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WATCH: David Lynch’s Cancelled HBO Series,’Hotel Room’ is a Brilliant Hidden Gem

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Lynch

Look guys, I’ve watched everything David Lynch has done. I’m a bit obsessed with the surreal maestro and the beautiful nightmares that he directs. From Twin Peaks to Mulholland Drive, the director has completely blown and chilled my brain to varying degrees and to tiny pieces .  I like to pride myself in my loyal following of Lynch’s work. I’ve seen all of his short films and even the things in between. Once again the internet has managed to unearth something that managed to almost entirely peel my cap straight back and to do a quadruple take.

Turns out Lynch had worked on an HBO series called Hotel Room. The series was an anthology that would have revolved around one mysterious hotel room and the stories that went down within its walls. Sorta like HBO’s Room 104 from the Duplass Brothers, the series would have always revolved around that one space, only transforming and fitting narrative around it.

Much like Rod Serling’s Twlight Zone intro, Hotel Room began with Lynch giving a monologue in classic Lynch tone. “For a millennium, the space for the hotel room existed, undefined. Mankind captured it, and gave it shape and passed through. And sometimes when passing through, they found themselves brushing up against the secret names of truth.”

Hotel Room aired quietly on HBO in 1993. The episode featured three stories two of which were directed by Lynch himself. The three episodes made up the feature length pilot that eventually failed the popularity test of the people, unfortunately.

The episodes were packed with some great star power too. Harry Dean Stanton, Crispin Glover and Griffiin Dunne all lent their skills to the Lynch project and gave off some seriously memorable performances to boot. Author Barry Gifford once again paired with Lynch after their collaboration on Wild At Heart. Gifford wrote both episodes that Lynch directed.

Long time collaborator Angelo Badalamenti even worked on the score for Hotel Room. That makes a full house of Lynch collaborators for a series that was just waiting, slightly hidden, to be discovered.

Hotel Room is a good series. It is something that I would have definitely continued to watch if given the chance. But, I guess you can see how it failed. HBO was looking for an anthology to go in the same direction as Tales From the Crypt. Obviously, these carefully crafted episodes are not that.  But, they are something wonderfully and undeniably, Lynch.

Turns out that up to this point, Hotel Room enjoyed a very short VHS release here in the United States. It also was released in Japan on an English laserdisc. Gotta say, I would love to find that laserdisc to add this one to the collection of Lynch.

The first episode alone is worth its weight. The setup of Harry Dean Stanton and Glenne Headly begins silently calm enough with Stanton ordering two chimney glasses with some bourbon, but then sneakingly becomes a tremendously tense bit of fiction tied up in its claustrophobic confines. All this in a fashion that is  uniquely Lynch.

I’m hoping we aren’t far from a proper and modern release of Hotel Room but, In the meantime, enjoy this amazing little Lynch nugget.

Samuel L. Jackson Teases a ‘Spiral: From the Book of Saw’ Trailer very soon. Check it out here.

Jackson

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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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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Movies

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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