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Sam Raimi – Fifty-Eight Years of Screams and Laughs!

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We’re here to celebrate Sam Raimi’s birthday. In fifty-eight years the man has certainly etched a niche upon the foundations of horror history. With one trilogy of movies alone Sam Raimi could have easily retired, sat back and lived off the ever-growing fandom of the Evil Dead franchise. But thankfully he wasn’t lazy.

 

Sam Raimi and the Evil Dead!

 

The first Evil Dead movie is proof of what one young man with a determined dream can accomplish.

 

Far from being a rich man, Sam Raimi was a simple film student who had to go door to door to local doctor and dentist offices to get funding for his little project – a small independent horror flick shot out in the woods called, Evil Dead. He quickly proved you don’t need a big budget as long as you have talent and a passion for what you’re doing, Sam Raimi not only made his horror film come to life, he brazenly cemented his legacy among horror fans for decades to come!

 

The Evil Dead was an immediate hit! But let’s be real, you don’t need me to tell you that. We all know what a success the movie was, and still continues to be today. I remember hearing how people ran out of the theaters screaming once the scares and gore of Evil Dead lit up the big screen. The dark incantations of H.P. Lovecraft’s greatest creation – the Necronomicon – were unleashed upon unsuspecting viewers and out of the shadows arose a legend to fight evil and send those nasty asshats right back to Hell. That legend was none other than his grooviness himself, Ash Williams.

 

Ash was brought to life by the one and only Bruce Campbell, a man who still to this day steps into Ash’s shoes to fight the legion of evil in Ash vs the Evil Dead.

 

For years there was talk about a fourth Evil Dead movie – or would it be a second Army of Darkness film? Then the age of the remakes befell us all, so it was no surprise to see the deadites get the reboot treatment. To be fair this is a rare remake I do really like. It went back to the original nightmarish quality the original movie had. For a lot of fans, Evil Dead is synonymous with slap-stick gags and laughs. And really, that’s ok. More people think of Evil Dead II or Army of Darkness when it comes to the movie legacy. But let’s not forget that the original movie was meant to be a serious horror film, one that sometimes is overlooked by the offshoot of its successful sequels.

 

So with the remake out people truly thought that was the end of any chance of any further sequels. If there were to be any continuation it would more than likely follow the remake. But little did we know what kind of treat Sam Raimi had in store for us! Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi teamed up again, dusted off the Necronomicon, got ready to unleash some groovy goodness and brought us Ash vs the Evil Dead, a series I certainly consider to be Evil Dead 3(4?).

 

I had the honor of meeting Bruce Campbell last week. He said that one of the good things about getting older was that it also meant Sam Raimi was older too and couldn’t hurt him as much. It really struck me that Campbell’s career is largely due to his friendship with Raimi. I’m not saying that without Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell wouldn’t have been a success. But we do have to admit, Campbell is one of the best gifts Raimi has given to us as fans. We love our Ash, a character created in the mind of a cool guy with a hilarious sense of humor.

 

Raimi And a Big Web!

 

Sam Raimi could easily go down in history just for the Evil Dead movies. But once again he proved the heights of his ambitions. Back in the early years of the Millennium audiences cheered as everyone’s favorite neighborhood Spider-Man swung into theaters and knocked our socks off. It’s said that today kids are clamoring over all the Marvel Studio films but don’t even realize that had it not been for Sam Raimi turning Spidey into a massive success there would be no Avengers films.

 

Just like his original passion to get Evil Dead onto the screen, so was his passion to bring his all-time favorite super-hero to life. Once again Raimi knocked on doors of studios and fought to make this movie happen. And wouldn’t you know it? It was another immediate success.

 

Sam Raimi is a dreamer who isn’t just content with sitting about and dreaming. He makes those dreams come true. He should be an inspiration to all aspiring artists, film makers and writers. Don’t be busy dreaming. Be busy with doing! Make dreams come true.

 

This has been Manic Exorcism. Happy Birthday to Sam Raimi! Thank you for all the laughs and screams!

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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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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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