Yesterday, Jimmy Hayward was announced as the director of Warner Bros' Jonah Hex. The Horton Hears a Who helmer is a surprising choice, but an ex-PIXAR man really isn't anything to sniff at. As we wait to see what mark Hayward leaves on the Neveldine/Taylor script, MTV News caught up with Jonah's on again, off again star, Josh Brolin. He approves wholeheartedly of Heyward, which would suggest he is actually taking the role. "He's amazing," gushes Brolin. "He's an amazing, amazing guy."

And what does he bring to the project that Neveldine and Taylor didn't? "Brilliance." Yikes. Brolin was quick to temper that potential criticism though. "I think the Crank guys are great. They're wonderful, and Mark [Neveldine] still e-mails me, he's very much involved, but I just think Jimmy Hayward is going to bring something truly unique."

Already, Jonah Hex has inspired a lot more Internet discussion and drama than I would have ever expected him to -- from Thomas Jane's leaked photo, to Brolin's mysterious involvement, to the director switcharoo, he's already had more pre-production press than most of DC's stable. I can't wait to see what other twists and turns this takes on the dusty road to filming.

No matter what I say, I think most of us out there are never going to believe that the follow-up to Neil Marshall's The Descent could ever live up to the original. But, these latest stills from the sequel certainly make me feel a little better about the whole idea -- well, that and the fact that Marshall acted as a 'hands-on' producer for the flick. Still photographer Ollie Upton recently released a whole whack of still photographs from the flick on his website (check them out below) and it looks like things certainly haven't gotten any better for our heroine since we last saw her.

James Watkins' (My Little Eye) script centers on Sarah Carter (Shauna Macdonald), who has emerged from the Appalachian cave covered in her friend's blood, and borderline catatonic. When she is forced to go back down in the caves to help locate her missing companions, she is haunted by visions of what had happened, and as the rescue party ventures further into the caves, Sarah starts to lose her grip on reality. Of course, you can count on the 'Crawlers' making another appearance, and from then on you know things are going to go bad ... very, very, bad.

The Descent: Part 2 will be released in the UK on May 15th, but so far there have been no dates announced for North America. Stay tuned to Cinematical for any updates on a US release, otherwise, those of us on this side of the pond might have to wait for the DVD.

If you watched Horton Hears a Who last spring and immediately thought "This is exactly how I see Jonah Hex," I would have demanded to know what narcotic you were on. Then, I would have had to apologize because you clearly weren't alone. Someone at Warner Bros was thinking the same thing, because according to The Hollywood Reporter, Horton's helmer Jimmy Hayward has stepped in as the director of Jonah Hex.

After losing Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the studio has been frantically searching for a replacement, as they hope to begin shooting in March or April. McG and Andy Fickman were both on the short list, and back in December, Lexi Alexander was reportedly interested in the script. Instead, they chose a former PIXAR man, who made his directoral debut with Horton Hears a Who.

From all reports, they're keeping the Neveldine/Taylor script, so there is that, but Hayward is expected to give it his own mark. Who knows, maybe it's a smaller step from Dr. Seuss to a scarred cowboy than I'm able to picture. You can even argue that animated films and comic books have a lot in common, so you can't really judge ... but it's still a surprising pick, all creative differences considered.

So, will the choice of Hayward tip the balance for Josh Brolin or not? THR is still listing him as attached, but last we heard, he was still undecided as to whether or not to take the lead -- and it all hinged on who was sitting in the director's chair. Will he approve of Hayward over Neveldine and Taylor? Or will he depart for the open prairie, leaving Hayward without a cowboy?

It's about to screen during the After Dark Horrorfest, but before it does, a creepy trailer for Slaughter has hit the net and you can check it out above. Not to be confused with this Slaughter (which is, rumor has it, on hold), the film focuses on two girls who befriend each other. The one has an abusive ex, so she moves to her new friend's family farm. Unfortunately, one horror is traded for another.

