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10 of the Strangest Pieces of Jaws Memorabilia… EVER!

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As someone who has collected Jaws related memorabilia since the early 1990s (read HERE and HERE), I’ve seen some really odd collectibles. My close pal and fellow Jaws collector Jim Beller boasts the largest collection on earth and runs the definitive Jaws collectible website, JawsCollector.com. Together we’ve compiled some of the strangest Jaws items to have grace the collector market over the years.

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(Top to bottom: Campopiano with his collection, ca. 2008; Beller with his collection, ca. 2015)

1. The Jaws Night shirt

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2. The Jaws change purse

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3. The Jaws paddleball (1975)

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4. The Jaws belt buckle (1975)

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5. The Jaws shower curtain from France (2000)

6. The Jaws skateboard (1976)

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7. The Jaws mini photo album (1975)

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8. Universal Studios Japan Jaws wine (2006)

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9. The Jaws inflatable blowup pillow (1975)

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10. The Universal Studios Jaws sailor cap (1989)

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Holidays Hits Tribeca Tomorrow; iTunes and More on Friday!

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Here’s your friendly reminder, kids! If you’re not lucky enough to be in New York for the Tribeca Film Festival, the new horror anthology Holidays will be hitting iTunes, Amazon, and more VOD outlets on Friday!

Holidays Release Details:
Vertical Entertainment and XYZ Films are partnering on the global distribution of horror anthology HOLIDAYS, which was produced by John Hegeman’s Distant Corners Entertainment in association with XYZ Films. The film will have its world premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival on April 14th. The companies will coordinate a global day-and-date release, which will begin the next day on April 15th with worldwide digital and VOD platforms followed by a targeted U.S. theatrical release on April 22nd.

HOLIDAYS is an anthology feature film that puts a uniquely dark and original spin on some of the most iconic and beloved holidays of all time. The film challenges our folklore, traditions, and assumptions, making HOLIDAYS a celebration of the horror on those same special days year after year. A collaboration of some of Hollywood’s most distinct voices, the directors include Kevin Smith (Tusk), Gary Shore (Dracula Untold), Scott Stewart (Dark Skies), Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes), Sarah Adina Smith (The Midnight Swim), Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact), Adam Egypt Mortimer (Some Kind of Hate), and Anthony Scott Burns (Darknet).

For more information about Holidays, visit the film’s official website and Facebook page.

Holidays

Holidays

Holidays

Holidays

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5 of Our Favorite Fights in Horror Movies

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“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

When physically fighting for your life, it’s going to result in one of two things: injury or death.

Most of the time in horror movies you get the classic someone running from the killer, tripping and falling, and then becoming the slaughtered lamb cliche. But sometimes someone will fight back hard, and then we get an awesome and unforgettable kick-ass fight where we catch ourselves rooting out loud for the characters on the screen.  Of course in a horror movie there is always going to be some sort of fight for the hero or heroine’s life, but sometimes it’s so good that it needs mentioning, so because of this we had to share a few of our favorite fight scenes in no particular order.

They Live

The Horde (2009) – Zombie vs. Cop

Everyone loves a girl-on-girl fight, and making one of those girls a zombie just makes it all the better. This is a truly kick-ass fight; the female cop is a badass, and her moves are quick and hard.  It’s a short scene, but it’s intense and ends with you yelling, “YES!”

Blade (1998) – Blade vs. Everyone

Blade is the quintessential tough guy, and there are so many fight scenes in all of the Blade movies, it was hard to pick just one, but for this list I’m picking the ending fight scene from the first film.  Not only does it have an awesome soundtrack, but his moves are beautiful and strong… not to mention that brilliant ending with the sword and the bow.

Scary Movie (2000) – Anna vs. The Killer

This movie was hilarious, and this fight scene just made it even better.  With some of her moves taken from Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, Anna kicks the killer’s ass with style, grace, and humor, making the killer look like a fool.

Dog Soldiers (2002) – Spoon vs. Werewolf 

This is one of my all-time favorite movies and also one of my favorite fight scenes because it involves a human vs. a werewolf.  Would you seriously go against a werewolf yourself?  This guy’s got some balls, and his last words are epic!

Freddy vs. Jason (2003) – Freddy vs. Jason

Here’s a fisticuff-laden fight that will have many horror fans chanting “ECW! ECW! ECW!” Seriously, this spectacular free-for-all would have been just as at home in a WWE ring as it would up on the sliver screen. Speaking of WWE…

They Live (1988) – Roddy Piper vs. Keith David

This fight is great!  It’s like two friends going at it hard, but you know the love is still there.  Piper with his wrestling moves and David with his potty mouth make this one of the best friendly fights ever!

These are just a few of our favorite fight scenes in horror, and we’ve learned that guns, swords, pots and pans, and badass moves can either make you or break you along the way.  So now we want to hear some of your favorite fight scenes in horror movies or TV. Let us know what they are in the comments below.

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Gravitas Conducts The Blackout Experiments

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The Blackout Experiments made its premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and finally word has come that it’s being unleashed in a big way. The docu-horror film will arrive in theaters and On Demand July 8!

From The Press Release:
Gravitas Ventures has secured all North American rights to The Blackout Experiments following a successful premiere in the Midnight Section at Sundance 2016. Directed by Rich Fox, the terror-inducing documentary focuses on a culture that has embraced fear-seeking, interactive entertainment.

The most extreme immersive horror experience in America is called “Blackout.” Deemed “the extreme event of the year” by The New York Times, it is not for the faint of heart; it is a terrifying, psychosexual thrill-ride designed to play on people’s deepest psychological fears.

Fox’s innovative horror documentary follows a group of friends whose experience with Blackout becomes deeply personal, developing into an obsession that hijacks their lives and blurs the line between reality and paranoid fantasy. Revealing an underbelly of private rituals and personal nightmares with footage that is 100% real, THE BLACKOUT EXPERIMENTS is the story of our obsession with the darkness inside us.

“We are thrilled Gravitas Ventures appreciates the film’s unique blend of documentary and horror and is passionate about releasing The Blackout Experiments to as wide an audience as possible,” says Fox.

Gravitas’ Sr. Director of Acquisitions, Dan Fisher, adds: “We are excited to be working with this team on their film that deftly weaves together compelling non-fiction storytelling with all the scares and tropes of a classic horror.”

Fox’s last documentary, Tribute, was discovered and subsequently executive produced by Steven Soderbergh. In addition to directing, Fox also edited The Blackout Experiments, which is produced by Kris Curry. Michael J. Pepin served at the Director of Photography. The deal was negotiated by Dan Fisher for Gravitas and CAA on behalf of the filmmakers.

For more info dig on the official The Blackout Experiments website.

The Blackout Experiments

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First Trailer for The Last Heist

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A bank robbery goes RIDICULOUSLY awry in the latest film from Mike Mendez, The Last Heist, and right now we have your first-look trailer. Dig it!

