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American Horror Theory

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There are several running theories, as to what the inspiration behind American Horror Story is. I’m here today, to toss in my American Horror Theory.

First, I’ll be dissecting the title. ‘American Horror Story’. Okay, so far all the seasons have taken place in America. All four seasons are based in the horror genre, and they each tell a story. Simple stuff, right? Maybe not. What if I told you, the title comes from great American Horror?

What do you mean? Lets take a look at season one. The tale of the murder house. If you thought the season seemed a little familiar, don’t worry, you haven’t gone mad. In 1991 Wes Cravens ‘The People Under the Stairs’ made its debut.

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Haven’t seen The People Under the Stairs? That’s okay. I’ve come prepared with a brief description. A set of filthy rich, psycho siblings kidnap children. When these children don’t behave accordingly, they are beaten, tortured, or far worse. When the child becomes too gruesome to stand the sight of, they are locked in the basement, void of light, society, and hygienic conditions.

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So far, it sounds like the correlation would be a stretch, only imagined by the fevered mind of someone with no life. That statement is half right. In the first season of American Horror Story, there are no ghoulish, zombie like children hiding within the walls. But there are plenty of ghosts. Some, being children.

Okay, so ghosts, zombies, were starting to make a little head way. Still, it goes deeper. In ‘The People Under the Stairs’ Everett McGill plays Man. One of the psychotic siblings. And whats his favorite pass time? Dressing up in a bondage suit, and roaming the house. Starting to sound familiar? Evan Peters (Tate) does the same thing, as “The Rubber Man”.

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With the bondage based baddies out of the way, we can shift focus to the sweet innocence of Violet (Taissa Farmiga) and Alice (A.J. Langer). Both intelligent young women with a feisty side. Violet falls for Tate, and eventually overdoses within the walls of the Murder House. Alice, doesn’t exactly fall for Roach (Sean Whalen) but the two become friends. Roach, a mutilated survivor of the psycho sibs, has no tongue, but still has plenty to say. As he leads Alice through the walls of the house, and eventually to her freedom. How do these two examples of young love have anything in common? Well, some may consider death a form of freedom. At least Violet did. But , at last, that’s were the similarities end.

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To be safe, lets recap, both American Horror Story and The People Under the Stairs revolve around people being trapped within a house. On one side they are ghosts, on the other they’re zombified, feral children. Next up are our favorite bondage based baddies, Man, and Tate. And too finish, we have our heroines who who are entranced by strange, yet strangely charming young men.

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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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