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Movie Review: ‘Spring’ (From Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead)

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It’s too bad Spring wasn’t released in time for Valentine’s Day because it’s one of the most romantic horror movies I’ve ever seen.

Written by Justin Benson and directed by Benson and Aaron Moorhead (the duo behind 2012’s Resolution), the basic plot of Spring is this: A young American man (Evil Dead 2013’s Lou Taylor Pucci) travels to Italy after his mother dies and he gets into some trouble. He’s not a bad guy, but finds himself in a situation where his being in another country might be in his best interest. While taking in the old country, he meets a mysterious woman (Nadia Hilker) and experiences love at first sight. As you might imagine, this will not turn out to be an ordinary love.

There are also appearances from The Battery’s Jeremy Gardner and Resolution’s Vinny Curran.

It’s hard to say that Spring will be something all horror fans will enjoy. It’s very slow-paced, dialogue-heavy, and it dedicates a lot of time to developing the love story that is its backbone. None of these are bad things, and many will appreciate them (I certainly do), but they’re probably not for everyone.

The poster touts it as “a hybrid of Richard Linklater and H.P. Lovecraft,” with a quote from RogerEbert.com, and that’s actually not a bad description at all. It certainly has heart and the Lovecraft influence is undeniable (even if the filmmakers say they weren’t really familiar with Lovecraft’s work when they made Resolution, which also made some reviewers think of it).

The ways in which the creature elements are presented in Spring are every bit as interesting as the elements themselves. They’re often presented almost casually with little of the type of fanfare typically utilized in creature features. This style combined with loads of stunning European scenery and architecture, thematic nature shots, and a beautiful score make for an alluring combination not often experienced in a horror film.

I don’t want to make it sound like there is very little creature horror going on in the film. There is certainly enough to satiate your lust for monsters. It’s just handled in a way that I’d refer to (perhaps for lack of a better word) as more maturely than the typical monster movie.

Another interesting angle to the whole story is the downplaying of a supernatural element which would ordinarily provide the basis of the proceedings. Explanations (whether plausible or not) are kept under the net of realism.

While it’s still pretty early in the year, I fully expect Spring to make it onto plenty of 2015’s top ten lists for horror. It’s a strong showing for the genre and one you should definitely check out.

With titles like Spring, Digging Up the Marrow (review) and What We Do in the Shadows (review), it’s quickly shaping up to be a fun year for monster movies.

Spring opens in theaters on VOD on Friday. Later this week, we’ll be posting an interview with Benson and Moorhead. Stay tuned.

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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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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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