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Movie Review: Adam Green’s ‘Digging Up the Marrow’

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Above all else, Adam Green’s Digging Up the Marrow (based on art by Alex Pardee) is fun. It’s bound to appeal much more to genre fans than to the general public, and this is evident right from the beginning as we see appearances from a variety of familiar faces (all playing themselves). These include the late Oderus Urungus (Dave Brockie) from Gwar, Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman and Toxie, Tony Todd, Don Coscarelli, and Dread Central’s Steve Barton. Some other fun cameos appear later.

The film is presented in mockumentary style, and features Green (known for films like Hatchet, its sequels and Frozen as well as the Fearnet series Holliston) and cinematographer Will Barratt as themselves as they set out to make a doc about a man named William Dekker, who claims he has found monsters who live underground. Is he for real, is he full of shit, or is he just crazy? These are the questions the filmmakers are seeking the answers to throughout the movie.

Much of the film plays like we’re just watching a documentary about Green himself. We spend time at his house and at his place of work, and we even follow him to a horror convention. We see a lot of imagery related to his past work ( a Victor Crowley doll, Frozen shirts, Kane Hodder). We’re getting to know Adam as much as we are learning about the monsters and the Marrow.

Ah yes, the Marrow. That’s the name Dekker (played brilliantly by Ray Wise) has given to a hole in the ground at the edge of a cemetery, which serves as the gateway to an underground metropolis (or perhaps metropolises) where the “monsters” live. If the word “Midian” crosses your mind, you’re not alone.

Dekker (hmm, that name sounds really familiar) has become an expert on these monsters over the years, and has plenty of art to show Green, but little in the way of evidence of their existence, so everyone is forced to wonder how true it all is throughout much of the film. While most of the film’s characters are skeptical at best, Green plays the Mulder role with the “I want to believe” approach. As a lifelong monster movie fan, he’s always wanted there to be real-life monsters, and he’s mostly buying into what Dekker is selling. Even when we start to see what Dekker claims are these monsters, the truth remains up in the air.

It’s Wise as Dekker that really sells this movie. His monster stories and descriptions are nearly as creepy as anything we actually see. As a huge Robocop fan, I’ve always liked him, but here he shines as brightly as in any other film I’ve seen him in. He was perfect for this role, and was a great complement to the likable Green who’s on screen for the majority of the time.

If you’re going in expecting a ton of monster screen time, you may be disappointed, but in my opinion, it’s handled just right. Also, if you’re expecting a gorefest, you may want to look elsewhere. That’s not what this is about. If you’re happy to put a bit of your logic on hold and just have some fun looking for monsters with Green and co., I think you’ll enjoy the ride.

Digging Up the Marrow feels closer in tone to a film like Fantasm than to Hatchet or Frozen. It is, after all, a pseudo-documentary. While part of my brain keeps telling me that I’m getting tired of so many genre films using the mockumentary or found footage styles, the more sensible part of my brain reminds me that there are plenty of good films that take these approaches, and tells that other part of my brain to just shut up. I don’t think the former part is going to completely abide, but as long as movies like Digging Up the Marrow, and last year’s The Sacrament and Afflicted continue to entertain and/or disturb, I’m happy to keep patronizing the sub-genre.

I can’t say I found the movie to be the scariest in two decades as the quote in the trailer says (especially since I watched The Canal earlier this week), but as I said at the beginning, it’s just fun. Watch it when you get a chance.

Digging Up the Marrow on Blu-ray is available for pre-order from Amazon.

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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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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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