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“ThanksKilling” Director Jordan Downey Talks “Turkie” with iHorror.com

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In the 1980’s, holiday themed horror movies were as common as drive-in movie theaters. So it is no wonder that when 80’s horror movie fan and film maker Jordan Downey got together with his college friend Kevin Stewart, they came up with ThanksKilling, a killer idea for the most thankful day of the year.

Now available on Hulu, ThanksKilling enjoys a cult success and boasts a higher-budgeted sequel; ThanksKilling 3 (also available on Hulu). Part two does exist, but only within the confined reality of the psychotropic ThanksKilling 3—Tarantino style.

Movie poster for "ThanksKilling"

Movie poster for “ThanksKilling”

The original film tells the tale of a vengeful turkey named “Turkie”. Turkie is a cursed bird, with a foul-mouth, who is destined to kill every 505 years. Due to an early reawakening by a urinating dog, Turkie rises from his grave and begins his serial killing spree, offing every horror movie archetype ever conceived.

In an exclusive interview with iHorror.com, Director Jordan Downey explains that he and his college mate wanted to pay homage to classic horror films, while keeping it purely B-movie gratifying.

Jordan Downey and Turkie

Jordan Downey and Turkie

“Kevin Stewart and I were juniors in college,” says Downey, “at Loyola Marymount University, and decided we wanted to make a feature film during our summer break. We both grew up loving horror films and were always inventing terrible titles and storylines for the kind of movies that are “so bad they’re good”. So we started down that path… let’s make a low budget horror film and just have fun with it.”

Their brainstorming session was a short one. The two agreed on how they wanted the plot to play out, and what they wanted their tagline to read.

“Our two requirements were it had to be holiday themed,” Downey says, “and had to feature some kind of a silly trash-talking killer. Thanksgiving had never been featured and within minutes of our initial conversation we had the idea for a talking killer turkey and the line “Gobble, Gobble, Motherfucker.” We shot it over our summer break for $3,500, and the rest is history.”

ThanksKilling spoofs many of the popular horror films from the 80’s and 90’s. Some of the fun in the movie is picking out which classic horror films Downey is referencing. For instance, a scene involving Turkie wearing someone’s face as a mask (with a really bad adhesive mustache) is a reference to at least two horror classics.

Turkie uses a classic horror disguise

Turkie uses a classic horror disguise

“Some of our biggest influences were Jack Frost, Uncle Sam and Leprechaun because of the holiday connection. Turkie has a little Freddy in him and there’s some obvious Texas Chain Saw Massacre spoofs in there too. Beyond that, we just pulled from all the common themes seen in horror films especially from the 80’s.”

Although ThanksKilling has horror elements in it, Downey explains that it was born of pure comedy. The irrelevant nature of the film has many influences.

“Even though it’s labeled as a horror/ comedy we always thought of it as a straight up comedy,” Downey says, “There were never any attempts to actually be scary or creepy. We love random humor so if you like shows such as South Park, Wonder Showmen, TV Funhouse or the awesome animation website SickAnimation.com you’ll probably enjoy ThanksKilling.”

The star of the movie, “Turkie”, is actually a hand puppet that Downey voiced and maneuvered himself. With leftover art supplies and a little imagination, Downey created the smart-mouthed bird in his bathroom. Downey explains how he became involved with the voicing and operation of his star.

Killer "selfie"

Killer “selfie”

“I did the voice and the puppeteering, yes,” he says, “I even built the puppet in my apartment bathroom at the time. I had a bunch of leftover clay and latex from my student film that I used to sculpt, mold and paint the turkey with. The body was made out of a hunting decoy and tail feathers we bought on eBay. It was never the plan for me [to] puppeteer or do the voice but I was the cheapest option. We just didn’t have the money or the man power. I enjoy being hands on anyways so I had a blast doing both.”

