Writer-director Josh Lobo Talks I Trapped The Devil [Interview]

Original Source via Wicked Horror

Wicked Horror is the author of Writer-director Josh Lobo Talks I Trapped The Devil [Interview]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

The past few years have gifted us some notable debut features in the form of Robert Eggers’ The Witch, David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows, and Jordan Peele’s Get Out, to name just three. I Trapped The Devil, from writer-director (as well as editor, producer, and probably lots more) Josh Lobo, is unlike anything else we’ve seen. A singularly odd, intense, and very creepy first feature that gets in, does the job, and gets out in less than 90 minutes, it’s the kind of movie that defies easy categorization. I Trapped The Devil also marks Lobo out as an exciting and crucially very different new voice in horror. Wicked Horror sat down with writer-director Lobo to talk art-house horror, influences, what Wyoming is really famous for, and loads more. I Trapped the Devil is in select theaters and On Demand from April 26, 2019.  Wicked Horror: Usually, with first features, they’re pretty easy to categorize. I Trapped The Devil is a bit of weird one, so I’d like you to describe the movie for me, in your own words, if you’d be so kind. Josh Lobo: Well, it’s a horror movie, obviously, but the film sort of straddles the line between horror and art-house movies. This isn’t a body count, shaking-in-your-boots kind of movie, it’s definitely more of a paranoid thriller with a supernatural element to it. I think it’s a lot more contemplative than a lot of the regular genre stuff. WH: Where did the idea initially come from? JL: I had been reading a lot of Stephen King, and watching a lot of Twilight Zone, so I was looking for the kind of story where I could tell a morality tale with interesting characters where the horror comes from the drama itself. And where I don’t think this film is necessarily scary, it is very tense and it has this presiding feeling of dread. I think more than anything the film is a tone poem and I just wanted to make something that was sort of an exercise in atmosphere. WH: It’s pretty intense, but you’re right in that there aren’t really any big, out-and-out scares. Yet, still, that sense of impending dread is present pretty much from the outset. The other thing with I Trapped The Devil, of course, is that it isn’t a long movie. It’s not even 90 minutes but that sense of dread is there throughout and it never really lets up. JL: You know, it’s one of those things with slow burn movies, you have to get in and get out quickly. Even though the movie does burn its wick slowly, it’s not long. It’s only 82 minutes, but I feel like I can keep an audience’s attention for that time. Even though it’s very deliberately paced, I can’t play fast and loose with the audience’s time. If this movie was 110 minutes, I think I would hate it and I think everybody who watched it would hate it because it would just be too much. Here, it’s quick and slow and you can get into the mood of it but I just…I never wanted it to feel pretentious. WH: Was it a quick enough process getting the story from page to screen? JL: It took about a year overall. There had been a couple other things I tried to get made but, when you don’t even have a résumé people don’t want to take you seriously, and so it was about gathering all of my resources, getting my friends and my crew together, to just get this thing made. It was like, I want to make this film, I only have enough money for these many days, so what can I do for a feasible budget that I can produce myself? My family helped me, too, so it was just about making the best thing I can make for as reasonable an amount as possible, while focusing on the things that truly matter to me and that will make the film stand the test of time – good acting, good pacing, and good directing tend to stand the test of time better than movies that are like a quick flash, you know? – so I wanted to make something that people would think about a little bit longer but that was also rooted in character. Those dynamics that really mattered to me. Related: The Holidays Have Come Early with I Trapped The Devil [Review] WH: You have quite a small cast, but you’ve got these big names in horror like AJ Bowen and Jocelin Donahue within that group. Was casting a very crucial part of the process for you? JL: It was, absolutely. This movie operates like a stage play and both of my producers were of the same opinion as I was that, you know, this movie is all about the characters and if you don’t have those, you don’t have anything. I can shoot this like Spielberg, when it comes to camera movements and stuff, but if the acting isn’t good and if these characters aren’t believable as real people, then the story doesn’t work. So I’d reached out to AJ, who I’ve loved for a very long time, and we had no real jumping off point with him but he’s such a good guy and he told us that some of his best friends are also some of the most talented people in the world and what they could bring to the project is that they all know each other and they all have a chemistry with each other already. I could have cast any of these characters differently but I don’t think I would have got the inherent chemistry because all these people have worked together before, they’ve all known each other for a long time, and so it feels like they have a history together because they do have a history together. WH: It totally does. I didn’t know watching the movie but now that you’ve said it; that makes total sense they all knew each other already. JL: AJ and Scott [Poythress] have been working together for a while, between The Signal, Synchronicity, this, and then some other things down the pipeline. They really work together well and they’ve found a way to jump off each other’s performances really well. For this, I needed two characters who felt like brothers and with these two they know each other, they’re comfortable with each other, they’re not trying to get to know each other on the day of shooting. And then Susan Burke is an incredibly warm person and she brought this stillness to the film, it’s very coordinated, very thoughtful, so all of them – Jocelin was fantastic too, I love her in House of the Devil, so I reached out to her and she was willing to come on even though it’s not the biggest role in the world, but hers is still a standout performance – so all these people just worked in tandem to create this film that I’m incredibly happy with. WH: The other big thing is the location, which is just incredible. Where did you find it, where is it, please tell me everything immediately. JL: I live in Wyoming, which is the one forgotten American state, like, nobody lives here, nobody knows about it, that’s the kind of place it is. And while I was writing the movie, I would drive through my town and past this house all the time. I would just think ‘wow, that’s a cool house, like it looks cool, it has cool dimensions,’ but I had no idea what it looked like inside. So I was writing how I thought the house looked, how it might be laid out, and when the script was finally done and we were finally about to make this thing, I went to the owners of the house, who were incredibly gracious, and when they gave me a tour of the house it was laid out almost exactly as I had laid it out in my mind, which is almost like fate. I didn’t have to change a whole lot, it was crazy. Then my production designer and my cinematographer came in and they brought it to life with a bunch of different texture and color. WH: It’s definitely a cool spot. Though, speaking of Wyoming, I have to tell you, one of my favorite bands is from Wyoming so I’m actually quite familiar with Wyoming. JL: Who? WH: Teenage Bottlerocket? JL: [pause] It’s absolutely insane you just said that because I love them. WH: They’re amazing. They’re so good. As soon as you said Wyoming I was thinking “no, I know Wyoming!” JL: Somebody I grew up with was one of their roadies, which was pretty cool. But yeah, they’re great; they’re probably one of the best punk bands, I think. WH: Totally agree. Sorry, off topic, back to your movie. Let’s talk about some of the influences on I Trapped The Devil. I mean,I presume you’re a horror fan yourself? Or are you just dipping your toe in? JL: I love horror films. But I love horror films in a non-pretentious way. I will take a splattery, exploitation flick just as many times as I’ll take a more art-house film. I think my sensibilities lie more on the art-house side; I love David Lynch, I love Ryan Gosling’s film Lost River, which is a f*****g masterpiece nobody talks about, I love Peter Weir’s films like Picnic at Hanging Rock. I like these kind of weird films that have elements of genre, and that maybe are even scary, but I don’t know whether they’d necessarily be classified as horror. But I also Night of the Creeps, John Carpenter, and Cronenberg, so it’s kind of a melding. So, with I Trapped The Devil, I was trying to meld my sensibilities, the two sides, together. WH: I can see that, definitely. What are your feelings on the state of horror right now? ‘Cause we’re seeing so much more variety at the moment than really ever before, at least not for a while. JL: Like everything, it comes in waves. Horror is a great genre because you can make something for not a lot of money that both thrills an audience and makes an audience think. Right now, we’re in the middle of this superhero-blockbuster phase, where we’re just seeing these huge movies, and on the other side of it are these smaller, character-driven horror movies. They’re both thrilling in their own ways and I think they also complement each other in a lot of ways. But I imagine, in a few years, horror is going to chill out a little bit, maybe even go dormant for a while, you know like how in the early 2000s it wasn’t that big, only really Saw was big but that was about it? So I think that’s going to happen again, and then in 20 years’ time horror will have a resurgence again, along with superhero movies. It all just comes in cycles. WH: Two of the biggest indie horror guys, James Wan and David F. Sandberg, both went on to do these massive superhero movies too, so it’s all connected. JL: Yeah, 100 per cent. As much as I love horror and spectacle films, I’m really interested in how both will mellow out. Horror is always big, but it can’t be big big, for 20 years straight, because people will just get exhausted with it. Same with superhero movies. So maybe not now, maybe five years from now, it’ll happen. But I do think it will all mellow out because it has to. But that’s a good thing, because you can get reacquainted with the genre, get excited for it, and then fall in love with all of these things again after missing them for a while. See Also: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Season Two is a Total Hell-send WH: For sure. Just on the title of your movie, which is very literal, I was wondering whether the wording was deliberate? You’re careful to refer to this character as ‘The Devil’ as opposed to ‘Satan.’ Was that a deliberate choice on your part? JL: The film was originally titled A Man in the Dark, which is more ambiguous. We made the conscious decision to change the title to I Trapped The Devil because it’s a more bold title. A Man in the Dark is more fluent, more ambiguous, but I Trapped The Devil makes a statement and that’s what I wanted for this film, I wanted it to make a statement. From an acting standpoint, too, it’s bold. Even though this is a very quiet, cerebral thriller, it has enough stuff in it that having a definitive title was the way to go. WH: Would you consider yourself to be a spiritual, or even religious, person? JL: I’m not the most religious person, so I didn’t come to the film with that in mind. I don’t think the film gets too caught up with religion, it’s more concerned with the question of “what is evil?” WH: It makes sense, especially because Satan is so hot right now, with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and whatnot. It was a wise choice on your part, to keep it more generalized. JL: It was a very conscious decision to have them not trap Satan. The movie is more about good and evil, and where the line is drawn, and what would you do to deter that, than it is with being a satanic thriller. It’s not about Satan, rather it’s a contemplation on good and evil. WH: Right, it’s more about an idea than an entity or a figurehead. JL: Exactly. WH: What’s on your radar next, then? Will you be returning to horror or branching out into something different? JL: I’m working right now on a horror adventure film that’s a little bit more cerebral. It has a lot of character work, again, but it has a little bit more of the genre elements, so a little bit more meat and potatoes to it. [pause] Hopefully that’s what we’re doing next! WH: Don’t tempt fate. JL: Right, knock on wood. There are so many of these projects that are kind of up in the air, but we’re really pursuing this one in a big way, and I think it’s idiosyncratic enough that it will work. WH: Can’t wait to check it out! Catch I Trapped The Devil in select theaters and On Demand from April 26, 2019

