Full disclosure - I did not go anywhere. Just didn't post. You know how I get every summer. And also Dungeons and Dragons has kind of taken over my life this month, so that combined with the lack of interesting horror films coming out over the past two months, I've had no inspiration.
But I'm back.
Just to chat about two big things and then drool over Stranger Things...
And also to promise (very loosely) that I'll be back on the horror binge wagon and start posting some more reviews. I noticed Netflix got Holidays and The Invitation, so I'm hoping to plow through those some time soon. It's also pride week here in Vancouver so I've got a tone of plans that don't allow me time to watch horror flicks.
Enough excuses.
First of all let's talk about the biggest damn secret that ever was kept...the Blair Witch sequel:
A month or so ago I saw the trailer for The Woods and was super on board. It looked super spooky and it boasted to be the most terrifying found footage film ever. Then about a week ago I saw a fan theory that said The Woods could be a Blair Witch sequel. They pointed out the original poster where the space between the trees created the Blair Witch symbol, and they also froze and screen capped the trailer and pointed out a split second shot of the symbol hanging from the trees in the background. But.....it couldn't be....could it? That's too good to be true?
Then BOOM....The Woods turns into Blair Witch with a new poster and a new trailer, which you can watch here.
Holy. Shit.
I was fuhreaking. What a damn coup ya'll.
So The Woods, now titled Blair Witch will be a direct sequel to the 1999 original The Blair Witch Project. It will pick up years after the first film when one of the new characters discovers footage showing Heather Donahue, his sister. So naturally him and a group of friends head off into the Black Hills Forest to find out what happened to her and most likely encounter the Blair Witch herself.
The film was a sequel from the get go, but the secret remained in tact with only a select group of people knowing the truth. They filmed it here in BC last year under the title The Woods, directed by Adam Wingard.
I, for one, cannot freaking wait for September 16th to watch this damn film!!!!!! Are we finally going to see the witch? Will we find out what happened to Heather and her friends? Are people going to believe this all real like they did back in the 90's?
Alright my next big thing I'm freaking out about is M. Night Shyamalan's new film coming out next year; Split.
Obviously we don't have much on it yet but the trailer dropped today and I'm obsessed. Shamalamadingdong is working with Blumhouse Productions to release this film on January 20th. The plot is supposedly about Kevin, played by James McAvoy, and his 23 personalities. Although, unbeknownst to his psychiatrist, played by Betty Buckley, he has one more hidden away and this one is the worst. Kevin abducts three girls including Casey who is played by Anya Taylor-Joy from The Witch, and hides them away. The three girls try to figure out his 24 personalities and how to deal with each one in order to survive.
The trailer gives me the massive heebie jeebies, already proving that McAvoy might actually pull this off. And ya'll know I love me some Shamalamadingdong so don't come to me hating on this film JUST because he wrote and directed it. Give it a fucking chance. Just like The Visit, which, by the way, was the number one grossing horror movie in 2015. So suck it. The man knows his shit, he just makes...questionable choices. But with Blumhouse backing him, I think he's onto a strong second half of his career.
I WANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE NOW!!!!!!!
Watch the trailer here.
Now, before I go, I want to speak about Stranger Things. I don't need to tell you to watch this show. I'm sure you've already binged it at this point. Everyone is talking about it and you don't need another blog going on and on about it. It's amazing. It's 80's nostalgia done right. The kids are amazing. The monster is terrifying. IT'S SO GREAT!
But what I want to talk about is the Stephen King aspect of it (surprise, surprise) and thought it would be fun to try and point out all the Stephen King references I noticed it while watching it:
- Now obviously the title music is very much Carpenter but it also brings to mind the same motifs that appear in Maximum Overdrive and Firestarter.
- The title sequence is of course the "Stephen King font" used on so many of his books but the title appearing the way it does is much like The Dead Zone.
- Of course, the cast themselves are like something out of IT. But considering this is set in the 80's it's also much like Dreamcatcher, including Eleven with her abilities reflecting Duddits.
- Then there's the walk along the train tracks that is a perfect copy of Stand By Me, or The Body.
- Back to Firestarter, Eleven is of course very much like Charlie and her story.
- Eleven is also a lot like Carrie - sweet-natured with good intentions but capable of shocking violence when pressed.
- There's Lucas's 'wrist rocket' which is exactly like Beverly's slingshot in IT which becomes the powerful weapon that's used against Pennywise.
- In one scene Stephen King is referenced directly where a guard is reading Cujo and you can see Stephen King's author photo on the back. The sheriff references the novel.
- There's a scene where a lab assistant goes into the Upside Down attached to a rope, and when they pull the rope back out there's just gore at the end of it. Exactly like in The Mist.
- When Joyce is trying to get Will to contact her through the alphabet drawn on her wall, she sits hunched over holding an axe. The Shining.
I'm sure there's a bunch I missed, so let me know if you catch any others! Who knew all I needed in my life was a Stephen King easter egg hunt? I've never been so happy.
You can watch Stranger Things right now on Netlflix.
That's it for me for now. I can't promise when I'll return but it will be sooner than later, I know that. Once summer comes to a close, I'll be back on my couch watching horror movies. And of course, October is coming up quickly - I'll need to plan for my 31 days of horror, three of which will be spent in Kauai - so that will take some wrangling. Luckily I've got myself a 6 hour plane ride to maybe binge watch the last three and then blog while avoiding the sun and the ocean.
Anyway, that's my problem, not yours.
STAY SPOOKY THIS SUMMER!
Love you all!
