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Retro Rewind: That Time Bruce Campbell Played a Demon in the X-Files

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Written by Patti Pauley

Gather ’round you screwheads! The King of Chins is celebrating another year around the sun and this week’s edition of Retro Rewind is dedicated to the grooviest flesh of man meat in the genre baby- Sir Bruce Cambell!

Yes, we all know the REAL Bruce Almighty is mostly recognized for that loveable, Deadite decapitating Ash Williams from the Sam Raimi films and Starz show. But what about his lesser talked about TV roles such as in Burn Notice, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., and even a stunning performance guest starring in a monster episode in X-Files as a demon fetal harvesting polygamist.

 

X-Files/Wiki

Written by series newcomer David Amann and directed by Rob Bowman, the 1999 episode entitled “Terms of Endearment” is a typical X-Files monster-of-the-week story that serves as a breather to the series’ broader storyline. We open up to Wayne Weinsider (Campbell) and his pregnant wife Laura (Lisa Jane Persky) at an ultrasound scan where the couple learns the baby Laura is bearing is riddled with strange abnormalities. The pair, Wayne especially, are obviously distraught upon hearing the results. I mean, I’d be freaked the fuck out too if my scan showed my offspring protruding a set of demonic horns from his head too. Though if it were to result in such a case, naming the kid Adrain would be a no-brainer. Of course, when one of your parents is a full-fledged demon aka Bruce Campbell, a set of horns supplied at birth shouldn’t be much of a shocker.

Speaking of which, the whole episode is absolutely a throw-back to Rosemary’s Baby in the form of demon baby producing with the signature X-Files twist. Complete with demon baby-making nightmares throughout the episode involving both Laura and later, Betsy Monroe (Grace Phillips). Oh yes, Wayne has another pregnant wife on the side to increase his chances of having a “healthy” child. What Wayne deems as healthy however, is not what one would assume a demon is looking for in his offspring. His goals are to have a NORMAL child. As Wayne turns out to be your not so typical devilish entity.

Of course, Laura’s brother is the local sheriff and when Laura awakens from her demon inducing night terror to find herself covered in blood and the baby missing, he turns the case over to Mulder and Scully given the unusual circumstances.

While there is some dark comedy in the episode, I mean IT IS Bruce, Campbell shows his more dramatic range of acting chops in “Terms of Endearment” as we’re taken on an emotional roller coaster with Wayne Weinsider’s struggle within himself and his very un-demon-like agenda in wanting to have a normal, happy family. Also, it’s worth noting the use of prosthetics rather than computer generated effects for the demon Wayne sequences are quite fantastic and the perfect display in bringing this X-Files monster to life.

Season 6, Episode 7 “Terms of Endearment” can be viewed streaming on Hulu for subscribers of the streaming site, as I recently learned Netflix cut the series from their queue of programs, “shakes fist”.  In the meantime, check out the original promo for this special edition of monster-mania X-Files starring Groovy Bruce!

 

 

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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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