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Seven Direct-to-Video Sequels That Are Better Than Expected

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Wicked Horror is the author of Seven Direct-to-Video Sequels That Are Better Than Expected. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

The purpose of a sequel is always in debate. There is a sense that a follow up is automatically inferior due to being derivative of another work. And, if that sequel is released direct-to-video then it must fall even lower on the proverbial totem pole. The horror genre is often a place where if a film does moderately well, an attempt at making that picture into a franchise will soon follow. This can lead to a watered down duplication of the original feature leading to outrage from fans and critics. Still, if the right people become involved, these sequels can actually be quite enjoyable. What is “good” can often be subjective depending on whether or not you enjoy the return of characters, ideas, or the possible answers to questions left behind. Sometimes, the fact that these follow up efforts are of poorer quality can be just as much fun. As follows is a list of direct-to-video sequels that may not be considered critically-acclaimed, but are certainly worth a look and turned out better than expected. Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return This franchise has generated lots of entries from one short story. When I was a child, myself, 1984’s adaptation of Stephen King’s work scared the hell out of me. I found both Linda Hamilton’s Vicky being almost crucified on a corn stalk and the performance of John Franklin as Isaac Chroner particularly terrifying. Therefore, when Franklin decided to return to the series I could not resist checking this entry out. Although Isaac’s Return is often a misfire, the movie attempts interesting links to the first film. The audience gets a glimpse into how the rituals of the children would have played out over time. Additional performances by horror staples Nancy Allen and Stacy Keach give this flick a much-needed boost. For those that enjoyed Franklin’s iconic performance as the child prophet Isaac, Isaac’s Return is worth a look and it’s certainly better than you might expect. Check Out This Retrospective on the Original 1984 Children of the Corn flick! Lost Boys: The Tribe 1987’s The Lost Boys is a cult-classic that marked a defined shift in bringing vampire lore to a younger demographic. Without the original film, it is highly unlikely that the teen heartthrob vampires to come would have had such an impact on mainstream audiences. So, it was inevitable that a follow-up would eventually occur albeit more than twenty years later and direct-to-video. The Tribe is certainly not a classic and should never ever be confused as such. Still, what one considers quality can directly conflict with what is enjoyable. And, the return of Corey Feldman as Edgar as well as the novelty casting of Angus Sutherland (younger brother to the iconic Kiefer Sutherland who played David in the original) is definitely appealing to fans of the 1987 flick. Also returning in a fun cameo appearance is the late Corey Haim as Sam Emerson. While it’s not classic cinema, The Tribe still surprised me by being entertaining and watchable. The Invoking 2 Anthologies are not easy to pull off in the horror genre. While not a hard-and-fast rule, story and character development play an important part in setting up a good scare. Out of the stories contained in this feature, two work surprisingly well. “Alone” and “Natal” both revolve around the idea of what happens when one loses his or her sanity and how nobody can know exactly what a person experiences when they die. To be fair, The Invoking 2 (a sequel in name only) is a mixed bag. For every story that works well, there is another that is nonsensical or derivative of better films. But, it’s still better than what one might expect from such a venture. The Descent Part 2 I think the enjoyment of the sequel to the very successful The Descent depends on which ending of the first film you watched. Personally, I find both endings to be well-made; however, I prefer the darker, ambiguous U.K. ending where one is not certain Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) made it out of the cave. Due to the original ending, I was prepared to have the sequel mess with my mind and be unreliable. Therefore, the logic maintained was pleasantly surprising. And this return to the cave did not let me down with the disturbingly shocking images contained within. It by no means has the same impact of the all-female cast of the original but The Descent Part 2 manages to find its own claustrophobic footing. In addition, seeing Juno (Natalie Mendoza) and Sarah’s relationship resolved was quite satisfying. Related: Noteworthy Heroines of Horror: Sarah from The Descent Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering The fourth entry in this franchise continues the tradition of deviating from the previous films’ setups. If you go into this franchise seeking a solid connection between the films then you will undoubtedly be disappointed; however, accepting each film as a standalone piece provides a more satisfying experience. The Gathering’s strongest asset is Naomi Watts as Grace. She is a medical student returning home to care for her mother (Karen Black). The main theme of this sequel is accepting and embracing one’s past. This is dealt with by both Grace as well as the sins of the town. Having a thematic foundation in which viewers can relate to makes The Gathering one of the better entries from the series. The audience can empathize with the well-rounded characterizations leading to a sense of the stakes being raised. When a Stranger Calls Back This sequel to 1979’s When a Stranger Calls was released by Showtime and ended up going direct-to-video. I wore out my local video store’s copy. I would argue that this sequel has one of the best openings from a horror film of all time. Carol Kane’s return is solid, but the rest of the movie requires way too much suspension of disbelief for its target audience. Regardless, horror-icon Jill Schoelen’s performance at the beginning is perfection. The timing and suspense of the first ten minutes of When a Stranger Calls Back are impeccable. Countless times have I shown this opening to friends and gleefully watched as they jumped out of their seats. For anyone that has ever had to babysit before, watch the first ten minutes of this film to be reminded of that chilling feeling of being in charge and alone is enough to give you a solid fright. Also See: Final Girl Returns that Made Us Cheer! Hellraiser: Hellseeker The Hellraiser series certainly has ebbs and flows in the quality of each subsequent film. But my personal favorite character from the series is Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence). While her appearance in Hellseeker is barely more than a cameo, she definitely makes her mark. With Kirsty’s addition to this entry, her struggles in the first two films are finally concluded in a more satisfactory way. Like Pinhead, Kirsty’s moral line has become blurred. The main narrative following Kirsty’s husband (Dean Winters) is compelling enough to carry the rest of the feature along. 

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Tyler Labine Talks Escape Room, The Art of Quipping, and His All-Time Favorite Psychological Thriller

