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This month, director Ryan Coogler gives the vampire genre some fresh blood with his absolutely fantastic action-horror-musical "Sinners." There have been several vampire movies released recently, and to be honest, the majority of them have been rather disappointing. Thankfully, "Sinners" changes all of that — it's one of the best movies of the year. In honor of "Sinners," this month's horror streaming column is rounding up some great vampire movies you can watch right now. So bust out your plastic fangs, tie on your cape, and get ready to suck some blood!

Read more: The 10 Best Stephen King Books, Ranked

Blacula

Streaming on Tubi, Kanopy, Pluto TV, Prime Video.

"Blacula" is one of those movies everyone knows about even if they've never seen it. I mean, it's called "Blacula," and that's the type of title you pay attention to. This blaxploitation horror flick begins in the late 1700s and introduces us...

I often assume that filmmakers don’t have a favorite movie within their own oeuvre. That’s like asking a parent to pick a favorite child. Parents are supposed to love all of their kids equally. However, Guillermo del Toro does not love all of his cinematic offspring equally. He has a clear favorite and he isn’t afraid to speak up about it. As it turns out, his most cherished effort is a feature he co-wrote and directed nearly 25 years ago. It’s a Gothic ghost story set in an orphanage.

If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m talking about The Devil’s Backbone. How do I know that the flick is del Toro’s personal favorite? I know because he told me. Well, he told us all via a Twitter (it will never be X to me) post a while back. The auteur creator’s tweet simply reads:...

Vampire movies were once very popular among fans, especially during the turn of the 21st century. It was so in demand that the industry became oversaturated with storylines centered on hot and brooding bloodsuckers. Ask anyone if they’ve seen or heard about Twilight, and more often than not, the answer is yes.

Robert Pattinson in Twilight | Credits: Summit Entertainment

Years before the arrival of Edward Cullen, we had Guillermo del Toro introducing a different kind of vampire that we’ve never seen before—no handsome guy glistening under the sun and no s*xual undertones that most gothic films portray whenever they feature vampiric characters.

Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos deviated from Hollywood’s erotic vampire trope

Guillermo del Toro has taken us inside his magical world of monsters, and those who have followed his works through the years are aware of his experimentations when it comes to modern folklore.

A thin line exists in Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish-language trilogy between exaltation and blasphemy and damnation and transcendence. Over the course of Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, and Pan’s Labyrinth, characters scurry to justify their wants with religious and political ideology, laundering their wills and longings through cultural precedent.

Lost in these machinations is an elemental sense of morality, which the supernatural cathartically returns to the fore. This thin line is explicated by a villain in Cronos who likens Jesus to a mosquito, reasoning that both could walk on water, and so humankind was meant to harness the abilities of the insect. The differences between Christ, a savior, and a common parasite seem to be of no consequence, as they’re linked by this aging capitalist for their common wielding of power.

Del Toro is a moralist drawn to the platitudes of parable, and these films, with their prodigiously textured...

Stars: Federico Luppi, Claudio Brook, Ron Perlman, Tamara Shanath, Margarita Isabel, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Farnesio de Bernal | Written and Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos is a striking debut that foreshadows the filmmaker’s signature blend of horror, fantasy, and emotional depth. Though often overlooked in favour of his later works like Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) or The Shape of Water (2017), Cronos is a vital piece of his filmography, demonstrating his fascination with monsters, morality, and the intersection of beauty and decay.

At its core, Cronos is a vampire film, but unlike conventional entries in the genre, it eschews many of the traditional tropes. The film tells the story of Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi), an elderly antique dealer who stumbles upon a mysterious golden device hidden inside an ancient statue. This device—the Cronos mechanism—contains an insect-like creature that grants its user eternal youth but at a terrible cost.

A mysterious mechanical object offers life-giving vitality – but with macabre consequences – in the Mexican maestro’s steampunkish body-horror comedy

Guillermo del Toro’s feature debut from 1992 is a work regarded by many as an early masterpiece, featuring the director’s key repertory players Federico Luppi and Ron Perlman. Yet for all its wit and strangeness, this film underscores my feeling I am not fully part of the Del Toro true believer fanbase. I find myself restive at the elaborate, intricate but sometimes slightly inert visual contrivances, though I have always enjoyed his films, perhaps especially his remake of Nightmare Alley.

Cronos is a macabre body-horror comedy, perhaps more intriguing than frightening, with a hint of steampunkiness; it looks almost like a feature-length pilot for some cult TV show that never got made. There is a faintly perfunctory prologue sequence about an “alchemist” in the 16th century who invented the Cronos,...

The search is over. Cronos will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on February 25 via The Criterion Collection.

Writer-director Guillermo del Toro supervised the new 4K digital restoration, presented in Dolby Vision Hdr with 2.0 surround DTS-hd Master Audio.

Del Toro made his feature debut on the 1993 Mexican vampire film, which stars Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook, Margarita Isabel, and Tamara Shanath.

Special Features include:

Optional original Spanish-language voice-over introduction Audio commentary by Guillermo del Toro Audio commentary by producers Arthur H. Gorson and Bertha Navarro and co-producer Alejandro Springall Geometria – An unreleased 1987 short horror film by del Toro, finished in 2010, alongside an interview with the director Welcome to Bleak House – A tour by del Toro of his home office Interviews with del Toro, cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, and actors Ron Perlman and Federico Luppi Stills gallery captioned by del Toro Trailer An essay by film critic Maitland McDonagh and...

