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Fred Gwynne: Munster on the Screen, Monster in our Hearts

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Fred Gwynne, born July 10th, 1926, gave the world a lifetime of lovable antics and treasured memories. Anyone fortunate enough to have grown up watching The Munsters will remember Gwynne’s career best as the endearingly clumsy patriarch of the monster-friendly family, Herman Munster.

Gwynne’s playful role as this gentle giant gave the already established look of Boris Karloff’s most famous role (Frankenstein) brand new life. Underneath the box-top cranium Gwynne rejuvenated a familiar looking icon and brought decades worth of giggles rather than screams as he lumbered around smashing down doors (accidentally) and breaking through walls episode to episode.

(Image courtesy of Uncle Oldie’s Collectibles)

Gwynne brought humor to a character whose counterpart previously embodied pathos and dread, but he did so without one moment of disrespect to the revered Frankenstein franchise – even though it was a departure from the gothic take on the reanimated abomination sewn together by Dr. Frankenstein.

I must stress that Herman Munster is not the classic creation of Victor Frankenstein, but the similarities are undeniable, and not just in their dapper good looks.

(Image courtesy of The Red List)

Gwynne’s Herman – much like Karloff’s counterpart – was all too eager to fit in with his neighbors, but they just couldn’t see past the monster on the outside. However, Herman proved to his viewers that it doesn’t matter what we look like on the outside, it’s who we choose to be on the inside that makes the difference.

Gwynne’s portrayal was that of a loving father who was always ready to offer his son Eddie (Butch Patrick) sound words of wisdom, and was ever supportive to his vampire wife, Lily (Yvonne De Carlo), proving to be a genuine TV role-model.

(Image courtesy of Tumblr)

With an irresistible smile and contagious charm, Fred Gwynne shone in the role. His Herman wasn’t afraid to just simply be himself regardless if he fit in or not.

Not content to leave the genre just yet, Fred Gwynne would play another pivotal role which would leave a lasting impression upon horror fans for generations to come. Still the gentleman as always, Gwynne would play the kind-hearted neighbor who would both befriend the Creed family and gravely warn them about “that damn rohd” that had claimed so many local pets.

(Image courtesy of Movie Stills Database)

Though the movie was not about his character, it’s hard to imagine Stephen King’s Pet Semetary without Fred Gwynne playing the crucial role of Jud Crandall. As the audience, we can’t help but hang onto every word he says.

When he begins to explain the darker nature of what lies restlessly beyond the make-shift graveyard, we all feel the temperature drop. Whatever scares him immediately scares us. Even South Park featured a character who was the spitting image of Gwynne’s Crandall, once again demonstrating the impact his career has held over our culture.

“Sometimes dead is better,” he would warn Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) with a heavy air of foreboding, but already the Creeds were doomed. The accursed powers silently waiting outside the limits of the Pet Semetary had patiently launched their evil schemes against the Creed household. Desperation can lead a man to do unwholesome things, and after all, “the soil of a man’s heart is stonier.”

For a lifetime of both laughs and chills, we fondly celebrate the successful life of a kind man and honor his memory.

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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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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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