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Review: Zak Bagans’ ‘Demon House’

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Love him or hate him, Zak Bagans like any street magician can put on a great show, he even has a museum in Las Vegas. That tells you a little about where his brand fits in and the celebrity he gives off.

But Bagans is no magician, in fact, he probably would hate that analogy. Still, it’s hard to look at his hulking frame, Tapout-style clothing, flat-ironed hair and artificially tinted skin and not think of any famous modern Vegas magician.

Bagans is a reality TV ghost hunter. His show Ghost Adventures has become a cult favorite, and despite its potboiler framework, Bagans was the first to antagonize spirits via extreme male posturing.

Perhaps his biggest piece of richly hyped Vegas-style entertainment to date has played out over the past three years when the paranormal researcher bought a house in Indiana which he then had demolished two years later.

It was a media sensation, and a great example of how Bagans can grab ahold of a zeitgeist he created and keep them wanting more.

His latest film Demon House is a documentary about that house in Indiana and why he bought it sight unseen only to destroy it later on.

This film brings Bagans back to his documentary roots which started with a stand-alone film called “Ghost Adventures” back in 2004. That movie was the basis for his highly successful TV show of the same name on the Travel Channel.

Your first hint that Bagans is more Walt Dismal than Walt Disney, is in the form of an ominous disclaimer at the beginning of Demon House that says if you watch it you are putting yourself in danger because the demons depicted within can attach themselves to humans “through other people, objects, and electronic devices.” That latter part is as effective a gimmick as anything P.T. Barnum could have dreamed up or even William Castle for that matter.

Demon House begins with a dream. A vision Bagans has one night of coming face-to-face with a demon. He enters a door and there before him is a tall goat-headed figure emitting “black smoke” which in the dream Bagans says he inhales.

Shortly after that, Bagans discovers there is a house in Gary, Indiana which claims a local family is being “Tormented by Demons” in what they deem a “Hell House.”

Bagans for whatever reason buys the house “sight unseen” and thus begins the great paranormal hype construct of Demon House.

But don’t sell this documentary short, it has plenty of things to keep you intrigued, creeped-out, and offers the most personal look at Bagans to date.

Having bought the house, Bagans receives a warning from a psychic friend saying there is a demonic presence in the house which scores about “8 out of 10” on the demonic scale. The wink-free text begins: “Hey bro hope you’re alright and not possessed already…” That’s quite a greeting.

Zak regrets not taking his friend’s advice to “be careful.” Driven by the need to learn more about the house leads Zak to the former leasees who have since moved out and want nothing to do with the media attention their story has recently generated.

Bagans persists and finds out where they live, but none of them want to see him because they fear the ghost hunter is polluted with the evil of the house.

Luckily one family member is willing to go on-camera, at the risk of being banished by his kin for shaking the documentarian’s hand.

There are tales of swarms of flies gathering in the house during the dead of winter, the local church telling the family to leave and mediums espousing over 200 demons are also on the lease gives the small A-frame quite the local reputation.

The family member recounts how the children suddenly became affected and acted out violently. These allegations generated curiosity and concern from child protective services, and one case worker’s life would change forever in her documented eyewitness account.

In fact, everyone who enters this house leaves with a curse. Some experience bad luck, illness and in some cases death. Thus the warning at the beginning of this film which covers the filmmakers’ asses should you decide to watch and boulder falls on you.

It’s all very bleak and filmed in a washed-out bluish hue culminating into the reason why Bagans would have the house destroyed.

Go Pros abound in Demon House, a true sign that Bagans is at the helm. Also, his signature re-enactments have children actors growling in demonic death rattles and flying up walls in a hospital room, all witnessed by staff and one CPS official.

Underneath it all, there is a scary story here, whether you believe it’s supernatural or not. Bagans, of course, has his own beliefs and this film is geared toward them which ultimately lead to the fate of the residence.