Henry Rollins (Wrong Turn 2), Kristina Klebe (Rob Zombie’s Halloween), and Nicholas Principe (Laid to Rest) fill out the cast with Torrance Coombs, Victoria Pratt, and Mark Kelly.

Look for it in theatres, on VOD, and on iTUNES June 17, 2016.

Synopsis:
A bank heist descends into violent chaos when one of the hostages turns out to be a serial killer. Trapping the well-organized team of bank robbers in the building, the killer is now picking them off one by one…

The Last Heist

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These Awesome Creepshow Shirts Turn the Film into an 8-Bit Video Game

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We’ve shared the art of Aaron Crawford, who runs the company Cavity Colors, in the past here on Dread, and he continues to impress us with incredibly cool designs that give us no choice but to bust out our credit cards. His latest offerings are certainly no exception, as they turn Creepshow into an 8-bit video game we’re DYING to play.

Just released today, the brand spankin’ new “Meteor Shit” and “Game Over, Bedelia” designs are available on standard t-shirts, girls t-shirts, and even tank tops, and they pay loving, retro-style tribute to the two most beloved segments in the original Creepshow: “Father’s Day” and “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill.”

Selling for $25 each, and available in sizes ranging from Extra Small to 5XL, the two designs give us an idea of what the “Game Over” screens would look like had Creepshow been turned into an NES game in the ’80s. Right about now, visions of an 8-bit, dancing Ed Harris are playing in my head, and I can’t help but smile.

Check out the shirts below and head over to Cavity Colors to grab ’em!

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The post These Awesome Creepshow Shirts Turn the Film into an 8-Bit Video Game appeared first on Dread Central.

Top Missing Horror Releases: Filling in the Gaps

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Few horror fan could deny we’re living in a golden age of home video release. Companies like Scream Factory, Vinegar Syndrome, Code Red, Olive, Scorpion, Synapse, Kino, and Arrow offer up fine flicks on a regular basis in truly inspired editions.

Other than the sheer amount of titles being hard to keep up with, there’s very little to complain about. However, there’s still a vast selection of domestic and foreign horror films languishing in the form of outdated editions and old formats.

The sheer number of forgotten horror flicks wouldn’t seem quite so sad if we weren’t already seeing titles like Return of the Living Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre II, or the Jeepers Creepers franchise approaching their second high-def edition. From both a business and fandom perspective, it seems silly to double down on already available films when there are plenty of classics just dying to get a chance on Blu-ray. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look.

Possibly the saddest specimen of left behind cinema are those rare features left wallowing on long-dead formats. Take, for instance, The Keep. One of two entries in our favorite genre from director Michael Mann, The Keep is that rare film that almost feels like a night at the opera. Dialogue and plot are not the focus here so much as audio visual drama that creates some of the best atmosphere you’re ever likely to witness.

Despite an appreciative fanbase that only seems to grow over time, The Keep has never received anything better than a LaserDisc. One reason may be talk of conflicting music rights with composing team Tangerine Dream, though one has to wonder how much of an issue those rights may be considering the movie appears on different streaming services from time to time.

The Keep

The other claim for the release status of The Keep is that Michael Mann apparently wants nothing to do with the film and is fine with leaving it in limbo. Someone should probably introduce him to George Lucas as an example that what a director thinks of his films isn’t always in tune with the masses.

There may yet be a spot of hope for this one as Scream Factory worked with Mann on their upcoming collector’s edition of Manhunter (its second time on Blu-ray). Hopefully someone had the good sense to remind him of his other fan favorite.

Another film that occasionally appears on streaming services without a proper physical release is the Mia Farrow and Keir Dullea spook story The Haunting of Julia (aka Full Circle), a classic tale of a woman trying to begin anew after the loss of her daughter and subsequent separation from her husband. Ghostly occurrences ensue in her new home, and she’s convinced that her child is trying to communicate with her from beyond. The truth, however, is much more sinister.

The Haunting of Julia pairs perfectly with other high-class thrillers like Don’t Look Now or The Changeling. There’s a wealth of quality performances, excellent music, and grand direction; yet, it never seemed to find an audience. Which means to this day your only option for ownership is to spend $30 on a battered VHS from eBay and hope for the best.

The Haunting of Julia

Of course, not every horror films needs to be meaningful or even well-produced, for that matter. Some prefer movies of the cheap and trashy variety like The Brain, the story of, well… an alien brain with a face which aids a psychologist in hypnotizing the populace with only some well-mannered Canadian teenagers standing in the way. This one actually sneaked its way onto a European DVD that is currently out of print. Meanwhile, its American fanbase, which is surprisingly bountiful, still waits for an upgrade from fuzzy YouTube files.

That’s barely scratching the surface of titles stuck on dead formats. We’ve got the original Willard and its sequel, Ben, which features the classic song by Michael Jackson. Not to mention classics such as Eyes of Fire, Terror on Tour, The Plumber, and Blood Beach. There’s an entire release line still waiting to be rescued from obscurity. It’s a possibility many of them could be lacking in decent material for a proper restoration, but as Olive Films proved with their Blu-rays of Deadly Pray and Killer Workout, you can salvage a film even with the worst of sources.

It’s bad enough to miss out on a great standalone film, but what if you’re a completist? The type who needs every piece of the story whether it’s an astounding success or miserable failure? Well, start getting your panties in a bunch because there are still some rather notable sequels languishing in obscurity while their respective franchises roam free.

Godzilla 1985

The Return of Godzilla (aka Godzilla 1985), having never received a digital release on our shore, could just as easily fit into the VHS-Only category. This becomes all the more shocking when you consider nearly every other Godzilla flick is not only available on disc, but a good deal of them are on Blu-ray in their original Japanese versions. In fact, this is the only entry in the franchise to have no U.S. digital media release in either its original or highly altered American versions. There was talk of Echo Bridge Entertainment bringing this to Blu-ray shortly after their launch of the similarly mistreated Godzilla vs. Biollante, but that soon faded into nothingness. So if you’re sitting there glaring at the little hole in your otherwise massive kaiju collection, the only way to fill it is to hit the import market.

While we’re on the subject of better-than-average sequels, let’s talk about Fright Night Part 2. Directed by frequent John Carpenter collaborator Tommy Lee Wallace, this second entry flips the roles from the first film by turning Charley Brewster into a skeptic by means of good old fashioned therapy and placing Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell) in the role of a true believer. That belief serves him well when Jerry Dandridge’s sister arrives seeking vengeance for the death of her fanged sibling.

Fright Night 2

Fright Night Part 2 actually received a terrible pan-and-scan DVD release in the early 2000’s which has since gone on to become something of a collectors item by virtue of there being nothing better. Granted, its predecessor hasn’t fared much better on Blu-ray, thus far receiving two very limited runs through that overpriced mockery of a film label Twilight Time. Meanwhile the awful Fright Night remake and its own follow-up (essentially another remake itself) are a breeze to buy.

I’ll admit to some personal bias in this next section. This entire article was inspired by the trailer for the upcoming J-horror showdown Sadako vs. Kayako. What does that have to do with films missing from the Blu-ray market? This might require a little history lesson if you’re down for it.

