Welcome to Yay or Nay a weekly mini post about what I think is good and bad news in the horror community written in bite-sized chunks. 

Yay:

Mike Flanagan talking about directing the next chapter in the Exorcist trilogy. That might mean he saw the last one and realized there were two left and if he does anything well it’s draw out a story. 

Yay:

To the announcement of a new IP-based film Mickey Vs Winnie. It’s fun to read comical hot takes from people who haven’t even seen the movie yet.

Nay:

The new Faces of Death reboot gets an R rating. It’s not really fair — Gen-Z should get an unrated version like past generations so they can question their mortality the same as the rest of us did. 

Yay:

Russell Crowe is doing another possession movie. He’s quickly becoming another Nic Cage by saying yes to every script, bringing the magic back to B-movies, and more money into VOD. 

Nay:

Putting The Crow back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. Re-releasing classic movies at the cinema to celebrate a milestone is perfectly fine, but doing so when the lead actor in that film was killed on set due to neglect is a cash grab of the worst kind. 

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)

Ghostface (2021)

Ghost Face (2023)

Don’t Scream (2022)

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

The Scream (2023)

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

As crazy as it may seem, The Crow 3 was about to go a completely different direction. Originally, it would have been directed by Rob Zombie himself and it was going to be his directorial debut. The film would have been titled The Crow 2037 and it would follow a more futuristic story. Check out more about the film and what Rob Zombie said about it below.

The film’s story would have started in the year “2010, when a young boy and his mother are murdered on Halloween night by a Satanic priest. A year later, the boy is resurrected as the Crow. Twenty-seven years later, and unaware of his past, he has become a bounty hunter on a collision course with his now all-powerful killer.”

In an interview with Cinefantastique, Zombie said “I did write The Crow 3, and I was supposed to direct it, and I worked on it for 18 months or so. The producers and the people behind it were so schizophrenic with what they wanted that I just bailed because I could see that it was going nowhere fast. They changed their minds every day about what they wanted. I had wasted enough time and gave up. I would never get back in that situation again.”

Once Rob Zombie left the project, we instead got The Crow: Salvation (2000). This movie was directed by Bharat Nalluri who is known for Spooks: The Greater Good (2015). The Crow: Salvation follows the story of “Alex Corvis, who was framed for the murder of his girlfriend and is then executed for the crime. He is then brought back from the dead by a mysterious crow and discovers that a corrupt police force is behind her murder. He then seeks out revenge against his girlfriend’s killers.” This film would have a limited theatrical run and then go direct to video. It currently sits at 18% Critic and 43% Audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

It would have been interesting to see how Rob Zombie’s version of The Crow 3 would have turned out, but then again, we may have never gotten his film House of 1000 Corpses. Do you wish we would have gotten to see his film The Crow 2037 or was it better it never happened? Let us know in the comments below. Also, check out the trailer for the new reboot titled The Crow set to debut in theaters on August 23rd of this year.