New 'Heart of Darkness' adaptation goes to space

It looks like we're going to see another incarnation of Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.” Exploring the inherit savagery that looms just under the surface of modern societies, Conrad created a work that many declared to be the first twentieth-century novel.

Francis Ford Coppola made an unbelievably chaotic rendition of it in 1976’s “Apocalypse Now.”  A shocking look into the Vietnam War starring Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando, Coppola made a film that updated the setting, but kept the premise.

Director Peter Cornwell wants to do it again: this time in space.  Variety reports the film, aptly titled “Into Darkness,” will follow a spaceship on a journey through cosmic waters to locate an un-civilized fellow and return him to society.

I love both Conrad’s classic book and Coppola’s movie, but this has got me a little anxious. Cornwell’s best-known work is “The Haunting in Connecticut” and his screenwriter, Tony Giglio, wrote not only “Death Race 2” but also “Death Race 3.”  Not a real dynamite resume.  What do you think?

Movie Review: “The Haunting in Connecticut”

Seen on: March 28, 2009

The players: Director: Peter Cornwell, Writers: Adam Simon, Tim Metcalfe, Cast: Virginia Madsen, Kyle Gallner, Elias Koteas, Amanda Crew, Martin Donovan

Facts of interest: Supposedly based on true events.

The plot: A family experiences creepy things after moving into an old home.

Our quick thoughts: In Peter Cornwell’s horror thriller “The Haunting in Connecticut,” a family moves into a creepy house and soon starts to experience a bunch of supernatural events. But guess what: instead of getting the heck out, they decide to stay put and endure the spookiness a little longer.

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'The Haunting in Connecticut' web reviews

Here's another horror flick supposedly based on true events or something. Hmmm... Anyway, Peter Cornwell's "The Haunting in Connecticut" follows an innocent family moving into a haunted house. Virginia Madsen, Amanda Crew, Kyle Gallner, Martin Donovan and Elias Koteas star. Here's what online critics have to say about it:

• Latino Review's Ron Henriques: "This is one of those films you watch and wonder 'Why don't they just get out of the house?' Because the characters are stupid that's why."

• CinemaBlend's Mack Rawden: "'The Haunting In Connecticut' forgets many of the horror clichés we’ve come to expect, but unfortunately, it replaces many of those irritating unoriginalities with generic plotlines more common to film in general."

• Cinematical's William Goss: "For the twenty-, thirty-, forty-somethings who've seen any other movie with the word 'Haunting' in the title, there's not much new here in terms of frights, but if you'd been sold on all of those anyway, there's probably nothing stopping you anyway."

• Joblo's Arrow in the Head: "The outcome for this twat was that no matter how many FEAR PLOYS this one bombarded me with afterwards, be it via blurry shots, SAW-ish tight edition or mucho white flashes; I couldn’t be bothered to care."

• RopeOfSilicon's Brad Brevet: "'The Haunting in Connecticut' is hardly a bad film, it just isn't a film that manages to accomplish anything more than mediocrity."

'Haunting in Connecticut' trailer premieres

MTV just premiered the first trailer for Peter Cornwell’s upcoming “The Haunting in Connecticut,” a horror flick starring Virginia Madsen, Elias Koteas, Kyle Gallner, Amanda Crew and Martin Donovan.

The story couldn’t sound more familiar: a family moves into a new house only to discover the place is haunted. Oh yeah, we just can’t get enough of them, right?

Anyway, check out the trailer after the jump, and let me know what you think. The footage didn’t win me over, especially because I’ve seen this kind of story too many times already. Here come those cheap shock effects.

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