BEST HORROR FILM
The Box
Drag Me to Hell
Frozen
The Last House on the Left
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Zombieland

BEST DVD TELEVISION RELEASE
Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead
Torchwood: Children of Earth
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season
Primeval, Volume 2
Lost: The Complete Fifth Season
Life on Mars: The Complete Series

2. THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT

Easily the most brilliant remake of the decade, and not just because the 1972 original was such a crapfest. This beautifully photographed — but hard to watch — movie is the standard by which all horror/suspense films should be judged: The acting is superior (Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul is especially fine), the story makes sense, and, most importantly, Last House’s moral compass points to true north. We don’t want these creeps back for six or eight sequels; they are monsters, and we want them dead. This film is on par with The Silence of the Lambs.

3. THE ROAD

Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the apocalypse comes to the screen with all its spare and deadly beauty intact. It’s often painful to watch (at my screening I actually heard the projectionist sobbing as the film neared its end), but Viggo Mortensen’s performance as the dedicated father is Oscar bait.

Hope everyone has a great time tonight and a fantastic year ahead.

See you in 2010!

_________________________________________________________________________________

The year started with Terminator promo and press tours. The show returned with the last nine episodes in the Friday slot in mid-February.

Later that month, Garret was spotted filming Winter’s Bone in Missouri. The film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in late January. If anyone plans on going, the Sundance screening schedule is here.

The Last House on the Left opened on March 13. The reviews ranged from excellent to free branding campaign and the film made it to several lists of best horrors of the year. In October, it won a Reaper Award for Best Theatrical Release in 2009.

Toward the end of the month, Garret played his fifth character on T:SCC, the Skynet virus from the future. Previous four were George Laszlo, Cromartie, the Beastwizard and John Henry.

In late March, the first pictures from Burning Bright appeared online. Burning Bright was later renamed to Ravenous and it still awaits theatrical release. In November, it was screened at the AFM. The first reviews were pretty positive.

In early April, Water Pills had its U.S. premiere at the Florida Film Festival. Jasmine Jessica Anthony walked away with a grand jury award for best performance.

Also in April, two series finales aired two days apart. Garret snuffed the TV crew and gave Damian Lewis his final headache in Life on April 8. Life season two was released on DVD on August 25.

The Terminator finale aired on April 10. Despite cancellation, the show made it to #8 on the list of  the Top 10 Most Pirated Shows in 2009. Last year, it was the only new show among the top 10, at #4.

In the meantime, Garret joined Delroy Lindo and Roslyn Ruff in Things of Dry Hours, a play by Naomi Wallace about communists in 1930s Alabama. Rehearsals started on April 21.

The first trailer for The Road hit the web on May 15.

On May 18, Fox announced that they would not be picking up Terminator for a third season. Even though there has been talk of a possible TV/DVD movie, Terminator rights are currently up for grabs and in limbo until February 2010.

On May 20, Garret appeared in the season finale of Criminal Minds.

Two days later, Things of Dry Hours went into previews at the New York Theatre Workshop. The show premiered on June 8 and ran through June 28. Critics liked the cast, but were divided on the writing.

At some point over the spring/summer, Garret was cast in Madeleine Stowe’s Unbound Captives, an independent western epic with Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson. If they get financing in time, the film will go into production in March (at the earliest).

In late July and early August, Garret filmed two TV guest appearances,  on CSI and Lie to Me, and a short film, One Night Only.

The Last House on the Left was released on DVD in mid-August.

Later that month, Garret was spotted filming the season three finale of Burn Notice. The episode will air in March 2010.

The trailer for One Night Only was released on September 2.

On September 3, The Road had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Ten days later, it was screened in Toronto.

Terminator: The Complete Season Two was released on DVD on September 22.

On September 24, the CSI season 10 premiere aired. “Family Affair” is one of the five hours of television nominated for an ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) Award this year.

Speaking of CSI, in a fine display of Terminator fanboyism, the last episode before the break, Better off Dead, had a bunch of people stealing Cromartie’s music and killing each other. Also, a killer described as a Terminator.

