Sorry for tricking you, but I just used that headline to grab your attention. I haven't even seen Twilight yet. But if you're someone who's in the market for a film based on an award-winning book about a dark-yet-poignant romance between two young people -- one of whom happens to be a vampire -- then I have a movie that's NOT called Twilight that I want you to check out. You'll have to (gasp) brave some subtitles to earn your rewards, but Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In is one fantastic film. Either you know that already, you've heard it already, or you'll find out in a few months time: It's awesome.

Anyway, Magnet / Magnolia has just announced an official release pattern for the brilliant Swedish film, and I'll give you the full calendar after the jump, but I will say this: There's good news afoot if you happen to live in or around New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia (hooray!), Seattle, Denver, Nashville, Santa Fe, Hartford ... Oh hell, just click on in and check the big list. (And thanks to Fangoria for the heads-up.)

As much as I hate to contribute to "overhype," some films just deserve the praise. Like this one. As far as Twilight goes, well, if it's half as good as LTROI, then it will be a VERY good film. (Again, I'm not comparing -- merely piggy-backing on a popular title in the hopes of shedding some light on a much smaller one. Movie geeks are clever that way.)

**Update: Added NY and LA info

I've done reports on the After Dark horror series, the Asylum assembly line, and the monumentally moronic Maneater collection -- so I see nothing all that strange about throwing a little genre love towards Magnet's new Six-Shooter Series. (The only difference this time around is that we're going to be talking about GOOD genre films.)

To those who demand to know what the hell phrases like "Magnet Six-Shooter" mean, here's an explanation: Magnolia Films recently kick-started a genre-intensive division (called Magnet Releasing), and the guys are pretty psyched about their next six flicks. There, I've just demystified the phrase "Magnet Six-Shooter." You all owe me three dollars. And here's what's coolest about a six-flick genre series that's run by Magnolia Pictures: You'll actually get something EXOTIC out of the mix.

To use the finest example imaginable, it is Magnet Releasing that was lucky enough to land U.S. distribution rights for the stunningly awesome Let the Right One In, which is dazzling people all over the festival circuit. (And that was a great roll of the dice, as Magnolia grabbed it well before it was earning 5-star reviews across the board.) The film will open in limited release on October 24, but be sure to keep an eye out for the DVD as well. This flick is a keeper for sure.

(from left to right) Fantastic Fest programmer Zack Carlson, Fantastic Feud co-hosts Devin Steuerwald and Scott Weinberg, and Not Quite Hollywood director Mark Hartley

With the weekend came no sure rest for Fantastic Fest attendees. Saturday kicked off with, among other things: a screening of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes shown from an HD master of a cut unseen in over thirty-five years; initial screenings of the very popular Tiffany stalker doc I Think We're Alone Now and the very anticipated Swedish vampire drama Let the Right One In (which can now fall firmly in the former category); and a boat party held in honor of Donkey Punch, in which several youthful types face some serious consequences after their high behavior on the high seas. Did life end up imitating art on that front...?

Award-winning screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga uses a convoluted narrative structure to tell a tale of love, betrayal and regret in The Burning Plain, his directorial debut. Arriaga opens the film with a shot of an old trailer in the middle of the desert burning to the ground, and he then proceeds to bounce around among several seemingly disparate characters, Babel-style, before finally bringing it all together in the film's final act.

The film stars Charlize Theron as Sylvia, a composed-but-icy manager of a fancy Portland, Oregon-area restaurant who spends her spare time having empty, emotionless sex with a wide array of men. Arriaga takes us back and forth from gray, rainy Portland, where Sylvia lives, to the New Mexico desert; early on we learn that the burning trailer, when it exploded into flames, was occupied by Gina (Kim Basinger), a white married housewife with four kids, and Nick (Joaquim De Almeida), a Mexican-American man, also married with kids.

Gina's daughter Mariana (Jennifer Lawrence) and Nick's son Santiago (J.D. Pardo) are drawn together as they struggle to deal with their parents' infidelity and death, much to the consternation of their respective families. Also tossed into the mix are a crop-duster pilot, his best friend, and his young daughter, whose lives are thrown into disarray when the pilot's plane crashes.

Ah yes, Sleepaway Camp. That ending still packs one wacky punch, doesn't it? Yeah. So here's a quick history lesson:

1983 -- Robert Hiltzik unleashes Sleepaway Camp unto the world. Ten of thousands of creeped-out teenagers can't stop talking about the ending.

