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‘THEM’ Creator Little Marvin Talks Terror in the American Dream

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THEM

THEM is set to debut in just a couple of days on Amazon Prime, and series creator Little Marvin will tell you he’s the luckiest man in the world.

Marvin sat down with iHorror to talk about the show’s conception, and his bold desire to instill terror in his audience. For the lifelong horror fan, that journey began by taking a long hard look at the history of terror in the world around him.

“Like everybody in this country, I think we’re experiencing some sort of terror for the past few years,” Little Marvin said as we connected via Zoom, “and it got me thinking a lot about my own experiences with terror but also a terror that stretches back to the dawn of this country and particularly the terror of navigating this country in black skin. I wanted to explore that but also explore that within a tale of the American dream.”

What the show’s creator could not anticipate is how well the idea would be received, nor the brilliantly talented people he would find himself working with when the project was picked up by Amazon.

“When I finished writing the pilot, I wrote a note to myself in my book,” he said. “I wrote ‘Executive Producer Lena Waithe.’ Cut to a year later, Miri Yoon who is an executive producer. She asked who I would like to bring on as an executive producer and so I asked, almost as a dare, for Lena Waithe, like just to see what she would do about it. She was like, hold please, and then three days later, she says, ‘You have brunch with Lena on Saturday.’ I sat down with Lena and within seconds it was just clear she’s a champion of new storytellers. She’s a champion of black filmmakers.”

Those little things lined up again and again for the writer as the series went into production. When he was writing the pilot, he listened to the music of Bernard Herrmann and other classic film composers, but he especially loved writing to the score of The Witch composed by Mark Korven. So, when the series went into production, no one was more surprised than Little Marvin when Korven was brought in to score the series.

Korven created a score that is creepy and compelling and fits well with the somewhat unexpected and incongruous song choices for the film.

“We all set out to make a show about the 50s that felt like it was shot in the 70s,” Marvin explained. “This allowed us a lot of leeway to play as far as the soundtrack and with the score. No offense to people making music in 1953, but that music sucked. It was the worst. The minute that we knew that we could actually have some fun here, it felt funky. That means we can have Isaac Hayes. Let’s throw in some Nina Simone. Let’s throw in some Roberta Flack. We just had fun with it. I think our soundtrack is pretty jamming.”

Marvin’s third blessing, and the one we all get to experience firsthand, came in the casting room where casting directors Junie Lowry-Johnson and Libby Goldstein managed to create a cast that the he could not believe.

“It was funny because we would see lots of folks and then they would sort of slip in a video like just check this out as if it was nothing,” he said laughing. “And it turns out it’d be Allison Pill, or it’s Deborah Ayorinde. I was like, oh my god.”

Pill and Ayorinde face off quite a bit in THEM, but they’re just the tip of this casting dream team. The two star opposite Ashley Thomas (The Night of), Shahadi Wright Joseph (Us), Melody Hurd (Trick), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), and Abbie Cobb (Who the F is Mike Young) to name just a few.

As the premiere date for THEM, Little Marvin was able to give us just a glimpse or an idea of what will come next for the series.

“The one thing about the show that I’m super excited about is that every season will be different people and a different time period,” he said. “The thing that remains the same is that folks that have been historically marginalized or shut out from these kinds of narratives are going to be front and center in their own tales of American Terror. That will be true every season.”

THEM will premiere on Amazon on April 9, 2021. Check out the latest trailer below!

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New Poster Reveal For Nicolas Cage’s Survival Creature Feature ‘Arcadian’ [Trailer]

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Nicolas Cage Arcadian

In the latest cinematic venture featuring Nicolas Cage, Arcadian emerges as a compelling creature feature, teeming with suspense, horror, and emotional depth. RLJE Films has recently released a series of new images and a captivating poster, offering audiences a glimpse into the eerie and thrilling world of “Arcadian”. Scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, 2024, the film will later be available on Shudder and AMC+, ensuring a wide audience can experience its gripping narrative.

Arcadian Movie Trailer

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given this film an “R” rating for its “bloody images,” hinting at the visceral and intense experience awaiting viewers. The film draws inspiration from acclaimed horror benchmarks like “A Quiet Place,” weaving a post-apocalyptic tale of a father and his two sons navigating a desolate world. Following a catastrophic event that depopulates the planet, the family faces the dual challenge of surviving their dystopian environment and eluding mysterious nocturnal creatures.

