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Pride Nightmares: Five Unforgettable Horror Films That Will Haunt You

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It’s that wonderful time of year again. A time for pride parades, creating a sense of togetherness, and rainbow flags being sold for a high-profit margin. Regardless of where you stand on the commodification of pride, you have to admit it creates some great media.

That’s where this list comes in. We have seen an explosion of LGTBQ+ horror representation in the past ten years. Not all of them were necessarily gems. But you know what they say, there’s no such thing as bad press.

The Last Thing Mary Saw

The Last Thing Mary Saw Movie Poster

It would be difficult to do this list and not have a film with overbearing religious overtones. The Last Thing Mary Saw is a brutal period piece about forbidden love between two young women.

This one is definitely a slow burn, but when it gets going the payoff is well worth it. Performances by Stefanie Scott (Mary), and Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan: First Kill) make this unsettling atmosphere ooze out of the screen and into your home.

The Last Thing Mary Saw is one of my favorite releases in the past few years. Just when you think you have the film figured out it changes direction on you. If you are wanting something with a little more polish on it this pride month, watch The Last Thing Mary Saw.


May

May Movie Poster

In what is probably the most accurate depiction of a manic pixie dream girl, May gives us a look into the life of a mentally unwell young woman. We follow her as she attempts to navigate her own sexuality and what she wants out of a partner.

May is a little on the nose with its symbolism. But it does have one thing the other films on this list do not. That is a frat bro style lesbian character played by Anna Faris (Scary Movie). It’s refreshing to see her break the mold of how lesbian relationships are typically depicted in film.

While May didn’t perform very well in the box office it has made its way into cult classic territory. If you are looking for some early 2000s edginess this pride month, go watch May.


What Keeps You Alive

What Keeps You Alive Movie Poster

In the past, it was common for lesbians to be portrayed as serial killers because of their sexual deviancy. What Keeps You Alive gives us a lesbian murderer that doesn’t kill because she is gay, she kills because she is a terrible person.

This hidden gem made its rounds in the film festival circuit until its on-demand release in 2018. What Keeps You Alive does its best to rework the cat and mouse formula that we often see in thrillers. I will leave it to you to decide if it worked or not.

What really sells the tension in this film are the performances by Brittany Allen (The Boys), and Hannah Emily Anderson (Jigsaw). If you are planning to go camping during pride month, give What Keeps You Alive a watch first.


The Retreat

The Retreat Movie Poster

Revenge flicks have always had a special place in my heart. From classics like The Last House on The Left to more modern films like Mandy, this sub-genre can provide endless avenues of entertainment.

The Retreat is no exception to this, it provides ample amounts of rage and sadness for its viewers to digest. This may go a little too far for some viewers. So, I will give it a warning for the language used and the hate depicted during its runtime.

That being said, I found it to be an enjoyable, if not a bit of an exploitative film. If you are looking for something to get your blood rushing this pride month, give The Retreat a try.


Lyle

I am a sucker for indie films that try and take classics in a new direction. Lyle is essentially a modern retelling of Rosemary’s Baby with a few extra steps added for good measure. It manages to keep the heart of the original film while forging its own path along the way.

Films where the audience is left to wonder if the events shown are real or just a delusion brought on by trauma, are some of my favorites. Lyle manages to transfer the pain and paranoia of a grieving mother into the minds of the audience in spectacular fashion.

As with most indie films, it’s the subtle acting that really makes the film stand out. Gaby Hoffmann (Transparent) and Ingrid Jungermann (Queer as Folk) portray a fractured couple trying to move on after a loss. If you are looking for some family dynamics in your pride themed horror, go watch Lyle.

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Thrills and Chills: Ranking ‘Radio Silence’ Films from Bloody Brilliant to Just Bloody

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Radio Silence Films

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella are all filmmakers under the collective label called Radio Silence. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are the primary directors under that moniker while Villella produces.

They have gained popularity over the past 13 years and their films have become known as having a certain Radio Silence “signature.” They are bloody, usually contain monsters, and have breakneck action sequences. Their recent film Abigail exemplifies that signature and is perhaps their best film yet. They are currently working on a reboot of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York.

We thought we would go through the list of projects they have directed and rank them from high to low. None of the movies and shorts on this list are bad, they all have their merits. These rankings from top to bottom are just ones we felt showcased their talents the best.

We didn’t include movies they produced but didn’t direct.

#1. Abigail

An update to the second film on this list, Abagail is the natural progression of Radio Silence’s love of lockdown horror. It follows in pretty much the same footsteps of Ready or Not, but manages to go one better — make it about vampires.

