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[EXCLUSIVE] ‘The Muffin Man’ is a Gory Throwback to Grindhouse Horror

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Tarantino and Rodriguez may have popularized the whole meta experience by putting fake coming attractions inside actual movies when they released Grindhouse, but Ethan Blum has whipped up something just as sweet with his latest short-disguised-as-a-trailer for The Muffin Man.

You can watch the entire short right here on iHorror.

The Muffin Man is made from a dozen or more real Easter eggs referencing other iconic films and the oh-so-bad dialogue of B-horror movies from three decades ago. Ethan has made a love letter to those who are passionate about practical gore, bad puns and creepy cartoonish villains.

Partially inspired by a past cinematic trend in which horror films incorporated a sing-song nursery rhyme to go with their sadistic monsters, The Muffin Man borrows from a melodic Victorian guessing game.

“I actually came up with the concept of The Muffin Man about ten years ago just thinking about how many horror trailers have some version of ‘creepy kids singing,'” says Ethan who notes Nightmare on Elm St.’s: One. Two. Freddy’s coming for you song as an inspiration. “So I tried to think of a kids song that would be funny, and with The Muffin Man song you get this ready-made character that just works perfectly.”

You also get muffinized versions of monster classics like Hellraiser and Phantasm. Yes, you read that right.

Inspiration also came from Ethan’s childhood where he was fascinated with the frivolous saturation of the genre, a time when even Emmy winning TV actors fought for the chance to be hyperbolic horror movie villains.

“I grew up watching horror from the late 80s-early 90s,” he says, “which I feel like was the beginning of the era where seemingly anything could be made into a horror villain like Ice Cream Man, The Dentist, Uncle Sam, and one of the biggest Muffin Man inspirations – Dr. Giggles.”

Needless to say with all this talent and inspiration, The Muffin Man gets it right even down to hair and makeup. And during its award-winning festival tour there is one bloody scene that kept festival audiences talking for hours afterward.

iHorror has your exclusive first-look at The Muffin Man, so get ready to take one horrific trip down Drury Lane.

The Muffin Man is directed by Ethan Blum, with SFX Supervisor, Mr. Dead. Hair and makeup by Alan Rowe Kelly and VFX by Joe Fennimore.

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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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