Movies/TV

Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’ Dominates Weekend Box Office

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Us, Jordan Peele’s follow-up to his breakout hit Get Out, dominated the weekend box office, raking in an estimated $70 million in ticket sales.  Peele’s sophomore effort took in more than twice as much as Get Out (which debuted with a 33 million dollar haul) and with such a healthy start, Us should be able to come close to what Peele’s original foray into the horror genre generated back in 2017.

While Us’s box office is certainly impressive, as it is one of the highest grossing original horror films of all time after only one weekend, it may have a hard time sustaining the momentum and word-of-mouth that Get Out capitalized on.  Us has been an unabashed hit in the eyes of critics (with a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences seem to like, but not love the picture.  When examining the metrics associated with audience reactions,  ticket buyers gave Us a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a lukewarm CinemaScore of B. read more

David Weiner Talks ‘In Search of Darkness: A Journey Into Iconic ‘80s Horror’

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The decade of the 1980’s is absolutely loaded with iconic horror movies, characters, actors, creators, and horror hosts. For many of us, this is where our love of horror began. The ‘80s also served as a real tipping point for fans to not just want to watch a horror movie, but also know how the effects were done and rally behind their favorite characters. Frequent stars of horror movies as well as the creators and make-up artist became heroes to horror fans. And horror fans are a nostalgic bunch as may be evidenced by the trend of seeing new movies and shows (It and Stranger Things, in particular) focus on that decade as a way to engage fans and pull at their gruesome little heartstrings. So what better time to film a horror documentary on that particularly iconic decade? read more

‘Us’: The Horror News Network Review

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This review contains spoilers.

Get Out was a smash hit on all metrics. The movie earned $255 million on a $4.5 million budget and it wowed casual fans, horror aficionados, and stuffy critics alike due to its expert blend of tried and true horror tropes and an adept level of social commentary that ties the picture together. Get Out also solidified writer/director Jordan Peele as one of the premiere horror storytellers of our time after a long and successful career in comedy. His well-deserved Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay broke barriers for an institution which typically rewards standard drama storytelling over specialized genre fare, and it drew even more attention to his knack for threading symbolism and allegory through a tightly constructed, self-contained horror story. Throughout the pre-release hype for Us, audiences were constantly reminded that this movie would have an even greater emphasis on horror than Peele’s freshman outing, and the film’s trailers expertly presented the terrifying tropes of the home invasion, the fear of the other, and ghastly sharp objects front and center. All of this build up led audiences to believe that Us would contain- above all- a great horror narrative. What we ended up with- however- is a movie that relies much more heavily on allegory than story, and the story suffers as a result… even in spite of phenomenal performances by a stellar ensemble cast.   read more

Casting News for Amazon’s Upcoming ‘The Dark Tower’ Series

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“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”

Fans of Stephen King’s epic Dark Tower series can cautiously breathe a sigh of relief as it appears that we are now closer to putting the mess that was the 2017 film behind us. Deadline has reported that Amazon has cast Sam Strike (Nightflyers, Leatherface) as Roland Deschain, the gunslinger and lead of the Dark Tower series. Also cast is Roland’s nemesis Marten Broadcloack (The Man in Black, Walter Padick, etc.) who will be played by Jasper Pääkkönen of BlacKkKlansman & Vikings. read more

‘Castle Rock’ Season Two adds New Cast Members

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Set to premier later this year, the Hulu series Castle Rock has added Lizzy Caplan, Tim Robbins and Elsie Fisher to star in the show’s second season which The Hollywood Reporter stated will be themed around Stephen King’s novel Misery.

From producer J.J. Abrams and King himself, Castle Rock premiered on July 25, 2018 and has featured many actors who have appeared in adaptations of King’s various stories, such as Bill Skarsgård who is known for his role as Pennywise the Clown in 2017’s IT and Sissy Spacek who was the titular character in the 1976 film Carrie. read more

One Summer Can Change Everything in ‘Stranger Things 3’ Trailer

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Netflix dropped the official trailer for Stranger Things 3 today and change is indeed coming to Hawkins, Indiana. The lovable kids we once knew are growing up and turning info young adults. Perhaps Finn Wolfhard sums it up best in the trailer as Mike says “We’re not kids anymore, I mean, what did you think? We were just going to sit in my basement all day?”

While the official plot is still under wraps, the near three-minute trailer gives us a fair share of what we can expect from the Emmy-nominated series in its junior season. read more

Official Trailer for ‘Z Nation’ Prequel Series ‘Black Summer’ Released by Netflix

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Netflix is bringing a zombie series back from the dead, much to the delight of horror fans.  On its official YouTube page, the popular streaming series has released the official trailer for Black Summer, a prequel series based on Z Nation (which was recently cancelled by Syfy after five seasons.)  The trailer can be viewed below.

Expanding the Z Nation universe is welcome news to the rabid fan-base of the zombie series, who were still reeling from the cancellation bombshell from last December.  Black Summer will star Jaime King (My Bloody Valentine, Sin City) as a young mother named Rose.  In the earliest days of the zombie apocalypse, the aftermath of which we viewed through the Z Nation lens, Rose must journey and fight her way through the carnage to find her daughter in the increasingly desolate and dangerous wasteland.  Banding together with a group of Americans, the survivors must work together to find their loved ones while fighting the un-dead…..and even each other.  The show will also star Sal Velez Jr. (FX’s Mayans M.C.) as William Velez, who appears to be an ally based on the trailer sequences. read more

Trailer Arrives for ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Part 2’

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Just yesterday, Netflix revealed the official trailer to the second season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The two-minute trailer which features the Runaways classic Cherry Bomb gives us a glimpse of what to expect including warlocks, witches and other things that go bump in the night.

The official synopsis for the next entry in the series reads as follows:

It’s a wicked world out there, and Sabrina is brewing up trouble. After signing her name in the Book of the Beast, Sabrina struggles to find the balance between her place in the mortal world and her new darker side. New challenges await Sabrina in Part 2, including having to choose between the familiar mortal Harvey Kinkle, and the sexy warlock Nicholas Scratch. She may have signed her name to the Dark Lord, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t willing to raise a little hell. read more

Upcoming ‘Terminator’ Film Named ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’

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Deadline is reporting that Paramount has finally decided on a name for their latest film in the Terminator franchise and it will be called Terminator: Dark Fate. The James Cameron produced Terminator sequel is directed by Tim Miller (Deadpool) and is based on a screenplay written by David Goyer, Josh Friedman, Billy Ray and Justin Rhodes.

Dark Fate sees the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton to the beloved sci-fi/horror franchise. Joining the Terminator vets are Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta, Brett Azar, and Steven Cree. read more

John Carl Buechler Passes Away at 66

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We have sad news to pass along today as The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that John Carl Buechler has passed away after a battle with stage 4 prostate cancer. Buechler is known for his love of horror films where he worked as an actor, writer, producer, director, and special effects artist. In 1986 Buechler directed the cult classic film Troll which followed a troll king in search of a magical ring which will transform him into a human. In 1988 more directing duties came Buechler’s way as he added Cellar Dweller to his resume while visiting Crystal Lake and directing new Jason, Kane Hodder in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood. read more