Ex-Faith No More frontman Mike Patton may be reuniting with his old bandmates, but that doesn't mean he's not still on the cusp of all that's weird, noisy and wonderful with his label Ipecac. And occasionally, he'll even write something that borders on the mainstream.

On April 7, 32 new Patton compositions appeared on the soundtrack for the film "Crank 2: High Voltage," which hits theaters April 17. The movie again features Jason Statham as Chev Chelios, an unfortunate British thug suffering from heart problems. In this case, his character wakes to find his heart has been removed and replaced with the equivalent of an analog alarm clock, which requires regular jolts of electricity and high-energy excitement to keep from shutting down.

The action that follows as Chelios searches for the Chinese mobsters who stole his real heart, is fast-paced and unrelenting. Playing cameos in the film are Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan, Nine Inch Nails guitarist Danny Lohner, Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and country musician Dwight Yoakam. click "more" to see an exclusive snippet from the movie. Read more...

The latest film by British director Sean Ellis, "The Broken" is a psychological thriller about a troubled woman suffering a serious identity crisis. The movie comes out on DVD on March 31 on Lionsgate as one of this year's "8 Films to Die For" series from the third annual After Dark Horrorfest. Click "more" to watch an exclusive scene from "The Broken." Read more...

Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part II, Friday the 13th 3D (Paramount), His Name was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th (Anchor Bay).
Instead of lining up at the box office to catch another schlocky revised remake that's nowhere near as good as the original, we suggest investing in DVDs of the first three "Friday the 13th" films, which provide all you need to know about the hulking, invulnerable killer in the hockey mask who pretty much gave birth to just about every hack-n-slash film from the '80s. And if you're craving more from Jason and his sharpened machete, ignore Friday "IV" - "X" ("XI: Jason Vs. Freddy" was actually pretty good) and take a stab at "His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th." The double-disc set, narrated by special effects guru Tom Savini, features interviews with the directors, producers, actors, actresses and effects folks who helped turned Jason into a mythic antihero, and includes plot summaries and scenes from each of the movies in the series. Read more...

Seeing that it's Friday the 13th, we're especially thrilled to offer an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse into the harrowing horror film "The Midnight Meat Train," which comes out on DVD February 17. Click "more" to watch. Read more...

When the goal is building perfect and deadliest mousetrap, time and money are of no concern. Neither, apparently, is a fatal illness and a willing suspension of disbelief. And if you need a dirty cop to help you out in the execution of your plan, that, too, is easier done than said. It's all part of the very unreal, but nonetheless thrilling world of the "Saw" movies, and even though the producers are crankin' out at least one a year and are already up to "Saw V" (Lionsgate), there seems to be no shortage of ideas for slicing, crushing, beheading and incinerating hapless victims. Read more...

Preachers may hate him, but we always knew Dee Snider was a Holey Dude

In 1998, Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider injected "Captain Howdy," a character from their 1984 three-part song "Horror-Teria," into a horror movie called "Strangeland," which received mixed reviews, but has since turned into a bit of a cult item. Snider starred in and wrote the movie, which is about a pierced, sadistic, Internet chat room predator who lures teenagers into his house and tortures them with unusual body piercings.

At the time, Internet-based horror stories weren't so ubiquitous, so the plot was pretty compelling, even if the execution was far from perfect. “I came up with the idea of Internet crime before anybody had ever committed Internet crime,” Snider gloats. “And if I am the father of torture films, I’ve got to come back like a sledgehammer to reclaim my crown!”

To that effect, Snider has decided to resurrect Captain Howdy in "Strangeland: Disciple," which goes into production later this year. And while the movie may, indeed, revolutionalize the genre, it'll take a lot of creativity and originality. Today, with the coming and going of flix like "Pulse," "the Card Player," "Untraceable," "fear dot com," ".com For Murder" and "Stay Alive," Internet stalker movies are as common porn Web sites. Read more...

A point blank, skull-splitting gunshot, an execution-style shooting and a vicious hatchet murder... Sounds like the makings of an '80s-esque slasher flick, but they're actually splattery plot-points that help propel the latest Joel and Ethan Coen flick "Burn After Reading" (Universal).

While it's not nearly as heavy as the Brother's excellent, but disturbing "No Country For Old Men," "Burn After Reading" (based on a novel by Stansfield Turner) it's still dark, pessimistic and cynical, revolving around the selfish and shallow exploits of a cast of self-obsessed anti-heroes and near-villains.

Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) is a mean, bitter ex-CIA operative who seeks solace through booze and hopes to reinvent himself by writing his memoirs. Linda Litske (Frances McDormand) works at a fitness club and decides the only way to realize her full potential is by undergoing expensive plastic surgery her insurance plan doesn't cover. When Cox accidentally leaves a disc containing notes the book at the club, Litske mistakes the data within as valuable government secrets. Perceiving this as an opportunity to finance her operations, she and club trainer Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) decide to blackmail Cox. When that doesn't work, they attempt to sell the disc to the Russians in a serious of often hilarious, sometimes brutal scenes.

A secondary plot involves Harry Pfarrar (George Clooney), an eccentric, womanizing security guard who's getting it on with both Litske and Cox's cold, emasculating wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton). To add to the drama, Katie is about to hit Cox with a devastating divorce suit and Pfarrar's wife Sandy (Elizabeth Marvel) discovers what her husband is up to and seeks action of her own.

All the infidelities add to the plot twists and the humor value, but the action really kicks into gear when Feldheimer mysteriously disappears and Litske starts to fall apart. Hysterical, she recruits their boss, Ted Treffon (Richard Jenkins) -- who's secretly in love with Litske -- to help investigate and the plot quickly turns ugly and violent.

"Burn After Reading" isn't laugh-out-loud funny, but it's witty, quasi-comical, intense and unpredictable. Also, the flick is thought-provoking, has more jack-in-the-box moments than most thrillers and easily captivates for 90 minutes regardless of how convoluted the plot becomes. Read more...

Okay, let's veer away from the pulverizing world of metal for a few minutes and address something way more damaging. Anyone who reads Otep Shamaya's semi-regular posts on this site, or who doesn't live with a blaring iPod on 24-7, knows that the U.S. is speeding towards a critical juncture, and that the 2008 November presidential election may be the most important political contest this country has faced since the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, there's no denying that the U.S. is in a state of crisis. We're ensnared in a war that's taking the lives of thousands of Americans and there seems to be no end in sight; we're facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression; we've become the most despised superpower in the world and we're destroying the environment at such a rapid rate we could face the threat of extinction if we can't undo the damage we've done.

Clearly, the country has taken some major f--kin' hits over the last eight years financially, politically and socially. Unemployment is skyrocketing, our banks are collapsing and more and more U.S. interests are being gobbled up by international corporations. Who would have thought six months ago that U.S. institutions like Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG would be either gone or in a state of governmental bailout just two months before the 2008? And things aren't getting better, they're getting worse. Would Barack Obama be able to improve the country? Who the hell knows. But one thing's certain. A vote for John McCain is pretty much a thumbs up to stay the course, and right now we're on a devastating collision course.

The most important thing HeadbangersBlog.com readers can do is get to the polls and vote in November. Okay, enough ranting from us. Click "more" to hear some way more intelligent and entertaining ranting from documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, who has just posted his entire new film "Slacker Uprising" for free to anyone who signs up for a copy. We've included the link to stream or download the flick, which was shot after Moore's sobering 2004 film "Fahrenheit 911" during the run-up to the 2004 election. Read more...

The latest installment of George Romero's "Dead" series, "Diary of the Dead" (Dimension Extreme) is the filmmaker's most immediate, intimate and penetrating offering since he virtually invented the zombie genre with the 1968 black-and-white original "Night of the Living Dead." Told through the lens of a student filmmaker's video camera, "Diary of the Dead" is a sobering commentary on reality TV and digital media. Throughout the movie, the character behind the camera is desperate to capture the world turning to hell around him because it's the only way he can come to grips with the chaos. To him, it's only real if it's happening on camera. At the same time, the video screen through which he views the dead coming back to life to eat the living acts as a shield, distancing him from the horror.

As always, Romero uses the nightmarish scenarios to address social and political issues, including racism, governmental corruption and the cruelty of mankind. Of course, all the psychological crap would be wasted if the film didn't also deliver geysers of gore. Fortunately, "Diary of the Dead" doesn't disappoint in that department. Heads explode, necks get chewed apart, intestines tumble from corpses on an autopsy table. Splatter fiends will feel satisfied and everyone else will feel sickened. Read more...

Over the past two days, we've posted eight interview snippets with Mastodon talking about the acclaimed documentary "Heavy Metal in Baghdad," which tells the story of Iraqi band Acrassicauda and their struggle to continue rocking, first amidst a restrictive dictatorship, and later, after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in a climate of violence, unrest and uncertainty.

The DVD, which was released on Monday, was praised by everyone from The New York Times to Newsweek. "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" was directed by Eddy Morretti, head of VBS.TV & Vice Films and Suroosh Alvi, founder of Vice Magazine. Today, we conclude our coverage of the flick with interview clips from Neurosis guitarists and vocalists Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till discussing the risks of following your dreams, the ways different cultures interpret western music and the hardships the band has encountered over the years. Click "more" to watch the exclusive interview footage: Read more...