Eight Terrific, Totally Unexpected Performances in Horror

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Wicked Horror is the author of Eight Terrific, Totally Unexpected Performances in Horror. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

With so many great actors known for turning in solid performances in genre work, you sometimes expect a particular performance out of an actor. While they all definitely have a wide range, you call on Robert Englund to be a specific kind of creepy and you get Kane Hodder to be a large, intimidating villain, most of the time. But there are a whole lot of horror films out there, and they don’t all feature the same rotating cast of genre faves. Sometimes people who are not really known for work in the genre will show up in a horror film and deliver a hell of a performance. And it’s a great, unexpected treat every single time they do. It’s a shame that many of the actors you’ll see on this list never really made it to an A-list level of stardom. Some of them have certainly become well-known, but only for doing a certain kind of thing, while others are far from being household names. See Also: Five Vampire Movies That Changed The Genre But all great work deserves a shoutout and with that in mind, here are some amazing and completely unexpected performances in horror. Sam Neill in In the Mouth of Madness With Sam Neill, you traditionally expect a more straight-laced performance and my favorite thing about his work in this movie is that that’s the way he starts out. John Trent is a stalwart guy just focused on the work, not really believing in much of anything he’s seeing or hearing until he’s forced to. After the success of Jurassic Park, it was great to see him jump so quickly into a role that’s totally out there. It’s bonkers. And it’s great to see him go bonkers. It’s not his first foray into that world, he’d been there before in Possession, but this time he’s really the driving force. Melinda Clarke in Return of the Living Dead 3 I love this one and I love this performance. Sure, she’s an actress in a low-budget B-Movie sequel, but as such she delivers the best possible job that she can. Not only does she convey a sympathetic heroine, but she has to do so much, from acting dead to the practical FX she becomes buried under in the second half. My favorite thing, though, is the outstanding physical performance she gives. She brings a tenderness to the character, but when she turns full zombie, she’s not stiff or rigid, instead her movements are so fluid and almost snakelike and that transformation is stunning to watch. David Cronenberg in Nightbreed This has to be one of the most genius casting decisions of the ‘90s. Cronenberg isn’t even an actor. He’s a director. But Clive Barker saw an interview with him and said, “That’s the guy for the job.” It’s such a quiet, understated performance, pretty much delivered as an exaggeration of the way Cronenberg normally speaks—and that’s exactly what it needs to be. There’s something just subtly unhinged about Dr. Decker and when it’s time to go full-on crazy, he nails that as well. Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone Christopher Walken is an icon. I wouldn’t dare say that he isn’t. But he’s sort of become a pop culture joke for being such an easy impression, for the awkward and instantly recognizable way that he talks. But he’s been in some astounding movies. And I’m not kidding when I say that I think The Dead Zone is his best dramatic performance. He’s not doing “The Christopher Walken Thing” here. He’s giving a sincere, complicated, emotional presentation of this man who has both lost everything and gained a sense of responsibility he does not know how to live with. Bill Paxton in Near Dark I don’t see how anyone could have expected this from the late Bill Paxton. Sure, Near Dark came just after Aliens, in which Paxton certainly played a larger than life character. But this is his Clockwork Orange. Severin is just a remorseless, thrill-killing Southwestern punk rock monster. In a movie full of vampires he stands out as particularly vicious. He out-creeps Lance Henriksen. There’s something amazing about that. It’s definitely one of the top, most overlooked standout roles in a career cut too short. Lance Henriksen in Pumpkinhead Lance Henriksen plays a great, creepy villain. But he also proved that he could excel at sympathetic supporting roles in Aliens. Yet in Pumpkinhead, for one of the few times in his career, he takes the lead. And my God, he nails it. This is the kind of performance that would have gotten accolades if it weren’t in a monster movie called Pumpkinhead. Here, he’s a vengeful father full of remorse, trying to correct a terrible thing he did, all while attempting to grieve. There are so many different facets to what