Connect with us

News

Welcome to The Gingerbread Bates Motel

Published

on

Written by Maxwell Robison

Gingerbread houses are an important part of any Christmas tradition, many families use the time building them to celebrate the season together. The Keeling family decided to take that tradition to a new and slightly morbid level this year with their gingerbread interpretation of The Bates Motel from Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1960’s thriller Psycho.

Made entirely from edible material this master piece took 3 weeks to build from conception to completion with jaw dropping detail that any model maker would be envious over.  I had a chance to speak with Aaron Keeling, one of the artists involved in the construction of this behemoth of a gingerbread house to ask him some questions about what went into it.

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

iHorror: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today, I’m sure you are exhausted from all the work this took. How long did it take to create this monster?

Aaron Keeling: Thank you! My back is killing me from leaning over cookies for a week and my hands are stained with food coloring, but i think it was worth it. My dad started doing blueprints and baking pieces about 3 weeks ago, but once we all got together and started putting it up and decorating it took just under a week.

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

iH: Is everything edible?

AK: Everything is edible except for the base (which is made from styrofoam) and the lights.  The windows are melted candles and the super clear windows for the interior scenes are made from thin sheets of gelatin.

iH: How many pounds of gingerbread did you have to use?

AK: We ended up using about 25 pounds of flour, 6 bottles of corn syrup, 3 pounds of butter, 4 pounds of brown sugar, 18 pounds of icing (two 9 pound bags of sugar) and a bunch of spices. It was probably 30 pounds of gingerbread that we made, though not all of it was used in the final piece.

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

iH: How large did the finished piece end up being?

AK: The finished piece was 4 feet by 4 feet at the base and about 2 feet high at the top of the house.

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

iH: Some of the detail is amazing, how did you do the carpets?

AK: The wallpaper and the pictures were posted on edible paper and the rugs were printed on thin sheets of fondant.

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

iH: How many people worked on the whole project all together?

AK: Our core family of 5 worked on it. My Dad, Mom, my brother Austin, my brother Carter, and myself. We had some help from three friends as well. So, 8 total, though not everyone worked on it the whole time.

iH: How did this tradition get started? Have they always been this big?

AK: The tradition got started about 30 years ago when my parents got married.  We’ve been making a gingerbread house every year since then. Every year they get bigger and better!  Last year was the first year we ever attempted to do the interior with our “Overlook Hotel” gingerbread.

iH: What is your favorite scene that you worked on?

AK: My favorite scene is the bathroom scene, because I loved flicking all the blood everywhere, haha. I definitely got a bit carried away with it, theres way more blood in our version than the movie, but it is more fun that way don’t you think?

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred: Aaron Keeling

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred: Aaron Keeling

https://imgur.com/gallery/OeSOu

cred. Aaron Keeling

Make sure you check out the whole shoot of The Gingerbread Bates Motel right here.

and if you want to check out The Keeling Family’s 2015 The Gingerbread Overlook Hotel go here.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

Watch ‘The Burning’ At The Location Where It Was Filmed

Published

on

Fangoria is reporting that fans of the 1981 slasher The Burning will be able to have a screening of the film at the location where it was filmed. The movie is set at Camp Blackfoot which is actually the Stonehaven Nature Preserve in Ransomville, New York.

This ticketed event will take place on August 3. Guests will be able to take a tour of the grounds as well as enjoy some campfire snacks along with the screening of The Burning.

The Burning

The film came out in the early ’80s when teen slashers were being churned out in magnum force. Thanks to Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th, filmmakers wanted to get in on the low-budget, high-profit movie market and a casket load of these types of films were produced, some better than others.

The Burning is one of the good ones, mostly because of the special effects from Tom Savini who had just come off of his groundbreaking work on Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th. He declined to do the sequel because of its illogical premise and instead signed on to do this movie. Also, a young Jason Alexander who would later go on to play George in Seinfeld is a featured player.

Because of its practical gore, The Burning had to be heavily edited before it received an R-rating. The MPAA was under the thumb of protest groups and political bigwigs to censor violent films at the time because slashers were just so graphic and detailed in their gore.

Tickets are $50, and if you want a special t-shirt, that will cost you another $25, You can get all the information by visiting the On Set Cinema webpage.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Continue Reading

Movies

‘Longlegs’ Creepy “Part 2” Teaser Appears on Instagram

Published

on

Longlegs

Neon Films released an Insta-teaser for their horror film Longlegs today. Titled Dirty: Part 2, the clip only furthers the mystery of what we are in for when this movie is finally released on July 12.

The official logline is: FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.

Directed by former actor Oz Perkins who also gave us The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Gretel & Hansel, Longlegs is already creating buzz with its moody images and cryptic hints. The film is rated R for bloody violence, and disturbing images.

Longlegs stars Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, and Alicia Witt.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Continue Reading

News

Exclusive Sneak Peek: Eli Roth and Crypt TV’s VR Series ‘The Faceless Lady’ Episode Five

Published

on

Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) and Crypt TV are knocking it out of the park with their new VR show, The Faceless Lady. For those unaware, this is the first fully scripted VR horror show on the market.

Even for masters of horror like Eli Roth and Crypt TV, this is a monumental undertaking. However, if I trust anyone to change the way that we experience horror, it would be these two legends.

The Faceless Lady

Ripped from the pages of Irish folklore, The Faceless Lady tells the story of a tragic spirit cursed to wander the halls of her castle for all of eternity. However, when three young couples are invited to the castle for a series of games, their fates may soon change.

So far, the story has provided horror fans with a gripping game of life or death that doesn’t look as if it will slow down in episode five. Luckily, we have an exclusive clip that may be able to satiate your appetites until the new premiere.

Airing on 4/25 at 5pmPT/8pmET, episode five follows our final three contestants in this wicked game. As the stakes are raised ever higher, will Ella be able to fully awaken her connection with Lady Margaret?

The faceless lady

The newest episode can be found on Meta Quest TV. If you haven’t already, follow this link to subscribe to the series. Make sure to check out the new clip below.

Eli Roth Present’s THE FACELESS LADY S1E5 Clip: THE DUEL – YouTube

To view in the highest resolution, adjust the quality settings in the bottom right corner of the clip.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Continue Reading