News

Alex Essoe has a lot of horror credits to her name. Starry Eyes, Tales of Halloween, Doctor Sleep, Death of Me, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, Trim Season, The Pope’s Exorcist… the list goes on. Lou Taylor Pucci’s genre credits include the 2013 Evil Dead and episodes of American Horror Story. And now, Essoe and Pucci are going to earn a new horror credit together, as they’re set to star in a horror film called The Avalanche.

The Avalanche will mark the feature directorial debut of Johnny Coffeen, who has previously directed several short films (his 2016 short The Swan Girl was screened at David Lynch’s Festival Of Disruption and won a Student Academy Award) and worked as an Assistant Editor on Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12. Deadline reports that this psychological horror film will center on two former lovers forced together...

A couple of months ago, we learned that Djimon Hounsou (A Quiet Place Part II and A Quiet Place: Day One) is set to star in The Monster, a horror thriller that Darren Lynn Bousman will be directing from a screenplay by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer, the writers of Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane. It was announced soon after that Lauren Lavera – who played heroine Sienna in Terrifier 2 and the recently released Terrifier 3 – was joining Hounsou in the cast. Now, Deadline reveals that Alicia Witt (Longlegs), Gina Philips (Jeepers Creepers), Neal McDonough (Band of Brothers), Mia Healey (The Wilds), Michael Lombardi (The Deuce), David Call (Insidious: The Red Door), Victor Del Rio (Precognito), Cedric Benjamin (Luke Cage), Zac Jaffee (Hustlers), Renés Rivera (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Hari Bhaskar (First Shift), Kristina Krasniqi (Celebrity Ghost Stories), and rapper Jacob Lukas Anderson, a.k.a. Prof, are also in the cast.

Smile 2: Unmasking the Real-Life Singer Who Inspired Skye Riley’s Character! ( Photo Credit – YouTube )

Smile 2 dives back into the eerie world where unsettling grins hold dark secrets. The sequel to Smile picks up with new characters haunted by the sinister, cursed Smile that seems to linger like a bad omen. The main character of Smile 2, Skye Riley, has drawn inspiration from several real-life singers.

The movie continues targeting Riley, a booming yet tormented musician played by Noami Scott. She is haunted by guilt over a tragic car crash that killed her boyfriend and battling chronic back pain. Due to her history of substance misuse, Skye struggles to find effective pain relief and seeks help from an old high school friend for Vicodin. Tragically, he becomes another victim of the haunting Smile curse and takes his own life right before her eyes, marking Skye as the demon’s next prey.

A key Terrifier 3 star has been cast in The Monster, a new horror thriller from Saw director Darren Lynn Bousman and franchise producer Mark Burg. Alongside critical success for Terrifier 3, the gory slasher film has continued to top the box office, earning $43.8 million against a $2 million budget after less than two full weeks in theaters. Some of that praise has been given toward its cast, with performances that help the movie stand out, both through David Howard Thornton's Art the Clown and the victims he torments.

Now, Deadline has confirmed Terrifier 3 star Lauren Lavera, who portrays Sienna Shaw, will be starring in Lynn Bousman's upcoming horror thriller The Monster, starring opposite Djimon Hounsou. While Lavera's role hasn't been revealed yet, the story follows two young people scamming people by leasing them lavish apartments they don't actually own. However, their scam gets flipped around when they learn of...

A couple of days ago, we learned that Djimon Hounsou (A Quiet Place Part II and A Quiet Place: Day One) is set to star in The Monster, a horror thriller that Darren Lynn Bousman will be directing from a screenplay by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer, the writers of Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane. Now, our friends at Bloody Disgusting have revealed that Lauren Lavera – who played heroine Sienna in Terrifier 2 and the recently released Terrifier 3 – is in talks to join Hounsou in the cast.

Details on the characters Hounsou and Lavera will be playing haven’t been revealed, but we do know that the story follows two millennials who make quick money by leasing incredible New York City apartments they don’t own to people who don’t know they are being scammed. The con works brilliantly until they run into an apartment owner with a dark...

Warning: This article contains Spoilers for Smile and Smile 2

While the supernatural horror of Smile 2 might be a little far-fetched, the sequels main character, Skye Riley, draws inspiration from numerous recognizable real-life singers. The horror sequel Smile 2 picks up where director Parker Finns 2022 sleeper hit left off, but that doesnt mean that the follow-up fails to expand the world of the franchise. On the contrary, after Smiles twist ending passed the curse onto the movies supporting deuteragonist, Kyle Gallners Joel, Smile 2 expands its storyline to include a diverse range of new characters. Chief among them is Naomi Scotts Skye Riley, a troubled musician.

