The most striking thing about the clip is how retro it looks. Generally speaking, when filmmakers try to make their films look like they were made in an earlier era, it never works. Technology and fashion and all of these other little elements conspire to ruin the period vibe. That doesn’t appear to be the case with Amer–everything we’ve seen so far makes it feel as though this was a film that could have been shot at Cinecitta back in 1975.

Anyway, enough blathering from me–check out the clip below and bask in the stylish giallo goodness (and music from Stelvio Cipriani’s La Polizia Sta a Guardare soundtrack). Amer will be making it’s American debut at the SXSW Film Festival, which runs in Austin, Texas, from March 12th through the 20th.

Good news for lovers of the late and sorely missed Godfather of Gore, Lucio Fulci. My Horror Squad colleague Scott Weinberg spotted a listing for a Blu-ray version of City of the Living Dead over at DVD Active.

Blue Underground is the company responsible for this new version of the intestine-spewing, drill bit-to-the-head Italian splatter epic. The film–also commonly known as The Gates of Hell–will be available on regular DVD, but the new Blu-ray is the version you’re going to want to grab. Extras for the Blu-ray disc include three brand new goodies: “Acting Among the Living Dead – Interview with Star Catriona MacColl”, “Entering the Gates of Hell – Interview with Star Giovanni Lombardo Radice”, “Memories of the Maestro”. I’d be all over that for those three things alone–if I owned a Blu-ray player.

The discs are scheduled to be in stores on May 25th. Check out the new cover art above.

Yay Sunday! Here’s your weekly dose of links to things I published over at Horror Squad. Please swing by and check them out.

More WWII Horror Headed Our Way in Panzer 88

Official IFC Trailer for French Horror Flick Mutants

Official Trailer for Bong Joon-ho’s Mother

Suspiria Getting New Transfer and Blu-ray Date This Spring?

Battle Girl: Living Dead in Tokyo Bay coming to DVD

Awesome Trailer for Animated Zombie Film A.D.

And lots more. Sorry for not getting a new Death Scenes We Love up this week–it’s done (and it’s a good one…), but it won’t be live until later today or tomorrow.

I like this new trend of giving classic horror franchises their own documentaries. I thought His Name Was Jason was fun and informative, and I suspect that we’ll get the same thing from the forthcoming Nightmare on Elm Street restrospective, Never Sleep Again. Both of those franchises are certainly worthy of the documentary treatment.

Now we can officially add Hellraiser to the list. Pinhead and his merry gang of demonic S&M disciples are about to get their very own documentary when Dark Knight Pictures releases an as yet untitled look back at the franchise.

You can jump here to read the official Dark Knight overview of the project. It’s being scripted by Shock Till You Drop’s Ryan Rotten.

While I certainly love the first two Hellraiser films (I always cite Hellbound as an example of a sequel that’s better than the original film), I can’t help but wonder if this is a good idea. Hellraiser 3 is hard to watch, Hellraiser: Bloodlines derails completely after the first segment, and the direct-to-video fodder that came after that is better off forgotten. Crafting a loving retrospective on the first two films alone seems like a cop-out, but making one that has segments on movies like Hellraiser: Hellworld doesn’t sound particularly exciting either.

Maybe this will turn out well. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

One of my favorite under-the-radar films of last year was Glenn McQuaid’s I Sell the Dead. The film turned up on IFC’s VOD service, but most people missed it. I reported news earlier that it was slated to come to DVD at the end of March. Now, Dread Central has scored a look at the cover art and supplemental materials for the disc. Looks like it’s shaping up to be a nice release.

That’s the cover art above. Extras on the disc include:

Check out my review if you’re on the fence about this one. I Sell the Dead hits retail on March 30th.

UK fright fans got a chance to check out The Descent Part 2 in theaters last December. Unfortunately, American audiences will have to make do with a DVD release as opposed to catching it on the big screen.

DVD Active is reporting that Lionsgate will bring Jon Harris’ sequel to Neil Marshall’s cult chiller to American home video audiences on April 27th. I’m ambivalent about this–to be honest, there are films that I don’t really need to see in a theater, and The Descent Part 2 falls squarely in that category. I’m perfectly content to watch it from my couch.

Here’s the synopsis:

Dazed, bloodied and speechless with trauma, Sarah Carter emerges alone from the Appalachian cave system where the events of THE DESCENT took place. Local sheriff Redmond Vaines forces her back underground to help the rescue team which is desperately searching for her five missing girlfriends. As the team moves deeper into the caves, Sarah’s flashes of fractured memory intensify and she begins to realizes the full horror of the would-be rescue mission. Only Sarah knows the terror which lurks in the shadows of the caves. But they are about to encounter a new tribe of crawlers, inbred, deformed and even more viciously feral than those Sarah faced before.

No word yet on what extras might be included with the disc, but I’ll keep you posted as we get closer to April 27th.

Our friends in England will get their chance to see what Shortell and company have come up with on April 9th, when the film hits theaters. Plans are currently in the works for a limited theatrical release here in the States as well, but the official release dates haven’t been hammered out yet.

If you’re interested in learning more about the film, my Horror Squad colleague Alison Nastasi recently posted a lengthy interview with Shortell over at her Screamstress blog. I highly recommend checking it out.

As always, here’s the plot breakdown:

A young woman with a troubled past takes a job at a recently closed hospital to collate the hard copy patient records. Working alone in the building after dark, she experiences a series of unsettling events that lead her to believe the hospital may be connected to a number of recent murders in the area. To uncover the truth, she has to solve the mystery of her own disturbing past.

Unfortunately, most of these films are of the “me too!” variety, or even worse, low budget crap that’s barely watchable. However, occasionally I stumble upon something that actually looks promising. Such is the case with this trailer for Chilean zombie film Blind Death.

The guys over at B-D brought this clip to my attention, and I’m sharing it with you, my zombie loving brothers and sisters. I don’t think the film, directed by Cristian Toledo and Lucian Rojas looks to be groundbreakingly original, but military guys blasting the holy hell out of zombies is something I can always get behind. The story is the usual “strange virus turns people into monsters and the military goes in later to find out what happened” deal, but it looks well shot and features lots of shooting.

No word on when we might get a look at the full version of Blind Death, but in the meantime you can check out this trailer–which even features English subtitles–to get you in the mood.

If you’re still undecided about whether this flick will be worth catching in a theater or waiting for DVD, I doubt there’s anything on the new fully launched official website that’s going to change your mind. That being said, you can still swing by and have a gander at the trailer, peruse still galleries, and explore some other material related to the movie. The site’s pretty cool looking–I’ll give them that.

Season of the Witch is due out on March 19th. Here’s an official plot description from back in October…

As the Black Plague rages across 14th century Europe, one brave knight Lavey, is tasked with transporting a girl suspected of being the witch who caused the pandemic to trial. Believing she is wrongly accused, Lavey and a group of wary followers fight through a mystical and treacherous landscape to a hallowed place where her innocence can be proved and Europe’s curse can be lifted. Unbeknownst to Lavey, even darker forces await them…

I don’t like doing posts where I just paste a huge press release, but when it comes to festival announcements, that’s pretty much the best I can do. So, my apologies in advance.

The line-up for this year’s SXSW (South by Southwest) film festival was announced yesterday, and it marks yet another year that I’m pissed I’m not going to be in Austin to attend (I really need to get my shit together, apparently). This year’s show is running from March 12th through the 20th, and features 119 titles in all, 55 of which are making their world premieres. As usual, our beloved genre is well represented in the selections (contained in the Midnighters section of the festival programming).

Some of the highlights include a screening of the gorgeous looking neo-giallo Amer (which is enough to justify making the trip to Austin for me), recent Sundance participant Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, and the Eli Roth-produced exorcism flick, Cotton. All three of those films should be well worth checking out.

Jump past the break for the official press release, complete with plot descriptions and cast and crew info.

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the complete features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 12 – 20, 2010 in Austin, Texas. Over the course of nine days, 119 features will screen at the festival, with 55 of those having their world premieres at SXSW 2010. These films were selected from a record 1,572 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,206 U.S. and 366 international feature-length films.

MIDNIGHTERS series: Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark features for night owls and the terminally curious.

