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‘The Wretched’: The #1 Horror Film That Beat COVID-19 at The Box Office

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THE WRETCHED

The Wretched is not the right way to describe this horror film when talking about its box office numbers. First, it synchronized with the popularity of social distancing at drive-ins and took root there, then it squeezed into Phase 2 of “America’s grand re-opening” where it has taken success indoors.

The ticket numbers as of last Thursday were nothing a Hollywood exec would cancel all calls for. But with a gross that exceeded $350,000 at the box office, mostly from drive-ins, they certainly paused.

Then this past weekend 59 brick and mortar cineplexes around the country tallied $186,000 collectively from Friday through Sunday. That’s quite a chunk of change considering the country is still technically closed. Furthermore, its dark subject matter seems desirable in a time when it’s assumed people want more uplifting fare.

In other words, horror fans showed up, and perhaps new ones were born.

The film follows a young boy as he squares off against a witch disguised as the woman next door. It made a good impression when it debuted at Fantasia International Film Festival in 2019 and is certified fresh over at the online critic collective Rotten Tomatoes.

Written and directed by Brett Pierce and Drew T. Pierce, The Wretched may have been kismet for success. Specifically, it was released at the right places at the right times. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with Comscore seems to think so.

“A horror movie, a big screen, the communal experience; these are three things that go perfectly together and movie fans have found a friend in IFC, a company that has been committed to the theatrical exhibition model in the age of COVID-19 by delivering The Wretched to patrons hungry for outside of the home entertainment despite having a scary number of options at home for filmed content,” said  Dergarabedian.

Currently, there are 179 indoor theaters open, hoping movie lovers will journey to their popcorn meccas. There are two big summer releases coming in June to test those waters: Tenet (July 17) and Mulan (July 24).

"The Wretched"

“The Wretched” 2019

It’s also interesting to note that horror movies seem to be the entertainment guinea pigs during this pandemic. First, The Invisible Man a critical and box office success was victim to mass closures and emerged victorious on PVOD just four weeks after it hit theaters. Then another horror movie, The Hunt followed suit and again proved resourceful.

Another indie film, Skyman, from the director of The Blair Witch Project, Dan Myrick, is hoping the drive-in is the perfect place for his sci-fi film. The docu-style extraterrestrial mystery is landing at outdoor theaters sometime this summer. For more information on that movie click HERE.

The Wretched is also available to rent On Demand on most paid streaming services.

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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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