Related 8 Clues To Smile 2's Twist

Smile 2 follows pop star Skye Riley as she takes on the Entity, the story coming with a wild twist ending that is hinted at throughout the movie.

Although her career is incredibly successful, Skye is...

The following contains spoilers for Smile 2, in theaters now.

Releasing two years after the original, Smile 2 is the newest entry in the creepy psychological horror series. Shifting the focus to an overworked pop star who becomes possessed by the "Smile" entity, the new movie has received rave reviews and is being regarded as even better than the first. Thus, spoilers and discussion about the film are rampant across the internet.

Horror fans and those who loved the first movie will want to know whether Smile 2 has an after credits scene. After all, this has increasingly become a trend for various franchise films and has gone beyond just superhero movies. Usually used to hint at where the next entry may go, post-credits scenes are the ultimate teasers for things to come. Given that many horror movies are following the trend, fans need to know whether they should stay...

Back in July, Djimon Hounsou signed on to star in a shark thriller called Beneath the Storm alongside Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton) and Whitney Peak (Hocus Pocus 2), with Tommy Wirkola (Violent Night) writing and directing for Sony Pictures and producers Adam McKay and Kevin Messick of HyperObject Industries. While we wait to hear more information about that project, Hounsou is already moving on to another interesting film, one called The Monster. Deadline reports that Darren Lynn Bousman will be directing the film from a screenplay by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer, the writers of Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane.

The Monster is set to begin filming in Danbury, Connecticut in November. The story follows two millennials who make quick money by leasing incredible New York City apartments they don’t own to people who don’t know they are being scammed. The con works brilliantly until they run into an apartment...

The heyday of the Disney Channel Original Movie is unfortunately well in the past. Throughout the late '90s and early '00s, the Disney Channel would put out original movies almost monthly, and they were treated like a must-attend event for tweens everywhere. When things started to feel like they were dying down in the mid-aughts, the Dcom got a shot of adrenaline in 2006 with the success of "High School Musical." Suddenly, the Disney Channel became the home of squeaky-clean phenomenons, and the Disney Machine started cranking out superstars like Miley Cyrus, Zac Efron, Hilary Duff, Selena Gomez, and Zendaya.

There were most certainly Disney figures before and after this period to reach crossover success as adults (Shia LeBeouf and Olivia Holt for example), but the window of the Disney Channel's peak popularity and cultural relevance has certainly splintered thanks to the advent of the internet and the launch of Disney+.

The following contains spoilers for Smile 2, now playing in theatersSmile 2's soundtrack features multiple original tracks, including some that take on very dark secondary meanings thanks to the plot of the film. Parker Finn's follow-up to his 2022 horror film Smile, the Naomi Scott-led sequel escalates the scope of the story by shifting the Entity a monstrous creature that travels through trauma and infects the minds of its victims before possessing and killing them into the brain of pop star Skye Riley. This gives the film plenty of natural reason to feature bombastic pop music, highlighting the musical skills of Scott.

Smile 2's characters are surrounded by music, with much of the film's soundtrack playing in-universe alongside well-choreographed dance routines. One of the most clever tricks in the film comes amid these well-produced and catchy tracks, as the lyrics have secondary meanings in light of Skye's past...

Naomi Scott stars as global pop sensation Skye Riley embarking on a world tour in Parker Finn’s Smile 2, marking the actor’s first foray into horror. While Skye Riley makes for an extremely complex character for any actor to tackle, Scott handles it with seeming ease while also bringing her singing/songwriting talents to the role.

Parker Finn studied pop artists like FKA Twigs, Sia, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Olivia Rodrigo, and Tate McRae (who has a songwriting credit on Smile 2 for “Grieved You”) to capture Skye Riley’s journey and immense tour pressures with authenticity. The filmmaker and his team collaborated with the songwriting duo Take A Daytrip (Denzel Michael-Akil Baptiste and David Charles Marshall Biral) and songwriter Alexis Idarose Kesselman to develop five original songs for Skye’s album “Too Much for One Heart” – “Grieved You,” “New Brain,” “Death of Me,” “Just My Name,“ and “Blood on White Satin.

Following in the footsteps of 2022's viral sensation, Smile 2 finally hits theaters on October 18. The psychological horror film expands the lore of its predecessor, picking up after Joel (returning actor Kyle Gallner) caught the curse at the end of Smile. But rather than follow his descent into madness, the sequel focuses on Skye Riley (Aladdin's Naomi Scott), a famous yet tortured pop star whose unfortunate run-in with her high school friend Lewis (Lukas Gage) makes her the next target of the evil entity.

