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Review: Beautiful Cosmic Horror ‘Starfish’ Explores Grief and Alternate Dimensions

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Starfish

When a mysterious signal from an unknown dimension summons the end of days, it appears as if only Aubrey (Virginia Gardner) is left on earth. Trapped in the apartment of her recently deceased best friend, the only clue she has is a single cassette left behind after her friend’s death, labeled “THIS MIXTAPE WILL SAVE THE WORLD”.

Thrust into a mystery orchestrated by her friend and stricken with grief, Aubrey begins to piece the clues together, uncovering a series of tapes all with pieces of the mystery signal. Along the way, progress is impeded when monstrous creatures begin to overrun the world and enclose in on her. Aubrey is forced to fight off the encroaching creatures and move beyond her own crippling grief in order to find the remaining tapes. But will completing the signal save the world?

The synopsis for Starfish cannot adequately convey the rich and heartfelt world that the film creates. With incredible effects by Marc Hutchings (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Spill Studios, and featuring an animated sequence by Tezuka Productions (Astro Boy), it’s a deeply moving and brilliantly creative cosmic horror that will leave you speechless.

via Yellow Veil Pictures

Starfish is beautifully shot with a firm but gentle focus on actress Virginia Gardner, whose performance earns the camera’s attention. There’s a graceful stillness about her that is compelling to watch.

At its root, Starfish is about guilt, grief and loss. The score – composed by writer/director A.T. White – has a lush simplicity that plucks at your heartstrings and reverberates these emotional themes.

Just as vital for a film about a series of mixtapes is the soundtrack, which was compiled by White before he wrote the script. A playlist was created for the lead character (based on the songs she would be listening to) and played during the writing process, so that the music became integral to the action. The result is a gorgeous marriage of sight and sound.

via Yellow Veil Pictures

Gardner carries herself with a weary weight that effectively communicates the grief and guilt she quietly holds on to. Intrusive thoughts plague Aubrey during quiet moments and chase her in her dreams.

Like the Lovecraftian monsters that haunt Aubrey, she can’t wait out her guilt and she can’t outrun it. It’s in these moments that Starfish hits the hardest — these flinches of painful memories that knock her off track. We see a young woman struggling with her loss while trying to mitigate the end of the world. Aubrey is tasked with closing her own emotional wounds and apocalyptic gateways to an alternate dimension.

via Yellow Veil Pictures

Though we gain little information about Grace – Aubrey’s recently deceased best friend – her analog apartment is pumped full of personality, building her character through her personal space.

There’s a beauty and reverence to Starfish that reveals itself in these snapshots — a brief focus on details that paint a picture of the vibrant young woman that Grace was, shot with loving intimacy and scored with beautiful, melancholy music.

It’s an incredibly intimate and personal movie surrounding the loss of a dear friend, based on events in writer/director A.T. White’s own life. All proceeds that White makes from the film will be donated to cancer research.

via Yellow Veil Pictures

Set against the backdrop of cosmic horror, Starfish is a beautiful film that explores the nature of loss. Driven by a captivating performance from Virginia Gardner and mixed with gorgeous cinematic visuals and a graceful score, it’s a stunning feature debut from A.T. White. We can’t wait to see what he does next.

Starfish will be released on VOD/digital on May 28th.

For more indie horror, check out the delightfully deranged trailer for Harpoon

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Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

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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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Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

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lizzie borden house

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.

Inside the Lizzie Borden House

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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’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

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28 years later

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.

Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes

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.

28 Days Later

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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