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Horror Pride Month: Indie Renaissance Man Shreco Bakari

Published

5 years ago

June 28, 2019

Shreco Bakari is one of those filmmakers that’s going places, not because he was born into privilege or has had a lot handed to him. No, it’s because like so many in the independent film world, he has a drive to create and do so in a way that pushes boundaries.

I spoke to the out gay filmmaker who is also a fourth grade teacher as part of our Horror Pride Month series, and like so many, it was important to start at the beginning.

“I became a horror fan when I was around five years old,” he told me. “My grandparents got me into it sort of indirectly. My first horror film I ever watched was Pet Sematary and it scared the hell out of me. From there, I was frightened but I was intrigued. Like, how do they make this scary? I want to watch something else scarier.”

Eventually he did, and he, like many others, has come to blame the miniseries based on Stephen King’s IT for his coulrophobia. He describes seeing the film as being traumatic, but also admits the trauma did not keep him from seeking out more.

At one point, he recalls hearing about the film Parents, and when his mother forbade him from watching it, he decided to sneak around and see it anyway.

“When I saw it, I was freaked out by it and I wouldn’t even look at my parents,” Bakari recalls laughing. “So my mom finally comes in my room and asks me what’s wrong and I told her I watched it and she yells ‘I told you not to watch that damn movie!'”

The 27 year old grew up in the 90s but it was 80s slashers that ultimately called to him and he points to the work of Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper saying he wasn’t as interested in what was new while he was growing up. He was more interested in how we got to where we were.

“The slasher brings more terror to me,” he admitted. “Someone behind a mask could be anyone. Your mom, your dad, your brother or sister. It could be anyone you know! Leatherface scared me because parts of it were supposedly based on true events. I can hear a chainsaw rev up in a haunted house and I will flip out!”

A lot of us love horror movies, but it takes something more to decide to make them, and Bakari recalls that the inspiration came after a series of rejected auditions following his 2014 stint on MTV’s Million Dollar Maze Runner.

The jobs weren’t happening and he could not figure out why. Feedback was basically non-existent and his frustration grew to the breaking point when the thought finally occurred to him that he should make his own movies.

“Keep in mind I didn’t know shit about making movies,” he said. “Cameras, writing, how to produce, all of that was a new idea to me, but it was like something snapped inside me. I remember what a theater teacher told us in school. If you’re not getting the opportunities you think you deserve, then maybe you should create your own opportunities.”

And that’s exactly what he did. Over the course of three years, he founded Foreman Empire Productions and began writing and producing his own work. By 2018, he had finished his first feature, The Ominous Project and had submitted it to the Sunshine City Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“I will never forget getting that email on Christmas Day,” Bakari said. “It said we were one of three U.S. based feature films selected and the only horror film selected for the festival. We went to festival and received their Audience Choice Award and they told us we were the first horror film to do that. It was crazy!”

The Ominous Project is continuing its festival run and has currently been accepted into seven festivals with more on the way, but Bakari isn’t one to sit on his laurels so to speak. He’s already planning new projects and for him, diversity and inclusion isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.

In fact, he’s so committed to bringing in new voices and new experiences to the films that he creates that he’s actually the only man on staff at his production company, a decision for which he’s received no end of scrutiny and grief from outsiders.

“A lot of people think it was a stupid decision, but that’s on them. Diversity is so important right now in the entertainment industry because a lot of queer people, women, and people of color don’t get the representation they deserve,” he explained. “Until diversity is at the forefront, they deserve every opportunity. A lot of people don’t agree, but you’re crazy if you think people are going to sit around and applaud every decision you make and especially when you’re trying to do something different.”

From some men, this might sound like lip service, but one needs to do is spend a half hour chatting with Shreco Bakari to know that he believes in what he’s saying and doing.

It’s exactly this kind of passion that will spur him forward because, outside of watching the movies he saw and loved as a child, Bakari simply does not believe in looking back.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

3 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

5 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

6 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.