Original Source via Wicked Horror

Wicked Horror is the author of Tyler Labine Talks Escape Room, The Art of Quipping, and His All-Time Favorite Psychological Thriller. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Tyler Labine rocketed to genre fame with the cult-following of the horror/comedy Tucker and Dale vs Evil. Alongside Alan Tudyk, Labine brought innocence, humor, and authenticity to a now beloved classic. His career as a character actor has much grander scope than many realize. He’s had parts in Flyboys, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Monsters University, and Super Troopers 2. He is also a series regular on NBC’s New Amsterdam. The actor let us pick his brain about the largest role he’s had in a mainstream feature and also opened up about working with a collaborative director like Adam Robitel, as well as bonding with cast mates like Deborah Ann Woll, Logan Miller, and Jay Ellis. Keep reading to find out which movie “scares the sh*t” out of the veteran actor. Escape Room is currently available of Blu-ray/DVD. Also See: Adam Robitel Dives Deep into Escape Room and its Upcoming Sequel! WH: I spoke to Adam (Robitel) just a few days ago and let him know how much I dug the film. He was great to talk to and I’m sure you will be as well. I wanted to start off with the cast; I know it’s a mainstream film, but just six main actors is a relatively small cast. How quickly did you guys click together and did Adam give you guys any sort of bonding experiences? Tyler Labine: I would say going to spend 11 weeks together in a vacuum in South Africa was a bonding experience. We were also there three weeks prior to shooting; rehearing a lot, going out to dinners, meetings, and just exploring South Africa together. It was an important element and I think that was all Adam’s doing. The script was good. What am I saying? The script was really good but having the six main players being people who were really into collaboration was huge. There was a lot of improv or editing on the fly and we’d all go home and rewrite scenes, which is not very–that’s not normal. Many directors make sure that actors don’t do that [chuckles], but it was a really cool, neat collaborative experience. It made us all feel a much more proprietary sense of being there and what our roles should be. WH: That leads me to my next question. The movie didn’t really have any weak links in the cast. Do you attribute this to excellent casting or were you able to help and play off each other? Tyler Labine: I would say that casting a movie like this is probably one of the most critical things that they did. They could have gone and cast it really hastily; cast it with people who had no experience or weren’t as collaborative as we. I don’t know how much they knew about our work ethic, but I know they knew we were very experienced. I think they sort of went for substance over aesthetic; not that anyone is unattractive in the cast, except for me. They just did an amazing job with the casting, and I can’t say enough about how Adam let us run with things. It made us feel like we could really give our input without the suits standing next to us with their axes drawn. WH: When I brought the cast up to him [Robitel], he couldn’t speak highly enough about you guys. Tyler Labine: We had fun. There was a lot of tension in and around the film, like any shoot, but I think we all left going, “That was neat. That was an amazing life experience.” WH: Which of the rooms really left you most in a state of awe when you first saw it? Which set really just made you appreciate the scope? Tyler Labine: Well, we shot on the lobby set, initially. You should have seen that set. We were in there for nine or ten days and it was just so well crafted. It’s like being a kid who grabs the first piece of candy set in front of them. You’re like, “I want that one,” but then each next set you go to you’re like, “Holy sh*t, look at that one!” By the time we got to the upside-down room I think all of us, unanimously, were like, “This is next level sh*t.” I’ve never seen a set with that attention to detail. I mean those floor panels really had to drop. We were elevated off the floor by about six feet. We were all in harnesses and the set was rigged with all these moving pieces! Even the bottles had the liquid floating to the top of them. I knew that production design alone, this movie was going to get some attention. WH: I think you just answered my next question as to which was the most physically demanding of the rooms. Tyler Labine: Oh, no, that one wasn’t. I’d say the winter room was the most challenging by a long shot. That space was about a third the size of what it looked like on screen. Also, despite what it looks like, it is not cold in there. We’re actually in a studio in South Africa during one of the hottest times of the year. We’re wearing parkas as we’re using every muscle in our body to try and it make it seem like we’re cold. What’s actually happening, is we’re sweating our as*’s off as people are getting headaches and dehydrated. Trying to pretend like you’re freezing for nearly three weeks gets you worn out. I actually ended up getting stitches because I busted open my hand trying to break the ice after Danny falls through. I decided, because I’m such a method actor, to punch the ice. I did it the first time and was like, “that’s rad,” so I kept doing it and by the fourth or fifth take my knuckle split open and there was blood all over the ice. WH: I think you now rival Leo DiCaprio breaking the skull and bleeding everywhere in Django Unchained. Tyler Labine: Yeah, I wouldn’t say it rivals that because that moment in the movie is cool as hell. He was bleeding like a motherf*cker; I just had this big bloody open knuckle. It never even made it in the movie, which is unfortunate. They had it in there for a long time, but then they realized it didn’t make sense for my character to do that [chuckle]. But, you know, it felt like a good idea at the time! That room was a brutal environment. By the time we were done with the ice room, everyone was like, “That’s it. I don’t want to do this anymore.” Then we moved to the upside-down room and everyone was like, “Yay, this is fun again!” WH: Another thing I brought up with Adam is how reserved your character is. Obviously in Tucker and Dale vs Evil you showed that you had comedic chops. In Escape Room you had a few one liners, but most of it was played relatively conservatively. Was this something you and Adam decided upon consciously? Tyler Labine: You have to keep in mind, I never want to play a character the same. I found out right before shooting that they wanted him to be southern, I didn’t know that. Adam was like, “I think this guy needs to be from like, Virginia. Can you do that?” and I was like, “Fine, I guess I’ll just do a gentle one.” I didn’t want to be too much ‘Dale’, you know. The character, Mike, on paper, really wasn’t too much there. In fact, it was talked about between Adam and I before I even got there that he was really banking on me sort of bring the character to life. He really wanted to encourage me that when we got there, if I thought of something, go for it. Of course, you have to kind of do that respectfully because there’s other actors in the scene, but once we got a feel for it, we were good; especially Nik Dodani and Logan Miller, they were always game to play. I’d say about 60% of what you see from me in the movie, was stuff I wrote or made up. All that, “Well, we just gotta do this five more times” most of what I said were things that I just come up with on the fly. Mostly, because I wanted to keep Mike alive. WH: I think the conservativeness of Mike really helped. Sometimes if all someone is doing is quipping, you don’t believe they’re a real person in a real perilous situation. Tyler Labine: Exactly. When I say I ad-libbed, I don’t mean always quipping, but more so adding to the character. I wasn’t always looking for the joke, because I’m like you, I hate that. If you’re quipping and not advancing the plot or the character, I think it’s super self-indulgent and wonky; I hate it. WH: I know it’s not necessarily horror, but Mike was often in pretty grave danger. Did you find it easy or difficult to play “scared?” Tyler Labine: You know, It’s funny. It starts out being really fun. It’s almost like being a kid, like playing pretend. Then you realize, “Sh*t. I’m about to do this for ten weeks.” I think it was about week three that everyone was finally like, “Well, guess I’m just having nightmares now.” I was falling asleep feeling tense. I was waking up feeling tense. I couldn’t’ shake that state; my brain was like, “We gotta just stay there. Just stay in that place so that it’s real enough.” WH: Well, we’re running out of time, so I want to ask one last question. Being a site that focuses so heavily on horror, I like to ask all the actors, directors, writers, and everyone we interview to give me one horror movie that is either your favorite or one that you think has been criminally overlooked as of late. Tyler Labine: Absolutely. My favorite psych-thriller/horror, which I think sort of kicked off this resurgence of psych-thrillers, is a movie called Session 9. WH: You’re kidding me. That’s the exact same movie Adam gave me when I asked him! Tyler Labine: Is it really! Well, it’s this crazy movie about these guys who need to go do construction on this old psych hospital. It’s just so well-crafted and scared the sh*t out of me; and it still does. It’s simple; there’s no big effects or anything. It’s really just a psychological f*ck you. I love movies like that, like Jacob’s Ladder, like movies that make you just feel weird afterwards. WH: It’s not horror, but Requiem for a Dream is always my go-to “f*ck you up” movie. Tyler Labine: Exactly. Requiem for a Dream is like a flashier version of that sort of, “We’re just going to tap dance on your brain for a while.” Maybe it’s because I saw Session 9 not knowing anything about it, but my wife and I left the theatre and we were both like, “We need to go do something fun right now or we may just end up dying.” WH: Well, Tyler. It’s been a joy talking to you and I appreciate you diving into the film with us! Tyler Labine: Of Course! Take care. Check out Tyler in Escape Room, currently available on Blu-ray/DVD.

The post Tyler Labine Talks Escape Room, The Art of Quipping, and His All-Time Favorite Psychological Thriller appeared first on Wicked Horror.

Tyler Labine Talks Escape Room, The Art of Quipping, and His All-Time Favorite Psychological Thriller

