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- 'Haunt Season' is upon us šļø, 'Strange Darling' hits digital šš», Relive 'Mockingbird' š¤”, & more!
'Haunt Season' is upon us šļø, 'Strange Darling' hits digital šš», Relive 'Mockingbird' š¤”, & more!
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By Brett Petersel | Instagram | Letterboxd | X
Here at Horrorverse, when weāre not watching horror films, Bee and I have been planning out the next steps for the newsletter. We have an assortment of ideas that we canāt wait to unveil in the coming months, so stick around for those announcements (and features in future issues).
Now, letās get to the good stuff. Itās officially October, and the Halloween countdown has begun!
We know that our subscribers come from all over the world (yes, world!), but, because of where we both live (east coast - New York and West Virginia), weāve been longing for the days when the leaves begin to fall, the weather cools down, and the decorations begin to appear. This truly is the most wonderful time of the year.
This month, whether youāre participating in the #100HorrorMoviesIn92Days challenge or the others (#31DaysofHorror, #31DaysofHalloween, etc.), Bee and I are always finding something old or new and exciting to watch, so please follow us on Letterboxd (Brett, Bee) and read our reviews. We also love to recommend films (itās an automatic Strange Darling or Lisa Frankenstein from Bee; Nightbreed or The Collector from me - This also shows you how different Bee and I are, and why we work so well together)
As we continue to work on future issues, please reach out if youād like to be featured in our Filmmaker Spotlight, have us cover your event (in-person or virtually), join a podcast, or help out with the newsletter in any way, shape or form.
Happy Spooky Month!
After a very successful theatrical run, Alien: Romulus will be available on digital on October 15th, and then 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD on December 3, 2024.
Saw is celebrating its 20th anniversary IN THEATERS for two nights only: October 20th and 23rd. You can purchase tickets via Fathom Events.
More Saw news: Tobin Bell confirms his return to Saw XI!
Fitting snuggling next to other haunt horror movies like Hell Fest and Haunt, Haunt Season more than earns its place as one of the best modern slashers. Read Bee's review.
Parker Brennon shows great promise with their new anthology film, Hauntology. Possessing an Are You Afraid of the Dark? sensibility, Brennon serves up gateway horror that doesn't skimp on the terrible frights. The two strongest segments ("Paint and Black Lace" and "The Old Dark Cashel House") demonstrate their knack for horrific storytelling. By referencing iconic horror titles, Brennon shows a deep understanding of the genre and how to terrify audiences. Making her return to horror after 30 years, the one and only Nancy Kyes (Loomis) gives Brennonās project major credibility; it not only proves Brennon has what it takes to direct a heavy-weight champion but itās just so damn cool for horror fans. Brennon clearly understands the mechanics that make something feel truly guttural. As with most anthologies, not every segment works or reaches the heights of the aforementioned ones, yet there's still something to chew on in each chapter. Now, someone please give Brennon a big budget and let them go wild. They'd cook up something zany and stomach-churning, and that's a guarantee. [written by Bee]
Michael Felker's Things Will Be Different is a real mind-bender. Combining sci-fi and horror, his latest feature provokes questions about time, regrets and mistakes, and the very flawed nature of humanity. When the sibling duo Joseph (Adam David Thompson) and Sidney (Riley Dandy) meet up after a heist, Joseph reveals he has a plan of where to escape. The pair venture through the woods and cornfields and come upon a farmhouse on the outskirts of town. There, they seek out a door that possesses magical powers - the ability to transport to any point in time. When they find themselves sometime in the past, they plan to hide out for two weeks until everything dies down in the present. But something goes awry, and their brief stint becomes more than they bargained for. Felker keeps the audience on their toes; while fashioned as a slow burn, he focuses on a character-driven piece. It's a gripping excavation of mankind's frailty under strenuous circumstances and how accountability plays into our understanding of self. [written by Bee]
Filmmaker S.S. Arora courageously tackles ambitious themes with his directorial debut, The Deserving. Covering murder, regret, and suicide, the film aims to engage in a higher conversation on these topics and does an admirable job - owed largely to Venkat Sai Gunda's charming lead performance as a mute serial killer. As he readies for a photo shoot, he struggles with wanting to kill himself and a group of tortured spirits seeking retribution for the murders. While the emotional mechanics give the horror story some weight, the scares are largely ineffective. Arora peppers in jump scares galore that do little to elicit real fear. The Deserving demonstrates great promise for a burgeoning filmmaker, but on the whole, it's not very interesting or scary. [written by Bee]
Clowning Around: āMockingbirdā Turns 10
We actually exist in a world where Bryan Bertinoās Mockingbird holds a paltry 20% Popcornmeter rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It should be considered a crime against humanity. Despite a lean runtime, the Blumhouse-produced found-footage flick bursts at the seams with some of the creepiest scares of the last decade. An exhibition into the depraved and disturbed, Mockingbird hinges its effectiveness on our collective fear of clowns ā tapping into high-voltage jump scares and the more subtle variety. 10 years after its initial release, it remains one of Bertinoās most exciting and criminally overlooked early films.
When a typical suburban family receives a mysterious package containing a video camera, theyāre instructed to ākeep filmingā at all costs. Tom (Todd Stashwick) and his wife Emmy (Audrey Marie Anderson) assume theyāve won a sweepstakes giveaway and think nothing of it. On a dark, cold, and rainy night, their two young daughters scamper off to the skating rink for a birthday party with a family friend. Things slowly turn sinister after a second package appears on the doorstep, and they begin receiving deranged phone calls. Goofy and robotic, the unknown aggressor warns that if they stop recording for any reason, theyāll surely die a horrifying death.
Across town, another young woman, a college student named Beth (Alexandra Lydon), also receives a video camera and the same terrifying instructions. Sheās relocated across the country to go to school, so sheās yet to have any real friends. Presumably a clown, the stalker feeds off her fear of being alone and lurks just outside her rain-splattered windows. Living in the guest house of a much larger estate, she hears eerie piano music originating from the main building. The score intermingles with the torrential downpour, providing an appropriately moody and unsettling backdrop for the story. Vulnerable and lonely, Beth becomes the perfect victim.
A third video feed follows a reclusive lowlife named Leonard (Barak Hardley). Heās down on his luck and lives with his overbearing mother. Heās not a risk-taker, and his life has become one mundane event after another. When he first discovers a brightly wrapped package at his door, heās giddy with excitement. If he engages in what he believes is a scavenger hunt, heāll win $10,000. And he could really use the money right now.
Leonard's never had something this thrilling happen in his life. He soon receives a second box containing a clown costume and accessories. Cards found inside each carton instruct him to first shave his head and then slather his face with makeup. Heās what you call a pretty impressionable person, and no oneās ever given him this much attention. With each instruction, Leonard falls deeper into a strangerās diabolical plot to torture Beth, Tom, and Emmy. He just doesnāt know it yet...
Mockingbird keeps each storyline separate and only twists them together in tiny increments. The gutting terror sprouts in the shadows. It only takes root when Bertino wants it to, leaving much to the imagination ā such as the strangerās identity and their motivations. Itās all a bit surreal, a feverish nightmare that banks on fear of what you just canāt see. There might be something lurking in the corners of the room, but there might not be. The biggest contributors to the filmās effectiveness lie with the calculated use of lightning as a primary light source, the robotic voice messages, and the rain bouncing off the grass. Itās a recipe for a glorious and bloody disaster.
Bryan Bertino directs his heart out across the 80-minute feature. Even in the softer moments, thereās a dread that weaves throughout the cinematic fabric. From the use of mannequins and clown imagery to the downright chilling sound design, Mockingbird is a surefire heart-stopper.
Without dipping into spoilers: the stories of Tom and Emmy, Beth, and Leonard collide into a carnival frenzy in the third act. When the characters converge on a lavish estate, they discover a sea of blood-red balloons and a terrifying recording of party-goers chatting somewhere in the distance. Bertino holds the cards close to the vest, keeping the audience guessing about what is actually happening as much as the characters. After a shoot-out, the frightening instigator emerges from a pit of balloons ā and itās not who you would ever expect.
Mockingbird ends with the audienceās blood running cold. The last few images creep into the brain and get stuck. Thereās no coming back from such a murderous end. Bryan Bertino achieved what he set out to do: make a terrifying horror experience. Despite negative reviews surrounding the film even 10 years later, the film is still as effective as that very first viewing. If you're a naysayer, or you're simply uncontaminated, give it another chance. Allow yourself to get tangled up in the story; and you just might uncover why itās so damn scary.
Filmmaker Spotlight with Jake Jarvi (Haunt Season)
Jake Jarvi is the Head of Production, main shooter, and editor for the Rob Scallon YouTube Channel with more than 2.5 million subscribers and 550 million video views. He created, wrote, directed, produced, edited, and did a bunch of the VFX for the beloved multi-award-winning web series, The Platoon of Power Squadron. Legendary horror director Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream) called his work "Slick in the best sense of the word. Very powerful and unsettling."
Haunt Season hits select theaters on October 4, 2024 and on Digital October 8, 2024. Watch his Filmmaker Spotlight on our YouTube here.
