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Nicholas Woods Takes Us Inside “The Axiom”

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Nicholas Woods set out on the road to The Axiom a long time ago.  He was only seven years old when his brother introduced him Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

“I think that was the breaking point for me,” Woods says.  “I was completely fascinated by horror films from that point.  I wanted to watch them, and I wanted to make them.”

Just over a decade later, he left his home in Phoenix, AZ to attend the prestigious film school at Chapman University.  At 22, he graduated and received his first job as a production designer, but he knew when that film was completed that all he really wanted to do was write and direct.  He can’t tell you exactly when and where the idea came from for The Axiom, but once it struck him, he had to see it through.

“I mean, it’s not exactly an original idea,” he explains.  “A lot of my favorite movies and books deal with the idea of portals to other dimensions and the creatures that might inhabit them.”

Still, the idea grew in his mind and his own spin on the theme began to take shape.

Filmed in the stunning Idlewild area southeast of Los Angeles,The Axiom centers on McKenzie (Hattie Smith) and Martin (Zac Titus) who are searching for their missing sister Marylyn (Maria Granberg).  She’s disappeared and they only have a battered journal with pages missing to point them toward her intended destination.  Joined by their friends Darcy (Nicole Dambro), Gerrik (Michael Peter Harrison), and Edgar (Taylor Flowers), they head into the woods after stopping to meet with a man who says he remembers seeing Marylyn only days before.

As they set out to find her, it’s clear that McKenzie knows more than she’s saying, but the truth isn’t revealed until the group finds themselves in an alternate reality where nothing is what it seems.

The setting is beautiful and the action takes place almost entirely in full daylight, unlike many genre favorites.  And that’s just one thing that makes this film stand out from the crowd.

Woods’ script is smart with precision timing, and his characters are actual human beings rather than the tried (tired?) and true archetypes.  In fact, it’s in the story of Edgar in the film that the writer/director’s genius really comes to the surface.  Edgar is prone to hallucinations and is being treated for his mental illness.  So, in the best of times, he cannot trust his own perception.  This makes him an easy target for the beings inside the Axiom, and of course, his friends can write off what he’s saying because they know of his ongoing struggles discerning reality.

 

“That’s the most terrifying thing to me,”  Woods admits.  “You generally trust what you see in front of you, but someone with his mental illness can’t do that.  You’re never sure if what you’re seeing is real.  You’re constantly questioning.  That’s a nightmare to me.”

It was clear during our interview that Woods didn’t just want to scare or entertain his audience.  He wants them to think.  He wants them to walk away from the movie discussing what they saw, and there are a host of elements and little homages to keep that conversation going.

Some of them, he admits, he didn’t even plan.

During our conversation I brought up the moment when the group of friends drink a red liquid from small vials that opens their eyes to the danger around them and brings them back to reality.  I couldn’t help but think of The Matrix and the red pill Morpheus offers Neo during that pivotal scene, but when I brought it up to Woods, he just laughed.

“I love the way that cinema can put color coded messages into your head,” he laughs.  “We’ll never be able to see a red pill and a blue pill on screen without thinking of that scene ever again, I don’t think.”

Woods is working hard for distribution of his debut film, at the moment.  His biggest dream is to make sure that as many people as possible see The Axiom, and iHorror will keep you posted on all the latest news as it comes in.

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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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