The film is a mixture of the premise of how well we know our roommates and their families, and the modern-day interpretation of a true story that happened a century ago. What story that is, however, is under wraps -- supposedly to avoid spoiling the film. It looks pretty cool, and it's certainly a mystery to solve. Which true story is it!? Gah ... The curiosity! They took exactly the right angle to lure me in -- my obsession to read up on the true stories behind truth-based films. But what about you?

If you're itching to find out, the film premieres at the fest on January 9th.

Sometimes these movie sites make me laugh: They'll absolutely trash the remake of a classic horror film like Halloween, but as soon as the sequel gets going, they race to throw up the first bit of casting news, or photos, or release date, as if the first flick never existed. They're excited all over again -- for what ... we have no idea. But anyway, Rob Zombie's Halloween sequel (currently titled H2) has firmed up a release date of August 28th, 2009, returning once again to the time of year that was very kind to it the first time around. A little unrealistic considering August is only eight months away? Sure ... but it's a horror sequel, and they can write, shoot and edit those things in like a month, tops.

Along with the release date, Zombie threw up an image of the new Michael Myers mask in its early sculpting stages on his MySpace page (check it out by clicking the image below). It should be fascinating to watch this sequel grow, since a) the first one made a whole lot of money, but b) it wasn't successful with fans at all. Could the late summer release actually hurt the film this time around? Would it do better during Halloween season -- perhaps convincing those fans on the fence to see it because it's October and they want more horror? We're sending out a feeler to see how many of you are actually looking forward to this sequel, so sound off below ...

Yesterday was the first Friday of the new year, and not ONE wide release hit the screens. But I could have sworn that the first Friday of the year was reserved for a massive crap-heap of alleged horror! Nope, but the guys at After Dark Horrorfest saw an opportunity, which is why we'll get NINE new scare flicks next week! Oh wait, I almost forgot...

January
9
Autopsy (After Dark) -- Hospital-style hell. Often attempted, rarely well.
The Broken (After Dark) -- Lena Headey. Richard Jenkins. Evil doppelganger. Slick flick.
The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations (After Dark) -- A theatrical-release sequel to a DTV sequel. Weird.
Dying Breed (After Dark) -- Horror from down unda'. Familiar but effective. I dug it.
From Within (After Dark) -- Also known as The Tribeca Nap.
Perkins' 14 (After Dark) -- A bunch of brainwashed folks go psycho. Sounds cool.
Slaughter (After Dark) -- Chick moves to a haunted farm. Really?
The Unborn (Rogue) -- David Goyer. Undead kid. Cloverfield hottie. PG-13.
Voices (After Dark) -- Occult from Korea.
16
My Bloody Valentine 3-D (Lionsgate) -- Good, goofy, gory fun. Find a 3-D theater.
23
Donkey Punch (Magnet) -- Stylish, nasty, sexy, speedy.
The Lodger (Sony) -- It was a book before Hitchcock got there. Solid cast, too.
Outlander (Third Rail) -- Aliens, Vikings & Monsters. Oh my.
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (Screen Gems) -- Aren't we about due for Underworld vs. Resident Evil?
30
The Uninvited (Paramount) -- Remake of the excellent Tale of Two Sisters. PG-13.

It isn't just superhero stories that do brisk business in Hollywood these days -- horror comics are popular too. Variety reports that the latest to be optioned is The Night Projectionist, an upcoming miniseries published by Studio 407, which will be brought to the big screen by Myriad Pictures. The two have also teamed up for Hybrid, which will begin production later this year.

Penned by Bob Heske, it's a story more along the lines of 30 Days of Night than the bloodsuckers of Twilight or Underworld. The story kicks off in 18th century Romania (as all vampire stories must) as a village prepares to lynch a village girl for launching a vampire plague that is destroying their humble townsfolk.