Some newer horror fans may be too young to remember the Asian horror invasion of the early 2000’s. This was a time when every visit to Blockbuster raveled another round of fresh-off-the-boat tales of long-haired ghosts and phone curses. Truly the biggest franchises of this movement were The Ring and Ju-On. Each was well-liked on both sides of the pond and received U.S. remakes to varying degrees of success along with films from all over Asia like The Eye, Shutter, and One Missed Call. The whole thing got so out of hand that eventually Hollywood turned the flow of Asian horror from a flood down to a trickle. These days some of their movies still make it Stateside, but nowhere near the amount we used to see.

With Sadako vs. Kayako set to hit theaters this summer, one has to wonder how long it will take to reach our shores given that the last Ring film and previous two Ju-on efforts have yet to cross the pond. Finding distribution isn’t even that big of an issue, as the Ju-On series belongs partly to NBCUniversal, a company with more than enough resources to bring it over themselves, yet simply chooses not to.

Paranormal Activity Tokyo Night

This isn’t the only time parts of a major franchise have been overlooked in the U.S. market. 2010 saw the theatrical release of Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night, a film that dwells in a gray area where it’s never been fully accepted nor disowned by its parent series. All the same, even though the franchise ended last year with The Ghost Dimension, this spin-off has yet to make it farther west than Europe. Surely there was a market for it. Paranormal Activity was quite the cash cow for Paramount over the years, so why keep an extra film buried away?

Let’s say these films don’t matter to you. That’s understandable. Not everyone shares a love for found footage and long-haired lady ghosts. But if entries in some of the world’s biggest franchises can’t get a fair shake, then what else are we missing out on? There’s no doubt labels went overboard during the J-horror boom, but they neglected many older titles that are still missing from our shores. Films like Sweet Home, Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis, and its sequel, Tokyo: The Last War, are the stuff cult movie fans live for; yet, they exist in a bubble where they’re not considered high-brow enough for something like the Criterion collection, while other labels won’t give them a chance because J-horror is out of fashion.

Movies aren’t the only area where there are gaps to fill. There’s also the matter of television. In general, we’re pretty lucky in this category as most of the heavy hitters are at least available on DVD. Even so, there are still a few titles missing from the market, two of which tie in directly to some of the biggest horror franchises in the world.

“Freddy’s Nightmares” is a horror anthology hosted by none other than classic boogeyman Freddy Krueger. Each week he would present tales of terror from the town of Springwood, a few of which revolved around his own antics. The Elm Street association isn’t the only reason fans clamor for this series to get its day on disc. There’s a terrific sampling of directors like Tobe Hooper, Tom McLoughlin, Mick Garris, Dwight H. Little, William Malone, and even Freddy himself, Robert Englund.

Freddys Nightmares

Despite being part of a huge franchise and serving as a time capsule for that era of horror, this series has yet to fare better than an out-of-print three-episode European release and a few episodes shoved into the special features of the most recent Elm Street box set.

Fans want the show, and most would be understanding of lackluster AV quality. Said deficiencies could make this a perfect release for a budget company like Mill Creek Entertainment. At the very least fans could finally complete their Nightmare on Elm Street collections.

Freddy isn’t the only monster with a missing TV series. That green goliath Godzilla made several appearances on “Zone Fighter,” an “Ultraman” knockoff confirmed to take place between Godzilla vs. Megalon and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

The reason for this one missing in action seems to have more to do with its genre. Japanese hero shows have a pretty slim release record over here, with Shout Factory and Mill Creek offering up the majority of releases. The series has been on DVD in Japan, so the source material clearly exists. The trick is convincing someone in power that enough Godzilla and henshin hero fans are willing to spend money on this series.


Would you believe that’s just a sampling of titles in need of proper releases? And this isn’t even touching the subject of films stuck with botched or out-of-print DVD’s that are in real need of the deluxe treatment.

So what can you, as a fan, do? Well, quite a bit actually. Post to company Facebook pages, participate in message boards, sign petitions… heck, just commenting on and spreading this article around could greatly help the cause of forgotten films. Most of all, though, you have to put your money to good use. Support as many obscure, unique, and foreign flicks as you possibly can. Constantly remind companies that horror fans will spend their hard-earned pennies on all sorts of wild stuff as long as those companies have the courage to make it available.

The post Top Missing Horror Releases: Filling in the Gaps appeared first on Dread Central.

TNT Orders New Tales from the Crypt with New Crypt Keeper and More!

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Recognizing that horror, especially on TV, is big business, cable channel TNT is ramping up with an M. Night Shyamalan “block” of programming that includes an official 10-episode initial order for a “Tales from the Crypt” anthology series with a reinvented Crypt Keeper, based on the original EC Comics.

Deadline reports that additionally, TNT has given a pilot order to “Time of Death” (working title), a anthology season-long series from IM Global Television. The network also has put in development another project earmarked for Shyamalan’s horror block, “Creatures,” produced by Sue Naegle (“Outcast”). The “Tales from the Crypt” block is now slated to launch in 2017.

The “Tales from the Crypt” anthology series will be at the center of each week’s lineup, guided by a newly reinvented Crypt Keeper, one of the most popular characters in the “Tales from the Crypt” universe.

I’m really thrilled about the way this horror block is coming together with the addition of ‘Time of Death’ and ‘Creatures,’” said Shyamalan. “That such a beloved property like ‘Tales from the Crypt’ is launching our evening makes it an even more unique and exciting opportunity. Across the board, the level of talent has been very inspiring.

“Time of Death” is an anthology of season-long horror tales that unfold in real time – each one taking viewers hour-by-hour through a single “long night of hell.” The first season will follow a murderous psychopath who returns to his Midwestern hometown during the annual county fair to exact revenge on a community he believes destroyed his life. The pilot for “Time of Death” was written by Guy Busick (Watch Over Me) and newcomer R. Christopher Murphy, with Shyamalan and IM Global Television’s Mark Stern and Stuart Ford executive producing.

Described as Friday the 13th meets “Friday Night Lights,” the first season of “Time of Death” pays tribute to the great slasher films of the 1980s, with future seasons inspired by the traditions of other horror subgenres.

IM Global Television commissioned a pilot script for “Time of Death” (aka “Night Terror”) off a pitch and developed the project internally. The script was sent to Shyamalan for “Tales from the Crypt” consideration, and TNT bought it with a pilot production commitment in a competitive situation with Hulu.

We couldn’t be more excited to be in business with Night and TNT,” said Stern. “Their enthusiasm for the pilot script has been obvious from the outset, and their ‘Tales from the Crypt’ block is the perfect home.”

“Creatures,” now in development, is a sophisticated psychological thriller that tells the disturbing tale of two former best friends who, at 12 years old, tried to cut out their classmate’s heart as a sacrifice to an Internet bogeyman they invented called Mr. Gorgi. Fifteen years later, the two young women have been released from a psychiatric institute into their small town in Alaska, but it’s not long before they start to feel the alluring and terrifying presence of Mr. Gorgi once again.