Henriksen has to do in this film and he never stumbles once. Isabelle Adjani in Possession This movie hinges on Isabelle Adjani’s performance. As bizarre as it is, it needs something equally bizarre to carry it and that’s what Isabelle Adjani does in this. She is equal parts sensitive and scary and that’s a really hard thing to pull off. Sam Neill is also great, but she’s easily the driving force of the feature. It’s also worth noting that while Posession took a while to gain a cult following in the US, Adjani won the award for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981. Billy Zane in Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight This performance is lightning in a bottle. Who knew that Billy Zane had this kind of manic insanity, as well as this kind of charm? And look at how effortlessly he slips between the two, being suave and seductive one moment and balls-to-the-wall crazy the next. There’s no way anyone could ever emulate or duplicate what Zane did in this movie. It is so perfectly of its time. And while I’d love to see something like this from him again, I like that it exists as this time capsule of perfect crazy. At the very, very least he gave us one of the most underrated villains of the ‘90s, yet unforgettable to anyone who’s seen it. Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Five Evil Santas That Make Christmas Feel Like Halloween

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Wicked Horror is the author of Five Evil Santas That Make Christmas Feel Like Halloween. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Jolly old St. Nicholas is known for his good cheer and extreme generosity. But within the horror genre, Saint Nick has a very different reputation. From Santa Claus-inspired serial killers to demonic beings, these Santas or ant-Santas make Christmas every bit as frightening as Halloween. Read on to see who made the cut!  Santa’s Slay Santa Claus is actually the son of Satan in this campy horror comedy. Satan procured a virgin lover and Santa is the result. Until the year AD 1005, Christmas was “The Day of Slaying.” But when Santa loses a bet with an angel during a curling match, he must be kind and give gifts on Christmas for the next 1,000 years. When the story begins, the year is 2005 and there’s hell to pay. Santa terrorizes Hell Township, killing residents at random in creative and festive ways. Teenager Nicholas Yuleson lives there with his eccentric grandfather, who shows Nicholas The Book of Klaus which tells the true story of Santa. Nicholas and his friend, Mary “Mac” Mackenzie team up to put a stop Santa’s “Day of Slaying”.  Five of the Most Imaginative Kills from Christmas Horror Krampus In this story, if you lose your Christmas spirit, Krampus will retaliate by dragging you to hell! Krampus is based on a demonic horned creature from Austro-Bavarian folklore who punishes naughty children on Christmas. In the movie, Max Engel loses his Christmas spirit when his dysfunctional family gets stuck spending Christmas together. After being taunted by his cousins for still believing in Santa Claus, Max tears up his letter to Santa and throws it out the window. His teenage sister goes missing during a blizzard, then the real chaos ensues. Max’s German grandmother tells the family that she believes Krampus is responsible. She grew up during the war. Her family and many others lost their Christmas spirit. Krampus showed up and took her family away. The Engel family must figure out a way to put their differences aside to fight Krampus and survive Christmas. 2015: The Year Christmas Horror Broke Out Harry from Christmas Evil Better watch out because this Santa won’t just give you coal in your stocking for bad behavior, he’ll kill you. When Harry was little, he saw a man he believed was Santa engaging in very unSanta-like behavior with his mother. Realizing that Santa is actually was father, he stormed up to the attic where he broke a snow globe and cut himself. As an adult, Harry is Christmas-obsessed. His apartment is cluttered with toys and he even wears Santa Claus pajamas. Harry is also a manager at the Jolly Dreams toy factory and a doormat for anyone that wants to step on him.  Harry takes his Christmas obsession to the next level as he monitors the neighborhood kids and keeps “naughty” and “nice” logs. He even makes his own Santa suit. But things really go off the rails when he begins making a naughty list for the adults who’ve done him wrong and starts killing them on Christmas Eve.  Billy from Silent Night Deadly Night Santa Claus is coming to town and he’s got an ax to grind…right in your head. This is another Santa serial killer tale with a much darker backstory and an even more deranged Santa. As children Billy and Ricky Chapman witnessed their parents murdered by a man dressed up as Santa Claus. The boys are sent to a Catholic orphanage run by a nun who physically and verbally abuses them.  