On October 13, Oliver Sherman, an independent drama with Molly Parker and Donal Logue, went into production in North Bay. The film will most likely premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2010, but Canadians might get an early screening in the spring.

On October 21st, Garret appeared on Lie to Me.

And two days later, on Law & Order: SVU.

The Road finally saw its U.S. premiere at AFI fest in early November. On Thanksgiving, it got a limited release. Even though the film has been vastly overlooked in the early awards season, the reviews were mostly positive and it scored a few acting nods (Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall, Kodi Smit-McPhee) from several critics’ societies (Broadcast Film Critics, Utah Film Critics, St. Louis Film Critics).

On November 13, Garret appeared on White Collar.

And the next day, One Night Only had its premiere in New York.

In November, Garret was cast in two new projects. The comedy pilot Keep Hope Alive, with Martha Plimpton, Cloris Leachman and Lucas Neff, was filmed earlier this month. If it gets picked up, it will be aired in the 2010/11 season.

The other project, John Sayles’ film Baryo, starts shooting in February in the Philippines. The crew is already there, building the set and preparing for the shoot. You can follow the updates on the new production blog, at johnsaylesbaryo.blogspot.com.

And that about wraps it up. If 2010 is even half as eventful, it will be another excellent year.

The announcement came at a red carpet gala awards dinner and cocktail party at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 13. The 2009 Reaper Awards were presented by Home Media Magazine and DreadCentral.com. (…)

The Best Slasher Award went to two recipients this year, Laid to Rest from Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Last House on the Left from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/MGM.

Reaper Awards 2009 Winners:

Best of Show
Hellraiser Box Set, Anchor Bay Entertainment

Best DTV Release
Alien Raiders, Warner Home Video

Best Packaging
Hellraiser Box Set, Anchor Bay Entertainment

Best Boxed Set or TV Series
Dexter: The Complete Third Season, Paramount Home Entertainment/CBS/Showtime

Best Re-release
Friday the 13th: Deluxe Editions (Parts 1-6), Paramount Home Entertainment

Best Blu-ray Disc
Ghostbusters, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Indie/Foreign
[REC], Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Theatrical
The Last House on the Left (2009), Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Best Zombie
Quarantine, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Slasher
The Last House on the Left (1972), 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/MGM

Best Slasher
Laid to Rest, Anchor Bay Entertainment

Best Ghost Story
The Haunting in Connecticut, Lionsgate

Best Vampire/Werewolf
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Re-mastering
Hellraiser, Anchor Bay Entertainment

Lifetime Achievement
Michael Felsher, Red Shirt Pictures [Press release]

Q: How is Krug different in this movie to the villain in the 1972 version?

A: Times have changed, and I wanted my guy to be more of a rageaholic, without the drug influence. And the father angle is explored further in this movie as well.

Q: Krug must be one of the most horrific characters you have ever played.

A: Yes, but I also felt sorry for him. I know people who are angry at what life has handed them – albeit not to that extreme – and take it out on everyone around them.

Q: And it’s even more tragic here due to the fact that he also has a kid…

A: And a good kid who, despite Krug, is kind of normal and ultimately does what is right, so it’s tragic that he doesn’t have a proper father.

Q: So, your character is multi-layered then?

A: That’s what I liked about him. His complexity made my job interesting.

Q: It seems that as an actor you like to challenge yourself with very different roles, going from one extreme to another…

A: I know, but I thought that’s what we were supposed to do as actors: one day you are the king and the next you are the beggar. I feel a sense of accomplishment if I can pull off a character that is very far from me or from the last character I played. It’s important to me.

Q: When you think of a villain that has impressed you on screen, which film comes to mind?

A: I really like Terrence Malick’s BADLANDS because that villain – a serial killer – is very interesting.

To read the whole thing, go here.

The Last House on the Left was released on DVD and Blu-ray a couple of weeks ago. The region 2 DVD will be out on October 19.

