Eight Terrific, Totally Unexpected Performances in Horror

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

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

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Five Evil Santas That Make Christmas Feel Like Halloween

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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New on Netflix: November 6th, 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Wicked Horror is the author of Michael Abbott Jr. Steps Into THE DARK AND THE WICKED!! [Exclusive Interview]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

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

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Horror Cinematographer Andrey Nikolaev Talks Crypt TV’s Monster Universe and More

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Halloween may be over, but there is still an abundance of horror films, new and old, to pick from on all the numerous streaming services. Whether it be The Haunting of Bly Manner on Netflix, Bad Hair on Hulu, Host on Shudder or Apple TV+’s Servant, there is something for everyone. If you like monster-focused short films, Crypt TV is worth giving a look. One of their newest projects is Kinderfanger, a supernatural mystery drama currently airing every Friday on Crypt’s FB Watch page @CryptMonsters. While there, another popular Crypt TV title to watch is Water’s Edge, which makes one ask the questions: What do we become after death? Can we transform into something more monstrous? To highlight these projects, we spoke with cinematographer and 3D previs specialist Andrey Nikolaev about his work on Water’s Edge, as well as some other horror projects. Read the exclusive interview below. Wicked Horror: For people that aren’t familiar with Crypt TV’s Water’s Edge, how would you describe it? Andrey Nikolaev: I’d describe it as a monster’s story told by its father. The official synopsis is: After losing her mother, Lexi and her father retreat to an isolated cabin to withdraw from their sorrow…but what do we become after death? Can we transform into something more monstrous? Wicked Horror: What factors went in to deciding if you should use a handheld or steady cam for Water’s Edge? Andrey Nikolaev: When you use a steady cam the shots tend to be more objective. The director of Water’s Edge, Lena Tsodykovskaya, and I decided to go handheld to create emphasis on subjective perception of the characters. Wicked Horror: What shot in Water’s Edge was the most difficult to film? Andrey Nikolaev: The shot when Roy finishes cutting meat and goes to check the monster. It was a relatively long moving shot with difficult choreography. Roy had a lot of marks that he had to land for everything to line up properly. See Also: Beyond Goosebumps: Kids Horror Books That Are All But Forgotten Wicked Horror: You have worked on both horror and non-horror projects. When working on a horror film, is there a different set of guidelines you bring to the table? Andrey Nikolaev: Actually not. It’s really the story what matters the most. I would shoot a scene the same way regardless the genre. Wicked Horror: What stands out to you most when looking back at Water’s Edge? Andrey Nikolaev: The challenge of shooting handheld 5 days straight with an extremely heavy lens. It was worth it though. Looking back at the film, we definitely achieved the look we were going for. Wicked Horror: When Roy is laying on the ground in the cabin, there are a lot of objects obscuring the viewers gaze of him. Why was this done? To create more uncertainty? Andrey Nikolaev: That was the concept of the scene. We did it to add more intimacy, to leave Roy and Lexi alone for this touching moment. Wicked Horror: You also worked on the psychological horror film, The Bride. How was your experience different on The Bride then Water’s Edge? Andrey Nikolaev: The Bride was a huge feature film with relatively huge budget. There were much more pressure and responsibility. That was the first feature film I worked on, and the first scene we shot was night exterior with 50 background actors. So I decided to learn how to do 3D previs, to pull off this scene without any delays. Six Retro Horror Games That Would Make Great Movies Wicked Horror: Some of The Bride takes place in the 1800s. Did this affect your approach at all? Andrey Nikolaev: Yes, I decided to use different filtration on the lenses to achieve a more vintage look. I also used a quite common technique of separating temperature of the scenes: past is warmer, present is cooler. Wicked Horror: Do you have a favorite shot from that film? Andrey Nikolaev: The long shot of the main character first admiring the house. We got lucky with the weather and the house looked quite mysterious in that shot. Wicked Horror: What are some of your personal favorite horror films? The Vvitch, The Lighthouse, Midsommar Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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The Hunt: Election Year Horror (By Accident?)

