News

‘Hellbent’ a Classic Slasher Set in the Gay Community

Published

7 years ago

October 17, 2017

There is no shortage of classic slasher films in the horror community, but did you know there is one that takes place in the gay community, and it’s really good.

It’s called Hellbent and it came out (ahem) 13 years ago.

Although it was an independent film it had some of the biggest names in horror entertainment to back it up.

Joseph Wolf, the producer of Hell Night, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween II and director Paul Etheredge collaborated to formulate a script.

Etheredge binging on 80’s slasher films to construct well-worn tropes and use them in his movie, only they would be portrayed by gay characters, the action taking place in their neighborhood.

That community is West Hollywood in California during the annual Halloween Carnival. In classic madman form, two guys are getting to know each other in a parked car in the beginning of the film, when a killer in a devil mask decapitates one of them.

The scene is quite brutal and the special effects are impressive. In fact, all of the kills in the film are impressive, with Savini-style quality and unsettling situations.

Readers if you have never heard of the “glass eye” scene in Hellbent you need to pay the dues on your horror card.

The man in the devil mask continues his bloody rampage, collecting heads from gay men in the club. Even killing one on the dancefloor amid a crowd of people who think it’s a part of the Halloween show.

All the archetypes are here: a serial killer, a final girl (In this case guy) and other tropes that are mixed into a script drawn from a boiling pot.

This was all intentional say the filmmakers. They wanted to make a slasher film where a man’s homosexuality was not the focus, they are just people enjoying the night which so happens to be the hunting ground for a crazed scythe-toting maniac.

“The young men in Hellbent have moved beyond worrying about whether ‘it’s ok to be gay’ or not,” Etheredge later said.

Ironically, It should be noted that the actors playing the main characters were not gay.

Also worth nothing, the killer in the film has no motivation in why he is targeting his victims. This was another aspect which the filmmakers made intentional. They wanted the audience to draw from their own fears and come up with reasons of their own.

Gay or straight, horror lovers are really missing out if they have not seen this film for whatever reason.

It’s available on most streaming platforms and takes place during Halloween, what better time than the present to add it to your queue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=nYUA20IG-Xs

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Editorial

Alleged Former Haunted Museum Staff Member Tattles on Zak Bagans

Published

6 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Zak Bagans has been getting a bum rap lately thanks to some of his former Ghost Adventures teammates. But he’s also getting roasted by one of his alleged former Haunted Museum employees in Las Vegas.

The apparent team member took to Reddit in an AMA (Ask Me Anything), inviting subscribers to ask them about their job including juicy details regarding their famous boss. It resulted in a windfall of queries that came with some surprising answers.

Bagans was one of the first to take his ghost hunting prowess to television creating a successful reality show that featured some of the world’s most haunted places. Coupled with his good looks, reactive histrionics and penchant for building tension Ghost Adventures became a pop culture phenomenon.

I worked with Zak Bagans in his museum. AMA
by inGhostAdventures

Throughout his travels, Bagans began to collect cursed items enough to fill a vintage house in Nevada which he eventually repurposed and named The Haunted Museum. Guests are able to visit his collection for a fee and are directed through its many rooms by a tour guide.

The YouTube channel TheSneezingMonkey featured the AMA Reddit thread on his channel with an update to follow.

Since the ex-employee cannot, or won’t, be verified, suffice it to say that nothing revealed in the lengthy discussion should be taken as fact. This could be a disgruntled ex-employee with nothing better to do than talk smack about the television icon who has managed to keep his show on the air for 16 years. Or, some of it could be true.

But that is for you to decide.

^{The Sneezing Monkey}

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Movies

Stephen King’s ‘The Monkey’ Sells to Neon, James Wan Co-Producing

Published

7 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Pretty much any piece of writing from Stephen King is ripe for a movie adaptation. The next one is a 1980 short story that appeared in his 1985 anthology Skeleton Crew, specifically The Monkey. The news broke by Deadline says Neon won the bidding war and the film will release in 2025.

Distributors went gaga trying to secure the rights with Neon the victor reportedly paying seven figures for the horror movie.

According to Deadline: “In The Monkey, when twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths starts occurring all around them. The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must reunite to find a way to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them. Theo James plays the twins in later years. [Christian] Convery plays the younger twins.”

The film is directed by Osgood (Oz) Perkins whose buzz-drunk current project, Longlegs is releasing on July 12.

The film also stars, Tatiana Maslany (She–Hulk: Attorney at Law), Elijah Wood (The Lord Of The Rings), Colin O’Brien (Wonka), Rohan Campbell (The Hardy Boys) and Sarah Levy (Schitt’s Creek).

James Wan and Michael Clear’s banner Atomic Robot have a production credit.

In 2023 a short film directed by Spencer Sherry was adapted from the King story. That film is currently touring the film festival market but you can watch the trailer below.

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Lists

Yay or Nay: What’s Good and Bad in Horror This Week: 5/13 to 5/17

Published

1 day ago

May 19, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Yay

Fall is getting not one but two sequels. It’s great news because now we know bad CGI can be consciously ignored when everything else is so great.

Yay

A man is labeled a time traveler after allegedly entering a garden shed in his 30s and exiting the next day in his 60s. If the magic is true we can finally go back and talk to Jason Blum right after Paranormal Activity and make him promise to never to touch an Exorcist movie.

Nay

The Coffee Table. This may be the first time we have suggested spoiling a film before actually seeing it. Wait. Maybe we spoiled Old by suggesting you don’t go see it.

Nay

Prolific B moviemaker Roger Corman passes away at 98. He gave many actors and directors a chance in Hollywood, some would go on to win major awards. His films were outrageous, often gratuitous but always filled with heart.

Yay

Clown Motel becomes a trilogy. Cheap Indy horror filmmakers aren’t micromanaged by rich and powerful studio execs so they can have fun with their material, and what better place to exercise that freedom than at a creepy desert motel in Nevada lorded over by hundreds of clowns.

Nay

A Jason Universe is announced which promises many lateral “activations” in the Friday the 13th universe. Although the definition of said “activations” is never fully explained it leads us to believe it was a typo for “transactions” so Fortnite players scan by a Jason skin wearing a non-IP regulation hockey mask.