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Director Adam Robitel Takes us Behind the Scenes of “Insidious: The Last Key”

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Adam Robitel knew he was seeing something special when he attended a showing of the very first Insidious film at the LA Film School years ago, and he recognized even then, the power of Lin Shaye’s performance as Elise Rainer. In fact, he told James Wan just that after that fateful screening.

“I told James that if Lin hadn’t nailed that monologue about the Further, if she hadn’t been as committed as she was, I don’t know that it would have all worked,” the director explained as we chatted recently.

Little did he know then, that not only would Shaye’s character become central to the franchise, but that he would also be directing the latest entry in the franchise: Insidious: The Last Key. From the moment he got the job, however, he knew he had enormous shoes to fill.

“I consider Leigh Whannell and James Wan the new godfathers of supernatural horror,” he says. “They raised the bar, and then they broke the bar.”

So, when his name was put on a shortlist to direct the latest film, he knew he had to bring his A-game, and he went in to audition with storyboards and a look book with a brand new face of evil to confront Elise Rainier. He called the demon KeyFace and he was born from the elements already present in the first draft of the script.

“The script had a lot of images of keys and locks and prisons, and it felt a lot more like a psychological thriller than the other films had,” Robitel pointed out. “It was a perfect setup to bring in another iconic demonic figure to the franchise.”

The director’s pitch worked and he was soon working with Whannell to finalize script elements and preparing to take on his first major studio film. It was a dizzying prospect to go from an independent film like The Taking of Deborah Logan which had no budget for advertising to the full might of Universal.

As filming began, he found himself in the unusual position of directing his longtime friend and former co-star from 2001 Maniacs, Lin Shaye. After three films, the actress has a firm hold on who Elise is and what she would and wouldn’t do, so Robitel gave her the space and support she needed to fully realize the emotional journey of this particular film, sometimes with comedic results.

They needed a car for Elise, and they were presented with four or five options, and Robitel, thinking Elise is a person who really cares about the environment, picked out a Prius. When Lin got to the set, she looked at the car and shook her head.

“She says, ‘A Prius? Elise would not drive a damned Prius!'” Robitel related laughing. “Then she points to this old beater truck down the street that belonged to a neighbor, and says, ‘That’s what Elise would drive.’ So we talked to the guy who owned it and borrowed the truck for the day, and it really was the right choice for Elise!”

Robitel loves that ownership, and admits that it made it easier when it was time to ask Shaye to go further than she’d ever gone before for the role comparing her to a superhero meeting her arch-nemesis while simultaneously confronting the abusive past that made her the strong individual she is today.

To make it believable, he needed an actor capable of matching her strength and tenacity. He found his man in Javier Botet, monster actor extraordinaire.

“Javier is unique in the world,” he says. “He has Marfan Syndrome, which causes his skeletal system to be elongated and it gives him this amazing ability to move his body in unusual ways.”

The actor’s heavy prosthetic make-up and thick contact lenses made it difficult to communicate, however, so Robitel found himself demonstrating the movements he wanted and allowing the actor to mimic them while bringing his own physicality to the scene. The effect is altogether terrifying, and KeyFace is perhaps the franchise’s most menacing demon to date because he is synonymous with the abuse that Elise suffered as a child.

“My style as a director has been to hire good people and then stay out of their way,” he explained, “and it really could not have worked out any better on Insidious: The Last Key.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Insidious: The Last Key is currently in theaters. Check out the trailer below and prepare yourself to journey into the Further once more.

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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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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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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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