Horror News - IT, Zodiac, and Scream

We've got a new IT trailer, Alien Covenant comes out next week, and a new Zodiac movie that has me so excited so let's delve right in to my horror movie news wrap-up aka these are completely hand picked to my tastes and I'm the worst.

First up we just got a new IT trailer dropped on us today and it's a goodie. I really have incredibly high hopes for this movie. I actually jumped in this trailer and then watched it three more times. In the trailer we get a better look at Pennywise, we get more time with the kids, a better view of the abandoned house, and we get a full scene of banter between Richie and Eddie. I can't believe how amazing this movie looks - my little king filled heart won't be able to handle it.

We also got The Dark Tower trailer dropped on us last week, but I don't want to talk about that as I seem to be the only one on the internet who hated that trailer...

Watch IT in theaters September 8th. I'll be there first showing on the Thursday screaming my goddamn head off. 

Anyway, watch the new trailer for IT here if you darrreeee....come on bucko, don't you want a balloon?

Next up...Alien Covenant hits theaters NEXT THURSDAY! I just bought my ticket for Friday at 7:45, because I'm an old lady and don't want to stay up late on Thursday night and get up early for work the next day.

I stopped watching the trailers after the second one because they were releasing too much, but I did watch the prequel trailer which was really cool. Check that one out and all the other million trailers they've released.

But this week they released the final posters and boy are they are creepy as hell. The posters for this movie have been fucking fantastic.

Check the three new ones out below and check in with me soon when I post my review:

Lights Out was one of my favorite films from last year and I've really come to love the director David Sandberg because he's such an incredibly open guy. He did a podcast with Shock Waves and was so honest and open about the whole process and his current process on Annabelle 2, which the trailer recently dropped for. While that trailer didn't blow my mind or anything, I am looking forward to it simply because of Sandberg. Sandberg spends a lot of time talking about his craft, his ideas and even spends time on social media reaching out to aspiring filmmakers sharing what he knows.

He just uploaded a video to his youtube that's a mini making-of documentary for Lights Out and it's absolutely fascinating. It goes through his process of setting up the scares and the many different ways he planned them. He even shows some of the storyboarding which is always cool to see.

It runs about 20 minutes and check it out below:



When MTV first announced ages ago that they were making a Scream TV show I was angered, disgusted and then ignored everything about it. Then last year I saw the first season was on Netflix and quietly and privately watched it. And to my suprise I fucking loved the show, it was actually really well done and super fun. I then couldn't wait for season two. But then that came out and I'd already forgotten about it. But a few months ago I finally sat down and watched season two and it was just as good! So now I have to consider myself a Scream TV show fan.

But season three couldn't happen, I thought. They've wrapped everything up and anything they do will be dumb. But then MTV was like...oh, Charlotte, when will you ever learn? And have released that season three will be a complete reset with brand new characters and story.

It also comes with a new showrunner, Brett Matthews and new group of executive producers including Queen Latifah. TVline released the casting breakdown and here's the very basic frame of characters we should look to expect:

Dion - football player with dark secrets
Liv - Dion's cheerleader girlfriend with good intentions and a big heart.
Kym - rebellious one
Beth - GOTH!!!!!!!!!!! YESSSSS!!!!!!! SO MUCH ANGST.
Jamal - Dion's step-brother hanging out with a rough crowd.

So new story, new location, new cast, new killer. Right now I am judgmental and hesitant but secretly SUPER excited.

This is the Zodiac speaking....

There's a new movie coming in June that has me SO FUCKING EXCITED!!!!!!!! Just listen to this premise:

A down-on-their-luck couple buy an old storage unit only to find the Zodiac killer's film reels inside. There's a $100K reward for any tips and the couple decide to take the law into their own hands and find the killer themselves.

The Zodiac killer is my favorite serial killer....so much so that I know how to write in the part of his code that was figured out, and at work the Zodiac killer is a valid member of our staff who signs everyone's birthday cards and steals people's stuff for ransom. Zodiac is one of my favorite films ever. So I'm really really REALLY stoked to see this movie. And the trailer has me believing this could be amazing. And even if it isn't, honestly, I'll still be there opening night.

It stars Shane West, Leslie Bibb and Matt Craven and is released June 9th. 

Check out the trailer below:


Alright I'll leave you to digest all that....

