News

Dear Hollywood, “Pop” Demon Movies Are Dead

Published

5 years ago

December 1, 2018

Let’s face it William Friedkin put a creative cap on all devil possession movies when he created The Exorcist back in 1973. That film has become canonized and any writer or director who attempts to freshen the pot must look to that film for inspiration lest they plagiarize it.

A pop demon to me is a rock star of sorts; a diva. It confines its victims to a space, usually a bed, or chair and from there toys with caregivers who seek to defeat it. All the while, popping bones, spewing punchlines through purulence and speaking in obscenities.

Friedkin’s Pazuzu meets all the criteria, he’s truly a demonic celebrity.

There is a reason no serious possession film has had the lead’s head spin around or take a crucifix to the uterus; Friedkin (Maybe Craven with Krueger) set the bar for his pop star–end of story, although intrepid filmmakers continually try but fail to update The Exorcist’s formula no matter how hard they work, they only pale in comparison.

Take for instance “The Possession of Hannah Grace” which opened to bad reviews and okay revenues, garnering $2.56 million on Friday. That’s probably the best it will do for a one-day total.

This seems to be the pattern–and hopefully the end of movies–that fall into this ilk, and horror fans are exhausted as their eyes roll back into their head when another film with the word “possession” or “exorcism” is released.

With such a surplus, only a few filmmakers successfully inject some originality into the trope. James Wan made Insidious (2008) and The Conjuring (2013), the former took us inside the big box retailer of pop demons, while the latter brought the horror into a nuclear family.

Wan’s stylized camerawork and atmosphere were enough to win audiences over to make a few sequels and even an entire universe. But the formula has since evolved. Take note of The Nun’s box-office success, but subsequent dismal word-of-mouth.

Game changer Adam Robitel took a risk in 2014. The Taking of Deborah Logan was a film that put the nuance on the possession not on the monster. This time the lead suffered from Alzheimer’s disease as the entity slowly consumed her. Robitel created a final image so indelible it catapulted him from indie to mainstream almost overnight.

In one of this year’s best films, Ari Aster’s Hereditary, showed us a stunning example of how modern audiences react to possession films. Social media horror “critics” hated it, dismissing it, while others are still reeling from that final scene.

What Robitel and Aster did was remove the Freidkin pop demon altogether, their monsters did not manifest with pustules, blue skin or eerie contact lenses, instead, they slowly took over the host who appeared outwardly normal, even functioning in public.

That’s not to say some mechanisms are removed altogether. Jump scares are still in play, they just aren’t the primary source of fright. After all, demons need their moments too.

But with movies such as The Devil Inside, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Last Exorcism, The Possession, and now The Possession of Hannah Grace, we get the Ikea brand of assembly instructions. Take an innocent person, add a celebrity demon with a cool name, mix in some bone-cracking special effects framed in indigo and serve with a trailer that highlights all of the above.

If you’re a filmmaker and reading this, it’s not that I don’t want another pop star demon in the genre, by all means create the next Fred Krueger, — we need one ASAP!

Just bring it out into the real world already, or bound them to the body but find a different way to expose their powers other than hiring a contortionist or CGI master to do all the heavy lifting.

Or if you want to take a really big risk, retcon that bitch The Exorcist rather than try to copy it. Don’t bury it under another “situation” for safety reasons.

For now 2019 seems to be void of any movies with the word “possession” or “exorcism” in the title. There is The Grudge but at least that has the balls to be a remake only 14 years after the original.

And Kayako is definitely a pop demon; an ethereal diva. But she isn’t afraid to come out of her victims to see the world she left behind. Friedkin will be amused.

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News

Netflix Releases First BTS ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Footage

Published

13 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Timothy Rawles

It’s been three long years since Netflix unleashed the bloody, but enjoyable Fear Street on its platform. Released in a tryptic fashion, the streamer broke up the story into three episodes, each taking place in a different decade which by the finale were all tied together.

Now, the streamer is in production for its sequel Fear Street: Prom Queen which brings the story into the 80s. Netflix gives a synopsis of what to expect from Prom Queen on their blog site Tudum:

“Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”

Based on R.L. Stine’s massive series of Fear Street novels and spin-offs, this chapter is number 15 in the series and was published in 1992.

FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN IS NOW IN PRODUCTION 🩸 Welcome to Shadyside High. We're gonna have a killer time. pic.twitter.com/jDl0zRa2CH
— Netflix (@netflix) April 30, 2024

Fear Street: Prom Queen features a killer ensemble cast, including India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (Sweet Magnolias, American Pie), Lili Taylor (Outer Range, Manhunt) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From, Perry Mason).

No word on when Netflix will drop the series into its catalog.

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News

Live Action Scooby-Doo Reboot Series In Works at Netflix

Published

14 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The ghosthunting Great Dane with an anxiety problem, Scooby-Doo, is getting a reboot and Netflix is picking up the tab. Variety is reporting that the iconic show is becoming an hour-long series for the streamer although no details have been confirmed. In fact, Netflix execs declined to comment.

If the project is a go, this would be the first live-action movie based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon since 2018’s Daphne & Velma. Before that, there were two theatrical live-action movies, Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), then two sequels that premiered on The Cartoon Network.

Currently, the adult-oriented Velma is streaming on Max.

Scooby-Doo originated in 1969 under the creative team Hanna-Barbera. The cartoon follows a group of teenagers who investigate supernatural happenings. Known as Mystery Inc., the crew consists of Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and his best friend, a talking dog named Scooby-Doo.

Normally the episodes revealed the hauntings they encountered were hoaxes developed by land-owners or other nefarious characters hoping to scare people away from their properties. The original TV series named Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ran from 1969 to 1986. It was so successful that movie stars and pop culture icons would make guest appearances as themselves in the series.

Celebrities such as Sonny & Cher, KISS, Don Knotts, and The Harlem Globetrotters made cameos as did Vincent Price who portrayed Vincent Van Ghoul in a few episodes.

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News

BET Releasing New Original Thriller: The Deadly Getaway

Published

14 hours ago

April 30, 2024

Cameron McFarland

BET will soon be offering horror fans a rare treat. The studio has announced the official release date for their new original thriller, The Deadly Getaway. Directed by Charles Long (The Trophy Wife), this thriller sets up a heart racing game of cat and mouse for audiences to sink their teeth into.

Wanting to break up the monotony of their routine, Hope and Jacob set off to spend their vacation at a simple cabin in the woods. However, things go sideways when Hope’s ex-boyfriend shows up with a new girl at the same campsite. Things soon spiral out of control. Hope and Jacob must now work together to escape the woods with their lives.

The Deadly Getaway is written by Eric Dickens (Makeup X Breakup) and Chad Quinn (Reflections of US). The Film stars, Yandy Smith-Harris (Two Days in Harlem), Jason Weaver (The Jacksons: An American Dream), and Jeff Logan (My Valentine Wedding).

Showrunner Tressa Azarel Smallwood had the following to say about the project. “The Deadly Getaway is the perfect reintroduction to classic thrillers, which encompass dramatic twists, and spine-chilling moments. It showcases the range and diversity of emerging Black writers across genres of film and television.”

The Deadly Getaway will premiere on 5.9.2024, exclusively ion BET+.