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The Hunt: what to say about it? The truth is that there is not much to say. And there is also a lot to say. Through the lens of the pandemic and the upcoming elections, are we seeing it differently?  The film’s delayed release, due to the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, led to the film actually being released during an election year. And even though Blumhouse and Universal Pictures probably did make the decision to release the film later to appease audiences and to avoid a whole conundrum that would have been in poor taste, still… This movie being seen so close to the elections must have been convenient, even marketable. This is not said in a spirit of cynicism, but purely pragmatism. Another thing that in hindsight may have worked in favour of getting people to see (or eventually see) The Hunt was the pandemic. The amount of conspiracy theories and false rumours that surrounded the pandemic, its origin, its “real” consequences, even its actual existence, was unprecedented. To the eyes of the government and many members of the public, it was a political issue more than anything else (even though it shouldn’t have been). And then The Hunt comes along. It’s got everything: conspiracy theorists, obvious references to current affairs, leaked messages, false rumours, refugee camps, et cetera. See also: The Hunt Should Have Picked a Lane [Blu-ray Review] Not to say that the film performed well at the box office, because it didn’t. But that is not the fault of poor marketing or unknown actors or emerging filmmakers without a devoted audience. The Hunt was the opposite on all those aspects. It simply could not override the effects of the pandemic, like any other film that was scheduled to be released or was indeed released at the time of the outbreak. However, its release turned out to be timely, considering the film’s content. It will inevitably be forever connected to the events of 2020 (whether that is good or bad is debatable). Ambiguity: Smart or Tone Deaf? No one is mentioned by name in The Hunt. Not the parties, not the president, not any news outlet, no movement, no one. While this is obviously on purpose, audiences were divided as to whether it worked in favour of or against the film and its objective (whatever that was). In spite of all this supposedly smooth, but more like completely see-through, ambiguity, it was obvious who was who and who represented what. The thing is, it’s difficult to criticise everything and simultaneously make a point about nothing. Not taking a stance, but being the “aloof, cool person” who just judges everyone and everything isn’t slick anymore. Nowadays, it is just tedious. Are the filmmakers smarter than everyone else? Are they deeper thinkers than everyone else? Do they believe they are? Well, they exploited the film’s controversial reputation for marketing quite well. Even remarkably, if one may say so. But knowing that people will want to see your movie and knowing what your movie actually is are two different things.    Even the film’s end makes a point of not taking a stance. The person who wins (Crystal) was there by accident. She wasn’t really one of the “deplorables” the “elites” had their eye on. Her being there was an issue of mistaken identity. A slip-up that wouldn’t have happened if the “elites” had taken better care to double-check whom they kidnapped. She was Crystal May, while they actually wanted Crystal Mae. A woman from the same town, same neighbourhood, with an almost identical name. What’s that supposed to mean? The person without a side is the real winner? Who knows?  See also: The Most Shocking Thing about The Hunt is How Boring It Is [Review] Whose side was it on? The movie drew the attention of Donald Trump and was heavily criticised from his followers and those from the conservative political side who denounced the film’s depiction of “deplorables” being hunted down by “elites”. Which seems weird, because usually conservatives love to say “See, we are the real victims here,” or “We condemn violence on all sides, on many, many sides.” Let’s be honest here though. The collective of ideas of impartiality, rationality, objectivity, and logic TM, as they have come to be used and talked about on the Internet today, are usually put forth by one side of the political spectrum. If you’re smart enough to see through the movie’s implications, then you’re smart enough to know to whom I’m referring. So, by “not picking sides” the movie is picking sides, whether they (and the audience) understand/like that or not. See also: Gerald’s Game Plays Well with Social Commentary and Suspense What was good about it (and was it enough)? Many were put off or even downright disgusted by the violence and gore in this film. But the action was very well choreographed and the gore quite amusing. Even though the movie’s criticisms and messages were all over the place, at moments the action still made one feel that the stakes were high. It is, in many ways, a horror film after all. If one cannot handle gore in a feature that was advertised as containing gore, then maybe they should have known better and not watched it. Nevertheless, in a flick that was hyped as social horror / political thriller (or even -hear ye, hear ye- as a social thriller in the calibre of Jordan Peele), satisfying action and gore couldn’t be the sole saving graces. They were small life jackets for a big sinking ship. In the end, maybe the talk about the thing was bigger than the thing itself. Maybe, the controversy was so overwhelming that it made the film underwhelming. Perhaps, The Hunt did not deserve the extremely negative reviews it received… because it didn’t deserve so much attention after all. Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook,and Instagram.

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My life turned into a nightmare after meeting the real Annabelle doll

