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Hulu’s “Castle Rock” is a Stephen King Fan’s Nightmare Come True

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Sissy Spacek in Castle Rock

Castle Rock. It’s only a small imaginary town in Maine, right?

The imagination that gave birth to the little town belongs to none other than Stephen King, however, so rest assured that “ordinary” this place is not. Like other locales the author has created over the years, the quaint homes and smiling inhabitants of Castle Rock know the truth of the dangers that lie in the dark.

It has witnessed the horrors of Needful Things and survived the arrival of George Stark in The Dark Half, after all, and that’s quite a lot on its own, but Hulu’s brand new series, aptly titled Castle Rock, seeks to dig deeper into the quiet town and the ties that bind it together and to the rest of King’s universe.

As such, it’s a veritable repository of Easter Eggs for fans of King’s novels and short stories, some, not all, of which will be talked about here. (We have to leave something for you to find, right?)

It all begins at Shawshank Prison…

Yes, that Shawshank Prison. Warden Dale Lacy (Terry O’Quinn) is being forced into retirement from his post after decades of faithful service. The next day, he wakes up, spends a little time with his wife, and then goes out to the local quarry and kills himself in one of the most brutal ways I’ve ever witnessed on television.

Naturally, everyone is shocked until prison guards discover a young man (Bill Skarsgard) who has been kept by Lacy in what could reasonably be called an oubliette in an abandoned ward of the prison.

After they clean him up, he will only speak the words “Henry Deaver” which just happens to be the name of a lawyer (Andre Holland) who grew up in Castle Rock and who was at the center of his own mystery in his youth there. He now travels the country fighting for the rights of those who have been sentenced to death.

Deaver, of course, returns home to find that things are not as he left them.

His adoptive mother Ruth (Sissy Spacek), who is suffering from the onset of dementia, is living with former Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Scott Glenn). If Alan Pangborn sounds familiar to you, it’s because he was the sheriff of Castle Rock when the devilish Leland Gaunt opened his antique shop there and the character has previously been played on the big screen by Michael Rooker in The Dark Half and Ed Harris in the film adaptation of Needful Things.

Deaver soon finds himself in the midst of an ever-growing mystery with the unlikely and often unwanted aid of his former neighbor, Molly Strand (Melanie Lynskey), who just happens to be psychically gifted.

Executive producer J.J. Abrams and a stellar writing team including Sam Shaw have painstakingly researched King’s body of work creating an atmosphere and story from the author’s building blocks that feels like it could have been created from his own hand.

Some of the aforementioned Easter Eggs are pretty blatant. The latest trailer gives us a glimpse of Juniper Hill Asylum, for instance.

Readers of King’s novels will remember the hospital from its mention in several of King’s books. Henry Bowers (IT), Nettie Cobb (Needful Things), Raymond Joubert the Space Cowboy (Gerald’s Game), and Charles Pickering (Insomnia) were all patients at Juniper Hill.

Others are pretty well hidden in character surnames, old newspaper headlines, and lines of dialogue that only the active listener will catch which is further proof of the creative team’s dedication to the material.

A measured portion of the success of the series comes in its casting. Many of the actors and actresses involved are no stranger to Stephen King adaptations, and they bring a certain level of expertise in interpretation of his work to their acting here.

Sissy Spacek, of course, is the Carrie White from de Palma’s 1978 film version of Carrie, and her Ruth is the epitome of vulnerable matriarchal strength, holding onto the life she’s known even as it fades in her memory.

Castle Rock — Ruth Deaver (Sissy Spacek), shown. (Photo by: Art Streiber/Hulu)

Bill Skarsgard, meanwhile, creates a character that is more sinister and terrifying than even his role as Pennywise the Clown in last year’s IT adaptation. There is something unnerving in his wide-eyed faux innocence as the as yet unnamed “Shawshank prisoner”. He needs no flashy makeup or razor sharp teeth here.

His stare alone will do you in and the effect he has on those around him will leave you speechless by the end of episode four.

Castle Rock — Shawshank Prisoner (Bill Skarsgard), shown. (Photo by: Art Streiber/Hulu)

And then there’s Melanie Lynskey who many will remember from her starring turn in King’s epic haunted house mini-series “Rose Red”. Lynskey plays Molly in a way that is both endearing and cringeworthy as we watch her self-medicate in an attempt to tone down her telepathic abilities and we sympathize with the fact that she is inextricably drawn to Henry Deaver, no matter how hard she tries to fight their connection.

Castle Rock — Molly Strand (Melanie Lynskey), shown. (Photo by: Art Streiber/Hulu)

Andre Holland as Henry is central to the series, of course, and while this is the actor’s first foray into the world of Stephen King, it is hardly his first appearance in the genre. Among his many credits, he appeared in “American Horror Story: Roanoke” and his performance on Castle Rock is both layered and believable.

Castle Rock — Henry Deaver (Andre Holland), shown. (Photo by: Art Streiber/Hulu)

Of course, as in any good King story, the town itself is a character all its own, and viewers are never given a moment to forget that its shadows hide secrets that are most certainly darker than your own hometown…or are they?

That’s the ultimate beauty of a Stephen King story, you see. Any little faceless town could be Castle Rock with its peculiar denizens, scary ghost stories, and enough scandal to tire out the most dedicated small-town gossip.

Much like the town of Castle Rock, itself, the series seems to hold its breath amidst the tension of its own story as if waiting for the worst to happen. Each scene builds upon the last, slowly creating a mystery that begs to be solved even as the audience fears the solution.

