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Lin Shaye: Telling a Story with the Godmother of Horror

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“A good chat is never time wasted”–Lin Shaye as Elise Rainier

It’s a Thursday afternoon, and I’m waiting for a phone call I never thought I’d receive. Any moment now, Lin Shaye–the Lin Shaye–is about to call.  Suddenly, my phone rings and I forget my own name for 2.5 seconds as I fumble to hit Accept.

I manage to stammer out “Hello” and I hear one of the most familiar voices in horror respond, “Hello, Waylon?  This is Lin Shaye.”

For the next hour and a half, Lin Shaye, the Godmother of Horror as she has been rightly named, regaled me with stories of her life and career, and I was enthralled from that first hello. The actress known for her over the top characters and her ability slip in and out of every genre believably impressed me with her quick wit, her easy laugh, and a total dedication to the art of acting. This isn’t a star that was made overnight, however. As a matter of fact, it was not a path she initially set out to follow.

“The thing is I never really thought about being a film actress ever,” Shaye began. “From really as far back as I can remember I liked telling stories.  I mean, even as a little girl, I liked telling stories.”

Shaye was growing up in Detroit, Michigan and at the time there were very few children her age with whom she could play. Rather than despair at her lack of friends, young Lin’s imagination took over. She would go into her closet and pull out all of her clothes, much to her mother’s chagrin. Before long, she’d have all of her stuffed animals assembled and dressed as different characters in stories that might go on for days. Later, when another girl her age finally moved into her neighborhood, Shaye and her new friend set to work creating their own newspaper. The two girls would draw comic strips and would write news bulletins about the goings on in their families.

“It was pretty intensive,” the actress laughed. “But I honestly think that from the very beginning there was something–whether that is a talent or a need–I was always a storyteller. It sort of naturally segued into the love of theater not even realizing that it was really theater but it was actually telling a story. Acting out a story for other people was the same thing I had done with my dolls.”

But it would still be a while before she embraced her destiny on the stage. After graduating high school, Shaye attended the University of Michigan and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in art history. Still not quite sure where she was headed in life, she headed off to Europe where she spent time working on a kibbutz in Israel before moving across the continent. But it was in England where the real adventure would begin.

Shaye arrived in London two suitcases lighter than when she set out on her journey.

“I had my two suitcases with me. I had ditched the other two along the way because I found out the hard way just how hard it is to hitchhike with four giant suitcases,” she joked. “So here I am in London, sitting at a little counter in Piccadilly Circus. This man sat down next to me and heard me order and he asks, ‘Are you American?’ And I said yes. Then he asks me if I need a job and I said, ‘Sure!’ He explained that he and his associates were poets and were headed to the Edinburgh Festival and needed a secretary. I mean, can you imagine?”

The stranger handed her a piece of paper with a phone number and name on it with instructions to call the number at six o’clock that evening. Shaye headed off to the YWCA, checked into a room, and at the appointed time called the number. The gentleman who answered asked if she could stop by his apartment at noon the next day and she cheerfully agreed.

At this point in her story, she and I are both laughing hysterically. Even more funny was that the offer of a job was totally legit. Lin headed to the address the next day and met Keith Harrison who was, indeed, a poet.

“He looked like Pan. He had a red beard and he looked like he had horns coming out of his head, I swear to God. And he was missing teeth and he was always scratching his beard.  And he WAS a poet. He is actually a published poet. And the other gentleman who picked me up, his name was George…G.W. Whiteman who is also a published poet. I mean, these were Oxford graduates and they were actually headed to Edinburgh.”

Shaye agreed to work for the gentlemen for $20 a week and readied herself to travel to Edinburgh where she also met poets and authors the likes of William Burroughs and W.H. Auden before travelling back to London.

She took a second job in a small theatre in the West End in London as prop master to disastrously hilarious results like something out of a campy 80s slasher flick. During one scene of the sketch comedy show, birds were supposed to fall from the sky onto the stage. So, Shaye headed to the local butcher shop and purchased the heads and wings of quail that the shop was going to throw away. She took them back to the theater and attached them to styrofoam bodies.

“But the only thing I forgot is that they were live flesh and so they started to smell bad.  I had a big bag full of dead bird parts. And by the fourth night of the run, they said, ‘I think we have to throw these out’ because you could smell them as soon as you entered the theater. So anyway, that was my other job.”

She stayed in London for almost a full year before she ran completely out of money and her parents, beside themselves about their daughter’s predicament, had the police pick her up. She flew home to New York and moved in with her brother, Bob Shaye AKA the man who created New Line Cinema, and it wasn’t long before she found herself on a stage and never looked back.

Click on the next page to read more about how Freddie Kreuger and a bunch of Critters brought the actress onto the screen.

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New Poster Reveal For Nicolas Cage’s Survival Creature Feature ‘Arcadian’ [Trailer]

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Nicolas Cage Arcadian

In the latest cinematic venture featuring Nicolas Cage, Arcadian emerges as a compelling creature feature, teeming with suspense, horror, and emotional depth. RLJE Films has recently released a series of new images and a captivating poster, offering audiences a glimpse into the eerie and thrilling world of “Arcadian”. Scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, 2024, the film will later be available on Shudder and AMC+, ensuring a wide audience can experience its gripping narrative.

Arcadian Movie Trailer

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given this film an “R” rating for its “bloody images,” hinting at the visceral and intense experience awaiting viewers. The film draws inspiration from acclaimed horror benchmarks like “A Quiet Place,” weaving a post-apocalyptic tale of a father and his two sons navigating a desolate world. Following a catastrophic event that depopulates the planet, the family faces the dual challenge of surviving their dystopian environment and eluding mysterious nocturnal creatures.

Joining Nicolas Cage in this harrowing journey are Jaeden Martell, known for his role in “IT” (2017), Maxwell Jenkins from “Lost in Space,” and Sadie Soverall, featured in “Fate: The Winx Saga.” Directed by Ben Brewer (“The Trust”) and penned by Mike Nilon (“Braven”), “Arcadian” promises a unique blend of poignant storytelling and electrifying survival horror.

Maxwell Jenkins, Nicolas Cage, and Jaeden Martell 

Critics have already begun to praise “Arcadian” for its imaginative monster designs and exhilarating action sequences, with one review from Bloody Disgusting highlighting the film’s balance between emotional coming-of-age elements and heart-pounding horror. Despite sharing thematic elements with similar genre films, “Arcadian” sets itself apart through its creative approach and action-driven plot, promising a cinematic experience filled with mystery, suspense, and relentless thrills.

Arcadian Official Movie Poster

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‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3’ Is a Go with Enhanced Budget and New Characters

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Winnie the Pooh 3

Wow, they’re churning things out fast! The upcoming sequel “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3” is officially moving forward, promising an expanded narrative with a larger budget and the introduction of beloved characters from A.A. Milne’s original tales. As confirmed by Variety, the third installment in the horror franchise will welcome Rabbit, the heffalumps, and the woozles into its dark and twisted narrative.

This sequel is a part of an ambitious cinematic universe that reimagines children’s stories as horror tales. Alongside “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” and its first sequel, the universe includes films such as “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”, “Bambi: The Reckoning,” and “Pinocchio Unstrung”. These movies are set to converge in the crossover event “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble,” slated for a 2025 release.

Winnie the Pooh Poohniverse

The creation of these films was made possible when A.A. Milne’s 1926 children’s book “Winnie-the-Pooh” entered the public domain last year, allowing filmmakers to explore these cherished characters in unprecedented ways. Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers, of Jagged Edge Productions, have led the charge in this innovative endeavor.

The inclusion of Rabbit, heffalumps, and woozles in the upcoming sequel introduces a new layer to the franchise. In Milne’s original stories, heffalumps are imagined creatures resembling elephants, while woozles are known for their weasel-like characteristics and a penchant for stealing honey. Their roles in the narrative remain to be seen, but their addition promises to enrich the horror universe with deeper connections to the source material.

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How to Watch ‘Late Night with the Devil’ from Home: Dates and Platforms

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Late Night With The Devil

For fans eager to dive into one of this year’s most talked-about horror films from the comfort of their own home, “Late Night with the Devil” will be available for streaming exclusively on Shudder starting April 19, 2024. This announcement has been highly anticipated following the film’s successful theatrical release by IFC Films, which saw it earning rave reviews and a record-breaking opening weekend for the distributor.

“Late Night with the Devil” emerges as a standout horror film, captivating audiences and critics alike, with Stephen King himself offering high praise for the 1977-set film. Starring David Dastmalchian, the movie unfolds on Halloween night during a live late-night talk show broadcast that disastrously unleashes evil across the nation. This found footage-style film not only delivers scares but also authentically captures the aesthetic of the 1970s, drawing viewers into its nightmarish scenario.

David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil

The film’s initial box office success, opening to $2.8 million in 1,034 theaters, underscores its wide appeal and marks the highest opening weekend for an IFC Films release. Critically acclaimed, “Late Night with the Devil” boasts a 96% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 135 reviews, with the consensus praising it for rejuvenating the possession horror genre and showcasing David Dastmalchian’s exceptional performance.

Rotten Tomatoes score as of 3/28/2024

Simon Rother of iHorror.com encapsulates the film’s allure, emphasizing its immersive quality that transports viewers back to the 1970s, making them feel as if they are part of the eerie “Night Owls” Halloween broadcast. Rother lauds the film for its meticulously crafted script and the emotional and shocking journey it takes viewers on, stating, “This whole experience will have viewers of the Cairnes brothers’ film glued to their screen… The script, from beginning to end, is neatly sewn together with an ending that’ll have jaws on the floor.” You can read the full review here.

Rother further encourages audiences to watch the film, highlighting its multifaceted appeal: “Whenever it is made available to you, you must attempt to view the Cairnes Brothers’ latest project as it will make you laugh, it will creep you out, it will amaze you, and it might even strike an emotional cord.”

Set to stream on Shudder on April 19, 2024, “Late Night with the Devil” offers a compelling blend of horror, history, and heart. This film is not just a must-watch for horror aficionados but for anyone looking to be thoroughly entertained and moved by a cinematic experience that redefines the boundaries of its genre.

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