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The App That Kills: Bedeviled – Movie Review

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Bedeviled was just released in Germany. To celebrate, here is a review of the modern smartphone killer flick, so you’ll know all about it once it hits the US.

What is it about?

In 2017, everyone has a smartphone, and everyone knows Siri. She was even in the Lego Batman Movie. Now imagine Siri is trying to kill you and your friends. That’s Bedeviled. A group of friends mourn the sudden loss of their friend. Shortly after they are invited to install an app. Mr. Bedeviled is the name. Like Siri, but seemingly even smarter. Smart becomes creepy really fast and soon teenagers die left and right.

Of course a movie like this has to have some sort of message. And to be honest, it is very on the nose: Smartphones invade your privacy. It’s nice to have a message, but it can be a little annoying when you have multiple characters mention it. While the evil app mentions it as well. Of course this doesn’t make the message less true, but it takes away from it for sure.

How is it?

For a low budget, direct to VOD and Blu-Ray movie, I was pleasantly surprised. The main antagonist, Mr. Bedeviled is really fun. The app listens to your conversations, finds out your biggest fears and then scares you to death.

“But why would they mention their biggest fears?” I hear you asking.

Well, imagine two guys try to scare their friend with one of those cheap jump scare videos and he remarks “You know I’m afraid of clowns!”. On other occasions, they just talk about their biggest fears for no reason.

Bedeviled, release 2017

The movie is well shot, the cinematography is really good. It has the look of a big budget movie, on par with Insidious. But I guess for that it would need more cheap jump scares.

Is it scary?

The most important question for a horror movie is, of course: “How scary is it?” I’d say it is fairly effective. It’s got some eerie scenes. Of course it has the usual jump scares every now and then, but it has more to offer. The scary effects look mostly practical, done with makeup and puppets. Everyone who has a fear of clowns or clown-like characters will be frightened for sure. And Mr. Bedeviled looks great. He is reminiscent of Slender Man, tall, slim, and instead of a tie he wears a bow tie, instead of a black suit, his suit is colorful. And he has a great grin.

His voice is even more important though, because as a Siri-like app, he is talking a lot. And the actor/voice actor has a great voice, reminiscent of the Killers voice in the Scream franchise.

Now to get to the gore. You won’t find any in this movie. It is R-Rated, but they don’t show anything viscera. All deaths happen off-screen. My guess is that the R-Rating comes from them saying “Fuck” quite a lot. Otherwise this would be a PG-13 movie for sure.

Anything else?

You can see where Bedeviled was influenced all throughout the movie. It is not by a big studio. It was made by actual horror fans who wanted to show how you scare people. And I think they succeeded. Also, for the most part, they managed to portray teenagers and smartphones pretty well. Most filmmakers have not yet grasped how young adults use their phones. The Vang-Brothers not only captured it pretty well, they managed to put the premise around this topic. Instead of “Oh no, my phone doesn’t work here” in this movie it works. You could say it works too well.

bedeviled 2016

There are some problems with the movie though. There are some ideas that seem to be important, like one girl who is in love with her fairly creepy teacher, that are never fully explored. This makes them feel pointless in the end. Also, a problem more and more horror movies seem to have, the death of the friends is downplayed by the characters. The first death is a big deal, but after that it just feels like they are over it right after it happens, going back to joking around and having sex. Also once again, none of these teenagers seem to have any parents. But those are small nitpicks, if you turn your brain off you will still enjoy this movie.

Final Thoughts

All in all Bedeviled is a fun contemporary movie that can hold its own in the ranks of recent scary movies. It probably won’t be remembered as one of the greatest of all times, but it is a fun teeny horror movie, perfect to watch with a few friends to have a scary night. While influenced by other great horror movies it still manages to stand on its own. Even though the main pattern of the story is nothing new, they managed to make it feel fresh and original enough to stand out. I’m rating Bedeviled 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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Nick Groff Reveals “Truth” Behind ‘Ghost Adventures’ & Zak Bagans

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It could be argued that the American paranormal documentary and reality TV phenomenon started with Ghost Adventures back in 2004 when then-unknown investigator Zak Bagans and his team filmed a documentary that allegedly revealed actual footage of paranormal activity on camera. That movie wouldn’t become widely available to viewers until it aired on the SyFy (nee Sci-Fi) Channel in 2007.

The movie, titled Ghost Adventures, inspired a television reality show of the same name that premiered on a different network, The Travel Channel, in 2008.

It must be noted that the hugely popular paranormal investigation reality show Ghost Hunters was already a mainstay on SyFy since 2004 and would go on to span 11 seasons.

Since then both original shows have found new life on Discovery+ with each brand having spin-offs and new seasons.

Lately, Ghost Adventures has become the topic of rumors and harsh accusations, especially against its host Zak Bagans. From allegations of career sabotage to being hard to work with, Bagans has recently been vilified by some people formerly on his team.

One of the original creators of Ghost Adventures, Nick Groff went on Twitter this week to speak about his former business partner, and let’s just say Bagans didn’t fare well. Groff doesn’t mention Bagans by name in the video, he often refers to him vaguely, as in, “the host who I was working with.”

To be fair, the paranormal behind-the-scenes drama is really nothing compared to the success that the original Ghost Adventures team wrought. Since Bagans was the face of the show (and still is), and apparently a sex symbol in that field, it was mostly his persona that propelled the brand into reality stardom.

