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‘American Dad’ Goes Full Blown Horror In New Episode

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Creepypasta has long since grown from murmurs and memes on the internet to mainstream popular culture the last several years. Slenderman is a household name and some creepypasta tales are set to be adapted to the big screen. And last night with the latest episode of American Dad, a similar format has been used for one extremely clever horror comedy!

Image via AmericanDad.Fandom

The originally FOX and now TBS Animated sit-com from Seth McFarlene essentially follows Stan Smith, an All-American CIA agent and his quirky family. The show has since shifted to a more absurdist, if surrealist comedy most prominently featuring Roger The Alien’s numerous character personas as plot points, and the weirdness has only strengthens the series. Last night’s episode entitled ‘Rabbit Ears’ felt like something from The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. Stan finds an old school big TV set for the dump and decides to install it in the basement despite his family’s disinterest and attention focused on Roger who’s latest persona is a baby. He manages to find a show to watch after fiddling with the ‘rabbit ears’ of the television, an old 1960’s late night variety show called Nighthawks Hideaway hosted by a charming socialite named Alistair Covax (Voiced by Chris Pine).

Image via AmericanDad.Fandom

Stan soon becomes obsessed with the show, which features Covax having politically incorrect conversations with guests, drinking, and listening to smooth jazz. The same episode plays repeatedly with minor shifts and differences with every viewing such as different people playing the same characters. When Stan seeks information from TV Guide headquarters, they tell him the show has never existed and the only other person who knows about it is Stan’s neighbor, Tuttle. Only for Tuttle to disappear and show up on Nighthawks Hideout! Stan’s investigation leads to him going through projected static and into the TV show itself. Only to discover, to his horror, he now cannot leave!

Image via AmericanDad.Fandom

The episode plays like many Creepypastas and SCP Foundation entries about similar accursed cases of media that can absorb its viewers. In the episode itself, the horror of Nighthawks Hideout and its sinister hot are played all but completely straight. Despite his smooth exterior, Covax is a menacing monster with no origin and only motivated to keep his show on track. Anyone who tries to escape, he disposes of during the commercial break. Including an unfortunate Back To The Future fan voiced by Fred Savage in a cameo. And worst yet, with every repeat of the episode, the people stuck inside like Stan and Tuttle lose more and more of their memory! It’s a story with a genuinely creepy hook that on its own could stand as a good horror story. Of course, with Stan and Tuttle as the protagonists, it handles the job of balancing the horror to the comedy by having the horror treated deadly serious and simply having them react in funny ways.

This is an episode well worth checking out if you’re looking for some animated weirdness. It’s also kind of ironic considering one of the most popular creepypasta sub-genres is ‘cursed/lost episodes’ of popular shows. Looks like American Dad beat them to the punch on their own show!

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III.

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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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)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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