The Road will premiere in Venice on September 3. That’s tomorrow. It will then be shown 10 days later (Sept. 13 & 14) in the Special Presentations program at the Toronto Film Festival. The listing is here. There are also rumours that it will be screened at Telluride (Sept. 4-7) so if you are in the Colorado area, keep an eye on the festival’s official site. The film opens wide on October 16.

Oliver Sherman starts filming in about a month. A couple of weeks ago, they were still casting a whole bunch of characters.  The casting call is here.

On the TV front…

Life: Season Two was released on DVD on August 25. You can find a review and the DVD details here.

The Burn Notice season three finale will air some time in March. Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly describes Garret’s character  as a “scary-smart new client of Michael’s (Jeffrey Donovan) — and perhaps the first person to outsmart him.”

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles might still return as a movie. Here is what Thomas Dekker told the TV Addict the other day: “They’ve spoken about doing a TV movie. Well, not a TV movie, but kind of like a direct-to-DVD movie. Obviously it’s difficult because the show is based on a movie and they just had one come out, so it’s kind of hard to make a movie with our show because everyone has kind of forgotten about us. But they’re hoping, at least when I spoke to [Producer] James Middleton that’s where they are with it.”

The teaser for the CSI season premiere is online, as well as the press release and some pics from the episode (of Jorja Fox mostly). The show returns on September 24.

More updates as they come.

Presentation

Widescreen 1.85:1/16×9
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
Spanish DTS 5.1
French DTS 5.1

Subtitles

English
Spanish
French
Closed-captioned

Supplements Subtitles

English
French
Spanish

Runtime

Original Theatrical Version: 110 min.
Unrated Edition: 114 min.
Price: $39.98

Release Date: 8/18/2009

Bonus features

Both Theatrical and Unrated Cuts of the Film
Deleted Scenes
“A Look Inside” Featurette
Digital Copy

The Last House on the Left

Blu-rayTM Hi-Def: LIMITED TIME ONLY!

Experience pure terror in perfect picture and purest digital sound available! Available for a limited time only, the 2-disc Blu-ray version plays on your Blu-ray player or Playstation® 3 and includes exclusive additional features!

• DIGITAL COPY OF THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT unrated: Transfer the included digital copy to your iPod, Mac or PC and experience The Last House on the Left anywhere, anytime!
• BD-LIVETM: Access the BD-LiveTM Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers, and more!

• MY SCENES SHARING: Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage, then share with your buddies via BD-LiveTM.

BONUS FEATURES ( DVD and BLU- RAY ™ HI-DEF):

• DELETED SCENES
• A LOOK INSIDE – FEATURETTE

Technical Specs

• BD-50 Blu-ray
  Digital Copy

Video Resolution/Codec

• 1080p/TBA

Aspect Ratio(s)

• 1.85:1

Audio Formats

• English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles/Captions

• English, French, Spanish

Supplements

• Deleted scenes
  A Look Inside

Exclusive HD Content

• BD-live
• My Scenes

Also, since the site is getting a lot of hits from people looking for Last House screencaps, I’ve added a few to the gallery pages at these links: LHOTL caps page one, LHOTL caps page two. Scroll down for a few of the pics. They will be replaced with high resolution ones once the DVD is out. You can preorder the DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon by following the links below:

Finally, some Krug for those spiderbots:

About the big death of season 2.0 on Terminator:

First question is how did you feel when it turned out to be you?

Garret Dillahunt: I was nervous at first. None of us knew at Comic Con. We were all being really cool about our new show and then they were like, “One of these people will die.” And you were like, “What?” It was like the last supper all of a sudden. Is it I? Is it I, lord? Then it was me but then they told me also right away that I’d be this different thing which hadn’t completely evolved yet. I was kind of sad because I liked Cromartie. I liked playing Cromartie. I liked the simplicity and the directness of him and getting to do all those cool things, but John Henry’s going to be pretty cool.

So did it occur to you, as it did me, that you were the one character who could still be alive via his exterior?

Garret Dillahunt: Exactly, really could it be killed? Was he ever alive? But I’m happy about it. Now I get to be this sort of super powered baby turned loose in the world.

