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Six Degrees of ‘Clue’: A Comic Masterpiece with Serious Horror Connections

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In 1985, Paramount Pictures released what may very well be the finest comedic ensemble film the world has ever seen. It was called Clue, and it was based on the board game by the same name which had been a household staple since its release in 1949.

Though it wasn’t initially a success in theaters, the farcical mystery has gone on to garner cult status with a following that would make John Waters proud.

What many people may not know is that Clue, in a very Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon way, has ties to some of the greatest horror and horror comedy masterpieces of the last century.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at the list of six films below, and see for yourself! With all of these talented horror minds, Clue could have been a very different movie!

An American Werewolf in London

Griffin Dunne and David Naughton in An American Werewolf in London

Perhaps it’s not such a stretch to find out that An American Werewolf in London is connected to Clue. The classic werewolf film wasn’t short on winks and nods to its audience. Let’s not forget that hilarious scene in the British porn theater!

The truth is the two films share a common father of sorts. John Landis, who wrote the screenplay for Werewolf, also wrote the story that Clue‘s screenplay is based upon. This also ties Clue to two episodes of the often terrifying “Masters of Horror” television series and Twilight Zone: The Movie.

Halloween (1978)

Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode in 1978’s Halloween

Debra Hill was John Carpenter’s writing and producing partner when they brought Michael Myers into the horror world with the classic film Halloween. She would go on to also write The Fog (1980) as well as Escape from L.A. in 1996.

It just so happens that Hill also produced Clue.

Want a fun mental picture? Imagine Wadsworth (Tim Curry) producing evidence that Michael Myers had killed Mr. Boddy…in the kitchen…with a knife.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Speaking of Tim Curry…

They say you can tell a lot about a person from the first film in which they saw Tim Curry. For me, it was Clue. It would be years before I discovered The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and yet both classic cult films share the same star.

Now if only Curry could have had a bigger musical number in Clue than “For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow” with the rest of the cast!

Young Frankenstein

Teri Garr, Gene Wilder, and Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein

One of my favorite things about Clue is the score. The driving strings, dramatic horns, and tone that runs from playful to dramatic in a matter of a few bars make for a soundscape reminiscent of the old Agatha Christie whodunits.

It was no surprise to learn, then, that composer John Morris created the scores for both Clue and Mel Brooks’ classic horror homage/spoof Young Frankenstein!

Audrey Rose

Susan Swift in Audrey Rose

Does anyone else love Audrey Rose? The 1977 film starring Marsha Mason and Anthony Hopkins centered on a young girl haunted by her past life and the terror her parents experience as she seems destined to die young, just as she did in that former existence.

The film was not only terrifying but also really beautiful largely due to the man behind the cinematography: Mr. Victor J. Kemper.

Kemper was also the cinematographer on Clue, making sure all those scenes in the mansion were beautifully lit and filmed. The Kemper connection also makes Clue the distant cousin of Eyes of Laura Mars and Magic (which also starred Anthony Hopkins)!

Jaws

Jeffrey Kramer in Jaws

It wasn’t only the big stars or the people behind the scenes who connect Clue to the horror world, however. Some of those ladies and gents in the smaller roles have solid horror pedigrees.

Take Jeffrey Kramer, for instance. Kramer was the poor stranded motorist who ended up getting his head bashed with the lead pipe. It just so happens that Kramer also played Deputy Hendricks in the classic shark features, Jaws and Jaws 2, AND to add another fun layer, Kramer also had a role in Halloween II which connects him to Debra Hill and Halloween!

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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 SĂ©bastien VaniÄŤek 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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