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“Ghost House”: Behind the Scenes with Kevin and Rich Ragsdale

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When Kevin Ragsdale and his wife had their first child, they decided to take him to Thailand (his wife’s country of origin) to introduce him to the family.  Kevin’s brother Rich and Rich’s girlfriend tagged along, and while dealing with considerable jet lag, the two decided to take a walk through the surrounding jungle.  Little did they know that their late night stroll would lead to inspiration.

As Rich and his girlfriend continued their trek, they came to a clearing.  Around the clearing, they found numerous “retired” ghost houses in various states disarray.

“My first reaction was this is really cool,” Rich laughed.  “And then, you know, we’re poking around and it suddenly occurs to me that maybe this is a little stupid!”

You see, ghost houses are an ancient tradition in Southeast Asia.  The small, often elaborate structures are placed outside homes and businesses set aside as a sacred space for spirits who might visit the structure.  It’s meant to appease those spirits, but to also set up a place to commune with the spirits of nature.  They are highly regarded and are literally set on pedestals among the communities.

The repository, a ghost house graveyard as the brothers came to call it, set a fire in their imaginations.

“It was something we’d never seen before in an American horror film,”  Kevin pointed out, “but we thought it could be very cool and that American audiences would be open to it.”

Kevin and Rich sat down to flesh out the story and then brought in screenwriters because, as they both admitted, dialogue isn’t their strong suit, and soon their script was complete.

Scout Taylor-Compton and James Landry Hebert with the crew on set of Ghost House.

Aptly named, Ghost House, centers on Julie and Jim, an American couple played by Scout Taylor-Compton (Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween 2) and James Landry Hebert (Super 8, “Westworld”), on a romantic vacation in tropical Thailand.  When Julie disturbs an old ghost house, she soon finds herself both haunted and hunted by an angry female spirit.

Now that they had a script, it was time to work for funding which the brothers tell me wasn’t the easiest quest.

“Yeah, it took a while when we’re telling people why don’t you help us fund this movie in Thailand…where you’ll have no control,” Rich explains.

“And it’s halfway around the world,” Kevin piped in.

“Come on,” Rich said, “no one does anything weird with their money in Thailand!”

Behind the Scenes Still provided by Rich Ragsdale

Regardless, the funding was finally secured and casting began in earnest with Taylor-Compton and Hebert coming onto the project rather quickly.  The largest question mark for the brothers became casting the Thai cast.  They had no idea what the local acting pool was like, and the language barrier presented its own problem, especially for the pivotal character of Gogo, Julie and Jim’s driver and the man who ultimately explains the ghost houses and helps them when things get terrifying.

Their blessing came in Michael S. New.  The actor, who is half-Thai, Half-Canadian was perfect for the role that was based on the Ragsdales’ driver on their own fateful trip to Thailand.

Through it all, it seemed that, though it was definitely work getting started, the way things fell together was kismet.  Acclaimed make-up and prosthetic designer Vincent Van Dyke set to work designing the phenomenal special effects make-ups for a shoot that was made up of predominantly practical effects.

Meanwhile, Rich, who was already directing the film, set to work composing a glorious score made up of orchestral pieces that paid homage to great classic horror films, synth-style compositions as a nod to the horror scores of John Carpenter, and a mixture of local ethnic Thai musical sounds.  When the three come together, they create something that works in ways you cannot imagine, and I, for one, hope the score is released on CD or in download form, as well, for genre fans who love the music as much as the acting.

What’s more, the film spans the gap between East and West beautifully, a fact that Kevin points out ultimately works due to two distinct factors.

“My wife was there constantly,” he says.  “I should have given her a producer’s credit on the film.  She was really a guiding force.”

And the other factor?  The almost entirely Thai crew.

Rich and Kevin Ragsdale perform a Thai ritual to draw blessings on their first day of shooting.

The Ragsdales spent a lot of time talking to the crew about how they made movies and reinforcing that while it wasn’t really a Thai movie, it ultimately wasn’t an American movie either.

“We really wanted it to be an international film,” Rich finally explained.

The formula worked.  Ghost House opened at #2 in the Thailand box office and has continued to see that same sort of welcome throughout Southeast Asia in places like Cambodia, Myanmar, and Malaysia.

The Ragsdales’ production company is currently working on a few different projects and if Ghost House is any indication, I think we can expect great things from KNR Productions!

Ghost House is currently available on Video on Demand.  Check out the trailer below!

 

All photos provided courtesy of Rich Ragsdale

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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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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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