I think this is the first film in which I truly got to know the filmmaker. Despite his over-the-top celebrity, handsome exterior, and bad boy attitude, Zak is extremely private about his personal life. Demon House gives him a bit of curb appeal.

He even questions whether his investigation is a wild goose chase, the result of mass hysteria or just a hoax. A visit from a former tenant who brings her children feels a little bit like fame seeking, but this starts Zak on his own investigation in which he states, “shit got crazy.”

Bagans is completely vulnerable in Demon House. He’s got to be; he just bought a house for $35,000 in a highly publicized transaction and literally destroys it onscreen.

Those who follow him know he’s had trouble with spirits in the past. This time it gets really bad, not only for him but his team members who suffer personality changes and seemingly mindless physical outbursts.

Demon House at its foundation is a good old-fashioned ghost story. It barely goes any further than any one of Bagans’ reality television episodes, but what it does bring is a highly personal journal of the ghost hunter himself, his perseverance and a smoothing over of his rough exterior that exists behind that  “sunglasses at night” persona.

Dismissing Bagans as a showman is really easy. He knows how to edit a good ghost story, he knows what works, he knows when to pull back and when to aggressively move ahead: it makes for great entertainment.

The Knight of night-vision, Bagans is the greatest showman of the supernatural. His floor plan in Demon House includes everything his fans love about his shows, including some aggressive behavior, camera-captured anomalies, EVPs and a dark basement.

But there is also a personal touch to this film that may evoke empathy for Zak and his plight to solve the mysteries of the supernatural, and like any superhero destroys the evil before it can wreak more havoc.

Demon House isn’t going to make a believer out of anyone who isn’t already one, but it will serve as a curiosity for those following the lifelong adventure of a paranormal Ahab looking to face his demonic Moby Dick.

Demon House will be released in select theaters and on VOD services in the US this Friday, March 16, 2018.

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Melissa Barrera Says ‘Scary Movie VI’ Would Be “Fun To Do”

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Melissa Barrera might literally get the last laugh on Spyglass thanks to a possible Scary Movie sequel. Paramount and Miramax are seeing the right opportunity to bring the satirical franchise back into the fold and announced last week one might be in production as early as this fall.

The last chapter of the Scary Movie franchise was almost a decade ago and since the series lampoons thematic horror movies and pop culture trends, it would seem they have a lot of content to draw ideas from, including the recent reboot of slasher series Scream.

Barerra, who starred as final girl Samantha in those movies was abruptly fired from the latest chapter, Scream VII, for expressing what Spyglass interpreted as “antisemitism,” after the actress came out in support of Palestine on social media.

Even though the drama wasn’t a laughing matter, Barrera might get her chance to parody Sam in Scary Movie VI. That is if the opportunity arises. In an interview with Inverse, the 33-year-old actress was asked about Scary Movie VI, and her reply was intriguing.

“I always loved those movies,” the actress told Inverse. “When I saw it announced, I was like, ‘Oh, that would be fun. That would be so fun to do.’”

That “fun to do” part could be construed as a passive pitch to Paramount, but that’s open to interpretation.

Just like in her franchise, Scary Movie also has a legacy cast including Anna Faris and Regina Hall. There is no word yet on if either of those actors will appear in the reboot. With or without them, Barrera is still a fan of the comedies. “They have the iconic cast that did it, so we’ll see what goes on with that. I’m just excited to see a new one,” she told the publication.

Barrera is currently celebrating the box office success of her latest horror movie Abigail.

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Thrills and Chills: Ranking ‘Radio Silence’ Films from Bloody Brilliant to Just Bloody

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Radio Silence Films

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella are all filmmakers under the collective label called Radio Silence. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are the primary directors under that moniker while Villella produces.

They have gained popularity over the past 13 years and their films have become known as having a certain Radio Silence “signature.” They are bloody, usually contain monsters, and have breakneck action sequences. Their recent film Abigail exemplifies that signature and is perhaps their best film yet. They are currently working on a reboot of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York.