Original Source via Wicked Horror

Wicked Horror is the author of Tyler Labine Talks Escape Room, The Art of Quipping, and His All-Time Favorite Psychological Thriller. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Tyler Labine rocketed to genre fame with the cult-following of the horror/comedy Tucker and Dale vs Evil. Alongside Alan Tudyk, Labine brought innocence, humor, and authenticity to a now beloved classic. His career as a character actor has much grander scope than many realize. He’s had parts in Flyboys, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Monsters University, and Super Troopers 2. He is also a series regular on NBC’s New Amsterdam. Labine let us pick his brain about the largest role he’s had in a mainstream feature and also opened up about working with a collaborative director like Adam Robitel, as well as bonding with cast mates like Deborah Ann Woll, Logan Miller, and Jay Ellis. Keep reading to find out which movie “scares the sh*t” out of the veteran actor. Escape Room is currently available of Blu-ray/DVD. Also See: Adam Robitel Dives Deep into Escape Room and its Upcoming Sequel! WH: I spoke to Adam (Robitel) just a few days ago and let him know how much I dug the film. He was great to talk to and I’m sure you will be as well. I wanted to start off with the cast; I know it’s a mainstream film, but just six main actors is a relatively small cast. How quickly did you guys click together and did Adam give you guys any sort of bonding experiences? Tyler Labine: I would say going to spend 11 weeks together in a vacuum in South Africa was a bonding experience. We were also there three weeks prior to shooting; rehearing a lot, going out to dinners, meetings, and just exploring South Africa together. It was an important element and I think that was all Adam’s doing. The script was good. What am I saying? The script was really good but having the six main players being people who were really into collaboration was huge. There was a lot of improv or editing on the fly and we’d all go home and rewrite scenes, which is not very–that’s not normal. Many directors make sure that actors don’t do that [chuckles], but it was a really cool, neat collaborative experience. It made us all feel a much more proprietary sense of being there and what our roles should be. WH: That leads me to my next question. The movie didn’t really have any weak links in the cast. Do you attribute this to excellent casting or were you able to help and play off each other? Tyler Labine: I would say that casting a movie like this is probably one of the most critical things that they did. They could have gone and cast it really hastily; cast it with people who had no experience or weren’t as collaborative as we. I don’t know how much they knew about our work ethic, but I know they knew we were very experienced. I think they sort of went for substance over aesthetic; not that anyone is unattractive in the cast, except for me. They just did an amazing job with the casting, and I can’t say enough about how Adam let us run with things. It made us feel like we could really give our input without the suits standing next to us with their axes drawn. WH: When I brought the cast up to him [Robitel], he couldn’t speak highly enough about you guys. Tyler Labine: We had fun. There was a lot of tension in and around the film, like any shoot, but I think we all left going, “That was neat. That was an amazing life experience.” WH: Which of the rooms really left you most in a state of awe when you first saw it? Which set really just made you appreciate the scope? Tyler Labine: Well, we shot on the lobby set, initially. You should have seen that set. We were in there for nine or ten days and it was just so well crafted. It’s like being a kid who grabs the first piece of candy set in front of them. You’re like, “I want that one,” but then each next set you go to you’re like, “Holy sh*t, look at that one!” By the time we got to the upside-down room I think all of us, unanimously, were like, “This is next level sh*t.” I’ve never seen a set with that attention to detail. I mean those floor panels really had to drop. We were elevated off the floor by about six feet. We were all in harnesses and the set was rigged with all these moving pieces! Even the bottles had the liquid floating to the top of them. I knew that production design alone, this movie was going to get some attention. WH: I think you just answered my next question as to which was the most physically demanding of the rooms. Tyler Labine: Oh, no, that one wasn’t. I’d say the winter room was the most challenging by a long shot. That space was about a third the size of what it looked like on screen. Also, despite what it looks like, it is not cold in there. We’re actually in a studio in South Africa during one of the hottest times of the year. We’re wearing parkas as we’re using every muscle in our body to try and it make it seem like we’re cold. What’s actually happening, is we’re sweating our as*’s off as people are getting headaches and dehydrated. Trying to pretend like you’re freezing for nearly three weeks gets you worn out. I actually ended up getting stitches because I busted open my hand trying to break the ice after Danny falls through. I decided, because I’m such a method actor, to punch the ice. I did it the first time and was like, “that’s rad,” so I kept doing it and by the fourth or fifth take my knuckle split open and there was blood all over the ice. WH: I think you now rival Leo DiCaprio breaking the skull and bleeding everywhere in Django Unchained. Tyler Labine: Yeah, I wouldn’t say it rivals that because that moment in the movie is cool as hell. He was bleeding like a motherf*cker; I just had this big bloody open knuckle. It never even made it in the movie, which is unfortunate. They had it in there for a long time, but then they realized it didn’t make sense for my character to do that [chuckle]. But, you know, it felt like a good idea at the time! That room was a brutal environment. By the time we were done with the ice room, everyone was like, “That’s it. I don’t want to do this anymore.” Then we moved to the upside-down room and everyone was like, “Yay, this is fun again!” WH: Another thing I brought up with Adam is how reserved your character is. Obviously in Tucker and Dale vs Evil you showed that you had comedic chops. In Escape Room you had a few one liners, but most of it was played relatively conservatively. Was this something you and Adam decided upon consciously? Tyler Labine: You have to keep in mind, I never want to play a character the same. I found out right before shooting that they wanted him to be southern, I didn’t know that. Adam was like, “I think this guy needs to be from like, Virginia. Can you do that?” and I was like, “Fine, I guess I’ll just do a gentle one.” I didn’t want to be too much ‘Dale’, you know. The character, Mike, on paper, really wasn’t too much there. In fact, it was talked about between Adam and I before I even got there that he was really banking on me sort of bring the character to life. He really wanted to encourage me that when we got there, if I thought of something, go for it. Of course, you have to kind of do that respectfully because there’s other actors in the scene, but once we got a feel for it, we were good; especially Nik Dodani and Logan Miller, they were always game to play. I’d say about 60% of what you see from me in the movie, was stuff I wrote or made up. All that, “Well, we just gotta do this five more times” most of what I said were things that I just come up with on the fly. Mostly, because I wanted to keep Mike alive. WH: I think the conservativeness of Mike really helped. Sometimes if all someone is doing is quipping, you don’t believe they’re a real person in a real perilous situation. Tyler Labine: Exactly. When I say I ad-libbed, I don’t mean always quipping, but more so adding to the character. I wasn’t always looking for the joke, because I’m like you, I hate that. If you’re quipping and not advancing the plot or the character, I think it’s super self-indulgent and wonky; I hate it. WH: I know it’s not necessarily horror, but Mike was often in pretty grave danger. Did you find it easy or difficult to play “scared?” Tyler Labine: You know, It’s funny. It starts out being really fun. It’s almost like being a kid, like playing pretend. Then you realize, “Sh*t. I’m about to do this for ten weeks.” I think it was about week three that everyone was finally like, “Well, guess I’m just having nightmares now.” I was falling asleep feeling tense. I was waking up feeling tense. I couldn’t’ shake that state; my brain was like, “We gotta just stay there. Just stay in that place so that it’s real enough.” WH: Well, we’re running out of time, so I want to ask one last question. Being a site that focuses so heavily on horror, I like to ask all the actors, directors, writers, and everyone we interview to give me one horror movie that is either your favorite or one that you think has been criminally overlooked as of late. Tyler Labine: Absolutely. My favorite psych-thriller/horror, which I think sort of kicked off this resurgence of psych-thrillers, is a movie called Session 9. WH: You’re kidding me. That’s the exact same movie Adam gave me when I asked him! Tyler Labine: Is it really! Well, it’s this crazy movie about these guys who need to go do construction on this old psych hospital. It’s just so well-crafted and scared the sh*t out of me; and it still does. It’s simple; there’s no big effects or anything. It’s really just a psychological f*ck you. I love movies like that, like Jacob’s Ladder, like movies that make you just feel weird afterwards. WH: It’s not horror, but Requiem for a Dream is always my go-to “f*ck you up” movie. Tyler Labine: Exactly. Requiem for a Dream is like a flashier version of that sort of, “We’re just going to tap dance on your brain for a while.” Maybe it’s because I saw Session 9 not knowing anything about it, but my wife and I left the theatre and we were both like, “We need to go do something fun right now or we may just end up dying.” WH: Well, Tyler. It’s been a joy talking to you and I appreciate you diving into the film with us! Tyler Labine: Of Course! Take care. Check out Tyler in Escape Room, currently available on Blu-ray/DVD.

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New on Netflix: April 26, 2019

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Welcome to New on Netflix, a feature here at Wicked Horror in which we provide the latest updates on what’s coming to the streaming service for the week. In recent times, Netflix’s shift in content has been interesting. While many fan-favorite movies and TV shows have been Netflix staples for the better part of a decade, they’ve been taken off the service with more frequency. Some of them return, some of them don’t, and while these are all simply the result of licensing deals that were already in place before these properties even hit the service, they do shed some light on the content provider’s new focus. Netflix is continuing to shift gears away from movies and TV shows owned by other studios or companies and is producing their own content with staggering frequency. As we continue to provide updates on what’s been added to the service, it will always be interesting to note the balance between original and licensed content being added to the Netflix library. With that in mind, here are the latest Netflix additions for the week of April 26th, 2019. Black Summer The Netflix Original Series Black Summer has turned some heads since its premiere earlier this month. While it could easily have been dismissed as yet another entry in the oversaturated zombie genre, many have praised it with some kind words coming from one of the world’s foremost masters of horror, Stephen King. That alone makes Black Summer at least worth checking out.

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Aamis is Still a Better Love Story than Twilight [Tribeca Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of Aamis is Still a Better Love Story than Twilight [Tribeca Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Aamis (Ravening) opens with a meet cute and a Meat Club. PhD student studying meat-eating habits in Northeastern India Sumon (Arghadeep Baruah) needs a doctor for his friend. The neighborhood pediatrician Nirmali (Lima Das) agrees to help Sumon’s adult friend despite it being her day off, saying, “Perfect. Just what I needed Sunday morning.” She refuses traditional payment, but when Sumon tells her about his “Meat Club” that slaughters and cooks their own animals, she can’t resist trying some. He brings rabbit to her clinic. Soon they’re talking about all the different meats they want to try — dog, cat, bat, a bug that needs to have the hallucinogenic juices squeezed out before consumption — and finding the weirdest one they can. It’s oddly romantic, but it wouldn’t be a story without a catch: Nirmali is married. Nirmali’s sister Jumi (Neetali Das) is having a more illicit affair. She and Sumon’s best friend Elias (Sagar Saurabh) keep asking the lovers if they’re having sex but they aren’t. They’ve replaced carnal pleasures with carnivorous ones. Nirmali’s husband, Dilip (Manash K Das), has been away. He’s a doctor as well, but it calls him away for weeks at a time. Dilip makes a surprise return with a crop of yams to contrast with Sumon’s meats, gloating, “All these years and you still can’t predict me.” When Nirmali tells him that she’s been going out to eat with Sumon, Dilip says she’s got to bring him by the house. When Sumon arrives, Dilip brags that he once waded through chest deep water to put an end to a cholera outbreak on the other side of a river. Sumon replies that some would consider the leeches that swelled up on Dilip a delicacy. The movie functions as a realistic drama for the first hour. Nirmali is in a bad spot, caught between a self-aggrandizing husband who leaves for months at a time and a charming young man who brings culinary adventures into her life. Near the end of the second act, the movie shifts genres. The Meat Club, now with only two members, decide to eat exactly what you were worried they were going to eat. It’s gross as hell. Aamis director/writer Bhaskar Hazarika elects to keep the goriest moments off screen. It’s a good choice, because it would be impossible to film some of the later scenes as more disgusting than a viewer could imagine them. Implication can be more powerful than special effects. Hazarika slips in some dream sequences during the grossest moments instead. That choice focuses the audience’s attention on the character’s emotional states rather than what they’re chewing. It’s a good choice because, like the excellent Raw, Aamis is more interested in the symbolism than physical reality. RELATED: Raw Is The Cannibal Coming-Of-Age Story You Didn’t Realise You Wanted The subtitles have some minor technical problems. They’re white text placed over sometimes white backgrounds, rendering them difficult to read at times. Peel away the meat club and the sick things Nirmali and Sumon do to satisfy their cravings and what’s left of Aamis is the love story core. Das and Baruah have phenomenal chemistry, so much so that I couldn’t help rooting for their characters. I wanted them to find their way. I wanted them to escape. I wanted them to find their happily ever after. The only thing I didn’t want was to eat for the next few hours. Wicked Rating: 7/10 Director: Bhaskar Hazarika Writer: Bhaskar Hazarika Stars: Lima Das, Arghadeep Baruah, Neetali Das, Sagar Saurabh, Manash K Das Release: April 26 2019 (Tribeca Film Festival) Studio/Production Company: Metanormal Motion Pictures, Signum Productions, Wishberry Films Language: Assamese Length: 108 minutes Sub-Genre: Romance

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Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Season Two is a Total Hell-Send

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Wicked Horror is the author of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Season Two is a Total Hell-Send. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

​When last we saw the sprightly Sabrina Spellman, as Season 1 of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina wrapped up, she was striding confidently through the halls of her Satanic high school with a trio of frenemies, newly platinum hair perfectly coiffed. As the sophomore season opens, it quickly becomes apparent that parting image was more a tease of what’s to come rather than an outright statement on our heroine’s new state of mind/dress.  Sabrina is much darker now (well, apart from her hair), but she’s still Sabrina. Season 2 of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, from the brains behind the ludicrously addictive Riverdale, was shot in tandem with Season 1. As a result, this feels more like a continuation of the story rather than a standalone second trip to Greendale, and it’s all the better for it. The action kicks off instantly, no tedious recap in sight, with our heroine tussling with her light and dark sides. Related: Our Review of Season One Calls the Show a Devilishly Dark Delight It doesn’t help that new paramour Nick Scratch (that’s an old-timey name for the Devil, fact fans) is skulking around, hoping to take the place of her ex-boyfriend Harvey who still doesn’t really want to know the new her. Thankfully, both Sabrina’s mortal friends and her new, kind-of friends in the Academy are accepting of her new outlook…and look. This time around, Sabrina is even wearing darker colors, leading Hilda to tease her about trying to be “edgy.” Her causes continue to be focused on female empowerment, with our heroine looking to become the Academy’s first female Top Boy, which may lead Sabrina to one day be the first ever High Priestess of the Church of Night, helping Theo (née Susie) get on the boys’ basketball team, and, oh yeah, the small matter of deciding whether her essential nature is good or evil. The stakes are simultaneously high enough for a dark fantasy show and grounded so we still believe Sabrina as a regular high school student. Supporting characters like the dastardly but still attractive Nick, the clearly evil Father Blackwood (Richard Coyle, hamming it up once again), and scene-stealer Prudence get considerably more to do this time around. In particular, the latter is afforded her own compelling story-line regarding her heritage and the true meaning of family. Prudence petitions Blackwood to allow her use his surname and he resists, using her for his own gains all the while. Prudence continues to be arguably the best character on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, even though Kiernan Shipka once again kills it in the leading role, bringing depth and nuance to her portrayal of the teenage witch struggling to figure out who she is in increasingly bizarre circumstances. Sabrina remains consistently, and understandably, torn between the mortal world, where her friends are, and the supernatural one, where untold power awaits. Michelle Gomez’s conniving Mary Wardwell, revealed in Season 1 as Lilith, first wife of Adam and Satan’s erstwhile mistress, continues to be a delightfully confusing presence. It’s clear to the audience her intentions aren’t good but, similar to Todd and the Book of Pure Evil‘s brilliant Atticus, Wardwell isn’t all bad either. She might be plotting against Sabrina, but she also tries to help her, too, and often against the wishes of the dark lord. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina takes pretty much the entire season, with dark shenanigans aplenty, before finally allowing Sabrina to cop on to who and what her confidante really is, but the big reveal doesn’t pay off in the way you might expect. If anything, it’s yet another stamp for the show’s fiercely feminist credentials, as two more women join forces to fight back against a tyrannical man. Or, rather, a beast in the form of a man. Zelda has her own issues with a horrid male as she’s betrothed to Father Blackwood, realizing too late for her own good that he’s after a Stepford wife rather than an equal partner. This plot-point, again, doesn’t pay off the way we’ve come to expect. In fact Zelda, who in Season 1 was a clear and arguably even proud agent of the patriarchy, comes into her own this time around, finding common ground with Hilda and finally coming to her senses about the sexist issues rotting at the core of the church’s leadership. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is, at its dark heart, about the continuing fight for equality of the sexes. Sabrina fights tirelessly to be recognized as just Sabrina, rather than an unruly woman causing problems in a man’s world (or worlds, considering she also has her battles in the mortal realm to contend with). Father Blackwood is the ideal foil for her in this regard, consistently undermining her efforts by moving the goalposts whenever Sabrina gets anything close to a win (his solution to everything is to create yet another all-male secret society, to keep her away from the table). Cousin Ambrose, a fan favorite from Season 1 (who I found incredibly irritating first time around), is given more room to breathe — particularly in reluctant servitude to Blackwood. Likewise Zelda finds herself as an unlikely double agent while pretending to be her new husband’s pet. When the dark lord himself does eventually come knocking, in his sexier, less goat-life form, it’s a given he expects to rule while the women bow down to him (crucially, however, it’s a man’s sacrifice that eventually sends Satan packing…at least for a while). It’s not all doom and gloom of course, as Chilling Adventures of Sabrina straddles that same, deliberate line it did in Season 1 between deliciously black comedy, sweet romance, and dark fairy-tale oddity. Hilda gets her guy, finally, and his dark secret brings them together rather than tearing them apart. Sabrina, as previously mentioned, finds a new man who’s, I guess, the witch idea of a bad boy (eye roll) but it’s clear her heart still lies with Harvey (at least I hope so, otherwise this show is dead to me). As for our favorite farm boy — Nick still refers to Harvey as such, in a continuing nod to the show’s previous incarnation — his relationship with Sabrina is complicated. Ross Lynch’s sensitive portrayal of a beloved character is entirely separate from the Sabrina, the Teenage Witch incarnation chiefly because he’s not a complete doofus, nor does is his story-line entirely enslaved to Sabrina’s. Season 2 even pairs him with another woman, ending with the two happily entwined as Sabrina looks on, seemingly happy to focus on her new fella instead (the one major bum note is actually the final line of the season, which seems completely opposed to everything we know about her character). It’s an odd choice but one that will hopefully bring the pair back together over the coming episodes. See Also: The Blackcoat’s Daughter is an Inspired Debut Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is more finely drawn than Riverdale, which throws everything at the screen each week in hopes something will stick. The story here is carefully crafted and keenly observed. Even when certain characters feel like they haven’t been properly given time to shine (Theo is a key example, and one a trans writer would be in a better position to fully explore), the world is so richly detailed it all sort of fits together anyway. As with Season 1, Shipka’s spirited performance anchors the show’s zanier moments, but there’s plenty of campy goodness to enjoy this time around regardless, whether it’s Dorcas’ unbridled horniness or Ray Wise showing up as the goddamn Anti-Pope. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is at its best when it gives in to those darkly comic tendencies, rather than relying on the Riverdale-esque big reveals (of which there are, mercifully, very few). It may be a little on the nose at times — though the argument could be made that feminism no longer utilizes a softly, softly approach because there’s no time for that anymore — but the continuation of a firmly female focus, delightfully dark angles on religious worship, education, and teenage issues, and terrific performances across the board ensure this is nothing short of a stellar Season 2. Long may Sabrina’s reign continue; the dark lord can suck it.

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Escape Room Director, Adam Robitel, Dives Deep Into the Film and its Upcoming Sequel [Exclusive]