“Creatures” is a story of deep friendship and dark obsession, where a vivid imagination meets the power of suggestion and the seduction of belief. The script is being written by BAFTA Award winner Dominic Mitchell (“In the Flesh”) and produced by Sue Naegle’s Naegle Ink. Tom Shankland (“House of Cards”) is attached to direct and serve as executive producer.

Announced in January, TNT’s new “Tales from the Crypt” block of terror and suspense is being curated by Shyamalan, the Oscar-nominated writer-director of The Sixth Sense, Signs, and Unbreakable and executive producer of the Fox series “Wayward Pines.” The block will feature both short and long-form storytelling, led by the “Tales from the Crypt” anthology series, which is executive produced by Shyamalan, his partner at Blinding Edge Pictures, Ashwin Rajan; Endgame’s James Stern; and Aloris Entertainment’s John Santilli and Dan McKinnon.

“Time of Death” joins recently ordered dramedy pilot “Claws,” executive produced by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack.

cryptkeeper

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AMC Considering Letting People Text During Films; We’re Considering Never Going There Again

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There’s nothing more annoying then spending top dollar to watch a movie, only to be distracted by some idiots texting their friends who are sometimes just two seats down. And it’s not just kids. Older folks are just as thumb-happy, and they can be even worse because they’re far slower than the average ADD addict who’s typing away as if the world revolves around him or her.

According to an article in Variety, in a bid to attract younger, smartphone-savvy consumers, AMC Entertainment head Adam Aron said he was open to making some theaters texting and mobile device-friendly.

When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don’t ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow,” says Aron. “You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That’s not how they live their life.” Um… yes, you can. It’s called being considerate and using your brain.

Aron continues, “At the same time, though, we’re going to have to figure out a way to do it that doesn’t disturb today’s audiences. There’s a reason there are ads up there saying turn off your phone, because today’s moviegoer doesn’t want somebody sitting next to them texting or having their phone on.

Yeah, how about just enforcing the rule not to text? Is it so hard? Must you bend the common courtesy rule just to cater to some thoughtless, selfish idiots? Or… if you must target these morons and make your theater friendly to them, how about you lower the ticket prices for people who have to put up with them?

I will say this… speaking purely for myself, I will NEVER patronize any theater that employs the text-friendly rule. I’m not shelling out $20.00 per ticket to sit in the dark with a moron with what amounts to a rectangular neon light in their hands so they can make sure that their friend’s FOMO is quelled. I mean, OMG! WTF!!! 111????!!!

Feel the same way I do? Drop AMC a line and let them know and tweet them at @amctheatres.

AMC

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The Neon Demon Trailer Ready to Blind You

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After what has seemed like an eternity, we finally have a trailer for Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn’s (Drive, Only God Forgives) new film, The Neon Demon. Check it out right here!

The film will have its world premiere in the Official Competition of the 69th Cannes Film Festival, and Amazon Studios will release it in theaters in June 2016.

Related Story: Nicolas Winding Refn Talks The Neon Demon Release Plan

The Neon Demon stars Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, Alessandro Nivola, Abbey Lee (Drive), Jena Malone (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1), Bella Heathcote (Beneath Hill 60), and Karl Glusman (Stonewall).

Refn’s regular collaborators, editor Matthew Newman and composer Cliff Martinez, were joined by The Grandmaster director of photography Philippe Le Sourd on the film. Refn’s partner, Lene Borglum, produced under their Space Rocket banner.

Synopsis:
When aspiring model Jesse moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has.

neon demon elle fanning

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Crispin Glover and More Are American Gods

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More casting news has arrived for “American Gods,” the upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed contemporary fantasy novel for Starz. Deadline is reporting that both Jonathan Tucker (“Kingdom”) and Crispin Glover (Hot Tub Time Machine) have joined the fray.

Tucker is Low Key Lyesmith. Shadow’s one confidante in prison, Low Key is a surprisingly philosophical individual. Wiry and fast talking, with an offbeat sense of humor, he has a theory for everything and gives Shadow some sage advice to ready him for the outside world.

Glover (pictured below) will play Mr. World, the seemingly omniscient leader at the center of the New Gods coalition, sometimes more challenged by his own subordinates than his enemies. In keeping an eye on the activities of the Old Gods, he realizes that their ringleader, Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane), poses an imminent threat.

The cast also includes Ricky Whittle as Shadow Moon, Emily Browning as Laura Moon, Sean Harris as Mad Sweeney, Yetide Badaki as Bilquis, and Bruce Langley as Technical Boy. The series begins shooting next week.

The plot of “American Gods” posits a war brewing between old and new gods, the traditional gods of mythological roots from around the world steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity, and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow Moon (Whittle), is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to Mr. Wednesday (McShane), a conman who in reality is one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities.

Crispin Glover

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Hulu Gets Freakish Online!

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And the golden age of television horror continues as Variety is reporting that Hulu has acquired exclusive streaming rights to “Freakish,” a 10-episode horror series from AwesomenessTV set in a small-town high school.

The series is currently in production and slated to premiere on Hulu later this year. The show centers on a group of students who must fight for survival when predatory mutant freaks take over after a meltdown at the local chemical plant.

“Freakish” stars an ensemble cast that includes Hayes Grier, Leo Howard, Liza Koshy, Adam Hicks, Aislinn Paul, Tyler Chase, Meghan Rienks, and Melvin Gregg. Additional cast members include Chad L. Coleman, Mary Mouser, and social media influencer Chachi Gonzales.

Our Gen Z audience craves binge-worthy, on-demand entertainment, which is why we’re excited to be in business with Hulu,” said Shelley Zimmerman, executive producer and head of scripted series for AwesomenessTV.

“Freakish” was created by Beth Szymkowski, who created and wrote AwesomenessTV’s first series, “Runaways.” The series is exec produced by AwesomenessTV CEO Brian Robbins, Zimmerman, Szymkowski, Matt Lewis, and Chris Grismer (“The Vampire Diaries,” “The Originals”) and produced by Scott Levine. The series pilot was written by Szymkowski and will be directed by Grismer.

Freakish

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Forest, The (Blu-ray/DVD)

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The ForestStarring Natalie Dormer, Taylor Kinney, and Yukiyoshi Ozawa

Directed by Jason Zada

Rated PG-13


I was actually looking forward to The Forest. I’ve enjoyed movies that other horror aficionados have hated before, so my hopes were high that Dormer’s adventure in the mythic Aokigahara would be memorable. Unfortunately, it was not. A lot of negative reviews focus on how monumentally egregious a particular film is. Isn’t it much worse to just be utterly forgettable? The Forest isn’t an affront to filmmaking. It isn’t insulting to audiences. It’s the embodiment of mediocrity. A passable film devoid of any risk, I struggle to remember details a mere hour after watching it.