Billy is triggered to set off on a killing spree during an office Christmas party where he is playing Santa Claus. He witnesses his co-worker (and love interest) being sexually assaulted by a male co-worker. Billy proceeds to kill them both and then continues the festivities by murdering anyone he deems as behaving badly. This movie stirred up real life fear among parents and religious groups over it’s serial killer Santa theme and portrayal of the Catholic Church. There was so much protesting that the movie was pulled from theaters.  Santa and His Helpers in Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale In this story, Santa isn’t the benevolent figure we believed in as children. He beats naught kids and boils them in a cauldron. He is even depicted as a horned creature like Krampus. An American company is excavating something deep in the mountains in Finland, arousing suspicion in the local village. Two boys, Pietari and Juuso, sneek a peek at the excavation. Pietrari looks around the site and finds a book which tells the true story of Santa. Pietari’s friends begin to disappear. Pietrari’s father captures an old man who is actually one of Santa’s helpers who abducted the children. Pietrari is determined to make the adults listen to him and save his friends from a terrible fate at the hands of Santa Claus.  So, we have demonic beings who drag the naughty to hell and serial slashers that just hack them up into pieces. These Santas aren’t going to conjure any visions of sugar plums on Christmas Eve. Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.        

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Antebellum is Regressively Simple in its Techniques [Blu-ray Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of Antebellum is Regressively Simple in its Techniques [Blu-ray Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Sometimes ineptitude can be endearing. On the other hand, in most instances one will find themselves infuriated by witnessing an impotence of expression – incapacity that ensures a thing unashamedly self-satisfied comes across as insufferable, offensively naïve, and unjustifiably boastful. The staggering ineptitude of Antebellum is best illustrated through the fact that it is almost entirely ineffective.  The film’s political consciousness – or lack thereof – can only ultimately manifest as a feature that operates like an aggravating gnat in the ear of an audience who might have otherwise been wholly attentive. The way it seeks to explore topics of race and history prove in the fullness of time to be counter-intuitive. From the film’s obnoxiously over-choreographed opening long-take to its predictable third-act ‘twist’, it is a film that cannot help but cloak its tenuous theses in hairbrained mischief, clumsy sleight-of hand, and cheap caricatures of heroes and villains alike. All the while, it is so proud of its worldview, so impressed and enamored by its own concoction, that one can only feel a sickening mixture of aggravation and second-hand embarrassment watching it careen over a cliff of preposterousness. From a road perhaps paved with good intentions, it morphs an attempt at sharp and spiky genre fiction into something mundane and laughable, dull-edged, smug and boring. Also See: Seven Jump Scares That Have Never Lost Their Impact The film pits Janelle Monáe’s protagonist – a blandly flattened portrait of a TED Talk-posturing public academic and pundit – against vile embodiments of tiki torch supremacism. These are overseers and confederates engaged in a frivolous exploitation-film facade, a feverish imagining of a liberal nightmare that is so needlessly exaggerated so as to nullify itself. The preposterousness has nothing to do with overestimating the bounds of bigotry. Rather Antebellum becomes an inadvertent farce because it depicts the racism of our contemporary landscape through such highly literal, obvious, one-dimensional iterations, all of them of familiar iconography, and all entirely bereft of either commentary or fresh illumination. A scheme involving a massive cover-up made to cloak a secret operation of exploitation could have been depicted instead as an operation endorsed by the United States government. Slavery, a backbone of America’s economy and beginnings, and a blood-drenched and unforgivable system of greed and inhumanity, was not done in secret. The film’s toothless naivety, to assume white supremacy is most frightening and shocking when it is concealed by isolation, whispers, trapping innocents in an undercover world of cruel fantasy, comes across as bitterly tone-deaf and out-of-date within the context of contemporary discourse. Racism, neither a specter