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First Look! Alexander Skarsgard as Randall Flagg in ‘The Stand’

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The book to television adaptation of The Stand penned by Stephen King moves forward! Vanity Fair released the first pictures of the CBS All Access mini series of Randall Flagg, the story’s demonic and sweet tongued villain.

Initial speculation predicted the role was going to land actor Matthew McConaughey as ‘The Man in Black.’ After all, McConaughey did portray the character in 2017’s film The Dark Tower , also penned by King. However, it has recently been revealed that Alexander Skarsgard will be beckoning the somewhat misfit cast of characters to the dark side in the new adaptation of the 1978 novel.

Alexander Skarsgard as Randall Flagg in ‘The Stand.’ Picture by Robert Flaconer/CBS

For many, the 6’4 Swedish actor was first noticed as vampire Eric Northman in HBO’s True Blood. The suave and powerful vampire had just as much a pull over the fans as he did his victims in the 6 season series. Some of that charm will certainly be used in his new role.

When reflecting on the character of Randall Flagg, executive producer Taylor Emlore told Vanity Fair;

“[Flagg is] so charming and he’s so handsome, and so powerful – I mean genuinely powerful, able to perform these sorts of miracles where he could levitate himself and he has these actual powers… and yet he needs this adulation and this kind of worship from these people whom he’s summoned to him. He needs to have them make a show all the time of how grateful they are to him.”

Benjamin Cavell, executive producer with Elmore, boldly added. “And there’s something fundamentally weak about that. Does it remind you of someone you know?”

Alexander Skarsgard as Randall Flagg and Nat Wolff as Lloyd Henreid in ‘The Stand.’ Picture by Robert Flaconer/CBS

There are indeed many similarities to our current world situation. The novel begins with a man made virus being accidentally released onto the world, killing 99% of the population. Those who survive are left to choose their path in their new, dystopian world. They can either follow Randall Flagg into darkness as well as the indulgences of the present, self, and sin, or they can rise above and walk a more righteous path with Mother Abigail (portrayed by Whoopie Goldberg) and start to build a world together for the benefit of each other as well as for the future of civilization.

Whoopie Goldberg as Mother Abigail in ‘The Stand.’ Picture by Robert Flaconer/CBS

Goldberg speaks to Vanity Fair of her own character, Mother Abigail;

“She is very, very righteous and very good. But really flawed I feel. I’ve been fighting with not making her the Magic Negro, because she’s complicated.”

While we are nowhere near that amount of human lives lost and world devastation, nor was our own pandemic made in a lab, we are facing a virus that is ravaging our country and the world at large. We are being forced to make choices we never thought we would have to in our lifetime. We are fighting and carving out paths we didn’t initially think we would take ten years ago. Many of us are being brave and making a stand in our beliefs of how we will live day to day, as well as move forward in this quickly and ever changing world.

Owen Teague as Harold Lauder and Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith in ‘The Stand.’ Picture by Robert Flaconer/CBS

Much like the characters in King’s book, we are in a world we were not prepared for. This is not the world we were promised as children. This is not a world we were expecting to enter upon leaving college. However, we have to be strong and stand together, and while the irony is strong that the CBS All Access miniseries is coming out during our own real life pandemic, perhaps there is no better time for The Stand.

 

Soon the ‘The Commpany of the Mad: The Stand Podcast’ will be debuting a six part series discussing the book.  Every episode Jason Sechrest, Mike Flanagan, Tananarive Due, and Anthony Breznican will discuss a 200 page installment of the book.  The show will begin May 29, so get reading!  Read more about the podcast event here!

Read Vanity Fair’s article here

Be sure to read more about CBS All Access remake of The Stand on iHorror as more is to come!

 

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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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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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