James Wan has certainly built up a stellar reputation within genre cinema, with titles such as Saw (2004) and The Conjuring (2013) being created under his name. Wan’s latest venture is Malignant, which follows Madison, who is constantly terrorised by terrifying visions of ghastly murders, but when she unearths a sinister secret it is revealed that these dreams are in fact realities.
The trailer released just this week hints at a looming intense thrill focusing on developing a close character study whilst ensuring plenty of scares are had. Malignant has been described as a supernatural slasher, which is certainly a bold take. Audiences will be able to make up their own minds on this new exciting descent into madness when it hits cinemas in September 2021.
Ari Aster to direct new A24 horror
Ari Aster has been a hot topic within the last couple of years as both Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019) exceeded expectations. Earlier this year it was revealed that Aster would be directing Disappointment Boulevard, a heavy drama following the story of an entrepreneur. There was definitely a mixed reception over his next voyage drifting away from horror, but now it has been revealed that he hasn’t abandoned the genre just yet as he joins forces with the aesthetically beloved A24 to direct another unsettling film. However, unlike his other films, he will not be penning the script, instead, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson will be writing this untitled project. Little detail has been released as the production is at the earliest stage possible, but be sure to check back here in the future for further information.
Julia Ducournau receives the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival for new body horror ‘Titane’
Julia Ducournau is the first solo woman to win the most prestigious award at Cannes Film Festival. It’s not the first time the French director has turned heads as her 2016 film Raw received great acclaim. Winning her the award is Titane, a disturbing body horror that centers on Alexia (Agathe Rousselle), who has a metal plate installed in her head after a tragic car accident when she was younger, but her true story lies within her sexual desires for automotive vehicles. Titane is beyond transgressive as it has been likened to Cronenberg’s early filmography through its courageous and zealous exploration into the human psyche. The eccentrically driven film will be available theatrically and via VOD later this year.
The Final Girl Support Group TV series to be directed by Andy Muschietti
Grady Hendrix’s novel The Final Girl Support Group was only published this month, but already HBO has picked the novel up to be adapted into a TV series. The project already has It (2017) director Andy Muschietti tied to direct the pilot, with his production company ‘Double Dream’ also co-producing the show alongside Charlize Theron.
The Final Girl Support Group is sure to please horror audiences as it takes on one of the genres most quintessential topics, the final girl. The novel follows a group of women who meet up in their support group to discuss the horror movie-like events that they have miraculously survived through, but when one of them doesn’t show up they suspect that something sinister must be at play.
Waxwork records unveil exclusive Fear Street soundtrack vinyls
Waxwork Records are known for their specialisation of cult and genre cinema soundtrack releases. To add to their repertoire is the Fear Street trilogy soundtrack featuring the score composed for all three films. The vinyl’s embody the film’s neon-lit aesthetic, with bright pink, green, and blue covering the exterior.
Also included in the release are liner notes by Leigh Janiak, the writer and director of Fear Street, as well as new and exciting artwork by the very talented Sam Gilbey, who has clearly been inspired by the iconic 1990s covers of R.L. Stine’s original Fear Street novels in which the trilogy is based on. The vinyl package is available to pre-order right now at https://waxworkrecords.com/products/fear-street
Fear Street Part Two: 1978 presents itself as a throwback to 1970s summer camp slaughters, swarmed with cold-blooded kills, a jukebox-worthy soundtrack, and self-aware imitations. Luckily enough this ambition sequel is a worthy component to its predecessor, unlike many slasher sequels… What could have been a muddled backstory is instead a richly original yet bombastically brave referential take on sunshine-filled woodsy horror.
This singing praise is no exaggeration. I was as hesitant about Fear Street: 1978 just as much as everyone else. When a new flashy horror film lands it can lose that certain spark that many individual independent films grace the screen with, but when Fear Street: 1994 arrived on the scene a certain harmony in streaming originals was restored. However, as solid as Part One was the Fear Street Trilogy director Leigh Janiak hadn’t completely won me over just yet as the trailers and teasers for 1978 promised a heck of a lot. Rest assured my initial hesitation was soon thrown over once the real bite of the film began.
The overtly effective sequel is one that proudly admires the subgenres’ mistakes and baskes in the stereotypical characters and story beats. Particularly the setting.
Camp Nightwing is everything that sounds like a nightmare to me; bratty teen hierarchies, constant group activities, and overbearing camp counsellors who in no way should be in charge. Fear Street: 1978 could be overbearing with its obvious nods to Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, The Burning,andMadman, the originality aspect is a touchy point here, but what disperses from these inspirational nods is a fresh look at a supposed joyous social environment turning into an isolated hellscape painted with brutal kills and a mad axeman on the loose.
Paving the way for the final film of the trilogy is 1978’s great storytelling journey that takes the series’ unconventional time loop and creates a smoothly flowing adventure back in time. The end of 1994 saw Deena (Kiana Madeira) and Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) under threat from the newly possessed Sam (Olivia Scott Welch). The sequel picks up straight away from the ending as they make their way to the recluse C. Berman (Gillian Jacobs), who survived seeing the witch back in the Camp Nightwing Massacre. Christine has become a nervous shell of a person, but she still musters up the courage to tell Deena and Josh the blood-curdling story of how mountains of dead bodies collected over just one night. The simple baseline of the massacre is rich and heavy with subplots and exposition, but Janiak also throws in a revenge tale of an archaic witch, ‘present day’ timelines, and looped character origin stories for good measure.
The nearly two hour runtime did not bear a grudge and weather over the course, alternatively, I would have gladly sat through another hour to grasp more and more of what the history of Shadyside has to offer.
What further tickles the intrigue is the mysterious whodunnit nature of the story, except the conundrum is not based on who the killer is, but who the survivor is. The present day Berman does not overtly reveal what her position was in the story, the only information we score is that she is one of the two sisters that the story focuses on. Across the film, we are rooting for both of them, but unfortunately, it is all wishful thinking as ultimately we know that one of them will suffer a brutal death. It is this exact toying that kept me on the edge of my seat, unlike many horror’s there is not much hope and everyone really is at risk.
Fear Street: 1978 is reminiscent of a campfire tale, one that would be told in a large group in your scariest voice, paired with the classic torch under the chin for optimum scares. It’s the perfect slasher for the new generation of horror watchers or even those who fancy something old in a new fashion.
This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.
Friday the 13th has become ceremoniously linked to the birth of 1980s horror. From amateur viewers to horror connoisseurs the character of Jason Voorhees rings familiar, primarily due to the Friday the 13th franchise spawning twelve films and the fact that altogether the series has grossed approximately $755 million, but what truly endorses the slasher’s core reputation is it’s kickstarting of sleazy, rampant, and violent horror’s that progressed into one of the most dominating subsections of the genre.
The birth of the slasher is tricky to nail, as truthfully John Carpenter brought the essentialities to the forefront in 1978 with the knife-wielding maniacal Michael Myers in Halloween. Whilst Halloween was crowned by critics,Friday the 13th was torn apart in reviews. Despite the lack of applause Sean S. Cunningham’s conduction of a summer of nightmares has grown into an absolute sensation.
The financial success of previous horror films pinged a lightbulb in a young Cunningham, who had previously worked with Wes Craven on The Last House On the Left (1972). It seems harsh to call the beloved Friday the 13th a cash grab, but at the roots, that is what it was. In 1979 Cunningham with no legal trademarking over the title placed an advert in Variety for the film (pictured above). At this point, the production team was not established, nor were any locations, actors, or equipment.
This really was a wild chance, luckily enough it paid off with independent financers flooding in to score on this soon-to-be hit. From this point on, the history of Friday the 13th was written, with the film thriving in its banal dialogue, cringe acting, gratuitous nudity, cliched characters, and jump scare ending. The corniness could be easily perceived as crude schlock, but its self-aware texture and bendy edges make the film loveable and a true iconic cult classic.
The overarching stylisation is what has kept Friday the 13th on its pedestal, primarily thanks to special effects artist and makeup designer Tom Savini. Savini was already celebrated thanks to his work in Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1978), and in Friday the 13th his talent was only further exhibited, with his depiction of some of horror’s most notorious kills being down to his staggering creations. Through his work, Jason was born. Originally in Victor Miller’s script Jason’s mother Pamela would be the sole antagonist. Her fatal decapitation was the end of the chaos, with Alice’s (Adrienne King) appearance in the boat ending the film. The ending we all know and love was nowhere to be found. That was until Savini noted that Carrie’s (Brian De Palma, 1976) jumpscare ending left a mark on the viewer.
Jason’s deformed entrance belonged to Savini, and rightly so, as Voorhees disfigured front gave a lingering spark to the film. The fear factor across the film won’t necessarily leave you with nightmares, but Alice’s dream of a mutilated Jason leaping out of the water and grabbing her by the throat to drag her down into the dark grubby waters goes straight for the jugular and ensures an impact is made.
Concerning Friday the 13th’s most intrinsically complex element is the breakage of the masculine stalker convention, as Jason’s mother Pamela (Betsy Palmer) is Camp Crystal Lake’s grounds-killer. Her motivation revolves around vengeance, as she gets her comeuppance against the neglectful camp counsellors who let Jason drown due to their own selfish desires. Since Jason’s death Pamela has ensured that the grounds of Crystal Lake were abandoned, and whoever dared to set foot on the soil met a tragic death, as revealed in the first act by the locals.
As much as Jason circles the entire franchise, Pamela is the creator of this destruction, her damning degree of psychosis is the catalyst across the entire film. As unconventional as the villain is, what we know and love about the Friday the 13th franchise is the character of Jason, that’s not to say that the deeper conceptual levels of maternal devotion are not appreciated, in fact, Part II and Part III take aim at the seedy underbelly of his madness, but in Part I there is a slight lack of flashy barbarity that Jason brings to the table unlike anyone else.
The 2009 remake targets the story portrayed in the 1980 original, but it also elicits Jason as the primary destructor. The first four films in the franchise conjure an intense mythos, and rather than banning any of this build-up in the remake, director Marcus Nispel dives into the deep end and packs these four films into one giant reimagining.
Nispel’s creates a lean, vibrant, ambitious, and dramatic take on Cunningham and Miller’s slasher. The remake is not entirely monotonous, yet the gory facade is just that, a veil. Do not expect tense thrills as this horror is not necessarily a landmark in genre cinema, instead, its consensus still remains rather negative. Certain criticised factors are understandable, but then again there are some brief and hidden moments of distinction wavering across the 1hr 46min runtime.
The first aspect that battles against the criticism is the stellar opening scene that shows Jason (Derek Mears) at his most ruthless. The film opens with a brief backstory of Jason watching his mother’s beheading, feeding his killer drive. Flash forward to thirty years later we see a group of friends as they venture into Camp Crystal Lake to search for marijuana crops. As night falls, tents are set up and their debaucheries begin, but Jason arrives on the scene and the peace is truly disturbed as the camp becomes a bloodbath once again.
Multiple deaths occur within the first twenty minutes, setting the path for the rest of the film. The opener takes great and memorable moments from previous films and amps them up to create a gritty, twisted first act. The iconic sleeping bag kill in Friday the 13th VII: The New Blood (1988) is recreated, but instead of the fatal blow being a whack against the tree, we see his victim hanging from a tree in a sleeping bag burning alive over a roaring campfire. The human-toasted marshmallow is not the only feisty punch thrown in the opening, as we are also treated to hacked-up bodies, nasty bear traps to the ankles, and a clean machete blow straight to the forehead.
Although these deaths are pretty gruesome and entertaining for fellow horror nerds, the film does reach its peak here. The enthusiasm for exhilarating bursts drops and there isn’t any remaining mitigating factors, besides the overall ‘look’ of the film, but style over substance isn’t enough to cut it.