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Since I was a kid, I’ve immersed myself in watching horror movies and shows and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of being scared regardless of the nightmares that haunt me after the fact. However, I never thought my life would turn into a horror movie. But one day at work when I was scrolling on my social media feed, an event titled, “An Evening with Annabelle” popped up. The post led to the late Ed and Lorraine Warren’s paranormal investigation cases. The Warrens’ dedicated their lives to investigating extreme paranormal cases and their work is at the center of the popular Conjuring Universe from Warner Bros. The site was created by their son-in-law, Tony Spera, who carries on their work and is married to their daughter, Judy Spera. The site was selling tickets for an event hosted by Tony. In “An Evening with Annabelle,” the event would consist of a dinner, showcasing items from the Warrens’ occult room, and a finale viewing of the real Annabelle doll. My stomach sank with excitement. This event was right up my alley and I didn’t think twice about shelling out for a ticket. Part 1: Introduction to Annabelle. The event took place on October 29, 2016 in Monroe, Connecticut in a large Italian restaurant called Roberto’s. The back side of the room was filled with antique occult objects, the Shadow Doll and the Conjuring Mirror. They are some of the most noteworthy items from the Warrens’ occult room. At the center of the back was a tall, lengthy object covered with a sheet on top. Everyone knew Annabelle was underneath.  Tony was a great speaker and walked through the life of Ed and Lorraine Warren. The event went perfectly at first but the evening took a heavy turn when we started listening to real possession tapes. I can still hear the dark words from the tape as clear as day in my head. Tony hesitantly paused the tape and confessed he didn’t like to play the entirety because something evil may manifest itself if you listen for too long. The dark voice on the tape was even making jokes. Tony told the room that dark entities enjoy making jokes and possessions aren’t how you always see them depicted in the movies. My eyes widened in amazement.  When it was time to unveil Annabelle, Tony gave a few frightening words beforehand. He warned everyone not to mock her or say anything negative, and not to tease her. Everyone was silently nervous. Tony talked about a man attending one of the events that proceeded to mock Annabelle. When he left that night, he got into a serious accident on his motorcycle and was found dead. Now, I don’t know about you but when someone tells me not to do something, doing that very thing is all I can think about.  One by one, people got up from their seat and took a photo with Annabelle. As I waited in line, I kept thinking, “Ok just take a photo, don’t mock her, just go quickly, don’t mock her.” I kept repeating that same phrase in my head. Somehow my mind slipped into a dark place and I mocked her. In my mind, I thought about how hideous she looked inside her box. I screamed internally to put that thought away and I took my photo with her. It was surreal to be standing next to her. At this point, I was on cloud nine at the idea of being in the same room with such an infamous object. However, it never occurred to me that I could bring something home with me. And for the next year and a half, I was stuck in a living nightmare. Part 2: It Started as a Joke. As I settled in back home at my roommate’s house, I had just finished eating dinner and was taking my plate downstairs. I remember stepping on the ground but somehow it felt like I missed a step. I fell and badly twisted my ankle as my glass plate broke into pieces. My roommates thought it was comical as I had to limp up the stairs for the next couple weeks.  My next step in life was finding a place where my kitchen was on the same floor as my bedroom, hence my clumsiness. I looked through many apartments and found one I loved in Long Beach. Although a long commute from my job, I thought it was perfect. I moved in within two weeks of applying and was enjoying my own space. Not long after, I started noticing bugs and cockroaches in corners. I’d kill them and they’d be gone for a couple days. After a while, it got out of hand and I found them everywhere. It wasn’t just one or two. It seemed like I was killing ten roaches every time I turned around. I found them in my lotion, on my bed, in my shower, in my food, and in all my clothes. I complained to management and their only solution was to offer me a can of bug spray.   Apparently, the roaches were coming from my next door neighbor. My neighbor was an elderly woman who always wore the same long blue dress and loved to stare for uncomfortable amounts of time. Every time I’d leave my apartment, she’d open her door and stare at me. One time I asked her, “Why are you staring at me?” All she did in response was cackle.  The elderly woman didn’t take care of her cats, never took out her trash, and had stacks of garbage on top of stacks of garbage. Management evicted her and didn’t even bother cleaning out her apartment. Within the next few days, my unit had a full on infestation. I couldn’t even put a sock on without checking it first to see if it had roach eggs. I was convinced something was out to get me and my dream apartment turned into a dwelling from hell. Part 3: Physical Pain.  One night, I woke up to the sharpest of pains in my stomach at 3 AM. I couldn’t stand up, bend, move, or get out of my bed. All I could do was scream in agony. I was convinced I was dying and called my mom in a panic. She drove to my apartment and took me to the ER in the middle of the foggy night. The nurse ran multiple tests, put in an IV, and stuck me in a private room as I screamed in pain. The doctors found nothing wrong with me and couldn’t give me any answers. As it approached dawn, they let me go home and for a moment, they had me doubting myself and my pain. I went back to my gross apartment and filed a health complaint. There were weeks when I wouldn’t even stay in my own home out of fear of sleeping in a roach-infested bed. I broke my lease and found a place with my sister. It had everything we wanted and was bug free.  Just like in horror movies, when something bad happens, the solution is to move. That’s always the answer. You move and everything is supposed to be good…until it’s not. Also See: Strange Settings: Seven Horror Films That Take Us Where We Never Expected to Go During this same time, I had the flu for two weeks and developed a persistent cough not long after my sickness. I went to urgent care twice and the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong. They said it was allergies and put me on medication and an inhaler. I saw different specialists who put me on more medications and ran tests every couple weeks. My cough grew increasingly more severe and enough people at work noticed that they reported me to HR. It was mortifying to try to talk about an illness that I couldn’t even explain. Nine doctor’s visits and five specialists later, they couldn’t diagnose me.  