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Lin Shaye: Telling a Story with the Godmother of Horror

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“I don’t remember exactly when I met Robert {Englund},” Shaye began reminiscing. “I remember being very excited, though, when I found out 2001 Maniacs was going to happen and that I would be working with him. He’s a graduate of the Royal Academy, classically trained, and he’s just brilliant. Nobody can talk about as many things as Robert and really know what they’re talking about. Music, art, opera, literature.  He is truly a renaissance man in his own right. So I was totally fascinated by him and so we became friends.”

Shaye and Englund played Granny Boone and Mayor Buckman in Tim Sullivan’s remake of the H.G. Lewis classic about the cannibalistic citizens of a small southern town who appear once a year like a psychotic Brigadoon to feast on the flesh of anyone they can lure across the city limits. She enjoyed the experience of working with Englund in the film so much and gushed her admiration of his dedication.

“I love working with him. He’s as dedicated to getting the moment right as I am and I’m not sure I can say that for a lot of actors. And his focus is fabulous. Robert is a true, true actor.  And I have great respect for him. And I adore him as a friend. We don’t see each other frequently, but the affection is there for both of us.”

 

2001 Maniacs also marked the first time she met and worked with a young actor by the name of Adam Robitel, the man who would later direct her in the upcoming Insidious Chapter 4.

“Can I say a bad word?” Lin asked me as we were talking about Adam’s role. After my complete assurances that it was okay, she dryly laid it on the line. “His character was fucking Jezabelle the sheep in that movie. And boy has he come a long way, baby. We had dinner at this little Chinese restaurant in Toronto while filming and I think there was just a real communion of friendship at that moment. It was just one of those lovely dinners where you share real thoughts and just kind of commune with each other. So I’ve always felt really close to Adam. He can float in and out of your life and your relationship doesn’t become less.”

A few years before 2001 Maniacs, Lin had worked with Tim Sullivan on another film titled Dead End. The seriously dark and twisted horror/comedy takes place on Christmas Eve. The Harrington family is one their way to spend the holiday with extended family. Little do they realize they’ve got a date with Death. As the night spins wildly out of control, family secrets are spilled and ties are broken as one by one, the Harringtons die. Shaye played the role of Laura Harrington, matriarch of the clan. The movie never had a wide release in theaters, but it collected a loyal and eager following, including one super fan who showed up with Sullivan for a party at Lin’s house a few years later.

“So, Tim was coming over and I don’t know how he knew James Wan, but James said he’d really love to meet me. So he came over, and I had an extra copy of the movie and I gave him one of my copies. We chatted; he’s fairly shy. He didn’t stay very long, but a few weeks went along and he called and asked if I wanted to be a part of a video that he was shooting as a prequel to an Xbox release which is crazy. I don’t even really know what that means. But that’s what it was.”

Shaye agreed to do the video and when she arrived on set, she also met Leigh Whannell and Mike Mendez. The video was called “Doggie Heaven” and Shaye played an old, grandmotherly type woman with “big boobs and a big butt and dog named Miss Marple.” She loved it and she loved working with Wan and Whannell and Mendez.

It was a few months later that Lin received a call from Wan to ask if she’d be interested in another role.

“He said, ‘we’re trying to decide if we’re going to call it in Insidious or The Further,’ and I said, ‘I think Insidious is the better title. So he sent me the script and I read it in bed.  And I remember when I put the script down I was shivering. It was so upsetting the way it was written. Leigh is a fantastic writer. The scenes that he sets…it’s real literature. He doesn’t just give you stage directions. It’s a real story. The narrative is almost as strong as the dialogue. So when I finished it, I was so nervous about it that I literally took it downstairs and put it in a closet. And the next day, I called James and I said I’d love to be in it.”

It was a decision that would change her life in many ways.

Click on the last page for Insidious and beyond!

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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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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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