Movies
Tom Savini Ends FX Retirement for Aussie Horror
After almost a decade, horror legend Tom Savini – who was responsible for creating special effects and makeup for such classics as Friday the 13th and George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead – has come out of retirement on makeup and effects to get his hands dirty on two new Australian horror films, reports if.
The man who was responsible for creating special effects and makeup for such classics as George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, oversaw and assisted in creating the effects for the Daniel Krige-directed Redd Inc and upcoming zombie flick Mary Doe.
“ ‘Redd Inc‘ is a horror revenge story that follows Annabelle – a burlesque webcam stripper – who gets abducted and ends up chained to a desk with five others in a macabre, horrific make-shift office. Their self-appointed “boss” is escaped, wrongly-convicted serial killer Thomas Reddmann, aka Redd, demented from experimental, behaviour modification treatment. He requires Annabelle and his other “workers”, who were all participants in his trial, to find the true serial killer… or die horribly.” Savini cameos with the lead villain being played by Nicholas Hope. Kelly Paterniti also stars in the indie that’s now in post.
The zombie flick Mary Doe, created by Nick Nicolaou, is currently in development.
Hollywood is serious about landing the next Backrooms. Hot on the heels of a Siren Head feature announcement, Deadline reports that a new movie based on viral YouTube series The Mandela Catalogue is in development.
It also has some Hollywood heavy hitters behind it.
Amblin Entertainment’s Steven Spielberg, United Artists’ Scott Stuber (Frankenstein), and Amazon MGM Studios are set to produce, emerging victorious after a highly competitive 11-studio bidding war.
Launched in 2021, the YouTube series is set in the fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin which is “invaded by shape-shifting, nearly immortal creatures called Alternates. The Alternates are led by a false depiction of the Archangel Gabriel and their aim is to wipe out the human race by psychologically torturing them to the point of suicide. The Alternates are known for manipulating AV media, TVs, computers and GPS systems.”
The movie will be directed by the series’ creator, Alex Kister, based on a screenplay he adapted with Tyler Clifton.
The Mandela Catalogue has racked up an impressive 100 million views across its official episodes alone, solidifying it as one of the largest original analog horror franchises on YouTube.
Spielberg and Holly Bario are producing for Amblin Entertainment alongside Aaron B. Koontz for Paper Street Pictures and Stuber and Nick Nesbitt for United Artists. Kister and Clifton are also producing. Annie McCreery will oversee the project for United Artists. Maria Fortese will oversee for Amblin.
Get acquainted with The Mangela Catalogue below while we wait to learn more.