Movies
WB Drops a Huge Schedule for SDCC14!
WBTV is throwing down the gauntlet for SDCC events for 2014. They’ve released their full schedule, which boasts some new horror shows and old favorites:
It wouldn’t be summer without a sizzling, action-packed lineup from Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTV) at Comic-Con International: San Diego. The Studio returns to the world’s leading pop-culture convention in 2014 with 15 series, including 10 returning fan-favorite shows and five programs making their much-anticipated Comic-Con debut. Plus, for the first-time ever, Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment are joining forces for an epic special Saturday night event on July 26, as previously announced, featuring superheroes, super-villains, screenings and special appearances, including the world premiere of “Gotham.”
Participating in all the action are Comic-Con favorites and new additions including “The Following’s” Kevin Bacon; “The Vampire Diaries’” Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder; “Supernatural’s” Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins; “The Flash’s” Grant Gustin; “Constantine’s” Matt Ryan and Harold Perrineau; “The Originals’” Joseph Morgan; “Children’s Hospital’s” Rob Corddry; “Mike Tyson Mysteries’” Mike Tyson; and cast members from “Gotham” — to name just a few — who will join producers Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “The Flash”), Greg Plageman (“Person of Interest”), Julie Plec (“The Vampire Diaries,” “The Originals”), Jason Rothenberg (“The 100:), Rob Thomas & Diane Ruggiero-Wright (“iZombie,” “Veronica Mars”), Kevin Williamson (“The Following,” “The Vampire Diaries”) and many more to deliver the ultimate experience for fans, with screenings, panel sessions, autograph signings and media appearances.
Comic-Con essentials “Arrow,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Children’s Hospital,” “The Following,” “The 100,” “The Originals,” “Person of Interest,” “Supernatural,” “Teen Titans Go!” and “The Vampire Diaries” are all back in San Diego along with world-premiere screenings of complete pilot episodes of highly anticipated new WBTV series “The Flash,” “Constantine” and “iZombie” on Preview Night, plus an advance look at a new episode of “Teen Titans Go!” The Studio’s 2,400-square-foot booth will once again be a must-visit destination on the convention floor
For more information about WBTV activities at San Diego Comic-Con, follow @warnerbrostv on Twitter and join in the conversation by using hashtag #WBSDCC, or visit TheWB.com.
SPECIAL SNEAK PEEK PILOT SCREENINGS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23
6:00 p.m. — It’s OK, you can peek — WBTV gets Comic-Con off to a dramatic start for the seventh year in a row by hosting a special sneak peek, world-premiere screening event on Preview Night, debuting some of the most hotly anticipated new series of the year. For 2014, WBTV will screen the complete pilot episodes of The Flash, Constantine and iZombie. Additionally, Warner Bros. Animation will unveil a brand-new episode of Teen Titans Go! Ballroom 20
The Flash: From the Arrow creative team of executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg and director David Nutter, The Flash is a fast-paced super hero drama based upon the characters from DC Comics that follows the high-speed adventures of the Fastest Man Alive. With a pilot written by Berlanti, Kreisberg and DC Entertainment’s Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, the action drama follows police scientist and everyday guy Barry Allen (Grant Gustin), who, after an unexpected Particle Accelerator accident, is suddenly charged with the ability to move at incredible speeds, which he uses to help the people of Central City.
Constantine: Based upon the characters from DC Comics and executive produced by Daniel Cerone (Dexter) and David S. Goyer (Man of Steel, The Dark Knight films), Constantine reflects the lore of the fan-favorite comic, combining noirish storytelling with the evolving mythology of John Constantine (Matt Ryan), a morally challenged character who doesn’t come down on the side of either good or evil … but ultimately might be the only thing defending us against the dark forces from beyond.
iZombie: Co-created and executive produced by Rob Thomas & Diane Ruggiero-Wright (Veronica Mars), along with executive producers Danielle Stokdyk and Dan Etheridge (also of Veronica Mars), Rose McIver (Masters of Sex, Once Upon a Time) stars as Olivia “Liv” Moore, a 25-year-old medical resident on the fast track to a perfect life … until she’s turned into a zombie. Liv transfers her residency to the coroner’s office for access to the brains she must reluctantly eat, but with each brain she consumes, she inherits the corpse’s memories. With her medical examiner boss and a police detective, she now solves homicides to quiet the voices in her head. iZombie is based upon characters created by Chris Roberson and Michael Allred for Vertigo.
Teen Titans Go!: Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven continue the fun in Teen Titans Go! with all-new comedic adventures, giving viewers a look at what life is really like as a teen super hero … once the cape comes off.