Here’s what I do remember. Some lady named Sara (Natalie Dormer) learns that her sister Jess (also Dormer) has gone missing in Aokigahara, the infamous suicide forest. With her magical identical twin powers telling her that Jess is still alive, Sara travels all the way to the mystical land of Japan to follow the trail and save her sister. Since, you know, the Japanese authorities just can’t be bothered to give two fucks about a schoolteacher going missing. Upon arrival, she encounters cultural and language barriers, ranging from awkward misunderstandings to being fed live shrimp. It’s a bizarre mix between inexplicably catty and entirely inconsequential, much like all of highschool.

Eventually, she meets dreamboat Aiden (Taylor Kinney), the one redeeming quality of the film. He’s a reporter who’s familiar with Aokigahara, and offers to be her “in” with the local guide. He wants to use this opportunity to write a character piece about her struggle to find her sister, mixing opportunity with human kindness in a way strangely realistic for this script. He has his fair share of silly lines, but at least he acts like a normal human being, equal parts sceptical confusion and helpfulness.

There’s some backstory about her father killing her mother, Jess seeing it, and Sara feeling bad about it. Since the twins look the same at the time (they masterfully have different colored hair in the present day), it’s unclear who saw it really, but it turns out to be totally inconsequential. Everyone warns her that the forest is haunted, which paired with explaining the backstory, comprises about half of the movie. It would make sense spending half of the movie outside of the titular forest if there was a lot of plot, but I basically just wrapped it up in two paragraphs. There’s a lot of pointless shots of Sara feeling awkward in a foreign environment, which could have easily been integrated into the plot relevant scenes.

Once they finally get into the meat of the haunted Aokigahara, it still takes a good amount of time to get to the actual ghosts. The yūrei come much too late to develop, each predictably appearing for a couple of scenes before fading off into the archives of “what could have been interesting.” Their design is visually impressive, but feel awkward in the overall narrative.

What bothers me the most about The Forest was that it could have been good. The visual design of the ghosts is excellent, with the gruesomely human spirits exuding a tortured menace. The little bits of intrigue are pretty interesting, with the overall concept of “what is real” a rich ground to grow a very memorable story. I liked the moment where the ghost was passing notes. Unfortunately, it’s those little streaks of brilliance that give it that “forgettable” label. If it was just all terrible shit, it would at least be fun to watch for that. Unfortunately, this is a movie with the telltale signs of people that knew what they were doing being saddled down by a committee that had no idea.

It’s easy to imagine. Picture a group of suits, sitting around a projector, all with clipboards in hand. As scenes flutter by, they tilt their heads, nod and shake, pens darting onto paper taking heated notes. “It’s been 20 minutes without a jump scare! Teens will find this boring! We didn’t demand this to be PG-13 for nothing! Wake the audience UP!” Several quick cuts to spooky faces were added as a result. “What’s this bullshit about her family dying in a car accident? That’s not what we see at the end! I am confused! Add a segment where we see, specifically, that her father actually killed her mother. Otherwise, audiences will get lost.” A shadowy figure emerges from the depths of hell, horns obscured by the molten vapors of the brimstone, “Yessssss, yessssssssssss. And end it on a nonsense jump scare. Otherwise, the audience might not know the film was spooky!”

It’s just barely good enough to not be likeable. Its that slog of bland muck that sits between a piglet endearingly smearing itself in mud and delicious bacon. It’s a visually fine movie with a mixed bag of acting, meh plot, and passable production values. I can’t imagine any but the most starved really liking this movie. It’s a cheese sandwich, passable for consumption, but in no way a meal. Watch if exceptionally bored or high. Or even if you’re just a little high. Or if you’re sober. You won’t remember it anyways.

Special Features:

If I thought my career choice was the pinnacle of slacking off, I was wrong. The guy in charge of The Forest’s special features approached the task with a level of not giving a fuck generally reserved for bartenders pouring drinks for fat dudes at clubs. There’s a few galleries of concept art and set photos, none of which are particularly interesting. The “Exploring The Forest” featurette is basically just Jason Zada talking about his vacation to Japan. I did think it was kind of neat to learn that the trip she takes in the film reflects the actual route to Aokigahara, but at the point that travel logistics marginally excites me, the rest of the feature has done something terribly wrong. Even if you bought this Blu-ray, I couldn’t recommend you watch these.

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Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer Open Their Hearts and Hark About Holidays

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If you think about it, as much as everyone harks on about how much fun they have over the holiday periods, the truth of the matter is that pretty much every celebration harbors all the sordid makings of the ultimate horror movie. This is something which was so exquisitely put by John Hegeman, producer and mind behind the latest horror anthology on the block, Holidays (reviews here and here).

“Holidays in general are always a balance of anticipation and dread. I love how the day can really freak people out and things can just spiral into complete chaos.”

That said, if all our anecdotes of celebrations past were as grim as those of the poor souls we’re introduced to in Holidays, we’d be yearning to hear the sweet sound of our Monday morning alarm clocks, eager to head back to the office and put all those sordid celebrations behind us.

With Holidays hitting iTunes, Amazon, and more VOD outlets today, April 15, Dread Central caught up with Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival to talk all about the latest anthology and the two segments they were involved in; namely, “Valentine’s Day” and “New Year’s Eve.”

DC: How did you end up getting involved in this project?

Widmyer: Over a year ago we already knew Adam Egypt Mortimer through mutual friends. We didn’t know him personally by that time, but he was already putting the project together with John Hegemen, of Distant Corners, and XYZ Films. He was just a fan of Starry Eyes and really liked what we were doing. We had already met with XYZ a few times and they brought the idea in its very early concept stage. After that, we’d hear updates every now and then, and then suddenly it became real and they were hiring other directors. They hired Sarah Adina Smith, who did The Midnight Swim, which we loved, and then Nicholas McCarthy, who did The Pact. There was no specific deadline and people were going off and doing their thing, so by the time they got to Kevin and I, Sarah Adina Smith and Nicholas McCarthy had already shot theirs and we were the third directors in the line-up to get the green light and we ended up shooting it in February, 2015.

DC: Something that jumped out at me was just how much the leading ladies in Starry Eyes and “Valentine’s Day” had in common. Alex Essoe’s character, Sarah, is very much the outcast and fixated on stardom. Here, Maxine (Madeleine Coughlan) is tormented by her classmates whilst fixated on her diving coach.

Post-production on "Valentine's Day"

Post-production on “Valentine’s Day”

Widmyer: Yeah. they’re both outsiders fixated on one goal. I’d never personally thought of it like that actually.

Kolsch: I guess it’s a case of some residual effects carrying over. Starry Eyes was a personal project to us in that we had done a lot of stuff years before that working together and it had all been DIY stuff; we weren’t ever really getting into this industry and Starry Eyes sort of came out of that frustration. Then, even after Starry Eyes came out, it still was a struggle trying to get our projects off the ground and I guess we still had a little of that feeling within us. I guess it’s all really something that dates back to our own real lives. I wasn’t necessarily like the character of Maxine in high school of course, but I think the fact we’d always wanted to make films and where we grew up on Long Island, we’ve always been a bit different from the norm and the rest of people and we inspired to different goals that were outside of our environment where we grew up, so that’s been a part of us always I guess.

