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“To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story” Review

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Written by Patti Pauley

I recently had the immense and honored privilege to check out a screener for To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story, and holy shit guys; I really can’t wait for every single horror fan to be able to watch this documentary.

I guess you can tell where this is going, but humor me anyway. Now let’s all tilt our heads in unison…

Very good.

As you and I are firmly well aware as dedicated horror heads, the community can be a rather fickle one just like any other pop culture genre. However, I think the contrast here between the horror genre of fans compared to any other fan-based community is that we are severely loyal to each other no matter our backgrounds in the genre and respect each other even harder. And that’s exactly what we have here in To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story as literally every major horror icon rounds up to help tell the harrowing tale of how Kane Hodder became the icon he is today. As cool as it is to see the likes of Robert Englund, Bruce Campbell, and Cassandra Peterson weigh in on stories and connections to their genre comrade, it really all takes a backseat when Kane himself is telling these emotionally gripping stories and becoming vulnerable on screen.

Directed by Derek Dennis Herbert and soon to be released by Masterfully Macrabe, The Kane Hodder Story is so much more than about the guy who plays Jason Voorhees and Victor Crowley among numerous other roles. This is about a man that truly HAS been to hell and back, and came out stronger than he ever imagined he could be. From being severely bullied in his younger years, his life-threatening burn accident, and a sense of disappointment in not being involved with Freddy vs. Jason Kane takes his fans on an emotionally gripping roller-coaster filled with tears, chuckles, and a true look inside of the man behind the mask; who is about as much of a true American success story as I’ve ever heard in recent years.

If you’ve ever read Kane’s biography “Unmasked: The True Life Story of the World’s Most Prolific Cinematic Killer”, then you may be already well aware of some of Kane’s hardships before and during his rise to horror infamy. However, it’s truly one thing to see the words on paper, and then see them expressed physically on screen, and for an empathetic person such as myself, its as intense as it gets and can leave you in a hot mess of tears.

Who is peeling onions in here?!!

Visits to locations that serve as a backdrop and help capture the essence of the story such as Kane walking through the burn ward he was sent to after the now infamous interview accident stunt gone horribly wrong along with his childhood home in Kwajalein, add that cherry on the top visual to really bring you in the heroic tale of this living legend. Hodder’s willingness to go all the way in this open book on his life documentary is truly a breath of fresh air and if you’re already a fan of his, you’re going to love the gentle giant even more after a viewing. But I think the greatest thing I personally took from this film, is to humble yourself and count every blessing you have in this rocky road trip we call life. And that my friends, is why I would put this documentary high on the list as one of my favorite biography films of 2017.

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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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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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