Part 4: Not a Coincidence. I’m not the superstitious type but I was convinced this was more than just a string of bad luck. One restless night as I was starting to fall asleep, I heard a faint crinkling noise. It sounded like someone squishing a plastic bag. At the foot of my bed, I heard the crinkling sound over and over. I thought it was my dog but he was sleeping on the couch. I heard another crinkling noise and become increasingly paranoid. I couldn’t bring myself to look down at my feet. I clenched my blankets as it got quiet and the rustling started again. I immediately sat up, turned on the light, and spent hours looking for the plastic bag. I never found it. Soon afterwards, my dog became violently ill. With my excessive coughing, hearing noises in the night, and my poor dog’s sudden sickness, I was about ready to lose it. One night, he got off the bed and shat on the carpet. It was really late and I got up to clean up the mess and take him outside. As I laid back in bed, I noticed that my feet were covered in his feces. I screamed and jumped in the shower. I threw my sheets in the wash and put a towel on my bed to use as a blanket. I inspected my bed as I was confused how he managed to soil my bed without me noticing. Everything looked fine after inspecting. By this time, I was exhausted and I had work in the morning. As I laid back down, I noticed I still smelled his feces everywhere. I buried my face deeper into my pillow and screamed and I felt a wetness on my face. I lifted my head off the pillow, ran to the mirror, and saw my entire face covered in his crap. I called off work the next day. I told the story to my family and friends who all laughed and tried to convince me that I probably didn’t check my bed thoroughly. While it was a funny story to tell, it certainly wasn’t funny to live.  Over the next few months, my sanity was put to the test. I heard constant creaking; I was regularly sick; I heard noises coming from inside my walls; my eyes played tricks on me in the dark. This no longer felt like a home. I started becoming suspicious. That suspicious feeling intensified when I came home from work, walked into my apartment and saw it: a cockroach on the wall. Part 5: Everything Breaks Down. How can one person have this much bad luck? The only thing I could think of to explain my string of misfortune was Annabelle. It had to be her. I may not have been possessed by anything, but what manifested was so much worse. The cockroach infestation started all over again. I constantly cleaned my apartment and I knew I had to take down some of my horror collectibles on my walls since they were probably messing with my head. At the time, I had Living Dead Dolls and Funko Pop’s on shelves in my bedroom. I had Funko Pops of Chucky, Tiffany, Annabelle, Pinhead and Jigsaw. There was enough going on in my life that I didn’t feel like staring at this memorabilia all night. After an evening of cleaning, I woke up and one of my Funko Pops was on the floor. I picked it up and noticed that it was Annabelle. The six inch box scared the living hell out of me. All the other Funko Pops were on the shelf, except Annabelle. I drove to a trash can far away from my house (I know how this works) and threw the doll away. Relief never seemed to last long even when I thought everything was settling. After my sister and I got home from watching a movie, I put my purse down on the counter and grabbed a drink from the fridge. As I turned around and reached inside my purse, a huge cockroach crawled up my arm and made a move toward my face. The tiny legs of the cockroach crawling up my exposed skin made me scrub my arm in the shower until it turned red.   Part 6: Something Isn’t Right. One night, I was wide awake and looking at the ceiling. From my back bedroom window, I saw our automatic lights go off on the outside walkway downstairs. It was really late and I was constantly observing everything out of paranoia. I thought it might be my neighbor who typically worked late. Suddenly, we heard our apartment door being rattled and shaken. Fear pierced through my body as I jumped up without hesitation, grabbed my dog and sister and threw them in the small bathroom. Someone was trying to break into our home. We cornered ourselves in the bathroom and all stood in fear. We called the police who took over half an hour to arrive. It was the most excruciating 30 minutes since we didn’t know if the intruder had left. It was the last straw. We moved out after this encounter. Also See: Was Child’s Play Based on a True Story? Exploring the Rumored Connection Between Chucky and The Robert Doll I hadn’t slept in months; I was tired and sick. I have been through tough experiences but never something of this magnitude within this short amount of time. Part 7: Don’t Mock Her. As we left that apartment, I knew I needed to turn over a new leaf. I didn’t need to see anything supernatural or experience anything abnormal to know the horror I experienced wasn’t a coincidence. Between all the unseemly happenings, I experienced car problems regularly, had a hard time functioning, and couldn’t get ahead no matter how hard I tried. It always felt like something was enjoying watching me suffer. Whether it was Annabelle or not, every area of my life was invaded and my physical and mental health suffered. I trashed the outfit I wore the night I met her, threw out all souvenirs from the event, tossed the purse I carried that day, and even got a new phone. I deleted the photos from the event. Everything slowly started getting better and my life no longer felt like a twisted horror movie. I moved into a better apartment, my illness was suddenly gone, and the strange occurrences at night all stopped.  I deleted the photos off my social media pages from “An Evening with Annabelle.” As I still love horror, I’m reluctant to post anything horror related on my platforms due to a subconscious or even a conscious fear of the situation repeating itself. I had to dig through my trash and archives to find the photo of me and Annabelle. Tread lightly, if you stare at the photo, whatever you do – don’t mock her. Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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I’m Thinking of Ending Things: Horror, just not the kind you’re used to.

