News

Original Valak Wasn’t a Nun But this Unused Animated “Winged Demon”

Published

2 years ago

January 5, 2024

In 2016, we were introduced to Valak, the terrifying Nun who tortured the Warrens in James Wan’s The Conjuring 2. Since then, the sinister sister has spawned two of her own movies, the last one being released in November of 2023.

^{The Conjuring 2}

But, did you know director James Wan had a different vision of Valak in mind, and it wasn’t a sharp-toothed abbess? According to Wan, he created a winged demon for the part, even had it made, but it was never used on film.

In a past social media post, the Aquaman 2 director said his initial monster was:

“A beautifully/hideously sculpted animatronic puppet head and practical body-suit by the super talented @justin.raleigh (whom I’ve worked with on pretty much all my movies since Insidious 1) and his team @fracturedfxinc
worn by @j_bishara.”

He goes on to say that he finished one full CGI shot with wings before re-evaluating the ghoul.

“It was really grand and epic,” he says in the post, “But as cool as it was, it felt out of place within the Conjuring world we had built. And so during post production, I reconceived the villain — feeling it needed to be something more grounded, more personal, and creepier. And thus the demonic Nun was born.“

Even though some scenes were already done, Wan says that the Valak as we know her now had to be rendered into the final product. “All the nun stuff was shot during additional photography, including coming up with new scare set-pieces like the “painting on the wall”, and used visual effects to put the new villain into existing scenes.” Tell us what you think. Do you like the Nun as she is today or the winged demon concept Wan originally thought of?

@ihorror The original VALAK in The Conjuring 2 was going to be this winged demon. Read the article up now on iHorror.com #horror #horrormovie #horrorfan ♬ Evil Beauty – Fate

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News

ShoStak Opens the Door for Filmmakers to Build and Own Their Stories

Published

5 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Anthony Pernicka

A new platform is stepping into the streaming space, but instead of trying to become the next Netflix or TikTok, ShoStak is built around a much bigger idea.

“Cinema does not need another platform. It needs a new model.”

ShoStak operates across two sides of its ecosystem. ShoStak.tv is the viewer-facing platform where audiences can watch content and discover new series. ShoStak.world serves as the creator hub, where filmmakers can develop projects, submit ideas, and take part in programs designed to help bring those stories to life.

Together, they form what ShoStak describes as a cinematic ecosystem. A space where stories are not treated as disposable content, but as worlds that can grow, evolve, and sustain themselves over time.

Instead of chasing algorithms or studio approval, the platform is built around a simple but ambitious goal. Give creators ownership of their work, their audience, and the revenue they generate from it.

The Competition Offering a First Look

As part of its early rollout, ShoStak is hosting a creator competition where audiences can vote on which projects move forward, giving fans a rare shot at directly influencing what actually gets made.

Projects are introduced as series concepts or pilots, with creators competing across multiple rounds. Audience participation helps determine which entries gain traction and continue developing.

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A post shared by Dunedin Int. Film Festival (@diffestival)

Ownership at the Center

One of the platform’s defining ideas is simple but powerful. Creators should own what they create.

ShoStak emphasizes a model where filmmakers:

Retain ownership of their intellectual property
Build and grow their own audience directly
Earn revenue tied to engagement and support from that audience

This removes a layer that has traditionally stood between creators and success. Instead of relying on studio approval or algorithmic luck, filmmakers have a clearer path to building something of their own.

It’s a shift that could be especially meaningful for independent creators who are used to giving up control just to get their work seen.

Building a New Kind of Pipeline

ShoStak is not just focused on hosting content. It’s working toward building a system where ideas can grow from concept to fully realized projects.

Through its creator hub and development programs, filmmakers can:

Introduce new story worlds directly to audiences
Build a following around those stories
Expand their projects over time without losing ownership

It creates a pipeline that feels more open than traditional systems. Instead of waiting for approval behind closed doors, creators can develop their work in front of an audience and grow it organically.

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A post shared by @shostak.tv

Why This Matters for Horror

Horror has always lived a little outside the system.

Some of the most memorable films in the genre came from creators taking risks, working with limited resources, and finding ways to connect with audiences on their own terms.

