New independent film releases from Lionsgate bring back a familiar horror story and introduce something entirely new to the big screen.
Saw V
Just in time for Halloween, Saw V hits theaters with another story in the creepy franchise about Jonathan Kramer (Tobin Bell), a former toy designer diagnosed with terminal cancer, who masterminds serial killings in which his victims are assigned deadly traps specifically designed for them. Convinced that most people don’t appreciate being alive, he works to change that – one way or another. Kramer becomes known as the Jigsaw Killer because of his tendency to cut puzzle-shaped pieces of flesh from his victims. In this fifth installment of the grisly franchise (so popular that it even inspired its own convention called SawMania), one man (Costas Mandylor) seems to be the only one left alive to carry on the gruesome legacy. When discovery of his secret becomes a real possibility, he goes hunting to eliminate the threat.
- Director: David Hackl (who also served as production designer and second unit director for Repo! The Genetic Opera)
- Writers: Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan
- Additional Cast: Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Julie Benz, Meagan Good
- Release Date: October 24, 2008
Repo! The Genetic Opera
Based on a successful stage production that ran in Los Angeles, California, and New York City, New York, Repo! The Genetic Opera fuses The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Blade Runner in a futuristic horror rock opera set to original music. Set in the year 2056, an epidemic of organ failures transforms the world into a tragic place where surgery addicts are hooked on painkilling drugs and murder is legal. A biotech company named GeneCo emerges as a savior for the people by offering organ transplants at great cost to the patient, much like a very aggressive car loan. Anyone missing a payment is subject to repossession by Repo Man (Anthony Stewart Head). Meanwhile, the future leadership of the lucrative GeneCo becomes a primary concern to the three heirs in line to receive it. In addition, as one girl (Alexa Vega) searches for the cure to her rare blood disease, she gets sucked into the frightening world of GeneCo while awaiting the highly anticipated event known as “The Genetic Opera,” an event designed to answer everyone’s questions about the future.
- Director: Darren Lynn Bousman (who also directed Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, and the 2006 short film Repo! The Genetic Opera)
- Writers: Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich
- Additional Cast: Sarah Brightman. Paris Hilton, Ogre, Terrance Zdunich, Bill Moseley, Paul Sorvino
- Release Date: November 7, 2008
For more information about horror films, read Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd on DVD.
