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Hulu’s ‘Into the Dark’ Premieres this October with Wicked First Episode ‘The Body’

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Hot on the heels of its highly successful Castle Rock, Hulu is bringing on more original programming with Into the Dark, this time partnering with Blumhouse to create something all together unique.

The new series, which premieres October 5, 2018, will present a new feature length “episode” each month themed for the month in which it premieres. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas…nothing is off-limits for Into the Dark.

First up is The Body, a dark horror/comedy that will have you in stitches…literally.

The episode opens on a rather dashing hitman named Wilkes (Tom Bateman) who has just completed a job on Halloween night. The man who hired him demands delivery to a specified location, however, so he expertly wraps and ties the body in plastic and heads down to the street, only to discover that his ride is out of commission.

Enter a group of wealthy, know-it-all party kids who think that Wilkes has the best costume and prop that they’ve ever seen. They beg him to come with them to a friend’s party which he agrees to do so long as they will give him a ride so he makes his delivery deadline.

The night takes a turn, however, when they discover the body is all too real and that Wilkes is far more dangerous than they ever imagined.

It takes a skilled hand to use cognitive dissonance as the driving force for a film, but director Paul Davis, who co-wrote the script with Paul Fischer based on their short film by the same name, plays an expert-level game of cat-and-mouse with his audience, supplying just the right mixture of hilarity and horror to keep them on the edge of their seat rooting for both predator and prey.

Bateman somehow manages to embody both a classic Bond villain and the classy Bond, himself, as Wilkes. This agent of death is a trained killing machine with the soul of a cynical poet and he is easily the center of attention in every scene.

This is not to say that the rest of Davis’ cast isn’t equally brilliant, however.

Ash vs. Evil Dead alum Ray Santiago’s comedic timing is flawless as Jack, the bumbling, start-up millionaire turned leader of the group who discovers the truth about Wilkes. Jack is exactly the self-serving, trash-talking douchebag no one in their right mind should follow, so naturally they all do.

Rebecca Rittenhouse, meanwhile, gives her all as Maggie, Jack’s assistant who is tired of her boss, her job, and her life. In her eyes, Wilkes is the sexy, golden ticket she’s been waiting for, and she’s eager to help him at every turn.

The chemistry between Bateman and Rittenhouse is palpable, and their scenes together are as sexually charged as they are funny.

It’s the perfect tone for The Body. At its best, the film shines a light on modern popularity politics, then stomps those ideas into the ground until they’re so much bloody pulp beneath its feet, all the while cracking irreverent, intelligent jokes.

In fact, The Body is never darker or funnier than when it is skewering the often bewildering cult of personality that seems to grow by the day, and Wilkes, with his unique perspective on life and death, acts as the perfect agent to deliver that blow.

And then there’s the excellent score!

Composed by The Newton Brothers, who previously scored OculusExtinctionOuija: Origin of Evil, and so many more, the music in The Body is as unique and often contradictory as the rest of the film. Pulse-pounding one moment and subtly pervasive the next, the composers work in tandem with Davis to keep the film moving at an excellent pace.

Mark your calendars, now, and be sure to check out Into the Dark: The Body October 5, 2018 on Hulu and take a look at the teaser for the series below!

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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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