While the mechanics of the curse were explained in the first film, Smile 2 delves deeper into the spirit's abilities, the implications of the parasitic relationship between the smiling demon and its host, and potentially even the motivation behind the curse. Skye's platform on the world stage is put to excellent use in Smile 2, as her every move is watched not only by her...

Death of Me's ending ties up most of the 2020 horror movie's loose ends, but the true fate of its main character remains unexplained. The story follows Christine (Maggie Q) and her husband, Neil Oliver (Luke Hemsworth) as they try to figure out what happened during the previous night of their vacation on a small, idyllic island in Thailand. They wake up hungover and find a video with disturbing clues to the mystery of their lost time. The video shows the couple drinking a cocktail called "corpse oil," and Christine accepting an amulet from a waitress. By the time the Death of Me ending arrives, Maggie solves the mystery but not without causing more questions to arise and the body count to increase.

Death of Me revolves around a sacrificial ritual that Christine and her husband are lured into participating in. The ritual is a 200-year-old tradition and requires a willing sacrifice,...

Pluto TV, Paramount’s free streaming service, has revealed its May highlights. The Pluto TV May 2024 schedule includes Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month programming, more anime content, new channels, and new film additions.

Pluto TV is the leading free streaming television service, delivering hundreds of live linear channels and thousands of titles on-demand to a global audience.

The Emmy Award-winning service curates a diverse lineup of channels in partnership with hundreds of international media companies. It offers a wide array of genres, languages, and categories featuring movies, television series, sports, news, lifestyle, kids, and much more.

Pluto TV can be easily accessed and streamed across mobile, web, and connected TV devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Pluto TV’s growing international footprint extends across three continents and over 35 markets.

Pluto TV May 2024 Programming

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, And Pacific Islander Heritage Month

To pay tribute, Pluto TV...

"This cello is a true find... those that hear it, weep..." Destiny Entertainment has unveiled an official trailer for a mystery horror film titled The Cello, the latest film from acclaimed horror filmmaker Darren Lynn Bousman. This is actually a Saudi Arabian production, featuring a story about a talented Saudi cellist. Based on the book by Turki Al Alshikh, The Cello, stars Jeremy Irons, Tobin Bell (the Saw series), Syrian actor Samer Ismail and Saudi actress Elham Ali, in the story of an aspiring cellist who learns the cost of his brand-new cello is a lot more insidious than he first thought. The film was shot on location in Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic. It almost seems like this is a live-action horror version of that fantastic Futurama episode "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings", where Fry swaps with the (Robot) Devil's hands so he can play his music better,...

Updated, 7:50 a.m.: Columbia Pictures has unveiled a new trailer for its rom-com Anyone But You, starring Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria) and Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick), which hits theaters December 22nd.

The pair star respectively as Bea and Ben, who look like the perfect couple. But after an amazing first date something happens that turns their fiery hot attraction ice cold — until they find themselves unexpectedly thrust together at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple.

Will Gluck directed from his script written with Ilana Wolpert, which was based on Wolpert’s story. Pic’s cast also includes Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, Darren Barnet, and Rachel Griffiths. Read more about the project below. Check out its new trailer above.

Previously, October 19: If you’ve seen the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie,...

When college rivalries rekindle amidst the beauty of a destination wedding, sparks are bound to fly – not always in the romantic sense. “Anyone But You,” a new romantic comedy set for a December 22 release, takes this premise and runs with it, placing Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell at the heart of its intricate love web.

Old Rivals, New Pretense

Sweeney and Powell, known for their roles in HBO’s “Euphoria” and the blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick,” respectively, play Bea and Ben. College classmates who once briefly dated, their relationship soured before graduation. But destiny has its designs. Reuniting years after their college escapades, the two find themselves at a mutual friend’s wedding in Australia. With old flames and ex-partners in the mix, what do two mature adults do to save face? They pretend to be a couple, of course.

A Modern Shakespearean Spin

Drawing subtle parallels to Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,...

Ryan Siew, guitarist for Australian metalcore act Polaris, has died at the age of 26. No cause of death was given, but the musician had spoken of recent “health scares.”

The band confirmed Siew’s passing in a post on Instagram, sharing the following statement:

“It is with shattered hearts & the deepest sorrow that we tell you our dear brother and bandmate Ryan Siew passed away on the morning of Monday June 19. He was 26 years old, and for 10 incredible years he was our best friend and artistic soulmate. Those years will never be enough. He was kindhearted and clever, he was funny and brave and creative, and he was talented beyond all measure. He loved art, and beauty in all its forms. He loved great food in great company. He loved Harry Potter and psych-thrillers and crime documentaries. He loved music, more diversely than you could ever imagine, and spoke its...

