john hyams

Fantasia XXIV Review: ALONE, Jules Willcox Defies The Odds In A Roaring Return For John Hyams

To all the fans of films like Jean-Claude Van Damme/Cung Le starrer Dragon Eyes, and even the celebrated genre thrills of the Universal Soldier reboot sequels in 2009 and 2012: Filmmaker John Hyams may have been busy with his upkeep in the TV arena for the better half of the last eight years, and yet still after all this time, he knows how to deliver the filmgoing goods. Reimagined from Swedish 2011 thriller, Forsvunnen, Hyams helms the pic from a script by Mattias Olsson who directed the original with Henrik JP Åkesson; It was just a few years after the original’s release when Hyams reportedly took to Olsson’s chiseled new script, and by all accounts according to his director’s statement, hit all the right notes in outlining what he elucidates as “a suspense thriller crystalized to its essence”. Alone starts off as a pensive, quiet, slow-mover that introduces Jessica (Jules […]

Top 50 Action Gems Of The Decade (20-11)

Lee B. Golden III

Sometime late last year, Robb Antequera of The Cinema Drunkie sought for the services of several online film reporters, bloggers and willing participants to help contribute to a top fifty list – with sets of ten of our own written summaries – of the previous decade’s best action gems. I contributed about twelve films among which can currently be read among a mix of forty others now opined online as of this article, and in the wake of entries published over at The Action Elite, Action Flix and Bulletproof Action, the series continues below. Hit up the gallery with entries courtesy of screenwriter Chad Law, authors David J. Moore and Mike Fury, and members of The Action Elite, and tune in to Ultimate Action Movie Club for Robb’s final ten. To view the written portions, be sure to open the page via native browser without the /amp modulation, and tap […]

MANIAC COP Series In The Works For HBO & Canal+

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been four years since John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning, Black Summer) and Nicolas Winding Refn (Too Old To Die Young) came together to announce feature film reboot efforts of William Lustic’s cult crime horror classic franchise, Maniac Cop. That film would have already been a reality with principal photography set to begin a few years after with Wild Bunch claiming international sales rights at the time. Fast forward to 2019 and as with all things relative in entertainment, there’s been a change of strategy with Maniac Cop now taking on a serial format instead. Set in Los Angeles, Maniac Cop is told through a kaleidoscope of characters, from cop to common criminal. A killer in uniform has uncaged mayhem upon the streets. Paranoia leads to social disorder as a city wrestles with the mystery of the exterminator in blue – is he mere mortal, or a supernatural […]

MANIAC COP Lands At Wild Bunch For Int’l Sales, Shoots This Summer In Los Angeles

Lee B. Golden III

Back during Fantastic Fest in 2015, John Hyams, the genius director of Universal Solder sequels – Regeneration and Day Of Reckoning, was attached to direct a forthcoming remake of William Lustig’s 1988 cult horror classic, Maniac Cop. Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, The Neon Demon) launched financing efforts for the film the following year at Cannes while the film still needed backing with all the right pieces and people in place. Thus, the word now is the film has officially been greenlit according to Variety with Wild Bunch handling international sales of the film. Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Angel Of Death scribe Ed Brubaker is penning the script which will trade away Lustig’s horror-toned millieu for a more realistic, contemporary action thriller that will center on a dilligent female Los Angeles detective determined to uncover the mystery behind a spate of murders of innocent people allegedly at the hands […]

Refn Launches Partnership, Financing For Hyams's MANIAC COP Reboot

Lee B. Golden III

Horror fans lit the internet up late last year when it was revealed that filmmaker John Hyams was set up to helm the Maniac Cop revival with Drive and Only God Forgives helmer producing. Nowadays, you’ll find Refn at Cannes promoting his latest horror flick, The Neon Demon, while you can now expect a slate of titles to come from Refn’s latest shared partnetship via his Space Rocket Nation banner with Vendian Entertainment and Wild Bunch. As per Deadline‘s latest report on the matter, the first one out will be the forthcoming remake of William Lustig’s original 1988 horror flick. This time, Ed Brubaker’s script will forsee the story of a female Los Angeles cop bent on uncovering the truth to stop a madman in police uniform from spilling innocent blood. The film is expected to be the first of a trilogy and will roll cameras this summer with Lustig […]

FANTASTIC FEST 2015: John Hyams To Remake MANIAC COP

Lee B. Golden III

If there was ever a director who has proven the ability to reach down the throats of cult fans with sheer cinematic veracity, it would be none other than John Hyams who, in the wake of films like Dragon Eyes and with his father Peter Hyams at the helm for Enemies Closer, garnered much fan fervor for reviving the Universal Soldier franchise in brutal and fantastic fashion. As of late and now with Fantastic Fest in full bloom, the word now is that Nicholas Winding Refn is currently in charge of a remake of the 1988 cult classic, Maniac Cop, for which the younger Hyams is now tapped to direct from a script by Ed Brubaker. William Lustig directed the first film with actor Bruce Campbell in the role of a cop framed for the death of his wife and forced to unfold a police cover-up conspiracy involving a near-invincible […]

FILM OF THE WEEK II: DRAGON EYES

Lee B. Golden III

Synopsis: Welcome to St. Jude, a town where rival gangs rule the streets, where the chief of police is a cold-blooded killer, and where citizens have learned to keep their heads down. Then comes out-of-towner Ryan Hong. His vintage car attracts attention. His unbelievable martial arts skills cause a sensation. Sensing a human weapon, the rival gangs bid for Hong’s allegiance. But Hong is committed to honoring an old promise to a mentor he met in prison: that he will “do good” wherever possible. With a lethal combination of street smarts and martial arts, Hong vows to lift St. Jude’s citizens out of fear… even if he must turn into a one-man army to do it. Trailer: Dragon Eyes is one of five films in a small series of action movies from After Dark Action, a slate started by film production company After Dark Films, which is also known for […]