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The Success of ‘The Conjuring’: Marrying Fact with Fiction

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The Conjuring debuted this day four years ago in 2013 and took the horror genre in a whole new direction.  In many ways it made the genre scary again and breathed new life into a world of out dated ideas, a world of remakes, and played out gimmicks such as the found footage angle.

The opening scene where Ed and Lorraine Warren are addressing a young college campus crowd is very much the way I found out about the couple and their stories.  I grew up in their home state, and truth be told they were sort of local celebrities.  When I was am impressionable middle schooler, an angsty high schooler, and eventually a young college co-ed I followed their lectures across the small state, listening to their stories and buying their books.

The Real Life Warrens: Lorraine (left) Ed (right)

When Halloween rolled around each year you would usually find a news special about the married couple and their history in the state, their journeys across the world, and local Connecticut haunts they investigated.  Sometimes an hour long documentary would follow around Hallows Eve.  If you wanted to further your education about their stories, their books would be available at their lectures and on the early days of their website.  Remember, this was pre-Amazon people!

When news hit the rumor mill that one of their investigations was going to hit the silver screen in the near future people automatically assumed it was going to be about the haunted doll Annabelle, or their involvement in the infamous Amityville house.  To the surprise of many the focus landed on the haunted Rhode Island home in Harrisville and the Perron family who came under paranormal attack and desperately sought out the help of the Warrens.  This is a lesser known case the couple was called into, but for locals of Rhode Island and the immediate tri-state area the house is quite famous.  In fact, it still stands today and has had its share of residents, many of whom still report unusual occurrences in the house!

The Warrens portrayed by Patrick Wilson (left) and Vera Farmiga (right)

When the story was combined with movie magic directed by genre veteran James Wan a new breed of horror was created.  Sure, there have been many, many movies “based on true events” but this one was a horse of a different color.  This story took many elements from the actual haunt and Wan enhanced it with his gift for building suspense, penetrating scares, and beautiful cinematography.  The fact Wan was also intrigued by the challenge of creating a movie based around real life people and their real life story also added an element of respect and realism to his storytelling through the lens.  The working title of The Warren Files changed to The Conjuring and the series was born.  I believe it was this angle that has led to the chain of successful sequels in the series following the Warrens real life investigations and keeps viewers coming back for more.

Read about the latest spin off from The Conjuring series titled The Nun here!

See Lorraine Warren talk about the real life story of the Perron family here.

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Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

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The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

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lizzie borden house

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

Inside the Lizzie Borden House

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

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’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

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28 years later

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.

28 Days Later

The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.

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