From the day that Christopher Columbus set sail from Huelva to beach up in the Caribbean, the Spanish city has always had strong ties to Latin America.

With Spain still laboring under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, when a group of young film buffs at Huelva’s Film Club aimed to galvanize the city’s culture, “It was logical that we looked to the richness and plenitude of culture that came from abroad,” recalls José Luis Ruíz Díaz, Huelva’s first director. “It was also logical that we had a large interest in Latin America, adds Vicente Quiroga, its longtime head of press. Relaxing, censorship in Spain also allowed access to a suddenly broader sweep of foreign titles.

Huelva’s first 50 editions have proved a faithful reflection of the evolution of cinema in Latin America, Portugal and Spain. Some milestones:

1975: Ruíz Díaz launches Huelva’s first Ibero-American Film Week with Argentina’s “La Raulito.

Guillermo del Toro’s directorial debut, Cronos, is arriving on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for the first time in February 2025. More here.

It’s been a little while since Oscar-winning filmmaker and all-round good egg Guillermo del Toro reveals that 4K remasters were ongoing for a bunch of his films. Here’s evidence of one of them, with the announcement of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray debut for his 1992 feature, Cronos.

Written and directed by del Toro, Cronos is his directorial debut, and it arrives on 4K disc on 10th February 2025. Our 4K release list has been updated accordingly.

You can find the listing for Cronos on 4K disc here, where you can also order a copy.

The BFI is putting the movie out in the UK, and it’s clearly gone to town on the new release. There’s a huge bunch of extra features (one or two of...

Del Toro's works have always had a soft humanist undertone, with some of his most powerful films being rooted in anti-fascist rhetoric. Pinnochio in particular subverts the typical trappings of the original story to speak to the horrors of war and the banal evil of fascist groupthink. It's an element that's become more pronounced in modern society, and it's one of Del Toro's strengths as a creator to make those points so clear.

One of the things that makes Guillermo Del Toro so exciting as a filmmaker is his capacity to shift in terms of genre and tone. Many of his films feature the exploration of "monsters." His films often follow themes of finding humanity in the inhuman and shining a light on the more monstrous qualities of people. This is best showcased through his exploration of genre as a filmmaker, his work often experimenting with different tones and styles while retaining core elements.

Guillermo del Toro's next horror movie, an adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, is one of his most anticipated projects, bringing him closer to covering all classic horror monsters. Del Toro has already covered three classic monsters in his previous films: vampires in Cronos and the Creature from the Black Lagoon in The Shape of Water. After Frankenstein, Del Toro only needs to cover werewolves, mummies, and the invisible man to achieve the goal of covering all the classic monsters, offering his own unique interpretations.

Guillermo del Toro’s next horror movie is not only one of his most anticipated projects, but it’s also bringing him a step closer to a classic horror milestone. Guillermo del Toro has become one of the modern masters of horrors thanks to his dark fairy tales with good doses of horror. Del Toro’s filmography so far is a combination of original...

No matter your current opinion of superhero movies in general, you've got to hand it to "Blue Beetle" director Ángel Manuel Soto -- he sure does have great taste in Easter eggs.

While all modern comic book movies are chock-full of references to deeper lore and obscure characters ("Blue Beetle" is no exception in this department), Soto cuts a little deeper. In a film about a young Mexican-American man who becomes a superhero with the backup of his Mexican family, the director cheekily inserts a sly reference to a lesser-known film from one of the greatest living Mexican filmmakers. And it's the only film he actually made entirely in Mexico, no less.

The director is Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro and the film is "Cronos," the filmmaker's 1992 feature debut. And while this could easily be seen as another nod to Mexican culture in a movie full of similar nods, this one cuts a little deeper.

This article contains spoilers for "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio."

Even when adapting others' stories, Guillermo del Toro always puts a personal thumbprint on his movies. He remixed Mike Mignola's "Hellboy" as a superhero spin on Beauty and the Beast, reframing the relationship between the eponymous hero (Ron Perlman) and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) as a love story. In his 2021 remake of "Nightmare Alley," he eschewed the ghostly black-and-white color scheme of the original film. Courtesy of cinematographer Dan Laustsen, del Toro's film mixed lurid, snowy blues with golden yellow hues; the blood really pops in both colors.

The filmmaker's most recent feature, the stop-motion "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" was released on Netflix, to critical acclaim. The tale of the wooden boy is a classic that's been retold many times, but del Toro found a fresh way to spin the story and make it feel a piece with his films...

Filmmakers tend to have their muses; that one actor within whom they've found a creative partner, and whom they work with time and time again. Martin Scorsese has Robert De Niro, Quentin Tarantino has Samuel L. Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro has Doug Jones. Of the 12 films del Toro has directed thus far, Jones has appeared in half of them. Del Toro is fascinated by good movie monsters, trusting no one but Jones to portray them.

While Jones keeps working with del Toro, he puts on a different face each time. In both the "Hellboy" duology and "The Shape of Water," he plays an amphibious man. While Abe Sapien ("Hellboy") and the Asset ("The Shape of Water") may look similar, their roles are wildly different. Abe is a superhero sidekick armed with sly wit, while the Asset is a tight-lipped romantic lead. Jones' versatility is apparent even within singular films: in "Pan's Labyrinth,...

(Welcome to Year of the Vampire, a series examining the greatest, strangest, and sometimes overlooked vampire movies of all time in honor of "Nosferatu," which turns 100 this year.)