Abigail

#2. Ready or Not

This film put Radio Silence on the map. While not as successful at the box office as some of their other films, Ready or Not proved that the team could step outside their limited anthology space and create a fun, thrilling, and bloody adventure-length film.

Ready or Not

#3. Scream (2022)

While Scream will always be a polarizing franchise, this prequel, sequel, reboot — however you want to label it showed just how much Radio Silence knew the source material. It wasn’t lazy or cash-grabby, just a good time with legendary characters we love and new ones who grew on us.

Scream (2022)

#4 Southbound (The Way Out)

Radio Silence tosses their found footage modus operandi for this anthology film. Responsible for the bookend stories, they create a terrifying world in their segment titled The Way Out, which involves strange floating beings and some sort of time loop. It’s kind of the first time we see their work without a shaky cam. If we were to rank this entire film, it would remain at this position on the list.

Southbound

#5. V/H/S (10/31/98)

The film that started it all for Radio Silence. Or should we say the segment that started it all. Even though this isn’t feature-length what they managed to do with the time they had was very good. Their chapter was titled 10/31/98, a found-footage short involving a group of friends who crash what they think is a staged exorcism only to learn not to assume things on Halloween night.

V/H/S

#6. Scream VI

Cranking up the action, moving to the big city and letting Ghostface use a shotgun, Scream VI turned the franchise on its head. Like their first one, this film played with canon and managed to win over a lot of fans in its direction, but alienated others for coloring too far outside the lines of Wes Craven’s beloved series. If any sequel was showing how the trope was going stale it was Scream VI, but it managed to squeeze some fresh blood out of this nearly three-decade mainstay.

Scream VI

#7. Devil’s Due

Fairly underrated, this, Radio Silence’s first feature-length film, is a sampler of things they took from V/H/S. It was filmed in an omnipresent found footage style, showcasing a form of possession, and features clueless men. Since this was their first bonafide major studio job it’s a wonderful touchstone to see how far they have come with their storytelling.

Devil’s Due

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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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Horror Movies Releasing This Month – April 2024 [Trailers]

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April 2024 Horror Movies

With only six months until Halloween, it is surprising how many horror movies will be released in April. People are still scratching their heads as to why Late Night With the Devil wasn’t an October release since it has that theme already built in. But who’s complaining? Certainly not us.

In fact, we are elated because we are getting a vampire movie from Radio Silence, a prequel to an honored franchise, not one, but two monster spider movies, and a film directed by David Cronenberg’s other child.

It’s a lot. So we have provided you with a list of movies with help from the internet, their synopsis from IMDb, and when and where they will drop. The rest is up to your scrolling finger. Enjoy!

The First Omen: In theaters April 5

The First Omen

A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.

Monkey Man: In theaters April 5

Monkey Man

An anonymous young man unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless.

Sting: In theaters April 12

Sting

After raising an unnervingly talented spider in secret, 12-year-old Charlotte must face the facts about her pet-and fight for her family’s survival-when the once-charming creature rapidly transforms into a giant, flesh-eating monster.

In Flames: In theaters April 12

In Flames

After the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them.

Abigail: In Theaters April 19

Abigail

After a group of criminals kidnap the ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.

The Night of the Harvest: In theaters April 19

The Night of the Harvest

Aubrey and her friends go geocaching in the woods behind an old cornfield where they are trapped and hunted by a masked woman in white.

Humane: In theaters April 26

Humane

In the wake of an environmental collapse that is forcing humanity to shed 20% of its population, a family dinner erupts into chaos when a father’s plan to enlist in the government’s new euthanasia program goes horribly awry.

Civil War: In theaters April 12

Civil War

A journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.

Cinderella’s Revenge: In select theaters April 26

Cinderella summons her fairy godmother from an ancient flesh-bound book to get revenge on her evil stepsisters and stepmother who abuse her daily.

Other horror movies on streaming:

Bag of Lies VOD April 2

Bag of Lies

Desperate to save his dying wife, Matt turns to The Bag, an ancient relic with dark magic. The cure demands a chilling ritual and strict rules. As his wife heals, Matt’s sanity unravels, facing terrifying consequences.

Black Out VOD April 12 

Black Out

A Fine Arts painter is convinced that he is a werewolf wreaking havoc on a small American town under the full moon.

Baghead on Shudder and AMC+ on April 5

A young woman inherits a run-down pub and discovers a dark secret within its basement – Baghead – a shape-shifting creature that will let you speak to lost loved ones, but not without consequence.

Baghead

Infested: on Shudder April 26

Residents of a rundown French apartment building battle against an army of deadly, rapidly reproducing spiders.

Infested

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