Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures wanted to move quickly on Scream 7… then the version of the film they wanted to move quickly on crumbled piece by piece. Scream (2022) and Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are finishing work on their Universal Monsters movie Abigail (formerly known as Dracula’s Daughter), so with returning writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick working on the script, the companies hired Freaky and Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon to direct the film and started reaching out to actors. Jenna Ortega allegedly wanted a substantial pay raise to reprise the role of Tara Carpenter… and as we saw when Neve Campbell dropped out of Scream VI due to a pay dispute, these pay issues don’t tend to work out. So Ortega was out, but Melissa Barrera was on board to come back as Tara’s sister Samantha. Until she was fired from...
- 2/5/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
These days, most audiences are aware that the law of diminishing returns also applies to movie franchises. That’s why numbered sequels are usually frowned upon when it comes to new releases in established IPs, with producers preferring it when moviegoers forget exactly how many of these rehashed films they’ve seen before. And as a series goes on, it becomes increasingly more difficult for franchises to experiment with their source material, leading to stale experiences and disappointed fans.
Thankfully, there are a handful of exceptions to this rule, and I’d argue that the most surprising of all would be the Universal Soldier franchise. In all honesty, I don’t even think the original 1992 film is all that great, benefiting from the natural charisma of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren while riding on the coat-tails of an intriguing premise (where deceased soldiers are revived as cybernetic zombies with...
Thankfully, there are a handful of exceptions to this rule, and I’d argue that the most surprising of all would be the Universal Soldier franchise. In all honesty, I don’t even think the original 1992 film is all that great, benefiting from the natural charisma of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren while riding on the coat-tails of an intriguing premise (where deceased soldiers are revived as cybernetic zombies with...
- 9/25/2023
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
October is around the corner and it is time to see what the folks at Legend have in store for viewers next month. There will be two helpings of Jean-Claude Van Damme next month with The Quest and Universal Soldier: Regeneration. There is also a double dose of Kevin Bacon next month in Sleepers and The River Wild. Adam Wingard's The Guest, which helped launch the careers of Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe, airs on Halloween night. Do not forget the Vintage Vault programs that feature multiple films from horror icons like Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Legend reveals exciting slate of horror & action premieres for October 2023 Watch out for plenty of star-studied thrills and spills on Legend,...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/21/2023
- Screen Anarchy
John Hyams, director of the very cool 2020 thriller Alone, recently teamed up with Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson to bring us the pandemic slasher Sick, which is set in April of 2020. Right after the world shut down due to Covid-19. The film was released through the Peacock streaming service back in January – and now it has also received a DVD and digital release! Sick can be viewed on Amazon’s Prime Video at This Link, and copies of the DVD can be purchased Here.
Scripted by Katelyn Crabb (who was credited as Williamson’s assistant on Scream 2022) from a story by Williamson, Sick takes place when the country locks down due to the pandemic and college student Parker and her best friend decide to quarantine at the family lake house alone – or so they think.
The film stars Gideon Adlon (The Craft: Legacy), Dylan Sprayberry (Teen Wolf), Jane Adams (She Dies Tomorrow...
Scripted by Katelyn Crabb (who was credited as Williamson’s assistant on Scream 2022) from a story by Williamson, Sick takes place when the country locks down due to the pandemic and college student Parker and her best friend decide to quarantine at the family lake house alone – or so they think.
The film stars Gideon Adlon (The Craft: Legacy), Dylan Sprayberry (Teen Wolf), Jane Adams (She Dies Tomorrow...
- 9/21/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Click here to read the full article.
“I have a mantra,” says director Peter Hyams. “It was something me and my camera operator, Steve Campanelli had: each morning before we went to shoot we’d put our arms around each other, like football players, and say four things: 1. Go bigger or go home. 2. If it can’t be fixed with a hammer, it can’t be fixed. 3. If it doesn’t fit, force it. 4. Let’s blow shit up.”
As mantras go, it’s hard to argue with the results. With a career that’s included prescient conspiracy thriller Capricorn One (1977), with Elliott Gould and James Brolin; sci-fi Western Outland (1981) with Sean Connery, the Gene Hackman/Anne Archer actioner Narrow Margin (1990) and Jean-Claude Van Damme’s time-traveling fight film Timecop (1994), Hyams, has secured his place in cult cinema history.
It’s also an approach to movie making that informed the career of Hyams’ son,...
“I have a mantra,” says director Peter Hyams. “It was something me and my camera operator, Steve Campanelli had: each morning before we went to shoot we’d put our arms around each other, like football players, and say four things: 1. Go bigger or go home. 2. If it can’t be fixed with a hammer, it can’t be fixed. 3. If it doesn’t fit, force it. 4. Let’s blow shit up.”
As mantras go, it’s hard to argue with the results. With a career that’s included prescient conspiracy thriller Capricorn One (1977), with Elliott Gould and James Brolin; sci-fi Western Outland (1981) with Sean Connery, the Gene Hackman/Anne Archer actioner Narrow Margin (1990) and Jean-Claude Van Damme’s time-traveling fight film Timecop (1994), Hyams, has secured his place in cult cinema history.
It’s also an approach to movie making that informed the career of Hyams’ son,...
- 9/14/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
The Oldenburg Film Festival, Germany’s leading indie film fest, will honor father and son genre filmmakers Peter and John Hymas, with a joint retrospective.
Father Peter Hymas is best known for his cult films of the 1970s and 80s, including the conspiracy drama Capricorn One (1977), about a plot to fake a space mission to Mars, the sci-fi Western Outland (1981) starring Sean Connery, and 2010: The Year We Made Contact (1984), a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. In 1994, Hymas scored a late-career hit with Timecop, a time-traveling action movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
The Mussels from Brussels would play a major role in the career of son John Hymas, who revived Van Damme’s other sci-fi action franchise, Universal Soldier, with two sequels: Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012). Alongside numerous TV directing credits, for such series as NYPD Blue,...
The Oldenburg Film Festival, Germany’s leading indie film fest, will honor father and son genre filmmakers Peter and John Hymas, with a joint retrospective.
Father Peter Hymas is best known for his cult films of the 1970s and 80s, including the conspiracy drama Capricorn One (1977), about a plot to fake a space mission to Mars, the sci-fi Western Outland (1981) starring Sean Connery, and 2010: The Year We Made Contact (1984), a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. In 1994, Hymas scored a late-career hit with Timecop, a time-traveling action movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
The Mussels from Brussels would play a major role in the career of son John Hymas, who revived Van Damme’s other sci-fi action franchise, Universal Soldier, with two sequels: Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012). Alongside numerous TV directing credits, for such series as NYPD Blue,...
- 8/25/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Stars: Jules Willcox, Marc Menchaca, Anthony Heald, Jonathan Rosenthal | Written by Mattias Olsson | Directed by John Hyams
An English-language adaptation of Swedish thriller Gone, with a screenplay by from that films director Mattias Olsson, Alone is most-noticeable as being helmed by John Hyams. The son of director Peter Hyams, John Hyams burst on to the action movie scene with a trio of movies between 2009 and 2012 featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme – with whom his father had worked in 1994/5 – all of which were fan-favourites and which, at the time, were seemingly Hyams’ calling card into bigger budget action fare. Only that didn’t happen.
