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‘Escape Room’ Hits Blu-Ray and DVD Today!

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Sony Pictures’ Escape Room drops on Blu-Ray and DVD today with special features as action-packed as the film itself.

Directed by Adam Robitel, the film tells the story of six strangers trapped in a mysterious and deadly escape room where survival is the only real goal. The film did very well at the box office and a sequel is already in development to carry the story forward.

This home media release is perfect for fans of the film who want to see a bit more about how the film was created with four featurettes and several deleted scenes including an alternate opening and ending.

“Game, Sets, Match” focuses specifically on how the rooms were brought to life with production designer Edward Thomas discussing the realities of creating these layered, textured sets.

“The Lone Survivors” brings the actors to the foreground to discuss characterization, background, and the fact that because of the way the sets were designed, they had to do a lot of the stunts themselves. This was an aspect they all seemed to enjoy as they were able to fully realize their characters even in some of the most “dangerous” moments.

This particular feature also gives us glimpses into the training they went through in order to do those stunts including a group trip to a rock climbing wall to prepare for the upside down billiard room.

Escape Room

The third and fourth featurette, “Would You Ever Parts 1 & 2” asks the cast and crew if they had ever or would they consider going through an escape room based on their experiences in the film.

The deleted scenes take us father into the background of each of the characters, though it’s interesting that even here very little is available about Deborah Ann Woll’s character. Perhaps, she was meant to be a bit more of an enigma all along, or all of what we were meant to learn about her military service and background was already included in the film.

What I found most interesting here was the alternate opening and endings. That opening definitely would have given too much away, but I almost feel like the alternate ending would have given the story a more cohesive ending.

Also, for fans of Robitel, himself, if you look closely, you’ll spot him in a cameo appearance in one of the deleted scenes!

Sony keeps the special features tight and intercuts interviews with a lot of cool behind the scenes action with actors maneuvering the sets, rehearsing, and performing some of their own heavily guarded stunt work.

These scenes highlight the obstacles of shooting in a room that is seemingly completely enclosed, and gives viewers a real idea of the intensity of this shoot.

If I had one criticism for this Blu-Ray/DVD release, it’s the same I’ve had for every home media release for years, now. I’m the guy who will sit through an hour and a half movie and then will gladly sit through another two hours of special features, and while those included here are great, I found myself wanting more.

Still, they are well worth the price of the Blu-Ray and DVD and the movie itself is one that took so many pains in attention to detail that there is something new to see in every viewing.

You can pick up a copy of Escape Room today, April 23, 2019, via Amazon and in physical retailers nationwide.

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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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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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