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iHorror Spotlight: An Interview with Rob Schrab

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The boutique video store installation Slashback Video has come and gone, but the memories remain. The exhibit was a recreation of video stores of old but completely horror themed, becoming a popular attraction to genre fans in the Los Angeles area. Though it mainly featured vintage tapes, it also featured custom boxes and art for imagined movies befitting of the era. One such exhibitor is writer/director Rob Schrab (The Sarah Silverman Program, Monster House), whose art label ‘Schrab Home Video’ has a number of original VHS boxes and pieces that were a particular highlight of the attraction and featuring such titles like Cannibal Airlines, Shark Hotel, and Wizard Vigilante which are also available on various apparel through Teepublic. I sat down with him to talk about the exhibit, the genre, and more.

Image via IMDB

What were some of the first horror movies you watched?

Mainly creature feature stuff. Local TV, sci-fi, horror. Stuff like The Howling, but cut for TV. Alien, Poltergeist, one of my first was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 which blew my mind because it was like a fever dream of colors, noise, and make-up effects.

What was your upbringing like?

I lived in a small town like Mayville, Wisconsin. I watched a lot of TV and drew a lot. We didn’t even have a video store. We had a 5 And Dime where you could rent movies. I’d rent Return Of The Living Dead, which is so terrifying and amazing. I love zombies and From Beyond, stuff that’s so weird, colorful, and amazing.

The sweet spot for me was 1982 to 1987. The summer of ’82 had so many great movies. On the cover of Starlog magazine through the year. ET, Star Trek II: Wrath Of Khan, The Road Warrior. Every single horror movie has been remade in one way, shape, or form from that one summer. Movies done really well by Dante, Raimi, O’Bannon. I’ve seen every movie by John Carpenter. He brought a look of horror that persists to this day as it is now.

What recent horror movies have you enjoyed?

Get Out I think is such an amazing movie. I assumed it was a spoof, but it’s straight-forward, strong POV, with rich mythology. Well constructed to the last scene. It should be nominated for best screenplay.

They Look Like People was really well done. Really smart, creepy, with mounting dread. Only movie I’ve seen to compel me to yell at my TV. I love it when a horror movie gets that kind of reaction, when it disarms you, attacks you. Horror movies make you afraid of being killed without actually harming you. It makes you think “I’m going to die one day, but how?”

Shudder [the streaming service] has got great taste.I’ve been more open to newer films because of Shudder. They always have something playing. I watched it last night and High Tension was playing and I thought “Oh! I want to check that out.”

What are your favorite horror sub-genres?

Cop vs Monster. The Dark. The police detective up against an insidious monster. The Hidden is just really great fun. Alligator is such an influence on me. John Sayles wrote such an amazing script based on a dumb idea. Also, horror anthologies like Tales From The Darkside.

How did you get involved with Slashback Video?

Schrab Home Video, SHV. I’ve been making my own home videos for awhile. Did it for a pitch and people loved it. I tried to change it up and make it its own thing. It’s all about making your own thing. I was working with Bad Robot and sent them Cannibal Airlines, Dan Trachtenberg saw it and wanted it in 10 Cloverfield Lane. People were actually really interested. I met Ryan Turek and he said he was doing Slashback Video, so I sent in 13 boxes. I was just really happy to be a part of that.

Image via Nerdist

What were your reactions to the opening of Slashback Video?

Amazing! I couldn’t even get in for a long time, and I was unable to really go back. It’s the video movie club. What video stores were. I loved haunting the aisles and finding something new and seeing what’s good and what’s bad based on the VHS box. Looking for gold, like the first time you watch Night Of The Creeps or Terrorvision.

What were the influences for your boxes?

Mutant Hunt. Great box, terrible movie. The first half-hour is pretty fun, but that box is pretty amazing. Razorback. Ghoulies. It’s one of those movies everyone has seen. Screamers. Blood Beach. I’d buy all the VHS tapes. Rawhead Rex because it’s so ridiculous. I’m a big fan of the Empire Home Movies. Especially From Beyond because it was so fun and had so many great lines. Fred Dekker is such an influence. Night Of The Creeps is such a great mash-up of invasion, monster, and zombie movies.

What were you most pleased with about Slashback Video?

The love of Slashback Video by the community overall. You don’t get love looking at boxes on Netflix. It’s overwhelming and you end up browsing without watching anything. Dan Harmon and I would watch the entire sci-fi movie section at the video store hoping to find bad movies.

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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. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

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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