Movie: Blood: The Last Vampire (2009)

“In 1970, the four hundred year-old skilled samurai Saya is sent to the Kanto High School in an American military base in Tokyo by the Council, a secret society that has been hunting vampires for centuries. Saya has the appearance of a teenager but is the tormented half-breed creature with the soul of her human father and the powers and need of blood of her vampire mother. She is obsessed to face the powerful demon Onigen that killed her father. In the base, Saya saves Alice McKee, who is the daughter of General McKee and commander of the base, from the attack of several vampires. When General McKee is killed by a member of the Council, Alice runs to the hotel where Saya is lodged. They join forces and go to the countryside to chase Onigen. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil”

• Director: Chris Nahon
• Release Date:
  29 May 2009 (Japan)
• Run Time:
  91 min
• Country: Hong Kong , Japan , France , Argentina
• Genre: Action , Horror , Thriller
• MPAA:
  Rated R for strong bloody stylized violence.

Tagline: Where evil grows she preys

Goofs: Anachronisms: US military personnel are shown using Beretta M9s (US Military designation of the civilian Model 92F/FS, etc) which were not issued as sidearms for the US Military in 1970. The 92 wasn’t designed until 2 years after this movie is set, and the side arm wasn’t issued till 1990.

“Norma and Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger, delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don’t know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity. Written by Warner Bros. Pictures”

• Director: Richard Kelly
• Release Date:
  6 November 2009 (USA)
• Run Time:
  115 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Drama , Horror , Mystery , Sci-Fi , Thriller
• MPAA:
  Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some violence and disturbing images.

Tagline: You Are The Experiment

Trivia: On the commentary of Tony Scott’s Domino (2005), Richard Kelly outright dismissed shooting a 1970s period piece with a digital camera. But after seeing David Fincher’s Zodiac (2007/I), Kelly’s position quickly changed and he was quoted saying, “It can be done.”

Goofs: Anachronisms: When footage is shown of the Langley Research Center we can see a fuselage of an A-320, an aircraft not built until 1989.

“In 1972, a scale of measurement was established for alien encounters. When a UFO is sighted, it is called an encounter of the first kind. When evidence is collected, it is known as an encounter of the second kind. When contact is made with extraterrestrials, it is the third kind. The next level, abduction, is the fourth kind. Modern-day, Alaska, where-mysteriously since the 1960s-a disproportionate number of the population has been reported missing every year. Despite multiple FBI investigations of the region, the truth has never been discovered. Here in this remote region, psychologist Dr. Abigail Tyler began videotaping sessions with traumatized patients and unwittingly discovered some of the most disturbing evidence of alien abduction ever documented. The Fourth Kind exposes the terrified revelations of multiple witnesses. Their accounts of being visited by alien figures all share disturbingly identical details, the validity of which is investigated throughout the film. Written by Anonymous”

• Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi
• Release Date:
  6 November 2009 (USA)
• Run Time:
  98 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Horror , Mystery , Sci-Fi , Thriller
• MPAA:
  Rated PG-13 for violent/disturbing images, some terror, thematic elements and brief sexuality.

Tagline: There are four kinds of alien encounters. The fourth kind is abduction.

Trivia: The real Nome is 51% native American, but there are no indigenous characters in the film (at least not stated to be).

Goofs: Continuity: When Abby is packing the suitcase to leave town, every time she turns around to grab clothes from the closet and put them into the suitcase; the suitcase is empty.

“Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw’s legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw’s grand scheme is finally understood. Written by Anonymous”

• Director: Kevin Greutert
• Release Date:
  23 October 2009 (USA)
• Run Time:
  90 min
• Country: Canada , USA , UK , Australia
• Genre: Crime , Horror , Mystery , Thriller
• MPAA:
  Rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, and language.

Tagline: The Game Comes Full Circle

Trivia: The movie contains storylines that are fully explained in Saw (2009) (VG).

Goofs: Continuity: When Hoffman raises the lid to the glass box after escaping the Crushing Room, the blood remains on the lid in a fixed pattern, showing it is dry, even though it was only spurted on to it seconds before.

“The horror comedy Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus is a big wuss — but when you’re afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee is an AK-toting, zombie-slaying’ bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita and Little Rock, who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies. Written by Columbia Pictures”

• Director: Ruben Fleischer
• Release Date:
  2 October 2009 (USA)
• Run Time:
  88 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Action , Comedy , Horror
• MPAA:
  Rated R for horror violence/gore and language.

Tagline: This place is so dead

Trivia: Started off in written form as pilot for television. After the idea came to make the script a feature film, the script was revised and changed, and the feature film was approved for production.

Goofs: Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): At the beginning of the film, Columbus states that he is making his way from his dorm room in Austin to Columbus. However, in a later flashback, it is obvious he lives in an apartment, not a dormitory.

“Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague — The Infected — lurk in the shadows… watching Neville’s every move… waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind’s last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered… and quickly running out of time. Written by Warner Bros. Pictures”

• Director: Francis Lawrence
• Release Date:
  14 December 2007 (USA)
• Run Time:
  101 min
• Country: USA
• Genre: Drama , Horror , Sci-Fi , Thriller
• MPAA:
  Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.

Tagline: The last man on earth is not alone

Trivia: The scenes at the Brooklyn Bridge involved over 1000 extras and various military vehicles and aircraft.

Goofs: Continuity: If you look out of the car window on the driver’s side (at roughly the 3:18 mark) just after Neville grabs his gun, you will see a silver and red car parked (silver on left, red on right). Neville continues driving down the road and away from the parked cars, but at around the 4:00 mark, when you get another clear shot out his window (over his shoulder), you can see the same two cars parked, yet he is not in the same area where they first appeared.

“After a young, middle class couple moves into a suburban ’starter’ tract house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be somehow demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially when they sleep. Or try to. Written by Paramount Pictures”

• Director: Oren Peli
• Release Date:
  16 October 2009 (USA)
• Run Time:
  86 min | 99 min (extended version)
• Country: USA
• Genre: Horror , Mystery , Thriller
• MPAA:
  Rated R for language.

Tagline: What Happens When You Sleep?

Trivia: Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat were reportedly paid just US$500 for acting in Paranormal Activity. But due to the success of the film, the director, Katie and Micah are now renegotiating the amount.

Goofs: Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Off camera, you can hear Katie punch in the code to turn off the alarm downstairs while the camera is focused on Micah sleeping.