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Retro Rewind: Happy Birthday Gary Busey- The Man, the Myth, the Werewolf Wrangler

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Written by Patti Pauley

Back at the ripe ole’ age of four, an unlikely hero came into my world. He was funny, looked to be about ten feet tall on screen (to four-year-old me anyway) and had balls of steel when it came to wrangling an extremely pissed off, one-eyed werewolf. That my friends, is the man, the myth, the no-bullshit taking Gary Busey and today is his birthday.

 

 

It was about 1986, and my parents and grandparents were nestled in the living room of our apartment watching some movie I was told repeatedly that I wasn’t allowed to see with them. Of course, what 4-year-old actually listens, right? I persisted with walking back and forth from the hallway to the living area to catch glimpses of this forbidden visual on our boxed TV set until my sucker of a Dad finally gave in and made a seat right next to him on our plaid-colored couch. That’s when I knew I had fucked up; for a short time at least anyway.

The movie in question was Stephen King’s Silver Bullet and even though I was a pretty tough kid growing up in a horror-loving household, Silver Bullet scared the ever loving piss out of me. As I was getting comfortable with my little bowl of popcorn, the scene where the werewolf jumps through the window of one Stella Randolph came to pass and I was both fascinated and terrified beyond comprehension. Of course, I put on my little brave face and toughed through the movie because goddammit, I asked for this. And I was going to prove to the parental units I could handle this film. But really inside I was shitting my pants. However, one thing made the whole experience a little easier for my horrified little self: Uncle fucking Red.

Uncle Red, played by Sir Gary of Busey, served as both a hero and comedy relief in this tale of full moon terror and I found myself laughing hysterically at his character every time he would show up on screen with his sarcastic wit and funny little quips. That stupid little Jack-Ass joke he tells to Marty was the goddamn funniest thing I had ever heard in my four years on Earth I tell you. And throughout the film Busey’s character slowly became a sort of a Superhero type figure in my eyes. He was the guy who gave his niece and nephew the benefit of the doubt on the claim that Tarkers Mills hosted a mythical murdering monster; and that the children knew who he was underneath all the animal fur. What a swell guy! He even had a silver bullet made for them, even if it was just for piece of mind in his own thought process.

Towards the end however, with that climatic build-up on Halloween night with a full moon, Marty, Jane, and Uncle Red with his winning subscription of Popular Mechanics, is a moment that will live in infamy in horror film and in my own twisted little world when Uncle Red comes face to face with Reverend Werewolf. I was on the edge of my seat. Was this the end of Red? Is this new hero of mine going to get clawed to smithereens?

FUCK NO!! Gary Busey said it’s rumble time and wrestled a werewolf. Just take that sentence in one more time. GARY BUSEY WRESTLED A WEREWOLF. WWF style starting with breaking a chair onto the back of the beast. It’s the main event and my new-found hero was showcasing those chest hairs of steel. It was glorious. Especially to a little person like myself jumping up and down rooting for the demise of this scary as hell giant dog. That was the day Gary Busey became an unsung hero in my book.

Happy 73rd birthday Gary Busey! Somewhere, someone is pissing on a stack of Yankees, Phillies, and Indians baseball cards to celebrate.

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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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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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