Since its accidental birth in 1999 with The Blair Witch Project, found footage horror has been dragged through the muck and mire – reduced to the realm of horror hacks grasping for the quick cash. Luckily for these unimaginative filmmakers, a large percentage of the weekend movie going audience is a bunch of knuckle-dragging suckers, so going the found footage route commonly leads to riches at the box-office. And now, in this corner, the Christian entry into the found footage landfill: Harmless.

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Whether they’re sparking controversy or groans, killer kids are all the rage these days. Movies like Kick Ass, Super, Hanna, and most recently God Bless America all feature kids cussing, stabbing, and slaughtering their way into our hearts. For most viewers, these overt attempts at shock fall flaccid. They’re fun characters, but after a while, watching cutthroat kids murder and crack wise gets just as dull as watching grown-ups do the same. Enter Steven Miller’s low-budget crowd-pleaser The Aggression Scale – a breath of fresh air in the killer kiddie realm and one badass survival thriller.

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There was only one film I didn’t make it into at Fantastic Fest last year: the Nordic thriller Headhunters. Even with a press pass, I was left to bleed in the stand-by line. I ended up seeing a Japanese musical-pink film about a cheeky, mythical sea turtle – so, win-win in my book. Graciously, the Florida Film Fest recently screened Headhunters – so I was redeemed. And I was floored. Based on Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø‘s novel of the same name, Headhunters is an expertly crafted crime thriller that doesn’t rest on any genre crutches and presents a stylistic, complex look at the well-worn subjects of revenge, insatiable greed, and devotion.

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The metaphysical horror comedy novel John Dies at the End is a gonzo mash-up of Stephen King and William Burroughs that’s overflowing with creativity and gleeful weirdness. For his adaptation, Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep) manages to cram as much of the novel’s key plot points and batshit insanity into 90 minutes as possible. The result is a relentless blast of humor and gore that’s destined for cult classic status, but not without its share of hiccups. The good far outweighs the bad though, and it’s safe to say that John is going to leave fans rabid for more adventures with inexplicable mind-altering drugs and inter-dimensional leech creatures.

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Welcome to the paperback orgy, where I ramble about old sci-fi novels in the guise of criticism. In the first installment I rapped about Robert Sheckley’s 1956 comic look at body snatching, Immortality Inc. While that one was nominated for the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel (basically the Academy Award of sci-fi literature), this week’s novel won it. Not only that, but it won the very first Hugo ever. I speak of Alfred Bester’s 1953 puzzlebox, The Demolished Man. It’s notable for winning the inaugural Hugo, but in my opinion it’s even more remarkable to note that the novel has NEVER been adapted into a film. For such a landmark sci-fi novel   (one that has it’s share of suspense and action sequences that would lend itself to film) to never get the Hollywood treatment is nothing but a miracle. That’s not to say people haven’t tried, but I’ll get to that later. First, take off your pants and let’s rap about the almighty Demolished Man.

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[Caff Note: With CiTW  dropping this weekend, there’s bound to be spoilers discussion in the comments. I warned you, fools!]

You don’t need to be a fan of Joss Whedon – or, a Whedonite as his diehards are terribly named – to know that his output is wildly smart. The man knows how to play with genre tropes without rubbing how clever he is in our face. Nevertheless, after hearing repeatedly about how innovative The Cabin in the Woods is, I was afraid that it was going to be overly self-conscious like the Scream series and be a massive wink and nudge at how clever Whedon and director Drew Goddard are. Thankfully that’s not the case and Cabin manages to be immensely entertaining without any third act twists. From the first frame Whedon and Goddard slowly feed us information so by the end, you don’t feel duped by a left field twist.

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Bobcat Goldthwait has been writing and directing hit-or-miss films since 1991’s Shakes the Clown. Since then he’s been developing himself as an honest and unique voice in American comedy. He took a big leap in the right direction with 2006’s Sleeping Dogs Lie, establishing himself as formidable American filmmaker. 2009’s World’s Greatest Dad was something special – an incredibly dark and human film. How does his latest film fare? Find out after the jump.

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One of the joys of being into sci-fi is that the genre has such a rich history to draw from. Even if I quit my job, touched the monolith, took up speed, and did nothing but devour sci-fi books and movies 24/7, I’d never reach the end. It’s a beautiful and exciting thing – especially on the book shelf.   You can go into any thrift store in the world and pick up a sci-fi paperback of yore for a quarter or two. That’s a cheap price to pay for a window into our beloved genre’s history. I thrift for books a couple times a month to snatch up any sci-fi paperbacks I haven’t hoarded yet. Believe me when I say that there are enough used copies of Rendezvous With Rama out there to build a bridge across the Atlantic.

Paperback Orgy will hopefully be a semi-regular column in which I discuss a choice selection from my recent booty. For our inaugural post I want to talk about a book that’s been collecting dust on my shelves for a minute now: Robert Sheckley‘s 1959 comical tale of the soul and the shittiness of rich people…Immortality Inc.

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Despite the fact that Orson Scott Card is a raging homophobe, there’s no denying that Ender’s Game is one of the classics of science fiction literature. In it, a young boy named Ender Wiggin is taken to Battle School where is gifts as a strategist are revealed. His talent is used in the ongoing conflict with the “buggers” – an alien race who won’t stop fronting on the human race. It’s “sequel” Speaker for the Dead, is one of the greatest books I’ve ever read. Period.

After decades of planned adaptation, the book is finally coming to the big screen with Hugo‘s Asa Butterfield as the lead, Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) directing, and Roberto Orci producing. The crew has started a Tumblr so we can all follow along with the production at home. This excites me more than Taco Tuesdays or Pizza Mon-Fridays.

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For those of you who have been missing the David Cronenberg of yore – the kinky philosopher with a camera who brought the world The Brood, Videodrome, and Crash – the first teaser for Cosmopolis is here and it’s infused with flashes of physical taboos. I’ve enjoyed the hell out of Cronenberg’s output since he went “soft” with Eastern Promises up through last year’s A Dangerous Method, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t eager for some more body-horror-kink.

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