Bollywood star Mallika Sherawat shows off her serpentine moves in a new music video promoting her long-delayed snake-woman thriller Hisss. Entitled “Sway,” the song marks Sherawat’s singing debut and is based on an old Indian folksong about the half-woman/half-snake creature known as the Nagin.

Peep the video:

Hisss is directed by Jennifer Lynch (Surveillance) and stars Sherawat as a Nagin serpent-woman out for blood after her lover is murdered. The film was shot in India and costars renowned Indian actor Irrfan Khan (Slumdog Millionaire).

Despite having played at the AFM, Cannes, and the Berlin International Film Festival, the flick has yet to strike a distribution deal in the States.

Sherawat’s snake-woman made Clatto’s list of The 11 Sexiest Maneater Babes in Horror/Sci-fi

The friendly degenerates at Grindhouse Releasing invite you to enjoy a special screening of one of the most gruesome and controversial slasher flicks to ever get feminists’ panties in a bunch: Maniac. A beloved classic among gore-geeks, the 1980 Bill Lustig-directed film stars Joe Spinell as Frank Zito, an especially deranged killer of innocent young women.

From the press release:

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Grindhouse Releasing, the company that brought you THE EVIL DEAD,  CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, PIECES and Duke Mitchell’s GONE WITH THE POPE, has partnered with director Bill Lustig of Blue Underground to present Mr. Lustig’s controversial horror classic MANIAC in theaters across North America.

MANIAC stars Joe Spinell (ROCKY, THE GODFATHER, TAXI DRIVER) as Frank Zito, a deeply disturbed man haunted by the traumas of unspeakable childhood abuse. When these horrific memories begin to scream inside his mind, Frank prowls the seedy streets of New York City to stalk and slaughter innocent young women. Even as he begins a relationship with a beautiful photographer (Caroline Munro of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME), Frank continues to act on his vile compulsions. The film holds nothing back in depicting the atrocities of a human monster.

MANIAC earned instant notoriety in 1980 as the most graphic and disturbing of all slasher films, thanks to the gruesome special effects wizardry of Tom Savini (DAWN OF THE DEAD, FRIDAY THE 13TH). Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert called for their audience to boycott MANIAC, feminists protested the film’s brutal violence, and other critics simply reviled the film as “sick” and “dirty.”

Aside from the shocking, bloody special effects sequences, MANIAC draws much of its power from the acting of the late Spinell, who also co-wrote and executive produced the film.

“MANIAC’s longevity is a tribute to the extraordinary talent of Joe Spinell, whose compelling performance has resonated with worldwide audiences since the film’s release 30 years ago,” Mr. Lustig said. “I’m very pleased to work with Grindhouse Releasing on this series of screenings.”

Maniac screenings begin Oct. 29 & 30 at the Egyptian Theater in Seattle. Joe Lustig will introduce the film on Nov. 5 at the Nuart Theater in Los Angeles.

Check the following listings to see if Maniac is playing near you:

Oct. 29-30            Egyptian (Seattle) – presented by The Stranger

Nov. 5                   Nuart (LA) – Director William Lustig in person

Nov. 12 -13          Esquire (Denver)

Nov. 12-13          River Oaks (Houston)

Nov. 12                Toronto Underground Cinema (*tentative)

Nov. 19-20          Sunshine (NY) – Bill Lustig in person

Nov. 19-20          Inwood (Dallas)

Nov. 26-27          Hi-Pointe (St. Louis)

Dec. 3-4                Uptown (Minneapolis)

Dec. 3-4                E Street (DC)

Dec. 10 – 11         Castro (San Francisco) – director William Lustig in person

Dec. 17 – 18         Oaks (Pittsburgh)

Jan. 15       Hollywood Theater (Portland, OR)

Visit www.GrindhouseReleasing.com for more dates as they are confirmed. If you can’t see Maniac in your city, pick up the Blu-ray on Oct. 26.

Spike TV’s 5th Annual Scream Awards were held last night at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. I was in no mood to wear pants for the shindig and so decided I’d watch it at home on Tuesday, Oct. 19 (9:00–11:00 PM, ET/PT) with Mrs. Muertos and a couple of pitchers of Mojitos.