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Wicked Horror is the author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things: Horror, just not the kind you’re used to.. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things reminded me of something Stephen King wrote in Danse Macabre: “Is horror art? On this […] level, [it] can be nothing else; it achieves the level of art simply because it is looking for something beyond art, something that predates art: […] phobic pressure points. The good horror tale will dance its way to the centre of your life and find the secret door to the room you believed no one but you knew of.” Also see: Four Totally Surreal Scenes in Horror So… what makes I’m Thinking of Ending Things horror?  In other words, good horror can make things personal. Good horror does not have to be about gore or jumpscares or angry spirits (although it often is and that isn’t bad by any means). It can be about what makes us, the audience, feel horrified in our everyday lives; in our existences. What are you afraid of? Never finding love? The rejection of your parents? Being a mimicry, a fraud? Being mediocre, even untalented?… Dying alone? I’m Thinking of Ending Things touches all that… and more. Our worst enemy is in the mirror: The face of existential horror. Let’s just say that this is a very difficult movie to spoil, simply because if you just see it once and you don’t really think about it, there is not much you could spoil. What is certain is that from the beginning, everything feels off or abnormal. Jake, essentially the only named character (it eventually becomes clear why), is picking up his girlfriend of many or no names; she is referred to amongst others as Lucy and Louisa, but as “Young Woman” in the titles. She narrates she is “thinking of ending things”. What does that mean? Throughout the film, this phrase, the title of the film itself, is repeated many times in different circumstances – well, different but similar. Hence, it invites many interpretations. The end of the relationship? Of an era? Of one’s own life? Also see: Strange Settings: Seven Horror Films That Take Us Where We Never Expected to Go They are going to Jake’s parents’ farmhouse somewhere off the beaten track. Jake seems to feel very conflicted about his parents to the point of inconsistency. Actually, if there is something consistent here it’s inconsistency. Jake’s girlfriend changes names and professions – occasionally, clothes and accessories too. She grew up on a farm or a flat in the city. Her parents are alive or dead or who knows? What we do learn is that according to Jake, she is ideal. Like the Lucy in Wordsworth’s poems. To deem someone ideal nears pretending they aren’t real. And not being real means struggling to survive in someone else’s mind (but those are things to think about while watching the movie). “Coming Home Is Terrible…” They arrive on the farm and Jake waves at -what he claims is- his mother, who is staring down from a top floor window. We can only see an opaque silhouette, not unlike a ghost. When they enter the house, it takes a while for the parents to come downstairs, to the point that we’re wondering if they are real. But they do. And it only goes downhill from there. The dinner with Jake’s parents is unbearable. The atmosphere is rife with tension. Food is served, but when everyone is finished, it has remained untouched. And what is it with the parents? Are they middle-aged? Old? Young? Sick? Healthy? Senile? Sane? Yes. They try to compliment Jake, but the compliments are always bitter – implicative; antagonistic without realising it. And is that a photo of herself as a child that the Young Woman sees on the wall? Maybe. She just knows she needs to leave and return to her place to write a paper. Or because she has a shift the next day. The parents grow old and have dementia and then they become young and Jake is off somewhere being a child; and then the Mother is on her deathbed and the night has come; they must depart. Also see: Recent Movies That Prove Surrealist Horror is Making a Comeback Their efforts to return to the city are even more surreal, only due to the lack of the confined space of the house. Snow is slowly covering the roads, which seem identical and never-ending. The weather is bad, the night dangerous. Treacherous, as everyone keeps calling it. But who is the one who has been -or will be- left feeling betrayed? And by what? Being uncomfortable is the point. This is a film that certainly defies traditional narrative structures and a cohesive plot, so there is not much else to be said; only the encouragement to watch it. Also see: Four Totally Surreal Scenes in Horror I’m Thinking of Ending Things is uncomfortable to watch to an alarming degree, so purposefully unnerving with something lingering under the surface that by the end you have terrible feelings about things; all kinds of them. Have you ever been made uncomfortable to the point where you laugh with this awkward, nervous laughter? Well, this pushes you beyond that point; I wasn’t laughing. Not in spite, but because of that it is a worthwhile movie to watch. It may be called “elevated horror,” but I don’t subscribe to such partitions; they only exist to help some people automatically label horror films as art or escapism. It is horror; just not the kind you’re used to. Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Wicked Horror Halloween Special: Exploring the Myth Behind Poisoned Halloween Candy

