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Needle

Stars: Ben Mendelsohn, Trilby Glover, Tahyna Tozzi, Jane Badler, Michael Dorman, Travis Fimmel, Jessica Marais | Written by John V. Soto, Anthony Egan | Directed by John V. Soto

Following the death of his father, archaeology student Ben Rutherford (Dorman) inherits a strange 18th century mechanical device known as “Le Vaudou Mort”. After showing the unusual device to his friends at a party on campus, it disappears from his room. Things take a sinister turn when Ben’s friends begin to die one by one, seemingly at the hands of a killer using voodoo to murder everyone at the party. Realizing the “Le Vaudou Mort” may be responsible he teams with his estranged half-brother, Marcus (Fimmel) to delve deeper into their father’s past to work out who could be behind the killings before they become the devices final victims.

I’ll admit that I didn’t expect much from Needle,...

Los Angeles’ much-celebrated film festival Screamfest La is now up and running October 8-17 at the Mann’s 6 in Hollywood, CA, and we thought it appropriate to catch up with yet another of the filmmakers whose genre entries will be playing at Rachel Belofsky’s tenth annual cutting compendium of all things horrific.

Visit Screamfest online here for a full run-down of the films playing, as well as to purchase tickets. The highly anticipated Gierasch/Anderson Night of the Demons remake kicks off the fest Tonight.

With co-writer (with Anthony Egan) and director John V. Soto’s feature flick Needle celebrating its Los Angeles premiere at Screamfest this coming Saturday, October 9, at 7:30pm (tickets can be purchased here), filmmaker Soto sat down with Dread recently to discuss his film (which opens in April in Australia, with other territories soon to be announced). See a teaser trailer for Needle below.

Needle Alt' PosterAustralia is in no short supply of horror features for 2010. Already released or in the process of being released are Damned by Dawn, Road Kill, Prey, Crush, and now the supernatural thriller Needle. Written by John V. Soto (Crush) and Anthony Egan (Mortal Fools), the film is not expected to release until 2011, but Needle will make a surprise stop at the 2010 Cinefest 2010 Oz Film Festival beginning August 27th (Soto). Oz Fest' takes place in Perth and in celebration of the premiere, the film has a new poster seen left. Get set to for supernatural mayhem as an 18th Century mechanical device makes short work of several shocked college students (Soto). The film's trailer is inside with more details on Cinefest 2010 below.

The full synopsis for Needle here:

"Ben Rutherford, a young college student, inherits a small antique machine known as "La Vaudou Vaudou Mort" from his late father's estate.

John V. Soto's (Crush) Needle now has a fantastic looking trailer along with a more in-depth synopsis, each of which tell tales of revenge, voodoo and murder. Have you ever been wronged by a friend and wanted payback? Well, according the film Needle, you could just pick up an "antique machine," also known as "La Vaudou, Vaudou Mort" to send your friend to the other side. Some friends can be forgiven, but not in this film. Have a look at some of the ways one friend gets revenge on many others in this first trailer for Needle below.

The synopsis for Needle:

"Ben Rutherford, a young college student, inherits a small antique machine known as "La Vaudou Vaudou Mort" from his late father's estate. He shows the mysterious machine off to a group of his close friends who are suitably impressed, but he returns to his dorm room...

Producer and writer Anthony Egan is buzzing about his contribution to the growing 3-D horror market Flies . The film is the latest from director Jamie Blanks who jumped back onto the genre scene last year with Storm Warning and has a remake of Long Weekend on the way. " Flies 3D is a love letter to '70s animal attack flicks with a healthy dose of '50s mutant bugs," Egan tells ShockTillYouDrop.com. "It's been in development for well over a decade, back when the only Aussie flicks in the ball park were Dark Age , Razorback and, at a stretch, the original Long Weekend ." Egan scripted this throwback and is producing with producer David Hannay. "Jamie officially came on board last year, but turns out he'd been slipped an early draft by...

Is it true that not only has a 3D film never come out of Australia, but that there’s never been a nature-run-amok movie about flies? I can’t come up with one of either off the top of my head, though I’m sure The Foywonder will chime in if the latter isn’t accurate.

Inside Film spoke to veteran producer David Hannay, who told them that Flies will be the first 3D production for the land down under, and has attached Storm Warning director Jamie Blanks as director. The script, written by Anthony Egan, tells of some genetically altered flies who escape from a lab and attack a nearby town that has just opened a tourist attraction shaped like a giant blowfly.

So why 3D? Australia is ready to move into the future just like every other film market; ”We have to embrace new technologies, because the audience expects it.

While I still haven't taken the time to write a review for his remake of Long Weekend, Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend, Storm Warning) is already out prepping his next horror film. During an interview with Inside Film, Australian producer David Hannay announced he would be teaming up with Anthony Egan to bring us a new 3D horror film entitled Flies, which will be directed by Blanks from a screenplay by Egan. Veteran and legendary producer David Hannay (Stone, The Man from Hong Kong) is teaming up with editor/writer Anthony Egan to produce what could potentially be Australias first feature film in stereoscopic 3D.

Australian producers David Hannay and Anthony Egan are teaming up to unleash the 3D horror film Flies , scripted by Egan. According to Inside Film, Jamie Blanks ( Storm Warning ) is attached to direct. Flies is based around the concept of genetically-engineered insects that escape and attack a small town. "It was a concept we thought that no one has really touched on the subject of 'nature goes nuts' in Australia," Egan tells If, somehow forgetting the choice "nature run amok" offerings that have and are coming out of his country including Blanks' own upcoming Long Weekend . "So we thought up an idea that would fit that genre and have appeal in the national marketplace." Production is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2009 and is...