News

Writer’s Picks: Back to School

Published

10 years ago

September 18, 2014

Well it’s that time of year. Summer is over, the air is getting a little bit colder and the skies are becoming gray and the rumblings of kids has ceased. Children unaccompanied adults aren’t running through your stores early in the morning and making messes. College kids no longer occupy the pubs, spilling out into the street, calling everyone “bro” and have headed back to school… thank goodness! Now that classes have started for both grade schoolers and college kids, some of our writers here at iHorror have done some thinking and want to tell you a little about their favorite horror flicks that bring them back to school.

Class of 1984

Class of 1984 is about a music teacher, played by Perry King, who starts work at a rough new high school. No sooner does the teacher meets his students than he falls out of favor with the campus drug dealers. The punks make the poor teacher’s life a living hell, starting by vandalizing his car and escalating all the way up to going after his pregnant wife. Released at a time when heavy metal and punk records were being censored by the PMRC, the violent film was supposed to be a grim warning of things to come. In retrospect, it’s just a time capsule of a needlessly paranoid era. Fun fact: also stars Planet of the Apes’ Roddy McDowall, future “The Sopranos” and “Boardwalk Empire” director Timothy Van Patten and a little teenaged Michael J. Fox. Bonus points for having a cool Lalo Schifrin score, complete with a nifty Alice Cooper theme song. – James Jay Edwards

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Death Bell (Gosa)

My favourite school themed horror movie is Death Bell (Gosa), a surprisingly entertaining South Korean horror from 2008. The basic premise of Death Bell is that a class of 24 advanced students have gathered at their exclusive high school on a Saturday for a special prep class to help them get ready for the upcoming university entrance exams. After something of a slow build up, the students find themselves locked in their classroom, and the closed circuit television switches to an image of the classes’ top student, Hye-yeong, trapped in a large fish-tank. A mysterious voice tells the class that they must successfully complete the exam administered by said voice, and for every question answered incorrectly, one of them will be killed. What follows is a fun Saw meets Exam film, which may or may not have ties to the supernatural. The story is fairly standard horror fair, without breaking any new or innovative ground, yet Death Bell is a film where the journey is an increasingly gory, good time, that is unfortunately let down some by its’ conclusion.

This is always the first film I think of when someone talks about school related horror movies as I was an advanced student myself (International Baccalaureate), and I definitely remember that feeling of pressure, and the stress, come the major exams. Thankfully whenever I got a question wrong (which I definitely did), I wasn’t stuffed into a washing machine, but I digress…

If you can track Death Bell down, I do recommend it, but beware the sequel. Death Bell: Bloody Camp is just an uninspired rehash of the first film, which does suck a fair amount of the gory fun out of the premise, and really, that is what the first Death Bell really hangs its hat on. – Shaun Cordingley

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A Nightmare on Elm Street

There are a lot of great horror movies that have to do with schools. I love Carrie and Slaughter High (for very different reasons), but to me the movie that made school the scariest was the original A Nightmare on Elm Street.The hallway monitor scene is one of my favorites from any movie, and combined with Tina’s body being pulled down the hall and the creepy poetry reading in the classroom, it has to take the cake for me. Honorable mention to IT. – Chris Crum

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The Craft

When I think about what school-related horror flick best entices nostalgia, I think of The Craft. I was a naive 10 years old when the movie came out, no where near high school aged, but it became an instant classic. The Craft really was my introduction into all things horror, and was the cause of my subsequent love of all things scary. From the actresses, the music, the attitude, all the way down to the clothes, I was obsessed. I even remember briefly wishing I could be a real witch. I own, and still frequently watch, The Craft today. – Kristen Ashley

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All The Boys Love Mandy Lane

Starring Johnny Depp’s main squeeze Amanda Heard, All The Boys Love Mandy Lane is a surprisingly better than average thriller about beautiful young high school girl Mandy Lane [played by Heard] who is the desire of every male [both young and not-so] within a few hundred feet of wherever she may be. Unfortunately, beauty often has a dark side, and this film is no exception. Mandy becomes friends with the in-crowd, who invite her along for a weekend at the country home of one of the cool kids, while all the boys jostle for dibs on Mandy’s virginity.

As the kids party hard, groundsman Garth tries to keep an eye on things as best he can, yet one by one the kids go missing – only to turn up dead later.

I’ve loved this movie since the first time I saw it. We think we know people – we think we know our friends, our classmates, our peers – but do we really? We want to believe we do, but how much do we really know? One of my best friends in high school was the exact polar opposite of what people thought of her.