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Wicked Horror is the author of Wicked Horror Halloween Special: Exploring the Myth Behind Poisoned Halloween Candy. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

It’s a warning you’ve heard at least a dozen times in your lifetime. Whether it be from parents, teachers, televised PSA’s and even the occasional horror flick; the ‘no taking candy from strangers’ rule has been etched into your brain so deep, you grow up to give the very same advice to the younger generations. There is, of course, one major acceptation to this rule: Halloween. There is still a faint tension even with the day of celebration. But with all the excitement of dressing up, spending time with friends, pulling pranks, partying and trick or treating; that gentle reminder to check your candy you only half heard your parents call after you quickly becomes background noise. Besides, the knowledge was common place at this point, wasn’t it? Every year there was the potential for someone to pass out tainted treats to the local youth in order to fulfill some twisted agenda. There is just one problem with this spooky myth though. These concerns and fears, almost as old as the act of trick-or-treating itself, are largely unfounded. Also See: Review: THE DARK AND THE WICKED is a Supernatural Pressure Cooker Ready to Scare the Hell out of You An excellent 2018 article from Vox delved into this very same subject with Joel Best, the leading (and perhaps only) researcher on Halloween candy contamination. Best commented “I’ve done research, and I can’t find any evidence that any child has been killed or seriously hurt by any candy picked up in the course of trick-or-treating. My view is this is overblown. You can’t prove a negative, but it seems unlikely.” He went on to elaborate that the poison candy myth as we know it stemmed from stories about people in the early 1950’s heating pennies on skillets and then dumping the hot pennies in the outstretched hands of trick-or-treaters. By the 60’s it had morphed into poison, needles and razor blades. And with the development of technology and the frequent coverage from major news stations, a cycle also developed purely driven by public hysteria. It would often went as follows: Someone- child or adult- would die on Halloween night after allegedly eating some candy. The news would report to rightfully warn the public. But when the events surrounding the majority of these deaths- including the consumption of candy- turned out to be purely coincidental? The media would fail to report with the same amount of urgency. The most follow up anyone would see is a small column in a local paper. And it certainly didn’t help that there were plenty of instances to report on thus fostering the modern-day candy tampering myth. Also See: Why is Fort Hood Such a Hotbed for Criminal Activity? Like the 1959 case of a California dentist who gave out candy-coated laxative pills to trick-or-treaters. He was promptly arrested and charged with outrage of public decency and unlawful dispensing of drugs. Or the 1964 case of a New York woman who gave out packages of inedible objects to children who she dubbed “too old” to be trick-or-treating. These objects included steel wool, dog biscuits, and buttons (which were clearly labeled with the word “poison”). Nobody was hurt and she was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to endangering children. In 1970, a 5-year-old boy was found dead after allegedly eating some candy laced with heroin. It was later discovered that this story was developed to hide the fact the boy actually found and ate his Uncle’s heroin stash. In 1978, a 2-year-old Michigan boy died after eating some candy. This would turn out to be a tragic coincidence as his death was determined to be due to natural causes. In 1990, a 7-year-old California girl died in the middle of trick-or-treating. Despite early reports stating it was due to candy consumption, the child’s parents had to inform the police she had previously been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, an enlarged heart, which was the actual cause of death. And in 2001 a four-year-old girl in Vancouver died after eating- you guessed it- some Halloween candy. Though there were rumors floating around there was no evidence of poisoned candy, and she actually died of an streptococcus infection; an inflammatory disease. But the most noteworthy case, the one that really gave the myth some substance is the 1974 death of eight-year-old Timothy O’Bryan. It was a cold, wet Texas night on Halloween 1974 when optician Ronald Clark O’Bryan took his two children, Timothy and Elizabeth, trick-or-treating. They were soon joined by neighbor Jim Bates and his children. One of the houses the group approached had all its lights off. But the children insisted on trying anyway. When nobody answered they simply moved on. For the majority of the night Ronald kept a slower pace slightly behind the group. So it wasn’t a surprise when Bates lost track of Ronald at one point. When he eventually caught up with them, Ronald explained he gave the door one last knock and his patience paid off in the form of five enormous Pixy Stixs (measuring at least twenty inches long). Ronald gave each of the kids one pixy stix and then gave the fifth to a boy he recognized from church. Also See: Actor Hawn Tran Talks Scare Package, Typecasting, and Lots More [Interview] When it started to rain heavily the group dispersed to their respective homes. Before bed Timothy was given permission to eat some candy before bed. Ronald was quick to suggest the giant pixy stix. Timothy immediately noted the bitter taste the candy had. So his Dad gave him kool-aid to wash it down. Minutes later Timothy began to vomit violently, convulse and eventually went limp in his father’s arms. Timothy O’Bryan was declared dead less than an hour after consuming tainted Halloween candy. Luckily the police were quick to collect the four other pixy stixs. Testing determined Timothy’s pixy stix contained enough cyanide to kill two adults. The other contaminated sticks had enough to kill three to four adults in each candy. The police were also quick to find and arrest a suspect: Ronald Clark O’Bryan. Turns out Ronald was a complete douche who displayed some very odd behavior shortly before Timothy’s death such as asking around for cyanide, pondering aloud how much of said cyanide would kill an animal (which just so happened to be the same size as a human child) and confiding in friends that he would be coming into money soon. That would be because, unbeknownst to his wife, Ronald had taken out multiple hefty life insurance policies on both of his children that would really put a dent in that mountain of debt he also didn’t tell his wife about. The evidence against Ronald was so strong it was practically bullet proof. A jury convicted him in less than 46 minutes and he was sentenced to death. Ronald Clark O’Bryan never confessed to killing his son. The death of Timothy O’Bryan is the only documented instance of someone dying as a direct result of Halloween candy consumption. So why do these fears still hold a place in the back of our minds? We once again turn to that Vox article quoting Joel Best “We live in a world of apocalyptic scenarios. Here we are; we have safer, healthier, longer lives than people in any other point in history. And we are constantly imagining that this could all fall apart in a nanosecond.” He added, “So I think that what happens is we translate a lot of our anxiety into fears about our children.” Research Sources: Medium.com’s “The Man Who Killed Halloween”  Vice’s “The True Story of the Notorious Trick-or-Treat Murderer” Episode 127 of Let’s Go to Court!: “The Candyman & Buried Alive” Episode 143 of My Favorite Murder: “DeSabotage” Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook,and Instagram.

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Haunt Special Edition [Blu-ray Review]