WBTV/WBA SERIES SCHEDULE
PLEASE NOTE: Series stars and creative teams scheduled to attend are subject to change. Additional information on panel sessions, signings and other events will be provided as news breaks.
THURSDAY, JULY 24
6:00–7:00 p.m. — Children’s Hospital (New episodes in 2015, Adult Swim): Creator and star Rob Corddry will share an exclusive video sneak peek at season six and will be joined onstage by select members of the show’s cast for a lively — and medically accurate — Q&A. Room 25ABC
FRIDAY, JULY 25
10:00–11:00 a.m. — The Big Bang Theory (Mondays 8/7c CBS, season premiere September 22; Thursdays 8/7c CBS beginning October 30): Back by popular demand! The Big Bang Theory writers are back in San Diego and ready to share secrets behind TV’s #1 comedy. Ballroom 20
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. — iZOMBIE (Midseason on The CW): iZOMBIE makes its Comic-Con debut with a screening of the complete pilot episode, followed by a Q&A with series stars Rose McIver (Once Upon a Time), Malcolm Goodwin (Breakout Kings), newcomer Rahul Kohli and Robert Buckley (One Tree Hill), as well as executive producers Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) and Diane Ruggiero-Wright (Veronica Mars). Room 6BCF
2:30–3:15 p.m. — Mike Tyson Mysteries (Premiering this fall, Adult Swim): In this new animated comedy series, Mike Tyson is taking the fight from the boxing ring to the streets … by solving mysteries! Join us for a first look at this new adult animated series and a can’t-miss panel featuring Mike Tyson, Rachel Ramras (MAD), Jim Rash (Community) and producer Hugh Davidson (The Looney Tunes Show). Indigo Ballroom
3:15–4:15 p.m. — The 100 (Wednesdays 9/8c The CW, season premiere October 22): After the stunning events in the season finale, join us for a special video presentation followed by a Q&A with series stars as well as executive producer Jason Rothenberg. Room 6BCF
4:15–5:15 p.m. — The Originals (Mondays 8/7c The CW, season premiere October 6): Last season’s top new series on The CW returns to Comic-Con! Join executive producer Julie Plec, co-executive producer Michael Narducci and series stars Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies, Phoebe Tonkin, Charles Michael Davis, Leah Pipes and Danielle Campbell for a special video presentation followed by a Q&A. Ballroom 20
5:30–6:30 p.m. — Arrow (Wednesdays 8/7c The CW, season premiere October 8): Arrow series stars Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Colton Haynes, Willa Holland, Paul Blackthorne and John Barrowman — with executive producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg — will take aim at San Diego with a special video presentation and panel discussion previewing the show’s upcoming and highly-anticipated third season. Ballroom 20
SATURDAY, JULY 26
4:00–4:45 p.m. — The Vampire Diaries (Thursdays 8/7c The CW, season premiere October 2): The cast and creative team behind The Vampire Diaries return to San Diego for a sizzling sixth appearance at Comic-Con! Series stars Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder and Kat Graham join executive producer/writer Julie Plec on stage for a video screening and Q&A session. Ballroom 20
5:15–6:15 p.m. — Constantine (Fridays 10/9c NBC, series premiere October 24): Based upon the characters from DC Comics, Constantine reflects the lore of the fan-favorite comic, combining noirish storytelling with the evolving mythology of John Constantine, a morally challenged character who doesn’t come down on the side of either good or evil … but ultimately might be the only thing defending us against the dark forces from beyond. Attendees will see a screening of the complete pilot, followed by a Q&A with series stars Matt Ryan (Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior), Harold Perrineau (Lost) and Charles Halford (True Detective), along with executive producers Daniel Cerone (Dexter) and David S. Goyer (Man of Steel, The Dark Knight films). Room 6BCF
6:15–7:00 p.m. — Person of Interest (Tuesdays 10/9c CBS, season premiere September 23): The smash hit Person of Interest returns to San Diego for the fourth year! Join executive producer Greg Plageman along with series stars for a special video presentation and Q&A. Room 6BCF
8:00–11:00 p.m. — Warner Bros. Television & DC Entertainment Present: The Flash, Constantine, Arrow and the World Premiere of Gotham with Special Appearances by Casts and Producers: For the first time ever at Comic-Con, Warner Bros. Television presents an entire evening filled with some of DC Entertainment’s greatest characters, featuring the world premiere pilot screening — and only Comic-Con screening — of the highly anticipated new series Gotham (Mondays this fall, 8/7c on FOX). The much-buzzed about pilot of The Flash will also be screened — if you can catch it — along with exclusive video presentations of returning hit Arrow and new thriller Constantine. Cast members and producers from all four shows will make special appearances on stage throughout the night. Hall H
SUNDAY, JULY 27
