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Jesse Klein’s “Demons” to Play at FilmOut San Diego LGBT Film Festival

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A young man sits in group therapy relating how he’s just murdered a man by slitting his throat.  The rest of his group can totally relate.  One likes to kill using a short sword; another has a real thing for poison.  They discuss it with a fervent glee until the therapist in charge of the group calls them to order and reminds them that the group isn’t here to discuss their murderous instincts.  No, there purpose is much more serious.  These men are gay and that’s just not okay.  The therapist snorts a short line of cocaine and they get down to business.

This is the opening for Jesse Klein’s highly engaging and entertaining short, “Demons”, which will be making its West Coast debut at the San Diego FilmOut LGBT film festival in June.  The film drives home the point that there are worse things in the world than being gay, and came from Klein’s own personal dreams and experiences.

“I was looking at all of these anti-gay protesters,” Klein says, “and all I could think was that they could be using that energy for something so much more important.  I mean, if you’re going to base your protests on the Bible, why not pick one of the Ten Commandments?  Let’s protest murder!”

And so we find Matt, our protagonist, walking through a world that is hyper-violent.  People are beating each other in the streets, stealing from each other, etc.  He arrives at the home of his new boyfriend, a local butcher.  He’s greeted at the door and they kiss, only to hear the woman next door scoff at them as she’s handing her young beer swilling daughter an automatic rifle.

It isn’t only scoffing neighbors Matt will have to worry about on date night, however.  His serial killing parents are getting older and just not able to finish a job like they used to be.  So, when they call him in the middle of dinner, he has to leave Adam to help them clean up a mess they’ve made in a local ultra-conservative bar full of war-glorifying, gay hating douchebags.  What follows is a throat slashing extravaganza under multi-hued club lights that would make Sweeney Todd proud.

I asked Klein if he’d had any negative responses from audiences with a scene that could easily be seen as mirroring the tragic shooting at Pulse in Florida last year, and he said that remarkably there had been none of that.

“I think because I flipped it, because it’s these uber-Republicans with signs in the club that read “WAR!!” and “Kill the Gays!!” that they see what I’m doing with it and they respect it.  Honestly, I’ve had more people ask me why I didn’t have more blood in that scene!”

When his parents come in to help him clean up the bodies, he makes his excuses to get back to his date, switching pronouns from “he” to “she”, still hiding the fact that he’s gay.  As he leaves the club, his obviously proud parents watch him go with beaming smiles and turning to each other the father remarks that he loves his gay son.

“I think that’s what happens with a lot of people nowadays,” the writer/director laughs.  “I made a documentary about how I’d rather jump out of a plane and skydive than tell my parents I’m gay, and the thing this most of the time, they already know and they’re just waiting for you to tell them.”

Matt heads back to Adam and as they finish up their date night with a little pillow talk, he apologizes for having to leave earlier.  It’s at this point that my favorite revelation of the film comes through and it’s so good I refuse to tell you about it.  This is one little twist you have to see for yourself!

Klein presents a world that is both absurd and real in “Demons”.  The satire is worthy of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and equally as satisfying in its measured lesson on the absurdities of anti-gay sentiments.

Javan Nelson turns in s a charming performance as Matt.  He fully inhabits the transition from a young man who just might be falling in love to feral serial killer, and manages to do it with a Puckish grin that will melt your heart.

FilmOut San Diego will present “Demons” alongside four other horror shorts June 10, 2017  beginning at 10 pm.  For ticket information, visit the festival website!

DEMONS Trailer from Jesse Klein on Vimeo.

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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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