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7 Awesome Horror Films for a Cold Winter’s Night

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Winter Horror Films

Winter and the holidays are upon us! Stuck inside for days on end, cold creeping into your bones making them ache, and finding yourself sequestered inside with family.

Sound glorious, right? Yeah, not so much to me either.

Thankfully, we’re horror fans, and the genre has a whole host of brilliant wintry titles for our viewing pleasure! These are my top seven picks of awesome horror films for those endless winter nights.

#1 Storm of the Century (1999)

If you want to talk winter horror films, you have to put this on your list.

Little Tall Island, Maine, has known its share of troubles. It was the home of Dolores Claiborne, after all, and one horrible night, when an unprecedented winter storm struck land, the Devil came to town.

At least he seemed like the devil. All we were ever really sure of is that he wanted to take one of the children of Little Tall Island as his apprentice, and he wasn’t leaving until they gave him what he wanted.

Written by Stephen King and starring Tim Daly, Colm Feore, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Debrah Farentino, Storm of the Century was a masterpiece that was so cold onscreen that it actually made you feel warm inside.

#2 Black Christmas (1974)

It’s Christmas break and the young women at a local sorority house are celebrating the end of the semester with a little party. Little do they know that someone is hiding in the home’s attic with murder on their mind.

The granddaddy of holiday-themed horror films, Black Christmas is richly deserving of its cult following with stars like Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and Andrea Martin in the mix.

If you haven’t seen it, put it on your list this winter. If you have seen it, maybe it’s time to revisit it!

#3 30 Days of Night (2007)

There’s a place in Alaska where the sun disappears for an entire month, plunging the land into constant darkness. The locals know how to contend with the yearly occurrence and take every precaution.

Unfortunately for them, a clan of vampires have decided to put that constant darkness to use and treat themselves to a nice, long buffet.

Based on a graphic novel, the film stars Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, and Danny Huston. It turned on the vampire genre on its head and is perfect for a long, cold night!

.#4 Frozen (2010)

Written and directed by Adam Green (Hatchet, Digging up the Marrow) and starring Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell, and Kevin Zegers, Frozen centers on three friends who decide they need one more trip down the slopes before the ski resort closes down. Unfortunately for them, the lift operator doesn’t know they’re on their way up and he shuts things down leaving them stranded 50 feet in the air.

Green’s film was a fun and intense character study as the three try to escape the freezing cold AND the hungry wolves circling below.

#5 Misery (1990)

Tense and claustrophobic, 1990’s Misery kept audiences on the edge of their seat. Kathy Bates and James Caan star in the adaptation of the novel by Stephen King.

When Paul Sheldon (James Caan), best selling author, leaves his hotel in the middle of a snowstorm, he has no idea the chain of events he has set in motion. After his car careens from the highway, his broken body is pulled from the wreckage by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates).

Wilkes is a nurse and at first, it seems like Paul has found himself in the best possible situation. It’s doesn’t take long to realize, however, that Annie might not be as stable as she seems.

Can a game of cat and mouse be played in a single room? If so, then it would be called Misery, and it’s perfect for a night in with a nice glass of brandy.

#6 Ghost Story (1981)

Once a month, the Chowder Society puts on their tuxedos and gather together to tell each other ghost stories over drinks late into the night, but the four men who are members share a secret from their past that haunts them more than any story could.

Ghost Story had one of the most amazing casts. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Melvyn Douglas, Fred Astaire, John Houseman, and Patricia Neal were some of the most respected actors in the world in 1981. They were “Old Hollywood” and added a sense of dignity and legitimacy to the film while younger stars Craig Wasson and Alice Krige brought youthful vigor and sensuality.

The cold snows and whistling winds of New England were vibrant in the film and the story, based on the novel by Peter Straub, is terrifying.

#7 Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

A controversial film when it was first released, Silent Night, Deadly Night centers on a young man who grew up in an orphanage under the abusive control of the Mother Superior in charge. A great deal of his childhood trauma centers on Santa Claus, but who would have guessed that dressing him up as the jolly Christmas elf would turn him into a homicidal maniac?

Starring the hunky Robert Brian Wilson, the film spawned a franchise with four sequels.

So there’s my list of winter horror films!  Let us know your picks in the comments!

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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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