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iHorror’s Interview With ‘Babysitter 2′ Dir. McG: “’Halloween’ F’d Me Up”

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Director McG on the set of The Babysitter : Killer Queen. Cr. Tyler Golden/NETFLIX ©2020

Director McG has given us some wild rides cinematically in the past few decades. From Charlies Angels to Terminator: Salvation to more recently The Babysitter 2: Killer Queen, the sequel to his hit 2017 Netflix hit.

Now streaming on Netflix, Babysitter 2 is an action-packed, pop culture laced horror comedy with plenty of gore. iHorror talked to McG about his inspiration, how he feels about streaming services, and the horror movie that scarred him for life.

iHorror: Hi McG, thanks for talking with us. I think people would immediately connect you to the ’90’s Charlie’s Angels action films. Those were great.

McG: “Those were fun, weird, experimental movies.”

“Now this Babysitter universe is this kind of a fun and experimental thing. My bosses on both ones are like ‘what are you doing?’ I’m like, ‘just trust me, it will all come together in the end.’”

Index Of The Babysitter: Killer Queen

 

It seems more fun than the first movie. Was that your intention? Or did it just come about organically?

McG: “I think it’s more organic. It was honest, you know? This reflects the filmmaker that I most naturally am as far as I like to synthesize different tones and I like to have full-bodied entertainment like films that I grew up on. You know sort of the Amblin days of Steven Spielberg.

And, you know, I like to laugh, I like to feel emotion, I like to be thrilled, I like action, I like romance, and it’s my goal to make high-brow and low-brow and have it ultimately feel original and have people say, ‘oh, I can tell that’s a McG movie.’ Which is certainly your privilege to say, ‘and I hate McG movies or I love them.’ It’s unforgivable to not have a signature in the arts.”

I feel like you have visual orchestration in your films. Not the musical kind, but a certain rhythm throughout the movie that plays out visually, if that makes sense. Almost like the construction of a song. Is that conscious? Is there a constant soundtrack in your mind? How does that process work for you?

“I think you nailed it. It’s like a soundtrack playing in my head and again it’s very natural to who I am. I have an older brother and an older sister. I grew up with my sister listening to disco and my brother listening to Led Zeppelin. I would always act out the songs. And I think that resulted in the synthesis of sound and vision which is the name of my company.

I put equal weight on how the movie sounds and the way the movie looks. I think you should be able to turn off the sound and just stare at a movie and understand what’s going on. And I think you should be able to turn off the picture and just listen to a movie and understand what’s going on and should you do your job well and put them together, it’s a whole new artform.”

Judah Lewis - The Babysitter 2: Killer Queen

There have been some dark horror movies that have recently come out; Hereditary and Midsommar. In the past, movies such as Nightmare on Elm Street have more of a comical feel.  Babysitter 2 seems more like the latter. What are some of McG’s favorite horror movies?

“I like the bleak fare, I just don’t express it well. It’s ironic because the things I enjoy watching are always reflected in the way my stuff comes out. I was sort of raised on Videodrome and of course The Shining. But then there’s like, a big DePalma influence running through there.

I was fortunate to grow up in the birth of the videocassette. That was the 80’s when I could just say, ‘hey I’m no longer subject to the programming at the local art theater to, once a year stumble, into a Hitchcock picture.’ I can rent the entire body of Hitchcock’s work and watch it in a weekend. The influence that had on me was breathtaking.

I don’t think it’s strange that I sort of ran into Quentin Tarantino’s arms when I was making music videos and commercials; I was doing it for him at his company A Band Apart. He was clearly a guy standing around a video store just staring at a screen in the background 8 to 12 hours a day watching spaghetti westerns and different foreign films.

I still watch a movie every day. There are times, and there were times that I would watch two or three movies a day, it’s what I did. And, you know, I was paying attention.

And I was playing around with a camera and I was listening to a lot of music and I just sort of completely and totally went out there and started doing it. I had a friend who was a camera assistant who could get some Panavision gear which was unheard of at the time in the 90’s. So we got some, and we just started shooting things. It was such a wonderful way to discover your own voice.

It’s probably what I love most about filmmaking is that, you know, the better the script, the better the films going to be, but none-the-less if you give the same script to five different filmmakers you’re going to get different things. The final expression of the film is going to be so different depending on who did it. I think that’s why I’ve always loved the movies.”

The Babysitter 2: Killer Queen

Yeah. So true. In Babysitter 2: Killer Queen it’s almost like you went into it going I’m going to put everything I have in there and I’m going to make it fun. Was there always meant to be a sequel?

