Not only did Adam Green bring the world premiere of Hatchet II to Frightfest, he and Joe Lynch also announced the news that they had secretly been working on a new film and that it was almost finished.

The film is a horror anthology entitled Chillerama and centres on a Drive-In theatre that is closing down. The owner of the Drive-In, Cecil Kaufman, decides to show a selection of the “most f****d up movies” on the final night. This linking device pulls together the four short films (possibly around twenty minutes each) which are directed by Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Adam Rifkin and Tim Sullivan.

Green and Lynch also stated that they are planning on touring the film and recreating the Drive-In experience which sounds wonderful. Let’s hope they find a way to do it in the UK too.

Just to recap the four shorts are…

The Diary of Anne Frankenstein (Adam Green) – Hitler (Joel David Moore) creates a Jewish Frankenstein monster (Kane Hodder)

Zombie Movie (Joe Lynch) – A throwback to 70s/80s zombie movies Joe Lynch provided the tagline “When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will f**k the earth.”

Wadzilla (Adam Rifkin) – In Wadzilla there is a “Giant sperm trying to inseminate the Statue of Liberty”.

The Curse of the Werebears (Tim Sullivan) – Not bears in the grizzly sense. Bears as in the ‘bear community’.

During Frightfest Adam Green showed his section of the anthology. Here’s a brief review of the film. (Contains what could be described as spoilers although I don’t give away the whole plot or the best gags).

(Bear in mind that the film we were shown was not the finished product but looked very close to it.)

In The Diary of Anne Frankenstein Hitler (Joel David Moore) creates a Frankenstein like Jewish monster (played by Kane Hodder) with a very funny name. The film is all in black and white, in German and with artificial scratches, film damage and messy reel changes. The sets are also very cheap looking and are obviously sets, adding to the vibe of the film as a lost exploitation picture. The Diary of Anne Frankenstein is a comedy so don’t expect anything like Frozen here but watching the film I was struck by how good Green is at comedy, really good. The film is hilarious. The Frightfest audience appeared to also absolute love the film judging by the laughter and applause. Probably one of the funniest parts of the film is the fact that despite the film being in German Joel David Moore is clearly not speaking German and what he’s saying has no relation to the subtitles ‘translating’ his dialogue. The Diary of Anne Frankenstein is absolutely fantastic and incredibly funny. I can’t wait to see it again and am really looking forward to checking out the anthology when it is released next year.

The very, very, worst thing about growing up a film fan in London is not that all the best films will inevitably be released to your US cousins before you.  Nor that your ability to watch a late-night screening correlates directly to the weather-vane whims of the last train home because you neglectfully never learnt to drive.  No it is simply this: you know you will never experience the classic movie rite-of-passage that is The Drive-In.   At least that used to be the case, until Damian Barr kindly changed it!

On 1^st July in London’s East End, fans of film in general (And Twilight in particular) are in for something of a treat – The Starlite Urban Drive-In.  Hosted at Brick Lane’s Old Truman Brewery over three nights, Starlite Urban Drive-In (in association with Volvo) will offer its audience the opportunity to forgo the confines of the multiplex walls and escape into the heart of creative London to enjoy their favourite movies in the open air.  Silent Cinema’s Damian Barr and event producer Iram Quarishi’s combined talents promise an unforgettable and exclusive night at London’s most unusual cinema.

Twenty cars will be available each night in order that lucky moviegoers may curl up in comfort, turn on the radio and let the soundtrack unfurl around them.  The technology, developed by Barr as an extension of his Silent Cinema innovation, allows for these screenings to take place in even the most densely populated areas.  It’s eco-friendly too.  And with plans in place to take the Starlite Urban Drive-In nationwide, it won’t be long before Saturday nights up and down the country have been transformed!

Volvo’s participation seemed a natural progression after their starring role beneath Rob Pattinson’s pert (and bloodless) behind in the Twilight films.  Indeed the Friday night film to open the Drive-In weekend will be the original Twilight.  What better way to celebrate your love for the lovely Edward than by observing his dreamy visage from the very car he used to speed Bella from harm?

For those of a less vampy disposition the Saturday night movie will be Drive-In classic, and chick favourite, Grease.  With the final film still to be confirmed there is sure to be something to suit every palate.  And speaking of taste – who doesn’t love the taste of popcorn?  You’ll be happy to hear that, completing the attention to vintage detail, your interval snacks will be sped to you by a team of roller skating waitresses!

Wow.

With tickets not on sale until June 1^st there’s still plenty of time to decide which film to choose.  Volvo have even promised to keep their XC60 convertibles on standby in the event of the English weather granting us a proper summer.  Be warned though, these are designed as boutique events and tickets are likely to sell out fast.  For the chance to live my teenage dream – a date and a movie under the stars – I’ll certainly be first in the queue!

As you know, we here at HeyUGuys like to support the British Film Industry as much as we can and that’s why you may see promotions for events that we think our readers will like.

Over the past few weeks, and until the end of the year, Pinewood Studios have set up a ‘drive-in series’ of which our roving reporter Ben went to The Shining a couple of weeks ago (his review here). This weekend, Pinewood Studios decided that just having the biggest screen in Europe wasn’t enough, but that they wanted to break the world record for the largest movie projection EVER! Well, the good news is that this weekend on Saturday, 7th November, they did just that screening Mission: Impossible.

