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Don’t Fear the Reaper: The Many Faces of Death in Cinema

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Written by Patti Pauley

As the old saying goes, there’s only two certain things in life; death and taxes. And living in this day and age, I’m not sure which one is more merciful. However, that concept can be argued when it comes to the wonderful world of cinema. The portrayal and appearance of the Grim Reaper himself, or simply referred to as just Death in movies, ranges from light-hearted humor to shit-your-pants-terrifying, and even to a love story that envies that of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. 

Death you lady-killer, you.

Image result for meet joe black gif

 

Yes, Death can be disgustingly merciful and on the flip-side, unforgiving as far as the theater goes. But to be fair here, Death has a job just like any one of us average Joes. So we can’t really hate on the guy with the list of who’s due to make that outer body exit into whatever awaits in the afterlife. We can probably compare Death’s 24-hour job with the classic DMV employee. It’s never their fault you have to be in that stuffy, god-forsaken seventh layer of HELL. But we take our rage out on them anyway, and of course, they get the last laugh with that goofy as fuck picture that ends up on your license. You’re just screwed either way.

That being said, let’s honor the Grim Reaper entity portrayed over the years in films with a little list of the spirit’s coolest portrayals in the cinematic world. And we’re going to start off with a classic childhood favorite.

 

Last Action Hero

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Ian McKellen as the Grim Reaper? Come on, in the words of Skeletor, I’d have to be a He-Fool to not include this performance.  Of course, unless you were a child of the ’90s, this film may not hold a soft space in your black heart, being as how it was panned and ridiculed by adults and critics alike, threatening Arnold’s career. Yeah, I suppose they thought it was THAT bad.

In any regard, whether you enjoyed the movie or not, McKellen’s Grim Reaper role is pretty solid, as with anything the man does on film. Death’s fantastic entrance into reality through a movie screen playing most appropriately, The Seventh Seal, is just pure fuckin’ awesomeness. McKellen with his usual charismatic yet slightly cynical vibe he brings to any role plays Death triumphantly. He even scares the crap out a kid telling him when he’s going to die. Damn! Ruthless Ian! Revisit the memorable scene by clicking here.

 

The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

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As with Sir Ian McKellen, I could never live with myself if I didn’t include the legendary Vincent Price’s performance in the sadistic tale from the mind of Edgar Allen Poe. Price is at his finest with pure mustache-twirling villainy in Roger Corman’s 1964 film as one sadistic son of a bitch Prince living under the very horrifying threat of the red plague of death at his doorstep. However, when the lavish sadistic party he throws gets crashed by an unconventionally dressed in red Reaper, played by well, Price himself, his ominous demeanor out does his A+ performance of Prince Prospero.

 

The Frighteners

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Look if you can’t appreciate the fine national treasure that is The Frighteners, I’m quite convinced you must be a negative human. While for the most part, it’s a fun movie, the frightening imagery and spirit of a serial killer (Jake Busey) taking the form of the good ole’ Reaper in Peter Jackson’s 1994 film is fantastically unsettling in the best of ways. This powerful pseudo version of the Reaps likes to carve numbers into his victims’ heads, and can even kill other spirits. Plus, Marty McFly vs Death. All other arguments are invalid.

 

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life

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Well, we certainly can’t have a Reaper list without including the salmon mousse from Monty Python’s Meaning of Life! This version of Mr. Death crashes a pretentious dinner party in the seventh segment of the film, seemingly to escort someone at the table to the afterlife. However, in pure Monty Python fashion, Mr. Death as the party refers to him, is bombarded with a slew of ridiculousness and oblivious chatter from The Flying Circus crew, only hilariously frustrating him further into a foul-mouthed Reaper who just wants to get on with the rest of his day.

 

Scrooged

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The Ghost of Christmas Future is probably one of the most unique portrayals of Death on this list mixing the classic look of ol’ Grims hooded black rags with a modern twist of a television screen as a face in place of the usual skull, or in some cases, nothing at all.

We all know the story of Dickens’ timeless tale of greed and redemption and over the course of countless cinematic retellings of Scrooge, Frank Cross’ (the modern Ebeneezer) encounter with the grisly ghost of what’s to be is definitely the most unsettling. Which is impressive for a film labeled as a comedy. Seriously, if you were a kid watching Scrooged, the trapped souls hiding underneath the spirit’s cloak were kind of terrifying.

 

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News

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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