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Review: ‘The Barge People’ Is A Merry Murky Mutant Monster Movie

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Due to current events in 2020, many of us sadly had to put the kibosh on our Summer plans. Be it visiting family, attending weddings, or just taking a trip to the country. But if horror movies have taught us anything, Summer sojourns can lead to disaster… or worse. This is the premise of the British back-river horror of The Barge People.

 

The story follows two sisters, Kat (Kate Davies-Speak) and Sophie (Natalie Martins) as they decided to spend a weekend holiday with their respective boyfriends laid back Mark (Mark McKirdy) and the obnoxious businessman, Ben (Matt Swales) in the British countryside. Deciding to rent a barge and take a slow, romantic ride through the canals of the backwoods, the quartet find themselves in conflict with some irate locals… and even more bloodthirsty inhabitants of the polluted waterways.

Image via IMDB

The Barge People is a U.K. horror movie from 2018 but finally hitting Stateside. It’s a low-budget affair to be sure, but it’s a fun one. Watching it, the movie does have an aura of direct to video horror movies and slashers of the 1980’s. Even the title cards and credit sequence flaunt the aesthetic without leaning into it too hard. Even more evident in the synth, tense score from composer Sam Benjafield, which is a high point of the production. The story itself is a definitive throwback to movies like The Hills Have Eyes and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre but with a distinctly British twist and featuring some Lovecraftian fish mutants instead of hillbillies and rednecks.

 

The story is a bit by the numbers and the characters are a bit flat, granted, but The Barge People does deliver in the gore and practical fx departments. Living up to the movies of yesteryear it’s emulating with little to no CGI. Giving an ample amount of sticky red blood plastered across victims and the screen. Then of course are the titular Barge People. Horrifying fish-human hybrids created by toxic and chemical waste polluting the local water routes. Though amphibious, with their trenchcoats and hooks they also give off a bit of a Hellraiser vibe. Unfortunately, none really give off the kind of gravitas or charisma to give us a ‘Pinhead’-esque lead killer, but the FX and designs are fine enough.

Image via IMDB

The Barge People isn’t the most fleshed out horror and probably could have used a little more depth. Like I said, flat characters, and a formulaic plot. But for the gorehounds and people just wanting a fun, simple, creature feature, mutant horror, this is an enjoyable watch. Also plenty of unconnected but mood setting kills of random and passing by victims just to add some extra bodies and guts here and there. Unfortunately, the home video release is rather bare bones. No special features on the DVD/Blu-Ray. Not even a trailer. Just the movie and subtitles. That is it. There is a decent embossed slipcover, but that’s really as much as you get.

 

Still, if you’re in the mood for some mindless, old school, beastly slasher fun with a decent amount of charm, have a pint and take a float with The Barge People.

 

The Barge People hits VOD, DVD, and Blu-Ray on August 18th, 2020.

Image via IMDB

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New ‘MaXXXine’ Image is Pure 80s Costume Core

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A24 has unveiled a captivating new image of Mia Goth in her role as the titular character in “MaXXXine”. This release comes approximately a year and a half after the previous installment in Ti West’s expansive horror saga, which covers more than seven decades.

MaXXXine Official Trailer

His latest continues the story arc of freckle-faced aspiring starlet Maxine Minx from the first film X which took place in Texas in 1979. With stars in her eyes and blood on her hands, Maxine moves into a new decade and a new city, Hollywood, in pursuit of an acting career, “But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.”

The photo below is the latest snapshot released from the film and shows Maxine in full Thunderdome drag amid a crowd of teased hair and rebellious 80s fashion.

MaXXXine is set to open in theaters on July 5.

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

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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 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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Live Action Scooby-Doo Reboot Series In Works at Netflix

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Scooby Doo Live Action Netflix

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.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

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.

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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