Despite the warm reception afforded Universal Soldier: Regeneration and its follow-up Day of Reckoning And the great reviews Dragon Eyes, a film that sought to launch the leading-man action career of Cung Le, received from critics and fans alike; Hyams has spent the intervening years in television, producing and...
An English-language adaptation of Swedish thriller Gone, with a screenplay by from that films director Mattias Olsson, Alone is most-noticeable as being helmed by John Hyams. The son of director Peter Hyams, John Hyams burst on to the action movie scene with a trio of movies between 2009 and 2012 featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme – with whom his father had worked in 1994/5 – all of which were fan-favourites and which, at the time, were seemingly Hyams’ calling card into bigger budget action fare. Only that didn’t happen.
Despite the warm reception afforded Universal Soldier: Regeneration and its follow-up Day of Reckoning And the great reviews Dragon Eyes, a film that sought to launch the leading-man action career of Cung Le, received from critics and fans alike; Hyams has spent the intervening years in television, producing and...
- 7/14/2021
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Stars: Jules Willcox, Marc Menchaca, Anthony Heald, Jonathan Rosenthal | Written by Mattias Olsson | Directed by John Hyams
An English-language adaptation of Swedish thriller Gone, with a screenplay by from that films director Mattias Olsson, Alone is most-noticeable as being helmed by John Hyams. The son of director Peter Hyams, John Hyams burst on to the action movie scene with a trio of movies between 2009 and 2012 featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme – with whom his father had worked in 1994/5 – all of which were fan-favourites and which, at the time, were seemingly Hyams’ calling card into bigger budget action fare. Only that didn’t happen.
Despite the warm reception afforded Universal Soldier: Regeneration and its follow-up Day of Reckoning And the great reviews Dragon Eyes, a film that sought to launch the leading-man action career of Cung Le, received from critics and fans alike; Hyams has spent the intervening years in television, producing and...
An English-language adaptation of Swedish thriller Gone, with a screenplay by from that films director Mattias Olsson, Alone is most-noticeable as being helmed by John Hyams. The son of director Peter Hyams, John Hyams burst on to the action movie scene with a trio of movies between 2009 and 2012 featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme – with whom his father had worked in 1994/5 – all of which were fan-favourites and which, at the time, were seemingly Hyams’ calling card into bigger budget action fare. Only that didn’t happen.
Despite the warm reception afforded Universal Soldier: Regeneration and its follow-up Day of Reckoning And the great reviews Dragon Eyes, a film that sought to launch the leading-man action career of Cung Le, received from critics and fans alike; Hyams has spent the intervening years in television, producing and...
- 8/28/2020
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
"I know fear when I see it! It's all in the eyes!" Magnolia Pictures has released an official trailer for an indie survival thriller titled Alone, the latest film from filmmaker John Hyams. A recently widowed traveler fleeing the city in the Pacific Northwest is kidnapped by a cold blooded killer, only to escape into the wilderness where she is forced to battle against the elements as her pursuer closes in on her... Will she be able to make it out alive? Jules Willcox stars as Jessica, with Marc Menchaca, Anthony Heald, and Jonathan Rosenthal. This looks chilling but it also looks like every other kidnapping thriller. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for John Hyams' Alone, direct from Magolia's YouTube: Set in the Pacific Northwest wilderness, the film follows recently widowed Jessica who, fleeing the city in a desperate attempt to cope, is ...
- 8/6/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Magnet Releasing has just hit the road with the trailer for Alone, the English-language remake of director Mattias Olsson‘s Gone (2011) that’s headed our way on September 18th. Directed by John Hyams (Netflix’s “Black Summer”, Universal Soldier: Regeneration, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning), the trailer looks like a solid thriller, albeit a bit cookie-cutter. In the film, a woman, […]...
- 8/6/2020
- by Brad Miska
- bloody-disgusting.com
The English-language remake of director Mattias Olsson‘s Gone (2011), Magnet Releasing’s Alone is headed our way on September 18, and Collider shares the official poster art today. According to the site, the film’s trailer will be released tomorrow. Alone is directed by John Hyams (Netflix’s “Black Summer”, Universal Soldier: Regeneration, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning), and you’ll find […]...
- 8/5/2020
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Festival winner stars Jules Willcox of Bloodline.
Xyz Films has acquired worldwide sales rights to Alone, the English-language adaptation of Swedish thriller and Guldbagge nominee Gone.
John Hyams (Netflix’s Black Summer), currently collaborating with Nicolas Winding Refn on HBO’s upcoming Maniac Cop, directed from a screenplay by Gone (2011) director Mattias Olsson.
Jules Willcox (Netflix’s Bloodline) stars in Alone as Jessica, a grief-stricken widow who flees the city in an attempt to cope with the loss of her husband.
When Jessica is kidnapped by a mysterious man and locked in a cabin in the Pacific Northwest, she escapes into the wilderness.
Xyz Films has acquired worldwide sales rights to Alone, the English-language adaptation of Swedish thriller and Guldbagge nominee Gone.
John Hyams (Netflix’s Black Summer), currently collaborating with Nicolas Winding Refn on HBO’s upcoming Maniac Cop, directed from a screenplay by Gone (2011) director Mattias Olsson.
Jules Willcox (Netflix’s Bloodline) stars in Alone as Jessica, a grief-stricken widow who flees the city in an attempt to cope with the loss of her husband.
When Jessica is kidnapped by a mysterious man and locked in a cabin in the Pacific Northwest, she escapes into the wilderness.
- 4/8/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Dulé Hill has lined up another post-Suits gig: The actor will recur during Season 2 of the Showtime comedy Black Monday, our sister site Deadline reports.
The Psych veteran — who will also star in the upcoming movie sequel Psych 2: Lassie Come Home for streamer Peacock — will play Marcus Wainwright III, president of the African American Scholarship Fund, in the 1980s Wall Street series.
More from TVLineChicago Fire Stars Ponder Casey and Brett's 'Simmering' Potential RomanceTVLine Items: #OneChicago Xover Trailer, This Is Us Promotion and MoreChicago Fire Video: Casey and Severide Scope Out a Shadowhunters Alum
Additionally, June Diane Raphael (Grace...
The Psych veteran — who will also star in the upcoming movie sequel Psych 2: Lassie Come Home for streamer Peacock — will play Marcus Wainwright III, president of the African American Scholarship Fund, in the 1980s Wall Street series.
More from TVLineChicago Fire Stars Ponder Casey and Brett's 'Simmering' Potential RomanceTVLine Items: #OneChicago Xover Trailer, This Is Us Promotion and MoreChicago Fire Video: Casey and Severide Scope Out a Shadowhunters Alum
Additionally, June Diane Raphael (Grace...
- 10/11/2019
- TVLine.com
Director Nicolas Winding Refn is set to develop a series adaptation of the cult film franchise Maniac Cop. The series is set to be produced by HBO and Refn will serve as showrunner and will direct the entire series with John Hyams.
