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Interview: M. Night Shyamalan talks Split: “I wanted to break genres with this film.”

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M. Night Shyamalan is in the midst of a comeback. The writer-director of the blockbuster films Signs and The Sixth Sense has found new life in the world of low budget horror. “The biggest advantage of working with smaller budgets is that I have total creative freedom,” says Shyamalan. “There’s no financial pressure, compared to my previous films, and I can pursue ideas that might be considered offensive if I was making a one hundred million dollar film.”

Shyamalan’s last film, 2015’s The Visit, brought the writer-director his best reviews in more than a decade. The Visit was also a big commercial success, especially compared to its five million dollar production budget. Now Shyamalan has reteamed with The Visit’s producer, low budget maven Jason Blum, on Split, a psychological horror film inspired by Shyamalan’s long fascination with the concept of multiple personalities. “I’ve always been interested in how the brain works, and I’ve always been intrigued by DID [Dissociative identity disorder],” says Shyamalan. “I’ve always been fascinated with the elements of psychology and why we believe what we believe.”

In Split, James McAvoy plays Kevin, a man whose mind houses more than twenty different personalities, twenty-four to be exact. “It was a difficult role, and I needed an actor with an incredible skill set,” says Shyamalan. “I first met James when he was promoting the last X-Men film at the 2015 Comic-Con, and when I saw him he had approximately half an inch of hair on his head. This gave him an appearance that was easily adaptable to various characters, personalities. He looked like he could become anyone he wanted to, which was perfect, in terms of what I was looking for.”

In September, I had the chance to talk to Shyamalan by phone about the diverse cinematic influences and techniques he brought to Split, his long fascination with human psychology, and the surprising career shift he’s experienced in recent years.

DG: Where did the idea for Split come from?

M. Night Shyamalan: I’d had the idea for several years. I keep journals, which are filled with ideas for possible films, and one of those journals was full of ideas about split personality disorders. I’ve always been intrigued by DID, multiple personality disorder, and how the brain works. I’d say that my biggest genre influence was The Silence of the Lambs, which is one of my favorite films.

DG: Where do Kevin’s multiple personalities come from?

M. Night Shyamalan: Kevin’s childhood was full of abuse and trauma, and the different personalities entered him at different points in his life to help him cope with what was happening to him. Kevin, the real Kevin, is a very kind man. The personalities inside of him cover a wide range of emotions. Some of them are very entertaining, fun people, and some of them aren’t much fun to be around.

DG: Why did you pick James to play the role of Kevin?

M. Night Shyamalan: I knew this was a daunting role, and I knew that I needed an actor who possessed a vast range of skills. I needed an actor who could have a squeaky voice in one scene, be a woman in another scene. I needed someone who could change not only their voice throughout the film but also their physicality.

DG: How does Kevin’s physicality change in the film?

M. Night Shyamalan: DID patients have demonstrated an ability to change their body chemistry, change physically. It’s about believing you’re someone else, first of all, and then pretending that you have extraordinary abilities. For example, DID patients might believe that they possess great strength, which will make them lift heavy weights they ordinarily wouldn’t be able to lift. With Split, I wanted to explore what would happen if a DID patient like Kevin believed that they possessed supernatural powers. What would happen then? Is it possible? This was the foundation for the script.

DG: How would you describe Kevin’s relationship with his psychologist, Dr. Fletcher, played by Betty Buckley?

M. Night Shyamalan: She tries to help Kevin compact all of his personalities into one being. She’s done extensive research into DID, and she recognizes that Kevin is an extraordinary case. She believes that some DID patients can change their body chemistry, an idea that is dismissed by her colleagues. Different personalities visit her at different times. Some aren’t allowed to see Dr. Fletcher.

DG: Is there a supernatural explanation for what happens to Kevin in the film?

M. Night Shyamalan: Maybe. These patients with DID can change their body chemistry. They believe this. A patient who believes they’re a 250 pound weightlifter will exhibit incredible feats of strength, which defies belief. That’s what happens with DID patients. What if someone with DID thought they had supernatural powers? That’s the approach I took.

Split opens in theaters on January 20.

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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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