“No. Not necessarily.  Here’s this other thing that I have been thinking about and I’d love your opinion on. There’s the television I was raised on, then there’s the theatrical film experience that I was raised on. It was truly a two-hander. I’m growing up on Happy Days, I’m growing up on Magnum P.I. I’m growing up on everything you can imagine. And then film: I’m spending the night to see Star Wars, I’m watching E.T., you know, Raiders. I’m doing that thing.

And now we live in this era of Netflix and streaming in general. It’s resulted in a new aesthetic which I’m thrilled about. Not for one-second do I mean at the expense of theatrical or at the expense of traditional television—although I don’t really know what that means. But you and I are freer than ever to check things out. It’s hard to find time, it’s expensive. You gotta park at the mall, and walk and sit and eat, you know it’s hard-it’s prohibitive to get to first-class theatrical fare.

Director McG on the set of The Babysitter : Killer Queen. Cr. Tyler Golden/NETFLIX ©2020

THE BABYSITTER : KILLER QUEEN (2020)
Director McG on the set of The Babysitter : Killer Queen. Cr. Tyler Golden/NETFLIX ©2020

When I was younger, I went to movies 5 to 7 days a week. I don’t find that I’m in that natural rhythm now, but I haven’t stopped watching film as much. If you look at The Crown. If you look at Mrs. Maisel, for God’s sake Game of Thrones, it’s just perfect, perfect, perfect. It’s a new artform and I think, where people like you and people like can actually go to that medium for first-class storytelling and first-class execution of storytelling. It’s opened up experimental opportunities for movies like The Babysitter to find an audience.

The Babysitter can’t exist on ABC on a Wednesday night. The Babysitter probably isn’t a great movie to release theatrically. It’s a little too weird. It’s more like a Grindhouse movie that maybe I will see at Alamo Drafthouse or something.

Netflix might be perfect for you since you have a music video background. I look at a movie from my youth called Flashdance and I see some of you in it even though it came out when you were a kid. Netflix might be the perfect medium to tell a larger story on a smaller screen.

“If you look what Adrian did with Flashdance I mean it’s a seismic, seismic influence on me. Obviously it’s not hard to look at my stuff and that film to see that it had a huge impact on me. I don’t know if Flashdance could get done today. It’s too odd. It would get done at Netflix or Amazon or Apple. It’s a great thing because that sort of filmmaking doesn’t fit into a box, doesn’t satisfy metrics that seem to support spending $75 million dollars on a move then another 50 to 100 to roll it out.

The Babysitter 2: Killer Queen

I just want to see movies like that continue to be made. You talk about Midsommar, which very clearly came out of an Indie framework—it just popped. The Indie film game is still alive but, I don’t know, if anything it’s been bolstered by the streamers.

I do want to see theatrical survive and thrive. Boy do I appreciate television, but I gotta tell ya’, seven days a week, I’m going to duck into Netflix. It’s just part of my life.”

Since we seem to have grown up in the same movie era—the 80’s—once you become a director, do movies lose some of their magic? Does it change when you go from the spectator to the director?

McG: “It did not for me. I’m happy to report that that’s the case. The lights come down the film goes on and I’m taken away. The curtain’s never been pulled back for me. I try not to be cognizant of what they did or technically achieved. I let go of all that and I just let the experience take me away.

There’s one thing that my knowledge of filmmaking compromised and that’s my reaction of being afraid. So in horror in particular—probably the most influential film in my life is Halloween. I saw it in a theater and I was too young. I was too, fuckin’, young. My older brother took me and he could kind of handle it, and for lack of a more delicate way of putting it, Halloween fucked me up.

It’s largely a bloodless horror movie. Just the lack of affect and the blankness and the existential punch of the Michael Myers experience—I was afraid for years. Literally for years! Walking around corners, going to bed at night. It resulted in a disproportionate fear response which is thrilling and fun. But it traumatized me.”

The Babysitter 2: Killer Queen

Maybe that gave me a tremendous drive, but I haven’t been scared like that since.”

“I understand what goes into playing Chewbacca, I understand what goes into playing Freddy Krueger. That part, in answer to your question, that part maybe took the fear out. Which is fine. But as far as the majesty of the movie and not deconstructing while I watch, I still can completely involve myself like I’m a child.”

With Babysitter 2, you’re making this world: It’s funny—I’m not sure if it’s scary, but it does have some punch to it.

Yeah. I don’t regard it as horror. I don’t know if it’s comedy—it’s a remix, it’s a mash-up; it’s a grindhouse movie. It’s an amalgam of many things. I would love to make a proper cerebral horror film before I’m done.

Will there be a third part to The Babysitter?

“We have the story, the fans will speak to that. I the fans demand it, then I’m sure everybody at Netflix will want to go and do a third one. But we definitely have a conclusion to the Cole arc.”

The Babysitter 2: Killer Queen is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.

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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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