If I say much more, it will give the whole movie away – but the twist at the end was completely and totally unexpected! – Tina Mockmore

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A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

There are many horror movies I can think of that remind of the good ole days of high school, but the one that stands out to me is not the one you may have first thought of. Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. It really touched on a lot of high school style drama, issues and emotions of teenagers. I.E.: sexual awkwardness, bullies, nerds, self esteem, etc… In my own personal opinion this Elm Street is the one that showed realistic emotions when dealing with the loss of a friend. You could really tell they were torn up and it was consistent throughout the movie, whereas in many other horror films it felt like it was forgotten the day after or just wasn’t touched on as much. Being a teenager can be tough and high school doesn’t make it any easier sometimes. But on the lighter side, you can make bonds that last a lifetime. The scenarios where Alice obtains her friends powers is, for me, symbolic to that. That for me is why watching Dream Master is like revisiting high school. Well minus Robert Englund running around in my dreams trying to murder me. – Patti Pauley

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Scream

My choice for best high school horror is Scream. While it may seem like an obvious choice, it’s an obvious choice for a very simple reason: it gets everything right. While I was hardly the “big man on campus” type in high school, the general spirit of Scream is a very relatable one, and encapsulates the friendships, parties, and angst that often color the teenage experience. Of course, Scream‘s characters all look to be in at least their mid-20s, but that’s Hollywood casting for you. Aside from the high school elements being done well, the film itself is a modern classic, and I will fight anyone who disagrees in the parking lot after class. – Michael Carpenter

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Class of 1999

Although some fans don’t believe it, Class of 1999 is a follow up to the 1984 flick Class of 1984 and that’s coming right from director Mark L. Lester. In all fairness, it is hard to believe that this is a sequel, given it takes place in a semi-quasi futuristic setting of the year 1999! Schools are overrun with gangs, so much so that the Police dare not intrude, so the principal (played by Malcom McDowell) reaches for some outside help in Dr. Robert Forest (Stacey Keach in a pair of those cheap, colored contacts) who has designed androids to not only look and act human, but to teach as well. It doesn’t take long before the androids (Pam Grier, Patrick Kilpatrick and James P. Ryan) military programming kicks in and they wage an all out war against the kids. It’s up to the film’s ‘rent-a-Corey Feldman’, Cody, who wants nothing more than to quit the gang life, to band them all the gangs together and stop the androids before they are killed.

I must’ve seen this one dozens of times growing up. It was one of my favorite movies to rent when I was in high school, giving me that feeling of anarchy, against the establishment and Bradley Gregg’s character Cody always made me laugh, since he wanted to resignate Edgar Frog. I thought it was cool to see kids my age and the never aging at the time Joshua John Miller (Homer from Near Dark) be total badasses, fight some Terminator clones and get the girl. It’s one of those rare cases where making a sequel where the only connection is themed and in name only works in its advantage. If big hair, pop punk and dystopian futures are your thing, you’ll dig this, as it’s oozing with style. It did spawn direct sequel, Class of 1999 2, but you may want to skip it. – Andrew Peters

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Lists

Thrills and Chills: Ranking ‘Radio Silence’ Films from Bloody Brilliant to Just Bloody

Published

14 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella are all filmmakers under the collective label called Radio Silence. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are the primary directors under that moniker while Villella produces.

They have gained popularity over the past 13 years and their films have become known as having a certain Radio Silence “signature.” They are bloody, usually contain monsters, and have breakneck action sequences. Their recent film Abigail exemplifies that signature and is perhaps their best film yet. They are currently working on a reboot of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York.

We thought we would go through the list of projects they have directed and rank them from high to low. None of the movies and shorts on this list are bad, they all have their merits. These rankings from top to bottom are just ones we felt showcased their talents the best.

We didn’t include movies they produced but didn’t direct.

#1. Abigail

An update to the second film on this list, Abagail is the natural progression of Radio Silence’s love of lockdown horror. It follows in pretty much the same footsteps of Ready or Not, but manages to go one better — make it about vampires.

Abigail

#2. Ready or Not

This film put Radio Silence on the map. While not as successful at the box office as some of their other films, Ready or Not proved that the team could step outside their limited anthology space and create a fun, thrilling, and bloody adventure-length film.

Ready or Not

#3. Scream (2022)

While Scream will always be a polarizing franchise, this prequel, sequel, reboot — however you want to label it showed just how much Radio Silence knew the source material. It wasn’t lazy or cash-grabby, just a good time with legendary characters we love and new ones who grew on us.

Scream (2022)

#4 Southbound (The Way Out)

Radio Silence tosses their found footage modus operandi for this anthology film. Responsible for the bookend stories, they create a terrifying world in their segment titled The Way Out, which involves strange floating beings and some sort of time loop. It’s kind of the first time we see their work without a shaky cam. If we were to rank this entire film, it would remain at this position on the list.

Southbound

#5. V/H/S (10/31/98)

The film that started it all for Radio Silence. Or should we say the segment that started it all. Even though this isn’t feature-length what they managed to do with the time they had was very good. Their chapter was titled 10/31/98, a found-footage short involving a group of friends who crash what they think is a staged exorcism only to learn not to assume things on Halloween night.

V/H/S

#6. Scream VI

Cranking up the action, moving to the big city and letting Ghostface use a shotgun, Scream VI turned the franchise on its head. Like their first one, this film played with canon and managed to win over a lot of fans in its direction, but alienated others for coloring too far outside the lines of Wes Craven’s beloved series. If any sequel was showing how the trope was going stale it was Scream VI, but it managed to squeeze some fresh blood out of this nearly three-decade mainstay.

