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Did You Know Poltergeist II Had An Oscar Nomination?
Written by Patti Pauley
Welp, it’s Oscars night folks and while you and I both know for the most part, deserving horror films worthy of such an honor get the almighty snub in the eyes of the powerful Hollywood man, sometimes the Academy can pull a surprise out the side of their snooty ass and give a nod to a truly fantastic horror gem. What’s even more rare, is when a horror movie sequel gets that kind of recognition. And as a matter of fact, that did indeed happen exactly 30 years ago at the 1987 Academy Awards when Poltergeist II was up for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
Although the visually terrifying film didn’t take home the win, it’s a bit of a breath of fresh air to know it was even considered, as this sequel to the Hooper/ Spielberg classic is gorgeously shot and beautifully terrorizes you in all the right places- mostly thanks to Julian Beck and his portrayal of the malevolent reverend, Henry Kane.
Alongside the Boss Film Corporation of effects team, the Swiss magician of horror design H.R. Giger was behind most significantly, ‘The Great Beast’ design of Kane and it most certainly stands out as an unholy bundle of nightmares from film, alongside the slithery Kane beast that protrudes from Steven’s projectile vomit from the movie. Although it’s been noted in interviews that Giger was for the most, displeased with the end result of the monster creations, it just goes to show that even Giger’s less than impressive standards according to him, are still some of the best horror imagery and practical effects that we’ve seen in the wonderful decade of ’80s monster magic. And hey, the Academy board thought so as well, so that’s something.
This vintage behind the scenes video on Giger’s design of the ‘Kane Beast’ provides a taste of what it took to bring this fantastic image to life. So in retrospect of the Oscars tonight, let’s take a look back at the Academy Award worthy monster magic from Poltergeist II: The Other Side!
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Movies
‘Evil Dead’ Film Franchise Getting TWO New Installments
It was a risk for Fede Alvarez to reboot Sam Raimi’s horror classic The Evil Dead in 2013, but that risk paid off and so did its spiritual sequel Evil Dead Rise in 2023. Now Deadline is reporting that the series is getting, not one, but two fresh entries.
We already knew about the Sébastien Vaniček upcoming film that delves into the Deadite universe and should be a proper sequel to the latest film, but we are broadsided that Francis Galluppi and Ghost House Pictures are doing a one-off project set in Raimi’s universe based off of an idea that Galluppi pitched to Raimi himself. That concept is being kept under wraps.
“Francis Galluppi is a storyteller who knows when to keep us waiting in simmering tension and when to hit us with explosive violence,” Raimi told Deadline. “He is a director that shows uncommon control in his feature debut.”
That feature is titled The Last Stop In Yuma County which will release theatrically in the United States on May 4. It follows a traveling salesman, “stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop,” and “is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune.”
Galluppi is an award-winning sci-fi/horror shorts director whose acclaimed works include High Desert Hell and The Gemini Project. You can view the full edit of High Desert Hell and the teaser for Gemini below:
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Movies
‘Invisible Man 2’ Is “Closer Than Its Ever Been” to Happening
Elisabeth Moss in a very well-thought-out statement said in an interview for Happy Sad Confused that even though there have been some logistical issues for doing Invisible Man 2 there is hope on the horizon.
Podcast host Josh Horowitz asked about the follow-up and if Moss and director Leigh Whannell were any closer to cracking a solution to getting it made. “We are closer than we have ever been to cracking it,” said Moss with a huge grin. You can see her reaction at the 35:52 mark in the below video.
Whannell is currently in New Zealand filming another monster movie for Universal, Wolf Man, which might be the spark that ignites Universal’s troubled Dark Universe concept which hasn’t gained any momentum since Tom Cruise’s failed attempt at resurrecting The Mummy.
Also, in the podcast video, Moss says she is not in the Wolf Man film so any speculation that it’s a crossover project is left in the air.
Meanwhile, Universal Studios is in the middle of constructing a year-round haunt house in Las Vegas which will showcase some of their classic cinematic monsters. Depending on attendance, this could be the boost the studio needs to get audiences interested in their creature IPs once more and to get more films made based on them.
The Las Vegas project is set to open in 2025, coinciding with their new proper theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe.
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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date
Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.
Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.
These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:
According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”
Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.
Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.
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