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ScareLA: ‘Killer Kate!’ Is a Fun Comedy of Deadly Errors
The home invasion sub-genre has long since been a staple of horror movies. The idea of someone breaking into your home to try and kill your or worse is a primal, human fear that makes for some interesting stories and has been a tenet of the slasher movie as well. While at ScareLA this year, I was fortunate enough to catch an early screening of one such home invasion flick with a lot of twists and turns, Killer Kate! Exclamation point included.
The story follows Kate (Alexandra Feld) as she begrudgingly joins her estranged sister Angie (Danielle Burgess) and her friends Sara (Amaris Davidson) and Mel (Abby Eiland) for a bachelorette party in the mountains over Halloween for some drinks, cake… and murder. For their own twisted goals, a sinister family are planning on killing the party and the guests dead, not accounting for Kate to give them some hell in return!
Directed by Elliot Feld, Killer Kate! is a home invasion film more in line with a Coen Brothers movie rather than Peckinpah. Unlike a lot of these types of stories, we watch as Kate and company travel to the dangerous cabin simultaneously with the cadre of killers preparing to slaughter them… and their many faults. The bumbling family is sent by their intimidating patriarch, Briskman (Robert Donovan) with the direction led by the anxious, neurotic son, Jimmy (Grant Lyon) who repeatedly states his hesitation about murder. They poison wine bottles, they arm themselves with blades and makeshift weapons. Jimmy’s brother Terry (Brandon Bales) even makes a baseball bat covered with barbed wire he brands ‘Kate’. Small world. But it does give us a perspective fo the killers and shows they’re not too bright at murder, and like something out of Fargo, they are in way over their heads.
Right off the bat, it’s easy to tell that Kate’s going to be our ‘Final Girl’ and she does a well enough in earning the role as the intensity and thrills ratchet up. There’s some decent dialogue between Kate and Angie as they settle their distanced relationship, though that particular sub-plot doesn’t quite fit succinctly with the story, and the first half drags a bit in places. But once all hell breaks loose at the cabin because of Terry’s homicidal enthusiasm, it’s a bloody good time. Each character getting a highlight as the killers plans crumble and the bachelorette party descends into chaos. Especially when the pizza delivery guy (Ashton Jordann Ruiz) gets dragged into the madness.
The film’s modest budget is an easy tell, but it has a lot of heart and a lot of effort can be plainly seen. Jimmy having to rein his psycho siblings in from damaging the premises for certain reasons, but more than likely due to pragmatic production purposes. There’s also a fantastic 80’s style synth score by John E. Hopkins that has a definite John Carpenter influence to really set the mood.
While Killer Kate! isn’t exactly groundbreaking in terms of home invasion movies, it does bring a lot of fun and grim laughs. If you’re looking for some indie horror that stands on it’s own, watch the story of how Kate turns into Killer Kate!
Killer Kate! is comes out October 26th, 2018.
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Editorial
7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch
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)
Ghostface (2021)
Ghost Face (2023)
Don’t Scream (2022)
Scream: A Fan Film (2023)
The Scream (2023)
A Scream Fan Film (2023)
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Movies
Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month
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.
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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Movies
Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released
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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