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Micah Gallo’s ‘Itsy Bitsy’ Fails to Successfully Spin its Web

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Itsy Bitsy

Micah Gallo’s new eight-legged creature feature Itsy Bitsy is a film that has all the elements needed for a fun popcorn movie. Unfortunately, those elements fail to fully work together to create an entirely enjoyable film.

Based on a story by Gallo with a script he wrote with Bryan Dick, and Jason Alvino, Itsy Bitsy is the story of a woman named Kara (Elizabeth Roberts) who travels halfway across the country with her children Jesse (Arman Darbo) and Cambria (Chloe Perrin) to take a job as an in-home nurse to Walter Clark (Bruce Davison), a man who has spent his life traveling the world, exploring, and collecting exotic treasures.

Now losing his mobility, Walter needs all the help he can get, especially after a mysterious artifact is delivered to his home with a deadly surprise inside: a spider tied to an ancient curse.

On the surface, it’s the perfect setup for a creature feature paying homage to its predecessors like Arachnophobia while creating their world.

Both Davison and Darbo give really great performances. Darbo, in particular, is a young actor to watch. He seems to have a maturity that others his age sometimes lack, and he brings emotional depth to his character in spite of the sometimes uneven writing.

The scenes the actors share are some of the most poignant and emotionally effective in the film.

Likewise, Gallo’s special effects team rose to the occasion, creating practical special effects for his creatures, giving them an interesting texture and allowing the actors to really interact with them during the film.

Unfortunately, where Itsy Bitsy drops the ball is in editing and pacing.

The first two acts of the film bog down repeatedly, dispersing what little tension they manage to build in key moments almost immediately. This makes for a particularly long first hour of the film which unfortunately the viewer cannot quite forget when the action finally does begin to ramp up toward the end.

Gallo manages a couple of genuine moments as Kara faces down the dog-sized spiders in an attempt to save her children, and Denise Crosby (Pet Sematary, 1989) gets to flex a bit as the local sheriff who made a connection with Jesse earlier in the film here.

It’s as if they know how to set up really great moments, but are unsure how to complete them. It’s rather like having that one person you really like asking you out on a date over and over again, but they never show.

The final showdown and denouement ultimately gives way to a somewhat saccharine, optimistic ending that just did not feel genuine given the previous events in the film.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with a horror film with a happy ending. This one simply did not land, mostly because of a couple of gaping plot holes, one of which they attempted to cover in 30-second tag after the family rides away into the sunset.

Gallo and his cast and crew attempted to make a horror film with heart. Sadly, the film’s issues prevented it from solidly landing its emotional message for this reviewer, and without that element the rest just seems to fall flat.

Itsy Bitsy is currently available on multiple streaming platforms and will be available on Blu Ray on October 1, 2019 from Shout Factory so you can watch and decide for yourself.

To learn more about the film, you can visit their official website or give them a follow on their Facebook page. Check out the trailer 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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