We thought we would go through the list of projects they have directed and rank them from high to low. None of the movies and shorts on this list are bad, they all have their merits. These rankings from top to bottom are just ones we felt showcased their talents the best.

We didn’t include movies they produced but didn’t direct.

#1. Abigail

An update to the second film on this list, Abagail is the natural progression of Radio Silence’s love of lockdown horror. It follows in pretty much the same footsteps of Ready or Not, but manages to go one better — make it about vampires.

Abigail

#2. Ready or Not

This film put Radio Silence on the map. While not as successful at the box office as some of their other films, Ready or Not proved that the team could step outside their limited anthology space and create a fun, thrilling, and bloody adventure-length film.

Ready or Not

#3. Scream (2022)

While Scream will always be a polarizing franchise, this prequel, sequel, reboot — however you want to label it showed just how much Radio Silence knew the source material. It wasn’t lazy or cash-grabby, just a good time with legendary characters we love and new ones who grew on us.

Scream (2022)

#4 Southbound (The Way Out)

Radio Silence tosses their found footage modus operandi for this anthology film. Responsible for the bookend stories, they create a terrifying world in their segment titled The Way Out, which involves strange floating beings and some sort of time loop. It’s kind of the first time we see their work without a shaky cam. If we were to rank this entire film, it would remain at this position on the list.

Southbound

#5. V/H/S (10/31/98)

The film that started it all for Radio Silence. Or should we say the segment that started it all. Even though this isn’t feature-length what they managed to do with the time they had was very good. Their chapter was titled 10/31/98, a found-footage short involving a group of friends who crash what they think is a staged exorcism only to learn not to assume things on Halloween night.

V/H/S

#6. Scream VI

Cranking up the action, moving to the big city and letting Ghostface use a shotgun, Scream VI turned the franchise on its head. Like their first one, this film played with canon and managed to win over a lot of fans in its direction, but alienated others for coloring too far outside the lines of Wes Craven’s beloved series. If any sequel was showing how the trope was going stale it was Scream VI, but it managed to squeeze some fresh blood out of this nearly three-decade mainstay.

Scream VI

#7. Devil’s Due

Fairly underrated, this, Radio Silence’s first feature-length film, is a sampler of things they took from V/H/S. It was filmed in an omnipresent found footage style, showcasing a form of possession, and features clueless men. Since this was their first bonafide major studio job it’s a wonderful touchstone to see how far they have come with their storytelling.

Devil’s Due

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Perhaps the Scariest, Most Disturbing Series of The Year

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You may have never heard of Richard Gadd, but that will probably change after this month. His mini-series Baby Reindeer just hit Netflix and it’s a terrifying deep dive into abuse, addiction, and mental illness. What is even scarier is that it’s based on Gadd’s real-life hardships.

The crux of the story is about a man named Donny Dunn played by Gadd who wants to be a stand-up comedian, but it’s not working out so well thanks to stage fright stemming from his insecurity.

One day at his day job he meets a woman named Martha, played to unhinged perfection by Jessica Gunning, who is instantly charmed by Donny’s kindness and good looks. It doesn’t take long before she nicknames him “Baby Reindeer” and begins to relentlessly stalk him. But that is just the apex of Donny’s problems, he has his own incredibly disturbing issues.

This mini-series should come with a lot of triggers, so just be warned it is not for the faint of heart. The horrors here don’t come from blood and gore, but from physical and mental abuse that go beyond any physiological thriller you may have ever seen.

“It’s very emotionally true, obviously: I was severely stalked and severely abused,” Gadd said to People, explaining why he changed some aspects of the story. “But we wanted it to exist in the sphere of art, as well as protect the people it’s based on.”

The series has gained momentum thanks to positive word-of-mouth, and Gadd is getting used to the notoriety.

“It’s clearly struck a chord,” he told The Guardian. “I really did believe in it, but it’s taken off so quickly that I do feel a bit windswept.”

You can stream Baby Reindeer on Netflix right now.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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