Exclusive: Luke Hemsworth (Westworld) has been tapped for the title role in Gunner, a new action pic from director Dimitri Logothetis.

The film written by The Fast and the Furious scribe Gary Scott Thompson follows Special forces veteran Lee Gunner (Hemsworth) as he takes his two boys on a camping trip where the boys stumble upon a fentanyl lab and are kidnapped by drug runners. Unfortunately for the drug runners, Lee will stop at nothing to get his boys back safely, going up against not only the criminal cartel, but the FBI and local police as well, using the full force of his deadly abilities to reunite his family.

Joel Shapiro (Killerman) will produce alongside Logothetis, magiCity Studios and Acme Rocket Fuel.

Hemsworth portrayed Westworld Security Head Ashley Stubbs across all four seasons of HBO’s sci-fi drama Westworld and last summer returned for a cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder,...

There is huge investment in the Saudi locations infrastructure but what is the reality on the ground?

If you build it, will they come? Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in creating a world-class locations hub. But what is the reality of shooting in this vast country of which little is still known?

Less than four years after it lifted its ban on cinemas, Saudi Arabia’s aim of becoming the Middle East’s foremost filming location seems to be bearing fruit with two major Hollywood movies shooting in the country. The cameras have just started rolling on Thunder Road’s...

Continuing its resilient acquisition of higher-profile commercial titles for distribution in the U.S. and Canada, Saban Films has picked up North American rights to “The Hyperions,” an indie superhero movie headed by Cary Elwes (“The Princess Bride”).

Saban Films has set a theatrical release for Feb. 2022.

Archstone Entertainment is representing the worldwide rights to the film.

The North American deal marks one of the first to be announced at this week’s Pre-Cannes Screenings, a virtual market that kicked off Monday.

Also starring Penelope Mitchell (“Hellboy”), Tanner Buchanan (“Cobra Kai”), Elaine Tan (“Tully”), and Alphonso McAuley (“Walk of Shame”), “The Hyperions” was written and directed by Jon McDonald (“Muddy Corman”). It is produced by McDonald out of his label American Millimetre, as well as Justin Bell Productions’ Justin Bell Jon Michael Kondrath at ReKon Productions.

In “The Hyperions,” Elwes plays Professor Ruckus Mandelabaum who by 1960 has come up with a device,...

The Saw franchise is back once again with Spiral: From the Book of Saw. Though this is perhaps the closest the franchise has come to a full-on reboot since we were first introduced to Tobin Bell's Jigsaw killer back in 2004. It's got an A-list cast led by Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson, it's moving away from John Kramer and it is attempting to move the series in a new direction.

One familiar element is director Darren Lynn Bousman. While James Wan directed the original, it was Bousman, who directed Saw II, Saw III and Saw IV, that ensured this would be a hugely successful horror franchise for years to come. Now, after more than a decade away, Bousman is back to once again take audiences to twisted, deadly and trap-filled places with Spiral.

I recently had the chance to speak with Bousman in honor of Spiral arriving in theaters.

Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson star in this first clip from director Darren Lynn Bousman’s Spiral.

The film opens in theaters May 14, 2021.

Watch the other new clip from the filmmaker who helmed Death Of Me, 11-11-11, and Saw II, III and IV.

See the trailer.

A criminal mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in Spiral, the terrifying new chapter from the book of Saw. Working in the shadow of his father, an esteemed police veteran (Samuel L. Jackson), brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner (Max Minghella) take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game.

Spiral stars Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, and Samuel L. Jackson, and is produced by the original Saw team...

Following a long theatrical run and a month at $19.99, “Tenet” is now thriving at $5.99 and holds the top spot at all three lists that rank by purchases. At FandangoNow, which ranks by revenue, it is #6, the highest among standard-price entries. Best of all for Warner Bros., its normal share of a VOD release is around 70 percent. That compares to the 63 percent it demanded from theaters.

“Tenet” held off two significant new PVOD entries from Universal and Focus, “News of the World” and “Promising Young Woman.” Paul Greengrass’ Tom Hanks western led Apple TV for three days and placed second to “Tenet” at Google Play over the weekend. This comes as Universal’s “The Croods: A New Age” continues its strong presence at $19.99. “News” is #1 at FandangoNow, with “Promising” at #3 on their PVOD-dominated list.

“American Skin,” the first film from Nate Parker after “The Birth of a Nation,” priced at $6.99, placed...

Exclusive: Maggie Q is set as the co-lead opposite Eliza Coupe and Ginnifer Goodwin in Fox’s comedy pilot Pivoting, from writer Liz Astrof, Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment and Warner Bros TV.