That isn’t to say no one else from his team didn’t work hard to make the show as iconic as it is, Groff even says he helped come up with the name. But comparatively, Bagans is like the lead singer of a rock band and his investigators just aren’t as visible.

However, Groff, having gone solo, is himself a pop culture favorite. His show Paranormal Lockdown, which he executive produced, found a huge following. Many fans were upset that it ended in 2019 as you will see in his Twitter Q&A above.

Tell us what you think of this reality drama in the comments.

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‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ Comes to Brilliant 4K UHD From Vinegar Syndrome

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Texas

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is on its way to us from Vinegar Syndrome. The new release comes with an entire heck load of special features to boot. From new interviews with Tom Savini to Caroline Williams and more the disc is loaded with all kinds of new features to dig into. Of course, the new collection also made sure to include all the previously released special features. This makes for one hell of an absolutely complete collection.

The entire Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 experience on its own is a brilliant one. Director, Tobe Hooper took things in a vastly different level from that of the first film. Gone are the greasy, dirty, sweat-drenched Texas summers with the underlined stench of a cattle feed lot. Instead, Hooper went in a direction that underlined a comicbookish feel to the characters and the evil undeground lair in which The Saw and The Family took to hiding. It isn’t a direction everyone woul have gone with but Hooper wasn’t everyone and his brilliance shined through immensely with this gigantic choice.

The Vinegar Syndrome Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 special features include:

  • 4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray Set
  • 4K UHD presented in High-Dynamic-Range
  • Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
  • Presented with it’s original 2.0 stereo theatrical mix
  • Brand new audio commentary with film critic Patrick Bromley
  • Audio commentary with director Tobe Hooper
  • Audio commentary with actors Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams and special effects makeup creator Tom Savini
  • Audio commentary with director of photography Richard Kooris, production designer Cary White, script supervisor Laura Kooris and property master Michael Sullivan
  • “The Saw and Savini” – a brand new 2022 interview with special effects makeup creator Tom Savini
  • “Stretch Lives!” – a brand new 2022 interview with actress Caroline Williams
  • “Serving Tom” – a brand new 2022 interview with special makeup effects artist Gabe Bartalos
  • “Remember The Alamo” – a brand new 2022 interview with actor Kirk Sisco
  • “Texas Blood Bath” – a brand new 2022 interview with special makeup effects artist Barton Mixon
  • “Die Yuppie Scum” – a brand new 2022 interview with actor Barry Kinyon
  • “Leatherface Revisited” – a brand new 2022 interview with actor Bill Johnson
  • “Beneath The Battle Land: Remembering The Lair” – a brand new 2022 featurette with actors Caroline Williams, Barry Kinyon, Bill Johnson, and Kirk Sisco
  • Never-before-seen extended interviews with director Tobe Hooper and co-producer Cynthia Hargrave – from director Mark Hartley’s documentary “Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films”
  • “It Runs In The Family” – an 85-minute documentary on the making of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
  • “IRITF Outtakes” – extended interviews with L.M. Kit Carson and Lou Perryman
  • “House Of Pain” – an interview with makeup effects artists John Vulich, Bart Mixon, Gabe Bartalos and Gino Crognale
  • “Yuppie Meat” – an interview with actors Chris Douridas and Barry Kinyon
  • “Cutting Moments” – an interview with editor Alain Jakubowicz
  • “Behind The Mask” – an interview with stunt man and Leatherface performer Bob Elmore
  • “Horror’s Hallowed Grounds” – a featurette on the locations of the film
  • “Still Feelin’ The Buzz” – an interview with author and film historian Stephen Thrower
  • 43 minute behind-the-scenes video footage shot during the film’s production
  • Alternate Openingl
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Original theatrical trailers for U.S. and Japan
  • TV Spots
  • Extensive promotional still and image gallery
  • Reversible cover artwork
  • English SDH subtitles

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is coming to 4K UHD from Vinegar Syndome. Head over HERE to place your order before they are all gone. (They are selling out fast!)

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‘Bambi’ Meets ‘Apocolypse Now’ Fever Dream ‘Unicorn Wars’ Coming to Blu-Ray

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Unicorn

Director, Alberto Vázquez brings the animated fever dream Unicorn Wars to life in a must-see spectacle and surprisingly heavy political statement. Fantastic Fest 2022 selected Unicorn Wars as part of its programming and it didn’t let down in the heavy genre fest. The film which is best described as Apocalypse Now meets Bambi is an incredible film with surprisingly heavy drama for being such a squishy, and happy animation style. That juxtaposition makes for an incredible and singular viewing. Luckily for us, the radical experience is coming to Blu-Ray from G Kids and Shout! Factory.

The synopsis for Unicorn Wars goes like this:

For ages, teddy bears have been locked in an ancestral war against their sworn enemy, the unicorns, with the promise that victory will complete the prophecy and usher in a new era. Aggressive, confident teddy bear Bluet and his sensitive, withdrawn brother Tubby could not be more different. As the rigors and humiliation of teddy bear bootcamp turn to the psychedelic horrors of a combat tour in the Magic Forest, their complicated history and increasingly strained relationship will come to determine the fate of the entire war.

unicorn

Unicorn Wars Bonus Features

  • Interview with the director Alberto Vásquez
  • “Working in Blender” featurette
  • Feature-length animatic
  • Trailer

Unicorn Wars arrives on Blu-Ray beginning May 9. Are you excited about the insanely over-the-top experience? Let us know in the comments section.

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