News

Hulu’s ‘Into the Dark’ Premieres this October with Wicked First Episode ‘The Body’

Published

6 years ago

September 30, 2018

Hot on the heels of its highly successful Castle Rock, Hulu is bringing on more original programming with Into the Dark, this time partnering with Blumhouse to create something all together unique.

The new series, which premieres October 5, 2018, will present a new feature length “episode” each month themed for the month in which it premieres. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas…nothing is off-limits for Into the Dark.

First up is The Body, a dark horror/comedy that will have you in stitches…literally.

The episode opens on a rather dashing hitman named Wilkes (Tom Bateman) who has just completed a job on Halloween night. The man who hired him demands delivery to a specified location, however, so he expertly wraps and ties the body in plastic and heads down to the street, only to discover that his ride is out of commission.

Enter a group of wealthy, know-it-all party kids who think that Wilkes has the best costume and prop that they’ve ever seen. They beg him to come with them to a friend’s party which he agrees to do so long as they will give him a ride so he makes his delivery deadline.

The night takes a turn, however, when they discover the body is all too real and that Wilkes is far more dangerous than they ever imagined.

It takes a skilled hand to use cognitive dissonance as the driving force for a film, but director Paul Davis, who co-wrote the script with Paul Fischer based on their short film by the same name, plays an expert-level game of cat-and-mouse with his audience, supplying just the right mixture of hilarity and horror to keep them on the edge of their seat rooting for both predator and prey.

Bateman somehow manages to embody both a classic Bond villain and the classy Bond, himself, as Wilkes. This agent of death is a trained killing machine with the soul of a cynical poet and he is easily the center of attention in every scene.

This is not to say that the rest of Davis’ cast isn’t equally brilliant, however.

Ash vs. Evil Dead alum Ray Santiago’s comedic timing is flawless as Jack, the bumbling, start-up millionaire turned leader of the group who discovers the truth about Wilkes. Jack is exactly the self-serving, trash-talking douchebag no one in their right mind should follow, so naturally they all do.

Rebecca Rittenhouse, meanwhile, gives her all as Maggie, Jack’s assistant who is tired of her boss, her job, and her life. In her eyes, Wilkes is the sexy, golden ticket she’s been waiting for, and she’s eager to help him at every turn.

The chemistry between Bateman and Rittenhouse is palpable, and their scenes together are as sexually charged as they are funny.

It’s the perfect tone for The Body. At its best, the film shines a light on modern popularity politics, then stomps those ideas into the ground until they’re so much bloody pulp beneath its feet, all the while cracking irreverent, intelligent jokes.

In fact, The Body is never darker or funnier than when it is skewering the often bewildering cult of personality that seems to grow by the day, and Wilkes, with his unique perspective on life and death, acts as the perfect agent to deliver that blow.

And then there’s the excellent score!

Composed by The Newton Brothers, who previously scored Oculus, Extinction, Ouija: Origin of Evil, and so many more, the music in The Body is as unique and often contradictory as the rest of the film. Pulse-pounding one moment and subtly pervasive the next, the composers work in tandem with Davis to keep the film moving at an excellent pace.

Mark your calendars, now, and be sure to check out Into the Dark: The Body October 5, 2018 on Hulu and take a look at the teaser for the series below!

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News

Netflix Releases First BTS ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Footage

Published

15 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Timothy Rawles

It’s been three long years since Netflix unleashed the bloody, but enjoyable Fear Street on its platform. Released in a tryptic fashion, the streamer broke up the story into three episodes, each taking place in a different decade which by the finale were all tied together.

Now, the streamer is in production for its sequel Fear Street: Prom Queen which brings the story into the 80s. Netflix gives a synopsis of what to expect from Prom Queen on their blog site Tudum:

“Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

Based on R.L. Stine’s massive series of Fear Street novels and spin-offs, this chapter is number 15 in the series and was published in 1992.

FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN IS NOW IN PRODUCTION 🩸 Welcome to Shadyside High. We're gonna have a killer time. pic.twitter.com/jDl0zRa2CH
— Netflix (@netflix) April 30, 2024

Fear Street: Prom Queen features a killer ensemble cast, including India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (Sweet Magnolias, American Pie), Lili Taylor (Outer Range, Manhunt) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From, Perry Mason).

No word on when Netflix will drop the series into its catalog.

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News

Live Action Scooby-Doo Reboot Series In Works at Netflix

Published

16 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The ghosthunting Great Dane with an anxiety problem, Scooby-Doo, is getting a reboot and Netflix is picking up the tab. Variety is reporting that the iconic show is becoming an hour-long series for the streamer although no details have been confirmed. In fact, Netflix execs declined to comment.

If the project is a go, this would be the first live-action movie based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon since 2018’s Daphne & Velma. Before that, there were two theatrical live-action movies, Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), then two sequels that premiered on The Cartoon Network.

Currently, the adult-oriented Velma is streaming on Max.

Scooby-Doo originated in 1969 under the creative team Hanna-Barbera. The cartoon follows a group of teenagers who investigate supernatural happenings. Known as Mystery Inc., the crew consists of Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and his best friend, a talking dog named Scooby-Doo.

Normally the episodes revealed the hauntings they encountered were hoaxes developed by land-owners or other nefarious characters hoping to scare people away from their properties. The original TV series named Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ran from 1969 to 1986. It was so successful that movie stars and pop culture icons would make guest appearances as themselves in the series.

Celebrities such as Sonny & Cher, KISS, Don Knotts, and The Harlem Globetrotters made cameos as did Vincent Price who portrayed Vincent Van Ghoul in a few episodes.

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News

BET Releasing New Original Thriller: The Deadly Getaway

Published

16 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Cameron McFarland

BET will soon be offering horror fans a rare treat. The studio has announced the official release date for their new original thriller, The Deadly Getaway. Directed by Charles Long (The Trophy Wife), this thriller sets up a heart racing game of cat and mouse for audiences to sink their teeth into.

Wanting to break up the monotony of their routine, Hope and Jacob set off to spend their vacation at a simple cabin in the woods. However, things go sideways when Hope’s ex-boyfriend shows up with a new girl at the same campsite. Things soon spiral out of control. Hope and Jacob must now work together to escape the woods with their lives.

The Deadly Getaway is written by Eric Dickens (Makeup X Breakup) and Chad Quinn (Reflections of US). The Film stars, Yandy Smith-Harris (Two Days in Harlem), Jason Weaver (The Jacksons: An American Dream), and Jeff Logan (My Valentine Wedding).

Showrunner Tressa Azarel Smallwood had the following to say about the project. “The Deadly Getaway is the perfect reintroduction to classic thrillers, which encompass dramatic twists, and spine-chilling moments. It showcases the range and diversity of emerging Black writers across genres of film and television.”

The Deadly Getaway will premiere on 5.9.2024, exclusively ion BET+.