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‘Perfect’ is a Raw, Elegant Approach to Body Horror

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Perfect

The team behind the insanely misunderstood and maligned, Kuso are back with a much more linear narrative with Perfect. This time around the addition of Steven Soderbergh as a producer brings a bit of his brand of sci-fi sensibilities into the mix. The end result is something that is equally out of both the Kuso camp and the Solaris camp. Combined, these two components make for something that instantly begs to be seen again, if not just to get your head around it.

In Perfect, Vessel 13 (Garrett Wareing) is sent by his mother to a mysterious, secluded treatment facility in order to assist in treating some skewed human desires. In the process of trying to achieve ultimate ‘perfection,’ 13 begins to lose more of himself and his mind than he had come in with. This sets things up for an insanely, existential journey with some really big ideas at play.

Director, Eddie Alcazar combines live action with trademark animation all within a cold unwelcoming landscape. All elements lend to the stillness that is nicely juxtaposed against extreme moments and visuals as well as all out body horror.

The film exists, on at times, conflicting ideologies that involve Clockwork Orange-esque concepts on recidivism and biting commentary on the pursuit of perfection. And those are just the non spoilery bits of the ideas that this film is working with. I had to give this one a watch, then step away from it and come back for a revisit to appreciate what it was saying.

“Perfect is heady and

mesmerizing.”

The production design and special effects in Perfect are, well… pretty dang perfect. A great example of that coolness at work is displayed in the 80’s action figure like packaging that patients of the clinic are administered daily. These bubble packs with cardboard backing, come complete with instructions to slice out cubes of flesh and to then insert clear plastic bits of plastic perfection into the gaping holes. It’s next level, you guys.

Perfect is best when the narrative is moving. It barely has to flex any muscles at all in order be compelling. Unfortunately, there are portions of the film that don’t move. It is injected with large amounts of filler that at times stifles the flow. Somewhere in this hour and a half film, there is an hour edit that would be much more serving and a near flawless genre outing.

Perfect is heady and mesmerizing. It achieves a austere alien-like world that is chillingly the product of years of the most human kind of pursuits. The schools of thought from Soderbergh and Alcazar compliment each other nicely and add up to something that is unlike anything else you are going to see this year.

Perfect is out in select theaters and VOD June 21.

Streaming platform, Breaker.io is offering free rental (code: PERFECT). The code will be valid beginning June 21st for 30 days.

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News

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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Movies

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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