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[REVIEW] Franck Khalfoun’s ‘Prey’ Attempts to Revitalize Survival Tropes

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Prey

Prey, a new survival horror film from Franck Khalfoun (Amityville: The Awakening), is set for release in select theaters and on VOD this week.

Produced by Blumhouse and Hyde Park productions, the film centers on Toby (Logan Miller, Escape Room), a young man who’s having a hard time dealing with life after the loss of a loved one. When his mother and counselor decide that he’ll benefit from a survival camp, he finds himself on the opposite side of the world on a deserted island left to fend for himself for three days.

Things take an interesting turn for Toby, however, when he discovers that the island is not quite as uninhabited as he thought. A young woman named Madeleine (Kristine Froseth) is also there with her mother (Jolene Anderson). In fact, they’ve been there for a very long time.

Unfortunately, Toby will soon find out why they’re on this island, and more importantly, why they’ve never left.

There’s a lot to enjoy about Prey, not the least of which is Miller’s performance. The actor has made a name for himself across genre lines in films like Love, Simon and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, and he gives one hundred percent to his portrayal of Toby as he goes from emotionally to physically lost in the telling of the story.

Likewise, Froseth is a wonder to watch as Madeleine. The actress has a real knack for conveying a wide-eyed, childlike innocence even while confronting the dangers of an island that has been the only home she’s ever known. Her performance is secretive and controlled, adding mystery and depth to what could easily have been a caricature.

The two stars have an easy chemistry between them that helps sell the film as a whole.

And then there’s the island itself. Lush green forests filled with tropical wildlife give way to sandy beaches and rocky coastlines for a gorgeous setting which Khalfoun and his crew perfectly manipulate, coating them with a layer of dread and shadow that looms over Toby at every turn.

Khalfoun co-wrote the script for Prey with David Coggeshall (A Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia), and they seemed to really want to do something new and exciting with the survival horror tropes. Unfortunately, despite a rather interesting twist toward the end, the film follows the standard formula almost to the letter.

Does that make this a bad film? Nope, not at all.

In fact, those tropes ultimately work in Khalfoun’s favor, lulling the audience into a false sense of security while setting up the aforementioned twist. He doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but he certainly does his best to roll it down a different hill than we’re expecting.

Prey hits select theaters and video on demand on September 27, 2019. Check out the trailer below!

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News

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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Movies

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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