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Fantastic Fest Review: THELMA

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The term slow-burn is no stranger to Fantastic Fest’s audiences. A lot of films push the envelope in terms of using interesting ways to put a spell on the audience, while also working in some dynamic character development. Thelma is one of those films. It takes its time to make its point, but like a lot of these slow-burn films from the fest, it utilizes that approach to create a totally standalone emotive experience and one that will leave you breathless.

Thelma follows a young girl by the same name, who is heads off to University. Like most young folks headed to the high frontiers of parental free living, she is reaching a point of change and exploration. With a heavy religious background, her inner angst and first view of true freedom begins to wake things within her long left dormant. So, along with discovering her first love, she also begins to awake something powerful and possibly sinister within herself.

The film is absolutely beautiful in its scope and wears its heart on its sleeve for cinematic experience. A number of wide shots are used emphasizing use of negative space to mirror Thelma’s mostly icy world. The actresses in this are so good that the sometimes-glacial pacing is acceptably 100% overlooked. Their onscreen chemistry works and is alluring and provocative. The film could have entirely been about these two girls eating a sandwich and drinking coffee for an entire two-hours and I would have still been onboard and engaged. Director, Joachim Trier obviously brings his unique blend of character focus from his previous work on films like Oslo and Louder Than Bombs. His eye and ear for blending his actors in with a swirling narrative is at the forefront of all his work and is extended to Thelma here. I’m hoping to see him work on more genre stuff in the future as he appears to have a natural comfort level in doing so.

The film plays out like an antihero Marvel comic character over the course of its runtime. If you could picture a completely grounded origin story for Jean Grey’s Dark Phoenix, this would be it. And in a world where FX’s Legion and the upcoming New Mutants are charting new paths in comic book movies/shows realm, this would easily have fit right in. Thelma’s transformative nature and awakening powers lend themselves to a dark past that unfurls over the course of the film.

Thelma left me thinking. Its careful use of its runtime to establish its characters and their relationship sets up the dominoes in the second half to fall with precise operatic choreography. Its narrative holds its cards close to its chest as revelation after revelation is unfurled, while it is all while simultaneously wrapping its tendrils of dread around you. Thelma is smart, haunting and utterly fucking awesome.

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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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