It's all getting so exciting this year for horror. I didn't even mention the confirmation of the Unbreakable sequel and all of Shamalamadingdong's tweets about it, all the new movies coming out, and all the new collectables. BUT...I don't have that much time on my hands...I need to go re-watch the IT trailer a few more times.

Stay spooky!

Frightful Friday - Stephen King, The Purge and Alien!

WELCOME TO FRIGHTFUL FRIDAY!
You guys...I have had a week. I am so glad it's Friday night. I have a horror movie playing which hopefully I stay awake through and then I plan on doing nothing all weekend but make my way through my Netflix horror movie to-watch list. I also want to go see Get Out. But even though the movie theater is a ten minute walk from my house, I find it incredibly hard to find the energy to get there. But I've been craving movie theater popcorn for like a month now so I think that will help.

Let's jump right in - a lot has happened!

First off, and most important - we got a surprise announcement that changed my life forever....10 episodes are on their way for a TV show called Castle Rock based around the fictional Stephen King town.
OH and if that wasn't cool enough....it's from Hulu and Bad Robot. AKA JJ ABRAMS AND STEPHEN KING ARE REUNITING!!!!!!!

It's being called a psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King universe. It will "weave an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland." It will be an original story, claiming the "first-of-its-kind re-imagining".

Castle Rock appeared in 1979 in The Dead Zone and keeps popping up, including 2014's Revival. The name itself is taken from a fictional mountain fort in Lord of the Flies. What else is set there? Oh you know, just Cujo, Needful Things, Gerald's Game, and The Stand just to name a few....SO MANY CHARACTERS AND STORIES. Fun side story - when my parents and I were driving to Florida one summer when I was about 15, I didn't realize Castle Rock wasn't real and I asked my parents if we could drive there. After looking at a map for a long time (the internet was not such a go-to back then OKAY) I realized Castle Rock was fake.

Anyway, it's being executive produced by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason who will also be the writers. Sources are saying it will "intertwine characters and themes from the works of Stephen King" and "subsequent seasons will feature a new set of characters and will tie in to previous characters and themes."

Right now there's no casting or premier date but production will begin this year.

THIS IS SO FUCKING EXCITING!!!!!!!! I don't why this Stephen King upheaval is happening this year but I am so goddamn here for it.

Watch the teaser trailer they released here:



There also lots of Alien Covenant news coming out as the movie creeps closer and closer. We got our first full cast photo:

And FOX released a sort of introductory prologue clip that introduces us to each character and lets us know that all of these people are on this ship because they are headed to colonize another planet. The crew is made up of romantic couples and of course their AI Walter.



This clip got me SO AMPED for this movie. I cannot wait to see this in theaters. Although I will admit I completely forgot James Franco was in this movie and it caught me off guard. I really can't stand him. Hopefully he dies quick?

We also got one more still of the film showing the crew arriving at a planet after receiving a distress signal.

Alien Covenant is released May 19th.

Remember last year when I got SUPER bummed that they wanted to turn The Purge franchise into a TV series? Well it looks like that idea's been put on the shelf because Blumhouse Productions has announced that they will be teaming up with Universal Pictures for another Purge film. A fourth in the franchise that will be released on July 4th, 2018. Obviously we don't have any casting news or a title but we do know writer and director of the first three Purge films James DeMonaco will be returning which is an amazing thing to happen. And I have full trust that this will be another amazing addition to the franchise. Purge is quickly becoming my favorite franchise. Except Scream. And Final Destination. But you know what I mean.

Obviously lots of others great things are happening in the horror world, and some not so great things (the Friday the 13th remake is once again cancelled) but these are my three favs and what I'm truly most excited for.

See you tomorrow for SPOOKY SATURDAY!

The Autopsy of Jane Doe - horror movie realness day one

Alright, here we are....day one of the End of Christmas Horror Realness Challenge or whatever I called it while I was on a sugar high the other day. I've just finished the first movie and am completely freaking out because it was actually terrifying...I ACTUALLY GOT SCARED FOR ONCE!!!!!!!

We'll jump right into that but first two important things:

1) There's a new promotional picture released of Pennywise from the upcoming IT movie. There was an accidental release over the weekend but they got rid of that real quick. So here's the actual legit one:

First thoughts?
What are the logistics of this photo? Is he flying? Why does it look like he's about to be shot out of a cannon?
Second thoughts?
Fuck. yes.

And to all those online complaining that Pennywise looks "too much like a clown"....you are dumb and I hate everything about you. Pennywise is a fucking clown and that's why he's scary. He needs to look like a clown. That's the damn point.