How is this totally new character for you?

Garret Dillahunt: Well, I’m getting anxious to get out of that computer room. They clip this thing into my head, this chord and you feel very limited but I understand the necessity for it. He’s got to learn so much he’s sucking all this information out of the internet and the world and television, just cramming his head full of this stuff and trying to understand what it is to be human. So I think the opportunity is kind of limitless. It’s an interesting way for the writers to explore what it is to be a human almost.

Do you know what kind of big finale we can expect this season?

Garret Dillahunt: I don’t. I wish they’d tell me. They just handed me some talking points. I think it changes too. I think they have an idea of what they wanna do and then it’ll evolve into something slightly different by the time we get there. It’s kind of like how Deadwood was because I remember David would come up to me like, “Yeah, then your character and the Doc are going to have this whole relationship and you’re going to talk about Catullus.” I’m like, “What happened to that? I never saw that.” Oh, well, it didn’t work out. It’s a little bit like that. They have so many things they’re trying to tie up that some things fall by the wayside.

About The Road:

What do you play in The Road?

Garret Dillahunt: Well, no one has names. I don’t know if you read the book. I loved it. Some of the scenes are harrowing but it was so beautiful too. In a way, the world has been so pared down, it’s a very simple story and it raises a lot of questions about what you would do in that situation. It’s kind of like Terminator in a way. But no one has names. Viggo Mortensen plays The Man. Cody Smit-McPhee plays The Boy. So it’s The Man and The Boy moving through the world and they meet The Old Man, The Thief, The Woman. No one has names, no one uses them. I played The Gang Member. We meet up sort of in the first quarter of the novel. I make some decisions about Viggo and I decide that he’s weak and I can take from him what I want and we have a fight about that.

So we’ll see you and Viggo with supplies?

Garret Dillahunt: Oh yeah, that’s what the whole story’s about. You’ll see. It’s just like an endless search. It’s like we’re animals who are pawing through the snow for some grass. The search for food never stops. The search for food motivates all actions in the movie from the bad guys and the good guys.

And about The Last House on the Left:

That’s the question. Is it as hardcore as the original?

Garret Dillahunt: I don’t know if it’ll be seen as being as hardcore because that was something new at the time. There’s something about that story that’s also very primal. I think people f*cking with your family is a real primal thing that happens to all of us. The most mild mannered of us can vision real violence if someone threatens our families or people we love. It’s like what am I capable of? Maybe I’ve never been in a fight in my life but I’m not going to rest until I’m dead to try to stop you from doing something to my family. It thrusts this normal group of people into that very situation. I think there’s a lot of sympathy for Krug in a way. You can see how life has frustrated him but he’s taken it out the wrong way. But the end result, which I think is rare in a horror movie, I really cared about the victims, but you really care about this family which is odd. I didn’t know that it was odd until it happened when I saw it. It left me feeling mugged and beat up. I felt tired after I’d seen it. It’s just relentless cruelty and tension, just relentless tension. It went by really fast and it’s tested really well. The audience has been skeptical too because there’s been a lot of people who are fans of the original that thought this was a horrible idea. I don’t think they’ll be disappointed.

Sounds like they went for it.

Garret Dillahunt: Yeah, boy, ugh. There are some scenes you’re just like why? What’s the purpose of that?

You weren’t sure how it would go over now, since we’ve seen so much. Did they have to up it, because that rape scene is still so awful you feel bad for watching it.

Garret Dillahunt: Well, I think that’s the most important thing. You’ll see a lot more blood in Saw movies or something like that than you will in either of the Last House movies. I kind of think it owes more to The Virgin Spring which is the original source material, the Bergman movie. There’s a scene in there where these shepherds have raped this girl and then they’re sort of horrified by what they’ve done. One of them kicks some dirt, like he can’t take the face. He sort of shovels some dirt and there’s just this dirt on her face. She’s in this awkward position and it’s just so pale, and half under a bush. There’s an emptiness about the movie that’s different. I don’t even know if it’s a horror movie is what you should call it. I don’t know what it is.