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Wicked Horror is the author of Haunt Special Edition [Blu-ray Review]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Haunt was a bit of a sleeper hit upon its initial release. The film quietly made its way to DVD without a lot of fanfare. That kind of distribution strategy is often indicative of a project that a distributor doesn’t have a lot of faith in. But why anyone wouldn’t have the utmost confidence in Haunt is pretty well beyond me.  Fortunately, people were able to look past the flick’s lackluster release strategy and see a truly inventive genre picture that treats viewers to scares, likable characters that make (mostly) smart choices, and a truly satisfying finale.  Co-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (writers of A Quiet Place) have really gifted fans with something special via Haunt. This tale of a group of friends that make the fateful decision to visit an extreme haunted house only to discover that its proprietors have something very sinister in store for them.  Drinks and Horror Movie Pairings: Everyone’s Entitled to One [Drunken] Scare The aforementioned group of friends are not your typical horror movie caricatures. The relationships between the cast members feel entirely authentic. Harper (Katie Stevens) and Bailey (Lauryn Alisa McClain) seem like real friends. They look out for one another and that goes quite a ways in terms of humanizing them. Harper’s backstory is horrifying and comes across as really authentic. The film is not all about gore and guts for the sake of gore and guts. Although, there is a decent amount of carnage on display.  The effects are brutal and grotesque but this is a slightly smarter horror film than the torture-fueled genre fare that had a moment in the wake of Saw. Haunt isn’t fine art. But it it’s far from a throwaway effort. The filmmakers aren’t using violence for the sake of violence. They are utilizing graphic imagery to torture the audience. These are characters we have come to care for and seeing them suffer is excruciating and nerve-shredding. And that’s precisely what Beck & Woods were going for in Haunt.   Related: Haunt (2019) Set Visit Report It’s really jarring to see characters we’ve grown to care for meet panful demises and that leaves us in a place much more susceptible to further terrorizing. Beck & Woods really understand that it’s close to impossible to make a truly effective horror film if we have no investment in the characters.  Not only do we get well-developed characters, we also get elaborate and impressive set design. The sequences that take place in the haunt (most of the film) are gorgeously rendered and always serve to heighten the intensity of already tense situations.  Moreover, the brilliant sound design evokes memories of The Strangers (for me). I was really kind of blown away by the effective use of all-encompassing audio effects. The deep, sharp nature of the sounds that accompany particularly intense sequences had me on edge in the best possible way.  Beck & Woods have a real sense for timing and subverting expectations. Their ability to measure the audience that everything is ok right before pulling the rug out from under them is remarkable. The timing is so perfect. Beck & Woods know just how to prey on our sense of self doubt. If you delay the expected outcome long enough, people will begin to wonder if said outcome is ever going to happen. And the second that sense of curiosity becomes the foremost thought in their head, that is the point when Beck & Woods drop the anvil on your head. And God, it is effective!  I could go on about the film for hours. But I will stop here. Let’s dive into the special features (which are off the hook). Ronin Flix really outdid themselves with this release and managed to collect amazing bonus content, even in the wake of Covid. They were able to get surprisingly good quality footage and audio with all of the actors featured seeming to have done interviews from home. However, it’s not grainy Skype footage with sound that cuts out and pixelated video. This is really impressive stuff, particularly when one stops to consider everything 2020 has thrown our way.  The disc boasts three featurettes; one 30-minutes in length that gives viewers a unique behind-the-scenes look at the making of Haunt and also provides interviews with the creative team and on camera talent. In addition, there are a couple of mini docs. 13 Scary Sega Genesis Games You Need To Play This Halloween One of the featurettes lets the viewer get inside the heads of Beck & Woods. And it’s pretty phenomenal. It was so intriguing to hear where they were coming from and what their vision was for the flick. It was so amazing to really get solid answers from them that go beyond the typical EPK-style questions.  A third mini doc gives viewers access to genius sound editor Mac Smith of Skywalker Sound and he answers so many of the questions I had about the film’s incredible sound design. My only complaint (if you could call it that) is that it isn’t longer.  Moreover, you get a series of deleted scenes, the Q&A from the premiere at The Egyptian, and a ten minute video diary from Beck & Woods recording during preproduction and beyond.  This is the home video release Haunt deserved the first time around. That’s to say nothing of the fact that it was robbed of a theatrical exhibition. If you haven’t picked up your copy of Haunt on limits edition Blu-ray yet, what are you waiting for? Wicked Rating: Film 9/10 Blu-ray: 10/10    

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New on Netflix October 30th, 2020

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Wicked Horror is the author of New on Netflix October 30th, 2020. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

Welcome back to New on Netflix! The streaming giant’s horror department has always been a mixed bag. However, I’d say they’ve really stepped up their game in the last couple of years with the release of amazing, essential watches. We’ve been treated to must see original programming like The Haunting of Hill House, Velvet Buzzsaw, Hush, and some of the classics we all know and love. As we enter a new month this week we have a lengthy list for you to comb over. Enjoy! And Happy Halloween from everyone here at Wicked Horror! Also See: Drinks and Horror Movie Pairings: Everyone’s Entitled to One [Drunken] Scare A Clockwork Orange Stanley Kubrick’s cult classic A Clockwork Orange arrives on Netflix on November 1st. In a dystopian future, Alex and his “Droogs” spend their nights getting high at the Korova Milkbar, assaulting people in the streets and belting musical melodies at ungodly hours of the night. But when a murder causes Alex to submit to behavior modification techniques to earn his freedom; the techniques work better than he realizes and results in him becoming the victim of his prior victims. Casper Also arriving on November 1st is everyone’s favorite friendly ghost, Casper. Casper is a polite, young ghost haunting an elegant Maine mansion with his three not-so-friendly uncles. Their peaceful afterlife is turned upside down when a scientist and his daughter move into the mansion with the hopes of communicating with the ghosts. Knock Knock Against his better judgment a successful, married architect opens his home to two stranded young women during a dark and stormy night. As the night carries on these nubile girls reveal a sinister agenda for their visit. Knock Knock will be streaming on November 1st! Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (Seasons 1-3) Also arriving on November 1st is all three seasons of A&E’s look into the Church of Scientology, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. The series features stories from former members of the Church of Scientology whose lives have been affected by the Church’s harmful practices. Little Monsters When Brian meets the monster living under his bed, Maurice, the two become fast friends.  During the night Maurice takes the boy to the netherworld of monsters, where they have a great time making mischief in the lives of sleeping children. Everything is great until Brian discovers that he himself is turning into a monster. Little Monsters will be available for streaming November 1st! Piercing After leaving for a seemingly normal business trip  Reed checks himself into a hotel room to accomplish something he’s always dreamed of pulling off: the perfect murder. As his sinister plans unfold, he soon realizes he might be in over his head with a mysteriously unhinged call girl named Jackie. Piercing will arrive on Netflix on November 1st! Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? (Season 1) Arriving on November 5th is Spanish true crime series Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? When a woman is found dead in her bathtub, with a puddle of blood nearby, her husband theorizes she had an accident. But an autopsy tells a very different story. Follow us on social media! Twitter, Facebook,and Instagram.

