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Joe Bob Briggs Quits ‘Fangoria’ Over Donaghey Controversy

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Joe Bob Briggs

Horror movie host and columnist Joe Bob Briggs has decided to part ways with Fangoria and Rebeller. The Texan has abandoned ship as have many other brands associated with the publications because of a recent controversy surrounding conservative parent company Cinestate.

Cinestate acquired Fangoria back in 2018 and re-introduced the glossy to newsstands in physical form after a three-year hiatus.

The trouble started when Cinestate producer Adam Donaghey was arrested in April on child rape allegations made by an actress he worked with. Donaghey was hired by Cinestate in 2017 and from there produced some notable genre films such as  VFW and Satanic Panic. 

Donaghey already had an alleged reputation of being a scoundrel before he started work producing A Ghost Story, the existential 2017 supernatural film from A-24.

According to The Daily Beast, the rape occurred before the filming of A Ghost Story. But his reputation followed him as he ventured onward with projects made under Cinestate.

The Daily Beast article highlights a statement made by Jeff Walker, a local Dallas filmmaker, about on-set discussions made by fearful women about Donaghey:

He recalls them saying, “‘Adam was a creep and to stay away from him,’ as one person put it. ‘It’s a freelance culture and there’s a lot of fear that you’ll never work again, so it’s difficult for people to talk about,’ explains Walker.”

Stories of sexual harassment regarding Cinestate’s sets ran rampant throughout the Texas filmmaking industry, but according to The Daily Beast article, “two people who turned ‘a blind eye to it’ were Cinestate founder Dallas Sonnier and his producing partner Amanda Presmyk.”

This brings us back to Fangoria (again a Cinestate product), which posted a statement on Twitter about the whole situation.

https://twitter.com/FANGORIA/status/1270025604184838146

 

Apparently Joe Bob Briggs is not happy with Cinestate’s lack of accountability and Tweeted his resignation on June 9.  Briggs has been a contributor to Fangoria since late 2019, but is not without controversy himself.

The 67-year-old actor and comedian was once under fire for derogatory statements he made regarding African Americans.

The emcee returned to horror movie hosting in 2018, for Shudder’s Last Drive-In now in its second season.

We at iHorror hope that Fangoria can survive this blow to their otherwise good reputation and flourish under different circumstances.

Photo: joebobbriggsofficial

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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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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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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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