Unfortunately, this is not a joke. Torture porn wizard Eli Roth is teaming up with Universal Studios to create a Hostel-inspired maze that, according to the press release, will “re-imagine the film’s dehumanizing torture chambers and send guests on a spiraling journey through the corrupt halls of Elite Hunting’s torture factory.” Roth helps “flesh” things out a bit: “People will have a chance to experience some exact moments from their favorite Hostel scenes, along with some new surprises.” Eeep!
As a commenter over at Entertainment Weekly points out, Universal has previously created mazes based on Saw, House of 1000 Corpses, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so while this doesn’t sound like much fun to us, evidently it makes some gore-hounds out there very happy. If you happen to be one of those people (no judgment), grab a ball gag and head to the park from September 23 and through Halloween night.
1. Patti Smith won a National Book Award last night for her fantastic memoir Just Kids, and in her acceptance speech urged the crowd “never abandon the book, no matter how much we advance technologically.” Jaimy Gordon surprised many by winning the fiction prize for Lord of Misrule, which is set at a rundown horse track in West Virginia. [via USA Today]
2. Writer and producer Christopher Gambale — who pitched MTV a treatment for a reality show called Guidos back in 2006 — says the network stole his idea for Jersey Shore. [via Gatecrasher]
3. Pavement will appear on an upcoming episode of the Food Network’s Ace of Cakes in a segment that was taped at one of their Central Park shows. [via P4K]
4. Eli Roth has signed on to produce a horror project called Clown that is based on fake viral trailer that was attributed to him. [via Collider]
5. Steve Wozniak says that while the iPhone has “very few weak points,” Android will be the dominant smartphone platform. [via Engadget]
Bonus link: 100 Fab Beatles Facts
Today at Flavorpill, we rediscovered five vintage Apple products that time forgot. We learned how not to treat your ex when you’re both appearing on national TV. We liked the idea of a Jonathan Demme-directed adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. We tried to figure out whether this frightening trailer for Eli Roth’s Clown is real or fake — either way, it’s terrifying. We wondered what kind of Jedi mind control Michelle Obama has over the fashion industry. We watched a bridge in Toronto get demolished. We wanted to take a bite out of the world’s largest toast portrait until we found out that it’s a picture of someone’s mother-in-law. We were rather uninspired by the name of Conan’s new band: Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band. And finally we said a sad goodbye to Happy Days star Tom Bosley. He was always one of our favorite TV dads.
The Exorcist series is considered one of the scariest film-franchises of all time. Eli Roth, with his torture-porn Hostel series, is considered one of the most grotesque filmmakers of all time. In August of this year, their powers combine with the release of The Last Exorcism. Judging from the trailer, which slightly resembles The Blair Witch Project with its use of first-person shots and shaky camera work, this installment looks scary, but not from using a plethora of jump-around-the-corner-surprise-scary scenes that lazy horror flicks tend to depend on.
Whenever someone says there’s “Nothing to be nervous about,” like Reverend Cotton Marcus does to the demon-possessed girl in this film, there usually is.
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The opening sequence of Antichrist is an oscillation between, “oh, isn’t this lovely” and, “oh c’mon, give me a break.” In many ways, it’s a fractal for the remainder of the picture, as well as Lars Von Trier‘s entire career to date. Every frame in the destined-to-be-debated Antichrist might sever audience reactions more precisely than its notorious scissor wielding sequence, but there is no denying its visual appeal. It has a video-game-like clarity that pushes digital to a place celluloid snobs never dreamed it could breach. But while the images are breathtaking, the content is often cheesy, overwrought, and borders on parody.
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