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Shaw and the Indianapolis: Horror’s Greatest Scene

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Sift through a buffet of classic horror scenes in search of those which elicit the precise viewer reaction and emotion as they had when they first hit theatres, and you’re sure to learn that discovering one would be rare. In fact, it’s likely that rare is insufficient as a descriptor. Nearly nonexistent would probably put a finer point on it.

Nosferatu (Max Schreck) appearing in the bedroom doorway and Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) creeping up on a showering Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), as well as our first glimpse at Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) all have a negative impact on our collective blood pressure. While they leave our abdomens fluttering with eager anticipation, they simply cannot replicate the feelings that we experienced upon first laying eyes upon them.

No, that distinction belongs to just one film. And one scene.

Robert Shaw’s Indianapolis monologue from Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975).

It goes without saying that one could’ve heard a pin drop in theatres across the nation after Mr. Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) ceased laughing at his own joke about a “Mother” tattoo, and Quint described the perils that he and his shipmates endured in June, 1945.

Transitioning from a lighthearted exhibition of scars to the gravity of incomprehensible horror, Shaw’s delivery of Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb’s words was measured and mesmerizing over the course of three-and-a-half minutes that stop viewers dead in their tracks.

Whether watching alone during a quiet evening at home, with a group of friends or just as you’re working around the house, when the Indianapolis scene surfaces, viewers stop.

They stop surfing their phones, they stop cleaning or working on finances, and groups of loved ones stop talking. It’s silent. For a little over 200 seconds, you are hypnotized. There is nothing else.

Image credit: cdn.quotesgram.com

Quint noted that “The thing about a shark, he’s got lifeless eyes,” but housed within Shaw’s eyes was the haunting beauty of perfection.

With pacing that offered just enough detail to send a shiver down the spine, it was more than a performance, because there was an authenticity to Shaw’s moment, almost as though he were telling the story as it came to him, an incredible feat of believable delivery. It truly felt as though Shaw were recounting an event that he’d lived through. Though only in glimpses, the pain and fear were palpable, which was in keeping with an old school, hardened seaman like Quint. They’re there, however, whenever Quint’s orbs and mind drifted to flashes of what he’d witnessed and heard floating in the ocean. The entire scene captured the very essence of Bertolt Brecht’s “you can’t make a man unsee what he has seen.”

In a magical moment that has stood the test of time, and been repeated on innumerable occasions since, the intense dread displayed by Hooper and Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) were the very feelings experienced by all those who were watching in 1975, and since.

“I’ll never put on a life jacket again” is agonizing and delicious and real.

Quint’s tale of delivering the Hiroshima bomb, when 11-hundred men went into the water and only 316 came out evokes the same, frozen reaction today as it had 42 years ago. And that will never change. Whether you’re seeing it for the first or hundredth time.

Jaws is a classic in every conceivable way, but Robert Shaw’s Indianapolis sermon is more than that, even stretching beyond indelible. It is the single greatest scene and performance not just of horror, but that any genre has ever known.

Feature image credit: youtube.com

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Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

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The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

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lizzie borden house

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

Inside the Lizzie Borden House

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

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’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

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28 years later

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.

28 Days Later

The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.

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