Amer (Belgium)
“Ana is confronted to Body and Desire at three key moments of her life.”
Directors: Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. Screenwriter: Bruno Forzani
Cast: Bianca Maria D’Amato, Cassandra Forêt, Charlotte Eugène-Guibbaud, Marie Bos, Harry Cleven (U.S. Premiere)

Cannibal Girls (Canada)
“They do EXACTLY what you think they do! Second City TV regulars Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin star in Ivan Reitman’s Canuxploitation classic as a couple on a romantic holiday who settle into a quaint little bed-and-breakfast run by a trio of flesh-eating ladies who fancy them for tomorrow’s menu.”
Director: Ivan Reitman. Screenwriter: Robert Sandler
Cast: Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Ronald Ulrich, Randall Carpenter, Bonnie Neilson

Cotton (United States)
“After a career spent helping the devout through prayer and trickery, Rev. Cotton Marcus invites a film crew to document his final fraudulent days as an exorcist. Soon his faith is truly tested when a desperate plea from the father of a possessed girl brings him face to face with the devil himself.”
Director: Daniel Stamm. Screenwriters: Andrew Gurland and Huck Botko
Cast: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones (World Premiere)

Jimmy Tupper VS. The Goatman of Bowie (United States)
“Jimmy Tupper is no one, he’s nothing, until one night he sees something in the woods that can’t be real. It becomes his mission to prove its existence and find his purpose.”
Director and Screenwriter: Andrew Bowser
Cast: Andrew Bowser, Pedro Gonzalez, Chris Jones, Michael Eller, Tim Kuczka (World Premiere)

The Loved Ones (Australia)
“Brent, a 17-year-old student grieving after the recent loss of his father, politely declines an invitation to the school formal from Lola, the quietest girl in school. Devastated by the rejection, Lola and her overly protective father kidnap Brent and force him to endure a macabre Formal of their own creation…“
Director and Screenwriter: Sean Byrne
Cast: Xavier Samuel, Robin McLeavy, Victoria Thaine, Jessica McNamee, Richard Wilson

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (Canada)
“Two West Virginian hillbillies go on vacation at their dilapidated mountain cabin, but their peaceful trip goes horribly awry.“
Director: Eli Craig. Screenwriters: Eli Craig and Morgan Jurgenson
Cast: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss

Higanjima (Japan/Korea)
“Two years after losing contact, Akira discovers that his long-lost brother may be found on Higanjima Island. He may also find on Higanjima an army of blood-sucking vampires.“
Director: Tae-Kyun Kim. Screenwriter: Tetsuya Ôishi
Cast: Koji Yamamoto, Hideo Ishiguro, Dai Watanabe, Asami Mizukawa (North American Premiere)

Outcast (Ireland)
“Mary and Fergal live their lives on the run, using an ancient form of magic to hide from a terrifying hunter.“
Director Colm McCarthy. Screenwriters: Colm McCarthy and Tom McCarthy
Cast: James Nesbitt, Kate Dickie, Niall Bruton, Hannah Stanbridge (World Premiere)

Monsters (United Kingdom)
“Six years after a NASA probe crashes, bringing alien life forms to Earth, a journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border.“
Director and Screenwriter: Gareth Edwards
Cast: Scoot McNairym, Whitney Able (World Premiere)

EMERGING VISIONS series: Innovation and creativity from new and emerging feature filmmakers, showcasing raw talent in documentary and narratives of varying premiere status.

Red White & Blue (United Kingdom)
“In Austin Texas, the lives of three young people “Erica, Franki and Nate” intertwine in a fateful, tragic way and head down a rocky and violent road to heart-rending oblivion.“
Director and Screenwriter: Simon Rumley
Cast: Noah Taylor, Amanda Fuller, Marc Senter (North American Premiere)

LONE STAR STATES series: Texas proud! Documentaries and Narratives with a special connection to the Lone Star State.

Wake (United States)
“Driving to a wedding in Los Angeles through the Mojave Desert, Paul and Adrienne pull off the highway and into Roy’s Motel and Café. This roadside artifact proves to be a strange and surreal place with an unsettling mix of travelers, who force our couple to discover the secret hidden between them and ultimately, the horrifying reality of their current situation.“
Many Lane Producer Director and Screenwriter: Chad Feehan
Cast: Josh Stewart, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Chris Browning, Angela Featherstone, Afemo Omilami, Trevor Morgan (World Premiere)