IT creeps into theaters September 8th and stars Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise.

2) Christmas Eve night blessed us which something much better than Santa....mother fuckin' alien covenant trailer ya'll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it is absolutely amazing. That face hugger, that final scene in the shower, that creepy ass cover of that song....SO MANY THINGS ARE RIGHT!!!!!!!! I immediately watched it three times in a row, yelled at Mitch about it, and have lost count of how many times I've watch it since. MY BODY IS SO READY FOR THIS MOVIE. And based on the trailer...we will not be let down.



Alright....let's jump into my first movie for the day:

THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE (2016)

"Leave the 'why' to the cops and the shrinks, we're just here to find cause of death, no more, no less."

In a small town, cops are called to the house of what appears to be a home invasion. Dead bodies, gore, blood. But no attempt to break in. In fact, it seems as if the home owners were trying to break out. In the basement the cops find the dead body of a young woman coming out of the dirt.

The main coroner in town is Tommy Tilden who runs the Tilden Morgue and Crematorium along with his son, Austin. The morgue has been in their family for generations and is in the basement of their home. The mysterious young woman's body is taken to the morgue and the Sheriff asks them to find cause of death overnight leaving Tommy and Austin to work through the night.

As the father and son begin, they start to discover strange things about this body. The outside shows no sign of damage but internally it is a mess. Her tongue is severed, her wrists and ankles are shattered, and her lungs are burned. As a massive storm rolls in the two men are about uncover something they may never be able to explain.

How did this woman die? And why do the lights keep flickering and the radio changing channels? And what happened to the other bodies in the morgue?

Alright...what did I love about this movie?
First of all...this is the first movie in YEARS that actually scared me. I was screaming, gasping, getting goosebumps and at one point realized I was yelling out loud; WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BODIES?!
Outstanding performances from Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox.
This is an incredibly tense movie and there's one particular build that had me completely on edge to the point of having a heart attack.
Beautifully directed by Andre Ovredal.
Those fucking bells ya'll, I'm forever going to lose my shit when I hear a bell.
The continuous shots of Jane Doe's eyes are so unnerving.

What didn't I love?

• There was this scene where Austin was talking with his girlfriend about leaving the town and his Dad, but it's never really brought up again and I felt that was a sort of forced and pointless moment.

Overall?
Seriously, this is THE movie for this year. It is terrifying. And I do not scare easily. But I was jumping and screaming and losing my mind. I was muttering "no, no, no" every time it go so intense. I was honestly forgetting to breath. When the movie ended my fridge made a weird sound and I screamed out loud. My neighbors are probably quite concerned right now.

This is amazingly directed - every moment is so specific to keep you completely on edge. This is a simple story that works so incredibly well and the atmosphere is perfect.

This is my dream career. Seriously, I've threatened a few times at work to quit and become a mortician. So I really felt a connection to this film. But it also felt so accurate. I love See No Evil 2 but sometimes you're annoyed because you know a lot of what is happening isn't accurate to the job. This movie is gory but feels right for what is going on. It doesn't shy away from the autopsy.

I will aggressively recommend this to anyone who will listen.

A solid 10/10.

Onto the next!

Stay spooky!

Murder Crows, Alien Covenants, and Michael Myers?

It's a very gloomy and rainy Saturday here in Vancouver and I'm up very early with tooth pain, because this is the bane of my existence. So let's talk about some horror news from the week!!

HORROR NEWS OF THE WEEK WRAP UP

Right now somewhere in the world (New Zealand I think?) Ridley Scott is filming Alien: Covenant. We've heard lots of gossip and chat about how this film will be and we've all seen some great concept art. But today we get our first officially released shot from set. The photo is of a production monitor and shows Katherine Waterston laying against the wall with a weapon against her leg:

Alien: Covenant if of course the sequel to Prometheus which was released in 2012. The new film will be the second in a trilogy and is set on a remote planet where the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is of course...not what it seems.

The cast will be made up of Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterson, Demian Bichir, Danny McBride, Alex England, Billy Crudup, Amy Seimetz, Jussie Smollett, Carmen Ejogo and Callie Hernandez. 
In a recent interview, Michael Fassbender who will be returning as David, mentioned that the sets have "an old school element where things look battered..." And when asked about David returning, Fassbender said "He is creepy. And he's back in a whole new way." 

