado together with new stuff to make Grindhouse 2wo – just as he cobbled Alone in the Dark together with new footage to make Evil Calls, and just as he cobbled the unreleased The Devil’s Disciple together with new footage to make the (also) unreleased Back2Hell.

What is interesting is that, on her Facebook page and blog, Emslie refers to Eldorado (which she also worked on) and Grindhouse 2wo as if they are different films so presumably she (and other crew members) were unaware that they’re the same movie.

Also curious to see Linnea Quigley’s name there. Perhaps Driscoll is sticking some leftover footage from Kannibal in there.

Eldorado itself is listed on Amazon etc for a 30th January release. While it would be great to see this nonsense, I’m not holding my breath because there’s still a whole raft of legal/contractual stuff to sort out before this film can be legally released (if that ever happens). Although the various sites show an ‘18’ certificate, the film has still not been through the BBFC (though it has been submitted to the BVA). The existence of Grindhouse 2wo makes it even less likely that we (or the film's increasingly frustrated investors) will ever see Eldorado in its original format.

(Final point to note: there has never actually been Grindhouse 1ne in this country. For both cinema and DVD in the UK, Death Proof and Planet Terror were released separately.)

Good old Tricky Dicky Riskall - he continues to entertain!