Set in Los Angeles, “Maniac Cop is said to be told through a kaleidoscope of characters, from cop to common criminal. A killer in uniform has uncaged mayhem upon the streets. Paranoia leads to social disorder as a city wrestles with the mystery of the exterminator in blue. Is he mere mortal, or a supernatural force?”
It sounds like the kind of project that will fit with Refn’s style. In a statement he talked about what they are looking to explore:
“I’ve always been a devoted admirer of John Hyams. We’ve been talking about a re-imagining of the ‘Maniac Cop’ films for a number of years,...
Set in Los Angeles, “Maniac Cop is said to be told through a kaleidoscope of characters, from cop to common criminal. A killer in uniform has uncaged mayhem upon the streets. Paranoia leads to social disorder as a city wrestles with the mystery of the exterminator in blue. Is he mere mortal, or a supernatural force?”
It sounds like the kind of project that will fit with Refn’s style. In a statement he talked about what they are looking to explore:
“I’ve always been a devoted admirer of John Hyams. We’ve been talking about a re-imagining of the ‘Maniac Cop’ films for a number of years,...
- 10/11/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Maniac Cop, a TV series reimagining of the cult classic film franchise from Nicolas Winding Refn and John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration), has been greenlighted by HBO, which will carry the event series in North America, and by Canal+, which has taken French rights.
The series makes the first production for byNWR Originals, ab independent studio launched by Refn as an offshoot of his byNWR.com Web site. He and Hyams will executive produce and direct.
Set in Los Angeles, Maniac Cop is told through a kaleidoscope of characters, from cop to common criminal. A killer in uniform has uncaged mayhem upon the streets. Paranoia leads to social disorder as a city wrestles with the mystery of the exterminator in blue – is he mere mortal, or a supernatural force? You can watch a trailer of the film below the story.
Maniac Cop has been a long-time passion project for Refn.
The series makes the first production for byNWR Originals, ab independent studio launched by Refn as an offshoot of his byNWR.com Web site. He and Hyams will executive produce and direct.
Set in Los Angeles, Maniac Cop is told through a kaleidoscope of characters, from cop to common criminal. A killer in uniform has uncaged mayhem upon the streets. Paranoia leads to social disorder as a city wrestles with the mystery of the exterminator in blue – is he mere mortal, or a supernatural force? You can watch a trailer of the film below the story.
Maniac Cop has been a long-time passion project for Refn.
- 10/11/2019
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Nicolas Winding Refn is set to take on a series adaptation of the cult film franchise “Maniac Cop,” Variety has learned.
The series will be the first production of Refn’s byNWR Originals, a part of his cultural site byNWR.com, and is created in partnership with HBO and Canal Plus. HBO will air the series in North America while Canal Plus will carry it in France.
Refn will serve as showrunner and will direct the entire series with John Hyams.
Set in Los Angeles, “Maniac Cop” is said to be told through a kaleidoscope of characters, from cop to common criminal. A killer in uniform has uncaged mayhem upon the streets. Paranoia leads to social disorder as a city wrestles with the mystery of the exterminator in blue. Is he mere mortal, or a supernatural force?
“I’ve always been a devoted admirer of John Hyams,” said Refn. “We...
The series will be the first production of Refn’s byNWR Originals, a part of his cultural site byNWR.com, and is created in partnership with HBO and Canal Plus. HBO will air the series in North America while Canal Plus will carry it in France.
Refn will serve as showrunner and will direct the entire series with John Hyams.
Set in Los Angeles, “Maniac Cop” is said to be told through a kaleidoscope of characters, from cop to common criminal. A killer in uniform has uncaged mayhem upon the streets. Paranoia leads to social disorder as a city wrestles with the mystery of the exterminator in blue. Is he mere mortal, or a supernatural force?
“I’ve always been a devoted admirer of John Hyams,” said Refn. “We...
- 10/11/2019
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Michael Kelly is most familiar (to me) from his time spent as an ice-cold political operative on Netflix's House of Cards. Sure, he was a diabolical character, but what stood out to me was the suggestion that, somewhere, far beneath the ice water running through his veins, a warm heart -- that had been beaten into submission -- was slowly beating. Kelly, of course, is capable of far more than one type of character, and in the upcoming All Square, he stars as a likable bookie who has seen better days. John Hyams (of Universal Soldier: Regeneration fame!) directed. Here's the synopsis: John Zbikowski (Michael Kelly) is a small town bookie having a hard time collecting on outstanding debts. After a one night stand with...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/1/2018
- Screen Anarchy
Black Water: Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren will star in Black Water. The two action stars previously appeared together in Universal Soldier, Universal Soldier: Regeneration (above) and The Expendables 2, among others. The upcoming action thriller revolves around "a deep cover operative (Van Damme) who awakens to find himself imprisoned in a CIA black site on a submarine." [THR] Game Night: Jason Bateman (Office Christmas Party, above) was touted to star in and produce the ensemble comedy Game Night back in 2013. Now Bateman has formalized his commitment and Rachel McAdams (Spotlight, above) has been recruited to star opposite him. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Vacation) wrote the latest draft of the screenplay...
Read More...
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- 1/5/2017
- by Peter Martin
- Movies.com
Even if they don’t hold the same clout as, say, Stallone and Schwarzenegger, Van Damme and Lundgren are two names that are often revered in Hollywood’s action scene, and over the years fans have lapped up their on-screen battles in the likes of Universal Soldier and its widely derided sequel, Universal Soldier: Regeneration.
But it appears Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren are ready to let bygones by bygones, for The Hollywood Reporter brings word that the duo has been cast in Black Water, a new action-thriller in which they’ll play on-screen allies for the very first time. No director is attached just yet, but THR reveals that the script by Chad Law revolves around a “deep cover operative (Van Damme) who awakens to find himself imprisoned in a CIA black site on a submarine.” Little is known about Lundgren’s involvement, but we assume his character...
But it appears Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren are ready to let bygones by bygones, for The Hollywood Reporter brings word that the duo has been cast in Black Water, a new action-thriller in which they’ll play on-screen allies for the very first time. No director is attached just yet, but THR reveals that the script by Chad Law revolves around a “deep cover operative (Van Damme) who awakens to find himself imprisoned in a CIA black site on a submarine.” Little is known about Lundgren’s involvement, but we assume his character...
- 1/5/2017
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Tony Sokol Jan 5, 2017
Jcvd and Dolph Lundgren are set to do battle on a submarine in Black Water...
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren will be on the same side for the first time in their action filled careers, with the two almost-iconic action stars will co-star in the upcoming action thriller Black Water. The screenplay was written by Chad Law and the search is on for a director to steer the project.
See related Kevin Feige on Black Panther, female superhero movie Avengers: Infinity War – the first set picture Thor: Ragnarok: the first official synopsis released
In it, Van Damme will play a deep-cover agent in deep waters: he's being held in a prison that the CIA runs on, of all places, a submarine. There's no word on Lundgren’s character, but we assume he'll be able to tread water.
Van Damme and Lundgren have, of course, appeared on screen together before,...
