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[Interview] iHorror Talks With Directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion About ‘Becky’

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A brutal home invasion horror thriller with Kevin James as a Neo-Nazi cult leader fighting a 13 year old? Seems perfectly in line for Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion, the directors behind such off the wall genre movies as Cooties and Bushwick. As you could tell from Timothy Rawles’s review of Becky we’re fans of this genre busting horror movie with a stellar cast. I was fortunate enough to talk with the directors and discuss the production.

Jacob Davison: So, starting things off, you both have worked together directing a number of movies. How did you meet, how did you get together?

Jonathan Milott + Cary Murnion: Yeah, we met back in school. We went to the Carson School Of Design together. We started off in design and animation and started a company together. In our free time we would do a lot of experiments and exploration of as many cool and fun things as we could while not getting paid. That led us to directing some short films and that got us into South By Southwest which then led to us directing feature films.

JD: How did you get involved with Becky?

JM + CM: Becky was actually brought to us by our managers and agents. They had a script and we really responded tot he script but we had a significant point of view on it. Which involved some changes. So, when we pitched it to the producers, we came at them with that idea that we loved the premise but we had some ideas that would really make it live up to that premise. We pitched that and they agreed with us and that allowed us the time for us to work with some other writers Ruckus [Skye] and Lane [Skye] to really get the script and the movie to where we thought was its full potential. From there we casted, and got it financed, and here we are.

Image via IMDB

JD: What would you say was the main thing that drew you to the project?

JM + CM: I think for us that really unique idea of a 13 year old girl in a revenge film. That was something we had never seen before. One of the ways we described the film was ultra violent Home Alone. I think that’s a fun way of giving a quick overview. But when you think about it, there aren’t too many films like it, there’s a lot of revenge films. There’s quite a few Home Alone like films or home invasion thrillers, but nothing quite like this. For us, it was to take all those disparate elements form all these other great movies we love and kind of combine them into this one really intense, violent, revenge thriller which as something that really appealed to us.

JD: On the violence. I wanted to talk about that, because I was really impressed! Like, the gore FX was really outstanding. I was impressed that a majority of it seemed to be practical. Can you talk about that?

JM + CM: That’s something that we’ve always loved with genre movies, what this kind of movie is. The real, visceral, tangible, bloody(laughter) gruesome FX. One of our favorite filmmakers [Quentin] Tarantino does so well. It just brings a level of realness to it that is just needed in this type of genre. You have to believe it. You can’t just have a bunch of fake CG blood squirting everywhere. You have to get that sense that the blood coming from the hand of the person is doing it, then spraying on their face. There’s just something with the level of CG at this point. I love watching some of the Star Wars films, the Marvel films, the quality of CG that they can do at that level is truly, truly impressive, awe inspiring and hopefully something they will get to play with. But, I think with a movie like this it just feels so much more intense when you have that on-set, sticky, gooey, (laughter) blood in your eye feeling.

JD: Speaking of, I cringed during ‘the eye’ scene. That was a good one!

JM + CM: Thank you!

JD: I wanted to talk a bit about the casting. The two leads, there’s Joel McHale and Kevin James who are primarily known for their comedy work. How did they get attached and what was it like working with them in such a different sort of role?

JM + CM: It was something we wanted to do from the start with casting both of those characters. We know we wanted to get a cult leader in the James character that was charismatic and intellectual and someone you would almost go have a beer with. Someone who seems friendly and you would just believe what he was saying. As the movie starts, he’s got to get into this house and he’s got to work his way in. We wanted that at the beginning. We wanted someone you could believe leads a lot of people and manipulate a lot of people. But, not he flipside we wanted to be shocking when he started his narcissistic, hateful ideological pitches that just blow you mind. I think coming out of a friendly face like Kevin James it’s all the more shocking and all the more strange. It really flips the viewer on their head, and the same with Joel’s character. He plays the father, and a lot of the time Joel McHale has played characters who are very ironic and almost always reaching for the joke, sarcastic in a way. So, you have him playing this individual who is sincere, who is kind of a flawed father just doing the best he can with his teenage girl. We just thought the were interesting subverting their typical roles and I’d say it paid off.

Image via IMDB

JD: I agree! It was quite a shocker. On the title role of Becky, how did Lulu Wilson become involved and what was it like working with her for this kind of role?

JM + CM: We had been following Lulu for awhile and the minute we got this script, we knew she had to be the one! She’s just one of the most talented young actors out there right now. From Ouija all the way to Sharp Objects. She’s just been blowing our minds because there’s a lot of good kid actors, but actors at her age who can really get that emotional range. Whether it be scared, terrified, angry, you know she could just do it all. And we saw that in some of her work before. She was pretty much the one we wanted right form the start and she was in. She loved the script form the start, so we were lucky that she was involved. Then in terms of when we got on set with her it was even better than we could imagine. Literally, the first day of shooting and probably the second shot we did with her, she had to do a reaction to a loved one getting attacked and let out a guttural, passionate scream! That’s where you could tell a great actor from a mediocre one. Someone who could really let out a scream and really shut down a set in terms of everybody looking at her with shock and surprise. With the amount of intensity that she brought to it especially at that age then turn around and be a happy go lucky kid the minute the camera stops rolling. But she just set the tone immediately that day and I think everyone knew that she was serious.

JD: Agreed! I just saw the movie on my laptop and that scream shook me. I’m sure if I hd seen it in theaters it would have blown me away. And on the title character, how would you describe Becky?

JM + CM: Well, I think Becky is a rebellious young teenager like most 13 year old girls, you know, there’s a bit of finding themselves. We look at this in a way of a coming of age film. And I think that’s an important part of it, that she’s going through some loss, she’s dealing with growing up, for us, that was an important part of the climax of the film was that what happened to the world today when their leaders, their parents and the world just is showing them  certain way of being moral and ethical and we expect our kids to grow up to be a certain way. But they’re growing up in a world that maybe isn’t as morally and ethically pure as when we grew up. I think that’s something we wanted to explore, that the world that she lives in dictates the world that she ends up in at the end and I think that hopefully it’s  bit surprising and that’ll make you think a little bit.

Becky is On Demand and Digital and at select drive-ins on June 5, 2020

 

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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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