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Star Wars and Horror

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Star Wars and Horror

In celebration of May the 4th, let’s look at some of the connections between Star Wars and Horror.

Casting Carrie and Star Wars

Brian De Palma and George Lucas held auditions for Carrie and Star Wars at the same time. A lot of the young actors’ auditioned for both films. According to Carrie Fisher, De Palma interviewed the actors instead of Lucas. It has been long rumored that De Palma wanted Carrie for Carrie. But she would not do the nudity, Carrie Fisher denied this rumor. William Katt (Tommy Ross) almost got the part of Luke Skywalker. But the role went to Mark Hamill instead.

Frankenstein and the Monster

Star Wars, not the first time Peter Cushing and David Prowse worked together. They had both been in Hammer Studio’s Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)  Cushing portrayed Frankenstein and David Prowse was the monster.

Exorcist II and Star Wars

1977 was the same year James Earl Jones did his first voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and portrayed Older Kokumo in Exorcist II. Now imagine James Earl Jones in the recording studio doing his voiceover in Star Wars in the Kokumo costume. Scary!

“When Linda Blair did the girl in The Exorcist, they hired Mercedes McCambridge to do the voice of the devil coming out of her. And there was controversy as to whether Mercedes should get credit. I was one who thought no, she was just special effects. So when it came to Darth Vader, I said, no, I’m just special effects. But it became so identified that by the third one, I thought, OK I’ll let them put my name on it.” James Earl Jones

Star Wars got Alien made

Riding high off the success of Star Wars 20th Century Fox needed a Sc-Fi follow up and the next script on the table was Alien. Ridley Scott himself revealed how Star Wars forced him to make Alien.

“I never saw or felt audience participation like that, in my life. The theater was shaking. When that Death Star came in at the beginning, I thought, I can’t possibly do Tristan and Isolde, I have to find something else. By the time the movie was finished, it was so stunning that it made me miserable. That’s the highest compliment I can give it; I was miserable for week. I hadn’t met George at that point, but I thought, Fu*k George. Then, somebody sent me this script called Alien. I said, wow. I’ll do it.”  – Ridley Scott – Deadline 

Count Dooku, Count Dracula

Christoper Lee turned down the role of Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars, that went to his good friend Peter Cushing. The both of them starred in Hammer Horror films together as  Count Dracula and Van Heising. It is clear George Lucas was a fan of their work.

Star Wars and Horror.

Phantasm, Captain Phasma

When J.J  Abrams first saw Captian Phasma’s design, he felt it reminded him of the 1979 horror film Phantasm. Going so far to name the character in reference to the movie. Abrams being a fan actually helped with the 4k restoration of Phantasm.

Closing thoughts

It was a blast to look at some of the connections between Star Wars and Horror and if you think we missed something. You would be wrong we got lots more for another time. May the 4th be with you!

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Watch ‘The Burning’ At The Location Where It Was Filmed

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Fangoria is reporting that fans of the 1981 slasher The Burning will be able to have a screening of the film at the location where it was filmed. The movie is set at Camp Blackfoot which is actually the Stonehaven Nature Preserve in Ransomville, New York.

This ticketed event will take place on August 3. Guests will be able to take a tour of the grounds as well as enjoy some campfire snacks along with the screening of The Burning.

The Burning

The film came out in the early ’80s when teen slashers were being churned out in magnum force. Thanks to Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th, filmmakers wanted to get in on the low-budget, high-profit movie market and a casket load of these types of films were produced, some better than others.

The Burning is one of the good ones, mostly because of the special effects from Tom Savini who had just come off of his groundbreaking work on Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th. He declined to do the sequel because of its illogical premise and instead signed on to do this movie. Also, a young Jason Alexander who would later go on to play George in Seinfeld is a featured player.

Because of its practical gore, The Burning had to be heavily edited before it received an R-rating. The MPAA was under the thumb of protest groups and political bigwigs to censor violent films at the time because slashers were just so graphic and detailed in their gore.

Tickets are $50, and if you want a special t-shirt, that will cost you another $25, You can get all the information by visiting the On Set Cinema webpage.

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‘Longlegs’ Creepy “Part 2” Teaser Appears on Instagram

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Longlegs

Neon Films released an Insta-teaser for their horror film Longlegs today. Titled Dirty: Part 2, the clip only furthers the mystery of what we are in for when this movie is finally released on July 12.

The official logline is: FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.

Directed by former actor Oz Perkins who also gave us The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Gretel & Hansel, Longlegs is already creating buzz with its moody images and cryptic hints. The film is rated R for bloody violence, and disturbing images.

Longlegs stars Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, and Alicia Witt.

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Exclusive Sneak Peek: Eli Roth and Crypt TV’s VR Series ‘The Faceless Lady’ Episode Five

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Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) and Crypt TV are knocking it out of the park with their new VR show, The Faceless Lady. For those unaware, this is the first fully scripted VR horror show on the market.

Even for masters of horror like Eli Roth and Crypt TV, this is a monumental undertaking. However, if I trust anyone to change the way that we experience horror, it would be these two legends.

The Faceless Lady

Ripped from the pages of Irish folklore, The Faceless Lady tells the story of a tragic spirit cursed to wander the halls of her castle for all of eternity. However, when three young couples are invited to the castle for a series of games, their fates may soon change.

So far, the story has provided horror fans with a gripping game of life or death that doesn’t look as if it will slow down in episode five. Luckily, we have an exclusive clip that may be able to satiate your appetites until the new premiere.

Airing on 4/25 at 5pmPT/8pmET, episode five follows our final three contestants in this wicked game. As the stakes are raised ever higher, will Ella be able to fully awaken her connection with Lady Margaret?

The faceless lady

The newest episode can be found on Meta Quest TV. If you haven’t already, follow this link to subscribe to the series. Make sure to check out the new clip below.

Eli Roth Present’s THE FACELESS LADY S1E5 Clip: THE DUEL – YouTube

To view in the highest resolution, adjust the quality settings in the bottom right corner of the clip.

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