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Leigh Whannell on Splicing Horror and Science Fiction in ‘Upgrade’

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Leigh Whannell says that his film ideas arrive to him in a flash.  “My story ideas just appear in my head randomly,” says Whannell, the co-creator of the Insidious and Saw horror film franchises.  “They seem to arrive when they want to, not when I want them to.”

This was the case with Whannell’s latest film, Upgrade, which combines horror and science fiction.  “I remember that I was sitting in my backyard one day, many years ago, when the image of a quadriplegic being puppeteered by a computer just popped into my head,” says Whannell.  “I was instantly excited about it, and that moment began the long, long journey of getting an independent film made.”

Upgrade tells the story of Grey Trace, a technophobe who is the victim of a brutal mugging that leaves him paralyzed and his wife dead.  “Grey’s goal in the beginning of the film is to find his place in this new technological world,” says Whannell.  “He wants to know where he fits in.  Then, when his wife is taken from him, he wants revenge, and he uses technology to aid him in that quest.”

Revenge is made possible through an experimental computer chip implant called Stem.  “Technology gives him [Grey] a chance at a new life,” says Whannell.  “Someone who previously hated technology becomes technology, and he sees how intoxicating and overpowering that can be.”

Whannell says that Upgrade was heavily influence by the 1980s science fiction films that Whannell grew up watching.  “I think the horror that exists in the film is of the ‘body-horror’ variety and the idea of technology intruding on human flesh,” says Whannell.  “My influences were definitely sci-fi films from the 1980s.  There was always a horror tinge to many of the sci-fi films of that time, perhaps born out of the practical FX boom.  I’m talking about films like The Terminator, Scanners, Robocop, Videodrome, Aliens, The Thing, Total Recall, and The Fly.  They were grimy and icky.  They were not slick.  They were violent and raw.  I wanted to capture that again with Upgrade—a time when sci-fi was contained and very practical FX-driven.”

The making of Upgrade represented a triumphant homecoming for Whannell, who shot the film entirely in his hometown city of Melbourne, Australia.  “The one memory that stands out the most for me happened when we were filming in an area where I used to live in Melbourne,” recalls Whannell.  “We had found this old technical school that had closed down and was lying abandoned.  There were so many rooms of such different sizes in the building that we ended up using it as a kind of back-lot for so many of the scenes.  We turned rooms there into a morgue, a dive bar, a minimalist loft apartment.”

“This building was next door to a pub called The Tote,” continues Whannell.  “It’s kind of a legendary music venue in Australia; it’s beautifully grimy and grungy, and it almost exclusively hosts rock ‘n’ roll and punk bands.  It’s the CBGB’s of Melbourne, if you will.  It just so happened that I shot my student film at The Tote, when I was nineteen.  It was called The Demise of Fallon Thomas, and it wasn’t very good. I remember thinking, during the making of this student epic, that perhaps directing wasn’t for me. On the first night of shooting Upgrade at this back-lot, I got to set early and snuck off to The Tote for a drink.  I was sitting at the bar and just thinking of that younger version of me—so nervous and convinced that I was terrible at filmmaking—and contrasting it with the fact that I was now shooting a sci-fi movie with a crew of hundreds right next door!  It was a moment of true perspective—about how far I’d come and how lucky I was. It brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eye.  Upon telling the story to the bartender, the drink was on the house.”

Upgrade is scheduled for theatrical release on June 1, 2018.

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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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