Jcvd and Dolph Lundgren are set to do battle on a submarine in Black Water...
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren will be on the same side for the first time in their action filled careers, with the two almost-iconic action stars will co-star in the upcoming action thriller Black Water. The screenplay was written by Chad Law and the search is on for a director to steer the project.
See related Kevin Feige on Black Panther, female superhero movie Avengers: Infinity War – the first set picture Thor: Ragnarok: the first official synopsis released
In it, Van Damme will play a deep-cover agent in deep waters: he's being held in a prison that the CIA runs on, of all places, a submarine. There's no word on Lundgren’s character, but we assume he'll be able to tread water.
Van Damme and Lundgren have, of course, appeared on screen together before,...
- 1/4/2017
- Den of Geek
Tim George Jul 14, 2016
They might not be at the level of John Carpenter or Wes Craven yet, but meet the directors who are keeping the B-movie flag flying...
B-Movies. Exploitation flicks. Genre cinema. Someone has to make them, and here is a list compiling the best of the today’s crop of filmmakers who are unabashed in their love of genres, and have honed their talents producing enjoyable and sometimes great B-Movies. While all the movies they make may not be great, do not dismiss them. The seeds of great things are contained in their filmographies, and it would come as no surprise if one or two of these guys are able to attain the same heights as luminaries like Hill, Carpenter, Craven and Corman.
Jaume Collet-Serra
One of the most consistent directors of mid level Hollywood genre fare, Collet-Serra has quietly turned into a solid genre filmmaker without too...
They might not be at the level of John Carpenter or Wes Craven yet, but meet the directors who are keeping the B-movie flag flying...
B-Movies. Exploitation flicks. Genre cinema. Someone has to make them, and here is a list compiling the best of the today’s crop of filmmakers who are unabashed in their love of genres, and have honed their talents producing enjoyable and sometimes great B-Movies. While all the movies they make may not be great, do not dismiss them. The seeds of great things are contained in their filmographies, and it would come as no surprise if one or two of these guys are able to attain the same heights as luminaries like Hill, Carpenter, Craven and Corman.
Jaume Collet-Serra
One of the most consistent directors of mid level Hollywood genre fare, Collet-Serra has quietly turned into a solid genre filmmaker without too...
- 6/28/2016
- Den of Geek
Three years ago, Nicolas Winding Refn announced his plans to produce a remake of the cult classic Maniac Cop. Since 2012, scrappy updates on the project haven’t instilled much confidence in the film’s eventual production, but it finally looks as if efforts are aligning to get this remake off the ground, as John Hyams is now attached to direct. Twitch scored the update from Refn himself at Fantastic Fest with Hyams confirming the news on Twitter.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, then some of his notable works might. Two of Hyams’ most high profile titles are sequels Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning. Both efforts scored highly amongst fans of the action franchise, which bears well for his take on Maniac Cop.
The 1988 original was directed by William Lustig, who began developing this contemporary take several years ago. Early word suggested that it might be a prequel,...
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, then some of his notable works might. Two of Hyams’ most high profile titles are sequels Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning. Both efforts scored highly amongst fans of the action franchise, which bears well for his take on Maniac Cop.
The 1988 original was directed by William Lustig, who began developing this contemporary take several years ago. Early word suggested that it might be a prequel,...
- 9/29/2015
- by Gem Seddon
- We Got This Covered
“Right now, we’re just going through writers and getting the script ready, and we hope to go make it in the future. [William Lustig]’s a very underrated director. His films are very influential still, and it’s a great privilege to be able to work with him. We’re taking it one step and a time, but very soon we will find a director and they will make it his or her movie,” Nicolas Winding Refn said over two years ago about the brewing remake of "Maniac Cop" that he was producing, but not not much has been heard about it in that time. However, it looks like the redo of the cult classic has some new life. Twitch reports that John Hyams is on board to direct the project, with the filmmaker himself confirming the news on Twitter. Hyams is probably best known for directing "Universal Soldier: Regeneration" and "Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning,...
- 9/28/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
This Week in TV News is a compliment to the Week in Review feature, which will now be focused on film news.
AMC has guaranteed two seasons to the prequel companion series of The Walking Dead, as per THR. The announcement was made earlier this week, and comes as somewhat unsurprising news. The Walking Dead continues to be one of the channel’s highest rated shows, with its popularity showing no signs of waning as the show’s fifth season rolls along. In addition, AMC has found similar commercial and critical success with Better Call Saul, its new series that is itself a spinoff of Breaking Bad.
There’s no set title for the series as of yet, and working titles have included Fear The Walking Dead and Cobalt. The first season, much like the show that spawned this spinoff, will consist of six episodes, with creator Robert Kirkman working...
AMC has guaranteed two seasons to the prequel companion series of The Walking Dead, as per THR. The announcement was made earlier this week, and comes as somewhat unsurprising news. The Walking Dead continues to be one of the channel’s highest rated shows, with its popularity showing no signs of waning as the show’s fifth season rolls along. In addition, AMC has found similar commercial and critical success with Better Call Saul, its new series that is itself a spinoff of Breaking Bad.
There’s no set title for the series as of yet, and working titles have included Fear The Walking Dead and Cobalt. The first season, much like the show that spawned this spinoff, will consist of six episodes, with creator Robert Kirkman working...
- 3/14/2015
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
In the wake of the Alien 5 news, here are 10 franchise sequels that also ignored at least one previous film.
We all have moments in our lives we'd prefer to forget, and so too do filmmakers. So what do you do when a movie franchise starts to go off the rails? Simple, just forget that the lesser films in the series never happened.
News recently broke that director Neill Blomkamp's taking this approach to the Alien universe. Recent interviews with both he and returning star Sigourney Weaver have revealed that Blomkamp's forthcoming sequel will not necessarily follow the events of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection, and pick up the story from Aliens instead (although he has since given a brief update on that).
Of course, we'll have to wait and see exactly how all this pans out. But it's by no means the first time in history that a film's...
We all have moments in our lives we'd prefer to forget, and so too do filmmakers. So what do you do when a movie franchise starts to go off the rails? Simple, just forget that the lesser films in the series never happened.
News recently broke that director Neill Blomkamp's taking this approach to the Alien universe. Recent interviews with both he and returning star Sigourney Weaver have revealed that Blomkamp's forthcoming sequel will not necessarily follow the events of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection, and pick up the story from Aliens instead (although he has since given a brief update on that).
Of course, we'll have to wait and see exactly how all this pans out. But it's by no means the first time in history that a film's...
- 2/26/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
By now you’ve likely seen the splits-tastic Jean-Claude Van Damme Volvo spot and the just-as-amusing Channing Tatum parody that it inspired. However, one matter that may have come up while watching is simply Van Damme’s varied cinematic output. Recently, “Jcvd” and “Universal Soldier: Regeneration” have shown a performer willing to reach for some fantastically bizarre, self-aware moments, but now a new film hopes to take that self-parody to a new level, and we’ve got the trailer and a few clips to gauge its early promise. Other than a middling Super Bowl episode of “Friends," Van Damme has never been utilized in a comedy actually billed as such. The new comedy “Welcome To The Jungle” has clearly attempted to change that fact, with the action icon starring as Storm Rothchild, an unhinged former Marine who leads a bunch of corporate office workers (including Adam Brody, Kristen Schaal, and...
