In more news to make you envy those SXSW attendees, the first image from Gareth Edwards’ Monsters has emerged. The film will be making its premiere at the Austin film festival–featured in the Midnighters lineup and feels vaguely like District-9. The story revolves around a journalist leading a tourist through an infected zone between Mexico and the United States. The infected are people who have come into contact with a crashed NASA space probe six years ago. Do we have some extra-terrestrials on our hands?

There isn’t a lot floating around yet about Monsters, but the image shows a traveler looking at a map of the infected zone. This may be the only still from the film since Edwards has expressed that he wants to show the picture “cold”, with no trailers or other previews. Egads!

SXSW rolls out on March 12. For more info on the festival, go here, but note the changes to Eli Roth’s exorcism flick over here. Learn more about Edwards’ work in the video below. If you watch BBC at all you’ll recognize his past television features.

Check out the first still from Monsters on Twitch.

Follow along with the adventures of Jack Spade in John Johnson’s new web series, Spade. The CEO of Darkstone Entertainment and director of the Plan 9 from Outer Space remake (Plan 9) has chronicled the life and shenanigans of hero Jack Spade in this audience participation friendly show.

Jack Spade once saved the world, much to the chagrin of the Masonic Church of Rome. Now, forgotten by his peers, and left to his own devices for the last fifteen years, he is asked to once again to save humanity. But this time, he is not the chosen one. He is summoned to keep the woman he loves, Leena, alive.

If you want to play along, just watch each episode and vote for what you want to see happen next. After each episode airs you have 72 hours to vote on how you want the story to unfold. The newest episode will be posted at the top of the page every other Thursday for the remainder of 2010.

Episode one is right here, so check it out. Is the choose what happens next format a burden in this case or did Johnson fare well with it?

Director siblings Tyler and Dennie Meyer have crafted what they are describing as part 30’s jungle adventure, part 80’s slasher and part 70’s Bigfoot documentary in their contribution to the Sasquatchploitation genre, The Legend of Grassman.

Since Dread Central has already provided the weed/Woody Harrelson jokes, I’ll refrain (dammit), but you can check out the low-budget flick’s trailer below for more details. The film is based on the legend of the Grassman, which is the nickname of a creature reportedly sighted in Ohio.

The directors recently spoke to Monster Island News and had this to say about their creature feature:

“When it came to Bigfoot, which has been done to death in movies, we took our inspiration from our childhoods. We were kids in the 70’s and grew up on stuff like ‘The Legend of Boggy Creek’ and ‘In Search Of…’ That stuff was freaky. And it was absolutely real to us. And that’s what we decided to try and capture with our film, the ‘real’ Bigfoot. We watched a lot of 70’s Bigfoot films, horror films, documentaries, mockumentaries and also immersed ourselves in Bigfoot folklore.”

“The film is kind of a mixture of a 1930’s jungle adventure, a 1980’s slasher movie, and a 1970’s Bigfoot documentary. The films that have influenced us on this project come from all different eras and genres, but early on Dennis and I focused on Jaws as the type of movie we wanted to emulate. Our prior horror efforts, including Consumed are dark, grim tales, which we enjoy, but didn’t feel that tone was what we wanted in a Bigfoot film. We agreed that Jaws had a good balance or horror, comedy, and adventure which we are attempting to capture.”

The world really needs an amazing Bigfoot movie. Can this one pull it off or are we getting more of the same old schlock? You’ll be seeing The Legend of Grassman during the festival circuit this fall.

Drew Daywalt is hard at work in the Fear Factory and has released his latest horror short, There’s No Such Thing.

The film is under four minutes and is a tale about the bedtime ritual a mother and daughter share. If you’ve seen Daywalt’s other shorts, then you know this seemingly sweet story will turn creepy fast. Check it out below and let me know what you think.

I heard nothing but good reviews about Splice after it screened at the Sundance Film Festival. There was talk about the feature going straight to DVD and getting a limited theatrical release but the film, directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube), looks like it may be getting picked up by Joel Silver’s Dark Castle label, with the promise of a 3,000 screen release!

Deadline recently reported that Dark Castle is in the final closing stages of a distribution deal for Splice and if it pans out, “it will give the film a wide summer release on 3,000 screens and a P&A commitment north of $25 million, more likely in the vicinity of $35 million to $40 million.”

Splice stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as two scientists who splice human and animal DNA to create a beautiful but deadly creature. The film was getting buried for a while because of budget issues, so it’s nice to see things finally take off for Natali.

Is anyone else looking forward to seeing this one as much as I am?

Lionsgate won the battle to distribute the Eli Roth produced film, The Last Exorcism. If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard of this one before–well, you have. They renamed the film, which was previously titled, Cotton. Personally, I’m not a fan of either title, but I’ll still curious to see the faux documentary feature about a disillusioned minister who lets a film crew record his his last exorcism.

“After a career spent helping the devout through prayer and trickery, Rev. Cotton Marcus invites a film crew to document his final fraudulent days as an exorcist. Soon his faith is truly tested when a desperate plea from the father of a possessed girl brings him face to face with the devil himself.”

The film was slated to make its premiere at the SXSW festival in Austin, but Roth announced on Twitter last night that it would not be there. “We love SXSW, but this is a distributor decision until a release date’s finalized. They were really cool and happy for us. Thank you SXSW!” Cinematical’s Scott Weinberg will be moderating a horror panel attended by Roth as well as his buddy, Quentin Tarantino, to name a few.

The Last Exorcism is directed by Daniel Stamm and stars Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum and Caleb Landry Jones.