Guillermo del Toro's filmography and frequent collaboration with actor Ron Perlman began almost thirty years ago in an antique shop, where clocks are always ticking in the background and cockroaches come crawling out of the eye of an archangel statue. That seems symbolic somehow, as the does the white-haired shopkeeper's name, Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi), which could be translated as "Jesus Grey" ("Gris" is the Spanish word for "grey"), but in the context of...

The post Year of the Vampire: Guillermo del Toro's Cronos Reimagines Forever as a Gold Invention appeared first on /Film.

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday.

This week’s question: What horror film deserves more love, and where can people see it?

Danielle Solzman (@DanielleSATM), Solzy at the Movies/Freelance

“Bear with Us” is a horror comedy that takes the cabin-in-the-woods genre and turns it on its head. After Colin’s (Mark Jude Sullivan) initial proposal to Quincy (“Even Stevens” star Christy Carlson Romano) is rejected, he decides to do it again some six months later. Not only does he plan to bring some friends along, but he also asks Harry (Collin Smith) to dress in a bear costume. It may be a bad idea but it’s not like anyone wouldn’t have had the foresight to expect this romantic getaway to be a recipe for disaster — it’s set at a cabin in the woods for crying out loud!

Guillermo del Toro celebrates his 54th birthday on October 9, 2018. The Mexican-born auteur hit the Oscar jackpot earlier this year with his fantastical love story “The Shape of Water” (2017), which took home four prizes including Best Picture and Best Director. But that’s just one of many eye-popping fantasies he has crafted throughout his career. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at all 10 of del Toro’s films, ranked worst to best.

Del Toro made his feature directing debut with the Spanish-language horror drama “Cronos” (1993), which established him as a maker of dark, visually-stunning fright-fests. The film wrote him a ticket to Hollywood, where he helmed the creepy chiller “Mimic” (1997). Over the next two decades, he would bounce back-and-forth between mainstream American productions and more personal stories in his native language.

It was for “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006), a fable about a young Mexican girl escaping into...

Welcome back, readers! We have another edition of our From Streams to Screams series we’ll be running throughout the month of October. Since there are thousands of genre films out there on a variety of digital platforms, I’ve gone ahead and put together this list of 18 fang-tastic vampire movies that genre fans should enjoy watching this Halloween season, including a great mix of classic films and some new genre offerings as well. And while I generally try to avoid including television series, I would be remiss if I didn’t include the original Dark Shadows here, especially since Hulu currently has all 26 seasons streaming on their platform. Happy streaming, everyone!

Dark Shadows: The Entire Series (Streaming on Hulu)

With its alluring tales of Gothic mystery and supernatural intrigue, Dark Shadows became one of the most popular daytime series of all time. Since first airing on ABC-tv from 1966 to...

Based on our latest racetrack odds, Guillermo del Toro looks poised to win his first Oscar: Best Director for “The Shape of Water,” a romantic fantasy about a mute janitor (Sally Hawkins) who falls in love with a fish man (Doug Jones). He could also pick up trophies for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay (shared with Vanessa Taylor), which would make him only the 8th person in history to win all three categories for the same film. Will this finally be his golden ticket? And how does it compare with the rest of his filmography? Tour through our photo gallery above of all 10 of del Toro’s films ranked from worst to best.

See Oscars 2018: Guillermo del Toro (‘The Shape of Water’) or Jordan Peele (‘Get Out’) would be 8th winner for writing, directing, And producing

Del Toro received his first Oscar nomination 11 years ago: Best Original Screenplay...

Aaron is joined by Mark Hurne and Jason Michael to catch up on a month’s worth of Criterion stuff, including January 2018 announcements. We talk about what we got in the latest Flash Sale, many of the recent Janus Films announcements from restoration screenings to posters, and we share some Short Takes that are technically horror, but not too scary.

Episode Notes

6:00 – January 2018 Announcements

29:30 – Flash Sale and Criterion News

59:15 – Short Takes (Cronos, Cat People, The Lure))

1:08:21 – FilmStruck

Episode Links Agnes Varda Closet Picks Filminc – Pandora’s Box Janus Films – The Passion of Joan of Arc Sean Phillip’s Night of the Living Dead poster Janus Films – The Other Side of Hope poster Certain Women – Discussion Thread Federico Luppi Dies at 83 Danielle Darrieux Dies at 100 Episode Credits Aaron West: Twitter | Website | Letterboxd Mark Hurne: Twitter Jason Michael: Twitter | Instagram | Website Criterion Now: Facebook Group Criterion...

Making his solo directorial debut in Black Snow -- back in 2000, he was assistant director on Fabian Bielinsky’s scam classic Nine Queens, and later co-directed The Signal with Ricardo Darin -- Martin Hodara can’t go too far wrong, since the film's cast features the charismatic likes of Darin, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Federico Luppi and Dolores Fonzi. But though it burns as slowly and intensely as a cabin log fire over its first hour, narrative confusion and implausibility strike over the final run, and it’s that wobbly final stretch that will linger in viewers’ minds, making Snow a less chilling experience than it...

Exclusive: The director of At The End Of The Tunnel, which played in official selection recently at the Rome Film Festival, has been generating heat with two television projects.

Grande, a genre-hopping talent from Rosario whose well-received third film allowed him to flex his crime thriller muscles, is talking up Triple Frontera and Black Chronicles.