Written by Astrof and to be directed by Tristram Shapeero, Pivoting follows three women — Amy (Coupe), Jodie (Goodwin) and Sarah — after the death of their childhood best friend. Faced with the reality that life is short, in desperate attempts to find happiness, they make a series of impulsive, ill-advised and self-indulgent decisions, strengthening their bond and proving it’s never too late to screw up your life.

Maggie Q’s Sarah is a tightly wound doctor, fresh out of a divorce from her wife who cheated on her. This combined with the loss of her childhood friend, Coleen, makes her rethink her life decisions. In the pursuit of an easy, happy life, she leaves...

November 17th looks to be one of the quieter home media release days we’ve had in a while, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have some great titles headed home this week, either. Hammer fans will undoubtedly want to pick up Mill Creek’s new box sets for Hammer Films: The Ultimate Collection and Inner Sanctum Mysteries this Tuesday, or if you’re looking for more modern horror to entertain you, Relic and Monstrum are headed to both Blu-ray and DVD this week as well.

Other releases for November 17th include Death of Me, 2067, Westworld: Season 3, Alfred Hitchcock: 4-Film Collection, and So Sweet, So Dead.

Hammer Films: The Ultimate Collection

For more than four decades, Hammer Films unique blend of horror, science fiction, thrills and comedy dominated countless drive-ins and movie theaters. Enjoy this massive collection from the darkest corners of the Hammer Imagination!

Featuring 20 Cult-Classics...

A few movies may have been scared off by the pandemic (like Blumhouse’s “Halloween Kills” and MGM’s “Candyman” reboot), but Hollywood’s spooky season comes to a crescendo all the same this weekend with several new horror offerings.

While Sony is charging $24.99 to rent its watered-down teen-witch sequel “The Craft: Legacy,” theatergoers can see Amblin-produced haunted-iPad chiller “Come Play” in theaters for less. Paramount is giving audiences a choice with hoodoo horror movie “Spell”: See it in theaters or via PVOD.

Netflix subscribers have options as well, with new releases including Sundance midnight movie “His House” and Polish import “Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight.”

To recap the other horror options that have come out this month, there are four “Welcome to the Blumhouse” movies on Amazon. Hulu had “Bad Hair” and “Books of Blood.” “Saw” co-creator Darren Lynn Bousman made “Death of Me,” while “Final Destination...

Luke Hemsworth is beyond grateful that his only concern at the moment is finishing his morning yard work. The Australian native and oldest Hemsworth brother fortuitously left Malibu just a couple months prior to the coronavirus pandemic, returning to his homeland of Australia where he’s only a short distance away from his fellow Hemsworths. After a beach-filled summer with his family, Hemsworth is back on-screen alongside Maggie Q in Saban Films’ Death of Me. The 39-year-old actor plays Neil, who, along with his wife, Christine (Q), discover macabre video footage that prevents them from leaving their Thai island vacation getaway.

Hemsworth, who’s ...

Luke Hemsworth is beyond grateful that his only concern at the moment is finishing his morning yard work. The Australian native and oldest Hemsworth brother fortuitously left Malibu just a couple months prior to the coronavirus pandemic, returning to his homeland of Australia where he’s only a short distance away from his fellow Hemsworths. After a beach-filled summer with his family, Hemsworth is back on-screen alongside Maggie Q in Saban Films’ Death of Me. The 39-year-old actor plays Neil, who, along with his wife, Christine (Q), discover macabre video footage that prevents them from leaving their Thai island vacation getaway.

Hemsworth, who’s ...

True love takes sacrifice when Death of Me arrives on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital) and DVD November 17 from Lionsgate. The film is now available to purchase On Demand. Program Description True love takes sacrifice when Death of Me arrives on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital) and DVD November 17 from Lionsgate. The film is now available to …

The post Death of Me arrives on Blu-ray and DVD 11/17 appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

After a February trip to Fantasy Island, Maggie Q is back for another twisted island getaway in Saban Films’ Death of Me. Having shot in freezing conditions throughout her career, Q certainly welcomed her recent run of gorgeous locations, including Fantasy Island’s Fiji and Death of Me’s Thailand. In the latter, Q plays Christine who, along with her husband, Neil (Luke Hemsworth), have no recollection of their last night in Thailand. Then, after a futile attempt to leave their remote Thai island, the discovery of a graphic video forces them to stick around and solve a deadly mystery.

Since much of the ...

