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Fran Krause Gives Us a Book of Fears in “The Creeps”

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Fear.  If there’s one thing that unifies us as human beings, it is that we fear.  Those fears come in a multitude of guises but they possess us all and our reactions to them stem from the most primal and basic parts of our psyches.  In his new book, The Creeps, animator and cartoonist Fran Krause brings those fears to startling life.

Oddly enough, it all began on Tumblr when Krause posted a few comic strips he’d created.  It was the perfect way to share them with the world at large.  The strips were brief, only a few panels long, and each represented a specific fear.  Before long, he began to receive messages.  People were sharing their fears with him and the comics took on a life of their own.

Krause has been struck by many things over the course of this creative path, and he believes the anonymity of the internet has actually allowed people to speak so freely about something so private.

“I think it’s one of the main reasons people do this.  It gets things off their chest,” Krause says.  “I also find that when I post a comic I’ll get several more submitted that are similar.  I don’t think they want me to do another comic about it.  I think it’s more that they are surprised to have found someone who shares their fear.”

It wasn’t long before Krause decided to compile some of the comic strips into a print collection, and thus The Creeps was born.

Reprinted from THE CREEPS: A DEEP DARK FEARS COLLECTION Copyright © 2017 by Fran Krause. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

The Creeps is a deceptive book.

On the surface, I found a series of comic strips, each illuminating a separate fear.  They were entertaining, and some of them were definitely creepy, but it wasn’t until a second read that the book really began to make my skin crawl.

Each page of this book is full of questions.

What brought on each of these fears?  What is the depth of each?  Did they develop from past trauma or was it something that just occurred to them one day that grew in their minds over time?

It’s in those questions that the book earns its title.  It’s in those questions that it becomes slightly uncomfortable to read.

Reprinted from THE CREEPS: A DEEP DARK FEARS COLLECTION Copyright © 2017 by Fran Krause. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

The Creeps releases September 26, 2017, and it’s a book through which you owe yourself a trip.  You can pre-order the book via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online sellers, and right now Krause is ready to sweeten the deal.

After pre-ordering the book, head over to Krause’s website and fill out the form you find there.  Once the book releases, Krause will be sending out a packet of one of a kind stickers and patches to everyone who’s filled out the form!

in the meantime, you can continue to follow the artist’s Tumblr to keep up with his latest comic strip fears.

And who knows?  You might even find yourself compelled to share your own…

Reprinted from THE CREEPS: A DEEP DARK FEARS COLLECTION Copyright © 2017 by Fran Krause. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

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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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