Like At The End Of The Tunnel (Al Final Del Túnel), both keep Grande in thriller territory. Triple Frontera also exhibits broader dramatic elements and takes place in the tri-border region of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay that is home to the Iguazú Falls and more ominously serves as a stomping ground for drug gangs and human traffickers.

“It’s about a family that’s looking for a son who’s lost and they find themselves in trouble,” Grande said of the Spanish-language property.

Black Chronicles is a psychological thriller about a cross-border smuggling service for people anxious to take flight.

The story – which...

Happy Black Friday, everyone, and welcome back for Day 2 of Daily Dead’s fourth annual Holiday Gift Guide! Once again, our goal is to help you navigate your way through the horrors of the shopping season with our tips on unique gift ideas, and we’ll hopefully help you save a few bucks over the next few weeks, too.

This year’s Holiday Gift Guide is being sponsored by several amazing companies, including Mondo, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and Magnolia Home Entertainment, who have all donated an assortment of goodies to help you get into the spirit of the season. Daily Dead also recently teamed up with Texas-based artist Dustin Pace of Duddy in Motion to create an amazing Stranger Things print (see below) that all of our giveaway winners will receive with our amazing prize packs that feature a collection of items, including movies, graphic novels, the Duddy in Motion Stranger Things print,...

Mark and Aaron tackle Guillermo Del Toro’s debut film, recently re-released as part of the Trilogía boxset. Cronos is technically in the vampire genre, but even for his first film, has a distinctive Del Toro feel. We get into the character of Jesus Gris, and how Del Toro uses him as a tragic figure that touches on themes of mortality and religion. We also explore Del Toro’s passion and his “Bleak House,” showing that his passion for the medium informs his work.

About the film:

Guillermo del Toro made an auspicious and audacious feature debut with Cronos, a highly unorthodox tale about the seductiveness of the idea of immortality. Kindly antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) happens upon an ancient golden device in the shape of a scarab, and soon finds himself the possessor and victim of its sinister, addictive powers, as well as the target of a...

Guillermo del Toro (The Devil's Backbone, Crimson Peak) has contributed two signed items, a copy of Pacific Rim and The Book of Life, to A Cause for Entertainment's auction to fight breast cancer. Also in today's Horror Highlights: Friday the 13th franchise enamel pins from Fright Rags, the list of short films at Fantastic Fest 2016, Dr. West: A Reanimated Parody sneak peek details, and info on the new poetry collection, As the Blade Cuts.

Guillermo del Toro-Signed Memorabilia at A Cause for Entertainment's Auction to Fight Breast Cancer: "Starting bid: $50.00

Oscar nominated Writer/Director Guillermo Del Toro, known for his work on Cronos, The Devil's Backbone, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth and Crimson Peak, has generously donated a signed copy of his film Pacific Rim and his book “The Book of Life” to support the fight against breast cancer.

Auction starts: October 17th, 2016 12:00 am

Auction ends: November 6th, 2016 7:30 pm...

On the Horizon of Redemption: Del Solar’s Impressive Debut a Historically Relevant Neo-Noir

The sins of the recent past infect Peruvian actor Salvador del Solar’s stellar directorial debut, Magallanes, based on the novel La Pasajera by Alonso Cueto (Black Butterfly, 2006). A rich tapestry of characters involved in a compelling and nasty case of blackmail enhances the pulse of this compelling neo-noir, whose present is informed by the violent social revolution of the Shining Path insurgency, Peru’s communist party faction. The infamous organization, deemed terrorist by the government, waged a decade long conflict that worsened significantly when the military declared a state of emergency in outlying regions of the country, resulting in further abuse and corruption of power. With countless vicious cruelties that went unpunished, del Solar recounts a tortured redemption of sorts for one of them in this well-performed, intriguing drama.

Harvey Magallanes (Damian Alcazar) is a taxi driver in Peru,...

The San Sebastian Film Festival will once again present, in its 63rd edition, some of the most outstanding Latin American films of the year. The Horizontes Latinos program will include 14 productions from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Films that have competed or premiered at important international festivals, but which have not yet been screened at a Spanish festival or had their commercial release in the country.

The selected films compete for the Horizontes Award, decided by a specific jury and coming with €35,000, of which €10,000 will go to the director of the winning film, and the remaining €25,000 to its distributor in Spain.

The section will open with Pablo Larraín’s "El Club," Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the last Berlin Festival. The film tells the tale of four men who share a secluded house in a small beach town, sent there to purge the sins they have committed in the past.

Here is the full list of titles screening in this important section:

"El Club" (The Club) Pablo Larraín (Chile) Opening Night Film

Pablo Larraín won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the last Berlin Festival with this film. Four men share a secluded house in a small beach town, sent there to purge the sins they have committed in the past.

"600 Millas" (600 Miles) Gabriel Ripstein (Mexico) Arnulfo Rubio, a young gun trafficker between the United States and Mexico, is being followed by Atf agent Hank Harris. After a risky mistake by Harris, Rubio makes a desperate decision: he smuggles the agent to Mexico. Best First Feature Award in the Panorama section of the Berlin Festival.

"El Abrazo de la Serpiente" (Embrace of the Serpent ) Ciro Guerra (Colombia - Argentina - Venezuela) Premiered at the Cannes Festival Directors’ Fortnight, the latest film from Ciro Guerra tells the epic story of the first contact, encounter, approach, betrayal and, eventually, life-transcending friendship, between an Amazonian shaman and two Western explorers.

"El Botón de Nácar (The Pearl Button) Patricio Guzmán (France - Chile - Spain ) Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán talks to us in his latest documentary about water, the cosmos and ourselves, human beings. It all begins with the discovery of two mysterious buttons in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chile.

"Chronic" Michel Franco (Mexico - France) David is a nurse who works with terminally ill patients. Efficient and dedicated to his profession, he develops strong and even intimate relationships with each person he cares for. But outside of his work David is ineffectual, awkward, and reserved. Best Screenplay Award-winner at the Cannes Festival.

"Desde Allá" (From Afar) Lorenzo Vigas (Venezuela) Armando, aged 50, looks for young men in the streets of Caracas and pays them to come back to his house with him. He also regularly spies on an older man with whom he seems to have ties from the past. One day he meets Elder, aged 17, leader of a small band of thugs. Competitor in the Official Selection of the Venice Festival.

"Las Elegidas" (The Chosen Ones) David Pablos (Mexico - France) David Pablos’s second film took part at the San Sebastian Co-production Forum in 2014 and premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes Festival. Sofia, 14 years old, is in love with Ulises. Because of him, in spite of him, she is forced into a prostitution ring in Mexico. To set her free, Ulises will have to find another girl to replace her.

"Ixcanul" Jayro Bustamante (Guatemala - France) María, a 17 year-old Mayan girl, lives and works with her family in a plantation on the Guatemalan plateau. Her days go by uneventfully until her parents arrange her marriage to the estate foreman, Ignacio. A film that landed a special mention at the last edition of Films in Progress and competed at the Berlin Festival, where it won the Alfred Bauer Award.

"Magallanes"

Salvador Del Solar (Peru Argentina- Colombia - Spain) Winner of Films in Progress at last year's Festival. Magallanes recognises a woman getting into a taxi. It's Celina, the young peasant girl he randomly arrested more than twenty years ago, when he was a soldier. They both have unfinished business. And for Magallanes, this is an opportunity to redeem himself. Damián Alcázar, Magaly Solier and Federico Luppi play the leading parts.

"La Obra del Siglo" (The Projcxt of Century) Carlos M. Quintela (Cuba -Argentina- Germany -Switzerland) Amidst a mosquito plague, Leonardo, struggling with the breakdown of his relationship, moves back to live with a grandfather who fights with everyone and everything, and a father living with the melancholy of the unfinished. Tiger Award-winner at the last Rotterdam Festival.

"Pulina" Santiago Mitre (Argentina- Brazil- France) Paulina decides to leave her brilliant law career to teach in a downtrodden Argentinian region. In a hostile atmosphere, she will set about her pedagogical mission, even if it means losing her boyfriend and confrontation with her father. Fipresci Prize-winner at the last Cannes Festival Critics’ Week.

"Para Minha Amada Morta" (To My Beloved) Aly Muritiba (Brazil) Fernando is a good man who takes care of his only child, Daniel, a shy and sensitive boy. Following the death of his wife Ana, every night Fernando recalls their love as he sorts out his beloved dead spouse’s belongings. One day he finds a VHS tape that will change everything. This movie participated in the Films in Progress section at the last Festival. The film took part at the Co-Production Forum in 2014.

"Te Prometo Anarquía" (I Promise You Anarchy) Julio Hernández Cordón (Mexico - Germany) Julio Hernández Cordón’s new film was selected for the Locarno Festival Competition. Miguel and Johnny have known each other since childhood. They spend their time skateboarding and having fun. To make easy money and continue skateboarding, they sell their own blood clandestinely. They turn the ploy into a business, until a major transaction doesn't turn out as they'd expected.

"La Tierra y la Sombra" (Land and Shade) César Augusto Acevedo (Colombia- Chiles - Brazil - Netherlands - France) Winner of the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Festival, after having participated at the San Sebastian Co-Production Forum in 2013, this film portrays a family as they try to repair the fragile ties that bind them in the face of their imminent disappearance, brought about by the overwhelming power of progress.

We love our vampires. There is no denying that. And whether they be the frilly shirt wearing kind or the pointy toothed Alaskan invaders, whatever form they come in, we eat them right up (pun definitely intended). In celebration of the VOD and limited theatrical release of the Hong Kong vampire flick Rigor Mortis, we bring you the Top 5 Foreign Vampire Films.

A film by Juno Mak, Rigor Mortis promises to be one insane ride of vampirism. Heavily laden with F/X and action, the film is a sort of homage to the Chinese vampire movies of the '80s.

Definitely a unique experience, Rigor Mortis looks to make its mark as a memorable foreign vampire film itself.

But back to the topic at hand. We have a couple of honorable mentions to start off with, including (and we're speculating on this first one, but we know it's going to...

Exclusive: Shooting is underway in Colombia on the true-life story of the group of mostly Chilean miners trapped underground for 69 days following a mine collapse in 2010.

Good Universe kicked off international sales at the Afm on The 33, the first international film to qualify for Colombia’s Law 1556 production incentive.

The new legislation provides 40% rebate on local labour spend, with a 20% savings on items such as catering, transport and hotels.

Principal photography on the $20m Us-Chile-China project kicked off on December 7. Colombia’s Dynamo is the production services company and the shoot will continue into January in the Colombian mines in Nemocón outside Bogotá, before relocating to Chile for exteriors.

Mike Medavoy, Robert Katz and Edward McGurn are producing and Carlos Eugenio Lavin, Leopoldo Enriquez and Alan Zhang serve as executive producers.

