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Fantastic Fest 2018: ‘Apostle’ Is Filled With Evil, Corruption and Razor-Sharp Folk Horror

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Apostle

Lovecraftian sensibilities converge in the hellish ride that is Director, Gareth Evans latest offering, Apostle.

This film checks each and everyone of Fantastic Fest’s boxes in terms of genre greatness. Apostle offers up a healthy helping of dread, packed into a period piece that echoes of the best of 70s horror. Particularly the kind of 70s horror that dealt with evil cults and otherworldly worship.

Apostle finds Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens) sent on a mission to find and save his sister from the clutches of a enigmatic cult. The cult prides themselves on equality among all of its members by sharing everything and by allowing repentant criminals seeking redemption into its ranks. But, with corruption at an arms reach, and evil forces in the woods, the amiable face of the mysterious cult may not be the paradise its followers signed up for.

Director, Gareth Evans helmed martial arts badass fests The Raid 1 & 2, and switches to an entirely new genre in the field of supernatural, mystic horror with Apostle. The result proves that this dude, can just about do anything and make it look and feel great.

What Evans does particularly-well is bring over his experience with big action sequences and contains them into tiny pockets of intensely gory set pieces. These sequences are peppered in over the films runtime and are each more viscerally-potent and bone rattling than the last. In other words, when shit goes down, shit really goes down.

Apostle, is a period piece and uses the tongue and fortitude of the time, to tell the perplexing mystery that comes undone in layers throughout. Paranoia and evil run rampant as Richardson tries to conceal his identity and intentions among the cult and its forefathers. The result is a strange, thickly layered tension that methodically eats away at the audience.

The film does a great job of exploring corruption within bodies of power and ultimately religion. The deconstruction of higher powers who use their will as a tool that leads to ultimate corruption is at play throughout. The whole thing makes it a hoot to look at our current state of the political and the religious where possible good intent can and will sour.

The score by Fajar Yuskemal and Aria Pryogi is just as rattling as Evans intensely well-capture big gore moments. Strings cut through the tension while also creating a melting pot of east, west and everything in between to showcase the variety of folks who have come to call this cult home.

Evans and his team sure as hell know how to kill folks in creative ways and follows the cine-testament of “the worst the person is the harder they have to die.” Apostle constantly doubles-down on its next explosive gore scene by coming up with devilish ways to lay waste to anyone who stands in the way.

Stevens who we genre fans know from The Guest and Legion is in it to win it here. His straight-laced and laudanum-addicted character has room to play, in his near madness. Stevens takes full advantage of this by steering hard into the period piece with a large performance that matches the carnage going on around him.

There is a lot more I want to go into about the more supernatural of the elements at work here, and how that extends deeply into certain brilliant takes on mythology. But its really something that is best experienced rather than discussed here.

Apostle is a ferocious, Lovecraftian experience that pushes the envelope in perilous directions. It’s cast and crew went to work in a scattered evil, gothic folk tale that will leave you with your jaw on the floor in all the genre film loving, best possible ways.

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Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

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The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

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lizzie borden house

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

Inside the Lizzie Borden House

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

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’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

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28 years later

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.

28 Days Later

The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.

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