Favorite Spooky Haunts in Film: Since we're entering Spooky Season and front yards are turning into a Halloween-themed paradise, we're setting out sights on our favorite spooky haunts in horror. This includes not only amusement park attractions, but films where, for example, the building or residence is haunted by ghosts and demonic forces, or even maintained by humans with a hurtful purpose. Check out our list on Letterboxd.
by Bee Delores | Instagram | Letterboxd | X and Brett Petersel | Instagram | Letterboxd | X
I know Bee prefers Hell Fest over Haunt, but the Bryan Woods and Scott Beck feature is a solid Halloween contender that offers great acting, directing, and kills. Iāve never attended an extreme haunted house before (and canāt wait to do so), and this film may encourage you to not do so, but the sets and cinematography are fantastic (the directors are also behind A Quiet Place films and the upcoming High Grant film Heretic). Read Brettās review.
The Entity might be one of the most terrifyingly disturbing horror movies of the 1980s. Starring Barbara Hershey as Carla, the Sidney J. Furie-directed film takes no prisoners when it comes to an unseen force wrecking Carla's life. Physical attacks and sexual assault force her to the edge of sanity. Hershey delivers an emotionally twisted performance that lingers with you long after the credits have rolled. [written by Bee]
Mia Farrow hypnotizes you in The Haunting of Julia, also known as Full Circle. Farrow plays Julia Lofting, who inadvertently caused her daughter Kate's death. After receiving psychiatric treatment, she buys a home in London where she fully intends to live alone. Her guilt practically eats her alive. But as she settles into her new place, spooky things begin to happening that lead her to believe that a little ghost girl lives here. With its indie-budget feel, Julia makes great use of its resources to strike fear and blanket you in shivering coldness. It's effective in that it feels rooted in reality, with Farrow doing what she always does: make you terrified. [written by Bee]
Vile may not be for everyone, and those who watch it may think Iām insane for liking (and owning) this film, but thereās some magic to it (that magic isnāt the acting, but the premise). Waking up in a secluded, locked location with electronic devices attached to their skulls that senses pain, which, in order to escape, a certain amount must be detected. The only thing is that those trapped together must hurt each other. In the post-Saw era, torture porn went in a number of directions (Hostel, for example), but Vile is full of sinister tricks and brutal happenings in order to escape. Itās the final reveal, which wasnāt the greatest, that brings it all together and reveals the purpose of this experiment, but I think itās a worthy watch if youāre into watching people be tortured for your viewing pleasure. [Review by Brett]
Now that itās October, weāre getting down to business. This weekās RIYL is Hell Fest, the 2018 film starring Amy Forsyth and Bex Taylor-Klaus, as well as an appearance by Tony Todd. The filmās filled with a fantastic set, an outdoor haunted attraction (think Great Adventure or Hershey Parkā¦ but for Halloween), and a serial killer seeking his next victim(s). Itās a game of cat and mouse, and the cat usually wins. If you liked Hell Fest, check out these films in the list we put together on Letterboxd.
Strange Darling is now available on Digital, and will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on November 5, 2024.
From Blumhouse and Amazon MGM Studios, House of Spoils is now available to stream on Prime Video.
A teaser trailer for Stephen Soderberghās new film, Presence, has dropped. The film, shot from the perspective of a ghost/spiritual entity, haunts theaters in January 2025.
This November, the Soho Horror Film Festival returns for its 7th anniversary, bringing fearless film lovers their next favorite scary movie, year on year. From November 22nd-24th, the festival will head underground to the Whirled Cinema, Brixton for a 3 day in-person extravaganza. Then, in their continued efforts to remain as inclusive and accessible as possible, the festival will maintain its vanguard of online accessible screenings, running from the November 28th - December 1st with a unique program of films and events to both the in-person and virtual festivals. More info at sohohorrorfest.com.
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.
The debut novel from Ian Rogers, who Sam Raimi calls "a fantastic storyteller of horror."
The Bennett family is broken. After a series of devastating events, they leave their old lives behind and start over in a new town. The move is supposed to give them a chance to heal and to help mend their familial bonds, but they soon discover some wounds run deeper than others, and they always leave scars.
And thereās something seriously wrong with their new house.
Thereās a presence lurking within the walls, walking the halls at night, and it seems to know everything about the Bennetts. Their secrets, their desiresā¦and their fears.
What starts out as mild paranormal activity quickly escalates into a full-on supernatural assault by an entity whose motives are as nebulous as its origins.
If the Bennetts hope to survive, they will have to confront the horrors of their past, forgive each other for the wrongs theyāve done, and come together as a single powerful force.
As FAMILY.
Pre-order FAMILY here.
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