DC: The role of Maxine must have been a tough one to cast. How did you come across Madeleine Coughlan?

Widmyer: We had casting sessions with a casting director and a number of actors coming in and it’s difficult because the role of Maxine, played wonderfully by Madeleine, had no dialogue. I think people just didn’t even realize that. Our Line Producer worked on the entire film, watched it happen through post-production, and then one day when we told him that, it dawned on him. So it was difficult to cast someone like that because when you audition them, you have to be able to see what they can do without relying on dialogue. We finally came up with this really good concept of having the character read what her diary at least would be. We had her come in and read from a fake diary that we wrote which gave a lot more of the backstory of who the character was. It talked about her father, home life, this suicide that she had seen and how she had taken her father’s box-knife with her to school which had his name on it so people thought she was morbid because of that. Giving the actor that background allowed them to come in and audition, and then if they got the role and took it into the actual process of the part, it was very helpful; and that was how we found Madeleine. She was one of the last people we found. It was one of those things where the minute she came walking through the door, we said, “Holy shit. We know that’s the girl.” I know that’s a cliché but you could see a hundred people sometimes and then suddenly as soon as one person comes in you just know that they are it.

Kolsch: I will tell you something too. Maddie came in in a way that you could she was was dressing for this role. She came in, she was great, then she started showing up for the shoot and she looked amazing and looked the part. But then after the film we started following each other on Instagram and I started seeing these pictures pop up of Madeleine and she’s gorgeous and all dressed to the nines.

Widmyer: We were like, “Why did we make her look so drab?”

DC: Your segment touches on an emotional relationship or bond between a student and a teacher. I think you handled the subject very respectfully, but I’m guessing you consciously tackled the subject with a lot of tact because it’s obviously a sore and tricky topic to take on.

More "Valentine's Day" Post-production

More “Valentine’s Day” Post-production

Kolsch: We were a little concerned. We wanted this to feel very sweet for Valentine’s Day. We wanted Maxine, who is delusional, to interpret the teacher’s sweetness in this way; she’s the one that thinks that there’s more to it. But we wanted it to be a nice and sweet gesture from the teacher that had this dark outcome. We really wanted to be careful to make sure that this diving coach we created wasn’t being pervy or anything. It’s certainly something that Rick Peters, the actor, was concerned about and we had a lot of talks about it and we tried to make it as delicate as we could and we told him, “Hey, look. This is a girl that you feel for. You just got off the phone with your wife and now you saw this girl that was getting picked on so you want to be the one person that does something nice for her to let her know that things aren’t always going to be like this.” We really worked hard to make sure that it felt like a sweet gesture that this coach was doing because he was like, “Hey, I know what you’re going through and trust me, there are people there and you’re not alone in all of this,” and it’s Maxine that turns it into this dark thing.

DC: When the trailer came out recently, more than the odd comment said, “Oh no! Not ANOTHER Carrie rip-off.” Can you spread some light on your segment and explain why it isn’t just another Carrie rehash?

Kolsch: The funny thing is, I think what people are actually seeing as a Carrie rip-off were intentional nods to Carrie. You’ll see that one of the side characters in the locker room is actually dressed like P.J. Soles’ character from Carrie. Also, giving her the nickname of MaxiPad, which were the things they were throwing at Carrie; those were all obvious nods. If you think about it, there are tons of stories about outcast kids in high school and they’re not all Carrie; this is very common subject matter that is approached. If you look at what’s actually going on with the crush on the teacher and this competition for his attention with the lead girl on the diving team, that’s not really the same slot or story as Carrie. I guess people see the trailer and they see all these things that are clearly Carrie references and assume it’s another Carrie rip-off but they’re just watching the trailer and seeing the little visual things that we put in as intentional nods but I think that when you watch the movie, the plot of it is very different from Carrie.

DC: Apart from writing and directing the “Valentine’s Day” segment, you also wrote Adam Egypt Mortimer’s “New Year’s Eve” segment. How did you end up writing his short specifically?

Widmyer: What happened was that when we first came on board, we pitched them a Halloween concept. This was before they had all the directors on board and they liked our concept so we went off and wrote it and we were going to make that. But then Kevin Smith came on board and he’s earned this by being Kevin Smith. So he had his own Halloween idea and we were fine with that and we wrote a Christmas script, but the same thing happened again when Scott Stewart came on board. So they said to us, “You know what? We don’t have anyone that’s done Valentine’s Day,” and we’d already written two so they’d already gotten to read two of our screenplays and they realized that they liked our writing. They now had a sample of a Halloween script, a Christmas script, and now a Valentine’s script, so Adam Egypt Mortimer just kind of responded to our writing and said he really liked our voice and asked us to come up with a New Year’s Eve concept. We met with him over coffee and sat down for about three hours and came up with something he really liked so we went off and wrote it, and we were honored to do it. It was fun to be the only participants in the whole thing that were creatively involved in two of the segments. It’s also very cool because we bookend the film.

DC: Dennis, am I right in saying the “New Year’s Eve” segment was inspired by a somewhat disastrous date you once had?

Widmyer: I went on a really, really bad first date on New Year’s Eve; that’s all I’ll say. Never go on an online date as a first date on New Year’s Eve! We both thought we were being risqué and breaking the dating rule book by trying something original and fun, but it just ended up being a nightmare. There was no murder involved but it was not a fun night.

DC: To wrap up, is there anything you can share with readers about your upcoming projects, Exorcism Diaries and Mama 2?

Kolsch: We’re currently rewriting both scripts and we’re set to direct them, depending obviously on how the rewrites go. We’ve got to get the scripts to the right spot first and then the directing will come after that. Obviously Mama 2 is a sequel so she is in the sequel and you know what kind of movie you’re getting there…

DC: I’m honestly really not sure what to expect from Mama 2 as Neil Cross is involved with the script so it could go in any direction with him.

Kolsch: Yes! That’s the thing. We really responded to the fact that Neil Cross is involved in the script. I mean, after Starry Eyes we got offered a lot of things and there were a lot of things that we turned down because they just weren’t right for us. Obviously we have other scripts that we want to make ourselves as our sort of Starry Eyes follow-up but we turned down a lot of jobs that were so off the mark, but these two that we did take definitely have elements in them that are things that we really respond too. With Mama 2, yes, it’s a Mama movie and Mama is in it, but there are things in that movie that Neil Cross put in there that really makes it different and not what you’re probably expecting from a sequel to Mama. It’s pretty cool and we’re really looking forward to that one.

For more information, visit Holidaysofficial website and Facebook page.

Holidays

Holidays

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Green Room (2016)

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Green Room PosterStarring Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart

Directed by Jeremy Saulnier


Despite dabbling in horror-comedy in 2007 with Murder Party, it was 2013’s gritty revenge thriller Blue Ruin that turned the genre spotlight onto Jeremy Saulnier as a directorial force to watch. Funded largely through a Kickstarter campaign, Blue Ruin proved to be an inspiring story of independent filmmaking, going on to receive widespread critical acclaim and grace many year-end best lists in the horror community and beyond. Needless to say, more than a few genre fans have been awaiting Saulnier’s follow-up in eager anticipation over the last couple of years.

Enter Green Room, Saulnier’s latest bloodbath of an offering that is, for all intents and purposes, a very different beast of a film. Approached in many ways with seemingly loftier goals in mind, Green Room sees Saulnier casting his net wider with a story set on a group of millennial punks who are all at once recklessly myopic and unexpectedly earnest. A notably more accessible film than its predecessor, Green Room is a fast-paced thriller that homes in on the nature of survival and man’s instincts as he fights to emerge from an increasingly merciless situation born simply of bad luck.

The film tells the story of a struggling punk band made up of Tiger (Callum Turner), Sam (Shawkat), Pat (Yelchin), and Reece (Joe Cole) as they are winding down on a less-than-glamorous tour through the Northwest. After showing up for a college radio interview, the band is thrown a disappointing curveball as the DJ/promoter contact of theirs reveals that their final gig has fallen through; seeking to make amends for this, he tells the band about an available underground gig of sorts in a secluded Oregon dive bar. Hard up for cash, the band agrees to take the last-minute gig, only to find that the bar is home to a group of staunch neo-Nazi patrons and employees. Though they ultimately deliver in their set for the unsavory crowd, things take a drastic turn when Pat unwittingly stumbles into a murder scene unfolding in the venue green room. Following a shocking turn of events, the band and another witness named Amber (Imogen Poots) find themselves trapped in the green room fighting for their lives as a group of neo-Nazi goons led by Darcy Banker (Stewart) seeks to find a way in to silence the witnesses for good.

What follows this setup is an increasingly violent stand-off in which Saulnier makes masterful use of a limited setting (think an amped up Assault on Precinct 13 with neo-Nazis). With Green Room, the director showcases an undeniably keen sense for claustrophobic intensity and brutality, punctuated by an overarching spirit of defiance. His unrepentant commitment to this vision will surely evoke many visceral responses in audiences, especially when it comes to the film’s violence. Saulnier pulls few — if any — punches, killing off characters with harsh swiftness and turning tables in ways that are often startling. As you come to attach to his unlikely band of heroes and loathe his villains, some of Saulnier’s narrative turns ultimately gut-punch without warning; yet, the director doesn’t budge from his perspective. He maintains the progressively horrific nature of the situation at hand in an unwavering fashion, and it is because of this that Green Room‘s monsters — vile, merciless men, plain and simple — are more effectively terrifying than most of what we have seen on screen in major studio horror films this year.

That is not to say that Green Room is solely an exercise in savagery because there are certainly lighter and deeper aspects present in the parts of this whole, respectively. The violence in the film is definitely crucial to heightening the intensity of the story Saulnier tells, but it is not the sole means to the grander statements he makes. Rather, there is a sense of affective authenticity that underlies the director’s in-your-face approach to this grim tale. This is especially evident in his protagonists, all of whom emerge as surprisingly relatable and endearing individuals beneath the facades of indifference and recalcitrance that initially accompany them as modern-day punks.

Even without obviously planted emotional cues anchoring the focal relationships in Green Room, the character nuances written into Saulnier’s script make for very natural and fully realized connections and character development. Though they aren’t particularly stand-up citizens (Pat and Sam are the closest things to likable), you can’t help but enjoy watching the protagonists here interact. The performances from the film’s younger cast members are especially charming, exuding a fresh energy from the get-go; memorable exchanges between the vulnerable, but scrappy Yelchin and an inexplicably fascinating Poots particularly add a welcome air of incidental levity to some of the film’s bleaker moments. We are not ever hit over the head with any explicit, emotionally rooted reason to care about these folks upon meeting them, but for some reason we do, and it does feel quite emotional as they start to die off — a sentiment that speaks greatly to the nature of Saulnier’s subtle characterization and the film itself as a very human survival story.

Unlike many other films of this nature that can grow implausible very quickly, the courses of action taken by the captives in Green Room luckily remain quite conceivable throughout the entirety of the film. Both the desperate, knee-jerk attempts and semi-elaborate ruses put into place to turn the tables on their captors (led with chilling composure by Stewart, nailing his role as the brooding big bad) are quite imaginable and play out realistically. That the film is void of any eye roll-worthy moments where an out conveniently appears at the last minute certainly helps to keep the audience firmly grounded in the merciless reality of the situation at hand.

Though Saulnier keeps the film moving with one anxiety-inducing sequence after another, Green Room’s ultimate resolution is actually quite understated in a way that recalls Blue Ruin‘s more subdued tone. The film’s final scene might not entirely satisfy those who would prefer an ending that culminates in absolute decimation across the board, but there is something to be said for Saulnier’s deliberate approach here, which manages to make even something like the echo of a gunshot equally and effectively resonant. This decisive restraint ultimately underlies what makes Saulnier such a talent; if he wants you to be disquieted, he can do so in the midst of a frenzied scene of violence or in a moment of calculated stillness — either way you will be disquieted, whether you want it or not. Though there are many opportunities to do so, Saulnier steers clear of misplaced romanticism that has no place in the world of Green Room, and such an unapologetic commitment to a singular vision is admirable in a time when many major genre films bend for the sake of masses who need their horror served up in an easily digestible recipe.

Up front, Green Room will undoubtedly rattle some cages, but it is far more than the sum of its brutal and grimy parts. Rather, it is a damn near perfect exercise in survival horror that captures a surprisingly nuanced air of spirit and humanity beneath its harsh exterior. With this riotous crowd-pleaser, Saulnier has elevated himself as a powerful writing and directorial force, particularly through his masterful ability to generate an infectious, anarchistic energy that is both shocking and extremely fun to watch. Throughout its blood-soaked course, Green Room is sure to elicit as many cheers as it does gasps — and I can imagine Saulnier and Co. will happily welcome both.

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Two New Ghostbusters Video Games Coming Soon from Activision

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With the Ghostbusters reboot tiptoeing nearer and nearer, the marketing machine is in full swing, with Activision announcing that they have not one, but two upcoming games in production.

The first is a four-player RPG simply titled Ghostbusters, which serves as a sequel to the reboot film featuring a new cast of characters keeping ghosts at bay in New York City. Check out the trailer below ahead of its July 12 release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

The other is a mobile game called Ghostbusters: Slime City, which also launches in July and has you teaming up with other Ghostbusters to again protect NYC from supernatural threats.

From the Press Release:
Activision Publishing, Inc., in collaboration with Sony Pictures Consumer Products, has announced a pair of new Ghostbusters video games set in and inspired by the comedic action world of the upcoming Ghostbusters film, in theaters July 15.

