News

2Survive Loses Itself in the Desert

Published

9 years ago

April 18, 2015

When I was a kid, I was a big fan of the choose your own adventure books. It was so cool to me to be able to plot my own course through the stories and try to avoid that catastrophic ending. I remember, once, taking one of the books and reading it from start to finish without making the jumps to the pages that would create a cohesive story. It was a rambling mess where nothing made sense, random plot points popped up out of nowhere, and other plot points came across like afterthoughts to the story. I was reminded of this sensation last night as I watched writer/director Tom Seidman’s new film, 2Survive.

The premise of the film is pretty straightforward. Six contestants for a reality TV show are taken out into the Mojave desert. They are a motley crew comprised of a nurse, an animal psychic, a former marine, a desert biologist, a gay Buddhist, and a leggy blonde savant. This would have been a fun group to get to know, except that we were never given the chance due to nearly non-existent character development. The show’s host, Erik Estrada, steps out of a trailer and explains how they win the contest. The point of the show is simple and just a little twisted. The fewer people who cross the finish line, the more money you make. Contestants are not allowed to impede one another, but nothing can stop them from striking out on their own except that each one carries an essential item (water, food, a compass, etc.) for the journey.

At this point, everything pretty well begins to fall apart, mostly because the movie couldn’t decide what kind of movie it was. There are those films who can cross genres and sub-genres with ease and perhaps this one could have with a more experienced writer. Seidman has been in the business for a long time, obtaining most of his credits as a stage manager and assistant director. 2Survive is his fourth writing credit and the second with a horror angle. Most of his other work, no matter what role in the crew he inhabited has been spent in family friendly, feel good movies and crime dramas. This isn’t necessarily a problem. A good writer is a good writer, but he just couldn’t seem to pull it all together. His attempts at misdirection felt more like random, meaningless scenes that confuse the plot and that probably should have been cut.

For example, as the group makes plans to settle for the first night, out of nowhere a Native American Elder (that’s how he’s listed in the credits) magically appears in their midst. He delivers the perfect, campy, over the top setup for a movie about Native American spirits seeking revenge against those who stole their land. He then promptly disappears, never to be heard from again, and the only thing that happens in the aftermath of his visit is that the animal psychic caught a death vibe off the snake the Elder had as a companion and decides to leave the contest.

For the rest of the hour and a half run time of the film, we wander through the desert. A cameraman dies…one contestant sets off on his own after stealing the water supply…dehydration begins to take its toll on the contestants, and a killer is revealed. All of this sounds like it could make for a great film, and it could, except that the pacing of the film does nothing to raise tension. Never once did my pulse race as they moved through the desert. Never once did I sit up in anticipation of what was coming next, because the filmmaker gave me nothing to be excited about.

I gave this film every chance to make me a fan. I really did. It just never came together for me. There’s a part of me that hopes that Seidman will learn from the mistakes of this movie and try again. This wasn’t a good movie; it wasn’t a bad movie. It was just a movie that lacked the focus to become one or the other.

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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

Published

2 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

21 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.

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News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

23 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.