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Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: The Babadook

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The Babadook Pride

Practically every region has its own boogieman in some form or another. For Australia, that boogeyman is Mister Babadook.

And in a land where every one of the members of their indigenous wildlife can eat you, bite you and otherwise kill you, you know that their boogeyman is going to be on point with something real horror show to exceed the fear of a kangaroo beating you to death or getting poisoned by a koala.

The latest film from Australian director Jennifer Kent focuses on Mister Babadook. From the name Babadook alone I would have thought comedy. Maybe a comedy starring Yahoo Serious, but “The Babadook” is far from shenanigans and more about unadulterated fear rattles.

Babadook Pop-Up

“The Babadook” centers on a young Samuel and his mother who are trying to live normal lives following a car accident that took the life of their husband and father.

After she reads him a children’s story (that mysteriously showed up in the room of the young boy) young Samuel becomes obsessed with an invisible entity that will not stop haunting him.

In a “Monster Squad” meets “Lost Boys” like the approach the boy begins building crossbows and slings along with other weapons to protect him his mother from the monster he believes is lurking in their home.

“If it’s in a look it’s in a book you can’t get rid of the Babadook,” one of the quotes from the children’s book reads. And once Amelia sees the Babadook he relentlessly begins to haunt her and her son Samuel forcing them into a battle for their own sanity and the stability of their already shattered family.

“The Babadook” is a different kind of horror movie. It doesn’t rely on as many tacky jump scares as it does create its own atmosphere and a loveable mother and son dynamic to go with it.

There is a lot of psychological tug of war that the film evokes in its audience as well. As an audience member, you aren’t sure if this is psychological, physical or metaphorical. The great approach the film takes is that any of those three outcomes are equally horrifying.

Focusing on a mother and son dynamic and putting that relationship through the grinder is hard to watch on its own without the introduction of Mister Babadook. But, once he is thrown into the mix things become even bleaker.

‘The Babadook’ via IMDB

Speaking of bleak, the production design work is fantastic. The world that they create is devoid of color by using only grays and washed-out blues. Key points are occasionally highlighted in red to coincide with something going on in the story.

Essie Davis who plays Amelia and Noah Wiseman who plays Samuel are both excellent in their roles. It’s been a long time since I have seen a young actor as believable and someone I felt could sympathize with as much as I did with his character.

“The Babadook” does stay with you after it’s over. I caught myself jumping when there was a knock at the door after this one. It doesn’t go for the scares that we are used to, and for me, that is a big plus. The addition of all the more dramatic elements do a lot to strengthen the bigger scares in the film as well.

Don’t watch this one alone and if any children’s books mysteriously appear on your bookshelf just run.

“The Babadook” opens in the US on November 28.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szaLnKNWC-U

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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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