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Dressed to Kill Delivers Stylish Suspense [The Rabid Dog’s House]

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Wicked Horror is the author of Dressed to Kill Delivers Stylish Suspense [The Rabid Dog’s House]. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

The Rabid Dog’s House is a recurring feature at Wicked Horror where contributor Justin Steele uncovers hidden gems, lost classics, and overlooked indie offerings. Flying solo or with his co-host Zena Dixon, he will discuss an array of topics covering film, literature, and television. Check out the latest installment below. In this episode we’re looking back at 1980’s Dressed to Kill! Related: Freeway is a Fearless Modern Fairy Tale [The Rabid Dog’s House] Dressed to Kill is a 1980 giallo-inspired thriller directed by Brian De Palma and starring Angie Dickinson as Kate, a lonely housewife who seeks validation from her therapist (Michael Caine). After a therapy session, Kate heads to the museum for a leisurely afternoon where she unexpectedly meets a mysterious man. Then, meets an even more mysterious woman. Dressed to Kill also follows a call girl (Nancy Allen) with a knack for the stock market and Kate’s precocious son (Keith Gordon) as they try to solve a dangerous mystery.  Dressed to Kill delivers Brian De Palma’s regularly appreciated style with homages to Hitchcock in combination with the director’s take on the contemporary slashers of the time. Join Justin and Zena, along with special guest star Tyler Doupe‘, as they discuss Dressed to Kill below!

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Review: THE DARK AND THE WICKED is a Supernatural Pressure Cooker Ready to Scare the Hell out of You

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Wicked Horror is the author of Review: THE DARK AND THE WICKED is a Supernatural Pressure Cooker Ready to Scare the Hell out of You. Wicked Horror is the internet's only horror fan site for free original horror movies, news, review & more.

When Bryan Bertino hit audience with one of the most impressive debuts in 2008’s The Strangers, the director was immediately met with labels of being the next big name in the genre and rightfully so, that film is still one that terrifies so many horror fans year after year. Following The Strangers,, Bertino eventually helmed 2014’s Mockingbird and the expectations that came with coming right out of the gate with a masterpiece did nothing to help the found footage-esque follow up that Mockingbird was. After dusting the experience of a sophomore slump off and directing the exceptional 2016 creature film The Monster, Bertino looked to be on a trajectory of being one to look out for again, and Wicked Horror readers, I am pleased as hell to say, that with his fourth film, The Dark and the Wicked, Bertino and back and better than ever, giving genre fans one of the most unsettling films of the year, while also scaring the living hell out of us.  When siblings Louise and Michael (Marin Ireland and Michael Abbot, Jr. ) return to their farm, secluded from people and others, the duo are tasked with caring for not only their dying father, but the mentally unstable mother (an excellent Julie Oliver-Touchstone)who is taking the declining health of her husband very rough. Initially the siblings assume that it’s just the pain of their father slowly dying that is affecting their mother, but following a tragedy early in the film, what’s we’re given is a darkness, an evil that seems to take ownership of the farm and the family inhabiting it. More than any monster or person, the darkness and evil found in The Dark and the Wicked is one that any individual who has struggled with grief, loss and depression can recognize. It’s a darkness that takes control of you, causes you to harm yourself and causes you to be eclipsed and overwhelmed by the pain found within in.  That’s what makes The Dark and the Wicked so enthrallingly scary, we’re never quite given an antagonist that we see per se (a sinister role by Xander Berkeley makes us assume we do, but alas, no spoilers here), but one we can all FEEL. It’s impossible not to be emotionally affected by the darkness found in Bertino’s film, it’s almost as you’re watching depression overtake characters in front of you, in ways that seems very metaphorical but tangible at the same exact time.  There’s precision in the way Bertino executes the scares in the film, quiet tension building, akin to what made The Strangers so terrifying, it got under your skin before a single thing went down and that’s on full display with THE DARK AND WICKED, it’s a masterclass in suspense, something that Bertino still can execute better than most. As we see the pain and grief and darkness overtake various characters and they’re met with violence by their own hands, it feels so close to home for anyone who has ever dealt with looking in the mirror and not recognizing yourself. It feels personal, this film and one that could easily be a look at what it is like to be in the head of a mentally ill individual.  Five Vampire Movies That Changed The Genre Betino’s knack for creating tension and terrifying ambience is enough to blow the viewer away, but the performances by Ireland and Abbot, Jr. really add so much to the film, there is such nuance in the way they play the pain and hopelessness at times and it’s incredibly easy to latch onto the duo, you hurt FOR them and WITH them, as you watch the darkness slowly take each one over.  While it is not the masked home invasion classic that The Strangers, was, Bertino has created what is, in this writer’s opinion, a true classic in the making with THE DARK AND THE WICKED. A dark as the abyss look at pain, suffering and how losing someone you truly love can sometimes be a darkness you learn to deal with. Excellent stuff.  Wicked Rating: 10/10

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