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Halloween is NOT For Adults, Writer Says

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In a recent New York Post article, a writer gives commentary on why adults should leave Halloween to the kiddies. Adults shouldn’t dress up they say, nor should they carve pumpkins.

The writer remains nameless probably because they don’t want to be known as the person who worked so hard to ruin everyone’s fun.

The author’s byline is simply, Post Staff Report and he/she begins the article titled “Adults Should Celebrate Halloween Without Dressing Up” by referencing America’s current turmoil, not mass shootings or hurricanes, but adults donning costumes for that once-a-year nationwide masquerade on October 31.

“We assume some of these folks have kids,” they write. “Give it a break. Give the holiday back to the children. Grow up.” They write.

They amend that inflammatory statement by saying it’s okay to celebrate the holiday, but do it with tasteful home décor or make a “Halloween-themed” dessert, but that is as far as an adult should go.

The writer’s prejudice is bolstered by referencing vanilla impulse buy housewife magazines.

Better Homes and Gardens and Good Housekeeping are suggested primers on how adults should “behave.”

This means NOT carving pumpkins, but painting them instead: “a personal” touch they suggest.

At iHorror we suspected the article might be “fake news” or even written as a parody, maybe clickbait, which we certainly understand given the nature of online news these days.

But this editorial came from the New York Post, not as reputable as the Times, but still a formidable news agency on the east coast.

There are a few problems with the writer of this article’s views. First and foremost why are they so hellbent on taking the fun out of Halloween for adults? It’s the only time of the year for most of us to express our creativity and go out in public.

I am not a historian on Halloween or its origins but what I do know is that it’s a night to embrace what makes us different; pay homage to movies and iconic characters that were so important to our childhoods, bond with our own kids and in the same moment formulate new memories.

Not only that, horror movies and Halloween go hand-in-hand. Who hasn’t dressed up like a vampire or a zombie either as a kid or as an adult? These characters have a lot to do with our own identities. In fact, without these legendary characters, kids would still be cowboys or “indians” or cutting two eyeholes into a sheet to go out as a ghost.

Halloween is not all about the candy either. Yes, it’s certainly a plus, but I would say that Halloween candy is now sort of a gift of appreciation–nobody offers the “trick” option anymore. Adults who walk the long residential blocks with their kids in costume are just as excited to see the extravagance that goes into a themed house. To suggest that adults remove themselves from the celebration would mean suburban blocks would go dark, back into the ages before electricity.

Plus, let’s not forget it’s just plain fun. As adults, we have to traverse through work, kids, traffic, trolls in our social media feed and a multitude of other things that suck the fun out of our lives.

On Halloween, we can live vicariously through our superheroes, other-worldly beings who are above reality, not susceptible to stress. Our costumes are projections of our anger, sexiness, love, desire to be accepted or any other emotion we want to publically display.

The idea that adults should not celebrate Halloween is like saying they shouldn’t go to Disneyland or the fair or anywhere with child-like delineations.

Adults need an outlet to express themselves and whether it’s carving a pumpkin, making spooky cocktail stirrers or dressing up like a werewolf, All Hallows Eve is the perfect time to show our creativity.

To take that away just makes the world a dull, stressful place with no expression and devoid of fun.

Who wants that? The Post writer should remove the stick from their backside, straddle it and pretend to be a witch.

We promise not to judge.

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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.

“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.

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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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