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Stay Out of the Woods: 3 Movies to Make You Rethink Camping

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The woods are lovely, dark, and deep… but they’re also creepy as hell so you should probably just avoid them. There have been many cautionary tales of why one should avoid the cabin in the woods scenario, but take away the relative safety of four walls and a roof (and plumbing), and things can go sideways very quickly.

Being alone in the woods can be scary, but the possibility that you’re not all alone is even more terrifying.

Man Vs.

Have you ever watched one of those Man Vs. Wild type survivor-man shows and wondered what the hell they would do if shit just hit the proverbial fan? Man Vs. does exactly that. Doug Woods (Chris Diamantopoulos), a “survival expert”, hosts a tv show using just the gear that he is left with. His support team is nearby, but he is – in every sense – on his own. Or so he thinks. He wakes up in the middle of his first night to a loud crash and things get progressively stranger and more dangerous. The woods create an isolation here that emphasizes Doug’s confusion and increasing fear. He’s completely helpless and he’s in way over his head.

The Interior

A listless young man, upon learning he is ill, leaves his job, girlfriend and city behind, and ventures alone into the British Columbia interior, bringing his fears and anxieties with him. The scenes in the woods are dialogue-free and mostly silent (except for the score of classical music) which adds a heavy weight to his journey. Beautifully shot, The Interior really highlights the terror of being completely and hopelessly isolated and knowing that someone unseen is out there with you. Each time our protagonist is cautious of another presence, he retreats deeper into the wilderness. The shots are so wide and open, yet it’s somehow claustrophobic. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but the atmosphere creates a tension that crawls over you.

The Blair Witch Project

Of course this is on the list. Stay with me here, though. I’ve included the original over the 2016 sequel because just about everything that happens to our unfortunate campers is more grounded in reality. The 2016 film had the effective horrors of forever darkness, time manipulation, a hands-on Blair Witch and that terrifying tunnel, but I wasn’t worried about that happening on my next camping trip.

The 1999 film used increasing levels of horror that seemed feasible. If you were camping and heard someone throwing rocks outside your tent, would you want to investigate, assuming that there’s someone there? Or would you assume there’s a natural – probably squirrel-based – explanation and ignore it? Things can be easily explained away, but The Blair Witch Project gave us a reason to be scared of the unknown. The woods take on a different character at night. Add in the possibility of being hopelessly lost and you’ve got something to be legitimately worried about.

The Blair Witch Project made its mark on the horror genre and built a real and pressing fear out of a few simple ideas. The stick bundles, nighttime noises, quietly disappearing crew and the image of someone silently facing a corner weren’t overly complex, but they were extremely effective. If you were nervous about camping before you first saw this movie, you were probably terrified afterwards.

 

Any movies you would add to this list? Tell us in the comments! If you want more outdoorsy horror, head on over to our list of 10 Camping Movies for more.

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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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