Joining Nicolas Cage in this harrowing journey are Jaeden Martell, known for his role in “IT” (2017), Maxwell Jenkins from “Lost in Space,” and Sadie Soverall, featured in “Fate: The Winx Saga.” Directed by Ben Brewer (“The Trust”) and penned by Mike Nilon (“Braven”), “Arcadian” promises a unique blend of poignant storytelling and electrifying survival horror.

Maxwell Jenkins, Nicolas Cage, and Jaeden Martell 

Critics have already begun to praise “Arcadian” for its imaginative monster designs and exhilarating action sequences, with one review from Bloody Disgusting highlighting the film’s balance between emotional coming-of-age elements and heart-pounding horror. Despite sharing thematic elements with similar genre films, “Arcadian” sets itself apart through its creative approach and action-driven plot, promising a cinematic experience filled with mystery, suspense, and relentless thrills.

Arcadian Official Movie Poster

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‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3’ Is a Go with Enhanced Budget and New Characters

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Winnie the Pooh 3

Wow, they’re churning things out fast! The upcoming sequel “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3” is officially moving forward, promising an expanded narrative with a larger budget and the introduction of beloved characters from A.A. Milne’s original tales. As confirmed by Variety, the third installment in the horror franchise will welcome Rabbit, the heffalumps, and the woozles into its dark and twisted narrative.

This sequel is a part of an ambitious cinematic universe that reimagines children’s stories as horror tales. Alongside “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” and its first sequel, the universe includes films such as “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”, “Bambi: The Reckoning,” and “Pinocchio Unstrung”. These movies are set to converge in the crossover event “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble,” slated for a 2025 release.

Winnie the Pooh Poohniverse

The creation of these films was made possible when A.A. Milne’s 1926 children’s book “Winnie-the-Pooh” entered the public domain last year, allowing filmmakers to explore these cherished characters in unprecedented ways. Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers, of Jagged Edge Productions, have led the charge in this innovative endeavor.

The inclusion of Rabbit, heffalumps, and woozles in the upcoming sequel introduces a new layer to the franchise. In Milne’s original stories, heffalumps are imagined creatures resembling elephants, while woozles are known for their weasel-like characteristics and a penchant for stealing honey. Their roles in the narrative remain to be seen, but their addition promises to enrich the horror universe with deeper connections to the source material.

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How to Watch ‘Late Night with the Devil’ from Home: Dates and Platforms

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Late Night With The Devil

For fans eager to dive into one of this year’s most talked-about horror films from the comfort of their own home, “Late Night with the Devil” will be available for streaming exclusively on Shudder starting April 19, 2024. This announcement has been highly anticipated following the film’s successful theatrical release by IFC Films, which saw it earning rave reviews and a record-breaking opening weekend for the distributor.

“Late Night with the Devil” emerges as a standout horror film, captivating audiences and critics alike, with Stephen King himself offering high praise for the 1977-set film. Starring David Dastmalchian, the movie unfolds on Halloween night during a live late-night talk show broadcast that disastrously unleashes evil across the nation. This found footage-style film not only delivers scares but also authentically captures the aesthetic of the 1970s, drawing viewers into its nightmarish scenario.

David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil

The film’s initial box office success, opening to $2.8 million in 1,034 theaters, underscores its wide appeal and marks the highest opening weekend for an IFC Films release. Critically acclaimed, “Late Night with the Devil” boasts a 96% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 135 reviews, with the consensus praising it for rejuvenating the possession horror genre and showcasing David Dastmalchian’s exceptional performance.

Rotten Tomatoes score as of 3/28/2024

Simon Rother of iHorror.com encapsulates the film’s allure, emphasizing its immersive quality that transports viewers back to the 1970s, making them feel as if they are part of the eerie “Night Owls” Halloween broadcast. Rother lauds the film for its meticulously crafted script and the emotional and shocking journey it takes viewers on, stating, “This whole experience will have viewers of the Cairnes brothers’ film glued to their screen… The script, from beginning to end, is neatly sewn together with an ending that’ll have jaws on the floor.” You can read the full review here.

Rother further encourages audiences to watch the film, highlighting its multifaceted appeal: “Whenever it is made available to you, you must attempt to view the Cairnes Brothers’ latest project as it will make you laugh, it will creep you out, it will amaze you, and it might even strike an emotional cord.”

Set to stream on Shudder on April 19, 2024, “Late Night with the Devil” offers a compelling blend of horror, history, and heart. This film is not just a must-watch for horror aficionados but for anyone looking to be thoroughly entertained and moved by a cinematic experience that redefines the boundaries of its genre.

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