Tommy Wirkola is a new name for the horror genre but his audacious, hilarious and blood-splattered Norwegian Nazi zombie movie Dead Snow, shows that this is one director who has done his homework.

If the film isn’t making you laugh, cutting something in half or having intestine pulled out of one of the characters, then its winking at the audience with some reference to some of the best-loved horror masterpieces.

Tommy Wirkola has exclusively talked to us about his top five horror movies of all time, and as a list of definitive titles to watch, it’s hard to argue with. Enjoy…

Tommy:

I have been watching horror movies from when I was at a very young age. I blame that on my oldest brother who is 10 years older than me, who brought home the most horrific horror movies for me to watch, when the stuff I should have been watching was things like Sesame Street and Disney movies.

To ask me to only pick five horror movies, is like asking Hannibal Lecter to pick his favourite part on the human body… anyway, here it goes:

TOP 5 HORROR MOVIES BY TOMMY WIRKOLA

5. Drag me to Hell

I LOVED Sam Raimi’s comeback to the horror genre. It was suspenseful, scary as hell, funny and gross. What more can you ask for?

4. Braindead

It’s incredible that a movie can contain THAT MUCH blood, and still be as funny as it is.

3. The Descent

I love this film. It’s scary and never have I felt that out of breath in a movie theatre. Claustrophobic and suspenseful! And it was refreshing to see a movie with an all-female cast.

2. The Evil Dead 2

What can one say? All the things that I love about moviemaking combined in ONE FILM.

1. The Exorcist

I still remember the first time I saw this film. I was alone at home… it was in the middle of winter, which in north of Norway means total darkness, and it was in the middle of the night. I couldn’t sleep for days. I still find it scary, shocking and incredibly well acted. A favourite!

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World Of Warcraft is huge – if you’re a lonely single male who smells like his own underwear, you’ll know this.

But what next? Once you’ve created a game as all-encompassing as World Of Warcraft – where you’re guaranteed to never be more than three feet away from a Korean adolescent with crippling emotional problems – what do you do next? Simple, you turn it into a blockbuster movie featuring a procession of silly haircuts and a borderline-harrowing egg-based musical interlude.

That is to say that Sam Raimi, director of Spider-Man 3 and no other films, is making a World Of Warcraft movie.

Sam Raimi is currently busy putting Spider-Man 4 together for a 2011 release. And we’re pretty excited about it – if the pattern of the last three Spider-Man movies hold then it’s bound to be 12 hours long, full of so many different villains that nobody can really tell what’s going on, utilise a new method of emoting whereby every character gets a different haircut depending on what mood they’re in, feature no less than 14 jarringly awful musical sequences and star a malnourished ice-preserved prehistoric caveman as Kirsten Dunst. It’s going to be awesome.

But what will Sam Raimi do after Spider-Man 4? Well, it turns out that he’s going to direct a game based on World Of Warcraft. Oh, come on, don’t pretend that you don’t know what World Of Warcraft is – it’s a) the world’s biggest multiplayer online game and b) the third most embarrassing thing you can do on the internet after downloading obesity porn and setting your Facebook relationship setting to ‘it’s complicated’. We should let Reuters do the actual explaining here:

Blizzard Entertainment Inc. and Legendary Pictures said on Wednesday that Raimi has signed to make a film out of the Warcraft universe of Azeroth. “Raimi has, in the course of his career, clearly demonstrated a genius for developing and adapting existing fictional universes for mainstream audiences while staying true to the spirit of the original content,” the companies said in a joint statement.

So will Sam Raimi’s World Of Warcraft movie be popular, or even good? It’s hard to say. On one hand, World Of Warcraft has 11.5 million monthly subscribers, which is a pretty large audience base. But on the other hand, they’d all probably dissolve the instant that they came into direct contact with sunlight. Similarly, it’s hard to take a game with 11.5 million different narratives all going on simultaneously and make an engaging, non-interactive story out of it.

But we have total faith in Sam Raimi. As Evil Dead and Drag Me To Hell proved, he’s an inventive and entertaining director – and as Spider-Man proved, he’s able to create commercial blockbusters at the drop of a hat. So nobody has any need to panic about this news – we’re sure that World Of Warcraft will easily become one of the most successful illegal downloads in all of history.

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Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spider-Man) hasn’t made a horror movie in almost a decade (if you count The Gift), but it is the genre where he cut his teeth and created cult hero Ash, played by Bruce ‘This is my boomstick!’ Campbell.

Drag Me To Hell is Raimi’s return to the genre, although he certainly hasn’t been idle in the horror: his production company, Ghost House Pictures, introduced Western audiences to The Grudge and 30 Days of Night.