Patricia Riggen directs The 33 from a screnenplay by Dallas Buyers Club co-writer Craig Borten and Michael Thomas.

On December...

The Devils Backbone (2001) (DVD Review) Directed By: Guillermo del Toro Starring: Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi Rated: R/Region: 1/1:85/Number of disc: 2 Available from Criterion Collection The most personal film by Guillermo del Toro (Cronos) is also among his most frightening and emotionally layered. Set during the final week of the Spanish Civil War, The Devils Backbone tells the tale of a ten-year-old boy who, after his f…...

Spanish films made more at the international box office than domestically, according to a report released at the annual Madrid de Cine.

Pedro Pérez, president of Spanish producers association Fape, said it was the fourth consecutive year that Spanish films had collected more box office takings outside of the country’s borders.

International takings were $200m in 2012 compared with $157m in Spain.

The data was collected by Fapae, Rentrak and the European Audiovisual Observatory.

The number of Spanish films exhibited internationally rose to 28.2% and the amount of prints distributed grew by 57.7%.

Italy screened the most Spanish films (37) while the biggest box office takings were in Mexico, which generated $23.6m from Spanish movies.

The Fapae-Rentrak award for the most successful Spanish film abroad went to the producers of tsunami drama The Impossible: Enrique Lavigne and Belén Atienza for Apaches Entertainment and Ghislain Barrois and Alvaro Agustín for TeleCinco.

English-language co-productions proved lucrative for the Spanish film industry...

Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.

As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.

****

Special Mention: Gremlins

Directed by Joe Dante

Written by Chris Columbus

1984, USA

Gremlins gets a special mention because I’ve always considered it more of a comedy and a wholesome Christmas flick than an actual horror film. This tribute the 1950s matinee genre stands the test of time from a time when parents would take their children to family films that pushed the boundaries of the MPAA. Joe Dante is...

As the Mimic Director’s Cut arrives on Blu-ray, Ryan takes a look back at Guillermo del Toro’s flawed yet fascinating monster flick…

1997 was an unusually busy year for that venerable staple of Hollywood, the creature feature. The Relic saw a Chicago museum terrorised by a rhino-like man-eating monster. Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers offered up an entire planet full of giant insects and ingenious brain bugs.

And then there was Guillermo del Toro’s Mimic, which saw its own breed of terror stalk the sewers of Manhattan. The sophomore feature from Mexican director, and his first movie for a Hollywood studio, Mimic was something of a trial by fire. Subjected to various changes once del Toro came aboard – Mimic was initally planned as a half-hour segment in a three-part horror anthology – the film constantly mutated through its production, largely due to the interference of studio bosses.

I was...

Argentine horror flick Phase 7 comes to DVD, iTunes, TV Video on Demand and other platforms on October 4, 2011. Heralded for its clever combination of humor and gore when it premiered at the SXSW, Phase 7 mixes satire, humor, horror and social commentary in a way that reminds viewers of the arch Shaun Of The Dead and the savvy claustrophobia of [rec].

The apocalyptic horror film, Phase 7 was directed and written by Nicolás Goldbart; produced by Sebastian Aloi; executive produced by Steven Schneider (Insidious, Paranormal Activity). With a “top-notch” cast, the movie stars Daniel Hendler (Lost Embrace); Jazmín Stuart (The Paranoids); Yayo Guridi (Los Rodriguez); and Federico Luppi (Pan’S Labyrinth).

The film will be available through cable via video on demand (VOD) channels for Phase 7, on Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Rcn, Verizon, Charter, Cablevision, and At&T.

In the film, Coco (Hendler) has just moved to a new apartment

Read more.

Argentine horror flick Phase 7 comes to DVD, iTunes, TV Video on Demand and other platforms on October 4, 2011. Heralded for its clever combination of humor and gore when it premiered at the SXSW, Phase 7 mixes satire, humor, horror and social commentary in a way that reminds viewers of the arch Shaun Of The Dead and the savvy claustrophobia of [rec].

The apocalyptic horror film, Phase 7 was directed and written by Nicolás Goldbart; produced by Sebastian Aloi; executive produced by Steven Schneider (Insidious, Paranormal Activity). With a “top-notch” cast, the movie stars Daniel Hendler (Lost Embrace); Jazmín Stuart (The Paranoids); Yayo Guridi (Los Rodriguez); and Federico Luppi (Pan’S Labyrinth).

The film will be available through cable via video on demand (VOD) channels for Phase 7, on Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Rcn, Verizon, Charter, Cablevision, and At&T.

In the film, Coco (Hendler) has just moved to a new apartment

Read more.

Note: This is the second article in this series of posts. Click here to see the first entry.

Every year I spend the majority of the month of October watching as many horror movies as I possibly can. So I decided to take it upon myself to list off the greatest horror movies ever made. I felt the need to break up the list into several categories. You see, usually when people ask me for recommendations of what horror films they should see, they still have some idea of what sub genre they are interested in watching. So as appose to having one big jumbled list, I’ve broken it down to help with those looking for recommendations in a specific area. Please Note: by the end of the month, the last entry in this series will include a list of what I think are without a doubt, the 31 greatest horror movies ever made.

Another horror flick in the Bloody Disgusting Selects line is on its way home to DVD for you to dissect, and we've got all the details on what you can expect once it finally hits! Dig it!

