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iHorror Exclusive: Graffiti Artist JPS is Banksy for the Horror Set

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JPS

In 2009, graffiti artist JPS was homeless. He had serious drug and alcohol issues, and his life was spiraling out of control. He had no idea that his life was about to change, however, and it all started with a trip to the Bristol Museum.

The museum was featuring an installation of artwork by famed, anonymous graffiti artist Banksy, and it was exactly what JPS needed.

“I do credit Banksy with probably saving my life,” he says. “[The exhibition] made me realize how I’d thrown my life away so I sought help with addiction and began teaching myself art.  Even though I was inspired by him, though, I never wanted to be him…I hate politics.”

JPS was soon stretching his artistic muscles, but it wasn’t until he visited Barrow Gurney, an abandoned mental hospital in Bristol that, if you’ll pardon the pun, horror entered the picture.

“The place was creepy as hell,” JPS remarks, “and perfect place to do some horror street art. I knew that adding this type of image to this type of location would scare the crap out of people.”

As word got around, people began to flock to Barrow Gurney to see the artists work up close and it was at this point that he began to really make a name for himself. Unfortunately, Barrow Gurney has since been demolished, but photos of the artist’s work there still exist..

Ash on the walls of the now-demolished Barrow Gurney

The artist points out here that he takes great care with placement of his images. Painting on a major thoroughfare might earn yourself more recognition, but if it doesn’t serve the art, then something is lost. In fact, he says that he rarely photographs his work up close because he considers everything in the setting to be part of the art.

So, how does he create these images?

Well, a great magician doesn’t reveal all his secrets, but JPS did say that he creates stencils to use when he can as it seriously cuts down on the time it takes to create a piece. This is crucial because he doesn’t often ask for permission to do what he’s about to do.

These handmade stencils allow a showcase piece like the Xenomorph below to be painted quickly and efficiently. In fact, JPS says the Xenomorph was completed in just one hour!

Now that’s impressive…

It’s not all large scale projects, however. One of my favorites JPS shared with me was of a trash bin with everyone’s favorite sophisticated cannibal perfectly placed on the back!

JPS left many works on the walls of his native Weston-super-Mare, UK before moving to Germany. He’s spent his time since then adding his horror flare to the landscapes of Norway and Germany, and he is currently scouting locations for a large horror project, and, he says, his fans are going to be very impressed!

To stay up to date on the artist’s work, you can follow him on Facebook and on his Instagram account @Jps_artist to keep up with his latest images!

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This Horror Film Just Derailed a Record Held by ‘Train to Busan’

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The South Korean supernatural horror film Exhuma is generating buzz. The star-studded movie is setting records, including the derailment of the country’s former top-grosser, Train to Busan.

Movie success in South Korea is measured by “moviegoers” instead of box office returns, and of this writing, it has garnered over 10 million of them which surpasses the 2016 favorite Train to Busan.

India’s current events publication, Outlook reports, “Train to Busan previously held the record with 11,567,816 viewers, but ‘Exhuma’ has now achieved 11,569,310 viewers, marking a significant feat.”

“What’s also interesting to note is that the film achieved the impressive feat of reaching 7 million moviegoers in less than 16 days of its release, surpassing the milestone four days quicker than 12.12: The Day, which held the title of South Korea’s top-grossing box office hit in 2023.”

Exhuma

Exhuma’s plot isn’t exactly original; a curse is unleashed upon the characters, but people seem to love this trope, and dethroning Train to Busan is no small feat so there has to be some merit to the movie. Here’s the logline: “The process of excavating an ominous grave unleashes dreadful consequences buried underneath.”

It also stars some of East Asia’s biggest stars, including Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee and Kim Eui-sung.

Exhuma

Putting it in Western monetary terms, Exhuma has raked in over $91 million at the worldwide box office since its February 22 release, which is almost as much as Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has earned to date.

Exhuma was released in limited theaters in the United States on March 22. No word yet on when it will make its digital debut.

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Watch ‘Immaculate’ At Home Right Now

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Just when we thought 2024 was going to be a horror movie wasteland, we got a few good ones in succession, Late Night With the Devil and Immaculate. The former will be available on Shudder starting April 19, the latter just had a surprise drop on digital ($19.99) today and will be getting physical on June 11.

The film stars Sydney Sweeney fresh off her success in the rom-com Anyone but You. In Immaculate, she plays a young nun named Cecilia, who travels to Italy to serve in a convent. Once there, she slowly unravels a mystery about the holy place and what role she plays in their methods.

Thanks to word of mouth and some favorable reviews, the movie has earned over $15 million domestically. Sweeney, who also produces, has waited a decade to get the film made. She purchased the rights to the screenplay, reworked it, and made the film we see today.

The movie’s controversial final scene wasn’t in the original screenplay, director Michael Mohan added it later and said, “It is my proudest directorial moment because it is exactly how I pictured it. “

Whether you go out to see it while it’s still in theaters or rent it from the convenience of your couch, let us know what you think of Immaculate and the controversy surrounding it.

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Politician Spooked By ‘First Omen’ Promo Mailer Calls Police

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Incredibly, what some people thought they would get with an Omen prequel turned out to be better than anticipated. Maybe it’s partly due to a good PR campaign. Maybe not. At least it wasn’t for a pro-choice Missouri politician and film blogger Amanda Taylor who received a suspicious mailer from the studio ahead of The First Omen’s theatrical release.

Taylor, a Democrat running for Missouri’s House of Representatives, must be on Disney’s PR list because she received some eerie promo merch from the studio to publicize The First Omen, a direct prequel to the 1975 original. Usually, a good mailer is supposed to pique your interest in a film not send you running to the phone to call the police. 

According to THR, Taylor opened the package and inside were disturbing children’s drawings related to the film that freaked her out. It’s understandable; being a female politician against abortion it’s no telling what kind of threatening hate mail you’re going to get or what might be construed as a threat. 

“I was freaking out. My husband touched it, so I’m screaming at him to wash his hands,” Taylor told THR.

Marshall Weinbaum, who does Disney’s public relations campaigns says he got the idea for the cryptic letters because in the movie, “there are these creepy drawings of little girls with their faces crossed out, so I got this idea to print them out and mail them to the press.”

The studio, maybe realizing the idea wasn’t their best move, sent out a follow-up letter explaining that it was all in good fun to promote The First Omen. “Most people had fun with it,” adds Weinbaum.

While we can understand her initial shock and concern being a politician running on a controversial ticket, we have to wonder as a film enthusiast, why she wouldn’t recognize a crazy PR stunt. 

Perhaps in this day and age, you can’t be too careful. 

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