- 11/26/2013
- by Charlie Schmidlin
- The Playlist
Ethan Hawke has probably been having one of the best few weeks of his career. His latest collaboration with Richard Linklater and Julie Delpy, Before Midnight, has opened to rave reviews, he’s got a thriller called The Purge set to hit theaters while riding the momentum of the inexplicable buzz that’s been generated by its ad campaign, and now a trailer has debuted for his new movie, where he gets to live out his lifelong dream of working alongside Selena Gomez. Okay, Gomez hasn’t been acting for all that long, so maybe lifelong dream is overstating it, but she’s pretty popular with the young folk, so maybe Hawke’s kids are at least pretty excited to see their dad working alongside their idol? And if you’re a fan of movies where cars get driven really fast for no reason, things explode, and Jon Voight speaks with a silly accent, then...
- 6/7/2013
- by Nathan Adams
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Direct to video films have long been a ghetto where low rent productions and long forgotten c-list stars were forced to reside. Recently however a shift in momentum has begun to occur and something strange is happening, some of these films are actually quite good. Now don’t confuse direct to video films with the video on demand platform that is quickly becoming the go to distribution model for indie films. Direct to video productions do not have star-studded casts (at least in a ‘mainstream’ sense) nor do they much fanfare surrounding them. What they do have is freedom.
Director John Hyams quickly understood the freedom and malleability that direct to video presents and has gone about creating some incredibly interesting genre fare. Hyams first two feature length films, Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Dragon Eyes, displayed an acute understanding of the action genre. Both films showcased his talent for utilizing space,...
Director John Hyams quickly understood the freedom and malleability that direct to video presents and has gone about creating some incredibly interesting genre fare. Hyams first two feature length films, Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Dragon Eyes, displayed an acute understanding of the action genre. Both films showcased his talent for utilizing space,...
- 4/29/2013
- by Nick Usen
- SoundOnSight
The blokes who flex their muscles in Ultimate Fighting Championship and mixed martial arts events are mostly a larger-than-life blend of showmanship and brawn – which explains why they’re increasingly being snapped up by Hollywood. With more and more Mma fighters moving into the movies, I thought I’d take a look at some of the biggest names to have made the crossover.
Tony Schiena
Winner of numerous Mma trophies around the globe, Schiena flexed his acting chops in Locked Down as a framed cop who winds up in jail and is forced into cage fighting by none other than Brit hardman turned thesp Vinnie Jones. Schiena retired from sport after breaking both his ankles (ouch!) but has since found his feet on the big screen working with everyone from Pacino to Van Damme.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Famed for fierce body slams that won him the Ufc light heavyweight title...
Tony Schiena
Winner of numerous Mma trophies around the globe, Schiena flexed his acting chops in Locked Down as a framed cop who winds up in jail and is forced into cage fighting by none other than Brit hardman turned thesp Vinnie Jones. Schiena retired from sport after breaking both his ankles (ouch!) but has since found his feet on the big screen working with everyone from Pacino to Van Damme.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Famed for fierce body slams that won him the Ufc light heavyweight title...
- 4/8/2013
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
When it comes to the fourth instalment of a largely straight to DVD franchise starring Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, you can usually be sure of a few things. The formula won’t be changed much, there will be the pre-requisite amount of violence and grunting and both of them will just show up rather than give a performance. What you wouldn’t expect from the fourth in such a series, is for them to rip up the rulebook completely and create a noir-ish, trippy riff on Apocalypse Now that manages to be one of the best action films for a while but that’s what they did.
After the better than expected Universal Soldier: Regeneration, Day of Reckoning picks up sometime afterwards with resurrected Vietnam soldier Luc Deveraux (Van Damme) having clearly gone nuts from what he went through and indulging in a little murder and home...
After the better than expected Universal Soldier: Regeneration, Day of Reckoning picks up sometime afterwards with resurrected Vietnam soldier Luc Deveraux (Van Damme) having clearly gone nuts from what he went through and indulging in a little murder and home...
- 2/22/2013
- by Chris Holt
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Here in the States we've been watching Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning on home video for a few weeks now, and on 11 February it'll be the UK's turn as that's when it hits DVD, Blu-ray, and Limited Edition 3D Blu-ray Steelbook. Check out the new trailer in support of the release.
Scott Adkins and Ultimate Fighting Champion (Ufc) Former Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski join Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren for the latest action-packed chapter in the series. This time an army of Universal Soldiers has gone A.W.O.L., and only one man can stop them. Director John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration) returns to the franchise to deliver all of the hard-hitting fight scenes and pulse-pounding action sequences fans have come to expect, while injecting hyper-stylized, eye-popping visuals into the franchise.
Synopsis
John (Adkins) wakes up from a coma to discover his wife and daughter were...
Scott Adkins and Ultimate Fighting Champion (Ufc) Former Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski join Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren for the latest action-packed chapter in the series. This time an army of Universal Soldiers has gone A.W.O.L., and only one man can stop them. Director John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration) returns to the franchise to deliver all of the hard-hitting fight scenes and pulse-pounding action sequences fans have come to expect, while injecting hyper-stylized, eye-popping visuals into the franchise.
Synopsis
John (Adkins) wakes up from a coma to discover his wife and daughter were...
- 2/8/2013
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
Despite my lifelong affinity for the action genre, I'd never encountered the Universal Soldier franchise. Somewhere in the back of my head I knew of its reputation as a Terminator rip-off, but it wasn't until I read Vern's “Action Movies Don't Have to Suck” piece for the Village Voice that I was intrigued enough to seek out John Hyams'& Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Day of Reckoning. Hyams' elegant staging and disarming sincerity offer a refreshing alternative to the action adventure comic book slop dished out to teenagers and poked at by indifferent adult audiences that an entire generation of studio execs have chosen to ignore. Despite their relatively tiny budgets, Hyams' Universal Soldier movies, along with his other fictional feature, Dragon Eyes, are exquisite examples of digital cinema and personal storytelling. Rightfully, these movies should be dime store thrill rides, and in the best possible sense they are. They're also equal parts melodrama,...
- 1/23/2013
- by Sara Freeman
- MUBI
This is one "no bull" piece of sci-fi / action / semi-horror, but first... a history lesson of sorts:
Universal Soldier (1992)
Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)
Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009)
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
These are generally considered the "canonical" Universal Soldier films, which means that Universal Soldier 2: Brothers in Arms (1998) and Universal Soldier 3: Unfinished Business (1999) are either "unofficial" movies or perhaps a second sequel thread that you can choose to follow if you love Universal Soldier so dang much. The connective tissue of the "true" Universal Soldier movies is the presence of Jean-Claude Van Damme (who has appeared in all four) and Dolph Lundgren, who skipped only Part 2. The stagnant franchise was re-ignited a few years back with Regeneration, which was considerably more fun than what you'd normally expect from a decade-late Part 3 spawned from a Part 2 that practically nobody saw -- and now the same team is...
Universal Soldier (1992)
Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)
Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009)
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
These are generally considered the "canonical" Universal Soldier films, which means that Universal Soldier 2: Brothers in Arms (1998) and Universal Soldier 3: Unfinished Business (1999) are either "unofficial" movies or perhaps a second sequel thread that you can choose to follow if you love Universal Soldier so dang much. The connective tissue of the "true" Universal Soldier movies is the presence of Jean-Claude Van Damme (who has appeared in all four) and Dolph Lundgren, who skipped only Part 2. The stagnant franchise was re-ignited a few years back with Regeneration, which was considerably more fun than what you'd normally expect from a decade-late Part 3 spawned from a Part 2 that practically nobody saw -- and now the same team is...
- 1/22/2013
- by Scott Weinberg
- FEARnet
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Jan. 22, 2013
Price: DVD $26.99, Blu-ray $30.99
Studio: Sony
Actions speak louder than words in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning.
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, last seen together in 2012’s The Expendables 2, are back for more high-end violence in the bone-crunching science fiction action-thriller film Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, a 2012 installment in the Universal Soldier franchise, which continues to kick ass some twenty years after its first installment, 1992’s Universal Soldier.
This time around, two-fisted John (Scott Adkins, The Bourne Ultimatum) wakes up from a coma to discover his wife and daughter have been slaughtered in a brutal home invasion. Haunted by images of the attack, he vows to kill the man responsible, Luc Deveraux (Van Damme). While John tries to piece his reality back together, things get more complicated when he is pursued by a relentless UniSol (Ufc fighter Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski), a genetically enhanced “Universal Soldier.
Price: DVD $26.99, Blu-ray $30.99
Studio: Sony
Actions speak louder than words in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning.
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, last seen together in 2012’s The Expendables 2, are back for more high-end violence in the bone-crunching science fiction action-thriller film Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, a 2012 installment in the Universal Soldier franchise, which continues to kick ass some twenty years after its first installment, 1992’s Universal Soldier.
This time around, two-fisted John (Scott Adkins, The Bourne Ultimatum) wakes up from a coma to discover his wife and daughter have been slaughtered in a brutal home invasion. Haunted by images of the attack, he vows to kill the man responsible, Luc Deveraux (Van Damme). While John tries to piece his reality back together, things get more complicated when he is pursued by a relentless UniSol (Ufc fighter Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski), a genetically enhanced “Universal Soldier.
- 1/7/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
With Universal Soldier: Regeneration director John Hyams brought the franchise to a brutal and startling new level. In the sequel to his sequel, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, he unleashes an altogether different kind of beast.
From the Press Release
Action legends Jean-Claude Van Damme (The Expendables 2) and Dolph Lundgren
(The Expendables 2) are back for the ultimate battle between soldiers in Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning, available January 22nd on Blu-ray™ and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Scott Adkins (The Bourne Ultimatum) and Ultimate Fighting Champion (Ufc) Former Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski join Van Damme and Lundgren for the latest action-packed chapter in the series. This time, an army of Universal Soldiers has gone A.W.O.L. and only one man can stop them.
Director John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration), hailed by the Village Voice as a leading candidate for best action director working today,...
From the Press Release
Action legends Jean-Claude Van Damme (The Expendables 2) and Dolph Lundgren
(The Expendables 2) are back for the ultimate battle between soldiers in Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning, available January 22nd on Blu-ray™ and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Scott Adkins (The Bourne Ultimatum) and Ultimate Fighting Champion (Ufc) Former Heavyweight Champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski join Van Damme and Lundgren for the latest action-packed chapter in the series. This time, an army of Universal Soldiers has gone A.W.O.L. and only one man can stop them.
Director John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration), hailed by the Village Voice as a leading candidate for best action director working today,...
- 1/3/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
John Hyams’s last two films—Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009) and Dragon Eyes (2012)—were distinguished by their keen sense of action-setpiece construction and their potent use of motion and space. Regeneration, the weightier and more accomplished of the two, even achieved a sort of tragic grandeur; its images of empty-eyed soldiers fighting ceaselessly in irradiated urban ruins play like action-movie poetry.
Hyams’ new film, however, is an ambitious radical departure—a ballsy, heady genre mutant that confirms that Hyams is something more than just a smart and talented action traditionalist. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning—slippery, chilly, queasy—grafts an art-horror movie on to the rootstock of a violent action flick. It bears only a passing resemblance to Regeneration, and has even less in common with the original Universal Soldier (1992); in fact, the two films it brings to mind are Lost Highway and Videodrome.
Held together by an atmosphere of sustained dread,...
Hyams’ new film, however, is an ambitious radical departure—a ballsy, heady genre mutant that confirms that Hyams is something more than just a smart and talented action traditionalist. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning—slippery, chilly, queasy—grafts an art-horror movie on to the rootstock of a violent action flick. It bears only a passing resemblance to Regeneration, and has even less in common with the original Universal Soldier (1992); in fact, the two films it brings to mind are Lost Highway and Videodrome.
Held together by an atmosphere of sustained dread,...
- 12/5/2012
- by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
- MUBI
"In my future, you're dead."
According to 1994's Timecop, time travel is possible by the year 2004, and only the officers of the Time Enforcement Commission (Tec) can stop abusers from using the technology. So, perhaps director Peter Hyams (Outland) and screenwriters Mark Verheiden and Mike Richardson (who wrote the Dark Horse comic that inspired the movie) were a bit off on their prognostication on when time travel would be invented, but that didn't stop Timecop from being Jean Claude Van Damme's highest-grossing movie. The movie was just the beginning of the association between Van Damme and Hyams, who would reunite for 1995's Sudden Death, while Van Damme has worked with Hyams' son, director John Hyams for 2009's Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, which is currently available on VOD.
Timecop follows Van Damme as Tec agent Max Walker, who discovers a plot by a corrupt senator...
According to 1994's Timecop, time travel is possible by the year 2004, and only the officers of the Time Enforcement Commission (Tec) can stop abusers from using the technology. So, perhaps director Peter Hyams (Outland) and screenwriters Mark Verheiden and Mike Richardson (who wrote the Dark Horse comic that inspired the movie) were a bit off on their prognostication on when time travel would be invented, but that didn't stop Timecop from being Jean Claude Van Damme's highest-grossing movie. The movie was just the beginning of the association between Van Damme and Hyams, who would reunite for 1995's Sudden Death, while Van Damme has worked with Hyams' son, director John Hyams for 2009's Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, which is currently available on VOD.
Timecop follows Van Damme as Tec agent Max Walker, who discovers a plot by a corrupt senator...