The Argentinian horror comedy directed by Nicolas Goldbart and starring Daniel Hendler, Federico Luppi, Jazmin Stuart, and Jose "Yayo" Guridi hits home on October 4th, 2011 via DVD, iTunes, TV Video on Demand and other platforms.

Synopsis

Coco (Daniel Hendler) just moved to his new apartment with 7 months pregnant wife Pipi (Jazmin Stuart) when their building is quarantined due to the outbreak of a deadly flu. Soon the residents become unexpected enemies, and Coco is forced to join forces with his next-door neighbor, the loony but well prepared and stocked Horacio, to defend the contents of his fridge and keep his pregnant wife safe. Meanwhile, outside the quarantined building, the world as we knew it is disappearing.

Being a Christian in the 21st century is difficult at the best of times. Even without Mel Gibson constantly putting his foot in it, or Westboro Baptist Church spitting venom at the very people they are supposed to be helping, we have to contend with a media backlash whenever a seemingly ‘Christian’ film is released.

The problem seems to be that people don’t mind Christianity per se: if people are Bible-bashing in the streets, they can ignore them or talk back. What they resent, or appear to resent, are films with Christian undertones – allegories or parables which introduce Christian beliefs or ideas in a supposedly secular context. When The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe came out in 2005, The Guardian’s Polly Toynbee accused it of “invad[ing] children’s minds with Christian iconography… heavily laden with guilt, blame, sacrifice and a suffering that is dark with emotional sadism.” Ouch.

Phase 7 (Fase 7) is another foreign film included in the new batch of horror movies acquired by Bloody-Disgusting Selects and its partnership with AMC Theaters aka The Collective and is another one that turned out to be a great watch.

Phase 7 was written and directed by Nicolas Goldbart who gives us another post-apocalyptic look at what life would be like if the dreaded “rage virus” or something like it wiped out most of civilized humanity and left us some crazy asses to deal with, with just a little humor added. The movie definitely has that same feel as [Rec], Quarantine and some other familiar movies.

Starting off light-hearted we follow a couple, Coco and Pipi grocery shopping like you would do on any regular day but once the two head back to their apartment we see things aren’t quite right on the outside. They get back to their...

Just in time for its limited theatrical release in July, we have nearly two dozen stills from the upcoming flick Phase 7 to infect you on this fine afternoon. You may wanna put on one of those wacky respirator things before viewing. Dig it!

The Argentinian horror comedy directed by Nicolas Goldbart and starring Daniel Hendler, Federico Luppi, Jazmin Stuart, and Jose "Yayo" Guridi opens in select AMC theatres on July 13th. Check out the list of theatres below, and click here to buy tickets when available.

Synopsis

Coco (Daniel Hendler) just moved to his new apartment with 7 months pregnant wife Pipi (Jazmin Stuart) when their building is quarantined due to the outbreak of a deadly flu. Soon the residents become unexpected enemies, and Coco is forced to join forces with his next-door neighbor, the loony but well prepared and stocked Horacio, to defend the contents of his fridge and keep his pregnant wife safe.

Writer/director Nicolás Goldbart’s Phase 7 tells the story of a young couple – Coco (Daniel Hendler) and Pipi (Jazmín Stuart) – who discover their apartment building is to be immediately quarantined due to the appearance of a deadly virus. Their ensuing seclusion brings about a series of monstrous events, alliances and double-crossings amongst the neighbours.

Phase 7 is a relatively taut apocalyptic thriller from Goldbart, an up-and-coming Argentinian talent, that, instead of focusing on the worldwide panic that follows an epidemic, centres on a lowly apartment building and its tenants as they deal with the outbreak – with often disastrous consequences.

Goldbart’s screenplay is tight, valiantly choosing to be an intimate character piece rather than an all-out action-fuelled thriller, representing how everyday people would react to a sudden deadly epidemic. Where it falters, however, is with the jarring lurches into black comedy that ultimately do little more than diffuse tension,...

Phase 7 an Argentine apocalyptic horror makes it to AMC theaters July 13, 2011. The film was directed and written by Nicolás Goldbart, produced by Sebastian Aloi, executive produced by Steven Schneider (Insidious, Paranormal Activity) and stars Daniel Hendler (Lost Embrace), Jazmín Stuart (The Paranoids), Yayo Guridi (Los Rodriguez), and Federico Luppi (Pan's Labyrinth). Phase 7 is the third release of indie horror from The Collective and Bloody-Disgusting Selects. Phase 7 (Fase 7) premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March. The film was also screened at the Boston Underground Film Festival and the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival. If you want to catch Phase 7 (cont)...

The next horror film coming from the one-two punch team of Bloody Disgusting/The Collective and AMC Theaters, Phase 7, is officially on its way, and we've got a new trailer along with the whens and the wheres just waiting for you. Read on for details.

The Argentinian horror comedy directed by Nicolas Goldbart and starring Daniel Hendler, Federico Luppi, Jazmin Stuart, and Jose "Yayo" Guridi opens in select AMC theatres on July 13th. Check out the list of theatres below, and click here to buy tickets when available.

Synopsis

Coco (Daniel Hendler) just moved to his new apartment with 7 months pregnant wife Pipi (Jazmin Stuart) when their building is quarantined due to the outbreak of a deadly flu. Soon the residents become unexpected enemies, and Coco is forced to join forces with his next-door neighbor, the loony but well prepared and stocked Horacio, to defend the contents of his...