After a February trip to Fantasy Island, Maggie Q is back for another twisted island getaway in Saban Films’ Death of Me. Having shot in freezing conditions throughout her career, Q certainly welcomed her recent run of gorgeous locations, including Fantasy Island’s Fiji and Death of Me’s Thailand. In the latter, Q plays Christine who, along with her husband, Neil (Luke Hemsworth), have no recollection of their last night in Thailand. Then, after a futile attempt to leave their remote Thai island, the discovery of a graphic video forces them to stick around and solve a deadly mystery.

Since much of the ...

Actress Alex Essoe walks is through some of her favorite dream sequences.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Starry Eyes (2014)

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010)

Mandy (2018), as usual

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Death of Me (2020)

Life Dances On (1937)

Tales of Manhattan (1942)

I Love You, Alice B Toklas (1968)

Papillon (1973)

Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

The Conversation (1974)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Nashville (1975)

The Ninth Configuration (1980)

The Exorcist (1973)

Shutter Island (2010)

The Exorcist III (1990)

A Shot In The Dark (1964)

Another Woman (1988)

Stardust Memories (1980)

8 ½ (1963)

Interiors (1978)

Dumbo (1941)

Mulholland Drive (2001)

A Woman Under The Influence (1974)

Mulholland Falls (1996)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Fletch (1985)

The ’Burbs (1989)

Dreams (1990)

Ran (1985)

Homewrecker (2019)

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)

The Wicker Man (1973)

Other Notable Items

Howard Hughes

Panos Cosmatos

The Haunting of Bly Manor TV series (2020)

Shelley Duvall

Tfh Guru Darren Lynn Bousman

The American Cinematheque

The New Beverly Theatre

Julien Duvivier

Jean Renoir

Jean-Luc Godard

François Truffaut

John Cassavetes...

— — Death of Me (2020) Film Review, a movie directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, and starring Maggie Q, Luke Helmsworth, Alex Essoe, Kat Ingkarat, Kelly B. Jones, Caledonia Burr and Chatchawai Kamonsakpitak. Don’t watch this film if you have just had a meal. Don’t watch it if you can’t handle [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Death Of Me (2020): A Thriller that Fails to Capture the Evil that could be Lurking in a Tropical Paradise...

The range of pricing in VOD play has never been so clear. Two films at the extreme ranges of budget and premium stand out among new releases. At $3.99, which represents rock-bottom for a new film, Dinesh D’Souza’s latest right-wing polemic “Trump Card” is #1 at both Apple TV and Google Play, charts that rank by transaction volume.

At the same time, Disney’s “Mulan” is now available on platforms beyond Disney+ for $29.99, and is #1 at the revenue-based FandangoNow. “Ava” also continues its successful showings, with first place at Spectrum.

“Trump Card” is pitched as an expose of “socialism, corruption, and the deep state,” and clearly aimed at Election Day interest. In his past films (which received theatrical release), D’Souza preferred to specifically demonize Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. This time, the target is far broader than the tougher-to-hate Joe Biden. It placed #2 at FandangoNow, where its low price hurts its ranking.

Alex Essoe has been working as an actress for years but finds herself in the middle of a magic moment. Last year, she starred in Doctor Sleep, Mike Flanagan's sequel to The Shining, as Wendy Torrance. This year, she's appearing in The Haunting of Bly Manor and she recently began filming Midnight Mass for Netflix. On top of that, she has a new movie coming out called Death of Me, which hails from director Darren Lynn Bousman.

Death of Me centers on a vacationing couple, Christine and Neil. They are on an island off the coast of Thailand and wake up hungover with no memory of the night before. They soon discover footage on Neil's camera and look on horrified as he appears to murder Christine. They are left with 24 hours until the next ferry departs, with a typhoon threatening the island and must attempt to reconstruct the night's events.

Saban Films has revealed a new trailer for Mortal. This is the latest from filmmaker Andre Ovredal, who is coming fresh off of last year's hit adaptation of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. With a cast led by Nat Wolff, it focuses on a young man who discovers he has God-like powers and is based on ancient Norwegian mythology. As we can see from the trailer, It looks to be a dark take on the whole superhuman origin tale.

The trailer opens with Nat Wolff recounting an altercation he had recently, which came with grave consequences. We then come to find that he has fiery powers that are equal parts dangerous and mysterious. Naturally, this leads to issues as government agencies want to get him under control before more damage can be done. There are some Chronicle vibes, only without the found footage angle, while also sort of...

Darren Lynn Bousman joins Josh and Joe to discuss his favorite over-the-top musicals of the 70s.

