Connect with us

News

Patrick Stewart is the Genre Film Genius We All Deserve

Published

on

Sir Patrick Stewart, born July 13, 1940, is a living legend for fans of just about every genre. He is best known for such iconic roles as Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men franchise, but in his wildly diverse portfolio, he has also provided his velvet voice to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and TMNT.

His genre roles extend to Dune and Lifeforce, but my absolute favorite has to be Green Room. He blends in perfectly and embraces the harrowing tone of the film, showing us a side of Stewart we haven’t seen before.

Image via GeekHard

Stewart’s performance as Darcy breathes a calm intensity. There is a quiet and tense physical communication. We see it in his stern and tired expression. He doesn’t pontificate like most villains – thanks to Jeremy Saulnier’s rock-solid script – and he truly doesn’t need to in order to get his point across.

Stewart commands respect in every role (who else could get away with playing Poop in The Emoji Movie?), but in Green Room, the respect granted to Darcy is unshakable. He has a powerful hold over his group of followers – they do whatever he asks without hesitation.

There is no remorse for the fate of the young punk rockers – they are simply collateral damage. Darcy’s reserve is unsettling and he is frightening in his indifference.

Image via Variety

That being said, Darcy is not a psychotic monster. He is deeply human with his own complexities and motivations, forced to facilitate an unexpected clean-up. He has total control of the situation, and every coaxing word he says to The Ain’t Rights is designed to maintain that control.

Green Room may be Stewart’s first real foray into horror (aside from smaller roles in Lifeforce and The Doctor and the Devils), but he proves that a truly skilled actor can master any genre. Although there is nothing to disguise his appearance – aside from the beard – he is virtually unrecognizable.

With such a dark movie, Stewart’s seamless performance has us all shook. This type of role is a whole different ball game, but he absolutely knocks it out of the park.

Image via SlashFilm

In both Green Room and Logan, Stewart transforms in dramatically different ways. Logan sees Charles Xavier as a frail and damaged shell of the mighty mutant he once was. Stewart’s portrayal of this change in character is heartbreaking. In an ultra-violent film, he is the heart and soul of the action (and – because the man has range – occasionally the comedic relief).

Stewart is hardly thought of as a genre film actor, but his impeccable contributions to various niche projects have been a gift to us all. In a world of hokey B-moves and overacting, we can always rely on Patrick Stewart to brings a gravitas to every role that is simply unparalleled.

His willingness to explore different characters (again, Poop) means that we get to enjoy his thespian genius across different genres. So, today, on his birthday, let’s toast this wonderful gem of a man, and pray that he spends a bit more time in horror.

 

Check out the trailer for Green Room here!

Featured image via Screen Anarchy

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

Published

on

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.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

on

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
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

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.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading