Connect with us

News

EXCLUSIVE BTS PHOTOS of “From Beyond” Sequel: “Miskatonic U: The Resonator”

Published

on

Full Moon Features is furthering the Lovecraft universe with a new full-length movie titled Miskatonic U: The Resonator; a sequel to 1986’s  From Beyond. iHorror was given exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from the film which is scheduled to release on Full Moon Features’ streaming channel, February 26, 2021.

Greg Lightner, SFX artist with Miskatonic U creature. (Full Moon Features)

For those who don’t know H.P. Lovecraft created a universe filled with many horrifying creatures that traverse dimensions. Intrigued by these otherworldly beings,  scientists are slowly driven mad by an obsession with their existence. Miskatonic U: The Resonator furthers this premise inside the fictional Miskatonic University in Arkham Massachusetts; both places created by Lovecraft.

Actor Dane Oliver being attacked. (Full Moon Features)

The Miskatonic University has been referenced in film adaptions of Lovecraft’s work, specifically: From Beyond, Re-Animator, and Bride of Re-Animator. Legendary director Stuart Gordon is also an inspiration for the film, as are his visually stunning celluloid adaptations of Lovecraft’s works.

Producer and horror icon Charles Band is behind the project which was written and directed by William Butler (Madhouse, Furnace And Demonic Toys 2).

Amanda Wyss and Michael Pare star as academia elite who struggle with Crawford Tillinghast’s continued work of his father to rip open the fabric of dimensions in order to bring creatures into this world.

Make-up Artist, Greg Lightner’s SFX Creature. (Full Moon Features)

“I’m so excited to join Miskatonic U,” said Wyss about her role. “Billy and I have wanted to work together for a long time and I can’t wait to explore the HP Lovecraft universe with him. I think people are going to enjoy the twists and turns the story and my character take.”

Actress Christina Braa, shooting on set. (Full Moon Features)

Synopsis:

Set in the fictional college campus “Miskatonic University” in Arkham, Massachusetts where all sorts of fantastic and unworldly events have been known to unfold in Lovecraft lore, Miskatonic U: The Resonator follows six gifted students as they navigate life after one of them, Crawford Tillinghast, builds a machine known as the “Resonator”.  The machine allows one to experience multiple dimensions while navigating the unsavory beasts that dwell within them. But things get complicated when Tillinghast realizes that the prototype of his creation has not only released murderous and deadly creatures into his world, but also has affected his own reality.

 

The film premieres February 26, 2021, on the Full Moon Features streaming app and on the Full Moon Features Amazon Prime Video channel.

The Resonator. (Full Moon Features)

ABOUT FULL MOON 

Founded in 1989 by iconic independent film producer and director Charles Band, Full Moon is the successor to Band’s groundbreaking Empire Pictures Studio from the 1980’s.

With Empire, Band created now-classic horror films like Re-Animator, From Beyond and Ghoulies.  Band’s films helped launch the career of many of Hollywood’s biggest stars including Demi Moore (Parasite), Helen Hunt (Trancers), and Viggo Mortensen (Prison), to name a few.

With Full Moon, Band has produced over 150 films, including the Puppet Master franchise, Subspecies, Pit and the Pendulum, Castle Freak, Dollman, Demonic Toys, Prehysteria!, Evil Bong, and many more. As well as feature films, Full Moon produces original series, toys, collectibles, merchandise, comic books and publishes the popular horror film magazine Delirium. In 2019, Full Moon launched their most ambitious project to date with Deadly Ten, in which 10 new feature films are being produced back-to-back all over the world with completely live-streamed shoots airing on www.DeadlyTen.com.

Each film will premiere on Full Moon’s streaming channel FULL MOON FEATURES as well as Full Moon’s Amazon channel and other digital platforms. In 2020, as Hollywood productions shut-down or were put on hold, Full Moon created a series of high concept exploitation pictures produced exclusively under the parameters of the quarantine, beginning with the satirical and hugely successful Corona Zombies and continuing with Barbie and Kendra Save the Tiger King. Each comedic film includes re-dubbed footage from obscure exploitation films along with new footage and existing news footage, to create surreal and socially irreverent exploitation entertainment.

Header photo: Cast on set firing up the resonator – Actors Alex Keener, Amanda Victoria Jones, Dane Oliver, Christina Braa & Austin Woods.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

The Pope’s Exorcist Officially Announces New Sequel

Published

on

The Pope’s Exorcist is one of those films that’s just fun to watch. It isn’t the most terrifying film around, but there’s something about Russel Crow (Gladiator) playing a wise cracking Catholic priest that just feels right.

Screen Gems seems to agree with this assessment, as they have just officially announced that The Pope’s Exorcist sequel is in the works. It makes sense that Screen Gems would want to keep this franchise going, considering the first film scared up almost $80 million with a budget of only $18 million.

The Pope's Exorcist
The Pope’s Exorcist

According to Crow, there may even be a The Pope’s Exorcist trilogy in the works. However, recent changes with the studio may have put the third film on hold. In a sit-down with The Six O’Clock Show, Crow gave the following statement about the project.

“Well that’s in discussion at the moment. The producers originally got the kick off from the studio not just for one sequel but for two. But there’s been a change of studio heads at the moment, so that’s going around in a few circles. But very definitely, man. We set that character up that you could take him out and put him into a lot of different circumstances.”

Crow has also stated that film’s source material involves twelve separate books. This would allow the studio to take the story in all kinds of directions. With that much source material, The Pope’s Exorcist could even rival The Conjuring Universe.

Only the future will tell what becomes of The Pope’s Exorcist. But as always, more horror is always a good thing.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

New ‘Faces of Death’ Remake Will Be Rated R For “Strong Bloody Violence and Gore”

Published

on

In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the Faces of Death reboot has been given an R rating from the MPA. Why has the film been given this rating? For strong bloody violence, gore, sexual content, nudity, language, and drug use, of course.

What else would you expect from a Faces of Death reboot? It would honestly be alarming if the film received anything less than an R rating.

Faces of death
Faces of Death

For those unaware, the original Faces of Death film released in 1978 and promised viewers video evidence of real deaths. Of course, this was just a marketing gimmick. Promoting a real snuff film would be a terrible idea.

But the gimmick worked, and franchise lived on in infamy. The Faces of Death reboot is hoping to gain the same amount of viral sensation as its predecessor. Isa Mazzei (Cam) and Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) will spearhead this new addition.

The hope is that this reboot will do well enough to recreate the infamous franchise for a new audience. While we don’t know much about the film at this point, but a joint statement from Mazzei and Goldhaber gives us the following info on the plot.

“Faces of Death was one of the first viral video tapes, and we are so lucky to be able to use it as a jumping off point for this exploration of cycles of violence and the way they perpetuate themselves online.”

“The new plot revolves around a female moderator of a YouTube-like website, whose job is to weed out offensive and violent content and who herself is recovering from a serious trauma, that stumbles across a group that is recreating the murders from the original film. But in the story primed for the digital age and age of online misinformation, the question faced is are the murders real or fake?”

The reboot will have some bloody shoes to fill. But from the looks of it, this iconic franchise is in good hands. Unfortunately, the film does not have a release date at this time.

That’s all the information we have at this time. Make sure to check back here for more news and updates.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movie Reviews

Panic Fest 2024 Review: ‘The Ceremony Is About To Begin’

Published

on

People will look for answers and belonging in the darkest places and the darkest people. The Osiris Collective is a commune predicated upon ancient Egyptian theology and was run by the mysterious Father Osiris. The group boasted dozens of members, each forgoing their old lives for one held in the Egyptian themed land owned by Osiris in Northern California. But the good times take a turn for the worst when in 2018, an upstart member of the collective named Anubis (Chad Westbrook Hinds) reports Osiris disappearing while mountain climbing and declaring himself the new leader. A schism ensued with many members leaving the cult under Anubis’ unhinged leadership. A documentary is being made by a young man named Keith (John Laird) whose fixation with The Osiris Collective stems from his girlfriend Maddy leaving him for the group several years ago. When Keith gets invited to document the commune by Anubis himself, he decides to investigate, only to get wrapped up in horrors he couldn’t even imagine…

The Ceremony Is About To Begin is the latest genre twisting horror film from Red Snow‘s Sean Nichols Lynch. This time tackling cultist horror along with a mockumentary style and the Egyptian mythology theme for the cherry on top. I was a big fan of Red Snow‘s subversiveness of the vampire romance sub-genre and was excited to see what this take would bring. While the movie has some interesting ideas and a decent tension between the meek Keith and the erratic Anubis, it just doesn’t exactly thread everything together in a succinct fashion.

The story begins with a true crime documentary style interviewing former members of The Osiris Collective and sets-up what led the cult to where it is now. This aspect of the storyline, especially Keith’s own personal interest in the cult, made it an interesting plotline. But aside from some clips later on, it doesn’t play as much a factor. The focus is largely on the dynamic between Anubis and Keith, which is toxic to put it lightly. Interestingly, Chad Westbrook Hinds and John Lairds are both credited as writers on The Ceremony Is About To Begin and definitely feel like they’re putting their all into these characters. Anubis is the very definition of a cult leader. Charismatic, philosophical, whimsical, and threateningly dangerous at the drop of a hat.

Yet strangely, the commune is deserted of all cult members. Creating a ghost town that only amps up the danger as Keith documents Anubis’ alleged utopia. A lot of the back and forth between them drags at times as they struggle for control and Anubis keeps continuing to convince Keith to stick around despite the threatening situation. This does lead to a pretty fun and bloody finale that fully leans into mummy horror.

Overall, despite meandering and having a bit of a slow pace, The ceremony Is About To Begin is a fairly entertaining cult, found footage, and mummy horror hybrid. If you want mummies, it delivers on mummies!

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading