Happy Valentine's Day! Candy, Flowers and bludgeoning! Entertainment Weekly has posted some last-minute suggestions of horror films that are fitting for the occasion. Of course, if you're not feeling particularly sappy, you could just dive right in to Zombie Holocaust or The Human Centipede 2. Whatever fits your mood.
Just days ago we were questioning whether Hopper was truly gone as David Harbour had stated he hadn't heard from the Stranger Things creative team. Well played David...well played!
Today, this Stranger Things 4 trailer reveals Hopper is just too good of a character to kill off. I don't know about you but when I hear Guillermo del Toro's name, I perk up a little. Ever since I watched The Devil's Backbone (like 20 years ago - I'm old), I've paid close attention to his work. I loved the Hellboy movies and appreciate his way of making "fairy tales" for an adult audience, which is how I viewed The Shape of Water, Don't Be Afriad Of The Dark and naturally, Pan's Labyrinth. Let's also not forget his co-penned "The Strain" trilogy which spawned a successful TV show. It gave us a whole new breed of vampire lore. Take that, Twilight! Whether he's directing, producing, writing or lending artistic direction, del Toro is a certified powerhouse, which is why I'm really looking forward to Antlers. At face value you might take it as Rudolph Gets Rabies (Claimed it!) but this movie looks certifiably gory and suspenseful. With the buzz and praise that The Ritual (a movie also featuring a wild, mythical beast-monster) has been getting, which I enjoyed, I have a lot of high hopes for Antlers. Now just to pass the time for 2 months... I'm disappointed. Really disappointed. Rick Moranis's unforgettable Louis Tully would have been the final addition of original (living) cast members returning for Ghostbusters: Aftermath. Yet we were disappointed to learn Moranis appeared to be sticking with his vow to retire from acting (aside from voice acting an an occasional cameo); he passed on the return. So it was with head-scratching news today that it was announced he will be reprising his role as Wayne Szalinski in a "Honey, I Shrunk The Kids" sequel / reboot. He'll do THIS, but not Ghostbusters?! At the time if it's release, "Honey" offered some great effects using large props, camera perspective trickery and fairly advanced animatronics. Theatrical success lead to two sequels - a less engaging "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid" and the unnecessary, lower budgeted "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves" - and a 4D experience in Disney parks. No doubt Disney will cough up some cash for this new title but let's not forget, Ghostbusters: Afterlife will be no small ordeal. Jason Reitman, son of Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, is directing and again, all other original cast members are returning to make sure the torch is passed in the best way possible. It almost feels as if the void of Rick Moranis (and of course Harold Ramis) could be the only thing making it feel incomplete. Still - I'll go into Ghostbusters: Aftermath hoping for a sweet surprise in which Louis Tully locks himself out of his apartment one last time. So this one caught my eye - Women in Horror Month: Top 13 Final Girls posted by But Why Tho? So here's the list:
I like the Scream movies just as much as anyone else who was in their teens during the Miramax Horror boom. Ghostface has certainly become a horror icon...but c'mon. Sidney and Gale as #2 and #1? The author of the original article seems to be expecting some heat for that. In my opinion, especially from these candidates, Laurie Strode should be #1. Not only has she survived Michael through numerous movies and branching timelines, but the latest installment showed us that she is prepared for anything. She knows how to stay one step ahead of Michael and she transformed her house into a deathtrap (though with the coming sequels, perhaps not well enough). So I ran across another list from WhatCulture and I have to give it a thumbs up because they really have noted a few good diamonds in the rough that I too highly recommend. First off - The Void. This movie exceeded my expectations by far. To be transparent about this, I am a big Lovecraft fan, down to the original fiction, to inspired art and various means of gaming (Arkham Horror, Arkham Horror LCG, Mansions of Madness, Call of Cthulhu (video game)...I'm not an RPG person, but there's a plethora of content there. Anyhow - The Void. This was simply bizarre, disgusting and intriguing all at once. On a macro level, I'd say it kind of reminded me of not-so-family-friendly Stranger Things with a little sprinkle of cross-dimensional cultism. The effects were fantastic and it carries a high production value for a small release movie. Also on here - Starry Eyes. This movie blew me away and firmed my belief that Alex Essoe very well could become a household name soon enough. I was not at all surprised that she was cast to play the iconic Wendy Torrance in Doctor Sleep, although disappointingly it was a minimal flashback role (in the theatrical release at least). Starry Eyes let's you feel the dirty grit of Hollywood and the desperation it can bring upon someone to make it in the film industry. Of course, this is not an original idea but Starry Eyes puts a firm horror spin on that plot line. While it is a "How far will you go to make it?" story, it's very stylized and brings about a fairly grotesque and unique ending. I loved it. Also on the list - The Invitation, The Autopsy of Jane Doe and Train To Busan. So a movie doesn't have to be in our favorite genre to contain some truly WTF scenes. Check out this list, which features not only one, but TWO entries from Return To Oz, featuring Fairuza Balk (The Craft) in one of her earliest performances as Dorothy. I remember first discovering this movie on TV in the 80s when it was played as a Saturday afternoon feature. Even then I knew this was one demented movie. While its intention was no doubt to expand the fantastical world of Oz as done so in the numerous L. Frank Baum books, the creative team seemed to really go all in on this one after a bad trip. The most haunting scene for me was with the many heads of the witch. Like an action figure, the still-animate heads could be interchanged on her body to suit her mood. This is just the tip of the iceberg with this movie....the whole thing is way out there. I mean, Dorothy's in an asylum for starters because you know, lions and tigers and bears...batshit crazy, right? Other entries include Willy Wonka (the good one), some Hitchcock, Lost Highway (no other David Lynch entries, which certainly qualify more so if you ask me - um, hello? Mullholland Drive - behind the diner?). Check it out on WhatCulture. |
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