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Jason Goes To Hell And Into Some Weird Places

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Welcome back, dear readers! The Mausoleum of Memories is open and ready for business, so please gather around. Don’t forget to take off your heads and bow your hats – or maybe it’s the other way around? – as we pay our respects to the deliriously departed dead. Our old pal Jason has finally gone where all good little murderers find themselves. No, not Milwaukee – Hell. That’s right! In this edition we take a look back at Jason Goes to Hell.

Image via That Was A Bit Mental

This movie had everything going for it at the time. Chiefly being – Sean S. Cunningham was returning to the film series he created. Unbeknownst to us at the time though, Cunningham was only coming back to the beloved franchise because he wanted to make Freddy vs. Jason, a movie that wouldn’t see the light of day for another ten years. Jason Goes to Hell was a film meant to spark people’s interests in the upcoming monster brawl and keep the series rolling.

Image via JoBlo

Once again, Kane Hodder would wear the iconic hockey mask and fans expected one Hell of a movie out of this experience, if for nothing but the very title of the movie alone!

However, there were meetings happening behind the scenes none of the die-hard loyalists were aware of at the time. Plans were being made to not only shift the franchise into unfamiliar territory, but the people behind JGtH intended to ignore all previous films except for the first two.

This was something new-comer director Adam Marcus was very open to. The team was looking to do something brand new and were willing to take a lot of risks. Also according to Marcus, Cunningham dictated the plot and went so far as to tell him, “I want that damn hockey mask out of the movie. So whatever you come up with, let’s make that movie.”

That sentiment is not widely shared though.

“Jason is not nearly as scary when the mask comes off. Even if his face is hideously deformed, the ominous presence of that mask is what really makes the character.” – Kane Hodder, ‘Jason Voorhees’. Personally, I couldn’t agree more. The mask Jason wears is not simply vital to that character, but is part of the character.

Image via Alamo Drafthouse Cineam

Noel Cunningham (Crystal Lake Entertainment) admitted that they decided to mess with the mythology a little bit as well, and even uses Halloween III: Season of the Witch – a movie that threw Michael Myers out of the franchise and has outraged many fans of Halloween to this very day – as inspiration.

In the stunning documentary Crystal Lake Memories, actor John D. LeMay admits the plan was: “To create a mythology out of these previous eight films that really weren’t in any way leading to a mythology, so he had to kind of create it from scratch.”

Did all these innovative plans work out? And how does the movie hold up?

Image via We Minored In Film

Jason Goes to Hell opens with a lone camper who has her late-night shower interrupted by the sudden appearance of Jason Voorhees. There is no lead up, nor is there any exposition prerequisite to the scene. Jason just shows up ready to kill.

I have to admit that this particular look for Jason is one of my top two favorites. The tumorous growths around his lumpy head gives him a diseased look. The putrid flesh has also grown into the mask and just looks gruesome as well as painful.

Image via Rotten Ink

The camper escapes her close call with a violent death and upon chasing her outside Jason finds himself in a top secret trap laid out by the FBI. To the dismay of many, many, many fans Jason is then blown up into iddy-biddy pieces. Right at the beginning of the movie.

So now what? With our beloved killer blown to Hell already, what could they possibly do to fill the span of an entire film to make it worth our while?

Not to fear, everyone! Plenty of killer antics were in store for us, as well as some gory goodness. And we didn’t have long to wait.

Now, the coroner examining the charred remains of poor Jason must have skipped lunch. Because out of nowhere, that barbecued heart of Jason’s sure must have looked tasty and the man just couldn’t help himself and had to take a big ol’ juicy bite.

Image via Wicked Horror

The man gnaws on the oozing heart until he finds himself possessed by the evil spirit of Jason. So…Jason’s dead but also alive and is now being carried around like a parasitic demon worm passing from one host to the next.

It may sound as though I’m making fun of this movie, but I’m honestly just breaking the film’s plot down. This is a weird entry to the franchise, and usually met with a lot of hostility from the fans. It certainly goes into some strange territory.

Image via Mildy Pleased

For example, we learn about Jason’s long-lost sister, a character we’ve never heard about in any of the eight previous films in the established franchise.

Also there is a Jason hunter, Creighton Duke (Steven Williams) who knows everything there is to know about Jason, but he’s someone we (the fans ) know not a single thing about. He just shows up – like everyone else in this movie – with no lead up, talks about how he thinks of little girls in pretty dresses (Creep!) and then breaks the fingers of our protagonist in exchange for some vital Jason-stopping information.

Wouldn’t it have been more interesting if this had been Tommy Jarvis? It would have at least tied into the rest of the franchise and given this odd movie a bit more credibility. It would also have given fans more of a connection, rather than a constant sense of isolation. Or at the very least it would have been easy to add some line in his dialogue saying he had been trained by Tommy and that’s why he’s so good at tracking Jason down.

Image via Friday the 13th Wiki

All I’m saying is there’s a reason the game included Tommy Jarvis as a playable character, and not Duke.

What hurts this movie among fans is its complete disconnection to the previous entries. It has the feeling of a bizarre standalone project.

Even the movie that followed it (Jason X) completely ignores the events of Jason Goes to Hell. As a matter of fact it almost feels more like a direct sequel to Manhattan. At the end of Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan, we see Jason melt and get washed away. Then at the beginning of Jason X we see the big guy locked together in chains and David Cronenberg explains that the monster is priceless to biological research because of his ability to regenerate and never die.

Image via That Was A Bit Mental

As in yes, he melted away in Manhattan, but later his cells reconstructed back together again giving him new life. Which – when you think about it – certainly would explain why Jason looks differently from movie to movie.

Jason Goes to Hell is kind of its own little thing though. It doesn’t bridge any story gaps between the series. It does some truly weird things that are completely out of character for a character we all know and love. For instance, Jason doesn’t talk. He can’t. However, Jason does talk in Goes to Hell and it’s had fans’ heads spinning ever since.

Image via Klejonka

Does it deserve to be hated? No. Despite all of its quirkiness it’s still a fun movie to watch, and at the heart of all these films that’s the point. They’re fun to watch. We might have to click our brains off or lower our expectations a little before watching Goes to Hell, but like I said, Kane Hodder looks amazing in the makeup.

And the marketing for this movie was outstanding! We were all pumped to see this one. The poster alone was enough to make us sneak into the theater against our parents’ wishes.

Image via Pinterest

I still like this one, regardless of its break with continuity.

Truth is, we loved it for the thing it promised – an upcoming battle between both of our favorite slasher killers. At the end of Goes to Hell we see a discarded hockey mask laying in the sand. Suddenly a familiar razor-tipped glove bursts out of the ground and drags the mask down to what we can only presume to be Hell where Freddy is waiting to fight Jason.

Image via Morbidly Beautiful

This was the best advertisement to Freddy vs Jason ever! And we couldn’t wait to see that gruesome fight.

What if Jason Goes to Hell is indeed perfectly canon and doesn’t break any continuity? What if the whole movie is a terrible dream Jason is having during his regenerative phase? What if that’s the foothold Freddy needed to get inside Jason’s head and set in motion the events of Freddy vs Jason?

Image via michalak

I’m cool with that.

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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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