News

INGRID GOES WEST While Plaza Gets Scary Good

Published

7 years ago

August 1, 2017

That latest Instagram picture you posted of your avocado-enriched soy toast latte might have been a pretty great idea on Sunday funday during brunch hours, but what if it turns out one of your Instagram followers is Ingrid. Or at the very least, Ingrid-esque. In director, Matt Spicer’s latest Ingrid Goes West, we get an all too familiar look at an obsessive behavior that has become an accepted and popular way of getting away with being stalker-lite.

In the beautifully lit and directed, Ingrid Goes West, Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) moves out to California after receiving her recently deceased mother’s inheritance. Ingrid isn’t interested with any sunshine or beaches though, she is moving specifically due to her obsession with social network influencer, Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen). When she arrives, she finds a way to find a way to burrow her way into Sloane’s social circles using her knowledge of Sloane’s Instagram hangouts, but her obsessive nature quickly takes her from friendly to frightening.

Plaza does some amazing work here. Since playing her engimatic character Lenny Busker in FX’s Legion, she has shown that she is capable of doing severely creepy and threatening surprisingly well. In Ingrid Goes West, she uses that dark side to create a very ominous character, but stays likeable enough to give the character merit in her actions. We are never not on her side, even at the most cringe-worthy moments. Plaza dispalys a nervous volatility that will put you at unease. Doesn’t change the fact that you still want to see her succeed despite knowing her stalker intent. Plaza is ultimately scary good.

The film is told through a no filter, concentrate examination of millennials, and the view a lot of that generation has of and on the world. The films dialogue is spoken through superlative millennial speak that becomes just as much a character as Ingrid. A lot of the central characters are totally unlikeable people, due to their narcissistic routines. Rather it’s Sloane’s delusions of grandeur, her brother Nicky’s trust fund baby issues or her boyfriend Ezra’s dismal hipster art, each brings enough unlike ability to assist in making Ingrid’s stalking nature a high point of character. Arguably, the most likeable character in the film has to be Ingrid’s landlord/boyfriend, Dan Pinto (O’Shea Jackson). Jackson brings on buckets of charm and like ability to his Batman obsessed, drug dealer with a heart of gold. His character is also the most do good of the bunch and ultimately (despite being a drug dealer) is purely good and genuinely cares about people. Warning, Jackson has a got a smile that has the power to make ya melt. After his breakout in Straight Out Of Compton followed by this, I’m hoping to see this dude in a lot more stuff soon.

There is a playful, satirical tone throughout that paves the way with funny and lite intent, only to lead you down a darker path in its final act once the rot sets in. It’s no spoiler to say that this film comes with a sort of pessimistic catharsis for both character and a generation.

Spicer creates a film that is self-aware of its own nature. Its frames are perfectly lit to match the best of your Instagram pictures. It’s an interesting take on stalker culture. The scariest part of which, is society basically mimicking Ingrid’s behavior in more concentrated instances, and how it has become an accepted social more. Next time you or I am obsessively hitting that refresh button on our favorite social media app, just know in a way you and I are all Ingrid… or at the very least have an Ingrid waiting for us to leave so they can kidnap our dog.

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Editorial

Yay or Nay: What’s Good and Bad in Horror This Week

Published

5 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Welcome to Yay or Nay a weekly mini post about what I think is good and bad news in the horror community written in bite-sized chunks.

Yay:

Mike Flanagan talking about directing the next chapter in the Exorcist trilogy. That might mean he saw the last one and realized there were two left and if he does anything well it’s draw out a story.

Yay:

To the announcement of a new IP-based film Mickey Vs Winnie. It’s fun to read comical hot takes from people who haven’t even seen the movie yet.

Nay:

The new Faces of Death reboot gets an R rating. It’s not really fair — Gen-Z should get an unrated version like past generations so they can question their mortality the same as the rest of us did.

Yay:

Russell Crowe is doing another possession movie. He’s quickly becoming another Nic Cage by saying yes to every script, bringing the magic back to B-movies, and more money into VOD.

Nay:

Putting The Crow back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. Re-releasing classic movies at the cinema to celebrate a milestone is perfectly fine, but doing so when the lead actor in that film was killed on set due to neglect is a cash grab of the worst kind.

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Lists

The Top-Searched Free Horror/Action Movies on Tubi This Week

Published

21 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The free streaming service Tubi is a great place to scroll when you’re unsure what to watch. They are not sponsored or affiliated with iHorror. Still, we really appreciate their library because it’s so robust and has many obscure horror movies so rare you can’t find them anywhere in the wild except, if you’re lucky, in a moist cardboard box at a yard sale. Other than Tubi, where else are you going to find Nightwish (1990), Spookies (1986), or The Power (1984)?

We take a look at the most searched horror titles on the platform this week, hopefully, to save you some time in your endeavor to find something free to watch on Tubi.

Interestingly at the top of the list is one of the most polarizing sequels ever made, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. Perhaps viewers have seen the latest sequel Frozen Empire and are curious about this franchise anomaly. They will be happy to know it’s not as bad as some think and is genuinely funny in spots.

So take a look at the list below and tell us if you are interested in any of them this weekend.

1. Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.

2. Rampage

When a group of animals becomes vicious after a genetic experiment goes awry, a primatologist must find an antidote to avert a global catastrophe.

3. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren uncover an occult conspiracy as they help a defendant argue that a demon forced him to commit murder.

4. Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County, where his next victims, a teenage girl and her brother, await.

5. Don’t Breathe

A group of teens breaks into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime but get more than they bargained for once inside.

6. The Conjuring 2

In one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, Lorraine and Ed Warren help a single mother of four in a house plagued by sinister spirits.

7. Child’s Play (1988)

A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll’s next victim.

8. Jeepers Creepers 2

When their bus breaks down on a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discovers an opponent they cannot defeat and may not survive.

9. Jeepers Creepers

After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old church, a pair of siblings find themselves the chosen prey of an indestructible force.

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News

Morticia & Wednesday Addams Join Monster High Skullector Series

Published

1 day ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Believe it or not, Mattel’s Monster High doll brand has an immense following with both young and not-so-young collectors.

In that same vein, the fan base for The Addams Family is also very large. Now, the two are collaborating to create a line of collectible dolls that celebrate both worlds and what they have created is a combination of fashion dolls and goth fantasy. Forget Barbie, these ladies know who they are.

The dolls are based on Morticia and Wednesday Addams from the 2019 Addams Family animated movie.

As with any niche collectibles these aren’t cheap they bring with them a $90 price tag, but it’s an investment as a lot of these toys become more valuable over time.

“There goes the neighborhood. Meet the Addams Family’s ghoulishly glamorous mother-daughter duo with a Monster High twist. Inspired by the animated movie and clad in spiderweb lace and skull prints, the Morticia and Wednesday Addams Skullector doll two-pack makes for a gift that’s so macabre, it’s downright pathological.”

If you want to pre-purchase this set check out The Monster High website.