Drag Me To Hell takes as many cues from Raimi’s old work as some of his more recent Ghost House work. In the vein of the best 70s horror, it is at its heart a morality play, although one with a wicked sense of humour and slightly less gore than your average splatter-horror flick.

Alison Lohman plays Christine, a Midwestern girl trying to make her way in Los Angeles alone. She’s a loan officer at a bank and her boss subtly suggests that making ‘hard decisions’ will help her earn a promotion. Her ‘hard decision’ turns out to be denying an elderly gypsy woman an extension on her mortgage so the bank can repossess her property. Some drama ensues and Christine ends up with a gypsy curse: for three days, she will be tormented by an evil spirit that becomes increasingly more aggressive until it finally – yup – drags her off to Hell.

In this instance, a very literal fire-and-brimstone place beneath the Earth. There’s the usual bits about stopping the curse, the skeptic boyfriend (Justin Long) who ends up coming around to help, and the monetarily-motivated fortune teller who may be Christine’s key to beating the curse.

No need to spoil the ending, the first two acts of the film are Christine being in turn startled, scared, and beaten to hell (pun intended) by the demon while her boyfriend shifts from atheist liberal skeptic to believer. The last act turns the tables a bit and is where Raimi’s classic comedy-horror gets an opportunity to shine. No holds are barred and for a film rated 15 Drag Me To Hell is as genuinely scary and – in the best sense of the word – horrific as you could want.

Horror fans should be well satisfied with Drag Me To Hell, probably the best entry into the genre from a major Hollywood studio in years. And Raimi fans will find a lot to like as well: a familiar car plays a sizable role, and there is an extended reference to a scene from Evil Dead 2 that Sam does a brilliant job of turning on its head.

If there’s anything to complain about, it’s that for the first two acts the film relies a lot on ‘jump’ moments and loud musical cues for its scares – but by the time Christine decides to start kicking demon ass, the movie is in full swing. The ‘twist’ at the end is so obvious it’s almost taking the piss out of dreck like The Sixth Sense – and the final scene should be obvious to anyone who has been paying attention. But it’s an excellent, fright-filled ride to get there.

Now then, grab your chainsaws and head to the cinema. Got it?

Groovy.

[story by Jason Mical]

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So it looks like hecklerspray’s run of Actually Pretty Amazing competition prizes continues apace.

This time we’ve got a stunning prize for one reader – a pair of tickets for an intimate London screening of new horror movie Drag Me To Hell, with a pre-screening drinks reception attended by director Sam Raimi, as well as stars Alison Lohman and Justin Long.

It’s all happening in London next Monday, and frankly we’re considering entering it under an assumed name. But if you want a crack at winning this inexplicably good prize, details are after the jump…

So, to win the Drag Me To Hell screening tickets, all you need to do is answer this question:

Which actor has played a different character in all three of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films?

Send your answers to hello{at}hecklerspray.com with the subject line ‘No, Drag ME To Hell’ and a winner will be randomly picked by the end of the week. The prize includes tickets only, so you’ll have to make your own way to the screening. And you must be free next Monday. UK readers only. Blah blah blah. Good luck and that, yeah?

But after seeing the trailer for the Evil Dead director’s new film Drag Me To Hell, we are holding off on the incontinence nappies for the time being.

The idea of it is pretty good. Basically, main character Alison Lohman, desperate to impress her banker bosses, is cursed by some ugly woman with a funny eye after refusing to grant her a mortgage extension.

It means that some demon has been unleashed to drag her back to hell.

All good so far. But something just doesn’t see right. The effects look pants, while the demon itself looks about as scary as a squirrel with a bad temper.

Also, where is Bruce Campbell? The jury is out, Raimi.

So imagine what the forthcoming Spider-Man 4 and Spider-Man 5 movies would be like without Kirsten Dust’s anemic wailing and egg-based dance routines. You’re imagining they’d be quite good, aren’t you. Well, you’re in luck, because Spider-Man director Sam Raimi is giving off the impression that Kirsten Dunst won’t feature in either of the two new movies.

Actually, we should be a bit more accurate – Sam Raimi implied that Kirsten Dunst’s character Mary-Jane wouldn’t be in the new Spider-Man movies. He also hinted that one of the new Spider-Man villains could be a vicious scaly reptilian humanoid, though, so if that doesn’t warrant a callback for Kirsten Dunst then nothing will.

Remember when the Spider-Man movies were good? Remember when the thought of another Spider-Man sequel seemed like a good thing, rather than something you’d happily drown yourself in cattle guts to avoid? We do too, just about.

