News

Del Toro’s World is Alive in New Museum Exhibit

Published

7 years ago

March 4, 2017

If you happen to live in Minneapolis and love Guillermo Del Toro, you should probably get to the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA).

For those who don’t live in that state you have until May 28 2017, to find any means necessary to see this new awe-inspiring horror exhibit.

Starting on Sunday March 5, “Guillmero Del Toro: At Home With Monsters” brings the prolific director’s personal collection of horror memorabilia to the art space that has been created to look like his Los Angeles home he calls “Bleak House.”

Several rooms take visitors on a journey through his inspirations and realizations of the gothic horror artform.

With paintings, original manuscripts and human-size monsters created by special effects genius Ray Harryhausen, this exclusive exhibit only showcases one-fifth of De Toro’s extensive personal collection.

Arguably the greatest horror movie director of modern times, the Spanish native has immersed film goers into the world of gothic horror. From “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Pan’s Labyrinth” and the recent “Crimson Peak,” Del Toro encapsulates the romantic part of the genre with striking imagery and out of the ordinary characters and monsters.

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“I want to see the show to explore the continuity between haunting classic horror films like ‘Frankenstein’ that have inspired him, and how this fantastic filmmaker transforms those images into his own beautiful, uncanny work,” said Juli Kroll, an associate professor of world cinema, Latin American culture and Spanish at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Gabriel Ritter, curator of contemporary art said the idea to transform the museum into the Del Toro universe was inspired by the institute’s director, Kaywin Feldman, after reading an article about him in The New Yorker.

JOSH WHITE/ JWPICTURES

Ritter says the exhibit tracks the timeline from idea to fruition. And it all begins once you enter, “so cinematic and strange it looks like a portal, with inlaid monstrous eyes that follow and track you as you enter the exhibition. It scares the bejesus out of you.”

Sectioned by themes, the tour begins with images of birth and innocence before it progresses through displays of the occult and witchcraft. Monsters make up the mid portion of the exhibit and concludes with death and the afterlife.

Walls are crimson colored and incorporate some Haunted Mansion-type special effects with rainfall and thunder slapping outside prop windows.

Del Toro’s films also plays through video monitors and MIA will screen some of his most notable works throughout the length of the show.

JOSH WHITE/ JWPICTURES

The March 5 opening has already sold out which is a bit strange for this type of exhibit admits Ritter, but it’s clear that Del Toro is well-respected by fans and contemporaries alike.

Despite mentors telling him early in his career to not become a film maker known for being weird, Del Toro says that’s exactly what he wanted to do.

“I belong completely to the creatures I create,” said Del Toro. “There’s a kinship that is entirely genuine and spiritual to me. It’s beyond affection. There is a link between those creations and me. I love making them. I am very moved by the fantastic.”

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He says the white marble sculpture “The Ecstasy of St. Teresa,” may represent his thought processes when it comes to his imagination. That sculpture shows a divine power dropped from the heavens and the pleasure felt by a mortal experiencing such an event.

“I really feel like that’s me contemplating a monster,” he said. “I really am ecstatic at seeing a creature. I get enraptured by these creatures in a way that I’m sure has a perfectly plausible psychological reason. It’s fascinating, the cohabitation of the grotesque and the sublime. Throughout the history of art, we’ve had to do portraiture of angels alongside portraits of demons and monsters. They are a theater of the mind.”

JOSH WHITE/ JWPICTURES

This comraderies and attachments to his creations are more than just static plotlines, they are burgeoning connections that become as real as you or me.

“I am a horror director in terms of kinship with the monsters,” Del Toro said. “But I’m not interested in hating them and fearing them. I believe in loving them. In most movies, your kinship is the humans and the monsters are the scary creatures. In my movies, the scary things are the humans.”

MIA

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

15 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

17 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

18 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.