Castle Rock is set to debut on Hulu on July 25, 2018. Check out the new trailer below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXsKCQenpt0

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‘Blink Twice’ Trailer Presents a Thrilling Mystery in Paradise

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A new trailer for the movie formerly known as Pussy Island just dropped and it has us intrigued. Now with the more restrained title, Blink Twice, this  Zoë Kravitz-directed black comedy is set to land in theaters on August 23.

The film is packed with stars including Channing Tatum, Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Christian Slater, Kyle MacLachlan, and Geena Davis.

The trailer feels like a Benoit Blanc mystery; people are invited to a secluded location and disappear one by one, leaving one guest to figure out what is going on.

In the film, a billionaire named Slater King (Channing Tatum) invites a waitress named Frida (Naomi Ackie) to his private island, “It’s paradise. Wild nights blend into sun-soaked days and everyone’s having a great time. No one wants this trip to end, but as strange things start to happen, Frida begins to question her reality. There is something wrong with this place. She’ll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive.”

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Movies

Melissa Barrera Says ‘Scary Movie VI’ Would Be “Fun To Do”

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Melissa Barrera might literally get the last laugh on Spyglass thanks to a possible Scary Movie sequel. Paramount and Miramax are seeing the right opportunity to bring the satirical franchise back into the fold and announced last week one might be in production as early as this fall.

The last chapter of the Scary Movie franchise was almost a decade ago and since the series lampoons thematic horror movies and pop culture trends, it would seem they have a lot of content to draw ideas from, including the recent reboot of slasher series Scream.

Barerra, who starred as final girl Samantha in those movies was abruptly fired from the latest chapter, Scream VII, for expressing what Spyglass interpreted as “antisemitism,” after the actress came out in support of Palestine on social media.

Even though the drama wasn’t a laughing matter, Barrera might get her chance to parody Sam in Scary Movie VI. That is if the opportunity arises. In an interview with Inverse, the 33-year-old actress was asked about Scary Movie VI, and her reply was intriguing.

“I always loved those movies,” the actress told Inverse. “When I saw it announced, I was like, ‘Oh, that would be fun. That would be so fun to do.’”

That “fun to do” part could be construed as a passive pitch to Paramount, but that’s open to interpretation.

Just like in her franchise, Scary Movie also has a legacy cast including Anna Faris and Regina Hall. There is no word yet on if either of those actors will appear in the reboot. With or without them, Barrera is still a fan of the comedies. “They have the iconic cast that did it, so we’ll see what goes on with that. I’m just excited to see a new one,” she told the publication.

Barrera is currently celebrating the box office success of her latest horror movie Abigail.

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Thrills and Chills: Ranking ‘Radio Silence’ Films from Bloody Brilliant to Just Bloody

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Radio Silence Films

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella are all filmmakers under the collective label called Radio Silence. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are the primary directors under that moniker while Villella produces.

They have gained popularity over the past 13 years and their films have become known as having a certain Radio Silence “signature.” They are bloody, usually contain monsters, and have breakneck action sequences. Their recent film Abigail exemplifies that signature and is perhaps their best film yet. They are currently working on a reboot of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York.

We thought we would go through the list of projects they have directed and rank them from high to low. None of the movies and shorts on this list are bad, they all have their merits. These rankings from top to bottom are just ones we felt showcased their talents the best.

We didn’t include movies they produced but didn’t direct.

#1. Abigail

An update to the second film on this list, Abagail is the natural progression of Radio Silence’s love of lockdown horror. It follows in pretty much the same footsteps of Ready or Not, but manages to go one better — make it about vampires.

Abigail

#2. Ready or Not

This film put Radio Silence on the map. While not as successful at the box office as some of their other films, Ready or Not proved that the team could step outside their limited anthology space and create a fun, thrilling, and bloody adventure-length film.

Ready or Not

#3. Scream (2022)

While Scream will always be a polarizing franchise, this prequel, sequel, reboot — however you want to label it showed just how much Radio Silence knew the source material. It wasn’t lazy or cash-grabby, just a good time with legendary characters we love and new ones who grew on us.

Scream (2022)

#4 Southbound (The Way Out)

Radio Silence tosses their found footage modus operandi for this anthology film. Responsible for the bookend stories, they create a terrifying world in their segment titled The Way Out, which involves strange floating beings and some sort of time loop. It’s kind of the first time we see their work without a shaky cam. If we were to rank this entire film, it would remain at this position on the list.

Southbound

#5. V/H/S (10/31/98)

The film that started it all for Radio Silence. Or should we say the segment that started it all. Even though this isn’t feature-length what they managed to do with the time they had was very good. Their chapter was titled 10/31/98, a found-footage short involving a group of friends who crash what they think is a staged exorcism only to learn not to assume things on Halloween night.

V/H/S

#6. Scream VI

Cranking up the action, moving to the big city and letting Ghostface use a shotgun, Scream VI turned the franchise on its head. Like their first one, this film played with canon and managed to win over a lot of fans in its direction, but alienated others for coloring too far outside the lines of Wes Craven’s beloved series. If any sequel was showing how the trope was going stale it was Scream VI, but it managed to squeeze some fresh blood out of this nearly three-decade mainstay.

Scream VI

#7. Devil’s Due

Fairly underrated, this, Radio Silence’s first feature-length film, is a sampler of things they took from V/H/S. It was filmed in an omnipresent found footage style, showcasing a form of possession, and features clueless men. Since this was their first bonafide major studio job it’s a wonderful touchstone to see how far they have come with their storytelling.

Devil’s Due

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