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‘The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear’ Documentary Review

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Flatwoods

Production company Small Town Monsters make a compelling case for local cryptids in their documentary series. With each film focusing on a different local legend – such as the Minerva Monster, the Beast of Whitehall, and the Mothman of Point Pleasant – writer/director Seth Breedlove shares his passion for the mysterious and spooky tales that haunt these small towns.

The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear tells the story of The Green Monster of Flatwoods, West Virginia, and how its cultural reach continues to grow.

The legacy begins on September 12, 1952 when a small group of local kids – brothers Edward and Fred May, and their friend Tommy Hyer – witnessed a bright object streaking across the sky before it came to rest over a neighboring farm. The brothers ran to tell their mother, Kathleen May, who joined them with three other local youths and the community dog (which is an amazing concept, if you ask me).

The group witnessed a large, pulsating “ball of fire” and reportedly discovered an otherworldly creature accompanied by a harsh and pungent mist. Frightened and panicked, they fled, and matriarch Kathleen May went to the local authorities to report their sighting.

via West Virginia Explorer

The Flatwoods Monster appeared at a time that was surging with reported extraterrestrial sightings worldwide. Global and political events were making the world an increasingly fearful place, and the rise in unexplained activity brought a whole new tension to small communities. Rural areas seemed to be a hotspot for these bizarre events. West Virginia, for example, had another legendary encounter in 1966 with the Mothman.

The documentary uses a combination of bright, colorful filters and smooth aerial shots – like a rural Pleasantville – paired with campfire-creepy animation, Tim Burton-esque miniatures, and atmospheric recreations to tell the story.

The creative imagery used in The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear is particularly appealing – I found myself drawn in by the visual storytelling. They inspire memories of 1950s sci-fi films that capture the wonder and wild incomprehension of these shocking experiences.

via Small Town Monsters

Director Seth Breedlove’s interviews with the surviving witnesses probes their memories for the full story while presenting their reports in an impartial way.

He tells us the tale of the Flatwoods Monster – including the helpful historical context – but does so in a way that is both respectful of the sources and not invasive to the viewer’s personal opinion.

I have to mention the director of photography, Zac Palmisano, for his great work here. And a shout out to J.D. Riggs for the monster effects, Chris and Brandon Scalf for designing the animation (with stop motion animation by Santino Vitale), and Brandon Dalo for composing the score.

This documentary really highlights the spectacular creative team behind Small Town Monsters. Their work elevates their subjects and compliments the story in a fantastic way. For me, it was the film’s major selling point.

via Dread Central

The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear is more of a short-subject documentary, clocking in at a cool 45 minutes. The official description is as follows:

Unlock a decades-old mystery that included a government-ordered military examination of a purported alien crash-site, and multiple UFOs seen by countless residents of Braxton County, WV. In the years since their brush with the “Flatwoods Monster”, witnesses have seen their story evolve from a terrifying, true-life event to little more than a fable. Two of the remaining witnesses will set the record straight.

Check out the trailer and the poster below. The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear lands on April 6 and is available to order through the Small Town Monsters website.

via Small Town Monsters

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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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