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Baby, It’s Cold Outside: The Sub-Zero Terror of Winter Isolation

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winter isolation

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, apparently, which for a lot of us (writing from the winter wasteland of Canada here) means stocking up, hunkering down, and trying to get from point A to point B with all extremities frostbite-free.

Winter is a pain in the ass as is, but when your only safe haven from freezing temperatures is suddenly compromised by a mysterious and murderous force, well, damn. That is problematic.

The terror of extended winter isolation is a theme throughout the horror genre – as seen in The Shining, The Thing, Pod, 30 Days of Night, and Black Mountain Side – but it usually acts as a component of the action rather than the catalyst.

There’s an added monstrous feature – whether human or something more overtly sinister – that jump-starts the fear that has already been creeping through the cold and oppressive atmosphere.

Arctic abandonment is an answer to the obvious solutions of “Why don’t you just leave?” or “Call for help!” in a way that is far more believable and understandable than “Oh no my phone isn’t working in the middle of this forest that is probably about a half hour away from civilization”.

Communication is complicated, running to a neighbor’s house is actually impossible, and paranoia is at an all-time-high when you’ve got nothing to do but sit around and suspect everyone else of foul play. Danger could very well be lurking around every corner, and frankly, there aren’t many places to hide.

A classic example of winter-themed horror is Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Isolation goes hand-in-hand with paranoia – it ends up being more of a warning sign for the audience than the characters directly involved. When the hotel is occupied and busy it is non-threatening, but as soon as the Torrance family is left alone with the reminder that no-one is there to help them, shit goes a bit sideways.

There’s a healthy combination of internal and external factors – Jack Torrance brings his owns issues in but the Overlook Hotel certainly stirs the pot – and the extended period of seclusion puts a lot of pressure on an already difficult scenario.

A relatively recent example of sub-zero horror is Nick Szostakiwskyj’s Black Mountain Side. The setup is simple but the results are effective; A group working at an archeological site in Northern Canada unearth a bizarre structure and are plagued with odd illness, malfunctioning communications equipment, and hallucinations that guide them to paranoia and violence.

It’s an excellent love letter to John Carpenter’s The Thing, skillfully made with a great tracking shot to start the film’s climax. The extended moments of calm are pierced by violent discoveries that give a swift kick to the pacing – though the film doesn’t waste any time in kicking off the plot points.

The distrust that builds between the characters is well played – as some of the workers retreat early, the remaining group tries to hold out to get the job done, but it’s clear they’re starting to fray – and the breaks between scenes to demonstrate the passing of time give a good sense of how quickly things can turn.

There are some beautiful establishing shots at the opener that show just how remote they are (in Northern Canada, no one can hear you scream). The ending is abrupt and bleak to echo the stark landscape. It’s a new winter staple for me and it definitely makes me feel better about bundling up to seek out rations. I mean, things could be a lot worse.

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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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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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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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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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