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REVIEW: ‘Ghost House’ is a Skillful, Moody Ghost Story

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A young American woman named Julie (Scout Taylor-Compton) is haunted by an angry spirit after she is tricked into desecrating an ancient Thai shrine known as a Ghost House in this thrilling movie of the same name.  Ghost Houses are located all around the Thai landscape and regarded as sacred. According to lore, they offer places for those who have passed to occupy themselves so they don’t bother the living.

Julie and her boyfriend Jim (James Landry Hebert) are on a special vacation in Thailand wherein he aims to ask for her hand. But things take a haunting turn after they meet two British lads with a more nefarious agenda.

Immediately after taking a small effigy wrapped in cloth from one of these niches, she becomes possessed by a vengeful, scorned crone who happens to hate young women because they remind her of her cheating husband.  Burned to death in an act of her own vengeance, the spirit is scarred and hideous as she makes frequent appearances at unexpected times.

Look for a creepy scene involving a digital camera and a photo scroll.

Early on, local spiritualists are able to expel the ghost from Julie’s body, but it’s not over. The specter is determined to repossess her and there are only three days in which to make sure that doesn’t happen because if it does, there is nothing anyone can do and Julie will cross over for good.

Ghost House is the Taken of the supernatural realm as Julie’s fiancé does everything he can to expel the curse with the help of a local taxi driver named Gogo (Michael S. New). During this time Julie slips in and out of the spiritual world while the ghost does the same.

Rich Ragsdale is at the helm of this very effective and moody horror movie. He’s got the goods as far as his cinematographer, Pierluigi Malavasi, who never wastes good lighting or storybook location scenery, and the score done by Ragsdale himself creates an atmosphere of melodic haunts.

With Ragsdale locking in those two elements with effective results, the rest is left to his cast which we all know can be hit-or-miss in these movies. Luckily for us, Ragsdale keeps them focused and convincing.

Taylor-Compton as Julie is non-perfunctory. She goes from confident and self-actualized to haggard, disoriented and genuinely terrified. It’s this dedication to the character that sells a big part of the movie.

James Landry Hebert as her fiancé Jim makes realistic choices to help Julie recover as they go from real life applications into the depths of incorporeal first aid.

This is also a travelogue of exotic Thailand and is filled with local characters who don’t turn off their accents or traditions to meet with the PC police of the west. This isn’t homogenized filmmaking; you get the location, you see the people who live there too.

Ghost House makes no attempts at redefining its Tartan Asia Extreme roots, but the soil in which it’s planted is rich with talent, a beautiful score, stunning cinematography and an engaging story. The result is an overall experience ripe with satisfying supernatural low-hanging fruit.

Ghost House is currently available to rent or buy on Amazon or iTunes and other streaming services.

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The Original ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Had an Interesting Location

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Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s sequels to hit movies weren’t as linear as they are today. It was more like “let’s re-do the situation but in a different location.” Remember Speed 2, or National Lampoon’s European Vacation? Even Aliens, as good as it is, follows a lot of the plot points of the original; people stuck on a ship, an android, a little girl in peril instead of a cat. So it makes sense that one of the most popular supernatural comedies of all time, Beetlejuice would follow the same pattern.

In 1991 Tim Burton was interested in doing a sequel to his 1988 original, it was called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian:

“The Deetz family moves to Hawaii to develop a resort. Construction begins, and it’s quickly discovered that the hotel will be sitting on top of an ancient burial ground. Beetlejuice comes in to save the day.”

Burton liked the script but wanted some re-writes so he asked then-hot screenwriter Daniel Waters who had just got done contributing to Heathers. He passed on the opportunity so producer David Geffen offered it to Troop Beverly Hills scribe Pamela Norris to no avail.

Eventually, Warner Bros. asked Kevin Smith to punch up Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, he scoffed at the idea, saying, “Didn’t we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?”

Nine years later the sequel was killed. The studio said Winona Ryder was now too old for the part and an entire re-cast needed to happen. But Burton never gave up, there were a lot of directions he wanted to take his characters, including a Disney crossover.

“We talked about lots of different things,” the director said in Entertainment Weekly. “That was early on when we were going, Beetlejuice and the Haunted MansionBeetlejuice Goes West, whatever. Lots of things came up.”

Fast-forward to 2011 when another script was pitched for a sequel. This time the writer of Burton’s Dark Shadows,  Seth Grahame-Smith was hired and he wanted to make sure the story wasn’t a cash-grabbing remake or reboot. Four years later, in 2015, a script was approved with both Ryder and Keaton saying they would return to their respective roles. In 2017 that script was revamped and then eventually shelved in 2019.

During the time the sequel script was being tossed around in Hollywood, in 2016 an artist named Alex Murillo posted what looked like one-sheets for a Beetlejuice sequel. Although they were fabricated and had no affiliation with Warner Bros. people thought they were real.

Perhaps the virality of the artwork sparked interest in a Beetlejuice sequel once again, and finally, it was confirmed in 2022 Beetlejuice 2 had a green light from a script written by Wednesday writers  Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The star of that series Jenna Ortega signed on to the new movie with filming starting in 2023. It was also confirmed that Danny Elfman would return to do the score.

Burton and Keaton agreed that the new film titled Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice wouldn’t rely on CGI or other other forms of technology. They wanted the film to feel “handmade.” The film wrapped in November 2023.

It’s been over three decades to come up with a sequel to Beetlejuice. Hopefully, since they said aloha to Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian there has been enough time and creativity to ensure Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will not only honor the characters, but fans of the original.

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will open theatrically on September 6.

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Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel

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Maybe it’s because The Exorcist just celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, or maybe it’s because aging Academy Award-winning actors aren’t too proud to take on obscure roles, but Russell Crowe is visiting the Devil once again in yet another possession film. And it’s not related to his last one, The Pope’s Exorcist.

According to Collider, the film titled The Exorcism was originally going to be released under the name The Georgetown Project. Rights for its North American release were once in the hands of Miramax but then went to Vertical Entertainment. It will release on June 7 in theaters then head over to Shudder for subscribers.

Crowe will also star in this year’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter which is set to drop in theaters on August 30.

As for The Exorcism, Collider provides us with what it’s about:

“The film centers around actor Anthony Miller (Crowe), whose troubles come to the forefront as he shoots a supernatural horror movie. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to figure out whether he’s lapsing into his past addictions, or if something even more horrific is occurring. “

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New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie

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Deadpool & Wolverine might be the buddy movie of the decade. The two heterodox superheroes are back in the latest trailer for the summer blockbuster, this time with more f-bombs than a gangster film.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Movie Trailer

This time the focus is on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. The adamantium-infused X-Man is having a bit of a pity party when Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) arrives on the scene who then tries to convince him to team up for selfish reasons. The result is a profanity-filled trailer with a Strange surprise at the end.

Deadpool & Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It comes out on July 26. Here is the latest trailer, and we suggest if you are at work and your space isn’t private, you might want to put in headphones.

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