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Willem Dafoe Plays a Police Chief (Again) in ‘Odd Thomas’

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I fell in love with horror author Dean Kootz back in ’93 when my school principal called me to the office and told me the “subject matter was too adult for me.” Everyone was big on Stephen King, I was all Kootnz.

I was such a huge fan that one of the biggest disappointments in my life was the 1998 feature film Phantoms, which castrated one of the most chilling stories I read in my young life. After numerous Hollywood dumpers, Kootnz swore off feature film adaptations, at least until the past few years.

Gearing up for production in New Mexico later this spring and summer is Odd Thomas, a new Kootnz adaptation this time by Stephen Sommers. The only thing “Odd” is the directing choice, considering Sommers is responsible for debacles such as Van Helsing and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Sure, I loved Deep Rising, but 12 years hasn’t given me much to look forward to…

Ranting aside, THR has some good news as they’re reporting Willem Dafoe (Antichrist) is in talks to join the cast of the supernatural thriller that centers on a short-order cook named Odd Thomas who can commune with the dead, a secret only his girlfriend (Addison Timlin) and the local police (Dafoe) chief know.

The young man can also spot malevolent forces called bodachs, who feed on pain and portent imminent death. When Odd sees them in spades surrounding a stranger, he finds himself in a race against time to avert a catastrophe.

The movie, with a budget in the $20 to $30 million range.
Willem Dafoe in an awesome scene from ‘Boondock Saints’

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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Melissa Barrera and Bailee Madison Want Roles in the ‘Scary Movie’ Reboot

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Abigail Overlook Film Festival 2024 - gory horror Abigail set visit
Pictured: Melissa Barrera in 'Abigail'

It was announced two weeks ago that Paramount is resurrecting the Scary Movie spoof franchise with a brand new reboot movie, which will likely arrive in theaters next year.

The new movie, a joint venture between Paramount and Miramax that will technically be the sixth installment in the franchise, is expected to go into production this coming Fall.

We don’t yet know who will be writing, directing or starring in the Scary Movie reboot, but two actors in particular have already expressed an interest in joining the franchise.

The first is Melissa Barrera, who can currently be seen in theaters in Radio Silence’s bloody horror movie Abigail. Barrera is of course also the star of Scream and Scream VI, which kind of makes her a perfect candidate to lampoon herself in a Scary Movie reboot.

“I always loved those movies,” Melissa Barrera tells the website Inverse. “When I saw it announced, I was like, ‘Oh, that would be fun.’ That would be so fun to do.”

The actress adds, “They have the iconic cast that did it, so we’ll see what goes on with that. I’m just excited to see a new one.”

In a tweet posted last night, Bailee Madison (The Strangers: Prey at Night, the upcoming “Pretty Little Liars: Summer School”) also threw her hat in the running.

Madison tweets, “Random but scary movie 6 hit me up cause I just feel like we’d have fun okay bye.” Your move, Paramount. And make sure you call Anna Faris and Regina Hall too.

Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, the first Scary Movie was released in 2000, just four years after Wes Craven reinvigorated the horror genre with his meta slasher masterpiece, Scream.

The film parodied horror movies of the time including Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and The Blair Witch Project, and the horror-comedy spoof scared up $278 million at the worldwide box office. The success of that first Scary Movie paved the way for an entire franchise of horror spoofs, five of them in total released between 2000 and 2013.

Bailee Madison in “The Strangers: Prey at Night’

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