nor a fixture of a bygone world, is present and palpable. Moments of the film acknowledge this, but taken conceptually the central conceit of Antebellum’s narrative fails to indulge or explore such ideas. As such, every reveal presented in the film is underwhelming. This is not even to mention that every act of violence depicted is made toothless through its clumsiness in film language, and bluntness of artistic intention. In so many scenes of the film, one could not hit the head of a nail harder without shattering the hammer. And yet all is done to no effect. See Also: Five Movies You Might be Surprised Tim Burton Didn’t Direct Watching Antebellum is a numbing experience, because the entire be-all and end-all of its narrative technique is to dupe its audience. The opening act of the film is a ruse, and one that condescends to the audience – insisting they will be utterly unable to see through the dubious verisimilitude of this plantation scenario. So many lines of dialogue and character interactions are designed to be as vague and shallow as possible, so as to not provide a ‘tell’ to the deception underway. When the twist eventually surfaces, that deception is cleanly over, and those dialogues and character interactions are immediately presented with an entirely different lexicon, manner, and purpose – replaced with vernaculars and postures prior invisible – despite the fact that nothing has changed for the characters. It is the act of watching an unconvincing poker face finally giving way to a completely empty hand. The flimsiness and folly of this sort of structural framework being the backbone for a film lies in just how frustrating it is for a perceptive audience – as well as for one that does not appreciate being blatantly talked-down to. It illustrates the filmmaker’s lack of faith in the core of their material. And in addition, Antebellum could be easily pilloried as yet another film that cannot conceive of black individuals existing outside of their entrapment within devices and visions of bodily suffering, enslavement, and brutal dehumanization. Even in its conceptualization of everyday contemporary life, Antebellum’s choice to illustrate a successful black woman as a stale public figure – as well as one whose opportunities to present her writing and research comes across most like something scripted by a right-wing buffoon limply attempting a satirization of intersectionality and social justice – demonstrates how the filmmakers lack the imagination or chops required to conceive of a genre piece that does not simply boil down character to cliché; politics to evocations of talking points. That these filmmakers have taken territory that can so easily evoke horror and instead used it for generic, grown-worthy and crass winks and self-righteous smirks is something of a grave offense. That Antebellum does not at all command a realistic portrait of slavery in America, and that this fact is obnoxiously explained away by the smug theatrics of this laughable script, is equally insulting. It is a mind-numbing bit of would-be bravado that misses its intended mark entirely, instead coming across as incredibly embarrassing. One watches scenes of implausible and comically cardboard impressions, meant to depict something like what is a true history of human exploitation and suffering, but made in a way that visually resembles something more like what a marketing executive or commercial photographer might be able to conjure on the cheap. Also See: Five Bigfoot Films that Leave a Deep Impression (and Four That Missed the Mark) Antebellum is a film entirely lacking in grit or texture – both visually and intellectually. Boasting of its connections to Jordan Peele’s recent directorial work in its marketing campaign only more awkwardly highlights how it flounders in attempt to capture any of Us or Get Out’s technical prowess or genuinely intriguing premises or narrative content. In a time when more and more audiences are seeming to demand storytelling depict history and sociology with greater nuance, Antebellum is not only entirely uncalled for, but regressively simple in its techniques. It is undeniably ineffective in its attempts at being a piece of engaging genre fiction. That a film of and in the world of American slavery cannot in any way shock or disgust or rile or shake is not only a potent argument for its ineptitude, but a condemnation of its entire modus operandi. We are engaged with these issues, and there is by no means a dearth of films that explore them with power and precision. Antebellum underestimates the intelligence of its audience. Antebellum is now available on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, Digital, and On Demand from Lionsgate. Wicked Rating: 3/10 Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.      