ShoStak’s approach could give horror filmmakers a new kind of playground:

Test ideas as short-form series
Build loyal fanbases around original concepts
Expand those concepts into larger projects over time

For a genre that thrives on originality and experimentation, having more control over both the creative process and the outcome could make a real difference.

ShoStak is not just trying to launch another streaming service. It’s trying to rethink how stories are created, shared, and sustained.

By focusing on ownership, long-term world-building, and direct connection between creators and audiences, it’s offering a different path forward.

Whether that model succeeds remains to be seen.

But if it does, it could give filmmakers something that has been increasingly difficult to hold onto.

Control.

News

The Evil Dead Burn Trailer Is Here and It Is Everything

Published

10 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Luna Gray

The teaser for Evil Dead Burn is attached to Lee Cronin’s The Mummy in theaters right now, which means you have to earn it. Go see The Mummy. You will probably enjoy that too.

Here is what we got. A young girl crawling across an apartment floor desperately trying to stay alive in a room with a Deadite. It is hard to tell, but the whole thing may be one continuous shot of her trying to get away from all of it. It is action packed, and it is gory, and ultraviolent in a way we have never seen in the franchise. For a teaser. That is a thesis statement. That is Sébastien Vaniček telling you exactly what kind of film this is going to be.

Evil Dead Burn opens July 10.

Why Vaniček Was the Right Call

The director is Sébastien Vaniček, who made Infested in 2023. Infested is a French spider horror film set entirely in a crumbling apartment building, and it is one of the better creature features of the last decade. It is relentless.

A single girl crawling across a dirty apartment floor with Deadites closing in is exactly the kind of scene Vaniček was built for. He does not need big spaces or big budgets. He needs a person, a threat, and no way out. That is Evil Dead. That has always been Evil Dead.

He co-wrote the script with Florent Bernard, his Infested collaborator. Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert produce through Ghost House Pictures. Bruce Campbell and Lee Cronin are executive producers. The whole institution showed up for this one.

What the Film Is About

A woman loses her husband in a car accident and goes to stay with her in-laws at their remote house. The in-laws find the Book of the Dead. You already know what happens after that. You have always known.

Souheila Yacoub leads the cast, joined by Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Tandi Wright, and George Pullar. The film shot in New Zealand between July and October 2025 and is the sixth installment in the Evil Dead series.

Evil Dead Rise proved the standalone approach works. It did not need you to have seen anything. Burn looks like it is doing the same thing and doing it in a filthier, more confined space, which is exactly where this franchise lives best. If the teaser is any indication, Vaniček understood the assignment from the first frame.

Evil Dead Wrath follows in 2028, directed by Francis Galluppi. The pipeline is full. I am not complaining.

News

The Evil Dead Universe Now Includes a Mummy Film

Published

13 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Luna Gray

No one would blame you for missing it. You watched Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, a professor named Bixler showed up, you didn’t think twice about it, and you went home. That was the whole plan.

Then Cronin gave an interview to Collider where he explained what he did, which is the least subtle version of hiding something possible. The Mummy and Evil Dead share a universe now and its up to us to decide what that means.

The Name You Missed

Mark Mitchinson plays Professor Bixler in The Mummy. He is an Archaeologist. You know the type. Probably has a bad feeling about this, does not survive having a bad feeling about it.

If you watched Evil Dead Rise, that name might mean something. Bethany Bixler is Beth. The woman trying to hold her family together while her sister gets possessed in a Los Angeles apartment building and starts doing things that are deeply unpleasant to think about. Same last name.

Cronin’s exact words to Collider: “If you pay attention to the name of the archeology professor in the movie, he could be a distant relative of some key characters in Evil Dead Rise.”

He could be. The director put the name there on purpose and then talked about it in an interview. You can decide how ambiguous that is. I have already decided.

What the Evil Dead Canon Looks Like Now

Evil Dead Rise did not reboot anything when it came out in 2023. It continued the same line that Sam Raimi started in 1981 and that has since expanded to include the original trilogy, the 2013 remake, and Ash vs. Evil Dead. Cronin stepped in as steward of that whole thing.

The Deadites, the Necronomicon, and a journalist’s daughter who vanishes into the desert and comes back eight years later as something that no longer qualifies as a daughter now all share the same reality. That is a lot of mythology in one place and somehow none of it feels like it is crashing into anything else.