As we witnessed last week, the 50^th anniversary of John F.  Kennedy’s death, America has never fully recovered from the loss of the beloved young president.  His public and violent assassination left an indelible imprint on the American psyche, shattering an age of optimism and halting his promise of progress.  Having never received a satisfactory answer for the whos, whats and whys of the crime conspiracy theorists have argued their versions of the truth for decades.  With JFK, Oliver Stone’s most controversial and arguably best film, Stone presents a massive catalogue of those theories with a masterful hand.  In honor of the 50^th anniversary of the president’s death, Stone and Warner Brothers put together an impressive commemorative edition of the film.  Hit the jump to find out how JFK holds up and what the new edition has to offer fans of the film.

Now in select theaters and available on VOD is Eric England’s Contracted.  The viral body-horror film follows a young woman, Samantha (Najarra Townsend), after she wakes up from a drunken night of unprotected sex infected with the STD from hell.  Contracted also stars Caroline Williams, Matt Mercer, Katie Stegeman, and Simon Barrett.  At a recent LA press day for the film I sat down for an exclusive interview with England.  He talked about his favorite body horror films, casting Simon Barrett, creating convincing makeup effects on a limited budget, how he’s achieved so much as a filmmaker in so little time and more.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say. 

Now in select theaters and available on VOD is Eric England’s Contracted.  The viral body-horror film follows a young woman, Samantha (Najarra Townsend), after she wakes up from a drunken night of unprotected sex infected with the STD from hell.  Contracted also stars Caroline Williams, Matt Mercer, Katie Stegeman, and Simon Barrett.  At a recent LA press day for the film I sat down for an exclusive interview with Townsend.  She talked about what attracted her to the film, working with effects makeup, the scenes she was most nervous to tackle, shooting a film in fifteen days, her next film The Toy Soldiers and a lot more.  Check out what she had to say after the jump. 

October is a brilliant time of year to be a horror fan.  Suddenly your friends want to watch all your favorite movies, TV fills up with a regular schedule of bloodshed, haunted houses pop up all over the place…lots of good things are happening.  One of those things this year is FEARnet’s “Expedition: FEAR” a Friday night block at 10PM ET of foreign horror that brings focus to lesser known festival hits and international films.  And that’s fantastic, because some of the best horror out there is waiting just outside American borders.  After all, there’s a reason Hollywood is constantly mining foreign territories for the next remake.  It’s because, generally speaking, foreign horror kicks ass.  Unfortunately, a lot of people still aren’t on board with foreign cinema.  So if you count yourself among that number hit the jump to find out why international horror is so amazing and why you’re selling yourself short when you don’t give it a chance.

LA-based fans of the cult hit Trick ‘r Treat have an exciting opportunity to catch a one night only screening of the film on Monday, the 28^th, as the final feature in this year’s BeyondFest. Director Michael Dougherty and actors Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, and Quinn Lord, who played the film’s iconic character Sam, will be on hand to answer fan questions in a panel moderated by Seth Green. Best of all, the screening comes just in time to kick off Halloween week. However, if you’re a fan of the film and not a Los Angeles local, don’t despair! Legendary is bringing the fun to you with a national live stream of both the film’s screening and the subsequent Q&A via their Facebook page.  If you’re not familiar with the film I can’t encourage you enough to tune in, give it a watch, and get into the Halloween spirit.

In celebration of the screening I recently hopped on the phone for an exclusive interview with Dougherty. He talked about the satisfaction of seeing the film grow into a cult phenomenon, having an opportunity to watch it with an audience, the possibility of a sequel, what he loves about Halloween, his lifelong fascination with the holiday, structuring an anthology, how he pitches the film to new viewers, and a lot more. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Out on Blu-ray this week is Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States.  The twelve-part documentary series, co-created with American University professor Peter Kuznick, offers an alternative historical narrative by drawing focus to the scarcely remembered moments, forces, and figures that shaped the course of post-World War II America.  In celebration of the release, I recently participated in a small group interview with Stone.  Over the course of sixty minutes, he talked about the documentary series, the upcoming re-release of JFK, his past projects, and a whole lot more.

In this final segment Stone talks about the positive press Untold History has received, evolving his editing technique through the years, how socio-political critique has overshadowed his filmmaking, why he’s always developed his own scripts, what to expect from the JFK Blu-ray, the two unaired chapters of Untold History, and more.  Be sure to read the first and second segment with Stone here, and check out what he had to say in this latest installment after the jump.

Out on Blu-ray this week is Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States.  The twelve part documentary series, co-created with American University professor Peter Kuznick, offers an alternative historical narrative by drawing focus to the scarcely remembered moments, forces, and figures that shaped the course of post-World War II America.  In celebration of the release I recently participated in a small group interview with Stone.  Over the course of sixty minutes he talked about the documentary series, the upcoming re-release of JFK, his past projects, and a whole lot more.

In this second segment Stone talks about the controversy associated with his name, differentiating between skepticism and conspiracy, his hopes for the JFK re-release, the upcoming fourth cut of Alexander, reflecting on Salvador and Savages, thoughts on digital media, and more.  Find out what he had to say after the jump and check back this week for the final installment of the interview.  Click here to read the first installment.

Out on Blu-ray this week is Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States.  The twelve part documentary series, co-created with American University professor Peter Kuznick, offers an alternative historical narrative by drawing focus to the scarcely remembered moments, forces, and figures that shaped the course of post-World War II America.  In celebration of the release I recently participated in a small group interview with Stone.  Over the course of sixty minutes he talked about the documentary series, the upcoming re-release of JFK, his past projects, and a whole lot more.