Image: Bauer-Griffin

Yeah, I’m one of those immature idiots who giggles every time I see the word rapeseed listed on the ingredients of something. It’s really just a form of canola oil that contains all the good-for-your-body omega fatty acids. Apparently in Koldo Serra’s new film Perros Muertos (Dead Dogs), rapeseed oil is a catalyst for a zombie outbreak.

Cocacolo is a petty criminal who robs a bank and then flees south. At the same time a family is leaving Northern Spain for the holidays. The group ends up meeting and banding together against a group of zombies that have arisen due to the locals’ consumption of adulterated rapeseed oil.

The screenplay for Perros Muertos is already complete so we’ll be hearing more about this one in the near future, according to Variety. The zombie action flick has a budget of roughly 4.8 million and is being produced by Nava Entertainment. Serra previously directed the Gary Oldman feature, Backwoods, which has a Deliverance or Straw Dogs kind of feel to it.

Until we can get some official art on this one, enjoy these Russian zombie dog videos. The diagram with an illustrated dog head is really great!

Behold–Marcus’ review of the post-Apocalyptic adventure game, Darksiders.

“This is the way the world ends; Not with a bang but a whimper.” T.S. Eliot said that. He was wrong.

As anyone who’s played Darksiders (inaugural offering from new kids on the block Vigil Games) knows, it ends with a blitzkrieg of flaming meteors and warring angels and demons. And we get front row seats, watching the carnage unfold through the eyes of War (of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse fame), who is understandably irked at being blamed for prematurely triggering Judgement Day. This glorious reign of destruction is soon brought to a halt, however, as War is bested and sent kicking and screaming back to the Underworld, where he is stripped of his powers and placed on trial for crimes he may (or may not) have committed.

It’s clear from the outset that Vigil games are fully committed to turning this new IP into a franchise. With a detailed back-story and fully fleshed out characters it’s easy to become immersed in the world. The story is penned by comic writer/artist Joe Madureira (aka Joe Mad), and concerns the ongoing war between Heaven and Hell, which results in the aforementioned Apocalypse and War’s plight. Answering to the Charred Council (independent from Heaven and Hell), War is afforded the opportunity to prove his innocence and punish those responsible. It’s not all plain sailing, however, as War is partnered with ‘The Watcher,’ a devious little demon tasked with scrutinising his every move (an excellent turn from Mark Hamill, who does his best not to slip into Joker mode). The Watcher also acts as a game guide, supplying timely hints when the way forward becomes unclear (although they’re not always helpful).

Joe’s comic book background becomes apparent as we return to the land of the living, to find the place surprisingly bright and colorful. It’s a bold choice for a post-Apocalyptic adventure, but one which works, breathing life into the environments and characters. Also worthy of note is the game’s scope – it takes a good twenty+ hours to complete. Combat has been likened to hack and slash, but to the game’s credit it’s more involved than that, integrating various upgrades and finishing moves that keep the battles interesting. Some of the problem-solving works less well, as it can slow the pace and break momentum, but in the main the Tomb Raider-style switch-pulling is handled well.

It’s clear from Darksiders that Vigil understands what makes an entertaining game. The player is constantly rewarded with new gaming mechanisms (the ability to ride Ruin, War’s battle steed, is an excellent example) and the boss battles are both epic and original. With outstanding graphics and voice acting, not to mention an engaging story and exciting combat, it’s hard to believe this is a debut title. Darksiders is fun, plain and simple, and with the exception of a few minor frustrations remains so throughout.

It’s worth noting that it ends by setting up the inevitable sequel. It seems the end of the world isn’t as final as we’d been led to believe.

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Vigil Games

Genre(s): Action, Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: January 5, 2010

Follow Marcus on Twitter @TheShape | XBL Gamertag: TheShapeLives

Image: Vigil Games

Peter Briggs is up to his ears in supernatural ooze. He’s currently working on Mortis Rex, which tells the story of a disgraced Roman war hero who comes face to face with an otherworldly beast. Last week we learned that the Hellboy co-writer is gearing up for Panzer 88, a character-driven, supernatural thriller–this one set inside a German King Tiger fleeing Russia during World War II. The soldiers also happen to be fleeing a centuries-old, malevolent creature that has other plans for them.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Briggs, who divulged further details on Panzer 88’s story and talked about his directorial vision and influences. He also shared two storyboard drawings which you can check out below.

Are you looking forward to making the transition from writing to directing?

Upon hearing that there was a new film titled, Exquisite Corpse, I was excited to think that someone was bringing Poppy Z. Brite’s novel of the same name to the big screen. When watching the trailer I was met with something entirely different. Scott David Russell’s film starring Steve Sandvoss, Nicole Vicius, Guillermo Diaz, Tessa Thompson, and Larry Cedar, will be playing later this month at the EFM (European Film Market) and has nothing to do with a homosexual serial killer, cannibal, necrophiliac (not quite). Dammit.

Nicholas is a young neuroscientist who is obsessed with two things. He discovered a serum that can bring dead lab rats back to life and he’s madly in love with his friend Sophia, who he brings to a cabin in the woods so he can confess his true feelings. When she responds in turn, things couldn’t be better, until she accidentally drowns in a lake and Nicholas is devastated. Apparently he’s so devastated that he decides it would be a grand idea to use the serum he invented on Sophia. He tests the serum on a girl who is supposed to be a prostitute, but looks more like an American Apparel model, and it works. When he finally brings Sophia back to life, he realizes that something is not quite right. She keeps dying (a true necrophiliac’s wet dream!). Nicholas has to keep killing in order to keep Sophia alive, but as all Gothic love stories end tragically, you can pretty much guess the outcome on this one.

Check out the trailer below and let me know what you think.