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John Dies at the End Saga Continues with Third Book on the Way

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Fans of David Wong’s effervescently deranged John Dies at the End saga can rejoice and prepare to ask themselves “what the hell did I just read?”. The third installment of the series is on its way.

The book – actually titled What the Hell Did I Just Read: A Novel of Cosmic Horror – is now available for preorder with a release date set for October 3. The third installment will continue the “gruesome yet baffling adventures of John, Dave, Amy and other characters who may or may not still be alive”.

The first book, John Dies at the End, was adapted into a film by genre legend Don Coscarelli. If you’ve seen the movie, it’s remarkably loyal to (most of) the details of the book. His dedication to recreating the delirious energy of the book makes it clear that Coscarelli is a fan – he both wrote and directed the film version. That being said, the film only covers about a third of the action because, really, there’s a lot to cover, and the majority of it might be… challenging… to convince a producer that it should be committed to film.

Yes, that is a monster made of meat

Reading John Dies at the End is like consuming way too many psychotropic drugs with your best friend and listening to them describe an extraordinarily batshit crazy dream that they had. Told in the style of first-person narrative, each sentence is personal. It carries the complexity of an unreliable narrator with ease, building tension when appropriate to create horrific and hilariously bizarre scenes of confusion and carnage.

John Dies at the End was first published online as a webserial beginning in 2001, then as an edited manuscript in 2004, followed by a printed paperback in 2007 before it was published by Thomas Dunne Books in 2009. The events unfold in the (hopefully) fictional town of [Undisclosed] – an apex of unusual and supernatural activity.

The plot is difficult to describe, but in brief, two best friends (John and Dave) are exposed to a new drug called Soy Sauce that has the unsavory side effect of either brutally killing the user or unlocking their ability to see inter-dimensional beings – among other things. Needless to say, they find that they must become the most unlikely of unlikely heroes to stop evil forces from invading the universe.

The sequel, This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously Dude, Don’t Touch it, extends Wong’s delightfully specific descriptive writing style (there’s mention of a “turkey Voltron”, which, in context, is a helpful descriptor). It occasionally switches to a third-person narrative to follow the perspective of other main characters. While at first the transition is a bit jarring, it’s necessary to tell all sides of the much larger story.

In This Book is Full of Spiders, the town of [Undisclosed] is overrun with parasitic spiders that violently take over their hosts, however, it is not easy to tell who is infected and who isn’t. As everyone reacts to what they are certain is a zombie invasion, the reluctantly heroic team of John and Dave once again find themselves thrown into the center of the chaos.

David Wong (the pseudonym for Cracked editor Jason Pargin) has built a vivid world with a visceral and palpable absurdity. Both books have a high rating on Goodreads and Barnes & Noble, which is no small wonder. They’re well written, viciously captivating, and outrageously entertaining. We may have to sit tight until October 2017 for the next installment, but if Wong keeps up his track record, it should be well worth the wait.

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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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