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Whatever Happened to Rob Zombie’s Remake of ‘The Blob’?

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With The Blob remake announcement coming out yesterday, it was mentioned that the remake was first announced back in 2015. Seems like forever ago, but sometimes it takes awhile for things to get off the ground, but for some reason my brain started digging around and I thought, “hey, wasn’t Rob Zombie going to do The Blob remake at one point?” Rob’s a man who makes the horror news often, so I wasn’t sure if I was remembering something incorrectly or if at one point I was trolled. Nevertheless, I did some digging and sure enough…

Yup, he was.

It actually predates the previous 2015 announcement all the way back to 2009 (wow, weird that date is now considered “all the way back”) after his Halloween II film had been released. However, his version of The Blob, which was going to be written and directed by him, was going to very different from what people might think of when they think of The Blob. For starters, it wouldn’t feature a killer blob, citing to Variety (I had to use an MTV News link seeing as the Variety article was nowhere to be found) that today’s audience may not find a giant gelatinous thing scary.

“My intention is not to have a big red blobby thing, that’s the first thing I want to change,” he said. “That gigantic Jello-looking thing might have been scary to audiences in the 1950s, but people would laugh now. I have a totally different take, one that’s pretty dark.”

Okay, so why call it The Blob? I disagree that it wouldn’t be scary, I mean, let’s look at the ’80s remake of The Blob. That was pretty damn scary and the effects were amazing. In another article from Film School Rejects from around the same time, they reported on the exact same thing while poking fun at the musician and director. There was no mention of a cast or anything like that, but it was said that the budget was $30 million and it was to be, of course, rated R. So, whatever happened to it? Some sort of falling out or maybe the studio wasn’t interested in the direction he wanted to take it? The Blob was to be released by Dimension Films, who had just released Rob’s Halloween II, so he was currently working with them at the time, but according to an interview with The Playlist via JoBlo from 2013, he didn’t have kind words to say about his experience there.

“I really like those films. I didn’t have a good time making them. It was actually a kind of miserable experience. Anytime they vary from the format is when I really like them.”

So, what exactly happened and why did the film never happen? Let’s hear it from Rob in the same interview.

“The Blob was going to happen. I was dealing with people on the movie, even though I was on the fence about doing anything that was considered a remake again. I really didn’t like the idea of that, but just as I went down the road further with the producers and the guys that owned the property, I didn’t feel good about the situation and I just walked away from it. My gut told me this was not a good place to be.”

So there you have it. I gotta say, following up a remake with a remake seems like a bad idea. I mean, even though Alexandre Aja did High Tension which I love, he did a string of remakes and became known as “the remake guy.” Sometimes it’s best you walk away and maybe it’s best we never got this version.

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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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