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Wicked Horror is the author of Escape Room Director, Adam Robitel, Dives Deep Into the Film and its Upcoming Sequel [Exclusive]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Adam Robitel has had a promising career thus far. His first feature, The Taking of Deborah Logan, was the exact indie-horror many first-time filmmakers hope for. The film had success on home media, and granted him the opportunity to follow in James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s footsteps and direct the fourth film in the Insidious franchise, The Last Key. The film made over 6 times its budget in the States, and Sony opted to give Robitel a franchise of his own to start. Robitel chose Maria Melnik and Bragi F Schut’s script, The Maze, and turned it into the feature film we now know as Escape Room. Adam graciously took some time and talked to Wicked Horror in support of the film’s home video release. Escape Room is now available on DVD, Blu-ray, and DigitalHD. Also See: Escape Room is Clever and Entertaining [Blu-ray Review] WH: Hey, Adam. Really excited to dive into this one with you. I know it’s only April, but it’s one of my favorite films of the year so far. Adam Robitel: You’re very kind. I’m glad you dug it, man. WH: First thing I wanted to hit was the genre of the film. A lot of the marketing pressed it as a horror flick while IMDb lists it as action, adventure, and drama; I just wanted to get your take on what genre you think fits it best. Adam Robitel: I categorize it as a psychological thriller. I sort of call it a “psychological roller coaster ride,” or at least that’s how I always envisioned it in my head. I don’t think its straight horror; one of the mandates going in was that we weren’t going to do gore. I wanted the movie to live outside of films like Saw or Cube that do that so well. I’d lean towards psychological thriller, but some people would tend to disagree and that’s totally fine. WH: Your first two movies, The Taking of Deborah Logan and Insidious: The Last Key were blatant horror films. Were you making a conscious effort to stay away from horror with this movie? Adam Robitel: You’re always looking at, “what’s the angle?” After I read the script, I realized how popular escape rooms were. I didn’t even know what an escape room was, to be completely candid, so I went out and did like 15 of them. The best ones were really visual, and they sort of transformed so that the players could interact with them. Like you solve a puzzle and a blacklight turns on that then reveals a map you couldn’t see; so, I got excited from a visual perspective. Then I thought, “Nobody can out-Wan Wan.” James has such a market on the Insidious’ and supernatural [films] of the world, why not do something that’s a little bit different. So, it was this vital choice of either I could do another possession or horror film, like a straight supernatural thriller, which I love, don’t get me wrong, or I could do something like this which could get more of an international audience. Keep in mind from a purely business perspective, supernatural movies can’t even go to china, that with escape rooms being very popular in Asia, it seemed like the right time to take a gamble and not rely on the jump scares as much. WH: Did you have any type of productive bonding experience for the cast beforehand? Adam Robitel: We had a couple early table reads which really got our chemistry going and then had some really good rehearsal time. The first day we were in the lobby shooting it linearly; basically, the first day, the characters are meeting is the first day of shooting, which helped in a way, to shoot it as chronologically as possible. Deborah Ann Woll, who was probably the most seasoned of the actors, she was sort of like the mother hen who kind of brought everybody together and I think they all brought their A-game. They were each so committed to it that it helped bring out each other’s performances. They were just a little family; I mean you get stuck on that sound stage for 12 hours a day, five days a week and by day three you’re like old friends. There was a lot of moving parts and the movie had a lot of visual effects, it definitely took some acclimating to. I really think they did a great job. WH: I’m actually talking to Tyler (Labine) in a few days, he’s a great example of my next question. It was surely suspenseful, but none of the characters felt like caricatures; they were real people. Tyler can be silly, he can be fun, but he was down to Earth and playing it completely straight. Was this something you did intentionally? Adam Robitel: Oh my God, he’s my favorite person. He’s hilarious. Initially, Mike was meant to be a sort of older, funny, dad kind of guy, and while he does crack a dad joke or two, he really brought an accessibility that we weren’t expecting. You know, it’s hard, the first act of these movies are all just truncated now because most audiences don’t have the attention span. I don’t know how old you are, but I remember movies in the ‘80’s and 90’s where a good 40 minutes was just introductions. You don’t have time to set up characters the way you want to, so you do it by writing, “Here’s the funny older guy; here’s the expert gamer kid; here’s the veteran.” How much character pipe do you lay, how peculiar and odd should we make these characters? Some caricature is good because the audience can go, “Oh, I think I know who this person is” quickly, but at the same time we don’t want too much too quickly. It’s a tight rope. WH: I wanted to touch on something you were saying earlier. You mentioned when you went to escape rooms that you saw how elaborate and visually striking they were. I know it’s a cliché to say, but honestly the rooms seemed to be one of the characters in the movie. Did you and production designer Edward Thomas just collaborate together on exactly how you wanted each room to look? Adam Robitel: Ed Thomas is amazing. He’s from the UK and he’s done a lot of Resident Evil movies and what not. He just-he hit the ground running. We shot in South Africa; I was terrified and knew no one there, but Ed had shot a lot of movies there. He had this incredible team that was just ready and crewed right up. It’s different down there, they can just start pouring concrete. They don’t have the zoning laws and all the shit that we have here. We really wanted each room to be its own little mini-movie. Marc Spicer, our DP (director of photography/cinematographer), shot lots of Fast and Furious [films] and Lights Out, so, for me he was so instrumental with Ed to figure out ways of building light into the sets or be able to go 365 degrees. It was really important for me to make sure it felt like these characters were actually trapped and to do that you have to show the audience the entire set. Give them the illusion that there’s not a crew, there’s no way out. Everything really had to be on the page. My writer, Maria Melnik, really had to spell everything out in a linear way towards the end of the room. For example, in the ice room, the ice-block that they bring up from the water, that’s a fabricated prop. That’s something that spent weeks and weeks to make, you can’t just go out and buy that from a warehouse; you have to build that. Also, the art department, it was such a tour de force for them. Everything they did was on display. I can’t think of a movie where you have so many macro-shots where you could see each and every prop. Everyone really just picked up the baton and ran with it. WH: Not so much if you were in the Escape Room, but objectively looking outward in, which of the rooms is your favourite? Adam Robitel: I think I was most proud of the billiard room. We were told it was impossible and I had such a huge pitch for it. You know, we were a little movie with very few resources. The whole set was built six feet off the ground, everything had to be engineered structurally to be safe; when Deborah Ann Woll’s climbing across the walls or climbing along the top. Her safety lines actually had to go all the way up through the ceiling to the scaffolding, it was very logistically complicated. Anecdotally, we had a shot at the end when Zoey cracks that the code, it’s upside down. I wanted a crane to rotate around the bar and flip upside down so when the ball falls down, it goes up into Deborah’s hand. We spent two hours trying to get this shot and had to bring in a dinosaur of a crane that had no place being on a film set, but we finally got the shot at the 11th hour. Going from a movie like Insidious: The Last Key, which had no visual effects, to this film was something that was tough. Escape Room had loads; Escape Room actually had more visual effects than Venom. Most was smaller clean-up kind of stuff, but it added up. WH: I wanted to touch on the second to last room, I’m not sure how to word it other than the “trippy” room. I always think it’s fascinating, because you don’t have a writing credit on the film, only Maria Melnik and Bragi F. Schut, so how were you able to translate that from page to film? Adam Robitel: Well that room actually, and I’ll be completely candid now that the movie is out, we sort of ran out of resources by that point in terms of what it could be. Initially, Maria had written a version of a crazy factory room where these presses are coming down, basically an Indiana Jones thing where the presses were almost crushing them. We had gone to an old factory in Cape Town and I was afraid someone was going to get tetanus. It was beyond our scope I think and so I just made a decision. I said, “Let’s try and do something a little different.” It was originally going to be this room full of optical illusions, but we weren’t [chuckles], we weren’t entirely successful with it. The conceit of a neuro-toxin which makes things all trippy I thought was fun. If we’re going to have a mano a mano fight, you need to up it from the billiard room somehow. My college days of eating a fungus or two may have helped. WH: That’s what I thought had happened at first! One thing I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around is how some of the rooms are obviously tailored to the players, while others seem more or less random. Was this a coincidence? Adam Robitel: Not at all. I think the lobby was Deborah’s because she has PTSD from fire. The cabin was Logan (Miller) because of the antlers and his car crash. The ice room was supposed to be for Jason (Jay Ellis) because of his exposure and the guy on the boat. The billiard room was Zoey (Taylor Russel) because she went down in a plane crash and landed upside down. The hospital was kind of supposed to be the coherence of all of them, but also Nik (Dodani) because Danny’s parents died from carbon monoxide. Then the library, or the crushing room, was for Mike (Tyler Labine) because he was almost crushed in the mines. WH: That’s much subtler than I feel like a freshman filmmaker would be confident including. So, the film ended on a definite cliff-hanger. I was researching and it said that Sony had already greenlit the sequel. Anything you can tell us about it? Adam Robitel: Yeah, we’re dated. We’re already discussing concepts for new rooms and we’re expecting a script in a couple weeks! We’re full steam ahead. We have our work cut out for us because we used a lot of the big ones, whether it being gravity, crushing, or fire. How do you kill people without using too much gore or any gore at all, you know? WH: Before you go, I always like to hit on one more thing! I know you said you don’t see the film as a horror movie, but this is Wicked Horror. I like to ask all the actors, directors, writers, and everyone we interview to give me one horror movie that is either your favorite or one that you think got criminally overlooked as of late. Adam Robitel: The movie very few people have seen that I absolutely love is called Session 9. It was the first feature I think Brad Anderson shot and it was filmed at the Danvers Insane Asylum, a place I grew up near outside of Boston. It’s super creepy. They wrote the script based on the location. If you like a slow burn, psychological thriller, The Shining-esque, Session 9 is great. WH: Adam, thanks for talking. Like I said, really dug the movie. Not just excited about the sequel but whatever you have coming down the pipe. Adam Robitel: Thanks, Mark. I really appreciate it! Escape Room is now available on Blu-ray/DVD. *Featured Image Credit: Movie Roar

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The Gasoline Thieves Will Steal Your Heart [Tribeca Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of The Gasoline Thieves Will Steal Your Heart [Tribeca Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

