News
‘Beyond The Gates’ Is A Nostalgia-Filled Blast Of Cult Horror
I remember playing VHS board games as a kid of the 80’s. I had some adventure based ones and even a racing one. I’d spend weekends playing them while eating heaping bowls of Count Chocula cereal. The premise for the games were simple enough, you and some friends would gather around the TV, pop in a VHS tape and let the tape guide your adventure. Usually, they would come with a board game or some sort of “Plug in” peripheral. It was pretty awesome. Beyond The Gates takes the VHS board game to an all-new terrifyingly fun level and my nostalgia thanks it.
When Gordon (Graham Skipper) and John (Chase Williams), two brothers (who don’t get along too well) reunite to sort out their fathers old video store inventory, they discover a VHS board game called Beyond The Gates. Remembering that type of game fondly, they decide to pop the tape in. An mesmerizing and haunting woman, named Evelyn, (Barbara Crampton) introduces herself to the guys and begins the game. Little do Gordon and John know that they just started a game that may lead them to their father who strangely disappeared or to certain death. Once the game begins, these guys are forced to play through until the bloody end.
Every move made in game has consequences in the real-world and forces the brothers to make some pretty brutal decisions the further they advance.
This film has it all, nostalgia fans! Video stores, VCRs, VHS tapes, and an fantasic premise at its core. The film as a whole, feels like a throwback to the 80’s and all the things that we genre fans loved about it.
The cast is awesome as well. Skipper (Almost Human, Minds Eye) plays the well-rounded brother. He brings a foundation to the film and is basically the audience manifested on the screen. Williams, (John Dies At The End) plays the more frenetic brother; more of the wild card. The chemistry between Skipper and Williams works well. Their characters feel organic when bouncing dialogue of each other, leading to the center-piece, estranged family working to pull us in on a believable relationship. The cast also features genre-favorites Crampton (Re-Animator, We Are Still Here) and Matt Mercer (Contracted 1&2). To be honest, this cast alone would have pulled me in to watching.
The film plays out like a mashup of ‘The Ring’ meeting ‘Jumanji,’ with an attached 80’s love letter. For a genre film that features some pretty awesome gore effects, like disembowelment, and a gruesome head explosion, the film has heart. Director, Jackson Stewart does a great job of balancing all the moving parts of a horror, comedy by adding in well-placed family drama into the formula.
I’m a fan, I feel like Beyond The Gates is something I would have randomly discovered on a video store shelf. It has cult staying power, and you can feel that the people that were making the film were doing so out of love for all the things we 80’s lovers were obsessed with.
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Movies
Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed
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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News
Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween
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.
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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Movies
’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power
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.
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.
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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