In this first segment Stone talks about the appeal of making a documentary, the decision to integrate film clips throughout the series, the unique challenges and rewards of documentary filmmaking, how his approach differs as a dramatist and a documentarian, and more.  He also talked about the level of “fantasy violence” in modern films and why he thought the Breaking Bad finale was “ridiculous”.  Find out what he had to say after the jump and check back throughout the week for the next installments of the interview.

Now playing in limited release is We Are What We Are.  Based on the 2010 film Somos lo que hay, the film centers on The Parkers, a reclusive family with strong sense of tradition and a taste for human flesh.  Director Jim Mickle avoids the pitfalls of many American remakes by reinventing the film while staying true to the spirit of the original.  With a bit of gender swapping and a complete cultural transfusion Mickle has taken the core of an idea and fleshed it out into a film that is grotesque, beautiful, and entirely his own.  We Are What We Are stars Bill Sage, Julia Garner, Amber Childers, Kelly McGinnis, Michael Parks and Nick Damici.

Earlier this week I jumped on the phone for an exclusive interview with Mickle. He talked about what attracted him to the material, adapting a foreign film, his collaborative process with Damici, and creating a film with such a precise tone, and more. He also talked next film Cold in July. Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Opening in theaters this weekend is We Are What We Are.  Based on the 2010 film Somos lo que hay the film centers on the Parkers, a reclusive family with strong sense of tradition and a taste for human flesh.  Director Jim Mickle avoids the pitfalls of many American remakes by reinventing the film while staying true to the spirit of the original.  With a bit of gender swapping and a complete cultural transfusion Mickle has taken the core of an idea and fleshed it out into a film that is grotesque, beautiful, and entirely his own.  We Are What We Are stars Bill Sage, Julia Garner, Amber Childers, Kelly McGinnis, Michael Parks and Nick Damici.

Earlier this week I jumped on the phone for an exclusive interview with Garner.  She talked about how she got involved in the film, bonding with the cast during the shoot, working with Jim Mickle and more.  She also gave an update on her part in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

Available now on Blu-ray is Frankenstein’s Army.  The directorial debut from Richard Raaphorst takes the found footage approach and drops it in the middle of World War II following a group of Russian soldiers who stumble upon secret Nazi lab where the grandson of Mary Shelley’s Dr.  Frankenstein forges monsters out of man and machine.  The film unfolds like a funhouse of terrors as the soldiers go deeper into dangerous territory, uncovering new horrors at every turn.

In celebration of the film’s Blu-ray release I had the opportunity to sit down for an email interview with Raaphorst.  He talked about designing the film’s standout monsters, which one is his favorite, the challenges of directing his first feature film, why he chose the found footage format and more.  Check out what he had to say after the jump. 

Opening in theaters this weekend is James Wan’s Insidious: Chapter 2.  The follow-up to the 2011 surprise hit picks up exactly where the first left off.  Josh (Patrick Wilson) has returned from the Further feeling not quite himself, and when Renai (Rose Byrne) begins seeing familiar signs of the paranormal the Lambert family is thrust once more into a world of psychics, demons and ghosts.  Insidious: Chapter 2 also stars Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, and Ty Simpkins.

During a recent New York press day for the film I sat hopped on the phone for an interview with Whannell.  He talked about what he’s most excited for fans to see in the sequel, why he wanted to write it, his method for coming up with new scares, learning from Wan on set, working as writer and actor, and his upcoming film Cooties.  Check out what he had to say after the jump. 

Opening in theaters this weekend is James Wan’s Insidious: Chapter 2.  The follow-up to the 2011 surprise hit picks up exactly where the first left off.  Josh (Patrick Wilson) has returned from the Further feeling not quite himself, and when Renai (Rose Byrne) begins seeing familiar signs of the paranormal the Lambert family is thrust once more into a world of psychics, demons and ghosts.  Insidious: Chapter 2 also stars Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, and Ty Simpkins.

During a recent New York press day for the film I hopped on the phone for an interview with Shaye.  She talked about if she was surprised Elise was in the second film, the enthusiastic audience response to her character, building the character of Elise, the best acting advice she ever got, what’s up next and more.  Hit the jump to see what she had to say. 

Opening in theaters this weekend is James Wan’s Insidious: Chapter 2.  The follow-up to the 2011 surprise hit picks up exactly where the first left off with the Lambert family thrust into a world of psychics, demons and ghosts.  Insidious put an entirely original spin on the haunted house subgenre with its unique third act, and Chapter 2 digs deeper into that universe traveling further into the, well, Further and answering any last lingering fan questions.  Insidious: Chapter 2 stars Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, and Ty Simpkins.

A few weeks ago at a Los Angeles press day I got to sit down with producer Jason Blum for an exclusive interview.  He talked about bringing back the entire cast from the first film, the creative freedom of low-budget films, going where he’s needed as a producer, attracting  name actors to small genre projects, and more.  He also gave updates on Stretch and Mockingbird.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Opening in theaters this weekend is James Wan’s Insidious: Chapter 2.  The follow-up to the 2011 surprise hit picks up exactly where the first left off. Josh (Patrick Wilson) has returned from the Further feeling not quite himself, and when Renai (Rose Byrne) begins seeing familiar signs of the paranormal the Lambert family is thrust once more into a world of psychics, demons and ghosts. Insidious: Chapter 2 also stars Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, and Ty Simpkins.

During a recent New York press day I hopped on the phone for an interview with Wilson. He talked about working on his first sequel, playing multiple characters, what he’s learned from his collaborations with James Wan, wanting to get back on stage and more. He also gave an update on Joe Carnahan’s Stretch. Check out what he had to say after the jump.