Three Dimensions of Terror

[Rue Morgue contributor and 3-D expert Jason Pichonsky checks in with a look at the latest tech treat for 3-D fans, 3-D TV, to see what it offers horror fans. This time: a 3-D restoration of a silent horror classic.]

For horror geeks and 3-D nuts, Carl Hernz’s upcoming stereoscopic release Le Fantôme de l’Opéra: Version Stéréoscopique is monumental. While exploring a film archive, the 3-D enthusiast stumbled upon a stereo image pair (that’s both the left- and right-eye views needed to create a 3-D image) separated and concealed from the public within two different prints of a classic silent horror film. The film in question was The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney Sr., released in 1925 and again in 1929. Hernz’s discovery led him to search all prints of The Phantom that he could get his hands on. Two years later, he’s released a work-in-progress of the 3-D restoration project.

Rue Morgue contributor and 3-D expert Jason Pichonsky checks in with a look at the latest tech treat for 3-D fans, 3-D TV, to see what it offers horror fans. This time: a remake of an ’80s classic.

As a fan of the original Fright Night, I didn’t expect much from this remake – yet another re-imagining of an ’80s horror classic in the long line of retreads mining the decade’s horror gold. As a teen of the era, I saw a direct reflection of myself in the film’s protagonist, Charley Brewster, and I didn’t imagine this adaptation would hold up to affection for the original. I did however have high hopes for the 3-D viewing experience. After all, Hollywood’s current flirtation with 3-D movies is now over three years old, proving it to be more that a fad. Isn’t it? And this new version, Fright Night 3-D, was designed for and shot in true 3-D. So the 3-D should be spot on. Shouldn’t it?.

Rue Morgue contributor and 3-D expert Jason Pichonsky checks in with a look at the latest tech treat for 3-D fans, 3-D TV, to see what it offers horror fans. This time, yet another 3-Dimensional sequel: The Final Destination.
How do you continue to keep a decade-old horror series alive? The producers of the Final Destination series turned to the gimmick that had worked so well for horror series in the ’80s, namely 3-D. As a fan of 3-D, I obviously have no problem with this; unfortunately, though, the producers of the movie thought the 3-D would make up for a convoluted plot which is more about red herrings (notably a sequence in a hair salon that recalls part three, but with a payoff completely unrelated to the location – a fake out for the sake of a fake out) the than presenting a coherent story.

For the fourth entry into the franchise, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Paul W.S. Anderson (the original film’s director and series writer) returns to the director’s chair, this time bringing along a 3-D camera rig used in Avatar. Does this style over substance director have the cinematic chops to churn out an impressive 3-D film? Let’s slide that 3D disc in the Blu-ray player and find out…
Unlike the zombie films of George Romero, the Resident Evil franchise avoids the inclusion of social commentary, preferring to remain true to its “shoot ‘em up” videogame origins, and this new Resident Evil chapter is no exception. Afterlife continues the cliffhanger story setup in the previous film. Alice (Milla Jovovich), aided by a new army of clones, invades the Umbrella Corporation’s last stronghold and birthplace of the zombie plague, an underground facility in Tokyo. After blowing the Umbrella Corporation’s facility sky high (and her clones with it), she pursues head baddy Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts) onto his escape plane. Wesker injects her with an antidote to the T-virus, wiping out the superpowers she’d developed in RE: Apocalypse and effectively resetting the series to its origins.

Rue Morgue contributor and 3-D expert Jason Pichonsky checks in with a look at the latest tech treat for 3-D fans, 3-D TV, to see what it offers horror fans. This installment tackles Saw 3D.