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Horror Pride Month: Actor Michael James Daly

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Michael James Daly

Michael James Daly entered the world as an unexpected and happy addition to his family which, oddly enough, set him up as a horror fan from a very early age.

With much older brothers and sisters who were already established horror movie buffs, he ended up watching the movies they watched and at the ripe young age of six or seven, he was introduced to the movie that would, in many ways, change his life.

“I distinctly remember watching Friday the 13th Part 2 with my older sister and immediately being obsessed with horror movies,” the actor recalled in a recent interview for iHorror’s Horror Pride Month. “I was one of those guys who was just gay from the get-go, and there was something about those badass women like Amy Steel. They were my idols.”

It wasn’t a passing fad for the actor, and he admits that as he got older it was the lessons that he learned from those final girls that helped him navigate the bullying that is sadly almost inevitable for an overweight gay kid in as they grow into adulthood.

“In high school, I weighed 300 pounds and I was gay and even though I wasn’t out, I think it was pretty clear to everyone that I was gay,” he explained. “I would walk down the hall with this image of Nancy [from A Nightmare on Elm Street] in my head. That’s how I got through the hallways. I would imagine them and how they would handle it.”

He also recalls Lisa Wilcox’s Alice in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and her mind-over-matter mantra in those difficult situations, and it carried him right into his acting career.

Along the way, he says he’s also come to understand and appreciate some of the films that he initially didn’t connect with when he saw them as a child. Films like The Exorcist and Carrie, for example, just took on more meaning because of the elevated level of acting.

Photo by Jenn Cady

“Watching Ellen Burstyn and seeing her method for bringing her character to life in The Exorcist is fascinating to me,” Daly said. “It’s one of my favorite movies, now. That’s also why I love watching Lili Taylor in The Conjuring. She’s amazing!”

Daly recently worked on a film with director Tommy Faircloth (Family Possessions) called A Nun’s Curse. On the set, he got to meet and work with Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) which, he says, was a dream come true.

“It’s funny because I don’t think a lot of them realize the impact they had on young gay men,” he said, “and I was able to sort of pull her aside and tell her. They’ve gotten a lot of us through a lot of hard times.”

He also had the chance to play a role in Michelle Iannantuono’s Livescream, a film that’s been taking the indie festival circuit by storm for its inventiveness and the sort of claustrophobic terror it invokes.

In the film, a man by the name of Scott is a game streamer with a devoted following who finds his joy in the connections he’s made online. When a fan sends him a supposedly haunted game, he finds himself trapped in a web with his own life and the lives of his fans in peril.

“Michelle is incredible,” he said. “She designed all of those games in that film it was just amazing, but she’s also a really great director which is something every actor needs, regardless of how talented they are. I’ve seen films with Anthony Hopkins where I could tell there was no real direction behind the scenes. Michelle let me kind of play around in the role, but she knew what she needed and she got it.”

When it comes to queer representation in the horror genre, Daly, like so many I’ve spoken to in this series, laments the way that characters are being written when they’re included at all and he recalled a recent example.

“There was this movie I saw at a film festival recently,” he said. “About halfway through the film one of the characters was revealed to be gay, which was really cool. Then suddenly, even though he’d not been like this through the whole film, he was flamboyantly gay. They jumped right onto that stereotype.”

While this characterization is certainly not new–flamboyantly gay is about the only way many writers know how to handle a gay character–neither is the fact that it remains insulting, especially in an instance where just being outed suddenly changes a character completely.

Despite of and in some instances because of this, Daly continues to work, not only as an actor, but also writing scripts that better represent the queer community within the genre space.

“I’d like to get a script where I could be more myself,” he said. “In my daily life, I am somewhat more effeminate at times but I am also other things. And this script I’ve written expresses that.”

For more on Michael James Daly’s work, be sure to check out his IMDb page and stay tuned to iHorror for more Pride Month coverage.

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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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