- 12/2/2012
- by Ryan Gowland
- Reelzchannel.com
by Nick Schager
[This week's "Retro Active" pick is inspired by its sequel, the Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren horror-actioner Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning]
For a franchise predicated on resurrection, it's an unexpected twist to find Universal Soldier: Regeneration reviving the long-dormant Jean-Claude Van Damme/Dolph Lundgren series by switching its focus from reanimation to cloning. Replication, however, does not breed derivation in John Hyams' 2009 direct-to-video gem, which ignores a handful of preceding sequels and picks up some time after Roland Emmerich's 1992 original, in which 'Nam soldiers Luc Deveraux (Van Damme) and Andrew Scott (Lundgren) were brought back to life as superhuman killing machines by the U.S. government. At the start of Regeneration, that covert project has shifted to cloning and modifying the deceased into unstoppable zombie warriors, and has fallen into the wrong hands courtesy of Dr. Colin (Kerry Shale), who's gone rogue and sold his services—namely, a behemoth dubbed Ngu (Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski)—to Commander Topov (Zahary Baharov), who's threatening to detonate a Chernobyl...
[This week's "Retro Active" pick is inspired by its sequel, the Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren horror-actioner Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning]
For a franchise predicated on resurrection, it's an unexpected twist to find Universal Soldier: Regeneration reviving the long-dormant Jean-Claude Van Damme/Dolph Lundgren series by switching its focus from reanimation to cloning. Replication, however, does not breed derivation in John Hyams' 2009 direct-to-video gem, which ignores a handful of preceding sequels and picks up some time after Roland Emmerich's 1992 original, in which 'Nam soldiers Luc Deveraux (Van Damme) and Andrew Scott (Lundgren) were brought back to life as superhuman killing machines by the U.S. government. At the start of Regeneration, that covert project has shifted to cloning and modifying the deceased into unstoppable zombie warriors, and has fallen into the wrong hands courtesy of Dr. Colin (Kerry Shale), who's gone rogue and sold his services—namely, a behemoth dubbed Ngu (Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski)—to Commander Topov (Zahary Baharov), who's threatening to detonate a Chernobyl...
- 12/2/2012
- GreenCine Daily
Editor’s note: This review originally ran as part of our Fantastic Fest 2012 coverage, and since Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning in now playing in limited release, we reckon it’s a good time to repost it. As if slipping into a nine-year coma isn’t bad enough, John’s extended nap was preceded by the murders of his wife and daughter. He does not have the best of luck. As he begins to regain his memory, after waking from the coma he was beaten into at the end of a crowbar, John begins to hunt for his wife’s killer. All the while, mercenaries of highly advanced skills begin to stalk him, and the mysteries of his own past come spin-kicking to the surface. Spoiler: Universal Soldiers are involved. When John Hyams brought Universal Soldier: Regeneration to Fantastic Fest in 2009, expectations were hovering somewhere around the stickiest parts of the theater floor. That...
- 12/1/2012
- by Brian Salisbury
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
Directed by John Hyams
Written by John Hyams, Doug Magnuson, and Jon Greenhalgh
USA, 2012
In a landscape of tired genre exercises and lame action reboots, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning feels like a tidal wave of renewal. In the hands of director John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration), the franchise not only gets a stylistic facelift, but expands its mark to seriously deranged and disturbing places. While Regeneration was populated by battered and faded faces, each highlighted by the melancholic irony of such a reboot, Hyams’ latest goes further in embracing the monsters these films have bred since 1992.
While Luc Deveraux (Van Damme) and Andrew Scott (Lundgren) were mainstays in past entries, they’re merely whittled down to minor roles this time around. Scott Adkins is the primary star and our surrogate into Hyams’ dreary and foreboding landscape of slain bodies and jilted psyches. Adkins plays John,...
Directed by John Hyams
Written by John Hyams, Doug Magnuson, and Jon Greenhalgh
USA, 2012
In a landscape of tired genre exercises and lame action reboots, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning feels like a tidal wave of renewal. In the hands of director John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration), the franchise not only gets a stylistic facelift, but expands its mark to seriously deranged and disturbing places. While Regeneration was populated by battered and faded faces, each highlighted by the melancholic irony of such a reboot, Hyams’ latest goes further in embracing the monsters these films have bred since 1992.
While Luc Deveraux (Van Damme) and Andrew Scott (Lundgren) were mainstays in past entries, they’re merely whittled down to minor roles this time around. Scott Adkins is the primary star and our surrogate into Hyams’ dreary and foreboding landscape of slain bodies and jilted psyches. Adkins plays John,...
- 12/1/2012
- by Ty Landis
- SoundOnSight
"You can't run from this war, soldier!"
Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren has played many memorable characters in his career, from his breakout role as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV to unstable sniper Gunner Jensen in The Expendables, but his most enduring role has been that of soldier-turned-zombie cyborg Luc Devereaux in the Universal Soldier (Us) series he helped launch back in 1992. After taking a hiatus from feature films while living in Spain, Lundgren returned to the Us franchise in 2009 in Universal Soldier: Regeneration and he's back again in the sequel, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, which is currently available on Demand.
Tonight, we're kicking it old school style with the movie that launched the franchise. Join us for an action-packed thrill ride featuring Lundgren and fellow '80s action superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme as two special forces soldiers who killed each other during the Vietnam War and continued their conflict...
Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren has played many memorable characters in his career, from his breakout role as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV to unstable sniper Gunner Jensen in The Expendables, but his most enduring role has been that of soldier-turned-zombie cyborg Luc Devereaux in the Universal Soldier (Us) series he helped launch back in 1992. After taking a hiatus from feature films while living in Spain, Lundgren returned to the Us franchise in 2009 in Universal Soldier: Regeneration and he's back again in the sequel, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, which is currently available on Demand.
Tonight, we're kicking it old school style with the movie that launched the franchise. Join us for an action-packed thrill ride featuring Lundgren and fellow '80s action superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme as two special forces soldiers who killed each other during the Vietnam War and continued their conflict...
- 12/1/2012
- by BrentJS Sprecher
- Reelzchannel.com
Today the next chapter in the ongoing Universal Soldier saga is set to be released in selected theaters; more horror than sci-fi, John Hyams' Day of Reckoning reunites Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme for one more battle to the death.
But this time up-and-coming action star Scott Adkins is getting in on the action.
Dread Central recently attended the press day for Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (review), where we caught up with Lundgren and director Hyams to hear more about this installment in the ever-growing franchise, their experiences making the film and much more.
Lundgren also briefly chatted about the upcoming Expendables 3 and potentially co-starring in that flick alongside Nicolas Cage.
Check out the highlights from the Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning press conference below, and look for the flick now that's arrived in theaters everywhere!
Question: So, John, what was the hardest part of shooting this Universal Soldier for you?...
But this time up-and-coming action star Scott Adkins is getting in on the action.
Dread Central recently attended the press day for Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (review), where we caught up with Lundgren and director Hyams to hear more about this installment in the ever-growing franchise, their experiences making the film and much more.
Lundgren also briefly chatted about the upcoming Expendables 3 and potentially co-starring in that flick alongside Nicolas Cage.
Check out the highlights from the Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning press conference below, and look for the flick now that's arrived in theaters everywhere!
Question: So, John, what was the hardest part of shooting this Universal Soldier for you?...