It seems that the general opinion concerning the mixed bunch of personalities tends to lean towards the cynical side. No one is particularly likeable and minus three people, they are all extremely irritating, verging on the side of unbearable. In homage to the original, the gender roles are switched as there is no final girl, instead, we follow Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki) as he attempts to hunt down his missing sister Whitney (Amanda Righetti), who was one of the campers in the opening scene. Across his journey, he stumbles across Jenna (Danielle Panabaker), her boyfriend Trent (Travis Van Winkle), and their friends Chelsea (Willa Ford), Bree (Julianna Guill), Chewie (Aaron Yoo), Nolan (Ryan Hansen), and Lawrence (Arlen Escarpeta).
Trent and his posse travel to his rich parent’s cabin bordering Crystal Lake and soon chaos breaks loose. The plot remains very bland and overdone. We could have been spared some boredom by creating some real inner tension, and by making the characters more than just docile bodies waiting to be flayed.
Their dialogue is beyond laughable, as the majority of their lines wouldn’t be out of place in a slapstick comedy. The “stupendous” female characters are portrayed as nothing but eye-candy, and the men (besides Clay) follow them along like drooling puppies. It’s funny at first, but the humour soon wears off when the film acts like a horror version of American Pie.
The original is not a perfect film, but it is beloved. For what definitive reason I’m not entirely sure, but the creepy atmosphere, combined with good old practical effects still holds up to this day, which is only furthered by the nostalgic factor. And although the remake attempts to claw away from the typical ‘cat and mouse’ game that Jason plays by throwing in a hostage story, it ultimately falls flat.
Cunningham’s Friday the 13th is perfect for a sentimental fun watch when you’re in the mood for an energetic slasher. Nispel’s re-envision is great as a popcorn movie, but that’s it, its reputation hasn’t soared nor has it gained too much of a following. So in this battle of original vs remakes, 1980 smashes it out of the park!
Love to read more about the iconic horror villain? Check out our article on Jason Voorhees here.
The slasher subgenre has done for horror what Shakespeare did for playwriting. It’s that precise allure that accompanies the stalk and kill system, whilst revelling in motive, victim strategies, and exposing the cathartic sense of relief when a fatal conclusion is met, although the joyous reaction could be towards the killer just as much as the victim.
There’s a reason as to why the 1980s and early 1990s were indoctrinated with splatters, slashers, and schlock, it was exhilarating and constant, and now from a retrospective point these frameworks still exist, but it has become even more prevalent on the extension of tributes and commemoration.
The Fear Street trilogy displays exactly that, a keen sense of nostalgia whilst still maintaining a fresh balance of new tactics and modern archetypes.
Based on R.L. Stine’s Fear Street novels is Leigh Janiak’s ‘Fear Street Part One: 1994’ which follows an amalgamation of various books from the series to create one giant story that will be historically linked in the next two films. The basic premise follows a group of adolescents who must battle off Sarah Fier (Elizabeth Scopel), a ‘deceased’ witch who has put a damning curse on the town of Shadyside prior to being executed during the witch trials.
Although the collective outline relies upon an ancient curse placed in the 1660s, Fear Street: 1994 is very much alive and thriving. Beginning the film is a sequence that can describe the film as a whole. The opening shot sets up the atmosphere nicely, as we see book store employee Heather (Maya Hawke), working late one night in an eerily empty mall, with the only sense of life coming from beaming neon lights strewn across the food court (immediately reminding me of Stranger Things). In typical fashion, her loneliness is soon met with an alarmingly loud phone ringing, a fake jumpscare, shadows lurking, and then finally a masked killer wearing a Ghostface-esque gown appears and murders who we believed was going to be our final girl. If you thought that this sounded overly familiar to Casey Becker’s (Drew Barrymore) fatal opening scene in Scream (1996) then you’d be correct!
