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Shane Black Explains Why 1980s Nostalgia Inspired ‘The Predator’

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Shane Black was only twenty-five when he arrived in Mexico in the summer of 1986 to act in the first Predator film. Black was given the dubious honor of playing Rick Hawkins, a Special Forces soldier who ends up becoming the first victim in the Predator film series.

More than thirty years later, Black looks back fondly on the making of Predator, a film that Black considers to be one of the greatest genre films ever made. “I think Predator is the ultimate genre film,” says Black. “It was a zeitgeist film. It combined the alien film craze, which was born out of James Cameron’s Aliens, and the Rambo war movie craze. It had mystery and tension, and it was pure pulp entertainment.”

It seems like yesterday when Black took Hollywood by storm with his screenplays for the action films The Last Boy Scout and Lethal Weapon. Now fifty-six years old, Black is at a loss to explain where the time has gone. “I feel old,” says Black. “I didn’t see the time pass. What the hell happened? I remember being a student in UCLA, and then there was Lethal Weapon, and The Monster Squad, and Predator. I really miss those days.”

This wave of nostalgia is precisely what inspired Black to want to return to the Predator film series, as a filmmaker, after more than thirty years. “I wanted to go back in time with this film,” Black, explaining the origins of The Predator screenplay, which Black co-wrote with longtime friend Fred Dekker. “With The Predator, I approached the film as if it was being made back in the 1980s. I wanted to make a 1980s war film and then add in the FX shots later.”

After five Predator films (including the spin-offs Alien vs. Predator and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem), does the Predator film series still have the ability to generate mystery and suspense? Black believes that there are still many interesting questions to answer within the series. “The second film happened, and the other films happened, and now, in 2020, Earth has taken notice that all of these things have happened,” says Black of the film’s premise. “The intelligence community has created a division that’s devoted to responding to predator incursions.”

With The Predator, Black also wanted to further explore the origins of the predator species and the question of why the predators have been visiting Earth. “The predators have been visiting Earth for a long time, possibly since ancient times, and I wanted to explain why,” says Black. “The predators are obviously hunters, warriors, but they also have amazing technology, so the predator planet must be populated by scientists and warriors. We don’t have the ability to build interstellar spaceships, so the predator planet must contain some kind of think tank. From Earth’s perspective, there are technological opportunities.”

Black says that the predators in the film are also motivated by revenge. “There’s a rogue faction within the predator race, and some of them are angry because of what happened in the previous films,” says Black. “They’re angry because, time and time again, the predator warriors have been bested by humanity’s best champions, starting with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in Predator. They want to punch back.”

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Watch ‘The Burning’ At The Location Where It Was Filmed

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Fangoria is reporting that fans of the 1981 slasher The Burning will be able to have a screening of the film at the location where it was filmed. The movie is set at Camp Blackfoot which is actually the Stonehaven Nature Preserve in Ransomville, New York.

This ticketed event will take place on August 3. Guests will be able to take a tour of the grounds as well as enjoy some campfire snacks along with the screening of The Burning.

The Burning

The film came out in the early ’80s when teen slashers were being churned out in magnum force. Thanks to Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th, filmmakers wanted to get in on the low-budget, high-profit movie market and a casket load of these types of films were produced, some better than others.

The Burning is one of the good ones, mostly because of the special effects from Tom Savini who had just come off of his groundbreaking work on Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th. He declined to do the sequel because of its illogical premise and instead signed on to do this movie. Also, a young Jason Alexander who would later go on to play George in Seinfeld is a featured player.

Because of its practical gore, The Burning had to be heavily edited before it received an R-rating. The MPAA was under the thumb of protest groups and political bigwigs to censor violent films at the time because slashers were just so graphic and detailed in their gore.

Tickets are $50, and if you want a special t-shirt, that will cost you another $25, You can get all the information by visiting the On Set Cinema webpage.

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‘Longlegs’ Creepy “Part 2” Teaser Appears on Instagram

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Longlegs

Neon Films released an Insta-teaser for their horror film Longlegs today. Titled Dirty: Part 2, the clip only furthers the mystery of what we are in for when this movie is finally released on July 12.

The official logline is: FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.

Directed by former actor Oz Perkins who also gave us The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Gretel & Hansel, Longlegs is already creating buzz with its moody images and cryptic hints. The film is rated R for bloody violence, and disturbing images.

Longlegs stars Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, and Alicia Witt.

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Exclusive Sneak Peek: Eli Roth and Crypt TV’s VR Series ‘The Faceless Lady’ Episode Five

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Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) and Crypt TV are knocking it out of the park with their new VR show, The Faceless Lady. For those unaware, this is the first fully scripted VR horror show on the market.

Even for masters of horror like Eli Roth and Crypt TV, this is a monumental undertaking. However, if I trust anyone to change the way that we experience horror, it would be these two legends.

The Faceless Lady

Ripped from the pages of Irish folklore, The Faceless Lady tells the story of a tragic spirit cursed to wander the halls of her castle for all of eternity. However, when three young couples are invited to the castle for a series of games, their fates may soon change.

So far, the story has provided horror fans with a gripping game of life or death that doesn’t look as if it will slow down in episode five. Luckily, we have an exclusive clip that may be able to satiate your appetites until the new premiere.

Airing on 4/25 at 5pmPT/8pmET, episode five follows our final three contestants in this wicked game. As the stakes are raised ever higher, will Ella be able to fully awaken her connection with Lady Margaret?

The faceless lady

The newest episode can be found on Meta Quest TV. If you haven’t already, follow this link to subscribe to the series. Make sure to check out the new clip below.

Eli Roth Present’s THE FACELESS LADY S1E5 Clip: THE DUEL – YouTube

To view in the highest resolution, adjust the quality settings in the bottom right corner of the clip.

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