Rest in Peace Juan Piquer Simón

Another genre personality has passed away this weekend, and though you may not be familiar with his name, you very well should be with at least a couple of his films.

According toEl CorreoJuan Piquer Simón, director ofThe Pod People, Mystery on Monster Island, Slugs,and of course the ever-so-infamous low-budget slasher classicPieces, has passed on at the age of 74 after a long battle with lung cancer.

A while ago during an interview overseas, Simón was quoted as saying,"I know I've worked in a manner and with a genre that critics do not appreciate much."We can only hope that he knew how much we the fans appreciated him.

At this time we here at Dread Central would like to honor the man and his work and extend our sincerest condolences to Simón's friends, family, and constituents. Thanks for the screams and chills, my friend. You will be missed.

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First Images: Antonio Banderas - The Skin I Live In

Ah, the horrors of plastic surgery! Such big inflated lips! Such tightly pulled faces! Some people make deformities look better and better, I tell ya! In any event the first stills from Pedro Almodovar's next film,La Piel que Habito(literally translated asThe Skin I Live In), have arrived, giving us the first look at star Antonio Banderas.

"The film will be a terror film, without screams or scares,"Almodovar told the Spanish daily El Pais."It's difficult to define, and although it comes close to the terror genre -- something that appeals to me that I've never done -- I won't respect any of its rules. It's the harshest film I've ever written, and Banderas' character is brutal."

The Skin I Live Intells of a plastic surgeon's revenge on the man who raped his daughter and is based on Thierry Jonquet's novelTarantula.

Dig on the goods below courtesy ofAbando Moviez.

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Javelina Brings Home the Bacon with a Side of Horror

No,Javelinais not a new superhero movie about a javelin-throwing female crimefighter. Javelina is another name for a peccary, a pig-like animal found in the American wild; the name derived from its sharp tusks. Now I bet you can easily guess what the movieJavelinais about.

This latest killer pig flick is the creation of Texas actor/filmmaker Barry Tubb, perhaps best remembered as"Wolfman"inTop Gun.Javelinasees a small Texas town terrorized by a pissed off wild javelina seeking revenge against the hunters that killed its mother. D.B Sweeney ("The Event",Eight Men Out) co-stars.

Now a whole lot of info about this low budget nature gone amok movie out there at this time. We do have a trailer and a funny tagline:"You were safer in the water."

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Super 8 Used to Film Brazilian Darlings

Sometimes the studios will film things under alternate titles as a means to throw off the public and journalists alike. This practice has been going on for decades. Sometimes though ... temp titles end up sticking.

Paramount used the nameDarlingsto keep prying eyes at bay while filming of JJ Abrams'Super 8was taking place, and while it's coming out here under the more appropriate sounding moniker,Paramount Brazilis still teasing the flick asDarlings(see image below). No word on whether or not this will stick, but we'll keep our eyes open.

Look for the film starring Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Gabriel Basso, Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, and AJ Michalka to be in theatres on June 10, 2011.

Super 8tells the story of a bunch of kids who are shooting a movie with a Super 8 camera that notice upon viewing their footage that they've captured what appears to be an alien on film.

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International Saw VII 3D Poster Cuts to the Heart of the Matter

Though it's due out here in the States on Blu-ray and DVD in just a couple of weeks, Lionsgate's final chapter in their monster-sizedSawfranchise is still making the rounds internationally and the cool one-sheets have kept on coming!

Dig on the international goodies below courtesy of theIMP Awards.Look forSaw 3Din stores on January 25th.

Synopsis:
As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw’s brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror...

The first theatrical feature to be shot exclusively on the cutting-edge SI-3D digital camera system, Saw 3D brings the horrifying games of Jigsaw to life like never before.

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Trailer Sneak Peek: John Carpenter's The Ward

Okay so 2011 is off to a pretty weird start. Birds are falling out of the sky, fish are dying en masse, and now we have your first look at the trailer for John Carpenter'sThe Ward. Well, sort of. We actually have half of the trailer. That's right -- half the trailer.

While no US release date has been officially announced yet, our friends in the UK will be seeing the flick in cinemas on January 21st, 2011. Below you'll find half of the UK theatrical trailer, which just popped up online, that happens to be home to a lot of never-before-seen footage. Look for the other half, or the completed trailer we're sure very soon.

Lyndsy Fonseca, Amber Heard, Danielle Panabaker, and Jared Harris star.

Synopsis
The Ward is an intense psychological thriller set in a mental institution where a young woman, Kristen, is haunted by a mysterious and deadly ghost. As danger creeps closer, she comes to realize that this ghost might be darker than she could have imagined.

Kristen, who is in her early 20's, wakes to find herself bruised, cut, drugged, and held against her will in a remote ward of Chamberlain Psychiatric Hospital. She is completely disoriented with no idea why she was brought to this place and no memory of her life.

The other patients in the ward, four equally troubled girls, offer no answers, and Kristen quickly realizes things are not as they seem. The air is heavy with secrets, and at night, when the hospital is dark and foreboding, she hears strange and disturbing sounds. It appears they are not alone.

One by one the girls disappear, and Kristen must find a way out of this hellish place before the ghost comes for her, too. As she struggles to escape, she will uncover a truth far more dangerous and horrifying than anyone could have imagined.

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Producer Denies Nightmare Before Christmas Sequel

Just yesterday we brought you the first chatter about a proposed sequel to the much belovedThe Nightmare Before Christmas. Today further clarification has come about whether or not this will actually be happening.

The news first hit our desks thanks to an interview with Paul"Pee-wee Herman"Reubens, who, while doing press for his stage show, let one of our East Coast contacts know that to his knowledge Tim Burton was looking to do a sequel to the spooky animated holiday treat.

Today, Derek Frey, producer and executive at Tim Burton Productions, has toldThe Playlistthere is“no truth to the rumor” and expressed gratitude for squashing it quickly.

Maybe someone should tell Pee-wee?

In any event, we're not ready to completely write this one off just yet since as you well know, things are always reported and then denied and then re-reported sometimes as early as the next week as a confirmed fact. We'll be keeping our eyes and ears open, and if there are any further developments, we'll let you know.

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