Show Notes:

Movies Referenced In This Episode

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

Sorcerer (1977)

Star Wars (1977)

Death of Me (2020)

Jesus Christ: Superstar (1973)

Pennies From Heaven (1981)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Requiem For A Dream (2000)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The Movie Orgy (1968)

Gremlins (1984)

The Room (2003)

Rocky (1976)

Hair (1979)

The Apple (1980)

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)

Tommy (1975)

Quadrophenia (1979)

Altered States (1980)

The Devils (1971)

Trapped Ashes (2006)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Devil’s Carnival (2012)

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Rent (2005)

Wild In The Streets (1968)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

The Jazz Singer (1980)

Forbidden Zone (1982)

Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)

The First Nudie Musical (1976)

Chatterbox (1977)

Goldilocks and the Three Bares (1963)

Cabaret (1972)

Saw II (2005)

Other Notable Items

Final Draft

Paris Hilton

Elvira

Angelyne

The William Friedkin podcast episode

Leonardo DiCaprio

Jesus Christ Superstar...

With “Mulan” arriving on more platforms October 6 and non-premium VOD titles like “The Witches” and Amazon’s “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” later this month, the home-viewing market was on pause with no new premium titles this weekend. That didn’t stop Jessica Chastain’s “Ava,” however: It had the best showing for a non-premium title in the six months we’ve covered weekly VOD performance.

The $6.99 female-assassin action film, which debuted September 25, placed #1 at the three transactional sites and second at FandangoNow, which lists by revenue. Other recent titles like “The Outpost,” “The Tax Collector,” and “The Silencing” have thrived for multiple weeks, but none topped the charts for two weeks.

Beating out “Ava” at FandangoNow, thanks to its $19.99 price point, is “Antebellum.” In its third week, it’s also #2 at Spectrum. It fell off Apple TV and Google Play, even with less competition among premium titles.

“Alone,” budgeted far lower...

As many of you know, I have a movie releasing next week called Death Of Me. And, Spiral coming out next year. But, many of you may not know about my newest At Home Immersive Horror Experience One Day Die. (www.OneDayDie.com) What is One Day Die? One Day Die is a macabre, paranormal immersive …

The post At Home Immersive Horror Experience One Day Die appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Luke Hemsworth is no stranger to surveillance.

Most fans know him from HBO’s sci-fi series “Westworld,” where he plays Ashley Stubbs, the security chief who monitors guests via video feeds. But surveillance also plays a central role in “Death of Me,” now available on-demand. Hemsworth and Maggie Q play Neil and Christine, a married couple vacationing on a remote island in Thailand. Neil is a travel blogger who is documenting their journey via a vlog.

The couple awakens in their vacation rental covered in bruises and dirt but can’t recall how they got there. They play back Neil’s footage from the previous night and watch in horror as Neil appears to snap Christine’s neck and bury her body.

Neil and Christine have to unravel the mystery of the found footage and Christine’s “death,” all while the island’s inhabitants creepily look on.

That surveillance — from...

It’s always an added bonus when a horror film does something a bit different. Whether it’s a concept or just a setting, the ability to differentiate oneself can sometimes make a real difference. Such is the case with Death of Me, which could easily be described as “The Hangover but horror” in broad strokes, but also adds in the locale of an island paradise. The end result is a fright flick that’s sometimes hit or miss, but does just enough right to warrant a mild recommendation. Out today, it’s an effective way to begin to get into the scary spirit of Halloween. The movie is a horror offering, of course. Taking a relaxing vacation on a small island off the coast of Thailand, husband and wife Neil (Luke Hemsworth) and Christine (Maggie Q) are initially having a wonderful time. On the final day of their trip,...

We are, it seems, no closer to normalcy in terms of being able to go to our local movie theater carefree. But the spooky season is upon us and that means plenty of horror movies in honor of Halloween coming our way. But that's not all as this week brings plenty of options for those looking for something to stream this weekend.

A few horror flicks are coming our way this weekend, including the latest from Darren Lynn Bousman and a vampire movie on Netflix. We also have a new Ryan Murphy-produced adaptation of a Broadway classic, a new sci-flick starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and a biopic about Gloria Steinem. Here are this week's streaming selections.

The Glorias - Amazon Prime Video

if Ie 9>endif-->if Ie 9>endif-->

The Glorias is a new biopic on the iconic Gloria Steinem. She is known for her world-shaping activism and guidance of the women's movement,...

An American couple has the vacation from hell in Death of Me, the latest horror flick from Saw franchise director Darren Lynn Bousman. The film is chock full of gruesome imagery and blood, but sadly lacking any real scares. A decent first act establishes a compelling mystery that is quickly fluttered away. The narrative then devolves into standard genre tropes with cardboard characters and a gratingly annoying score. Death of Me becomes an absolute chore to sit through.