- 11/30/2012
- by thehorrorchick
- DreadCentral.com
A few weeks ago, Hurricane Sandy was on its way, and I more or less knew that my home in suburban Connecticut would be without power for days on end. Of course, no power meant no movies. So, in addition to collecting bottled water and making sure all of the flashlights had batteries, I downloaded a film from iTunes to watch on my Macbook Air. That movie was "Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning."Much to my surprise, it ended up being a hugely entertaining beacon of light and one of the very best action movies of the year. But… what? Why? How? Read on for an explanation as to why "Day Of Reckoning" is so unthinkably great. It Doesn't Matter If You Haven't Seen Another "Universal Soldier" Movie The original "Universal Soldier" was released back in 1992. Like "Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning," it features memorable performances by expendables Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren.
- 11/30/2012
- by Drew Taylor
- Moviefone
Action star Dolph Lundgren and director John Hyams were in attendance at a recent press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills to talk about their latest movie, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. The fourth installment in the surprisingly undying franchise has Lundgren reprising his role of Andrew Scott, who along with Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), now operates the Unisol Church of Eventualism, which works to bring in wayward soldiers like themselves to create a new world order.
During the press conference, Hyams and Lundgren discussed the hardest part of shooting the film, where they want to see the franchise go next, what the appeal of the series is and much more.
Check it out below.
We Got This Covered: John, what was the hardest part of shooting this film for you?
John Hyams: It’s not a huge budget movie so you’re on a tight schedule,...
During the press conference, Hyams and Lundgren discussed the hardest part of shooting the film, where they want to see the franchise go next, what the appeal of the series is and much more.
Check it out below.
We Got This Covered: John, what was the hardest part of shooting this film for you?
John Hyams: It’s not a huge budget movie so you’re on a tight schedule,...
- 11/29/2012
- by Ben Kenber
- We Got This Covered
You have to give director John Hyams credit for not just giving audiences the same old thing with Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. Those expecting a fun and action-packed thrill ride are going to be in for a major shock as this entry in the long-running franchise functions more as a horror movie than anything else. But despite the fact that the filmmakers are taking this series in a different direction, it doesn’t change the fact that the film is slow and dull in several spots, so much so that in the end, it doesn’t work as a whole.
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren return as our favorite Universal Soldiers: Luc Deveraux and Andrew Scott, and they have since formed the Unisol Church of Eventualism, which has them taking in wayward soldiers like themselves whom the government has been secretly operating as remote-controlled sleeper agents. Their goal...
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren return as our favorite Universal Soldiers: Luc Deveraux and Andrew Scott, and they have since formed the Unisol Church of Eventualism, which has them taking in wayward soldiers like themselves whom the government has been secretly operating as remote-controlled sleeper agents. Their goal...
- 11/29/2012
- by Ben Kenber
- We Got This Covered
The first “Universal Soldier,” a tacky studio star vehicle that introduced us to director Roland Emmerich, debuted to the public as a Clinton-era signifier. It featured two resurrected soldiers eternally at war, products of a system that would allow them to kill and kill again over the years, brought back to be the new world‘s attack dog heroes. An ending to that film assured us that these war-like tendencies could be either deprogrammed or eliminated entirely as one heroic fighter (Luc Deveraux, as played by Jean-Claude Van Damme) learned to love, and one villainous antagonist (Andrew Scott, as played by Dolph Lundgren) learned to accept dismemberment. Context was the key, context which was essentially eliminated in two dirt-cheap cable sequels and a quickie theatrical follow-up, but not direct-to-dvd installment, “Universal Soldier: Regeneration.” That film’s director, John (son of Peter) Hyams, was the first in this series to properly.
- 11/29/2012
- by Gabe Toro
- The Playlist
After the simple action triumph of Universal Soldier: Regeneration comes John Hyams' follow-up, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. While I wouldn't call Day of Reckoning a good film in the traditional sense, it is certainly a fascinating one, filled with surprising plot twists and ambitious left turns regarding the Universal Soldier mythos. All these brave and occasionally ill-advised gambles results in an undoubtedly strange movie-watching experience. Here are just some reasons why. (Massive spoilers ahead!) Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren Are Hardly Present Series regulars Luke Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) are given very little to do in this sequel. While both get an incredible fight scene to call their own...
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- 11/28/2012
- by Evan Saathoff
- Movies.com
The Universal Soldiers are back in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning , the sequel to 2009's Universal Soldier: Regeneration with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski all reprising their characters. Once again directed by John Hyams, this one stars Scott Adkins (last seen in The Expendables 2 ) as a man named John, who wakes up from a coma after a home invasion that kills his wife and daughter, vowing to kill the man responsible, which just so happens to be Van Damme's Luc Deveraux who has a number of his enhanced universal soldiers to keep John away from him. Magnolia Pictures has supplied ComingSoon.net with an exclusive extended clip of one of the movie's big action sequences as John chases after Arlovski's character after...
- 10/29/2012
- Comingsoon.net
News.
The BFI London Film Festival has announced its 2012 award winners. Jacques Audiard's Rust & Bone is the Best Film, and Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild (which also picked up an award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival this past week) is the Best Debut. For a complete list of winners, click here. The Rome Film Festival has unveiled some additions to their lineup, including new films from Paul Verhoeven (his mid-length feature Tricked, which we've previously shared the trailer for) and Peter Greenaway. Via The Guardian: It's hard to go very long without hearing word of new projects from Werner Herzog, and his list of forthcoming films has grown yet again with the announcement of his adaptation of Dbc Pierre's Vernon God Little:
"Herzog will return to Texas: it's about a teenager who heads to Mexico after becoming a scapegoat for a high-school killing in a small Texan town.
The BFI London Film Festival has announced its 2012 award winners. Jacques Audiard's Rust & Bone is the Best Film, and Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild (which also picked up an award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival this past week) is the Best Debut. For a complete list of winners, click here. The Rome Film Festival has unveiled some additions to their lineup, including new films from Paul Verhoeven (his mid-length feature Tricked, which we've previously shared the trailer for) and Peter Greenaway. Via The Guardian: It's hard to go very long without hearing word of new projects from Werner Herzog, and his list of forthcoming films has grown yet again with the announcement of his adaptation of Dbc Pierre's Vernon God Little:
"Herzog will return to Texas: it's about a teenager who heads to Mexico after becoming a scapegoat for a high-school killing in a small Texan town.
- 10/25/2012
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
Usually when an action franchise loses one or more of its stars it’s almost a certainty that the series will take a turn for the worst. Most direct to DVD sequels suffer for a variety of reasons whether its the budget, script, or acting. After several unofficial sequels – a couple were released straight to video and one theatrical – John Hyams stepped into the director’s chair for the 2009 “official sequel” to Roland Emmerich’s Universal Soldier film: Universal Soldier: Regeneration. Fans appreciated this entry for the hard-hitting Mma style fighting but also because action veteran Dolph Lundgren returned to the fold. So it should come as no surprise that Hyams was asked back to direct Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning 3D Van Damme and Lundgren in another action packed sequel.
Scott Adkins stars as John; a man who is on the hunt for the group responsible for murdering his wife and kid.
Scott Adkins stars as John; a man who is on the hunt for the group responsible for murdering his wife and kid.
- 9/26/2012
- by Michael Haffner
- Destroy the Brain
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