Feeding off of horror’s most tactful tropes is Janiak’s somehow unique crafting of frankly overdone clichés, allowing for optimal attention-grabbing moments. Combine this rose-tinted nostalgia with exhilarating characters then we really have a go-getter of a film. It’s with this that I’ll move onto my next point, the cracking twists and turns. Without spoiling any sordid details I do have to admit that I was seriously impressed with the relationships amongst the characters, with Janiak not becoming too complacent in saving who the audience is naturally drawn to, nothing is sacred and no one is off-limits.
Our motley crew of teens consists of Deena (Kiana Madeira), and her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.), alongside her two friends Kate (Julia Rehwald) and Simon (Fred Hechinger) who must battle Sarah Fier and her army of killers to save Deena’s estranged girlfriend Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) from a dreadful fate. Together they make a mishmash group where none of them fall into the place of the jock, the blonde, the smart one, the skeptic, or the final girl. Yes, the tween Josh does have more criminal knowledge than the normal boy, and Deena does have some inner ruthlessness that embodies ‘the last one left alive’ emblem, but all in all, there is a clear and successful attempt at rustling up the unexpected and allowing everyone to shine, not just the ‘lead’.
Fear Street: 1994 understands it’s alterations to the classic slasher, but it also comprehends what makes the film stand out from current ‘blockbusters’, which consequently originates in the harsh gore exposed throughout. I for one have a neutral outlook on the graphicness in a horror film, there are a plethora of tense films that only sparsely rely on bloodshed to affect the viewer, and then there are outstanding films that secrete slaughter from start to finish. However, Fear Street: 1994 definitely took the visually mature path, with Janiak dismissing any prior beliefs that this would be tame in any shape or form.
The killers presented in this first entry are the Skull Mask Killer, The Camp Nightwing Killer, and Ruby Lane, all of who deliver noteworthy scares throughout. The cult-like culmination of very different antagonists could be messy if in the wrong hands, yet there’s that slight animosity that accompanies their very brief backstory that allows for their quick-paced appearances to be short and snappy, with the focus constantly remaining on the Deena and the gang.
As much as I’ve discussed this slasher aspect, especially in terms of the film’s inextricable character-based narrative, an unorthodox element that pushes Fear Street to feed off of the flexibility of horror is the inclusion of the occult. Shadyside has been jinxed by Fier’s wickedness and with that comes an interesting backstory that is nicely touched upon, but not fully delved into. However, instead of being irate over the briefness, we only end up more excited for the following two films.
Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666 will both be released one week after another, promising much more carnage, curveballs, and adrenaline-pumping scares.
This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.
First look: New images released from the Slumber Party Massacre remake
Slumber Party Massacre is one of horror’s lesser-known trilogies, with its reputation still living on mainly via its cult status. Earlier last year news began to circulate about this slasher gem being remade, and it was not long until these rumours were confirmed as Shout! Studios announced that an official remake was in the works.
Recreating the sleepover based slasher is Danishka Esterhazy, known for The Banana Splits Movie (2019). Joining Esterhazy is writer Suzanne Keilly, who has written an episode of Ash vs. Evil Dead, and the screenplay for Leprechaun Returns (2018). The remake acts similarly to the original having been directed and written by women (Amy Holden Jones and Rita Mae Brown), but this is not the only essence remaining true to the original 1982 classic, as it has been revealed that the new slasher will follow a contemporary perspective, whilst still gorging in all the gruesome twists and turns.
Scream Factory releases the Halloween movies on 4K Ultra HD
Scream Factory is known for their ambitious and creative physical media releases, especially their exciting limited edition runs of horror favourites. Just this week it was revealed that the Halloween franchise would be joining the Scream Factory’s calibre as they release the first five Halloween films on 4K Ultra HD. The exclusive cover work hones in on Michael Myers terrifying look, accompanied with the autumnal iconography that makes Haddonfield’s on-screen appearances so timeless. Each film release comes with an array of extra features, including a 4K scan from the original negatives, audio commentary from Jamie Lee Curtis & John Carpenter, theatrical trailers, tv spot & radio spot footage, deleted scenes, alternative endings, additional commentary from Rick Rosenthal, behind the scenes action featuring location tours, and a brand new accompanying Dolby Atmos Track.