1988 & 1989 -- One Michael A. Simpson delivered a pair of back-to-back video sequels: Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers and Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland. Both are notable for their vicious violence, their goofy gore, and their lead actress, who happens to be Bruce Springsteen's little sister. I forget which movie had the "outhouse leeches" murder, but good lord was that scene disgusting.

2002 -- Anchor Bay releases the trilogy in a box set that ends up censored by the Red Cross. Included in the set is footage from an unfinished sequel called Sleepaway Camp 4: The Survivor.

Which bring us up to speed. We've been been hearing word for quite some time now that Hiltzik was working on a Part 4, and now we not only have a release date, but (courtesy of Shock) we also have a DVD cover (and a trailer) to look at. Vincent Pastore and Isaac Hayes star in the inevitably sticky slasher sequel, and the DVD will hit the shelves (on October 14) by way of Magnolia's new Magnet genre division. And you just gotta love that tag-line: "Kids can be so mean!"

Behold my 1000-plus words way of asking you this simple question: how many times have you seen The Dark Knight?

Here's a little story I probably tell too often (it's even in my "Meet the Team" bio): Long ago, at an art school that should remain nameless (I hated the place too much to give it any kind of credit), I studied film production, with the crazy notion that I would be the one to bridge the gap between Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino (this was in the mid-90s, when all film students just wanted to be the latter). And while I wasn't any good at being the kind of leader necessary to be a great director, I thought I was on track to (at the very least) become an Oscar-winning screenwriter.

Then, in the middle of my freshman year, I went to see 12 Monkeys. And when it was over, I stayed in the theater and I watched it again. I believe this to be the moment when I decided that I no longer wanted to be a filmmaker and wanted to be a film watcher. But it would take me another year of school -- during which I changed the names in my dream from Spielberg and Tarantino to Gilliam and Hartley -- to realize that I could be a ... professional movie theater employee!

Years more would go by before I actually realized that I was better off writing about the movies than attempting to write for the movies, and fortunately all that time managing multiplexes gave me an extra niche to write about, as well. This week's column, however, despite its long-winded introduction, is not about how I came to write "The Exhibitionist." It's actually more specifically about that repeat screening of 12 Monkeys 12 years ago. Because thanks to The Dark Knight's box office success reportedly linked in part to repeat business, I've been thinking about the few movies that I've actually seen in the theater more than once.

Don't mess with a man's best friend! I'm borrowing that phrase from our own Eric D. Snider, who used it to describe the plot of Red, a thriller starring the great Brian Cox as a man on a mission to avenge the death of his beloved dog at the hands of a bunch of teenage punks.

As Eric noted, Magnolia Pictures picked up distribution rights for the movie and planned a late summer release. Well, it must be later than we thought, because Dread Central now tells us that Red will be unleashed to theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, August 8, followed by a "slow rollout" to more theaters nationwide.

"An emotionally gripping if slightly overwrought drama," is how Eric described Red in his review from Sundance, where the film premiered. Later he called it "a solid B-minus effort, and Cox's performance makes it eminently watchable." In addition to Cox, the cast includes Tom Sizemore as a bad father, Kim Dickens as a TV reporter, and Robert Englund and Amanda Plummer as white trash parents of one of the juvenile delinquent kids responsible for the death of the titular dog.

I've loved Brian Cox in many roles (Braveheart to Manhunter to 25th Hour to X2: X-Men United to Zodiac), so I have to believe he's a major plus for audiences looking for something a little different in August. How about you? Do you have any interest in seeing the Cox-avenging Red?

This week's marquee indie release is being marketed as a twisted tie-in to the US Open golf championship. At least, that's the conclusion I draw from the DVD cover for Michael Haneke's US remake of his own Funny Games. Naomi Watts and her big tear have been relegated to the back. James Rocchi declared it "a great movie ... cruel, cold and darkly thrilling." DVD features are non-existent, unless you consider a full-screen version to be an extra.

Erik Davis called Zak Penn's poker mockumentary The Grand "one of the best ensemble comedies of the past 20 years." That ensemble includes Woody Harrelson, Michael McKean, Chris Parnell, Cheryl Hines, Ray Romano, Dennis Farina, Werner Herzog and David Cross. DVD features include alternate endings, deleted scenes, poker player profiles, and an audio commentary with Penn, writer/executive producer Matt Bierman and actor Michael Karnow.

To round out our trio of enthusiastic recommendations from Cinematical critics, Scott Weinberg was seriously geeked out by The Signal, "one viciously fun little genre flick ... fast-paced, disturbing and slick." The plot? Everyone turns into "raving homicidal lunatics." David Bruckner, Jacob Gentry, and Dan Bush directed. DVD features are generous, including an audio commentary with the directors, deleted scenes, a short film, and six "making of"-type things.

