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Documentary Explores Classic Books ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’

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One of the most exciting bits of news from last year was that CBS is working on a feature film adaptation of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, a series of children’s books from the 80s and 90s that many of us horror fans have strong nostalgic connections to. Three books comprise the series, with Stephen Gammell’s illustrations being particularly memorable.

But that’s not the only exciting thing in store for fans of the books, as a documentary is also in the works…

Titled Scary Stories: A Documentary, the film is set to explore the history and background of one of the most controversial works of modern children’s literature. Topics will include the history of gothic children’s folklore, the publication history and spread of the Scary Stories series and its illustrations, censorship and the challenging of children’s literature, and the journey writer Alvin Schwartz took to find and compile the stories.

The first batch of interviews have already been conducted by director Cody Meirick, and he’s spoken with scholars of children’s literature, artists inspired by the horrifying illustrations in the Scary Stories books and even the family of the late Alvin Schwartz. Meirick’s plan is for the film to be the ultimate exploration of the classic series, telling the never-before-told stories behind the stories that gave so many of us childhood nightmares.

Meirick hopes to complete the documentary this summer, and he’s just taken to Indiegogo in an effort to raise the funds necessary to do so. He needs $28,000 to bring Scary Stories: A Documentary to life, and at the time of writing this he’s got a month to raise the money.

Perks for donating range from special thanks in the end credits of the documentary to on-screen appearances in the film, with various other goodies wedged in-between. Head over to the Scary Stories: A Documentary campaign to learn more and pitch in.

[iframe id=”https://player.vimeo.com/video/122531446″]

As far as the upcoming feature film is concerned, Big Fish/Frankenweenie scribe John August will pen the screenplay, which will reportedly be much more faithful to the source material than the original iteration of the project.

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‘Evil Dead’ Film Franchise Getting TWO New Installments

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It was a risk for Fede Alvarez to reboot Sam Raimi’s horror classic The Evil Dead in 2013, but that risk paid off and so did its spiritual sequel Evil Dead Rise in 2023. Now Deadline is reporting that the series is getting, not one, but two fresh entries.

We already knew about the Sébastien Vaniček upcoming film that delves into the Deadite universe and should be a proper sequel to the latest film, but we are broadsided that Francis Galluppi and Ghost House Pictures are doing a one-off project set in Raimi’s universe based off of an idea that Galluppi pitched to Raimi himself. That concept is being kept under wraps.

Evil Dead Rise

“Francis Galluppi is a storyteller who knows when to keep us waiting in simmering tension and when to hit us with explosive violence,” Raimi told Deadline. “He is a director that shows uncommon control in his feature debut.”

That feature is titled The Last Stop In Yuma County which will release theatrically in the United States on May 4. It follows a traveling salesman, “stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop,” and “is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune.”

Galluppi is an award-winning sci-fi/horror shorts director whose acclaimed works include High Desert Hell and The Gemini Project. You can view the full edit of High Desert Hell and the teaser for Gemini below:

High Desert Hell
The Gemini Project

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‘Invisible Man 2’ Is “Closer Than Its Ever Been” to Happening

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Elisabeth Moss in a very well-thought-out statement said in an interview for Happy Sad Confused that even though there have been some logistical issues for doing Invisible Man 2 there is hope on the horizon.

Podcast host Josh Horowitz asked about the follow-up and if Moss and director Leigh Whannell were any closer to cracking a solution to getting it made. “We are closer than we have ever been to cracking it,” said Moss with a huge grin. You can see her reaction at the 35:52 mark in the below video.

Happy Sad Confused

Whannell is currently in New Zealand filming another monster movie for Universal, Wolf Man, which might be the spark that ignites Universal’s troubled Dark Universe concept which hasn’t gained any momentum since Tom Cruise’s failed attempt at resurrecting The Mummy.

Also, in the podcast video, Moss says she is not in the Wolf Man film so any speculation that it’s a crossover project is left in the air.

Meanwhile, Universal Studios is in the middle of constructing a year-round haunt house in Las Vegas which will showcase some of their classic cinematic monsters. Depending on attendance, this could be the boost the studio needs to get audiences interested in their creature IPs once more and to get more films made based on them.

The Las Vegas project is set to open in 2025, coinciding with their new proper theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe.

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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

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Jake gyllenhaal presumed innocent

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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