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‘Scare Package’ is a Fun and Fantastic Love Letter to Horror Anthology

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I’m a huge fan of anthologies, and this year, I have had the opportunity to watch several of them. However, it was one wild-ass meta ride of an anthology titled Scare Package that became my favorite anthology of the last couple of years due to its playfulness, heart and pastiche of 80’s horror.

Scare Package has its tongue firmly placed in cheek with its opening story, ‘Cold Open,’ directed by Emily Hagins (Grow Up Tony Phillips). The story revolves around a dude that very much understands that his job in daily life is to offer a generic cold open day in and day out. Tired of the rigmarole, he decides to take steps to become more than a cold open character and someone that might have more a pivotal role in life. Of course this comes with hilarious and deadly consequences.

It’s a nice setup and sets a clear blueprint of the sort of horror-beholden shenanigans the audience is in store for. From Cold Open we are lead into the wrap-around portion of Scare Package and, man is it a fun one.  It takes place in a video store owned by a Joe Bob Briggs obsessed dude named Rad Chad. Each of the following segments in the anthology are introduced through this particular group of video store employees. It gives the entire structure of the anthology a creative and unique approach to its core.

Scare Package does a nice job of delivering the goods with a completely eclectic selection of stories, that could have easily been akin to randomly selecting videos from your local video store on a Saturday night. In fact, the film speaks to that singularly special feeling of sharing random, bloody video store picks and enjoying them with friends over the weekend. That is of course back when video stores were a ubiquitous thing.

Scare Package

For example, One Time in the Woods is a perfectly goopy and hilarious ride that would have fit in very well with the school of Troma. In this one, a group of friends out attempting to camp in the woods is interrupted by a slime gloppola monster and a serial killer. There are some great comedy bits and gags, but the real MVP is the incredible practical makeup effects that ramp up throughout.

Noah Segan (Knives Out) writes, acts and directs in a straight up werewolf story titled M.I.S.T.E.R. I can definitely say that you have never seen any werewolf story like this werewolf story. It’s got the wolfouts and gore that you would hope for and all, but it’s message is really smart and entirely poignant for our current climate.

Horror Hypothesis is the big red bow on the entire run of Scare Package. Directed by Aaron Koontz (Camera Obscura), this entry takes the characters from the wrap around and places them into a seriously hilarious love letter to a bevy of slasher films.  In this one, a group of folks have to escape The Devil’s Lake Impaler (think Jason Voorhees) while adhering closely to the unwritten rules of a slasher. It’s full of winks and nods to some memorable moments from horror history and a big fuckin surprise in the shape of bigger than life Joe Bob Briggs briefly dropping in to assist in battling The Impaler.

You can seriously feel the passionate reverence for horror throughout Scare Package. I know without question these select filmmakers were at the video store picking up as many horror films as they were allowed in a weekend during their youth. That sort of history and love for the genre is bleeding through the screen in unique ways in each of Scare Package’s segments. That sort of thing comes with a two-fisted approach of pure honesty and not holding anything back, and the film is all the better for it.

The most charming thing about horror anthologies is the ability to offer a cup of tea to everyone. Each story recalling youthful bedtime, or campfire stories; these scares feel like an old friend. Scare Package is a resolute, fun and meta take on horror anthologies as a whole. It offers the most meta wormhole that we may have ever traveled through as an audience of anthology fare. It also offers up a group of filmmakers that are made up of the same ilk that made magic possible in anthologies like Creepshow and Tales from the Crypt. Its overt honesty to the genre and the blast I had watching it will keep me coming back to re-watch and show as many like minded friends as possible.

Scare Package

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Childhood Memories Collide in New Horror Film ‘Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble’

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It looks like ITN Studious and Jagged Edge Productions are going the Avengers: Infinity War route with their upcoming film Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. From the deranged mind of Rhys Frake-Waterfield (Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey) comes this belligerent mash up of beloved childhood icons.

According to an article out of Variety today, Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble will consist of Winnie the Pooh, Bambi, Tinkerbell, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Tigger, Piglet, The Mad Hatter, and Sleeping Beauty. All of these iconic figured will be warped into nightmarish versions of their former selves. Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble is set to be released upon the world sometime in 2025.