We don’t any more, obviously – the musical numbers, eggy dancing, evil haircuts, 19-hour running time and bad sand of Spider-Man 3 has made us fear 2011’s Spider-Man 4 with all the dread we’d usually reserve for an exam or a jail rape.

But luckily, Spider-Man director Sam Raimi has sensed our fear and he wants to calm us all down the best way he can – by implying that the services of Kirsten Dunst probably won’t be required for Spider-Man 4. Or Spider-Man 5, for that matter. Raimi told MTV:

“Kirsten, I’d love to work with her again,” Raimi explained to us this week, making it sound as if current plans to include Dunst for “Spider-Man 4” and “Spider-Man 5” are still up in the air. “I hope she’ll be written into it. I couldn’t imagine making one without her, and I think she’s an important part of the movies.” Nevertheless, Raimi admitted that the very nature of an episodic series requires that characters come and go.

Do you hear that? Kirsten Dunst might not be starring in any more Spider-Man movies. But then if that’s the case, who’s going to upside down kiss Spider-Man? And who’s going to provide the emotional core? And who’ll sing in the movies twice despite having a voice like an asthmatic 80-year-old? And who’ll be a shadowy reminder that age, unhealthy lifestyles and ill-advised romances with dirty indie stars can obliterate your once-good looks completely in a matter of years? Actually, come to think of it, no, we’re alright without any Kirsten Dunst in our Spider-Man thanks.

Actually, that’s a lie. We do want Kirsten Dunst in the new Spider-Man sequels. That’s partly because without her we won’t get the creeping sensation that she thinks she’s bigger than Spider-Man or the constant whining about how hard acting is.

But mainly it’s because, if Kirsten Dunst isn’t hired for Spider-Man 4 and Spider-Man 5, it’ll only give her more time to make more films like Marie Antoinette. And that’s worse.

Marginally.

First he stopped jumping around like a particularly stupid chimp, he stopped going on about Scientology in public – though he did see some of his private video collection released, much to the delight/terror (delete as appropriate) of the general public – and he’s seeing some rave reviews flying about for his small role in Tropic Thunder. So what next?

Well, it’s obvious isn’t it? Star in a superhero film, and get someone like Sam Raimi on board to produce. Which is, apparently, what’s being pushed for by Tom Cruise and Warner Bros, who own the rights to Sleeper – a short running comic book series from a few years back. Well, Raimi’s already on board, but you get the point.

And you can’t fault the man’s logic.

The rumoured decision happily fits in with our theory that Hollywood is physically incapable of having an original thought, ever, ever, ever. It also fits in with the current logic that if you make a film of a comic book it will make a lot of geeks wet with anticipation, thus creating millions upon millions of dollars to line the executive’s pockets with. And we all know how much they love money over there in movieland.

Valuing cash over creativity, honesty or integrity? Say it ain’t so! Ahem.

It appears, if reports are to be believed, that the latest in the line of films the studios hope will emulate the success of Spider-Man 3 and The Dark Knight is an adaptation of Sleeper – a limited series that ran from 2003-05 from the Wildstorm Universe and written by Ed Brubaker, whose writing credits include some work on X-Men and Captain America comics, amongst many others.

It does strike us that such a smalltime comic wouldn’t be the best of the potential earners out there for the studios and actors, but hey ho – it’s their money to waste and, who knows, they might get it right.

They won’t. But, you know – we are the bastions of truth, glory and optimism in the world of the internet. Wait, what? We’re not? Ah crap, Stu isn’t going to be happy…

The connection of Tom Cruise with the project has come about through the usual web of lies/rumours that prop up countless websites across the world, though it did originate at somewhere half-decent in the shape of The Hollywood Reporter, meaning we can leave it to them to explain the finer points:

Written by Ed Brubaker with art by Sean Phillips, “Sleeper,” which ran from 2003-05, centers on an operative whose fusion with an alien artifact makes him impervious to pain and allows him to pass it on to others through skin contact. He is placed undercover in a villainous organization by an intelligence agency and falls for a member of the group, named Miss Misery.

Which sounds absolutely ideal for some big names to get attached to, a plethora of nerds to claim they read the book when it first came out (even though they picked it up off eBay on hearing the news a film was in the making) and a film to come out and get critically panned, while earning a small amount of cash.

You heard it here first.

We should also point out: superpowers afforded by the film adaptation still won’t allow Tom Cruise to keep pizzas warm using magic. Just thought we should point that out yet again.

Yes, for those that saw Spider-Man 3 – he’s the one played by Topher Grace off That 70s Show. He’s the one that should have been one of the best villains in comic movie history, but instead ended up being a complete rush job, thus making one of Spider-Man’s greatest foes actually a big pile of crud.

|Plus he appared to die in the film, so how Sony are going to play this we don’t really know. Time machine? A ‘he’s dead or is he OR IS HE’ angle? Ignoring the film, thus rendering his appearance in the Spider-Man movie worthless? Which it was.