Oh, and! Scott has mentioned that we will be seeing all the fan favorites; the egg, facehugger, and chestburster. SAY IT AINT SO THIS IS TOO BEAUTIFUL!


Rated a "hard R", look for Alien: Covenant next year on August 4th. 

If you've read this blog...you know I absolutely adore Stephen King. BUT...I cannot stand the obsession with making Stephen King stories into unnecessary TV shows. But low and behold, here comes the next one:

In 2014 King put out the first book in a new trilogy (the third coming out next month) called Mr. Mercedes about a psychopath who wants to blow up a concert filled with thousands of people, mostly young girls (it's a One Direction type band). Bill Hodges, a retired detective, is our lead who is sent mysterious mail from someone threatening a massive attack and must try and stop this from happening.

Now it's being turned into a TV series by the dude who created Ally McBeal and Boston Legal....David E. Kelley. His only toe into horror is that he wrote the Lake Placid movie. Attached as the stars are Brendan Gleeson from 28 Days Later and Anton Yelchin from Fright Night. It's going straight to series with a 10 episode order and will premier in 2018.

All I'm going to say is....WHY? WHAT IS THE POINT? The books are amazing and a thrill ride to read (now I really want to re-read this before the final book next month) and it will not work as a TV series.

ANGERRRRRRRRR

Also, something a little fun....
Here in Vancouver we have a famous crow called Canuck. He can be spotted by the red band that's around his ankle and he's known for being incredibly friendly but also a bit of a pain around here.

Canuck is constantly fucking with the police by flying into their police cars and trying to steal the keys off of the keyboards, he tears down police tape. Canuck has also gotten onto the sky train before and gone for a ride, attacked a cyclist, and tries to appear in news interviews by landing on reporter's shoulders. He's kind of the best.

Canuck is in the news again this week because after the VPD responded to a car fire in a parking lot, they were confronted by a man armed with a knife. The man came running at the officers who then shot him and took him into custody. Canuck decided to help out by grabbing the knife, which is an important piece of evidence, and tried to fly away with it. Oh, Canuck, you adorable murder crow.

(this is not the knife from the crime scene, this is another knife that Canuck found. He seems to really like them....)

AND NOW THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS OF ALL....

Michael Myers is coming home ya'll!!!!!!!!!! After launching in 1978, spawning 7 sequels, one remake with its own sequel....it's finally coming back.

Only this time it's in the safest hands - Jason Blum (founder of Blumhouse) working with franchise producer Malek Akkad and Miramax and Trancas International Films.

Oh yeah....and John Carpenter himself is signed on as an Executive Producer. Jason Blum describes him as the "Godfather" of the project. Carpenter, at the press conference, said "Halloween needs to return to its traditions, I feel like the movies have gotten away from that...Michael is not just a human being; he's a force of nature, like the wind. That's what makes him so scary."

Obviously this is all in its earliest stages but Blum mentioned that the film would be produced on a modest budget, which Carpenter prefers. "38 years later, I'm going to help to try to make the tenth sequel the scariest of them all." It's also rumored that Carpenter will be composing the music for the film which would just be the cherry on top of this perfect cake.

So yeah, that's pretty amazing. It's been a good week in horror! I'm going to venture out into the rain and go dive into the $5 bins at Best Buy to see if I can find any horror goodies, and also pick up The Witch.

Stay spooky!

In space no one can hear you scream.

HAPPY ALIEN DAY EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right, for the first time ever, 4/26 has been claimed as Alien day. As in, 1979 Ridley Scott Alien. That's right horror nerds...we've got a whole new day to celebrate every year.

In case you've lived under a rock for the past what...30 something years? (I don't math). Alien is a terrifying and phenomenal film that changed big budget alien films forever. Directed by Ridley Scott, it stars Sigourney Weaver as possibly the most bad ass final girl EVER, Ripley. Along with an amazing cast like Tom Skerritt, John Hurt and Veronica Cartwright, Alien takes you on a believable and horrifying journey into space. The story was written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett and was produced through Brandywine Productions. The alien itself was designed by Swiss artist H.R. Giger and with the help of concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss, the film is filled with fascinating and gorgeous costumes and scenery.

Alien was just the start of what is now a massive on-going franchise. BUT today we are just talking about where it all started.

SPOILERS IF YOU'RE AN INSANE PERSON WHO HAS NEVER SEEN THIS MOVIE (seriously...if you've never seen it...what better day than today to go watch it?!)