Poohniverse

Actor-producer Scott Chambers (Malevolent) had the following to say about Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. “As horror fans, we would love an Avengers that is all villains. It’d have Freddy Krueger, Jason, ‘Halloween,’ ‘Scream,’ all of those. Obviously that will never happen, but we can make it happen in our own little way, and that’s where this film has been born.”

Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble will be a part of The Twisted Childhood Universe. Just like the MCU, each character will first get a standalone film. After introductions are made, they will be reunited in an Avengers style film. Although they will be killing off the survivors from the previous films, they won’t be working together.

Chambers describes this as an “epic sequences of monster vs. monster.” And I don’t know what more fans could ask of the studio. This fantastical idea is a huge risk but Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble sounds amazing.

That’s all the information we have at this time. Check back here for more updates on Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. If you haven’t already, check out the trailer for Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 below.

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Blumhouse’s ‘The Wolf Man’ Reboot Kicks Off Production with Leigh Whannell at the Helm

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Blumhouse Productions has officially commenced filming its reboot of the Universal Monsters legend, “Wolf Man”. Under the direction of Leigh Whannell, known for his acclaimed work on “The Invisible Man” (2020), the project promises to breathe new life into the iconic tale. The film is slated for a theatrical release on October 25th, marking a new chapter in the storied franchise.

Wolf Man

The journey of a “Wolf Man” reboot began in 2020 when actor Ryan Gosling presented a fresh take on the classic story to Universal. This concept quickly evolved into a screenplay crafted by the talented duo Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who are known for their work on “Orange Is the New Black,” alongside contributions from Whannell and Corbett Tuck. The narrative is set in contemporary times, drawing inspiration from the atmospheric tension of Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Nightcrawler,” albeit with a distinct supernatural twist.

The film has seen its share of directorial and casting shifts, with Whannell initially signing on to direct in 2020, only to step away and then return to the project after Ryan Gosling and director Derek Cianfrance exited. The lead roles have been filled by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, both of whom bring significant talent to the screen. Abbott portrays a man whose family faces the terror of a lethal predator, with Garner likely playing his wife, sharing in the familial peril. The storyline also hints at a daughter named Ginger, adding a layer of depth to the family’s harrowing experience.

Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott

This reboot represents a collaboration between Blumhouse and Motel Movies, with Jason Blum producing. Ryan Gosling remains involved as an executive producer, alongside Ken Kao, Bea Sequeira, Mel Turner, and Whannell himself. The announcement of the film’s production start was made by Jason Blum, who shared an exciting glimpse of Whannell on set, signaling the beginning of what is hoped to be a memorable addition to the horror genre.

As the “Wolf Man” reboot moves forward, fans and newcomers alike are eager to see how this modern interpretation will pay homage to its roots while offering a fresh and thrilling experience. With a talented cast and crew at the helm, the film is poised to reintroduce the timeless tale of transformation and terror to a new generation.

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‘Immaculate’ Stars Reveal Which Horror Villains They Would “F, Marry, Kill”

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Sydney Sweeney is just coming off the success of her rom-com Anyone But You, but she’s ditching the love story for a horror story in her latest film Immaculate.

Sweeney is taking Hollywood by storm, portraying everything from a love-lusting teenager in Euphoria to an accidental superhero in Madame Web. Although the latter got a lot of hate among theater-goers, Immaculate is getting the polar opposite.

The film was screened at SXSW this past week and was well-received. It also gained a reputation for being extremely gory. Derek Smith of Slant says the, “final act contains some of the most twisted, gory violence this particular subgenre of horror has seen in years…”

Thankfully curious horror movie fans won’t have to wait long to see for themselves what Smith is talking about as Immaculate will hit theaters across the United States on March, 22.

Bloody Disgusting says that the movie’s distributor NEON, in a bit of marketing smarts, had stars Sydney Sweeney and Simona Tabasco play a game of “F, Marry, Kill” in which all their choices had to be horror movie villains.

It’s an interesting question, and you might be surprised at their answers. So colorful are their responses that YouTube slapped an age-restricted rating on the video.

Immaculate is a religious horror movie that NEON says stars Sweeney, “as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Cecilia’s warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.”

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