Fast forward to present day and Halloween's Eve, where an all night Dracula-thon film festival is taking place in a decrepit theater. Unluckily for the attendees, the projectionist is a vampire -- and with his help, the human audience is trapped inside, ready to be feasted upon. (This could happen to any one of us -- carry a crucifix to your next all-night film festival, readers.) It all connects back to that unlucky Romanian village, and the man who betrayed it all those years ago.

You can catch a preview of the comic over on Studio 407's website -- the art is fantastic and there is actually a pretty cool twist in just 8 pages of story. (For the artistically inclined, there's also a behind-the-scenes look at the artwork on Horror Comic Book News.) Heske's first issue isn't due on shelves until February, but it's gotten good reviews from Ain't It Cool News, Comics Bulletin, and the Rundown already. Definitely one to look out for.

It's been cooking for over a year, and while you might have wished for the project to slip into development hell and never escape, Scream 4 is still on the way. According to HorrorMovies.ca, a community member has shared the latest about the sequel, which is said to reboot the horror movie-loving franchise.

If the source is right, 4 will jump into production early this year, "re-starting" the franchise, but adding in some old characters. It seems that Jamie Kennedy told iFMagazine that he might reprise his role, and that "the rest of the cast would be a mixture of new characters with 'old faces that you wouldn't believe,' and that the film will only go ahead with the involvement of director Wes Craven." As of December 13, writer Michael T. Kennedy was still waiting to hear from the Weinsteins about whether his script was a Go.

I'm not quite sure how you reboot the franchise, include the original characters, yet focus on new ones. Was there another killer out there while Billy and Stu sliced and diced their friends? Is Sidney not the only girl in Woodsboro to attract vengeful murderers? What faces will return? I've always wished for a Scream franchise where Randy and Tatum were the ones who got to live, but I think that ship has sailed.

*Note: The attached photo is a fake.

Scott Weinberg and I are the Cinematical night owls. You're probably reading this at a very sensible time of the day, enjoying something called "sunshine" and a "blue sky," and we're probably sleeping. That's how dedicated the folks at Cinematical are -- we work around the clock!

I tell you this because you might be wondering why one Cinematical writer is posting about another. That's because Mr. Weinberg likes to shyly send me links to prove he never actually does sleep, and instead works 24/7 watching, reviewing, and compiling the best and worst in horror films all year long. He's gone and done it again over at GreenCine, compiling the Top 50 Horror DVDs of 2008. I've seen maybe three of these, because I actually do require sleep.

So heck -- I decided to be the Pepper Potts to his Tony Stark and write up a little something, since he was too modest to do it himself. Plus, the real reason Weinberg sent me the link was to show me GreenCine, which I'm itching to explore further. This place is like an indie-Netflix, with the added benefit of being able to access a community of lists, reviews, and recommendations. You can rent, download, and buy movies here -- it's going to be a lot of fun to watch this place grow. Between this and Netflix, movie fans may be leaving their houses less and less. I know you and I will -- we've got to beat Weinberg at his own movie watching game!

When we were kicking around ideas for year-end superlative Cinematical Sevens, I was proudly tasked with chronicling the year's finest in big-screen mayhem, violence, destruction and other such shenanigans. When I was kicking around ideas for said feature between me, myself, and I, there were too many titles to leave off the list, so instead of highlighting only a mere couple of movies, I've opted to sort these puppies out by specific manner of cinematic excess.

So there.

1. Most pervasive destruction - The Joker may have terrorized Gotham to the tune of a destroyed hospital, a wrecked helicopter, a sunken SWAT truck, a toasty fire engine, and a golden district attorney, but even he can't top the Cloverfield monster's swath of destruction across the real-life Gotham. Statue of Liberty? Gone. Brooklyn Bridge? History. Central Park? Adios. And that's not including all the Hollister stores that our protagonists might've fled to. (On a smaller scale, though, Inside's lady in black terrorizes a pregnant woman on Christmas Eve to the point of all but painting every last wall in her house with the blood of her victims. Gotta love the French!)