As with any good horror movie from the 80’s, a wooded location is key to the plot; it provides cover for the killer and plenty of obstacles on which a running vixen can trip.  ThanksKilling, keeping to its potboiler method, used Downey’s childhood home for filming.

“It was shot entirely on location in Licking County, Ohio, where I grew up. A lot of the filming is a blur because we didn’t sleep much! Honestly what I remember the most is how well the cast and crew got along. We all had such a good time together and, while sometimes delirious, we laughed to the point of tears many nights while shooting.”

With its cult status, and audience score of 43% at Rotten Tomatoes, iHorror.com asked Downey if there were any plans to make another sequel.

Part 2 only exists in "ThanksKilling 3

Part 2 only exists in “ThanksKilling 3

“As of now we don’t have any plans for more movies. We’ll never say never though. Kevin and I were so heavily involved in ThanksKilling and ThanksKilling 3, that we’d have to really really want it because they each took up a few years of our lives. We always wanted there to be 20 sequels or something ridiculous like that. Each Thanksgiving, a new ThanksKilling. And we wanted to open it up to a contest where fans or aspiring filmmakers could make their own ThanksKilling with a small budget. We’d just oversee the process. Who knows if that idea will ever come about though.”

"ThanksKilling 3; The first movie to skip its own sequel!"

“ThanksKilling 3; The first movie to skip its own sequel!”

The director may be done with ThanksKilling for now, but he is still hard at work revisiting the 80’s. Downey tells iHorror that he is setting his sights on a popular comedy/horror franchise that is getting a reboot.

“Right now I’m working on a fun little side project that I’m really excited about and I think horror fans are gonna love,” he says, ”It’s a short fan film based on my favorite movie of all time – Critters! We just shot it and I couldn’t be happier with how it looks so far. Keep your eyes peeled for an early 2015 release. Kill more Crites!”

ThanksKilling is a low-budget movie to be sure. For horror fans the mastery is not in how uneasy it makes its viewers by terrifying them, but in how it exposes the banality of the genre. Director Jordan Downey understands that horror fans appreciate recognition, and with ThanksKilling, he honors them by interrogating their knowledge, using inside jokes as a way to tell the audience “he gets it”. What more can you say about a movie that vaunts “There are boobs in the first second!”?

ThanksKilling and ThanksKilling 3 are available, streaming to Hulu subscribers.

 

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New Poster Reveal For Nicolas Cage’s Survival Creature Feature ‘Arcadian’ [Trailer]

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Nicolas Cage Arcadian

In the latest cinematic venture featuring Nicolas Cage, Arcadian emerges as a compelling creature feature, teeming with suspense, horror, and emotional depth. RLJE Films has recently released a series of new images and a captivating poster, offering audiences a glimpse into the eerie and thrilling world of “Arcadian”. Scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, 2024, the film will later be available on Shudder and AMC+, ensuring a wide audience can experience its gripping narrative.

Arcadian Movie Trailer

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given this film an “R” rating for its “bloody images,” hinting at the visceral and intense experience awaiting viewers. The film draws inspiration from acclaimed horror benchmarks like “A Quiet Place,” weaving a post-apocalyptic tale of a father and his two sons navigating a desolate world. Following a catastrophic event that depopulates the planet, the family faces the dual challenge of surviving their dystopian environment and eluding mysterious nocturnal creatures.

Joining Nicolas Cage in this harrowing journey are Jaeden Martell, known for his role in “IT” (2017), Maxwell Jenkins from “Lost in Space,” and Sadie Soverall, featured in “Fate: The Winx Saga.” Directed by Ben Brewer (“The Trust”) and penned by Mike Nilon (“Braven”), “Arcadian” promises a unique blend of poignant storytelling and electrifying survival horror.

Maxwell Jenkins, Nicolas Cage, and Jaeden Martell 

Critics have already begun to praise “Arcadian” for its imaginative monster designs and exhilarating action sequences, with one review from Bloody Disgusting highlighting the film’s balance between emotional coming-of-age elements and heart-pounding horror. Despite sharing thematic elements with similar genre films, “Arcadian” sets itself apart through its creative approach and action-driven plot, promising a cinematic experience filled with mystery, suspense, and relentless thrills.