Judging from the photos, the show appears to have been a major production complete with movie props, stunts, and tributes to “Lost” and Back to the Future. Trailers were also premiered for New Line’s Anthony Hopkin’s exorcism-thriller The Rite, Wes Craven’s Scream 4, and Paramount Pictures’ eagerly-anticipated Paranormal Activity 2.

LOST Tribute

Stars partaking in the festivities included Green Lantern’s Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Ghostbuster Bill Murray, Megan Fox and Passion Play costar Mickey Rourke, Anna Paquin and hubby Stephen Moyer, sexual-chocolate Halle Berry, headbanger Marilyn Manson, Twilight’s Kristen Stewart and Nikki Reed, douchebag James Cameron, Eli “Bear Jew” Roth and cast members from “True Blood” and “The Vampire Diaries.”

Guy Who Isn't Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, & Ian Somerhalder

Films nominated this year included Inception, Avatar, Predators, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Paranormal Activity, District 9, The Crazies, Kick Ass, and Zombieland. TV noms went to “LOST,” “True Blood,” “Dexter,” “Dr. Who,” and “V.”

Up for Best Horror Actress were Julie Benz for “Dexter,” Emily Blunt for The Wolfman, Emma Stone for Zombieland, Milla Jovovich for The Fourth Kind, Charlotte Gainsbourg  for Antichrist, and Anna Paquin for “True Blood.”

Ghostbuster Bill Murray

Award winners have already been named on less considerate websites, but all you’ll find here are photos. Why? Because I’ve got absolutely nothing planned for Tuesday night (what? the human sacrifice canceled).

Check out the gallery (courtesy of Zimbio):

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Image Entertainment hosted the world premiere of screenwriter-turned-first-time-director Mitch Glazer’s supernatural-romance story Passion Play last month at the 35th annual Toronto International Film Festival. I’m a little late to the party, but figured any time is a good time to see photos of Megan Fox all done up.

Passion Play stars Fox as an angel saved from performing as a circus sideshow freak by a downtrodden saxophonist played by Mickey Rourke. The film costars Kelly Lynch (The Jacket), Rhys Ifans (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Chris Browning (Let Me In), and the highly overrated Bill Murray (Zombieland) as circus owner Happy Shannon.

Enjoy the pics:

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Director Darren Lynn Bousman’s long-postponed thriller Mother’s Day played to rave reviews at this year’s Fantastic Fest film festival in Austin, Texas. Word has it that Bousman really brings home the brutality and drama found in screenwriter Scott Milam’s adaptation of the 1980 Troma film of the same name.

The official synopsis reads:

After a bank robbery goes wrong, three brothers head for home only to discover that their mother lost the house in a foreclosure. The new owners and their guests, gathered for an ill-timed birthday party, become the brothers’ unwitting hostages.

Their mother and sister arrive and it soon becomes obvious that Mother will do absolutely anything to protect her children. In one terrifying evening, Mother brilliantly takes control of the situation and masterminds her sons’ escape.

Considering Bousman is the man behind Saw 2 & 3 and Repo! The Genetic Opera, I don’t doubt for a minute that Mother’s Day is going to deliver on kills and suspense. But, what is really impressive about the film is its insanely stroke-worthy female cast.

Milfy Rebecca De Mornay (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle) headlines the flick as Mother. Also along for the ride are fashion-model-turned-actress Jaime King (My Bloody Valentine 3-D), sexy TV starlets Deborah Ann Woll (“True Blood”) and A.J. Cook (“Criminal Minds”), up-and-coming babes Briana Evigan (Burning Bright) and Sara Paxton (The Inn Keepers), and genre babe Alexa Vega (Repo! The Genetic Opera).

Mother’s Day has yet to find U.S. distribution.

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If it’s Halloween, it must be Saw.

Lionsgate has released a clip from director Kevin Greutert’s eagerly anticipated (by me anyway) Saw 3-D. The footage reintroduces Cary Elwes as Dr. Lawrence Gordon and takes place at a support group meeting for survivors of Jigsaw’s games. Sean Patrick Flanery plays the group’s founder Bobby Dagen (pictured above).

Take a look … or don’t. The choice is yours:

Saw 3-D was shot in authentic 3-D and stars series players Tobin Bell (John Kramer/Jigsaw), Costas Mandylor (Det. Hoffman), Betsy Russell (Jill Tuck), James Van Patten (Dr. Heffner), and I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess Shawnee Smith (Amanda Young).

New faces include sexy genre babe Gina Holden (Final Destination 3), Rebecca Marshall (Repo! The Genetic Opera), Greg Bryk (Immortals), Italian starlet Claudia DiFaolco (The Manson Girls), and VH1’s “Scream Queens 2” winner Gaby West.

The Saw franchise was named Most Successful Horror Movie Series by the Guinness Book of World Records earlier this year. The film’s first six installments have earned $732 million in global box office sales.

Saw 3-D arrives in theaters on Oct. 28. Peep images from the film here. If you need a refresher on what happened last in the series, check out the Saw 6 review.

Summit Entertainment has rolled out the first official trailer for director Patrick Lussier’s (My Bloody Valentine 3-D) supernatural road-rage-actioner Drive Angry 3-D. The film stars Nicolas Cage as a damned soul who escapes from hell to run down the pricks that murdered his daughter and abducted his grandchild.

Peep the trailer:

Drive Angry 3-D costars Amber Heard (And Then the Darkness), Billy Burke (Twilight Saga), David Morse (Disturbia), Charlotte Ross (”NYPD Blue”), Katy Mixon (The Quiet), Bryan Massey (Boggy Creek), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Captivity), Wanetah Walmsley (Vampires Suck), and Playboy model Christa Campbell (2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams).

Drive Angry 3-D hits theaters on Feb 11, 2011.

After taking a quick break from shooting blockbuster films to go nude in the indie abduction-thriller The Disappearance of Alice Creed, British actress Gemma Arterton is ready to return to tent-pole movie-making. The 24-year-old up-and-comer is said to be in negotiations to star in director Barry Sonnenfeld’s soon-to-start-shooting Men in Black 3-D.

Arterton is reportedly up for the part of a 1960’s MIB secretary serving under the organization’s head (to possibly be played by Alec Baldwin). Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise their roles as Agent Jay and Agent Kay.  Josh Brolin and Emma Thompson costar.

Arterton first caught moviegoers attention as James Bond’s doomed love interest Strawberry Fields in 2008’s Quantum of Solace. Since then she’s played female leads in Warner Bros. remake of Clash of the Titans and in Michael Bay’s epic video game adaptation Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.

Alice Eve is in talks to star opposite John Cusack (2012) and Luke Evans (Immortals) in director James McTeigue’s (V for Vendetta) Edgar Allan Poe based thriller The Raven.

Set in 1849 Baltimore, The Raven follows author Edgar Allan Poe (Cusack) as he attempts to rescue his wife (Eve) from a serial killer who is tailoring his murders to match the deaths found in the novelist’s most popular books. Evans plays the detective Poe teams up with for help.

Eve recently landed the female lead in director David Brooks’ upcoming  feature film debut ATM. She was originally set to star in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: First Class, but lost the part to “Mad Men’s” January Jones.

British actress Kacey Barnfield performs her first full-frontal nude scene in Sony Pictures/Stage 6’s upcoming straight-to-DVD thriller Lake Placid 3. The 22-year-old newcomer costars with Roxanne Pallett and Angelica Penn as naked college coeds terrorized by a giant man-eating croc during their stay in the fictional town of Black Lake.

The film’s official synopsis reads:

When local wildlife is brutally mauled and campers are reduced to carcasses, biologist Nathan Bickerman knows a voracious predator is on the loose. So does a feisty female hunting guide out for her next trophy.

As the body count rises, the local sheriff tries to keep things quiet and keep the tourists coming. But when the horrifying, hulking truth emerges, can anyone stop these cold blooded killers before they claim their next victim?

Lake Placid 3 is directed by Griff Furst and stars Yancy Butler (“Witchblade”), Colin Ferguson (“Eureka”), and Michael Ironside (Terminator: Salvation).

Barnfield recently made her American feature film debut as aspiring-actress-turned-zombie-apocalypse-survivor Crystal Waters in director Paul W.S. Anderson’s box office hit Resident Evil: Afterlife 3-D.

Peep the red band trailer.