If like myself you're a big fan of horror cinema, you've probably heard the recent news of a film called Death House floating around the internet. If you haven't heard of it already, Death House is a film currently in development that is being dubbed 'The Expendables of horror' and is based on an original screenplay written by the late Gunnar Hansen aka Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. I first heard about this movie some time last year a while before Hansen's death but at the time there was not much about it to be found online, however as of recently there has been news that the final draft of the script has been completed. The film has been written by Hansen and its director Harrison Smith and is due to be released next year which means production will probably begin some time in the months to come, exciting stuff. So what's it all about? Well according to IMDb, this is the premise:
The Death House is the Area 51 of Evil...a subterranean government facility that holds humanity's worst on nine levels. Hell...Dante's ninth level, holds the Five Evils...the "dark stars" of Death House. These individuals are so heinous they can never walk among society again. They may also be supernatural.
Agents Toria Boon and Jae Novak have their own dark pasts, arriving at Death House to tour its levels and observe its denizens first hand as well as the medical and mental experiments of Drs. Eileen Fletcher and Karen Redmane. Their depraved experiments date back to the Nazi doctors of WWII. Prison cells are virtual reality holodecks that recreate prisoner environments before they were incarcerated. A special hallucinogenic gas keeps inmates under control. The victims are homeless bused into Death House to play literal victims while killing habits are studied. The results are sick, but only a hint of what goes on here. Hell literally breaks loose inside the facility when an EMP device detonates, killing all power and communication and...releasing every prisoner.
Boon, Novak and Fletcher are caught in a race against advancing prisoner hoards led by occultist Neo-Nazi Sieg. The monsters are freed and they're going down. Boon and Novak's fight through Death House turns into a house of horrors gauntlet with the only hope of escape in descending into Hell and with the help of The Five Evils. Events culminate in a violent face to face standoff with absolute evil...only to find that they have traveled down a rabbit hole and through a looking glass. Black is white and white is black and the definitions of good and evil no longer apply...
Who are the monsters?
Who will escape...
Very exciting stuff indeed, to me it sounds like the final act of The Cabin in the Woods meets Con-Air or something along those lines. The most exciting thing about this film is the ensemble of horror alumni reported to be on board, in this post I will take you through the who's who of Death House.
Danny Trejo
If you don't know who Danny Trejo is then I assume you've been living under a rock for the entirety of your life. The actor has become a hispanic Chuck Norris of sorts and has appeared in a variety of roles in films such as Machete and The Devil's Rejects along with several television appearances in shows such as Breaking Bad. He is one of the most recognisable actors in modern cult cinema and is an excellent addition to the cast.
Robert Englund
One of the biggest icons in modern horror cinema, Englund is most well known for his portrayal of Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. He is an actor who can be both humorous and menacing at the same time and as he is one of the biggest names in the horror genre in modern times it is only right that he is added to the cast.
Dee Wallace
One of the greatest scream queens of horror cinema, specifically in the 80's, Dee Wallace has appeared in a number of horror films including Cujo and The Howling. Her onscreen presence always has a lot of energy and she always brings so much life to her characters. Her role is supposedly that of Dr. Eileen Fletcher, a doctor with questionable methods who works at the Death House, I look forward to seeing what Wallace will bring to the film.
Kane Hodder
Hodder is both an actor and stuntman who is best known for playing Jason Voorhees in four of the Friday the 13th films and Mr. Crowley in the Hatchet films. Due to his height and build, Hodder makes for an imposing figure and the fact that he does stunts too is a bonus. Hodder missed his chance to go toe to toe with Robert Englund when he was recast in Freddy vs Jason so maybe in Death House he'll get another chance.
Michael Berryman
Berryman is another recognisable horror alum who is best known for his role as Pluto in Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes. This role earned him his spot in the horror hall of fame and since then he has appeared in other films such as its sequel and The Devil's Rejects. Berryman has since become one of the most recognisable actors in modern horror cinema and it is only right that he have a place inside the Death House.
Bill Moseley
I'm a fan of Moseley especially so I was delighted to see him among the ensemble, always entertaining in his roles, Moseley brings a dynamic atmosphere into any scene he is in. He is most well known for his memorable role as Chop Top Sawyer in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Part 2 along with being one third of The Devil's Rejects, Otis Driftwood. He has appeared in a variety of horror films throughout his career and Death House is certainly lucky to have him on board.
Barbara Crampton
The Beautiful Barbara Crampton is another scream queen along with the aforementioned Dee Wallace who has appeared in numerous horror films from Re-Animator to more recent titles like You're Next. She has had a long and colourful career in the genre and is another of the more recognisable scream queens of the modern era. She is reportedly playing Dr. Redmane in Death House, a collegue of Wallace's character so it will be great seeing the two scream queens side by side onscreen once again.
Doug Bradley
He'll tear your soul apart, that's right, the man who brought the menacing Pinhead to life in Hellraiser is joining Death House too. The English actor has starred in 8 of the Hellraiser films making him a long standing member of the horror hall of fame, he brought personality to the character of Pinhead and made him the memorable movie monster that he is today. I look forward to seeing Bradley in Death House and to see if he channels any of that Pinhead energy since retiring from his role as the cenobite.
Ken Foree
This tall, well-built man is best known for his memorable role as Peter in George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead, however if you grew up in the late 90's watching Nickelodeon you will probably recognise him as Roger Rockmore from Kenan and Kel. Like Hodder, his build makes him and imposing figure but as we have seen in the likes of Kenan and Kel, Foree is just as comedic as well.
So those are the residents of the Death House, along with the likes of Camille Keaton and Torsten Voges they will be causing havoc within the maximum security facility hopefully sometime next year. It is a shame that Gunnar Hansen won't be around to see the final film as it is essentially his creation, but I'd like to think the final film will be dedicated in his memory. Now this film could either go good or bad, it could be a milestone in modern horror becoming a memorable cult classic or it could simply be shite, but all I know is that seeing all of those horror film stars onscreen together will be enough to satisfy me. Death House is currently in pre-production and is expected to be released next year.
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