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Horror Pride Month: Indie Renaissance Man Shreco Bakari

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Shreco Bakari

Shreco Bakari is one of those filmmakers that’s going places, not because he was born into privilege or has had a lot handed to him. No, it’s because like so many in the independent film world, he has a drive to create and do so in a way that pushes boundaries.

I spoke to the out gay filmmaker who is also a fourth grade teacher as part of our Horror Pride Month series, and like so many, it was important to start at the beginning.

“I became a horror fan when I was around five years old,” he told me. “My grandparents got me into it sort of indirectly. My first horror film I ever watched was Pet Sematary and it scared the hell out of me. From there, I was frightened but I was intrigued. Like, how do they make this scary? I want to watch something else scarier.”

Eventually he did, and he, like many others, has come to blame the miniseries based on Stephen King’s IT for his coulrophobia. He describes seeing the film as being traumatic, but also admits the trauma did not keep him from seeking out more.

At one point, he recalls hearing about the film Parents, and when his mother forbade him from watching it, he decided to sneak around and see it anyway.

“When I saw it, I was freaked out by it and I wouldn’t even look at my parents,” Bakari recalls laughing. “So my mom finally comes in my room and asks me what’s wrong and I told her I watched it and she yells ‘I told you not to watch that damn movie!'”

The 27 year old grew up in the 90s but it was 80s slashers that ultimately called to him and he points to the work of Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper saying he wasn’t as interested in what was new while he was growing up. He was more interested in how we got to where we were.

“The slasher brings more terror to me,” he admitted. “Someone behind a mask could be anyone. Your mom, your dad, your brother or sister. It could be anyone you know! Leatherface scared me because parts of it were supposedly based on true events. I can hear a chainsaw rev up in a haunted house and I will flip out!”

A lot of us love horror movies, but it takes something more to decide to make them, and Bakari recalls that the inspiration came after a series of rejected auditions following his 2014 stint on MTV’s Million Dollar Maze Runner.

The jobs weren’t happening and he could not figure out why. Feedback was basically non-existent and his frustration grew to the breaking point when the thought finally occurred to him that he should make his own movies.

“Keep in mind I didn’t know shit about making movies,” he said. “Cameras, writing, how to produce, all of that was a new idea to me, but it was like something snapped inside me. I remember what a theater teacher told us in school. If you’re not getting the opportunities you think you deserve, then maybe you should create your own opportunities.”

And that’s exactly what he did. Over the course of three years, he founded Foreman Empire Productions and began writing and producing his own work. By 2018, he had finished his first feature, The Ominous Project and had submitted it to the Sunshine City Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“I will never forget getting that email on Christmas Day,” Bakari said. “It said we were one of three U.S. based feature films selected and the only horror film selected for the festival. We went to festival and received their Audience Choice Award and they told us we were the first horror film to do that. It was crazy!”

The Ominous Project is continuing its festival run and has currently been accepted into seven festivals with more on the way, but Bakari isn’t one to sit on his laurels so to speak. He’s already planning new projects and for him, diversity and inclusion isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.

In fact, he’s so committed to bringing in new voices and new experiences to the films that he creates that he’s actually the only man on staff at his production company, a decision for which he’s received no end of scrutiny and grief from outsiders.

“A lot of people think it was a stupid decision, but that’s on them. Diversity is so important right now in the entertainment industry because a lot of queer people, women, and people of color don’t get the representation they deserve,” he explained. “Until diversity is at the forefront, they deserve every opportunity. A lot of people don’t agree, but you’re crazy if you think people are going to sit around and applaud every decision you make and especially when you’re trying to do something different.”

From some men, this might sound like lip service, but one needs to do is spend a half hour chatting with Shreco Bakari to know that he believes in what he’s saying and doing.

It’s exactly this kind of passion that will spur him forward because, outside of watching the movies he saw and loved as a child, Bakari simply does not believe in looking back.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

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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