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5 Horror Films to Make You Feel Isolated from Chevelle

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There are some horror movies that make us feel like we’re part of a team, where, no matter what, there is someone by our side. Then there are the films where loneliness and desperation are integral in how we view and experience the story. Films like The Shining and Alien are built upon this concept, where isolation only fuels the terror we are witness to.

Just recently, Chicago hard rockers Chevelle released a new album by the name of The North Corridor, which they say was inspired by, “…the cold, dark winter months it was recorded during.” To really explain this sensation, frontman Pete Loeffler put together five films that he feels really capture the essence of their new release, specifically that frigid, both physical and emotional, isolation. Head on down to check them out!

You can order your copy of The North Corridor via Amazon.


Sunshine

A science fiction, end-of-the-world type movie that pulled me in really quickly. Not fully a horror flick, but with touches of horror toward the end. With the sun slowly burning out, they send a team of astronauts to reignite the sun using hugely powerful nuclear bombs, and of course being a long ass trip there’s plenty of time for a few entertaining inter-crew squabbles, fights, and one big freaky mystery along the way. Reminds me a little of being on a tour bus at times…but I loved all the close-up beautiful shots of the sun and the way I’m left wondering, will they succeed or go absolutely batshit crazy in the end?


The Fourth Kind

This movie is set partly in the faraway town of Nome, Alaska; it’s also supposed to be based on actual events and captured videos of alien contact, but either way—if you believe these things happened or not—this movie can scare the shit out of you. Dean (our bass player) and I have had more than a few late nights up talking about the creepy things that happen in this one. It kinda feels like you’re seeing inside someone’s nightmare. At one point after being abducted by aliens, the memory is replaced by a white owl. I liked this idea quite a bit, and strangely enough I have an owl that has woken me from atop my chimney sporadically over the last few years.

So, I splurged and had an owl carved into the door on the front of my house. It just seemed fitting. I’m also a huge fan of Milla Jovovich. who plays Abby Tyler in the film. She’s incredibly talented and being easy on the eyes never hurts—after first seeing her in the movie “The Fifth Element” I was smitten.


The Vanishing

In terms of isolation flicks, it’s hard to think of a more terrifying idea than being buried alive. If you have any claustrophobia this movie could bring it out.

A simple concept: a couple goes on a trip and the girlfriend goes mysteriously missing. The guy is obsessed with finding out what happened and devotes his life to finding out. Jeff Bridges plays the most psychotic evil type of person we all dread meeting while keeping a seemingly normal lifestyle on the outside. Almost a “Jekyll and Hyde” kind of character. You can’t help but be pulled in and root for Kiefer Sutherland’s character to finally come into contact with the killer and have some kind of closure, albeit with an absolutely gruesome and well-deserved ending I still to this day have to look away from.


Event Horizon

Few movies have left me visibly shaken and constantly glancing behind myself as I shuffle off to bed in a hurry—this movie does that. So twisted does this movie get that when I watched it recently again I said that’s probably the last time. The crew of the doomed spaceship “Event Horizon” is on their way to check out a distress call from a lost ship. Cue strange unexplainable demonic happenings, and couple that with time travel, and now anything is possible. So chaotic does it get that all you want is to whip your remote at your TV to end the suffering you’re feeling. But as far as horror flicks go it’s a must see.


Right At Your Door

A truly terrifying—yet believable—situation is what you’re hit with in “Right At Your Door”. Chemical bombs have gone off in Los Angeles and a husband and wife are separated, not knowing if the other is okay or not. Left at home while his wife heads off to work, the husband is told by the media to seal up all the windows and doors and stay away from anyone who’s been infected on the outside. I feel that if most of a movie is going to be shot inside of a small house, you’re going to need great actors to carry it through, and without a doubt this movie has them. Things are going haywire and there’s tons of pretty damn realistic emotions coupled with awkward conversations. You can’t help but try to imagine what would you do in this situation. There’s also a nice little twist at the end that sort of sums up an altogether shitty situation. Worth checking out if you feel you’ve got a thirst for this type of terrifying drama or if you’ve just been taking seemingly simple luxuries like clean air and breath for granted.


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Tour dates:
07/26 – Indianapolis, Ind. – The Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn
07/27 – Columbus, Ohio – Express Live!
07/29 – Pittsburgh, Pa. – Stage AE
07/30 – Cleveland, Ohio – Roverfest (no Bush)
07/31 – Richmond, Va. – The National (no Bush)
08/02 – Huntington, N.Y. – The Paramount (no Bush)
08/03 – Boston, Mass. – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
08/05 – Asbury Park, N.J. – Stone Pony Summer Stage
08/07 – Niagara Falls, N.Y. – Rapids Theatre (no Bush)
08/09 – Charlotte, N.C. – Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
08/10 – Greensboro, N.C. – Cone Denim Entertainment Center (no Bush)
08/11 – Bethlehem, Pa. – Musikfest (no Bush)
08/13 – Portland, Maine – Maine State Pier
08/14 – Baltimore, Md. – Pier Six Pavilion

09/10 – Englewood, Colo. – High Elevation Rock Fest
09/11 – Wichita, Kan. – The Cotillion
09/13 – Louisville, Ky. – Mercury Ballroom
09/14 – Asheville, N.C. – The Orange Peel
09/16 – Norfolk, Va. – The NorVa
09/17 – Chester, Pa. – Monster Energy Rock Allegiance
09/21 – Birmingham, Ala. – Iron City
09/22 – Nashville, Tenn. – War Memorial
09/24 – Fort Worth, Texas – Texas Mutiny
09/25 – Houston, Texas – Houston Open Air
10/02 – Fort Wayne, Ind. – Piere’s

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Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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