When I was in eighth grade, I asked my friend Mike to ask our friend Liz if she would be my girlfriend. She said yes. I was elated. I didn’t do anything to change my behavior — I didn’t sit with her at lunch, I didn’t call her to talk, I didn’t actually see her outside of art class during the day, though I could’ve. At thirteen years old, I didn’t know I was supposed to do those things. Lalito (Eduardo Banda), the protagonist of The Gasoline Thieves (Huachicolero), doesn’t either. He’s an awkward middle schooler, who asks out Ana (Regina Reynoso) early in the film. Her friends laugh at him, and mock him, “Haven’t you seen a soap opera?” They tell him if he want’s Ana to go out with him that he needs to be spontaneous, to act like a gentleman, and give her gifts. Specifically, an iPhone. The film is set in a part of Mexico where gasoline shortages have led to violent crime. It opens with a pair of gasoline thieves executing someone who’s siphoning gasoline from their spot. Like in so many other crime films, Lalito is a good person outside that world. If he’s going to get that phone and help pay his Uncle’s medical bills, he needs to infiltrate it though. Director Edgar Nito Arrache goes out of his way to show the tragedy: that Lalito, and by extension everyone around him, is predestined by poverty. What sets The Gasoline Thieves apart from cookie cutter crime film is the time it takes to explore Lalito’s life outside of the crime. He’s loved. He loves. He feels joy. It’s something that Victor LaValle has rightly pointed out is missing from the stories of people of color written by outsiders. There’s a beautifully shot scene where Lalito takes Ana on a bike ride and to the circus and both actors exude happiness. Like other crime movies, there’s a sense of dread that hangs over The Gasoline Thieves as well. In the scene where Ana first rejects Lalito, a stray dog slinks through the background of the shot, establishing the dog as a symbol for the boy. Each dog Nito Arrache films later is hurt or killed, suggesting that may be Lalito’s fate. RELATED: Not Quite Horror: Thoroughbreds What the film demonstrates as well as the way good people get sucked into a world of a crime, is the way toxic masculinity is taught. Rulo (Pedro Joaquín) is a grown gasoline thief who’s dating Ana. He serves as Lalito’s in to both the crime world and the world of objectifying women. Nito Arrache shows Lalito being corrupted before our eyes. The small budget hurts The Gasoline Thieves in places. All of the stealing takes place at night, and the dark lighting makes it difficult to differentiate characters or to tell what’s going on, especially in the opening and the climactic fight. That fight is also over edited, relying on cuts rather than stunts to get the point across, likely a combination of budgetary restrictions and protecting young actor Eduardo Banda. The Gasoline Thieves is Nito Arrache’s first movie, but it never shows. He tells Lalito’s story with the poise of a more experienced filmmaker. You should be excited to see this movie. I’m excited to see what Nito Arrache does next. Wicked Rating: 8/10 Director: Edgar Nito Arrache Writers: Alfredo Mendoza, Edgar Nito Arrache Stars: Eduardo Banda, Regina Reynoso, Pedro Joaquín Release: April 25, 2019 (Tribeca Film Festival) Studio/Production Company: AMP International, Pirotencia Films, Screen Division Language: Spanish Length: 93 minutes Sub-Genre: Crime

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The Wild Optimists Spill Their Guts About Escape Room in a Box [Exclusive]

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Wicked Horror is the author of The Wild Optimists Spill Their Guts About Escape Room in a Box [Exclusive]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Wicked Horror had the good fortune to spend some time chatting with The Wild Optimists (Ariel Rubin and Juliana Patel) the ultra talented and surprisingly humble women behind the new board game sensation, Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment. We got the details on taking the project from the conceptual stages to the marketplace, how to run a successful Kickstarter campaign and so much more. If you haven’t already tried the game out, it is available from Mattel at Target and via Amazon! Do yourself a favor and check it out. I’ve had the pleasure of playing a promotional game the ladies put together for the release of the feature film, Escape Room and my copy of The Werewolf Experiment is currently being shipped from Amazon. You can check out the ladies’ official website right here! Also See: Escape Room (2019 Film) is Clever and Entertaining [Review] Wicked Horror: You ladies beat the odds and launched the wildly successful Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment on Kickstarter, which  eventually secured distribution via Mattel. How did you manage to succeed where so many others have failed? The Wild Optimists: The first step was research and paying attention to that research. There is a wealth of information on the Internet about how to run a successful kickstarter. Jamey Stegmaier and James Mathe, particularly, are incredibly generous with their expertise and have created blogs with pretty much everything you need to know from what time of year is best to launch a Kickstarter, to how to navigate worldwide shipping, to which reviewers accept Kickstarter submissions. We followed pretty much every piece of advice we read. The second step was having an excellent product and garnering support for it before we launched. We emailed probably a hundred reviewers and asked if we could send them a prototype of the game. Most didn’t reply. Some said they’d love to play. And now, some of our biggest supporters (call out to RoomEscapeArtist.com) said something along the lines of “this sounds like a terrible idea, but, sure I guess I’ll give it a shot.” When they played the game and loved it, they were particularly vocal about spreading the word which helped our numbers enormously. The third thing, and this was mainly luck, was that we were the first to market. No one had heard of doing an escape room tabletop game before, so the fact that we were unique was a huge help. Wicked Horror: How big of a challenge was it to scale down the life size concept of an escape room and turn it into something anyone can play on their coffee table at home? The Wild Optimists: Dreaming up ideas was easy. Creation was harder. Play testing was a real eye opener and manufacturing was brutal. We came at creating Escape Room In A Box from the perspective of enthusiasts, so it was incredibly important to us that it have physical elements: real boxes, locks, searches, surprises. We started by writing down a list of all our favorite puzzles and types of puzzles we had encountered in rooms. Then we narrowed that down to what could conceivably fit in a box, then what we could make in our garage and then which puzzles fit our narrative and how they could all flow together. Wicked Horror: How on earth did you get Elan Lee (creator of the massively successful game Exploding Kittens) to take notice of and back your project? The Wild Optimists: We thought the same thing when we saw his name on the backer list! We are such fan girls. Elan, we now know, is a crazy escape room enthusiast and a Kickstarter superbacker. He ran a hilarious blog for a while called “Elan Backs Everything” so it was really the perfect storm. He is also one of the smartest escape room players we’ve ever seen. Seriously, playing a room with him is like a master class in how to play escape rooms. But I think what’s important is that we were paying attention to every single backer, sending them a personalized thank you.  So when we saw that he was a backer, we reached out and said he could play test our prototype which led to us hanging out about midway through the Kickstarter. Elan was incredible with offering help and advice, truly one of the nicest guys out there. Wicked Horror: Did either of you have any experience with creating board games before creating Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment? The Wild Optimists: We did not.  But we both had a lot of experience playing board games and escape rooms, which was a really solid foundation. Wicked Horror: Then, how on earth did you manage to create such an intricately and well designed product with no prior experience? The Wild Optimists: Wild optimism! Also, play testing and trusting our players. Our first attempt at the game took players, like, four hours and left everyone hating life. So, we iterated and tried again and learned from our mistakes and asked advice and took advice and tried again and again…and again until people were having fun playing. Like everything else in life, you have to be willing to learn, willing to listen, and willing to change, and if you are you can make something truly special. Wicked Horror: The success of The Werewolf Experiment led to you collaborating with Sony on a press mailer for an Escape Room in a Box exclusively for journalists. How did that differ from your previous venture? The Wild Optimists: Since licensing Escape Room In A Box to Mattel we’ve founded our company, The Wild Optimists where we create puzzles and games for events, themed attractions, tabletop games, etc. The Sony Box lives somewhere between Escape Room In A Box and these larger immersive experiences. Probably the biggest difference is 1. The game didn’t have to be able to be reset and 2. You all signed a waiver so if you got hurt you wouldn’t sue us. What this meant is we were able to create something more bespoke, edgy and, just a bit, dangerous which was incredibly fun and also really fit with the movie. Wicked Horror: One of the things that impressed me most about the press mailer I played was the attention to detail. You had a key embedded in a candle that was only revealed after the candle was lit and a secret Instagram account that was only visible by peeling off the Fragile sticker from the box the product shipped in. Where do you guys come up with the these incredible ideas? The Wild Optimists: We always start with the narrative and we know from experience that players’ favorite moments are when there is an unexpected reveal. In the movie, the characters all receive a priority mail box with a puzzle box inside – so we knew we had to do that. But we didn’t want the priority mail box to just be trash, so we thought about what would be on it. The game would be fragile, we’d need a Fragile Sticker, what could we do with that? What wouldn’t players expect? Similarly, in the ice scene in the movie there is a key hidden in an ice cube that the characters need to heat to get to. We couldn’t include ice, but we could include a cube with a key that you needed to heat and since the secondary purpose of the game was providing everything players would need for an at home movie night, we thought a candle would be a nice keepsake to add a bit of atmosphere to your evening in. Wicked Horror: The game that I had the good fortune to play can only be played once. As I haven’t yet had the chance to play The Werewolf Experiment, can you explain how it differs with repeat plays? The Wild Optimists: Like a brick and mortar escape room, once you’ve solved the puzzles in Escape Room In A Box you will know the answers and can’t really replay. However, it is entirely able to be reset: EscapeRoominaBox.com has all the puzzle papers for reprinting and instructions on where everything goes.) We also wrote a Host Script, so if you want to host the game for your friends you can play as the evil mad scientist werewolf Dr. Cynthia Gnaw. When you host, there are elements of the game that are removed and put into your control and one puzzle that changes entirely to something you set up around your house. Also, based on our play-testing, if you wait a year you can totally play again, very few people have that good of a memory. Wicked Horror: Thank you so much for speaking with us. It was a pleasure and you two are truly going places. The Wild Optimists: Thank you!

