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iHorror Exclusive: Graffiti Artist JPS is Banksy for the Horror Set

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JPS

In 2009, graffiti artist JPS was homeless. He had serious drug and alcohol issues, and his life was spiraling out of control. He had no idea that his life was about to change, however, and it all started with a trip to the Bristol Museum.

The museum was featuring an installation of artwork by famed, anonymous graffiti artist Banksy, and it was exactly what JPS needed.

“I do credit Banksy with probably saving my life,” he says. “[The exhibition] made me realize how I’d thrown my life away so I sought help with addiction and began teaching myself art.  Even though I was inspired by him, though, I never wanted to be him…I hate politics.”

JPS was soon stretching his artistic muscles, but it wasn’t until he visited Barrow Gurney, an abandoned mental hospital in Bristol that, if you’ll pardon the pun, horror entered the picture.

“The place was creepy as hell,” JPS remarks, “and perfect place to do some horror street art. I knew that adding this type of image to this type of location would scare the crap out of people.”

As word got around, people began to flock to Barrow Gurney to see the artists work up close and it was at this point that he began to really make a name for himself. Unfortunately, Barrow Gurney has since been demolished, but photos of the artist’s work there still exist..

Ash on the walls of the now-demolished Barrow Gurney

The artist points out here that he takes great care with placement of his images. Painting on a major thoroughfare might earn yourself more recognition, but if it doesn’t serve the art, then something is lost. In fact, he says that he rarely photographs his work up close because he considers everything in the setting to be part of the art.

So, how does he create these images?

Well, a great magician doesn’t reveal all his secrets, but JPS did say that he creates stencils to use when he can as it seriously cuts down on the time it takes to create a piece. This is crucial because he doesn’t often ask for permission to do what he’s about to do.

These handmade stencils allow a showcase piece like the Xenomorph below to be painted quickly and efficiently. In fact, JPS says the Xenomorph was completed in just one hour!

Now that’s impressive…

It’s not all large scale projects, however. One of my favorites JPS shared with me was of a trash bin with everyone’s favorite sophisticated cannibal perfectly placed on the back!

JPS left many works on the walls of his native Weston-super-Mare, UK before moving to Germany. He’s spent his time since then adding his horror flare to the landscapes of Norway and Germany, and he is currently scouting locations for a large horror project, and, he says, his fans are going to be very impressed!

To stay up to date on the artist’s work, you can follow him on Facebook and on his Instagram account @Jps_artist to keep up with his latest images!

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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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