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INTERVIEW: Lin Shaye Talks ‘The Call,’ Tobin Bell, and More!

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The Call

The Call, a new film from writer Patrick Stibbs and director Timothy Woodward, Jr (The Final Wish) is out this Friday, and Lin Shaye sat down for an interview with iHorror to talk about working with Tobin Bell for the first time, filming in a mansion in Beverly Hills, and what’s next on her always busy schedule.

Set in 1987, the film centers on a woman driven to her breaking point by constant bullying from local teenagers who call her a witch and repeatedly vandalize her property. Upon her death, her husband (Bell) invites the vandals to their home and informs them that his wife left them each $100,000 in her will. All they have to do is fulfill one small task. Go upstairs, call the phone number on the desk in their study, and stay on the line for one minute.

Sure it sounds simple, but when the dead woman answers things get scary very quickly.

As she has said on numerous occasions, the most important thing to Shaye when it comes to taking on a new project is finding a story to tell. There has to be something more than just ghosts and monsters to pique her interest. When The Call came to her, she recognized its good bones, but she wasn’t fully ready to commit to it as it was.

“Now that I’ve gotten old, I’ve earned my big mouth,” Shaye said, laughing. “There were things in the script that I wasn’t sure about, but I thought the idea of the call was a terrific idea. I didn’t want to do a witch story. I didn’t think that was what it was about. I thought the core of it, the bullying and what that does to somebody, became much more important to me as an actress.”

With that in mind, Shaye, Stibbs, and Woodward–who the actress refers to as a “get it done guy”–collaborated to refine the story. When the time came to cast the film, it was Shaye’s manager Gina Rugolo who thought that genre legend Tobin Bell would be right for the part of her husband.

“We had never met, but I joked that we have the same godparents, Leigh Whannell and James Wan,” she explained. “So Daddy and Daddy had never introduced us, but I’ve always appreciated his work. Long story short, it was a great idea. We immediately had this real warmth and respect and affection for one another and I think that shows up on screen. I loved working with him. I think that really amplified the horror in the film even more.”

Tobin Bell and Lin Shaye had almost immediate chemistry on The Call.

The next challenge came when it was time to get into makeup for the film. By the end of the film, Shaye’s character has gone through quite the ghastly transformation which meant a lot of time in the makeup chair before her workday began.

This wouldn’t be so bad–the actress has famously transformed herself numerous times in her career–except that they discovered while filming in an older Beverly Hills mansion that the building had a mold problem. Sitting in a chair for hours in a basement while make-up is applied is one thing. Sitting in a moldy basement is quite another!

“I needed to get out and get a breath of fresh air every once in a while because I was afraid I was going to get black mold poisoning or something,” Shaye said with a big laugh. “The actual process, Ching Tseng, our makeup artist was really amazing. She was great. Great attitude, tireless, but those little lines that she put on my face with that little tiny brush took for fucking ever. I had to go get a dose of fresh air and come back in for the next hour, but she was brilliant. She could do everything.”

With the make-up in place, she was ready to really confront the teens who had tormented her character, so much so that she says she thought they were really scared of her at times.

“What I say about acting is that I find so fabulous is that it’s the one place where you can dig into the deepest, meanest, most horrible part of yourself safely,” she explained. “You’re allowed to tell the ugly truth, but in a safe place and be rewarded for it. In real life, you can’t expose that much of yourself like that. People will never talk to you again, basically. It was very fun.”

The Call opens this Friday, October 2, 2020. You can purchase advance tickets for the film on Atom Tickets and Fandango. For more information on the film, you can also visit their OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

As for what Shaye is working on next, her docket is, as usual, completely filled.

She’ll be making an appearance as Ted Bundy’s mother in an upcoming film by Daniel Farrands. She also took part in a film titled We Are Gathered Here Today which concerns a family who gathers via a series of Zoom calls as the family patriarch lies dying in the hospital with Covid-19. Shaye plays a self-described “rock and roller alcoholic” who wears black nail polish and rings with skulls on them. She said making the movie was a powerful experience and one that she thinks it will really draw people into its story.

For you gamers out there, Shaye is also working on a video game and from what little she could tell us, it sounds epic!

“The video game won’t be until next year sometime, but it’s a big one,” she said. “It’s for Digital Domain. We did the mo-cap thing, but the script is 956 pages long so I’ve got my work cut out for me.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mTTGe2sJOU

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New Poster Reveal For Nicolas Cage’s Survival Creature Feature ‘Arcadian’ [Trailer]

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Nicolas Cage Arcadian

In the latest cinematic venture featuring Nicolas Cage, Arcadian emerges as a compelling creature feature, teeming with suspense, horror, and emotional depth. RLJE Films has recently released a series of new images and a captivating poster, offering audiences a glimpse into the eerie and thrilling world of “Arcadian”. Scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, 2024, the film will later be available on Shudder and AMC+, ensuring a wide audience can experience its gripping narrative.