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Five of the Greatest Horror Film Openings

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Wicked Horror is the author of Five of the Greatest Horror Film Openings. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

We all know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. So, it stands to reason, we also should not judge a film by its poster. But we have to judge these damn things somehow! Synopses are not always trust-worthy. Reviews can be subjective. What are we to do? Openings. Films, and specifically horror films, should only truly be judged if they are worthy to be watched in their entirety by their opening premise. With that in mind, we are counting down Five of the Greatest Horror Film Openings.  Let’s start with number 5 and work our way to the absolute best. 5. Halloween While the opening to John Carpenter’s 1978 classic slasher Halloween doesn’t have a clearly established protagonist, it checks (slashes?) off all the other criteria for a truly great Horror Film Opening. The tense, voyeuristic tone of the film is established with the score and camera work. We are introduced to the character of Michael Myers. It is actually reminiscent of Jaws in a lot of ways. We have similar perspectives used.  Our interest as viewers is piqued by the mysterious reveal of the child killer by the end. We know this film is going to be about suburbia no longer being safe. We know it’s going to be about children and sexuality and monsters just outside your window. In keeping with Joseph Campbell’s writing on classic heroes’ journeys in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, an important boundary is crossed to get the plot moving. The door to the house, a sacred, safe space, is violated. From the opening moments of the film, we know that suburbia is no longer a refuge from the violent realities creeping up to our front steps. Something M. Night Shyamalan also explores years later in The Village. See the Wicked Horror review of the Halloween Complete Collection 10 Disc Edition 4. It Follows Man, if horror film openings need to pique the interest of the viewer, creating a mystery they just have to stick around to solve… It Follows is a master class in how to open a movie with this objective in mind.  Still suburban street — wait who’s this weirdo running around? Why is she dressed this way? Why is she taking this weird pattern in her flight? No one is chasing her… right?  It’s an opening unlike any I have ever seen. The type of protagonist we are going to meet is established, if not the exact young lady. The monster is hinted at, the tone of the film, the themes, the stakes… it’s all there. Right down to the sort of existential “Why bother” ending of the opening (That feels oxymoronoic to say). And I think in this modern era of horror film making a certain existential mystery is necessary to differentiate your movie from the rest of the pack. Think of Get Out, The Babadook, The VVitch, or Hereditary; all of these film frighten but also create a sense of existential dread in the viewer in how they ask us to search inward. It Follow works in this same mode. Seriously, try to imagine any other way to open this movie. It’s impossible. See the Wicked Horror review of It Follows 3. The Ring Come on. Do I even have to defend this one? Oh, what’s that? I do? I can’t just show you a picture and be like “I’m right, trust me!”? Apparently that is what a writer has to do: write. Well, you are being unreasonable, but I beg you to picture the sheer perfection of terror that is the opening of The Ring. I chose The Ring here over Ringu simply due to a slightly better “scary face” effect at the end of the opening.   We have an adorable back-and-forth with our viewpoint characters to start with. We very quickly know their archetype and feel protective of them. They are school-aged girls still dressed in their uniforms, innocent and full of life. Then, boy, does the mood change fast. Like that overture I mentioned earlier, we get the “themes” to come sampled fast and furious. (NOT Tokyo Drift). Static televisions, unexplained deaths, unstoppable, inevitable punishment.  Oh wait, is It Follows just The Ring, basically?  Makes sense why both films are so strong in their openings. Though, I do think they achieve that near perfect horror film opening in different ways: the former uses mystery and intrigue with the latter creating a connection and sympathy to character. Ultimately, I give the 3 spot to The Ring due to its more effective scare towards the end of the opening, as well as its superior work establishing likability and sympathy for the characters See the Wicked Horror review of The Ring Sequel, Rings 2. 28 Weeks Later I very nearly gave this one the top spot. Even though I think 28 Days Later is actually the superior movie, probably in my top 5 horror films of all time, 28 Weeks Later clearly beats it out as far as horror film openings go. This might actually be the only aspect of Weeks that tops Days — one could argue cast; Weeks boasts Poots, Renner, Carlyle, Byrne, and Idris friggin’ Elba. But out of that impressive cast, only Carlyle shows up in the opening. And what an opening it is. It really is the Carlyle show. The tense, opening minutes of the film tick off nearly every box on the “how to open a horror film” checklist. We establish character, stakes, setting, tone, and even get a good deal of status quo work done in just seconds. We know what these characters’ lives are like and understand what it means immediately when a new character shows up looking for succor.  We know the stakes when the child is let in, when Carlyle chooses to run instead of sacrificing himself for his wife. The score, the themes of survival vs. family, the atmosphere of dread and guilt hanging over all the survivors… its all there. All tragically, beautifully, realized in those final moments featuring Carlyle’s mad dash for his own life. Check out This Installment of Noteworthy Heroines of Horror featuring Selena from 28 Days Later 1. IT We all know what I’m talking about here. I’m specifically pointing to the IT 2017 remake. The pacing here is exquisite — with they storytelling even capitalizing on the foreknowledge expected from the viewer regarding this scene.  The opening can be broken up into 2 distinct parts. The first being the status quo section where we see the two brothers in their relatable, likable familiar environment. This film excels here over every other film on this list in creating a sense of dread for the viewer — knowing what is about to happen. These adorable boys, who love each other, who remind us of our own children or brothers or nephews… are going to be devastatingly harmed.  And beyond creating simply likable characters, this first among all horror film openings sets up children as protagonists, teasing themes of the horrors of a normal suburban adolescence. The terrifying unknowns lurking deep underneath your own home, where you should be safe. Then Georgie goes to sail his boat. He crosses moving water, slowly at first. We have a transition into the unknown from the known. He leaves the safe threshold of his home and passes into the street, and finally descends into the underworld of the sewers. The place alligators grow to be giants. Where our imagination can run wild.  The monster is revealed, but only in shadow, only in one form. We see the surreal aspects of his movements — his jaws and arms. His uncanny humor and terror — made doubly uncomfortable due to the uncanny nature of clowns themselves. I mean, is it really any wonder IT takes the top spot here? Would anyone fight me on this? Please do, because I am fascinated to learn what could supplant IT as the greatest horror movie opening of all time.  See the what Stephen King has to say about the IT remake

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Escape Room (2019) is Clever and Entertaining

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Wicked Horror is the author of Escape Room (2019) is Clever and Entertaining. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Escape Room sees a group of strangers invited to attempt a state of the art escape room with a payout of $10,000 to the winner. What the group doesn’t know is that they aren’t only competing for a cash prize, they will also be fighting for their very survival as they navigate their way through a series of dangerous puzzle-filled rooms. Can they make it out alive or will each of them become a victim of one of the many lethal rooms?  First off, I’m glad to see that director Adam Robitel screenwriters Bragi F. Schut and Maria Melnik  went with the model of strangers meeting for the first time in an escape room. It clearly differentiates this picture from the awful 2017 film of the same name that saw a group of friends taking on an escape room and succumbing to a series of lame traps. (See my review of that massive disappointment here). The dynamic of a series of strangers having to come together to solve each room worked remarkably well and allowed for surprisingly good character development that we may not have otherwise seen.  Escape Room features a fun, interesting, dynamic cast of characters. Some of the typical stereotypes are present but each character is nonetheless interesting and their interactions are fun to watch. The notion that each of the characters is based on some kind of archetype is even playfully nodded to by the writers when one of the characters sums up each of his costars using a single sentence.  Expounding upon what I said above, Robitel and company did a great job of featuring a diverse cast, including not one but two primary black cast members. Moreover, the female characters frequently demonstrate themselves to be the strongest, smartest, and most capable in the film. In one scene, Zoe (Taylor Russell) even tells one of the men to stop telling her to calm down. In another, Iraq war vet Amanda (Deborah Ann Woll) selflessly puts her life on the line to save other members of the group without giving it a second thought. There’s a clear message of female empowerment written into the script. The women live and die on their own terms and it is often the females of the group that come to the rescue of their male counterparts. This is precisely what we need to see more filmmakers doing and my hat is off to the creative team behind the picture for straying from the typical White Bread, male dominated formula that has been used to develop feature films for so long. Although there is a certain adherence to archetypical characters, nearly every key player in the film is fleshed out via a compelling back story and the audience really comes to know and even [gasp] care about the escape room participants.  I was initially concerned by the film’s multiplex friendly PG-13 classification, but my worries were promptly assuaged. Although the death scenes aren’t overly gory, that doesn’t detract from the film as a whole. If anything, it adds to it. The flick is brimming with tension and excitement. And the characters are likable enough that I actually didn’t want to see them die. So, I was ultimately grateful that I didn’t have to see them meet with a graphic demise when their time came.   I am truly in awe of the film’s set design. The rooms are incredibly dynamic and well thought out. All aspects of the set decoration were incredible. I can’t imagine how many hours, days, and months of planning and building went into the setup of each room. The upside down room was a particularly impressive feat.   I don’t have a lot of complaints. My only real criticisms are that the limited CGI that was used is pretty poor. But fortunately, there’s not a whole lot of it. And of course, it goes without saying that the setup requires some pretty serious suspension of disbelief. But, as escapism entertainment, the film works quite nicely.  The ending hints at the possibility of a sequel, which is not out of the question with the film grossing over $150 Million worldwide (according to Box Office Mojo) on a budget of $9 Million. I would love to see a continuation that recaptured what made this film great: A great script, likable characters, and exceptional set design.  The special features on the home video release are highly satisfying. I was thrilled that there was an entire featurette digging into the film’s amazing set design. Additionally, there is an insightful featurette on the cast and the impressive backstory assigned to each of them. In said featurette, the cast members open up about bringing their characters to life and the process behind doing so. There are also a series of deleted scenes, including an alternate opening that gives away too many surprises that are revealed later on and was smartly replaced a flash forward sequence. In addition, there is an alternate ending that lacks the punch of the finale sequence that was actually included in the final version of the picture. Escape Room is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and DigitalHD. I would highly recommend giving it a look.  WICKED RATING: 7.5/10 Director(s): Adam RobitelWriter(s): Bragi F. Schut and Maria MelnikStars: Taylor Russell, Deborah Ann Woll, Logan Miller, Tyler Labine, and Jay Ellis Release: April 23, 2019 (Home Video)Studio/ Production Co: Columbia Pictures Language: EnglishLength: 99-MinutesSub-Genre: Thriller

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