Halloween 1-5 will be released on the 28th September 2021.
Lovecraft Country has been disappointedly cancelled
Lovecraft Country was an amalgamation of lovecraftian horror and mysterious drama, with craftful performances and innovative writing seeping throughout every episode. However, it seems that this was not enough to keep Lovecraft Country on air as HBO will no longer continue its development. After the commendable first series a second was already in the midst, titled Lovecraft Country: Supremacy, which would have delved deep into a fictionalised America where the country would evolve into a segregated sovereign state. There has been no news as to whether any streaming sites, including Netflix have picked it up for further continuation.
George A. Romero’s abandoned Goosebumps script has been archived
It is undeniable that George A. Romero’s legacy has continued long after his passing, with his previously unreleased film The Amusement Park only receiving a release this year. The presence of Romero’s continuing work has only been furthered as the University of Pittsburgh Library System’s Horror Studies group has unearthed an undeveloped script based on R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps novels. Of course, the material that Romero would use as an adaptation source was the zombie-based book Welcome to the Dead House (1992), which focuses on siblings Amanda and Josh Benson as they move into an old eerie house situated in the creepy town of Dark Falls. Romero closely followed R.L. Stine’s work rather than run with the basic outline, but in his archetypal style, he transgressed vital plot elements further, including the essences of hierarchy within work-towns, where townspeople’s independence withers to corporate superiority.
Youtuber and film critic Chris Stuckmann set to direct upcoming horror ‘Shelby Oaks’
Chris Stuckmann is a pillar in the online horror community with his honest and entertaining reviews and film commentary captivating audiences, and amassing nearly 2 million YouTube subscribers. Stuckmann has recently made a deal with production company Gotham Group to develop a handful of horror scripts. His first project under them will be Shelby Oaks, which is based in the early 2000s and follows a missing group of ghost hunters named The Paranormal Paranoids. Aaron B. Koontz (The Pale Door) will be producing alongside Ashleigh Snead (Scare Package), and Cameron Burns (Camera Obscura). Shelby Oaks is quickly gaining traction as although filming has not yet begun, a viral marketing strategy has already started creating hype. A series of ‘found footage’ clips are being slowly released showing The Paranormal Paranoids in a mission gone wrong.
Production begins in late 2021.
Scream 5 has wrapped production
It seems that nearly everybody has been eagerly waiting for the new Scream movie release, now we’re one step further as director’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have announced that production has finally finished after months of filming via an Instagram post showing Scream 5’s title screen card in an ultra flash editing suite. Although the stages of release are nearing we still have a little bit more to wait as the theatrical release date is scheduled for January 22nd 2022. The film will follow the franchise’s typical structure, with Scream 5 following on from its predecessor (Scream 4, 2011).
This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.
Norman Nordstrom is back in the latestDon’t Breathe 2 trailer
It seems like forever ago when it was revealed that Fede Álvarez’s 2016 home invasion horror Don’t Breathe would be getting a sequel. However, the long wait was worth it as Dont Breathe 2 will finally be released in August. Following the announcement of the release date was the highly anticipated trailer which dropped just this week. The trailer does reveal a hefty portion of the film, with a running time of nearly three minutes, but what the clips most excitedly show is the change of character. Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang), who mercilessly protected his property and the secrets that lie within it in the predecessor seems to now be the victim, as we see him fight in vengeance over intruders attempting to abduct his adopted daughter, Phoenix (Madelyn Grace).
Dont Breathe 2 will be released on the 13th August 2021.
The Exorcist remake is officially happening
It can be accurately said that The Exorcist is possibly one of the most universally well known horror films ever. Since it’s 1973 release The Exorcist’s reputation has only grown into worldwide success. Now, it has been officially revealed that Blumhouse Productions will be bravely producing this fan favorite. Blumhouse has made an effort to gain over the very negative presence that has stuck with the news of William Friedkin work being regenerated by enlisting David Gordon Green as the director, who successfully tackled Halloween (2018), and the upcoming Halloween Kills. So far The Exorcist has spawned four sequels, but Blumhouse’s upcoming project will abandon any continuation from the sequels, with the new film only following directly from the original.
