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Looking Back: Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye

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Cat's Eye

Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye is a remarkable film. During Stephen King’s first cinematic hay day in the 1980s, anthology movies and shows were in fashion.  While television programs like the new Twilight Zone and Tales From the Darkside astounded television audiences, movies like Creepshow excited the theater going fans.  After the success of King’s Creepshow he doubled up and brought forth his next anthology gem, Cat’s Eye.   Mr. King’s seventieth birthday was just a few weeks ago, so we are looking back on Cat’s Eye and what makes this film such a joy to watch.

Fresh off the success of King’s Firestarter, young Drew Berrymore was cast in another King film, this time the anthology Cat’s Eye.  Although not in full action until the third act, Berrymore is the glue that holds this feline masterpiece together.  She serves as a sort of narrator between the stories, calling out in desperation to her furry savior.  The film is in three short stories.  The first two are adaptations taken from King’s short story collection Night Shift, and the third act is entirely original to the film itself.

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Quitters Inc.

The first story stars a young James Woods as wanna be quitter Dick Morrison, and is titled Quitters Inc.  Dick is persuaded by his friend to join Quitters Inc., a unique program to stop smoking.  Through unique measures, worse and worse things happening to Dick and his family, the company is determined to make him quit.  They first display their methods to Dick by locking an alley cat they have caught in an electric filled room, watching it jump.  As a child this scene traumatized me, i was upset for the cat, not really understanding what the intentions were for poor Dick.

There are various scenes throughout this short journey that cements itself into the reader’s mind.  The major one for me is a dinner party that Dick attends, where he mentally (or not?) perceives the owner of Smokers Inc. dancing down the stairs singing the Police’s iconic song Every Breath You Take.  I’m not going to spoil all the fun for those of you who have not seen this film, but let’s just say it ends in typical Stephen King fashion.

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The Ledge

Round two of this movie is titled The Ledge and is a breathtaking journey all it’s own.  The story takes place in Atlantic City, a town that was enjoying a renaissance all it’s own in the eighties and has since gone down hill.  Johnny Norris is romantically involved with a woman that is married to a gambler and crime boss by the name of Cressner.  Cressner, a man to bet on anything, offers Norris a bet of his own; if he can circumnavigate the outside of the high rise apartment complex, Cressner will offer his wife a divorce allowing Norris and Mrs. Cressner to be together.  However, and here’s the kicker, if he refuses he will have Norris set up on a possession of drugs charge that will send him away for a long time and leave his love to the grimy hands of her husband.

Norris agrees and is left to not only traverse his way around the skyscraper, but to endure multiple tests of endurance that Cressner places on him.  This is a great short for its time and one that the viewer will not soon forget.  Since my intention of writing this article is for the reader to want to watch this great piece for the first time, again I will not reveal the ending.  But it’s one to keep you on your toes!!!

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General

The third and final installment in this grand anthology is titled General.  Drew Berrymore plays Amanda, a young girl that is haunted every night by a troll that lives within her walls.  Her cat General, the same cat that has been traveling to her the entire film, helps to keep the troll away.  However, there is one problem; Amanda’s mom doesn’t want General in the house and begins to put her out every night.  The mother is put off by the cat, claiming that cat’s steal children’s breaths in their sleep.  One night the troll comes through the wall and kills the parakeet Polly that stays in Amanda’s room.

Amanda’s mom is pissed and takes General to the animal shelter where he will be euthanized the next day.  While the cat is away, the troll once again emerges from the wall and attempts to steal Amanda’s breath.  General escapes the animal shelter as the staff is coming in to feed him his last meal and runs home entering the house via the chimney.

Then comes the showdown between the troll in the wall and General.  The cat stands firm for her little girl and best friend, doing what she needs to do ending in a spectacular flight.

Cat’s Eye is a truly fun film, and one that mixes well with the rest of King’s cinematic films.  If you have never had the chance to see this film I highly recommend it.  Cat’s Eye is currently available on Blu-ray and DVD.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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