It’ll probably be the third. And we bet Sam Raimi will be happy about that, after being forced to incorporate Venom into his movie in the first place.

Ah, Hollywood.

While it’s not new news that a Venom film is in the pipeline, it has just come about that Sony are pushing for the picture to be released quicksmart. Obviously wanting to ride the wave of popularity created by the successes of both Iron Man and The Dark Knight and seeing that there is, maybe, a place in the mass market for the darker side of comic books, the company have been more or less forced to play their hand.

While a script was already written for the movie, the execs have apparently decided it isn’t up to par and have sent out the word that they’re looking for a new one. The hecklerspray script is on its way, guys! Though we’re sure they’ll pick some no-talent arseclown to pen the bloody thing and it will all go wrong, leaving comic book geeks around the world frothing at the eyeballs.

It’s just that… well… they’ll get it wrong, won’t they? They’ll make Venom into some kind of pansy, or will hamfistedly force in some relatability to the character to try and make the audience sympathise with his plight.

Or they’ll probably make him pink and shoot flower-coated puppies out of his anus as he travels the galaxy bringing happiness and free rainbows to everyone.

Not that we’re cynical or anything – we just can’t see how Sony expect to work it.

Certainly, the popular character’s co-creator, Todd McFarlane thinks they can make it work.

“You don’t want to scare the kids, because the kids love the character,” he said.

“But I think you could add a little bit of a creep factor. I mean, it never bugged me to watch Frankenstein as a kid, so you could have a little bit of it, as long as you have a good story backing it up.”

The Dark Knight is a very dark, depressing film with one of the finest portrayals of a truly twisted mentalist ever seen – but Batman is still a good guy. Iron Man isn’t that dark, and he’s a good guy too. The announced X-Men Origins: Wolverine is sure to tread this same gritty, dark path but – again – Wolverine is a good guy. Conflicted, capable of being a bit maniacal yes – but still a good guy.

Sony will not be able to make major blockbuster work if it’s about a bad guy. The mass-market they so crave just won’t buy into it – they seem to forget that people are idiots. And if the most recent Spider-Man movie was anything to go by, not only will it be a flop, it’ll be shit too.

We’re just saying.

It was a time when some things happened, some stuff did some stuff and some naughty drugs were taken a lot by high-powered businessmen in high-powered business suits.

It was also a time when the original The Evil Dead movie came out, made for around $375,000, starring nobodies, with a sense of humour and receiving a great deal of positive remarks from the critics. Fast forward to the other year and Sam Raimi, director of The Evil Dead has just released Spider-Man 3; a huge-budget summer blockbuster, starring some of Hollywood’s biggest names and courting some very mixed reviews.

The hecklerspray review? It’s shit. No one wants an emo Spider-Man.

Anyway – whatever could be next for the director who really has worked his arse off, seemingly to make some medicore-but-expensive films, all with cameos of Bruce Campbell? Why not move on to some Disney stuff, to make your journey to the dark side complete? Oh, he already has. The bugger.

Yes, Sam Raimi has made his move to the truly evil realms of Hollywood complete by signing on to produce The Transplants – a Disney film referred to as ‘an action-adventure with a comedic bent’. We can handle that. Maybe. It’s alright – he’ll do a good job, surely… right?

But hold on – there’s no need for unfounded optimism. The threat of Raimi truly making the film his own and thus giving it what we call ‘potential’ has been immediately quashed, as The Transplants is written by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobsen. For those who don’t know, which will be most of you, they wrote Not Another Teen Movie.

Ah well, it’ll just be another movie to ignore in a year or two. Not like we don’t have a big enough list to fit them all on.

Maybe we will be proven very wrong though, for once, and this will turn out to be a wonderful experience for the whole family. Maybe Raimi will take the title a little more literally than what is probably intended, and subject the audience to two hours of hilarious organ and limb transplants for the sake of medical/Disney science, with cameos of famous characters for good measure.

Baloo could swap brains with The Lion King’s Scar, making for one of the most evil and physically threatening characters in the history of film. Pick a paw paw BAM! One dead Mowgli.

Maybe the kids from High School Musical could have their limbs replaced with those of Bambi, making for far more entertaining dance routines.

Or Robin Williams’ Genie from Aladdin could be transplanted. Off the screen. Forever.

As long as Raimi keeps his own sense of humour and puts Bruce Campbell in there somewhere it’s sure to keep the nerds happy. Oh, and as long as we don’t have to put up with another unlikeable emo superhero.