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STILL UNSOLVED: Max Headroom’s Creepy TV Attack!

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Written by Dr. Jose

On the night of November 22, 1987, unsuspecting Chicagoans just settling in for a quiet evening of TV were treated to an incredibly bizarre occurrence on their television sets, one which – to this day – remains unsolved.

The first part of the incident happened on (then-independent) WGN, during The Nine O’Clock News. In the midst of a sports replay, the channel suddenly went black. Fifteen seconds later, it fuzzed back to life – only this time, it wasn’t the news. It was a mysterious being clad in a Max Headroom mask, hopping around like a mad person. There was no audio, and almost as quickly as it started, it ended; quick-thinking engineers in the studio switched the station’s broadcast frequency. Once back on the air, the bewildered sports reporter quipped, “Well, if you’re wondering what’s happened – so am I.” However, this was only the beginning – the main event would happen two hours later.

Around 11:15PM, just a few minutes into the “Horror of Fang Rock” episode of Doctor Who which was showing on the public access channel WTTW, the masked maniac struck again. Seemingly out of nowhere, all across Chicagoland, WTTW’s reception began to crackle and break-up, and viewers were once again confronted by the disguised phantom – but now the visuals included sound. For the next minute and a half, the bizarre hijacker held the channel hostage and commanded the audience’s attention by moaning out cryptic messages, writhing about, and eventually dropping their pants and being spanked with a fly swatter.

* * *

For those unfamiliar, Mad Headroom was a popular omnipresent TV mascot at the time – similar to Spuds Mackenzie, Elvira, and The Noid. The character (played by Matt Frewer) originated from a British made-for-TV movie, but became wildly popular worldwide thanks in part to his retro look and odd vocal tics. Soon, Headroom was appearing on talk shows, pitching soft drinks, and even hosting his own television program. It was one month after this program was cancelled that the pirates illegally seized the Chicago airwaves.

Another important thing to note about this “signal intrusion” is how rare something like this was then. Nowadays, almost every American has the necessary tools to “hack” – a computer and an internet connection – sitting in their bedrooms. But back then, there was no modern Internet (at least in the form that we know it now) – everything was phone systems, microwaves, and satellites. And to pull off a feat like this required major in-depth knowledge of the task at hand – not mention some heavy-duty equipment to pull it all off.

So who are the mysterious people behind the infamous intrusion? It seems everyone was a suspect at one point – from jaded telecommunication workers who had access to the right paraphernalia, to bored teenaged phreakers from the Chicago suburbs. While the incident caused a stir – even the FCC and the FBI were briefly involved – no one was ever caught nor charged with the crime. And now, 30 years later, it doesn’t look like anyone ever will be.

Below is the actual footage from the signal intrusion that occurred on November 22, 1987. Enjoy the nightmares!

https://youtu.be/eF4SljcoSzs

 

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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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