Category Archives: Fantasy

It’s Happening Again: A Backbrain Exclusive

It happened before and now it’s happening again! Yes, from what is rapidly becoming the main enclave for the production of B-movie remakes, Franklin, Indiana, comes the news that the crapfest classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (US-1964; dir. Nicholas … Continue reading

Posted in Cinema of the Backbrain, Fantasy, Film, News, Remake, Robots | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Lost with Monsters on a Mysterious Island

A Backbrain Exclusive Lost Island [aka L’île: les naufragés de la terre perdue; The Island: Castaways of the Lost Island] is a new French adventure fantasy film from writer/director Olivier Boillot, released in mid-2011 in France and hopefully heading for … Continue reading

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Old Fairy Tales Re-Told: Jack the Giant Killer

Having just watched the very excellent Norwegian found-footage giant monster film Trolljegeren [aka The Troll Hunter] (Norway-2010; dir. André Ovredal), which postulates the continuing existence of traditional trolls — straight from folktales, with bulbous noses and all — and an … Continue reading

Posted in Animation, Fantasy, Film, Giant Monsters, Remake, Trailers | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Curse of the Phantom Shadow

An entirely understandable passion for 1940s pulp adventure/crime fiction culture has inspired filmmaker Mark Ross to undertake the always daunting task of making a movie of his own, intended to capture the style and aesthetic qualities of such influences as: … Continue reading

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News: The Dinosaur Project

Billed as “the most exciting dinosaur action movie since Jurassic Park!”, The Dinosaur Project is a UK CGI-driven “lost world”-type adventure thriller. It’s directed by Sid Bennett, whose resumé includes the semi-fictional prehistoric TV documentary series, Prehistoric Park (2006) — in … Continue reading

Posted in Dinosaurs, Fantasy, Film, Giant Monsters, Monsters in general, News | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Exclusive: An Invasion of Russian Spores

Maksim Dyachuk is a young independent Russian filmmaker. He’s virtually unknown in the industry worldwide, but that may change in the near future if ambition and talent have anything to do with it. Taking his cue from Gareth Edwards (who … Continue reading

Posted in Fantasy, Film, Horror, Independent film, Monsters in general, News, Teaser | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Laputa: Castle in the Sky [original title: Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta] (Japan-1986; dir. Hayao Miyazaki Reviewed by Robert Hood There is a distinctly steampunk — or perhaps more accurately retro, post-Industrial — aesthetic  to Hayao Miyazaki’s typically luminous fantasy anime, … Continue reading

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Looks Like a Conan Movie to Me!

Things have been busy lately, and I haven’t been able to keep the Undead Backbrain properly fed. Lots of good things coming soon, but in the meantime, there’s this newly released trailer for Conan the Barbarian (US-2011; dir. Marcus Nispel). … Continue reading

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Weekend Fright Flick: Oceaniden

Oceaniden (Denmark-2010; short [8:12 min] dir. Gorm Just) This weekend’s Fright Flick harks from Denmark and features a particular cryptozoological favourite — a hybridisation of Man and Fish. In the past, mummified merfolk have been a standard attraction at traveling … Continue reading

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The Age of Dragons is Here!

Once upon a time, when we first reported on it, Age of Dragons was called Dragon Fire (see previous Backbrain article). Based on Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick, it translates the 19th Century setting of the novel into a land-based … Continue reading

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