'Tis the season for scary movies, so it's fitting that Thomas Jane's stylish, noir-fueled horror film "Dark Country" arrives on shelves this week. In his directorial debut, the "Punisher" actor not only makes his first bow behind the camera, but he also stars alongside Lauren German ("Hostel: Part II") and Ron Perlman ("Hellboy")—two actors not entirely unfamiliar with fright-friendly cinema.

Combining surreal, David Lynch-style visuals with a pulpy horror tale that would seem at home in old issues of "Tales From The Crypt" or "Creepy," Jane says comic books weren't far from his mind when he stepped behind the camera.

"I’ve been reading comic books since I was eight years old, and in comics, anything’s possible," Jane told MTV News. "They come up with angles that you could never shoot in life, and they really have to work hard to make that two-dimensional space feel three-dimensional, so it’s a fantastic resource for coming up with ideas for shots." Read more...

Back when "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" came out, cinema pundits everywhere wondered if its use of nearly 100-percent CGI sets would usher in a new age of filmmaking. Its lackluster run at the box office put an end to that argument (with "300” being a notable exception), but that isn't stopping other forward-thinking storytellers.

Such is the case with "The Mutant Chronicles," a sci-fi action pic starring Thomas Jane, John Malkovich and Ron Perlman. In the film, humans are battling against an army of underworld NecroMutants, and true to form nearly everything except actors and props is set against a green screen. You can check out the results when it hits theaters April 24 (or VOD as of March 27), but for now check out an exclusive clip below featuring a steampunk-esque dogfight high above the earth.

It pleases me immensely that I'm able to type the following sentence: "28th century soldier Major Mitch Hunter leads a fight against an army of underworld NecroMutants." That's the one-line synopsis for "Mutant Chronicles," an upcoming sci-fi indie film that boasts an esteemed cast of no less than John Malkovich, Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman.

Based on an early '90s role-playing game, the movie finds four corporations duking it out over the planet's remaining resources when an errant bomb inadvertently unleaches a horde of mutants. Jane (as Hunter) must battle to save humanity, and along the way encounters Brother Samuel (Perlman) and Constantine (Malkovich). Got it? The film will premiere on HDNet Ultra VOD on Friday, March 27th, 2009, followed by a theatrical release in select cities on Friday, April 24. Click here or on the photo below for exclusive photos from "Mutant Chronicles."

- Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards” to be two films. (AICN)

- Thomas Jane wants to be Jonah Hex, has his fanboy enthusiasm spilled all over the web. (Film School Rejects)

- “Son of Rambow” star Will Poulter cast in central role of Eustace in “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” (NarniaWeb)

- New, more action oriented trailers for “Wall-E” and “The Mummy” hit the web. (IGN & Rob Cohen)

- Could Josh Brolin be the next Snake Plissken? Brush up on your French to find out. (Spielberg News)