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Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Has All Of Your Phobia’s Covered

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Some of you guys grew up in the same decadeĀ as I did. Some of you saw the first Playstation’s release that was shortly followed up with the first Resident Evil. If you fit into this gap of time, you, like myself, had the crap scared out of you, when a overzealous-zombie doberman jumped through a window during a particularly quiet walk through a hallway. Over the years, I think between horror movies and horror games, I have become sort of jaded toward those scares and creep-outs. Things havenā€™t quite been the same. Titles like Outlast, Amnesia and Alien Isolation have kept the torch of true horror burning and it seems like the latest Resident Evil used that light as a beacon to sail its terrifying self upon our shores in order to make us afraid of gaming in the dark once again.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, reinvents itself in the same way Resident Evil 4 did. It changes perspective on literally everything, including well, your perspective. This game takes you from the classic third-person to a visceral first-person experience.

The new gameplay that that was revealed at E3 had fans in a tissy. Everyone was pissed that the game didnā€™t look like a typical RE game. Everyone was pissed there were no zombies. Well, this is a case in point that in some instances, we are in capable, fan friendly hands. Every change that was made is a welcome one, that helps to reinvent the evil wheel while also adding a shit load of scares along the way.

When Ethan receives a distress call for help from his wife Mia, he heads out to the swamps of Louisiana to find her. Ethan is lead to a dilapidated house in the bayou that houses a ton of secrets and things that are real horror-show. The house belongs to The Baker family and between them they have created a utopia for deranged psychotics and complete dark chaos.

My reviews usually come out a lot sooner, but I felt that I owed it to RE to go a full week. I managed to finish the game on normal and on ā€œmadhouseā€ difficulties and played a bit of it on VR. Right out of the gate, I have to say if you are able to play this game on VR, that is exactly how you should play it. If you can stand the motion sickness, VR is an entirely terrifying experience. The emersion level is through the roof, and at times is barely tolerable due to paralyzing fear. I enjoyed VR the most when I was exploring the house, once you enter combat the VR experience becomes cumbersome and the controls can become a little goofy. Overall, for the most scares go with the VR approach and god help ya.

Each ā€œstageā€ in the game uniquely belongs to that member of the Baker family. Jack, Lucas and Marguerite each have their own horror movie inspired areas of terror. Jackā€™s plays out in the main house and has a Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe, Marguerite largely plays out in the green house and is heavy on insects and Cronenbergian body horror. Lucas likes playing deadly games and has a level very much inspired by Saw. By doing this the game never feels old, it is constantly keeping things fresh by changing the way you play the game and almost entirely changing up the setting.

Ā “It is like a Baskin Robinā€™s of scary shit”

On your journey you will also find old videocassettes. Once placed in a VCR, these allow you to play through as another character in order to give you some expositional bits. I know, exposition is usually the enemy of great storytelling. But here the it works. When these tapes are played you play as an unfortunate character who has already become all to familiar with the Bakers and their savagery.

Evil

The entirety of the story is satisfying on all cylinders. Even though at most points the game is an entirely new experience, it does have moments and tools that are undoubtably call backs to classic Resident Evil. This entry also gives a fantastic ending that feels more cinematically in tune than previous titles.

For those worried about this game not being connected to the others, you can rest easy. The game arrives atĀ that connection with subtly and something that will give you a big ā€œah-haā€ moment. I know it was a worry for a while that this game would entirely be its own reboot and ignore previous RE games. Well, Iā€™m telling you hardcore RE fans, you can relax and enjoy.

“The emersion level is through the roof, and

at times is barely tolerable due to paralyzing fear”

On top of picking from different film inspirations, the game also hits you hard in the gut with a plethora of phobias. It is like a Baskin Robinā€™s of scary shit. Clowns, crazed hillbillies, isolation, creepy old ladies, creepy kids and more are all in place and waiting around each corner to scare the piss from you.

Itā€™s hard to say negative things about this game but if I had to, it would be how once you acquire a weapon the game seems to change entirely. One minute, you are hiding scared to move due to being defenseless and then you are armed and taking headshots. Some of the fear and tension is removed. Sustaining the weaponless approach for a little longer would have done wonders for the slow driven horror.

I was able to play through multiple times on different difficulty levels with and without VR and Iā€™m happy to say that each time not all enemies and scares were in the same place. Trying to finish the game under 4 hours to get a trophy was an totally different horror experience compared to my first time around.

Without a doubt this is my favorite Resident Evil game. It is hard to say that, considering the other titles are nostalgia fueled and also great. But this one achieves its terrifying greatness by almost completely scrapping a safe model and doing something balsy, horrifying and new. Everything from the level design to the characters are all fantastic and the fact that I was able to play through multiple times without getting bored is proof of that.

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The Pope’s Exorcist Officially Announces New Sequel

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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.

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

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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.

ā€œFaces of DeathĀ 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.”

ā€œThe 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?ā€

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.

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Movie Reviews

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

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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!

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