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Voodoo Apocalypse Leans into Grindhouse Instead of Trying to Subvert it [Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of Voodoo Apocalypse Leans into Grindhouse Instead of Trying to Subvert it [Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Buddy cop comedies have always been awesome. Two mismatched cops—one gruff and cynical; the other just graduated the academy at the top of their class, full of optimism—go to war against a gangster who has inevitably killed the older cop’s old partner the day before their retirement. The two cops quip at each other throughout the film, but eventually they begin to admire one another. Between the gunfights and explosions, it’s the story of a male friendship developing. The genre ruled the action scene in the 90s, before it got a little stale. But don’t worry, writers José J. Ramallo, Sergio G. Ramos, and Vasni Ramos threw in a few extra elements to spice up the script of Voodoo Apocalypse — Luchadores giving birth in wrestling rings, Kung Fu training montages, and zombie-turning guitar solos.  RELATED: The Cop Baby Almost Lives Up to It’s Hilarious Premise [Cinepocalypse 2018 Review] The best part of Voodoo Apocalypse is how it adds all of these wild elements without overcomplicating the story. Scrape away all of the aforementioned elements, and it’s the story of two cops hunting down the villain who killed the older one’s partner. The film opens with White Chocolate (played by co-writer Sergio G. Ramos) searching for Charlie Vargas (played by co-writer José J. Ramallo) in a bar in Mexico. He ends up brawling with the patrons as a Mariachi band plays a heavy metal cover of “Cielito Lindo.” When he rises from the wreckage and demands, again, to know where Vargas is, the bartender points to a sign on the wall advertising Vargas’ next match as a Luchador. White Chocolate yells, “We could’ve skipped all this violence, mother f****er.”  He meets Vargas and gives him a picture of the film’s villain Jimmy Vanilla (Victor Hubara). Vargas says he still won’t come back. When White Chocolate relays the message to Chief Blackman (Jorge Galván), the chief tells White Chocolate the story of how Vargas’ partner Johnny (Armando Buika) was killed in a shootout with Jimmy Vanilla while Vargas was pooping. It’s one of the films many homages to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. By the time Chief’s story ends, Vargas is leaning in the door frame, ready to get his revenge on Jimmy Vanilla.  Voodoo Apocalypse is part-send up of/part-love letter to grindhouse films. Its funniest moments come when White Chocolate questions the motives of what they’re doing as they act out tropes. The character, who originated in the series Paul Kersey & White Chocolate Vs the Kung Fu Robotic Mafia, interrogates the logic of Vargas’ action throughout, lampooning the genre. It’s funny, and like most good film satire, it seems to come from a place of love for the genre.  It’s also a rare low-budget film where everything is working in unity. The music — a mix of funky trumpets, guitars, and one extremely well-placed 80s style power ballad — captures the feeling of what the production is doing. Voodoo Apocalypse also has musical themes singing Vargas’ and White Chocolates’ names when they’re introduced, which is a perfect detail, taken straight from the 70s.  RELATED: The Dead Lands is the Māori Buddy Cop Horror You Didn’t Know You Needed [Series Review] The images use something called “Retrofilmation” to make it appear as though it were being projected from a physical film reel that has been played a couple of hundred times before. The lines and skipped frames add to the effect. The way all of the elements come together in Voodoo Apocalypse is especially impressive, considering this is co-writer Vasni Ramos feature-length directorial debut. The biggest problem is the film takes the homophobic slurs and toxically masculine attitudes that aren’t acceptable in the 2020s from the 70s. White Chocolate tells a number of different male characters to suck his d***, and there are a number of jokes about Vargas’ sexual orientation. It’s all done to question their masculinity (another issue entirely), and it feels especially tired after the FBI reported that “Nearly 1 in 5 hate crimes [was] motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias” in 2019. These attitudes lead to real crimes, and it’s disheartening to see them in an otherwise fun film.  What might be the most frustrating is that outside of those moments, Voodoo Apocalypse is crackling with energy. It wouldn’t have been hard to cut the homophobic jokes or to lampshade them as the film does with almost every other plot point. When Vargas hits on his dead partner’s daughter Claire (Carla Boricó Escribá), White Chocolate repeatedly points out how weird it is. Vargas trying to have sex with Johnny’s daughter is problematic, and White Chocolate calling that fact out makes it feel like the filmmakers are aware of how weird that trope is. They’re mocking it, not embracing it. It feels odd that they don’t use that same trick, which they used so well throughout the film, for one of the most toxic elements of the genre they’re sending-up.  Voodoo Apocalypse leans into the grindhouse instead of trying to subvert it. It would’ve been a great movie if it didn’t take the toxicity along with everything else.  Wicked Rating – 6/10 Follow us social media! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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New on Netflix: November 6th, 2020