Scream VI

#7. Devil’s Due

Fairly underrated, this, Radio Silence’s first feature-length film, is a sampler of things they took from V/H/S. It was filmed in an omnipresent found footage style, showcasing a form of possession, and features clueless men. Since this was their first bonafide major studio job it’s a wonderful touchstone to see how far they have come with their storytelling.

Devil’s Due

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News

Perhaps the Scariest, Most Disturbing Series of The Year

Published

14 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Timothy Rawles

You may have never heard of Richard Gadd, but that will probably change after this month. His mini-series Baby Reindeer just hit Netflix and it’s a terrifying deep dive into abuse, addiction, and mental illness. What is even scarier is that it’s based on Gadd’s real-life hardships.

The crux of the story is about a man named Donny Dunn played by Gadd who wants to be a stand-up comedian, but it’s not working out so well thanks to stage fright stemming from his insecurity.

One day at his day job he meets a woman named Martha, played to unhinged perfection by Jessica Gunning, who is instantly charmed by Donny’s kindness and good looks. It doesn’t take long before she nicknames him “Baby Reindeer” and begins to relentlessly stalk him. But that is just the apex of Donny’s problems, he has his own incredibly disturbing issues.

This mini-series should come with a lot of triggers, so just be warned it is not for the faint of heart. The horrors here don’t come from blood and gore, but from physical and mental abuse that go beyond any physiological thriller you may have ever seen.

“It’s very emotionally true, obviously: I was severely stalked and severely abused,” Gadd said to People, explaining why he changed some aspects of the story. “But we wanted it to exist in the sphere of art, as well as protect the people it’s based on.”

The series has gained momentum thanks to positive word-of-mouth, and Gadd is getting used to the notoriety.

“It’s clearly struck a chord,” he told The Guardian. “I really did believe in it, but it’s taken off so quickly that I do feel a bit windswept.”

You can stream Baby Reindeer on Netflix right now.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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Movies

The Original ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Had an Interesting Location

Published

20 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s sequels to hit movies weren’t as linear as they are today. It was more like “let’s re-do the situation but in a different location.” Remember Speed 2, or National Lampoon’s European Vacation? Even Aliens, as good as it is, follows a lot of the plot points of the original; people stuck on a ship, an android, a little girl in peril instead of a cat. So it makes sense that one of the most popular supernatural comedies of all time, Beetlejuice would follow the same pattern.

In 1991 Tim Burton was interested in doing a sequel to his 1988 original, it was called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian:

“The Deetz family moves to Hawaii to develop a resort. Construction begins, and it’s quickly discovered that the hotel will be sitting on top of an ancient burial ground. Beetlejuice comes in to save the day.”

Burton liked the script but wanted some re-writes so he asked then-hot screenwriter Daniel Waters who had just got done contributing to Heathers. He passed on the opportunity so producer David Geffen offered it to Troop Beverly Hills scribe Pamela Norris to no avail.

Eventually, Warner Bros. asked Kevin Smith to punch up Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, he scoffed at the idea, saying, “Didn’t we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?”

Nine years later the sequel was killed. The studio said Winona Ryder was now too old for the part and an entire re-cast needed to happen. But Burton never gave up, there were a lot of directions he wanted to take his characters, including a Disney crossover.

“We talked about lots of different things,” the director said in Entertainment Weekly. “That was early on when we were going, Beetlejuice and the Haunted Mansion, Beetlejuice Goes West, whatever. Lots of things came up.”

Fast-forward to 2011 when another script was pitched for a sequel. This time the writer of Burton’s Dark Shadows, Seth Grahame-Smith was hired and he wanted to make sure the story wasn’t a cash-grabbing remake or reboot. Four years later, in 2015, a script was approved with both Ryder and Keaton saying they would return to their respective roles. In 2017 that script was revamped and then eventually shelved in 2019.

During the time the sequel script was being tossed around in Hollywood, in 2016 an artist named Alex Murillo posted what looked like one-sheets for a Beetlejuice sequel. Although they were fabricated and had no affiliation with Warner Bros. people thought they were real.

Perhaps the virality of the artwork sparked interest in a Beetlejuice sequel once again, and finally, it was confirmed in 2022 Beetlejuice 2 had a green light from a script written by Wednesday writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The star of that series Jenna Ortega signed on to the new movie with filming starting in 2023. It was also confirmed that Danny Elfman would return to do the score.

Burton and Keaton agreed that the new film titled Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice wouldn’t rely on CGI or other other forms of technology. They wanted the film to feel “handmade.” The film wrapped in November 2023.

It’s been over three decades to come up with a sequel to Beetlejuice. Hopefully, since they said aloha to Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian there has been enough time and creativity to ensure Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will not only honor the characters, but fans of the original.

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will open theatrically on September 6.