Other releases of interest include The Wayward Cloud, Summer '04, The Ballad of Narayama, Young Yakuza, Human Lanterns, and the smashing Invisible Target, which I reviewed with great enthusiasm.

In telling the story of Joy Division's Ian Curtis, director Anton Corbjin focuses on his wife Deborah (Samantha Morton) as much as the singer (Sam Riley) himself. Control hits DVD today courtesy of The Weinstein Co.; Corbijn contributes an audio commentary and a conversation. Other extras include a "making of" feature, extended live performances, and music videos from Joy Division and the Killers. James Rocchi reviewed Control and so did Christopher Campbell.

Mr. Rocchi also saw Olivier Assayas' Boarding Gate, but he noticed one problem: "The film has no motor to drive it. " Even the more adventurous and/or devoted fans of director Assayas may wish to proceed with caution. Asia Argento and Michael Madsen star. The DVD from Magnet Releasing includes interviews with Ms. Argento and a feature entitled: "Boarding Gate: In Touch with Asia."

Michael Radford's heist film Flawless inspired Eric D. Snider to write a glowing guarded recommendation; he concluded: "Michael Caine and the rest of the mostly British cast are serious enough to pull the job off, and they make the flick eminently watchable." Look for the DVD from Magnolia.

Do you really need to know what Twisted: A Balloonamentary is about? The title alone justifies a rental, but if you insist on knowing more, I refer you to Richard von Busack's recent post on the film's theatrical success. The DVD includes an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and much more.

Most critics didn't love it, but for the second week in a row, viewers streamed in anyway. Still playing at just two theaters, Joshua Seftel's comedy-drama War, Inc. (First Look), starring John Cusack, averaged $12,100 per screen to continue its reign at the top of the indie weekend box office chart, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo. That gives it a two-week total of $78,700.

Among new specialty releases, Leonard Klady at Movie City News reports that Tom Kalin's drama Savage Grace (IFC Films) made $11,150 per screen at the two theaters in New York where it opened. Julianne Moore stars in a suffocating period piece about a twisted mother/son relationship. You can read more about it in the reviews by Nick Schager and Kim Voynar.

Jody Hill's comedy The Foot Fist Way (Paramount Vantage) opened in four theaters and earned $8,550 per engagement, according to Mr. Klady. Patrick Walsh offered up a mostly positive review on this "character study about a character you'd never want to meet," a children's Tae Kwon Do instructor who goes off the rails when his wife cheats on him.

Jeffrey M. Anderson described Giuseppe Tornatore's The Unknown Woman (Outsider Films) as "a restless, panicked, devastating emotional roller coaster, meticulously planned and executed like a razor." The film follows the travails of a woman who leaves the Ukraine to look for work in Italy. It made $6,000 at one theater in Manhattan.

Time to play catch up with a couple of indie distribution deals that were completed during the past few days.

In the warm afterglow of Cannes, IFC Films acquired one more title to add to their stockpile, according to The Hollywood Reporter: Italian crime drama Gomorra. Directed by Matteo Garrone, the film is based on a best-selling book and follows five separate stories. "Set in the provinces around Naples," wrote our own James Rocchi, "Gomorra's a sweeping, stirring drama that has the shoot-and-loot tension of the best crime cinema but also has the scope and serious intent of great drama." Gomorra won the Grand Prix at Cannes, which is unofficially considered the "runner-up" prize. IFC plans a theatrical release and will also make it available day-and-date on its video-on-demand service; they are also seeking a cable TV deal of some sort.

Months after it debuted at Sundance, indieWIRE says that Sean McGinley's comedy-drama The Great Buck Howard has finally secured distribution from Magnolia Pictures. Cinematical's Scott Weinberg thought it "might be the most affectionate look back at old-school entertainment since Peter O'Toole boozed his way through My Favorite Year" and called it "a smoothly, strongly appealing comedy." Colin Hanks and Emily Blunt star as an ex-lawyer and a publicist, respectively, trying to help magician Malkovich make a comeback. Magnolia plans a fall theatrical release.

In 1988, sprinter Ben Johnson exploded out of the blocks and powered his way to the finish line in the 100-meter dash at the Seoul Olympic Games, easily defeating a somewhat embarrassed Carl Lewis, who was heavily favored to win the race. It was a stunning television moment, a study in contrast between the well-muscled, modestly-spoken Canadian and the brash and lean American. Within 24 hours, it was all over. Johnson tested positive for steroid use and Lewis was awarded the gold medal.