Arcadian Movie Trailer

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given this film an “R” rating for its “bloody images,” hinting at the visceral and intense experience awaiting viewers. The film draws inspiration from acclaimed horror benchmarks like “A Quiet Place,” weaving a post-apocalyptic tale of a father and his two sons navigating a desolate world. Following a catastrophic event that depopulates the planet, the family faces the dual challenge of surviving their dystopian environment and eluding mysterious nocturnal creatures.

Joining Nicolas Cage in this harrowing journey are Jaeden Martell, known for his role in “IT” (2017), Maxwell Jenkins from “Lost in Space,” and Sadie Soverall, featured in “Fate: The Winx Saga.” Directed by Ben Brewer (“The Trust”) and penned by Mike Nilon (“Braven”), “Arcadian” promises a unique blend of poignant storytelling and electrifying survival horror.

Maxwell Jenkins, Nicolas Cage, and Jaeden Martell 

Critics have already begun to praise “Arcadian” for its imaginative monster designs and exhilarating action sequences, with one review from Bloody Disgusting highlighting the film’s balance between emotional coming-of-age elements and heart-pounding horror. Despite sharing thematic elements with similar genre films, “Arcadian” sets itself apart through its creative approach and action-driven plot, promising a cinematic experience filled with mystery, suspense, and relentless thrills.

Arcadian Official Movie Poster

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‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3’ Is a Go with Enhanced Budget and New Characters

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Winnie the Pooh 3

Wow, they’re churning things out fast! The upcoming sequel “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3” is officially moving forward, promising an expanded narrative with a larger budget and the introduction of beloved characters from A.A. Milne’s original tales. As confirmed by Variety, the third installment in the horror franchise will welcome Rabbit, the heffalumps, and the woozles into its dark and twisted narrative.

This sequel is a part of an ambitious cinematic universe that reimagines children’s stories as horror tales. Alongside “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” and its first sequel, the universe includes films such as “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”, “Bambi: The Reckoning,” and “Pinocchio Unstrung”. These movies are set to converge in the crossover event “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble,” slated for a 2025 release.

Winnie the Pooh Poohniverse

The creation of these films was made possible when A.A. Milne’s 1926 children’s book “Winnie-the-Pooh” entered the public domain last year, allowing filmmakers to explore these cherished characters in unprecedented ways. Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers, of Jagged Edge Productions, have led the charge in this innovative endeavor.

The inclusion of Rabbit, heffalumps, and woozles in the upcoming sequel introduces a new layer to the franchise. In Milne’s original stories, heffalumps are imagined creatures resembling elephants, while woozles are known for their weasel-like characteristics and a penchant for stealing honey. Their roles in the narrative remain to be seen, but their addition promises to enrich the horror universe with deeper connections to the source material.

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How to Watch ‘Late Night with the Devil’ from Home: Dates and Platforms

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Late Night With The Devil

For fans eager to dive into one of this year’s most talked-about horror films from the comfort of their own home, “Late Night with the Devil” will be available for streaming exclusively on Shudder starting April 19, 2024. This announcement has been highly anticipated following the film’s successful theatrical release by IFC Films, which saw it earning rave reviews and a record-breaking opening weekend for the distributor.

“Late Night with the Devil” emerges as a standout horror film, captivating audiences and critics alike, with Stephen King himself offering high praise for the 1977-set film. Starring David Dastmalchian, the movie unfolds on Halloween night during a live late-night talk show broadcast that disastrously unleashes evil across the nation. This found footage-style film not only delivers scares but also authentically captures the aesthetic of the 1970s, drawing viewers into its nightmarish scenario.

David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil

The film’s initial box office success, opening to $2.8 million in 1,034 theaters, underscores its wide appeal and marks the highest opening weekend for an IFC Films release. Critically acclaimed, “Late Night with the Devil” boasts a 96% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 135 reviews, with the consensus praising it for rejuvenating the possession horror genre and showcasing David Dastmalchian’s exceptional performance.

Rotten Tomatoes score as of 3/28/2024

Simon Rother of iHorror.com encapsulates the film’s allure, emphasizing its immersive quality that transports viewers back to the 1970s, making them feel as if they are part of the eerie “Night Owls” Halloween broadcast. Rother lauds the film for its meticulously crafted script and the emotional and shocking journey it takes viewers on, stating, “This whole experience will have viewers of the Cairnes brothers’ film glued to their screen… The script, from beginning to end, is neatly sewn together with an ending that’ll have jaws on the floor.” You can read the full review here.

Rother further encourages audiences to watch the film, highlighting its multifaceted appeal: “Whenever it is made available to you, you must attempt to view the Cairnes Brothers’ latest project as it will make you laugh, it will creep you out, it will amaze you, and it might even strike an emotional cord.”

Set to stream on Shudder on April 19, 2024, “Late Night with the Devil” offers a compelling blend of horror, history, and heart. This film is not just a must-watch for horror aficionados but for anyone looking to be thoroughly entertained and moved by a cinematic experience that redefines the boundaries of its genre.

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