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A Review of Independent Canadian Thriller, ‘Dark Cove’

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The Canadian Film Dark Cove premiered at the 2015 Hot Springs International/Thriller Film Festival along the film’s stars’ writer-director Rob Wiley, Eliot Bayne, Cameron Crosby, Rob Abbate, Montanna McNalley, James Anderson, Jules Cotton, Ty Stokoe and Alexandra Brown. Dark Cove released on August 2nd, 2016 via Video On Demand. This indie Horror, Thriller was filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Synopsis:

Five twenty-something friends go on their annual camping trip to the beautiful rugged coast of Vancouver Island. While catching up and enjoying each other’s company, they run into a British man and two Australian surfers also partying on Sombrio Beach. After a physical confrontation that ends in bloodshed, everything starts to spiral out of control as the Canadian campers are pushed into a grueling fight against man and nature to survive.

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Rob Willey, Rob Abbate, Eliot Bayne

For some odd reason I was really in the mood for a campy horror film, not just the feel, but a story involving campers and a campsite, modern or old. Typically, I take a dose of a few Friday The 13th films, and I call it a night; well that was just not working for me. I needed something over the top that I had not viewed, and along came Dark Cove. Dark Cove proved instantly to be strikingly unique because it was a Canadian made film set in British Columbia on Vancouver Island.

First and foremost, I need to say that there is no need to over-analyze this movie if you do it may be a disappointment. I continued to have an open mind throughout the film, and I enjoyed myself.

The film begins with an edgy situation, and three men are in the midst of the beautiful dark yet eerie woods. The men are disposing of a dead body, and the audience does not know what to expect. After this brief scene, we move to a sunny day and Immediately introduced to the prankster, horn-dog Joey. I promptly was drawn to Joey; he was funny as hell with his crude sexual jokes, quirks, and habits, I was not interested in many other characters at this point. The film did invest a lot of time in Joey more so than any of the other characters. Not knowing what to expect at all from this movie, I was dialed in until character development was taken too far. The film spent about 45-60 minutes of an 84-minute run-time delving into character development to the extreme.  The acting itself was not horrible that alone had a big part in keeping my attention. The interactions between the characters were believable, and I found myself picking out people in my life and making comparisons. The cinematography was stellar, the forest greenery was captured seamlessly along with the beautiful beach, I did feel as though I was there.

When the final act of the film ensues, it is incredible, the story takes an unexpected turn. Everything begins to go seriously wrong after meeting and partying with two Australian Surfers. I am not going to elaborate on this too much as this would burden you of witnessing the surprise of the story, the production team got it right. The final act did make up for the long-lasting character development, and all is forgiven.

Dark Cove comes with the highest of recommends. I am sure that many will not agree with me, but it served the purpose that I need it to, curve my appetite for that campy horror film, and that is exactly what it did. Until next time, stay spooky….

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Dark Cove Official Trailer

 

Dark Cove poster

Get Ready For Camping Season With The Links Below!

Dark Cove Facebook          Dark Cove Twitter          Dark Cove Official Website

Dark Cove – iTunes          Dark Cove – Amazon Instant          Dark Cove – Google Play

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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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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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