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Review: ‘She Dies Tomorrow’ is Quirky Existential Horror at its Best

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She Dies Tomorrow

Any film that uses Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem has my heart, so She Dies Tomorrow started on a high note for me. Mozart wrote his Requiem from his deathbed, and he actually died in the process of writing the Lacrimosa movement; it’s a pitch-perfect piece for a film focused on the acceptance of death.

In She Dies Tomorrow, Amy (Kate Lyn Shiel, The Sacrament) is convinced that she’s going to die tomorrow, and it’s contagious. It’s not a question of thinking she’s going to die, it’s knowing. She’s being forced with the finality of her own mortality. So what would you do with your last night? 

With that in mind, the costume choices are very telling. Amy opts for a chic sequin dress, choosing to go out in style. It says a lot about the acceptance of her looming death; she’s not questioning it, she’s not fighting it, she’s just going to let it happen. If you have a sequin dress, when’s a better time to wear it? 

She Dies Tomorrow

Photo by Jay Keitel

Sheil is excellent as Amy; she has a stoic vulnerability as she comes to terms with the inevitability of her death. Everyone who comes to this conclusion reacts differently, moving through the stages of grief with different levels of intensity. Micro expressions and reactions carry so much weight. They communicate the stage at which they’re confronting their own impermanence. 

The supporting cast is just as impressive, particularly Jane Adams (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) as Jane. Jane flurries from place to place, caught in a tizzy of anxiety about her own impending death. She’s shaken to her core and searching for answers, for meaning, for a connection… anything, really. If Amy’s sequin dress speaks to her acceptance, Jane’s run-out-of-the-house outfit of floral flannel pajamas is just as revealing. 

Photo by Jay Keitel

Writer/Director Amy Seimetz (perhaps better known from her roles in Pet Sematary, Upstream Color and You’re Next) knows her way around a genre film. Her vision is stunning, with beautiful slow-motion moments that act as a kind of character vigil. Moments that grab your attention and cradle it gently, followed by sobering pace switches that snap you back to reality. 

The use of color is impeccable. When Amy (and company) come face-to-face with the undisputed fact of their death, a kaleidoscopic wave of neon washes over them. Staring directly into the camera, we see the moment they come to terms with their fate. It’s gripping and gorgeous. 

Photo by Jay Keitel

She Dies Tomorrow is a somber yet quirky meditation on our own mortality. It’s dripping with existential dread and rich with affirmations of our own anxieties. Each character is faced with the reality of their own existence and what exactly that means — for those that live, we all must die. But it’s the ambiguity of this death that’s perhaps the most challenging element of the film. 

The film has a slow burn that dies out (pardon the pun) on its own. If you’re looking for a final violent confrontation or even some sort of concrete explanation or ending, you might want to adjust your expectations. She Dies Tomorrow ends not with a bang, but with a small, scared whisper. 

She Dies Tomorrow

Photo by Jay Keitel

It feels like a very personal film (perhaps because the main character shares the name of the writer/director, and the film itself stars many of her personal friends — including a fun little cameo from You’re Next director Adam Wingard). You get the sense that this rather hefty theme is something that she’s mulled over quite a bit. And I don’t think she’s alone in that; one of the reasons that She Dies Tomorrow is so successful is that death is an unavoidable eventuality. 

We’ve all thought about it some time or another — what would you do if you found out you have one week to live, we so often ask — and the idea of being faced with such an immediate end is enough to make anyone uneasy. To keep it manageable, Seimetz pops in some quick jolts of humor — like a tonal defibrillator — to keep the film from getting too bogged down by its own weight. 

With a rather large and completely universal theme matched with Jay Keitel’s impeccable cinematography and Seimetz’s deft directorial hand, She Dies Tomorrow is a moody, quirky,  thought-provoking, and beautiful film. If you’re looking for something a little different, give it a try. It wouldn’t kill you. 

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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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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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