At the time, it seemed outrageous that someone would cheat at such a high level of competitive sports. Of course, that was very naive thinking, but it was my personal "aha!" moment, the first time that steroids entered my vocabulary. As Christopher Bell explains in his entertaining, surprising documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster*, his "aha!" moment arrived when he learned that wrestling icons Hulk Hogan and Iron Sheik used steroids. Growing up in the 1980s, Bell idolized Hogan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone, manly men who were well-oiled muscle machines, their physiques achieved through entirely natural means, hard work and exercise rather than drugs.

While David Lynch prepares to team up with Werner Herzog to make a guerilla-style murder drama, his daughter is doing quite well on her own, thank you very much. indieWIRE reports that Surveillance, the first film by Jennifer Chambers Lynch in 15 years, has been picked up by Magnet Releasing for distribution in the US. The thriller will be playing out of competition at Cannes next week in one of the three Midnight screening slots.

Surveillance is set in the Santa Fe desert, where a blood-curdling killing spree has been unleashed, according to the official synopsis. The FBI arrives and listens to three eyewitnesses, including an eight-year-old girl whose family was brutally murdered. It becomes clear that the little girl knows something about the FBI agents ... and then two more bodies are found.

Creepy, eh? But not nearly as creepy as Lynch's first film, Boxing Helena, in which a surgeon held a woman captive and started amputating her limbs, all in the name of love. Based on the premise, Surveillance sounds much more straightforward, but perhaps the younger Lynch has some surprises up her sleeve.

The film stars Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman (David Lynch's Lost Highway) as the FBI agents, Pell James, Ryan Simpkins, and Kent Harper as the witnesses, and Michael Ironside as the local police chief. French Stewart and Cheri Oteri are also featured. Harper co-wrote the script with Lynch. Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, plans a fall theatrical roll-out.

The last time I saw my awesome amigo Nacho Vigalondo, it was at a Sundance party during which he was A) very thrilled to have his film play the festival, B) mega-elated that writer/producer Steven Zaillian would be involved in the English-language remake of his film (Timecrimes), and C) seriously drunk and hanging out with an overworked karaoke machine. When I pressed him for additional details, he said something to the effect of "I don't know yet, but .... Steve SALE-IAN, man! He wrote Bobby Fischer and Gangs of New York, man..." To which I responded, "Yeah, dude. Damn good writer. Plus Schindler's List, A Civil Action, American Gangster, and the awesome Falcon and the Snowman!"

The drunken Spaniard's eyes went absolutely wide: "Steve SALE-IAN is remaking my movieeeee!" He was like a little kid on Christmas morning, I swear. It was an awesomely sweet thing to see. But since we weren't really sure about Mr. Zaillian's specific attachment to the remake, this fresh news is also pretty exciting. Wouldn't it be cool if the Timecrimes remake had a Steve Zaillian screenplay and a director named ... David Cronenberg?? (I've seen Timecrimes more than once, and I think Mr. Cronenberg would be a perrrrrrrrfect fit for this time-travel / serial killer material.)

The United Artists re-do is still in the very early stages, so we could see a lot of personnel changes before the American version of Timecrimes hits the scene -- but given how positive the reaction has been among festival audiences, flick-buyers, and remake makers, we might just see it a little sooner than later. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the original film, which is a favorite among the Magnolia gang, and should be getting a release some time later this year.

Gracias: Shock and Blogdecine

Apologies for the one-day delay, but, as it happens, the indie weekend charts changed in the interim. Early on Sunday, estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo indicated that Tarsem Singh's The Fall (Roadside Attractions) won the weekend, but when the figures were tabulated, Lloyd Kaufman's Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (Troma) sneaked into the top position with a take of $10,624 at one theater in Manhattan. Ed Gonzalez of The Village Voice says the film "chronicles what happens when a fried-chicken shack goes up on a Native American burial ground" and called it "a predictably hit-and-miss yukfest."

Doug Pray's Surfwise (Magnolia) surged near the top, grossing $10,304 at another theater in Manhattan. The doc follows a doctor who abandoned his practice to become a surfer and live in a camper, packing along his wife and nine children. All 12 critics whose reviews are listed at Rotten Tomatoes were positive.

The Fall fell to third place, earning $8,845 per screen at nine locations. Reviews were mixed (57% positive, per Rotten Tomatoes), though even the naysayers acknowledged the visual beauty of the film. We've previously pointed to the trailer, posted exclusive stills and a clip, which definitely confirm this impression. In the words of our own Eric D. Snider, it is "a visually stunning fable where a man in a hospital tells a little girl a story, and that story is craaaazy."