The story revolves around the spacecraft Nostromo who is returning to Earth with a 7 person crew but after detecting a mysterious transmission from a nearby planetoid, the ship (MOTHER) awakens the crew from their space slumber. The crew lands their ship on the planetoid and sets out to discover where the signal is coming from. What they find is an abandoned alien spacecraft and inside are the remains of a massive alien creature.

Ripley, who is perfect and amazing, realizes the transmission is actually a warning while Kane discovers hundreds of eggs on the spacecraft. While letting curiosity get the better of him, Kane is attacked by a creature that bursts out of the egg and attaches itself to his face (yeyyy face hugger!). The rest of the team carry Kane back to the ship but Ripley, who is so incredibly smart and beautiful, refuses them entry but unfortunately Ash gets past her.

The creature can't be removed from Kane's face but eventually it's like whatever, I'm over this, and lets go and crawls away to die in a corner.

The Nostromo crew take off while Kane awakens, seemingly healthy at this point, and so they all enjoy their last meal before going back into space sleep and continuing back to Earth. But while eating, an alien bursts out of Kane's chest and escapes. People start dying one by one as the crew fights to contain the creature and save the cat (Jones...just go with it).

After the captain, Dallas, is killed, Ripley (precious sunflower) is in charge and discovers that Ash (the science officer) was told to return the alien to the crew's employers, regardless of who dies. Then shit gets REAL, Ripley (goddess of the sun) confronts Ash, who then attacks her, and after getting his head chopped turns out HE'S AN ANDROID!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT?!!!!!!! After interrogating the android they realize THIS WAS THE PLAN ALL ALONG!!!!!!!! Mind blown!...no offense Ash.

Ripley (wonderful tropical fish and all around joy), Lambert, and Parker decide as the remaining members of the crew they shall escape in the shuttle and self-destruct the Nostromo. But alas, the alien stops that plan real quick and so Ripley (all around badass) and her cat set the self-destruct sequence and escape during a terrifying and nail biting scene where the alien is just all up in her business.

Everything is great! Except it's not. As Ripley (perfect snowflake) gets herself settled for a final space sleep she realizes the damn alien is on HER SHUTTLE! So she throws on a spacesuit and using science stuff, forces the alien out of the shuttle. Finally she can get her space sleep and head back home to Earth.

END OF SPOILERS

Boy, what a thrill ride.

What started out as a film titled Memory, then Star Beast, and finally just Alien, this story is one heck of an original idea. And one that many movies to this day try to replicate. And you know what else I love? When the script was pitched to the studio, it was pitched as Jaws in Space which is a movie I can get behind.

Filmed over fourteen weeks, Alien was a triumph of a film. But production time was cut short due to the low budget and pressure from the studio to finish on time. The crew was over 200 and they constructed the three main sets. Les Dilley was the art director. To create the realistic scenes, tones of sand, rock, gravel etc was moved into the studio. The filming was brutal for the actors as they had to wear these massive space suits which had no cooling systems. During heat waves they would often pass out and oxygen tanks were never too far way.

To film the famous chestburster scene, now iconic in film history, the cast was not told that along with the fake creature bursting out of a fake torso, there would also be a huge spray of fake blood. The scene was shot in just one take using the fake torso with Hurt's real arms and head coming up from beneath the table. When the creature breaks through the fake chest, so came the big stream of blood scaring the crap out of all the actors. Every reaction you see is honest. Cartwright was so scared she went into hysterics.

For a lot of the film, the now iconic alien was portrayed by Bolaji Badejo wearing a latex costume. He was 6 foot and 10 inches tall. While you never really see the full alien in the film, this was done on purpose by Scott. He felt that by never giving us the full image, it would be more terrifying as it would allow the viewer's imagination to go wild.

The special effects in Alien won them an Academy Award that same year along with various other prestigious awards.

Alien holds up to this day and will continue to hold up for another 30 years. The story, the cast, the effects....it is all perfection. It's no surprise that basically any "top 100 movies ever" list has Alien in there somewhere, and why people like me lose their shit on April 26th and watch the movie over and over.

So why 4/26 you ask? Well, LV-426 was the planetoid where this whole story starts.

Alien is great. Hands down. Go watch it. If you've never seen it, go watch it. If you've seen it 1000 times, go watch it. Just watch Alien.

Stay spooky! (and stay out of the damn air filters!)