“The film was projected at 41.8 metres wide by 17.8 metres high onto Europe’s largest outdoor screen.”

“This feat forms part of Pinewood’s current Drive-In series for the public, having temporarily converted our vast outdoor water filming facility to accommodate the screenings. The screen ““ measuring 73 metres wide with a total surface area of 1337.73 square metres ““ allows the latest computer technology to key in scenes during the edit behind the live action taking place in the water. Originally built in 1959 for the war film Sink the Bismarck!, the water tank has been used to shoot scenes for Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and The Boat That Rocked plus most recently for upcoming features Robin Hood, Gullivers Travels and Clash of the Titans.”

You can find out more about the record on the Pinewood Studios website here.

You’re not too late to catch Pinewood’s drive-in series, in fact you can view what films are coming up and book tickets here. I’m hoping to get along to Gladiator and Full Metal Jacket, both in my list of top 10 films!

The drive-in movie is an American institution, but it’s never really caught on in the UK. Consequently generations of Britons have been taunted by images of our American cousins enjoying films from the comfort of their own cars, while the closest we’ve been able to come to an approximation of the experience involves ram-raiding the local Odeon.

Fortunately for those of us in the UK who aren’t willing to go to such drastic lengths, Pinewood Studios have come to our rescue. Between now and the end of the year the renowned film studio has set aside an area of their lot to screen a series of drive-in movies. HeyUGuys were fortunate enough to be invited along to their screening of The Shining, and we’re pleased to say that it didn’t disappoint.

As we arrived at the studio we joined a queue of traffic backed up along a country lane in Buckinghamshire. As we edged closer to our destination we rounded a corner, and were confronted by the entrance to the studio: a large, sweeping canopy, with a multi-coloured light show illuminating the words “˜Pinewood Studio’.

After we were let in, we re-joined the queue of traffic, heading towards the Paddock Lot, where we would be watching the film. As we drove through the studio we passed monumentally large stages, and old buildings festooned with plaques commemorating filmmakers who have worked at the studio.

Eventually we pulled into the area in which the film would be shown. On our left was Pinewood’s Underwater Stage, on our right, a vast screen, just behind which was the (currently empty) exterior water tank. Driving past the tank we got a clear view of the screen, and realised just how monumental it was. At 240ft wide, and 60ft high this dwarfs the IMAX at Waterloo.

We eventually parked the car about 100 feet from the screen, ordered some snacks, re-tuned the radio and waited.

And waited.

During this wait, we were treated to disco classics on the radio, and had enough time to realise that the car in front was slightly blocking the bottom of the screen. This wasn’t a problem for long, however, as we simply moved our car a couple of feet backwards, and the screen was in perfect view.

As the film began to roll we made ourselves comfortable and began to get into the film. Unfortunately there was a repeated rhythmic hissing sound on the radio; music broadcast on another frequency was interfering with the film’s soundtrack. This was solved easily enough though, by simply re-tuning the radio. A similar quick fix, involving a bag and the car’s parcel shelf was used to block out a light shining through the rear window. These little annoyances out of the way, we finally gave the film our full attention.

It would be entirely fair to say that The Shining loses something when shown as a drive-in movie. Any sense of suspense is shattered by the sound of engines being turned on periodically to clear windscreens and recharge batteries, as well as the sight of people wandering around the car park, trying to find the toilet.

The soundtrack also fails to stand up when played through the tinny little speakers of the Fiat 500 we were in, but these niggles are minor compared to everything we got from the experience.

The privacy of the car made the experience a lot less formal than being in the cinema, and consequently allowed us to literally put our feet up and relax. At the same time, the fact that we weren’t watching a perfect presentation of the film gave us license to discuss the film as we watched, all without fear of disturbing anyone around us.

There was also something much less tangible added to the film by the novelty of where we were. Unlike American studios, with their backlot tours, Pinewood rarely opens it’d gates to the public, so watching a film that was shot there in such an unusual fashion really was a rare and incredible experience.

The studio is running screenings until Saturday 6th December. A full list of films showing is available at the Pinewood Studios website.

Pinewood Studios have been in touch with us to offer a great competition. We have the chance for one lucky person to win a ticket to the brand new drive in cinema hosting the largest screen in in the world!

Pinewood have transformed its unique outdoor water filming facility into the world’s largest cinema screen, sized 73.1M wide x 18.3M in height. They’ll be showing a series of movies, all of which you can check out here.

Our competition gives one lucky person the chance to win a ticket to the classic movie, The Shining on opening night at 20:00 on 31st October. The ticket will allow entry of one car with a maximum of 4 people.

All you have to do is answer this question:

Who wrote the original novel on which The Shining is based?

Send your answer to Pinewood@heyuguys.co.uk and make sure to include your postal address so that we can get the tickets to you should you be the lucky winner.

The Small Print:

• This competition is only open to UK residents and only one entry per person will be counted
• The competition will close Saturday 24th October at 23.59 GMT
• The  winner will be picked at random from entries received

Good luck everyone!!

Please view our full terms and conditions here.

You can now follow Pinewood Studios on Twitter and Facebook.