Taking place after the events of the new movie, both Ghostbusters games introduce new casts of rookies keeping watch over the station while the now-famous Ghostbusters tour the country stopping high-profile poltergeists. When paranormal phenomena unleash apparitions across New York City, these new squads of recruits must don their proton packs and wrestle those rogue spirits back to the afterlife!

The console game, Ghostbusters, is a third-person action role-playing game positively charged for thrilling couch co-op with up to four players locally. As rookie Ghostbusters, players can level up their characters’ gear and abilities by tackling objectives, defeating ghastly creatures and discovering hidden collectibles in Manhattan’s most haunted haunts. There are four heroes to choose from, and each has his or her own unique personality and play style, bringing special strengths to support the team.

Ghostbusters is expected to arrive on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and Windows PC via Steam on July 12.

The mobile game, Ghostbusters: Slime City, lets players be a Ghostbuster and save New York City from a new wave of threats. Team up with other players in asynchronous co-op, and collect powerful ghosts to rise to the top of the leaderboards. Players can also craft their own proton packs from any number of combinations of components, as well as upgrade their own headquarters and complete jobs around the city for new weapons and rewards.

Ghostbusters: Slime City is expected to launch in July on select iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices via the App Store, select Android devices via Google Play and select Kindle devices through the Amazon Appstore.

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Ghostbusters

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Evil Bong High-5 Trailer Is as High as a Kite

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Seriously, the folks who edited together the trailer for Evil Bong High-5, from director Charles Band, seemed as though they were smoking some of that damn bong themselves because man, this is one crazy trailer.

Have a look for yourself below, and be sure to visit Full Moon Streaming, where the film debuts, on 20 April.

Synopsis:
For those of you who survived EVIL BONG: 420 but still haven’t come down from your haze, Charles Band and Full Moon Features wants to lend you a helping hand with EVIL BONG: HIGH-5! Learning from her previous mistakes, EeBee, the Evil Bong, is back; and she’s stoner… er… stronger than ever. With Larnell, Sarah Leigh, Rabbit, Velicity, and a lobotomized Gingerdead Man trapped in her dastardly web of weed, The Bong World, for good, she once more sets about her plan of world domination. This time, one toke at a time, EeBee has outsmarted everybody who has outsmarted her. There’s no way out for our hesher heroes, so she teleports them to insane locations, where they enlist a bevy of baked soldiers (Ooga Booga, Killjoy, and tons of surprises) to sell her magic ganja in a bid for guerilla weedfare. It’s up to our dopes to figure out EeBee’s new rules and stop her before humanity goes up in smoke. In the end, will our waster warriors celebrate with a HIGH-5? Or will they be down low and too slow?

Evil Bong High 5

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In the Shadow of Nosferatu: A Visit to the Filming Locations From Murnau’s 1922 Classic

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As a horror fan and overall film nut, I know firsthand how exciting it can be to visit the filming locations from your favorite movies. From Martha’s Vineyard, where Jaws was filmed, to the alleyways of Georgetown, where much of The Exorcist took place, to the original Michael Myers house in South Pasadena, CA, these movie locations have and will likely always be popular destinations for film fanatics.

With all of the recent buzz about the Nosferatu remake (with David Lee Fisher in the director’s chair and monster regular Doug Jones slated to play Count Orlok himself), I thought it might be fun to give Dread Central readers a glimpse into my own history and fascination with Nosferatu (including the 1979 Werner Herzog remake, Nosferatu the Vampyre). And what better way to talk about a film than to journey to where it was made!

I first saw F.W. Murnau’s 1922 German Expressionist horror film Nosferatu (aka Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) with my mother back in the early 2000s. The copy we had at that time was the remastered DVD edition hosted by David Carradine with music by Type O Negative(!). Admittedly, I’m not much of a metal fan, but no doubt the booming sounds from Type O Negative (particularly the vocals by late frontman, Peter Steele) helped to burn a lasting visual and audible impression on me.

During and since those first viewings, I’ve dreamed of visiting the land where the film was shot so I could walk in the steps of Count Orlok himself and surround myself in what has always felt to me like an otherworldly place – something out of a dark and twisted fairy tale. Finally, in late 2015, I got my chance…and it was an unforgettable experience.

The majority of Nosferatu was filmed throughout Germany – though Murnau did shoot several scenes in what is now Slovakia. (The Slovakian exteriors were supposed to represent the Transylvanian countryside). Within Germany the production spent much of its time in the far north, specifically the towns of Lübeck and Wismar – both of which are gorgeous Hanseatic cities nestled along the Baltic Sea.

While traveling through Germany this past November, I spent two days in Lübeck tracking down the places seen in this iconic, German rendition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (much has been written on the history of the conflict between Murnau and Stoker’s estate) – from the Salzspeicher, or salt houses (buildings used to portray  Count Orlok’s home in the fictional town of Wisbourg), to the historic home of Hutter and Ellen, the film’s supporting actors. Thankfully, during my trip I was able to hunt down more than just these two locations, all the while fulfilling a dream I’ve had since those days of first experiencing the film with my mother and, of course, Peter Steele!

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Nosferatu 1

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Nosferatu

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Blumhouse Lays Claim to Devil’s Night

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Devil’s Night, aka the night before Halloween, has been the subject of many a horror film, but now Jason Blum is looking to leave his own stamp on this most evil evening. According to THR Blum and his Blumhouse Productions are setting up the micro-budget horror film Devil’s Night, written by Sean Tretta.

Blum and Bobbi Sue Luther will produce the film, which explores what happens on the infamous night before the popular holiday. The tradition of youth causing mischief on October 30th has existed since the 1930s, but in the 1980s in inner cities, especially Detroit, the crimes became more destructive, including arson and vandalism.

Ryan Turek will oversee the project for Blumhouse.

Tretta is a writer on Syfy’s series “12 Monkeys,” which will debut its second season on April 18. He previously wrote and directed 2010’s The Prometheus Project and the 2014 short M Is for Matchmaker.

Jason Blum

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Courtney B. Vance Wrapped Up in The Mummy

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More casting news has arrived for the latest reboot of The Mummy, as Deadline is reporting that Courtney B. Vance (“The People vs. OJ Simpson”) has joined the cast of the Universal Pictures flick.

The Mummy is touted as being the first film in the studio’s new production endeavor that will expand and unify a network of classic monsters.

Vance joins the previously announced Tom Cruise as a special forces soldier (or former soldier); Sofia Boutella, who is on board to play the iconic monster; Annabelle Wallis as the film’s female lead, an archaeologist; and “The New Girl’s” Jake Johnson.

The studio tapped Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan to help develop a monster universe for Universal with rebooted versions of classic monster movies. Kurtzman is also on board to direct and will produce alongside Morgan and Sean Daniel.

Jon Spaihts is penning the script. Plot details are vague other than the fact that the film will be set in the present day, unlike the previous three installments starring Brendan Fraser.

Universal executive VP of production Jon Mone and VP of development Jay Polidoro will oversee the project for the studio.

Courtney B. Vance

The post Courtney B. Vance Wrapped Up in The Mummy appeared first on Dread Central.

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