It was announced yesterday that Bloody Disgusting Selects will bring the apocalypse this July with Nicolás Goldbart's Argentine apocalyptic horror film Phase 7 which opens exclusively at AMC locations on July 13 (Wednesday and Friday nights). Executive produced by Steven Schneider (Insidious, Paranormal Activity) and starring Daniel Hendler, Jazmín Stuart, Yayo Guridi and Federico Luppi (Pan's Labyrinth), Phase 7 premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March, and also screened at the Boston Underground Film Festival and the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival. We have now added the official theatrical trailer that can be viewed below. It's a hyper-charged look at the end of the world, which comes courtesy of the New World Order. Freaky stuff.... Before its theatrical release, it will screen at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal and the Danger After Dark Festival in Philadelphiaboth in early July.

Bloody Disgusting Selects is proud to announced the July 13 theatrical release of Nicolás Goldbart's Argentine apocalyptic horror film Phase 7 (Fase 7). Executive produced by Steven Schneider (Insidious, Paranormal Activity) and starring Daniel Hendler, Jazmín Stuart, Yayo Guridi and Federico Luppi (Pan's Labyrinth), Phase 7 premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March, and also screened at the Boston Underground Film Festival and the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival. Before its theatrical release, it will screen at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal and the Danger After Dark Festival in Philadelphiaboth in early July. The film mixes satire, humor, horror and social commentary in a way that reminds viewers of the arch Shaun of the Dead and the savvy claustrophobia of [Rec].

Waking up at 7am to catch a train before running half way across a city isn’t the way I would choose to start my Tuesday, but this year the wise heads at the Film Festival have moved the Press Office from its convenient spot near the Festival cinemas to the University, half way across town. After queuing for my press pass there was no way I was going to miss The Guard, which opens the festival Wednesday night, so I ran. It was, pretty much, worth it: the film is pretty decent, and kicked off a trifecta of pretty decent, though far for great, movies.

The Guard is a safe bet for an opening night film. It has a reasonably well-liked star in Brendan Gleeson, has a lot of dark humour and is neither too subversive nor too populist to annoy people. The 1500 seats of the Festival Theatre will...

Argentinian horror comedy Phase 7, or Fase 7 for you purists out there, generated quite a bit of buzz coming out of the recently concluded SXSW Film Festival, so much in fact that it's just been picked up for North American distribution.

Per Variety L.A.-based The Collective/Salient Media has taken all North American rights to Nicolas Goldbart's Phase 7, sold worldwide by Berlin-based M-Appeal. Phase 7 stars Daniel Hendler, Federico Luppi, Jazmin Stuart, and Jose "Yayo" Guridi.

Also written by Goldbart, Phase 7 will slot into the new U.S. genre distribution venture announced this month by AMC Theaters, The Collective, and horror website Bloody Disgusting.com. Their deal sees AMC cinemas screening one horror title a month, at least twice a week, in 32 major Stateside markets. Films will then be made available on VOD and also on DVD via Collective's home video distribution partnership with Vivendi Universal.

Year: 2011

Directors: Nicolás Goldbart

Writers: Nicolás Goldbart

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: rochefort

Rating: 8 out of 10

"At its core, Fase 7 is a savvy blend of [rec] and J.G. Ballard's "High Rise."

Coco (Daniel Hendler) and his wife Pipi (Jazmin Stuart) are a young couple with a baby on the way. They always seem to be in the middle of another argument (that Coco is destined to lose), and they argue so much, in fact, that they at first don't catch on as mobs start to empty out the supermarkets and one siren after another begins to blare in the background. Even once their apartment building is quarantined and sealed up, they spend more time trying to find ways to entertain and divert themselves than keep abreast of the televised reports of a lethal virus that is rapidly becoming global.

Their neighbor Horacio (scene-stealer #1 Yayo Guridi) takes every opportunity...

Phase 7, or as the Spanish say Fase 7, recently had a showing at the Miami International Film Festival. Today, the film debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Phase 7 spoofs the quarantine films, such as: Quarantine, [Rec] etc. One wife is oblivious to the spread of the disease, while a paranoid neighbour attempts to eradicate other tenants to stop the spread of infection. All of these events happen under the bumbling eye of the military. Watch what can go wrong under disease conditions, in this trailer for Phase 7 below.

The synopsis for Phase 7 is here:

"Coco (Daniel Hendler) just moved to his new apartment with 7 months pregnant wife Pipi (Jazmin Stuart) when their building is quarantined, due to the outbreak of a deadly flu. Soon the residents become unexpected enemies, and Coco is forced to join forces with his next-door neighbor, the loony but well prepared and stocked Horacio,...

De la Guardia (Claudio Brook), the villain of Guillermo Del Toro’s first movie Cronos, sits in his room like a spider in a web. When he walks, it is with two sticks. Around him hang statues of archangels; part of his obsessive quest. He is Sidney Greenstreet, and they are his Maltese Falcons, and he still hasn’t found the right one. Meanwhile an elderly shopkeeper called Jesus Gris (Federico Luppi) finds hidden in just such a statue a gold, oval, meticulously designed artefact. A prologue has already hinted at its purpose; hundreds of years ago an alchemist designed it as a means of eternal life. We are not sure how it works, exactly, until metallic legs shoot out and bury their way into Jesus’s hand. Of course: it’s an insect.

The eternal life comes at a cost, as Jesus soon discovers. In one of the best scenes Del Toro has filmed,...