News
‘Outcast’ Season Two: ‘Ramped-up FX’ says Conor McCullagh
Detached arms, severed torsos and bloody teeth. No this isn’t a crime scene, it’s Conor McCullagh’s work desk in which he creates practical special effects for some of the movie industry’s biggest directors, producers and studios.
Conor tells us a little bit about his current projects which include the next season of critically acclaimed Cinemax exclusive “Outcast” and work-in-progress indie “Faceless.”
That’s the thing about Conor though, he will take on any project whether it be independent film or a big blockbuster movie such as “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”
His company, “Nightmares Etc,” dissolved in 2013, worked on some of the most iconic horror movie villains in history, from Chucky to Freddy and beyond.
He helped bring “The Hunger Games” franchise to life; his work on “Mockingjay Part 1” garnered him an award.
Conor is always busy. And that’s good for us.
The artist’s latest venture, as mentioned before, is the graphic-novel-turned horror series “Outcast,” a project from the creators of “The Walking Dead.”
With one season in the can, fans have been wondering when it’s sophomore year will premiere. Cinemax of course, is not spouting out any details of season two, but Conor talked to us about some of the things devotees can expect.
“Outcast” follows the chronically possessed Kyle Barnes (Patrick Fugit) and his attempts to exorcise the demons which haunt the residents of his hometown Rome, West Virginia.
“Right now, the producers aren’t giving anything away,” he told iHorror. “So it would be unwise for me to get into how the story is evolving, but we do learn a lot more about what’s happening in the town of Rome, and how Kyle Barnes is connected to it.”
As most possession storylines go, there’s plenty of room for Conor to do his magic and season one is filled with his oleaginous handiwork, but we wanted to know about season two, he says get ready for even more repulsion.
“The production has definitely ramped up on the FX,” said Conor, “This season, we brought in Justin Raleigh’s company, Fractured FX, to help with the workload. On season one, I was kind of a one-man department, bringing additional help on a few episodes as needed.”
The Fractured FX team have worked on some of the most critically acclaimed horror movies in recent history: Insidious, The Conjuring, Dark Skies and recently the undervalued Incarnate.
Season two of Outcast, Conor says won’t be for the faint of heart.
“The producers wanted dead bodies, surgery torsos, and a little more graphic makeup effects all the way around,” he explained to us. “Fractured FX is located in LA and was able to do life casts of actors before they flew out to shoot, as well as take on the bigger gags that I would never be able to wrangle on a television schedule.”
In true Hollywood fashion mums the word for big name projects being produced for the large or small screen. His next job is one such production. He didn’t spill the beans, but he did give us a hint.
“Sadly, I cannot go into details about my next project, other than to say I’ll be working for an amazing artist and friend, Mike Marino,” Conor revealed. “His company (Prosthetic Renaissance) has gained a lot of press for the amazing makeups he designs for Heidi Klum, each Halloween. Obviously, I’m very excited!”
The award-winning artist worked on the delayed-release movie “Faceless,” as the key prosthetics sculpturer, but he can’t tell us why that movie hasn’t seen the light of day.
“Hmmm, what can I say about Faceless?” Conor said. “Well it was a smaller indie film that my close friend Megan Areford was department head of. I was brought into design and create a multitude of prosthetics needed for the show. The story is centered around facial transplant surgery, so there were a lot of different looks. At this point, I have no idea what happened to the film. We shot that almost two years ago.”
Cinemax has not given an official announcement about the premiere of “Outcast” season two, only to say that it is “coming soon.” Some have speculated that they want to wait until the end “The Walking Dead” season seven.
Even though Conor can’t give anything away about the plot line, it’s the perfect time to binge on all 10 episodes of “Outcast’s” first season streaming on Amazon and Cinemax’s on-demand app Max Go.
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Movies
Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed
The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.
Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.
The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.
Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”
Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.
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News
Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween
Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.
The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.
“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.
Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.
The prize also includes:
An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings
A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear
A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room
A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course
The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II
Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two
“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”
Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.
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Movies
’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power
Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.
Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.
Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.
There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.
The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.
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