The Weekly Scream
New: Primate (VOD)
When your sister comes home from college, things can feel a little tense and strained. Add rabies to the mix, and even the most jovial of get-togethers can result in head bashing, face-ripping, and jaw removals. This fun animal-attack frolic didn’t get the love it deserved when it premiered in theaters last month, but it’s worth your time because the practical gore effects really hit, the character dynamics offer quality surprises, and PRIMATE moves at an exhilarating pace - pure popcorn horror. Rent it on VOD now.
Classic: Phantasm (Peacock)
Horror films are often compared to nightmares, but few actually operate with genuine nightmare logic. PHANTASM is an exception. An incredible statement film from writer/director Don Coscarelli, who was only 25 when he lensed this supernatural coming-of-age and death classic. PHANTASM was born of his own bad dreams, tapping into fears such as premature burial, abandonment, and the rise of the funeral-home-to-interdimensional-portal industrial complex. You know, that old chestnut. It seems like more people have heard of PHANTASM than have actually sat down and watched it. JJ Abrams loved it enough to fund a comprehensive remaster, making it look so much better than when it premiered in 1979. Highly recommended and now on Peacock.
“How Is This Free?” Tenebrae (Tubi)
I hate to admit it, but even I have blind spots. For far too long, my blindest spot was Italian Giallo pictures. Named after pulpy paperback thrillers with yellow spines, Dario Argento’s TENEBRAE may be one of the premier examples of Giallo, focusing on Anthony Franciosa as an author who discovers that his books may be the inspiration for a series of grisly murders. I like to think of this as Argento’s version of WES CRAVEN’S NEW NIGHTMARE, as he examines his own history with horror and waffles on whether depicting violence generates violence. Watch it now on Tubi!
SCREAM ALONG WITH US!
Save The Date: Join us for our first virtual watch party!
When: March, Friday the 13th 3/13 at 6PT/7C/9ET
What: Friday the 13th Part 5: A New Beginning
How: Click the button below to add to your calendar.
We will update the link 15 minutes before the screening so you can join us on Teleparty. (Note: You must install the free Teleparty extension on Chrome & have a Prime Video account to participate!)
FRESH BLOOD
Going Camp At Camp Blood
This news cut me to the quick: The AV Club reported that Jane Schoenbrun is returning to screens this August with a meta-slasher entitled TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA. The director of I SAW THE TV GLOW is calling this new movie her stab at a “sleepover classic.” That’s music to my ears!
Piercing new image from Teen Sex And Death At Camp Miasma
Talk About AfterBURN
EVIL DEAD BURN hasn’t even landed in your local multiplex yet - that blazes onto screens July 24th - but Warner Bros is already fast-tracking an additional movie in the franchise. That’s right, according to Deadline, Francis Galluppi (Last Stop in Yuma County) is in active development on EVIL DEAD WRATH, eying a 2027 or ‘28 premiere. Not much is known about BURN or WRATH, but when that Necronomicon gets cracked, we’ll let you know immediately.
It Might Be Hell… But That Storage Space Tho
Liminal space is about to take off! In a new teaser trailer released via FANGORIA, Kane Parson’s THE BACKROOMS is emerging from YouTube and landing in movie theaters this May! Parson’s is only 24 years old, but he’s already made his mark in the streaming horror space with Backrooms, and this cinematic upgrade appears like it’s keeping the lo-fi aesthetic from this first look. What will we find down there? Probably nightmare fuel - and we’re looking forward to it.
Its… one of those from THE BACKROOMS (A24)
The Autopsy
Over on the Kill By Kill podcast, we’re covering the 1990 supernatural procedural THE FIRST POWER. Lou Diamond Phillips stars as a homicide detective who captures LA’s elusive “Pentagram Killer” to discover that his death in the gas chamber has unleashed a vengeful spirit who can possess people, teleport, and fly through the air with the greatest of ease. Sure, the movie makes almost no sense, but it’s a little cheesy, slightly sleazy, and a lot of fun.
Falling into the glut of post-slasher 80s flicks, THE FIRST POWER cannot decide on a singular tone, often vacillating between serious action-horror stunt sequences, ludicrous kills (the “drive-by hoofing” being our favorite), and incomplete lore dumps from less-than-helpful nuns. That said, everyone looks hot, but they’re also dressed far too warmly for Los Angeles.
Mykelti Williamson’s stunt double meets a runaway horse and buggy.
In the podcast's 10-year history, this is the first time we’ve covered a movie in which a killer vanquishes a victim while donning a sombrero. Was I surprised by this? Frankly, yes. I was surprised that ANY movie features an undead, body-swapping villain who manages to knock someone off while rocking the wide-brimmed hat born of Spanish and indigenous Mexican culture. The sombrero has never screamed “that’s a scary hat” to me before. And it still doesn’t. You can watch THE FIRST POWER on PlutoTV right now.
Die Laughing
Just one meme that made us laugh this week…
Killer Conversation
Let’s all get to know each other a little better…
Undead And Killing It Poll
Make sure to check back in next week to see if your pick took top honors and why I think they slayed the competition!!
Make sure to check out my Kill By Kill co-host’s newsletter Gena Watches Things!