Werewolves Within adaption from Josh Ruben opens with beaming reviews
Josh Ruben released the delightfully frightful Scare Me early last year, which gained immediate praise from fans and critics alike. Soon after it was revealed that Ruben would be directing Werewolves Within, an adaption of the 2016 video game of the same name. The premise follows Finn (Sam Richardson) and Cecily (Milana Vayntrub) as they attempt to restore harmony and unmask the secret behind a mysterious being that has started to terrorize the small town of Beaverfield. Michael Chernus, Michaela Watkins, Cheyenne Jackson, George Basil, Sarah Burns, Catherine Curtin, Wayne Duvall, Harvey Guilen, Rebecca Henderson also feature in the film. Similarly to Ruben’s preceding film Scare Me, Werewolves Within is an exciting combination of classic scares and hilarious comedy which only certain talents can achieve so well. So it’s of no surprise that the film has received such attention already.
Werwolves Within is released via VOD on July 2nd 2021.
Iconiq Studios unveils new American Psycho figure
American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman has become a horror household name, as his eccentric and delirious persona has certainly left its mark across cinema. Iconiq Studios has officially released a marvelously detailed figure of Bateman, including various accessories and alternative pieces. The ultra exciting figure is brimming with precise detail including that terrifying menacing grin that Bateman wears so well. The release comes standard with the infamous pinstripe suit, but for variation includes a full length blazer coat, briefcase, headphone set (for all of his Huey Lewis and the News listening), three extra pairs of hands, knife, phone, watch, nail gun, axe, blood splatter piece, two business cards, and most importantly that clear raincoat.
Within the current cinema climate lies a deeply debated sub section that has been seeding itself into horror for quite some time now. If you weren’t aware of it already, the interception operation of remakes has been turning every classic on its head and injecting the old with some new. Although some of the re-envisioning’s have been lacking that certain magic that allowed their predecessor to shine, many of these modern takes are rightly renowned. A prime example of this being The Hills Have Eyes.
The Carter family, comprising of mother and father Bob (Russ Grieve), and Ethel (Virginia Vincent), and their three children Brenda (Susan Lanier), Bobby (Robert Houston), and Lynne (Dee Wallace), and Lynne’s Husband, Doug (Martin Speer), and their baby Katy (Brenda Marinoff) all gather for a group road trip holiday to see the sights of Los Angeles. Whilst enroute they stop in Nevada at a dingy gas station, where Fred (John Steadman) warns them to explicitly stay on the main road, but Bob knows best and detours, resulting in them being stranded after a crash. As night falls, a sickening group of teetering cannibals take advantage of the Carter’s isolation, and assault, kill, and torture several members of the family.
When we look back on exploitation cinema of the 1970s, the immediate highlights include The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974), ISpit on Your Grave(Meir Zarchi, 1978), and another entry from Craven, The Last House on the Left (1972). These films all have a soaring reputation, and understandably so. I cannot compare idolised films such as Texas Chainsaw with TheHills Have Eyes, but I can comment upon the film as having exceptionally dark tones that keep it in the horror hall of fame. The basic premise of a suburban family stranded in the blazing desert is one that is now a trope, but that current cliché once was fresh and energising, particularly when Craven used the picturesque view to juxtapose the violent imagery.
This daytime approach was eerie. There were no haunted mansions, masked killers, knife wielding escapists, or ghostly spirits, instead it was an equally discontented bunch of folk, ruthless and ready for blood. Craven’s approach of an open bright setting is relentlessly daunting, with the sandy hills seeming endless. There is no hope of someone coming by to rescue them, there is no chance of the scorching sun cooling, and even worse, there is no one there to save them if anything goes awry…
Craven took inspiration from the story of the Sawney Bean tribe who would hunt and eat their victims. Once the tribe had been arrested they were tortured, burnt and hanged by so-called ‘civilised’ vigilantes. The synchronization of the cruel acts from the deranged, and the vicious acts from the ‘normal’ provides a mischievously deep commentary on the barbarism of human nature. Relating to this is the notion of ‘urbanoia’ developed by Carol Clover.
