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Death Around You: Retrospective On Michael Mann’s ‘The Keep’

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It’s always interesting looking through an acclaimed director’s filmography. Like others such as Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, and more, Michael Mann of HeatMiami Vice, and Collateral, has some beginnings in the horror genre. The sophomore directorial film of Mann after the success of the crime movie Thief was the adaptation of the World War II set historical horror/fantasy book by F. Paul Wilson, The Keep. Sadly, Mann’s original vision for the film was disrupted due to problems on and off-set, creating numerous time and monetary set-backs.

Image via IMDB

Paramount Studios stepped in and stopped Mann from using his original three hour cut of the film. The movie ending up edited down to around an hour and a half after going through focus groups and test screenings. The final product ending up a box-office bomb and critical disaster disavowed by everyone involved, from Mann himself, to original book author, F. Paul Wilson. Over the years however, The Keep has become something of a cult film thanks in no small part to Mann’s moody directing style, the cast including Scott Glenn and Sir Ian McKellen, the stunning creature effects, and the haunting score of Tangerine Dream. Creating a bizarre and dream-like movie that persists to this day.

Image via Youtube

The story follows a group of German soldiers sent to set up a base in a small Transylvanian village, led by the pragmatic Captain Woermann (Jurgen Prochnow). Establishing themselves in an ancient citadel adorned with nickel crosses, a couple of greedy soldiers accidentally unleash an evil entity after trying to loot the keep of its crosses. An event that shocks the mysterious Glaeken (Scott Glenn) from across several countries and sends him on a journey to the keep. As the bodies of soldier pile up, a cruel SS platoon led by the sadistic Major Kaempffer (Gabriel Byrne) takes control and torments the villagers, believing the deaths to be the work of partisans. Eventually sending for a former villager and Jewish historian, Theodore Cuza (Ian McKellen) and his daughter, Eva (Alberta Watson) from the concentration camp they were imprisoned in. Cuza making contact with the being that called Molasar, who strengthens his diseased body and promises to rid the world of the Nazis if Cuza frees him. The plotlines leading to a conflict between all players as they converge upon the keep.

Image via IMDB

It’s a strange story, but one that endures thanks to its themes, paralleling the evils of fascism to that of a supernatural being like Molasar. Rather than weighing one more than the other, both are equated as being similar forces of darkness upon the world. Cuza more than willing to help the demon escape his prison if it means ending Hitler and the Nazis who have targeted his family and his people. Molasar himself is a memorable devil as well. First appearing as energy that sucks humans of their lifeforce, slowly regaining strength and appearing in a ghostly fog, then as a fleshless husk, and finally as a giant, golem-like being with red light burning in his eyes. Despite his strength, acting as a manipulator in order to make his escape from his ancient prison. Ian McKellen standing out as Cuza, and even having a Gandalf-esque confrontation with Molasar toward the end.

The dream-like atmosphere of the film has been an underlying cause for The Keep‘s popularity. The opening scene being an oddly slow shot of the German’s descending upon Dinu Pass while set to a militaristic track from Tangerine Dream. The score by the synth band being one of their best. The theme that plays as the German’s accidentally unleash Molasar being absolutely haunting, and contrasting the gothic style of the plot with the electronic music.

Unfortunately, The Keep has yet to have a proper DVD/Blu-Ray release, only making it as far as VHS/Laserdisc, with the studios/creator’s disdain for the project making it likely that we’ll never see an updated version. Fortunately, it is available for digital rental via Amazon, Youtube, and iTunes. Despite its flaws, it is a bizarre and dream-like film well worth experiencing.

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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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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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