Christine (Maggie Q) and Neil (Luke Hemsworth) wake up in a state of confusion. Their vacation villa is in complete disarray. They are disheveled and covered in dirt. Christine clasps a strange amulet around her neck. She has never seen it before. Neither of them can remember the events of the previous night. The television warns of a powerful typhoon barrelling towards the small Thai island. They decide to leave on the next ferry.

Alex Essoe is very much a star on the rise. Horror fans may know her from Starry Eyes but she got a big profile boost last year, playing Wendy Torrence in Mike Flanagan's sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep. She is collaborating with Flanagan again in not just one but two new projects, both of which are in the works for Netflix. Essoe is set to star in The Haunting of Bly Manor, the upcoming follow-up to 2018's The Haunting of Hill House, as well as Midnight Mass, which recently began production.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Alexandra Essoe about her new movie Death of Me, which arrives this week. We'll have the full interview up soon but during our conversation, Essoe talked a bit about The Haunting of Bly Manor. In it, she plays the deceased mother to a pair of orphan children. Here's what she had to say.

Writer and director Darren Lynn Bousman was the guest on a recent episode of the No-Prize From God podcast, which features "conversations with creative people about belief, unbelief, and everything between." During the lengthy, in-depth discussion, the Saw franchise filmmaker talked about his fascination with the occult and how the evolution of his personal beliefs informs his filmography, which includes the horror-meets-The-Hangover film Death of Me and next year's Spiral: From the Book of Saw. Bousman spoke about growing up in Kansas; urban legends; "Satanic panic"; why voodoo was excised from the Death of Me script; strange on-set occurrences during the making of 2011's 11-11-11; the genesis of 2012's The Devil's Carnival; and what Death of Me shares in common with The Wicker Man. A portion of that conversation is excerpted below, edited for clarity and length. https://linktr.ee/noprizefromgod|Listen to the entire No-Prize From God podcast episode here.

Vacationing couple Neil and Christine wake up from a heavy night’s boozing on a remote Thai island to find their passports missing and their memories largely blank. No clarity is forthcoming when Neil checks his phone’s photos from the night before, only to find an extended video in which he has rough sex with his wife, before strangling her to death and burying her in a shallow grave. The premise of “Death of Me” is the kind of tidily absurd “whoa, wut” pitch that Charlie Kaufman’s fictitious hack brother Donald might have dreamed up in “Adaptation”: It sounds at once stupidly intriguing and intriguingly stupid, but it has our attention either way. As handled by sometime “Saw”-meister Darren Lynn Bousman, this attractively mounted B-horror maintains that lurid, grabby quality even as its already sketchy ideas devolve into dubious, incoherent exotica.

For followers of Bousman’s work,...

The Dead Don’t Die: Bousman Weathers a Storm in Slow Burn Genre

There’s no predicting what to expect from Darren Lynn Bousman, other than we’re likely to see another facet of his flair for genre, and such is the case with his latest venture, Death of Me, a glossy throwback to tourist terror traps which proves to be his most polished film to date.

As penned by three scribes, it’s a hodgepodge of tropes, borrowing from the tech terrors of J-horror and the cult ceremonies of Robin Hardy which features some interesting twists and turns unfortunately dulled by straitjacketing everything into the perspective of rather unlikeable and privileged Western tourists.…...

It’s finally here! October officially arrives tomorrow, and while I know that we’re all bummed that this year’s Halloween season is going to be very different than usual, we will at least have a ton of genre films heading to VOD and Digital platforms throughout the month to keep you in the spirit as you celebrate the spooky season at home.

Honestly, this is easily the biggest month of digital releases I’ve ever seen in my years of doing this column, which means there is definitely going to be something for everyone to enjoy during the Halloween season. Between all the amazing spooky offerings at Shudder and Netflix this October, plus the rest of the titles that are headed to a variety of other digital outlets, there will still be plenty of Halloween-themed entertainment to enjoy even if we can’t head out to enjoy all...

Darren Lynn Bousman often exorcises his demons via his movies. The Saw II, III, and IV director explored his fascination with the power of belief in films like The Devil's Carnival and this month's horror thriller Death of Me, in theaters, On Demand and Digital October 2nd. And while the forthcoming Spiral: From the Book of Saw doesn't add anything supernatural, the material is still close to the filmmaker's heart. As he explained in a recent interview, the franchise as a whole deals with belief. And the characters played by Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson in the ninth Saw-related film hold a special meaning for him, too.

The Kansas-born writer/director burst onto the horror scene with a well-received screenplay the Saw producers felt would work as a sequel to the original surprise hit. Saw II did so well, they recruited Bousman to direct the third and fourth...