Here the archetypes of normality are abandoned once the city is left behind, as societal rules no longer exist, including hygiene expectations, sexual boundaries, social cues, and an understanding of clear thought. The overall ecological constraints of the world are obsolete, and it’s through this that the chaos ensues in the film between the Carter’s and their depraved counterparts.
Within this division of right and wrong lies the moral question of who is worse. Yes, the cannibals committed savage acts, yet so did the Carter’s as a means of revenge. If pen was on paper both groups are morally wrong. However, Craven carefully creates a strong character arc for the primary members of the dynasty, particularly Ruby (Janus Blythe) and Pluto (Michael Berryman), which in turn creates a slight form of fan gratitude towards their presence.
Similarly to how we fight for Jason, feel sorrow for Michael, and are cheer Freddy, it can be said that we somehow root for the fighter, no matter their actions due to the reputation that has been garnered over time. Of course the acts are horrendous, but the fight between good and evil is what we’re watching the film for in the first place.
Contrasting against this is the 2006 remake that follows closely to the original but has a stronger focus on villainising the antagonists, and refining the gritty aesthetics to create a discourse drenched in blood, dripping in backstory, and focusing on the brutality of the debilitatingly vile tyrants. The homage to the original is clear, with Craven himself conjuring the idea of a remake in the first place. Upon seeing the success of other adaptations he scoured for a director with that certain aptness for creating the absurd, which soon led him to Alexandre Aja who had recently directed the French extremism horror, High Tension(2003). Craven and Aja made an outstanding duo, with dare I say it the remake surpassing the original.
This brave statement needs backing, and although the original was not cluttered with flaws it has suffered with brittle bones as time had slightly aged it. Through no fault of the film the characters on reflection do suffer slightly from genericness, and the cannibal appearances in consideration of today’s visuals were lacking a particular ferociousness. What the remake did was hone in on what makes the 1977 film such a classic, with the financial and cult success of Aja’s vision being almost entirely thanks to Craven’s original innovation. For example, the idea of a neglected family left to become beastial is terrifying, but what if their feral nature was the result of something much more contrived?
Aja sets this tone by opening the film with a scene showing scientists testing the desert ground for radiation levels as Pluto interrupts and kills them with a pickaxe. Later on it is implied that Pluto and his clan’s deformities were caused by nuclear radiation experiments performed by the government. Across the film we are graced with multiple appearances from the deformed deviants. Their monstrous appearances are greatly effective, with bulbous foreheads and skin mutations daring us to not turn away at the hideousness of it all.
Any form of connection that was established in the original is abandoned as there is literally no way that we can relate to them. And it’s not only their physical features that catalyse detest, it’s their harsh actions that go above and beyond the remorseless activity that occurred in the original. The infamous torture scene where the Carter’s are attacked in the trailer is massively amplified as we are forced to witness a jarring scene where Doug and Lynn’s baby has a weapon raised to its infant head. Lets just say that the level of inhumanity that Aja dares to show is potent.
Furthering the peaks of malevolence is the fine detail that is sharpened through Aja’s modernisation. The defined camerawork is a far cry from the shaky pans that featured heavily in Craven’s piece (albeit it added to the exploitation). Through the tuned cinematography we are treated with stunning chiaroscuro effects during the night scenes, particularly that distressing scene where Bob meets his fatal end. The vivid visuals allow for a visceral impact that lingers long after watching.
My praise for this remake is owed entirely to the original works. Aja writes a clear love letter to Craven’s stellar execution of familial chaos. It is this clear combination of stigmatising themes and gut wrenching exhibitions that casts a carefully constructed ode to what was Craven’s jumping start to his genre defining career.
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