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Blu-Ray Release of ‘Schlock,’ Reintroduces Us to John Landis’s Killer Cult Satire

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Schlock

A tagline stating “Due to the horrifying nature of this film, no one will be admitted to the theater” can start all kinds of conversation, and even raise some interest strictly based hyperbolic curiosity. Little did folks in 73’ know that tagline was going to lead them to the magical schlockiness that was John Landis’s, Schlock.

Schlock painted an early picture of what John Landis would later apply to his bigger budget films like American Werewolf in London, The Blues Brothers and Animal House. I say “bigger budget,” but in truth Schlock was practically a no-budget outing and definitely screams proudly and wildly to that point.

A tribute to the b-movie, Trog, this film found Landis in a fully absurdist sandbox that mainly touted to the old as time struggle of the archaic versus the youthful. Damn the man, damn the man hard indeed.

Schlock is a love it or hate it polarizing film. But, for those of us that have a special place in our hearts for it, Schlock is a one of a kind, joyful experience. It not only introduced us to one of my personal favorite directors, but also introduced the world to a very young Rick Baker – Monster Maker, who designed and crafted the killer gorilla suit.

The story, follows the hi jinks of the missing link who has recently been thawed out in an underground cave. Dubbed “The Banana Killer” by the inept police, The Schlockthropus (played by John Landis) runs amok murdering all over the suburbs of Southern California, while finding love amongst all the misadventure and biting satire.

Schlock parodies a lot of greats along the way of the Schlockthropus’ terrorization of Southern Cali. 2001: A Space Odyssey, King Kong, and Keystone Cops are all placed in the cross hairs of Landis’s playful micro-budget first outing. The result is a charming and inspiring outing, that proves Landis’ words of “All you need to do to be a filmmaker is to get out there and make a movie” absolutely true.

Arrow’s 4k restoration from the original negative looks great and comes with a book featuring a piece written by Joe Bob Briggs, new cover art by Graham Humphreys and a whole lot more.

Best of all it comes with feature length audio commentary by John Landis and Rick Baker. This is easily one of my favorite features on a disc this year. Landis and Baker are insightful, hilarious and inspiring. Absolute commentary gold.

Full features include:

  • Audio commentary by writer/director John Landis and makeup artist Rick Baker
  • New video interview with author and critic Kim Newman
  • Birth of a Schlock, a 2017 video interview with John Landis
  • Archival video interview with cinematographer Bob Collins
  • 1972, 1979 and 1982 US theatrical trailers
  • US radio spots
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Joe Bob Briggs
  • Original lossless mono soundtrack
  • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
  • 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

Schlock is out now on Blu-Ray!

 

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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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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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