Devon Sawa gets 'Consumed' 👺, Popcorn Frights weekend #1 🍿, Camping essentials 🏕️, & more!

There's nothing nearly as rejuvenating as spending time in nature. After camping in the woods, I have returned to civilization (mostly) unscathed and plenty refreshed to tackle this week's newsletter. Disconnecting from the digital world, I replanted my roots in the earth and reconnected with why I write in the first place. The pressures of social media seemed to melt away - and I got the sense I was fulfilling some grander purpose. When you step outside of yourself (i.e. your ego), you begin to understand that there's so much more to existence than our online lives.

That's partly why I love horror movies so much. They not only scratch my itch to be scared, but they force me to confront my own mortality AND help me see myself in a new frame of mind. They cleanse an anxiety-addled mind, washing away the grime of an exhausting workday or the stress of job hunting. Horror replaces those bile-filled spaces in our brains with serotonin-enhancing chemicals that just make us feel good.

With the first week of Popcorn Frights in the rearview, I am feeling fantastic. Celebrating its 10th year this summer, the festival is delivering some of the best work on the indie scene. From Tyler Eaton's funny-bone-tickling Mysterious Ways to Michael Varrati's ultra-horny, meta zombie flick There's a Zombie Outside, there's something for everyone. If you're late to the party, the fest continues through Sunday (August 18). You can check out the official website for what the virtual program offers, and trust me, there's plenty of goodies. Happy watching!

Yours Cruelly,
Bee

Issue 011’s Letterboxd list can be found here

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones Turns 10

In 1999, I had my first encounter with a ghost. I was 13 years old when I was visiting my grandmother that summer, and I wanted to prove how brave I was. Now, my grandmother’s house was a hotbed of paranormal activity. Ever since my family moved into the farmhouse back in 1985, there have been countless reported sightings – from a legless little boy to a gnarled old witch and a man named Rufus. Even my ultra-Christian grandfather Elmer witnessed something so ungodly in the upstairs bedroom that he vowed we’d never want to even live there if we knew. He never shared what he had experienced, but thinking about it now sends shivers down my spine.

You can read my complete research into the haunted property (dating back to the 1800s) over on Bloody Disgusting.

But the night that forever changed me was like any other. I remember it all so vividly. The hot summer air hung thick like purple grapes. The open bedroom window invited a rush of even warmer air in from the surrounding fields. The farmhouse stood like a relic trapped in time. It was just after midnight, and sleep alluded me, leaving me stranded in the dark. My heart rattled in my chest; sweat beaded across my brow; and the silence swallowed me whole.

As my eyelids finally grew heavy, I saw a light. On the far wall, three matchstick crosses hung between the closet doors. A giant, globe-sized orb lit up the center crucifix and blinked twice. That’s all it took for me to jump out of my skin and dart for the door. Now, I know what you’re thinking… that’s it? Yes. I’d seen enough horror movies by that point not to mess around with apparitions and demons. No explanation in the world could have ever washed away the coldness of the room or the hair rising on the back of my neck. Nothing, and I mean nothing, would ever make me sleep in that room again.

I’ve been a firm believer in the paranormal ever since that fateful night. It’s why a franchise like Paranormal Activity always sours my blood. Whenever I’m looking to be scared out of my wits, I put on one of the franchise’s entries and let the terror drench me. While I enjoy the 2007 original and many of the subsequent sequels, it’s the 2014 film, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, that I find to be severely underappreciated for its barrage of jump scares, stomach-turning tension, and cast of endearing characters.

When his downstairs neighbor Ana (Gloria Sandoval) ends up murdered at the hands of Oscar (Carlos Chalabi), Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) and his best friend Hector (Jorge Diaz) investigate the property to get to the bottom of the mystery. What starts as an innocent inquest erupts into a demonic possession that’ll slaughter everyone in the way. Out of his element, Jesse becomes the target of a dark entity lurking inside the basement beneath Ana’s apartment – evidenced after he receives a toothy bite mark on his forearm.

After meeting up with Oscar’s brother Arturo (Richard Cabral), Hector and Marisol’s (Gabrielle Walsh) investigation leads them to a young woman named Ali Rey (Molly Ephraim), who reveals that an active coven of witches known as The Midwives has been manipulating pregnant women into giving up their first-born sons for ritualistic purposes. Further probing exposes the location of the final sacrifice, and, as Ali warns, once the ritual is done, Jesse will no longer be himself. His body will have been given over to a higher, more unholy power.

As Jesse slips further and further away from the person he once was, he grows increasingly violent and shoves his grandmother down a flight of stairs. While she is later hospitalized, it is an absolute gut punch, highlighting exactly how dire the situation has become. The coven then kidnaps Jesse and takes him to a secluded home where they hope to perform the final ritual and unlock the next level of existence. Hector, Marisol, and Arturo eventually arrive at the location but bite off more than they can chew. In true, found footage fashion, it doesn’t end well for our protagonists. In the third act, Landon shocks the system with a flood of jump scares that work overtime to get the blood pumping and the heart leaping from your chest.

As the fifth film in a franchise, The Marked Ones goes largely overlooked. Christopher Landon, who also penned the script, understood the assignment: he crafted a harrowing, character-driven tale brimming with skin-melting terror and the kind of eerie imagery that lodges in the brain. The film wastes nary a single frame – allowing the fear to percolate before sliding sideways into the membrane, turning up layers of epidermis before seeping into the bloodstream.

Due to the cast’s commitment to the work, particularly Jacobs, who absolutely lights up the screen, there remains an emotional urgency to the story that radiates from the screen. Before demons consume Jesse’s body, Jacobs bewitches with a sharp intensity. He can transmit emotion with a simple glance, a smile, and a lift of the eyebrow. His dynamic expressionism elevates the material in such a way that makes for a tragic viewing as Jesse is lost to the darkness.

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones injected the series with a much-needed adrenaline shot. The film ventured into uncharted territory, while also cleverly tying into the Katie and Micha saga. Stacked with hard-hitting jump scares and a strong reliance on mood and shadow play, the 2014 film remains one of the boldest moments in both the supernatural and found footage genres. 10 years later, it still gives me the creeps.

After Bee’s recent camping adventure, and given that it’s still summer, we put together a list of films for the horror-loving camping enthusiasts out there who don’t mind mosquitos and the potential lack of cell service… and a monster or two. Check out our Essential Camping Horror Films list on Letterboxd.

The 100 Horror Movies in 92 Days Challenge is back! The event runs from August 1st through October 31st, allowing participants to watch (at least) 100 horror films during this time (and all must be a first-time watch!). Read the guidelines here.

Popcorn Frights Film Festival, the Southeast United States largest international genre film festival, will celebrate its tenth year on August 8-18, 2024. Popcorn Frights showcases features and shorts by filmmakers from around the world to an audience of horror lovers and filmmakers, industry, and journalists. Learn more at popcornfrights.com.

Silver Scream Con, the horror convention that brought 5,000 blood-thirsty movie fans to Boston's North Shore in each of its first two iterations, brings the Three-quel everyone's been dying for to Worcester’s DCU Center on September 13-15, 2024. Tickets and information are available now at silverscreamcon.com.