Arcadian Official Movie Poster

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‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3’ Is a Go with Enhanced Budget and New Characters

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Winnie the Pooh 3

Wow, they’re churning things out fast! The upcoming sequel “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3” is officially moving forward, promising an expanded narrative with a larger budget and the introduction of beloved characters from A.A. Milne’s original tales. As confirmed by Variety, the third installment in the horror franchise will welcome Rabbit, the heffalumps, and the woozles into its dark and twisted narrative.

This sequel is a part of an ambitious cinematic universe that reimagines children’s stories as horror tales. Alongside “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” and its first sequel, the universe includes films such as “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”, “Bambi: The Reckoning,” and “Pinocchio Unstrung”. These movies are set to converge in the crossover event “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble,” slated for a 2025 release.

Winnie the Pooh Poohniverse

The creation of these films was made possible when A.A. Milne’s 1926 children’s book “Winnie-the-Pooh” entered the public domain last year, allowing filmmakers to explore these cherished characters in unprecedented ways. Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers, of Jagged Edge Productions, have led the charge in this innovative endeavor.

The inclusion of Rabbit, heffalumps, and woozles in the upcoming sequel introduces a new layer to the franchise. In Milne’s original stories, heffalumps are imagined creatures resembling elephants, while woozles are known for their weasel-like characteristics and a penchant for stealing honey. Their roles in the narrative remain to be seen, but their addition promises to enrich the horror universe with deeper connections to the source material.

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How to Watch ‘Late Night with the Devil’ from Home: Dates and Platforms

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Late Night With The Devil

For fans eager to dive into one of this year’s most talked-about horror films from the comfort of their own home, “Late Night with the Devil” will be available for streaming exclusively on Shudder starting April 19, 2024. This announcement has been highly anticipated following the film’s successful theatrical release by IFC Films, which saw it earning rave reviews and a record-breaking opening weekend for the distributor.

“Late Night with the Devil” emerges as a standout horror film, captivating audiences and critics alike, with Stephen King himself offering high praise for the 1977-set film. Starring David Dastmalchian, the movie unfolds on Halloween night during a live late-night talk show broadcast that disastrously unleashes evil across the nation. This found footage-style film not only delivers scares but also authentically captures the aesthetic of the 1970s, drawing viewers into its nightmarish scenario.

David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil

The film’s initial box office success, opening to $2.8 million in 1,034 theaters, underscores its wide appeal and marks the highest opening weekend for an IFC Films release. Critically acclaimed, “Late Night with the Devil” boasts a 96% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 135 reviews, with the consensus praising it for rejuvenating the possession horror genre and showcasing David Dastmalchian’s exceptional performance.

Rotten Tomatoes score as of 3/28/2024

Simon Rother of iHorror.com encapsulates the film’s allure, emphasizing its immersive quality that transports viewers back to the 1970s, making them feel as if they are part of the eerie “Night Owls” Halloween broadcast. Rother lauds the film for its meticulously crafted script and the emotional and shocking journey it takes viewers on, stating, “This whole experience will have viewers of the Cairnes brothers’ film glued to their screen… The script, from beginning to end, is neatly sewn together with an ending that’ll have jaws on the floor.” You can read the full review here.

Rother further encourages audiences to watch the film, highlighting its multifaceted appeal: “Whenever it is made available to you, you must attempt to view the Cairnes Brothers’ latest project as it will make you laugh, it will creep you out, it will amaze you, and it might even strike an emotional cord.”

Set to stream on Shudder on April 19, 2024, “Late Night with the Devil” offers a compelling blend of horror, history, and heart. This film is not just a must-watch for horror aficionados but for anyone looking to be thoroughly entertained and moved by a cinematic experience that redefines the boundaries of its genre.

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