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Wicked Horror is the author of New on Netflix: November 6th, 2020. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Welcome back to New on Netflix! The streaming giant’s horror department has always been a mixed bag. However, I’d say they’ve really stepped up their game in the last couple of years with the release of amazing, essential watches. We’ve been treated to must see original programming like The Haunting of Hill House, Velvet Buzzsaw, Hush, and some of the classics we all know and love. This week we have a short list featuring a run of the mill slasher and two new series! Prom Night Arriving November 12th is the reboot of the Jamie Lee Curtis classic Prom Night. After a deranged high-school teacher falls in love with student Donna, he kills her entire family to force her into a relationship. He’s caught right away and sent to prison. However years later, at her high school prom, Donna is about to come face to face with the murderer once more. American Horror Story (Season 9): 1984 The ninth installment of the anthology series, set in 1984, will be available on Netflix November 13th. When five friends escape Los Angeles to work as counselors at Camp Redwood, they quickly learn that the only thing scarier than campfire tales is the past coming to haunt you. The Minions of Midas (Limited Series) A millionaire publisher gets a blackmail note his decision can mean life or death. Inspired by a Jack London story but set in contemporary Madrid; The Minions of Midas will be available November 13th! Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook,and Instagram.

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Koko-di, Koko-da is Defiantly Strange and Surprisingly Emotional [Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of Koko-di, Koko-da is Defiantly Strange and Surprisingly Emotional [Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Koko-di, Koko-da is the latest proudly bizarro offering from acclaimed Swedish filmmaker Johannes Nyholm (Jätten). And, in the grand tradition of weird Scandinavian fare, it takes some getting used to. There are no easy explanations offered, virtually no exposition to speak of, and the whole thing ends right when most American movies would just be getting started. To describe this as an acquired taste, however, would do it a great disservice. Koko-di, Koko-da isn’t impenetrable, you just have to get on its own particular wavelength to appreciate the film’s anti-beauty. Related: Jeffrey Reddick’s Don’t Look Back is an Impressively Spooky Debut [Review] Kicking off with a frightening jaunt through the forest – where, let’s be clear, nothing good ever happens in horror movies for just being there is plenty scary – which ends with a creepy man dressed like a riverboat captain looking directly into the camera and singing what will soon become known as the titular riff, Koko-di, Koko-da establishes immediately that Nyholm isn’t playing around. His previous feature was about a deformed autistic man trying to bond with the birth parents who neglected him by winning a national contest, and this one is no less strange. We then quickly switch gears to a sweet Aryan family on holiday. Young Maja’s (Katarina Jakobson) eye is turned by a music box in a shop window and, in the grand tradition of strange toys in genre fare, the thing is so ghastly looking it’s difficult to imagine any child wanting it, but it’s her birthday so needs must. At lunch, Maja’s mother, Elin (Ylva Gallon) has a severe allergic reaction, landing the two of them plus Dad Tobias (Leif Edlund) in the hospital overnight. It’s there that the family suffers an unthinkable tragedy, which leaves the young parents reeling. Skip to three years into the future and Elin and Tobias are still together, but only barely. They’re off on a camping trip even though clearly neither of them actually wants to be there. But, before they can tear each other’s heads off, a creepy trio appears seemingly out of thin air, carrying a bloodied dog carcass for good measure, and subjects the couple to a tortuous mixture of psychological warfare and humiliating slapstick violence. However, soon after, time resets and the same thing happens again. And again, until it’s obvious they’re stuck in a horrifying loop. Although it sounds head-wrecking, there’s nothing repetitive about what happens to Elin and Tobias. Although the trio’s arrival is signalled in the same manner each time, there are sly differences to the various setups – one even finds Elin emerging to a blanket of fresh snow (a gorgeous effect). The violence is mostly implied, with little bloodshed shown onscreen. When a vicious dog is unleashed on Tobias, who’s locked in the tent with the animal, his cries for help are enough to get the message across. The attacks happen in broad daylight, too, completely out in the open, which makes them even scarier. In a less ambitious movie, the questions of what’s triggering the arrival and how the couple are going to beat it would be most prominent, but Koko-di, Koko-da has more pressing matters to contend with. Nyholm’s story is one of grief, loss, and personal hardship. His characters are forced to confront deeply-buried emotions under increasingly bizarre circumstances. The trio who terrorizes them, meanwhile, is the stuff of nightmares from the unibrowed, monosyllabic wolfman to the lady with too much hair and the aforementioned riverboat captain. They don’t look particularly intimidating; they’re just unwelcome in an otherwise private environment. See Also: Detention is a Missed Opportunity [Nightstream Film Festival Review] There’s an element of sexual deviancy to their attacks, which is uncomfortable but necessary considering when they first show up Elin is busy trying to pee in the forest. She and Tobias are on equal footing when it comes to being accosted, however, which makes Koko-di, Koko-da quite progressive albeit in a very odd way. Nyholm shoots much of the footage handheld, which makes the situation feel more intimate whether the camera is crouching in the back of a car, listening to Tobias and Elin argue, or hiding there from the action almost as though we’re afraid to watch. The film could easily be taken as a kind of dark fairy-tale, from the titular refrain (which is surprisingly catchy) to the sweet, charming animated interludes that blend childish scribbles and pretty watercolours beautifully. There’s darkness to those too, though, the featured stories dealing predominantly with death and loss. Animals feature prominently throughout also, from dogs to cats and, in particular, one white kitty that pops up at random but clearly holds deeper meaning for Tobias and Elin. There’s a terrific shot of it in a rear-view mirror that’s haunting. Whether or not the animal is symbolic is up to personal interpretation, but there’s certainly suggestion that something, or someone, is watching over the central couple. Both Edlund and Gallon commit themselves fully to the off-kilter atmosphere of Koko-di, Koko-da, convincingly portraying three very different stages in their relationship. While their attackers are less developed, each member has their own distinctive creepy style. In spite of how much work the couple clearly still has to do both for themselves and each other, it’s kind of hard not to root for them. After all, classic fairy-tales end with the prince and princess happily together. As fairy-tales go, however, this is a particularly dark one. But, to Nyholm’s great credit, as strange and unusual as his story is, it’s never anything less than fully involving. For better or worse, you’ll want to go down to the woods with him. Catch Koko-di, Koko-da in virtual theaters in major cities (check listings)from November 6 and on VOD from December 8 WICKED RATING: 8/10Director(s): Johannes NyholmWriter(s): Johannes NyholmStars: Leif Edlund, Ylva Gallon, Peter Belli, Katarina JakobsonRelease date: November 6, 2020 (virtual theaters), December 8, 2020 (VOD)Studio/Production Company: BeofilmLanguage: EnglishRun Time: 89 minutes Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube

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Michael Abbott Jr. Steps Into THE DARK AND THE WICKED!! [Exclusive Interview]

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The Strangers director Bryan Bertino is back with a film that oozes tension and dread, The Dark and the Wicked (In Theaters, On Digital and On Demand November 6 via RLJE Entertainment). Taking a pair of siblings dealing with the slow passing of their father and the deterioration of their mother, the film deals with loss and grief and how darkness strives on infecting those in pain. Featuring some impressive acting courtesy of Marin Ireland and Michael Abbott, Jr. as the two siblings, The Dark and the Wicked is a masterclass at building suspense and dread (review), until you find yourself staying up at night, filled with a sense of evil around you.  We thought we’d chat with Michael Abbott, Jr. about The Dark and the Wicked and the process of getting into such a bleak tale. Read on! See Also: Five PG Horror Films That Should Have Been Rated R On a secluded farm, a man is slowly dying. Bedridden and fighting through his final breaths, his wife is slowly succumbing to overwhelming grief. To help their mother and say goodbye to their father, siblings Louise (Marin Ireland) and Michael (Michael Abbott Jr.) return to their family farm. It doesn’t take long for them to see that something’s wrong with mom, though—something more than her heavy sorrow. Gradually, as their own grief mounts, Louise and Michael begin suffering from a darkness similar to their mother’s, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over their family. WICKED HORROR: The Dark and the Wicked is such a good look at grief and the darkness that can come with the loss of a loved one, how it manifests in those hurting. What attracted you to take this one on?  MICHAEL ABBOTT JR: I’ve never gravitated towards the horror genre as a spectator for no other reason than that they scare the shit out of me. I’d also never been a part of a horror film as an actor. From the moment I read Bryan’s script I was instantly drawn to the story and the characters he had created. Louise and Michael were everyday people dealing with the pain of loss in a devastatingly real way. They weren’t caricatures being chased by a boogeyman with an ice pick and that’s what drew me in. The loneliness, the isolation, the abandonment—all of that mixed with a dash of religion to taste and you’ve got yourself a brain effer that leaves people numb with fear and questioning everything (with the lights on.) Those ingredients attracted me instantly. WH: Your character is a family man trying to keep his own life together while also dealing with the declining health of a father, the tragic grieving of a mother and the estrangement of a sister. Was it easy to step into the role and such bleak parts of the story? See Also: Eight Movies That Would Have Been Terrible if They’d Been Exactly What Fans Wanted MICHAEL ABBOTT JR: It wasn’t easy to step into the boots of a character dealing with this amount of loss and hurt, but it was certainly alluring to dive in and dissect his psyche. I love a challenge. I’m an actor because I like to tell stories that make people feel…something…anything. This story definitely grabs the audience and forces their heart into a vise from the get-go. The stakes are very high for Michael. His relationship with his family has obviously been strained for a long time—but it’s still his family and the only family he knows. He’s loyal and willing to do whatever he has to in order to make sure everyone is attended to and all affairs are in order.  WH: Bryan Bertino is a master of suspense and such a great storyteller. What was it like working with him on this one? MICHAEL ABBOTT JR: My friendship with Bryan is one of the things I’m most thankful for after making this film with him. He’s such a caring and sensitive guy, it’s impossible not to fall in love with him. We quickly discovered we had very similar upbringings and family dynamics growing up which gave us a deeply grounded place in which to communicate from. Bryan is certainly a master of the horror genre, but the way he has skillfully melded horror with psychological thriller in this film is pretty breathtaking to watch unfold. I’m excited for audiences to experience what goes on in Bryan’s brain. WH: The tension in the film is scary as hell. When it comes to acting in films like The Dark and the Wicked, is it easy to take that horror and tension into your character or did you have to do any specific preparations to turn that ominous vibe on? MICHAEL ABBOTT JR: We were lucky enough to shoot on the farm that Bryan grew up on in the middle of nowhere, Texas—a farm which ultimately becomes a character unto itself in the film. The crew did an incredible job of taking the elements (lights, set pieces, etc) that already existed here and expanding upon them in a way that felt very natural and un-Hollywood. When it got dark outside, it got DARK. The noises you hear in the middle of nowhere, Texas can’t be replicated. This ominous setting coupled with the complicated sibling relationship Marin Ireland and I had created with Bryan for ourselves—and then the devastation of what was happening around us….the elements of the tension and horror were there.  WH: What does the film mean to you, as a human being? It’s very much a film that can speak to people in very different ways.  MICHAEL ABBOTT, JR: That might be an understatement. I think audiences will respond a lot differently to this film than they would have pre-pandemic and I think every response will be justified. We’re all different/changed/evolved people now (whether we choose to admit it or not) having experienced what we’ve experienced over the last year. I have a feeling we’re going to take a lot less things for granted should we ever resume normality in our lives. If “family is all we have” then family is all we have to lose.  Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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