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Behind the Monster: Robert Maillet is The Strain’s ‘Master’

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strainmaster

Have you ever been watching a horror movie or TV show and found yourself wondering who a particular villain is played by, underneath the makeup or behind the mask? Well in this new feature here on iHorror, we take off those masks, peel back that makeup and reveal the men (and women) behind the monsters!

Since the show’s first season is ramping up for the finale, it seems only fitting that the first monster we profile is from the FX vampire series The Strain. The lead villain of the series, ‘The Master’ is a MASSIVE monster who is responsible for the vampire infection spreading throughout New York City. Essentially, he’s the uber vampire, his appearance oftentimes cloaked in secrecy and his mind always focused on the destruction of humanity.

It was only recently that the cloak came off and The Master’s full form was revealed, during an episode a few weeks back. And holy shit does he look awesome. While many have commented on the relatively corny look of the makeup FX, that’s personally what I love so much about the character, as he looks like a giant rubber Halloween decoration. While such a description isn’t always a good thing in the world of horror, it totally works for The Strain, which is at its best when it’s wild and over the top.

maillet

So, who is it underneath all that heavy makeup? That’d be French-Canadian actor Robert Maillet, who actually got his start in the wrestling business. Performing in World Wrestling Entertainment in the late 1990s as Kurrgan, Maillet was a force to be reckoned with in the squared circle, the character eventually morphing into the fun-loving muscle of the freakshow-inspired group known as ‘The Human Oddities.’

After retiring from the wrestling business, the 7-foot-tall giant embarked on a career that didn’t involve a wrestling ring, acting in recent films like 300, Sherlock Holmes, Pacific Rim and Hercules. Given the size of The Master, Maillet was of course a natural fit for the role of The Strain‘s biggest and baddest monster, and it’s interesting to note that even he has to wear platform shoes, in order to make the complete transformation.

Though it’s Maillet who physically portrays The Master – except for select scenes where choreographer Roberto Campanella stands in – Robin Atkin Downes in the man who provides the voice for the character, when speaking is required of him. The British actor’s vocal work can be heard in horror films like Aliens vs. Predator, The Wolf Man and Prometheus.

The Strain airs Sunday nights at 10pm EST on FX, and there are only two episodes left in the inaugural season. If you haven’t been watching, you might want to start playing catch up!

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‘Evil Dead’ Film Franchise Getting TWO New Installments

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It was a risk for Fede Alvarez to reboot Sam Raimi’s horror classic The Evil Dead in 2013, but that risk paid off and so did its spiritual sequel Evil Dead Rise in 2023. Now Deadline is reporting that the series is getting, not one, but two fresh entries.

We already knew about the Sébastien Vaniček upcoming film that delves into the Deadite universe and should be a proper sequel to the latest film, but we are broadsided that Francis Galluppi and Ghost House Pictures are doing a one-off project set in Raimi’s universe based off of an idea that Galluppi pitched to Raimi himself. That concept is being kept under wraps.

Evil Dead Rise

“Francis Galluppi is a storyteller who knows when to keep us waiting in simmering tension and when to hit us with explosive violence,” Raimi told Deadline. “He is a director that shows uncommon control in his feature debut.”

That feature is titled The Last Stop In Yuma County which will release theatrically in the United States on May 4. It follows a traveling salesman, “stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop,” and “is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune.”

Galluppi is an award-winning sci-fi/horror shorts director whose acclaimed works include High Desert Hell and The Gemini Project. You can view the full edit of High Desert Hell and the teaser for Gemini below:

High Desert Hell
The Gemini Project

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‘Invisible Man 2’ Is “Closer Than Its Ever Been” to Happening

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Elisabeth Moss in a very well-thought-out statement said in an interview for Happy Sad Confused that even though there have been some logistical issues for doing Invisible Man 2 there is hope on the horizon.

Podcast host Josh Horowitz asked about the follow-up and if Moss and director Leigh Whannell were any closer to cracking a solution to getting it made. “We are closer than we have ever been to cracking it,” said Moss with a huge grin. You can see her reaction at the 35:52 mark in the below video.

Happy Sad Confused

Whannell is currently in New Zealand filming another monster movie for Universal, Wolf Man, which might be the spark that ignites Universal’s troubled Dark Universe concept which hasn’t gained any momentum since Tom Cruise’s failed attempt at resurrecting The Mummy.

Also, in the podcast video, Moss says she is not in the Wolf Man film so any speculation that it’s a crossover project is left in the air.

Meanwhile, Universal Studios is in the middle of constructing a year-round haunt house in Las Vegas which will showcase some of their classic cinematic monsters. Depending on attendance, this could be the boost the studio needs to get audiences interested in their creature IPs once more and to get more films made based on them.

The Las Vegas project is set to open in 2025, coinciding with their new proper theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe.

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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’ Series Gets Early Release Date

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Jake gyllenhaal presumed innocent

Jake Gyllenhaal’s limited series Presumed Innocent is dropping on AppleTV+ on June 12 instead of June 14 as originally planned. The star, whose Road House reboot has brought mixed reviews on Amazon Prime, is embracing the small screen for the first time since his appearance on Homicide: Life on the Street in 1994.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s in ‘Presumed Innocent’

Presumed Innocent is being produced by David E. Kelley, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, and Warner Bros. It is an adaptation of Scott Turow’s 1990 film in which Harrison Ford plays a lawyer doing double duty as an investigator looking for the murderer of his colleague.

These types of sexy thrillers were popular in the ’90s and usually contained twist endings. Here’s the trailer for the original:

According to Deadline, Presumed Innocent doesn’t stray far from the source material: “…the Presumed Innocent series will explore obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

Up next for Gyllenhaal is the Guy Ritchie action movie titled In the Grey scheduled for release in January 2025.

Presumed Innocent is an eight-episode limited series set to stream on AppleTV+ starting June 12.

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