10:00–11:00 a.m. — Supernatural (Tuesdays 9/8c The CW, Season Premiere October 7): Join series stars Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins and Mark A. Sheppard, along with executive producer Jeremy Carver, as they answer questions from the audience about what’s in store for the tenth season of this exciting series, including its upcoming 200th episode! Fans will also be treated to an exclusive video presentation featuring series highlights and special features from the upcoming Supernatural: The Complete Ninth Season DVD and Blu-ray™ release. Hall H
11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. — The Following (Midseason on FOX): Hit thriller The Following returns to Comic-Con for a third year! Series stars Kevin Bacon, Shawn Ashmore, Sam Underwood and Jessica Stroup will join creator/executive producer Kevin Williamson and executive producers Marcos Siega and Jennifer Johnson for an on-stage Q&A and special video presentation. Hall H
11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m. — Teen Titans Go! (Thursdays 6/5c Cartoon Network): Find out what’s in store for Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven — or just throw a meatball party with your friends! The Teen Titans are back at it again with all-new comedic adventures and, after screening a brand-new episode, there will be a Q&A with producers Michael Jelenic (Batman: The Brave and the Bold) and Aaron Horvath (MAD) and members of the voice cast. Plus, making a special appearance at the panel will be Puffy AmiYumi, the Japanese pop duo responsible for the iconic theme song from the original Teen Titans series. Room 6BCF
Here’s what we know about Longlegs so far. It’s coming in July of 2024, it’s directed by Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter), and it features Maika Monroe (It Follows) as an FBI agent who discovers a personal connection between her and a serial killer who has ties to the occult. We know that the serial killer is going to be played by none other than Nicolas Cage and that the marketing has been nothing short of cryptic excellence up to this point.
At the very least, we can assume NEON’s upcoming film is going to be a dark, horror-fueled hunt for a serial killer. With that in mind, let’s take a look at five disturbing serial killers-versus-law-enforcement stories to get us even more jacked up for Longlegs.
MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003)
This South Korean film directed by Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) is a wild ride. The film features a handful of cops who seem like total goofs investigating a serial killer who brutally murders women who are out and wearing red on rainy evenings. The cops are tired, unorganized, and border on stoner comedy levels of idiocy. The movie at first seems to have a strange level of forgiveness for these characters as they try to pin the murders on a mentally handicapped person at one point, beating him and trying to coerce him into a confession for crimes he didn’t commit. A serious cop from the big city comes down to help with the case and is able to instill order.
But still, the killer evades and provokes not only the police but an entire country as everyone becomes more unstable and paranoid with each grizzly murder and sex crime.
I’ve never seen a film with a stranger tone than Memories of Murder. A movie that deals with such serious issues but has such fallible, seemingly nonserious people at its core. As the film rolls on and more women are murdered, you realize that a lot of these faults come from men who are hopeless and desperate to catch a killer in a country that – much like in another great serial killer story, Citizen X – is doing more harm to their plight than good.
Major spoiler warning: What makes Memories of Murder somehow more haunting is that it’s loosely based on a true story. It is a story where the real-life killer hadn’t been caught at the time of the film’s release. It ends with our main character Detective Park (Song Kang-ho), now a salesman, looking hopelessly at the audience (or judgingly) as the credits roll. Over sixteen years later the killer, Lee Choon Jae, was found using DNA evidence. He was already serving a life sentence for another murder. Choon Jae even admitted to watching the film during his court case saying, “I just watched it as a movie, I had no feeling or emotion towards the movie.”
In the end, Memories of Murder is a must-see for fans of the subgenre. The film juggles an almost slapstick tone with that of a dark murder mystery and yet, in the end, works like a charm.
CURE (1997)
If you watched 2023’s Hypnotic and thought to yourself, “A killer who hypnotizes his victims to get them to do his bidding is a pretty cool idea. I only wish it were a better movie!” Boy, do I have great news for you.
In Cure (spoilers ahead), a detective (Koji Yakusho) and forensic psychologist (Tsuyoshi Ujiki) team up to find a serial killer who’s brutally marking their victims by cutting a large “X” into their throats and chests. Not just a little “X” mind you but a big, gross, flappy one.
At each crime scene, the murderer is there and is coherent and willing to cooperate. They can remember committing the crimes but can’t remember why. Each of these murders is creepy on a cellular level because we watch the killers act out these crimes with zero emotion. They feel different than your average movie murder. Colder….meaner.
What’s going on here is that a man named Mamiya (Masato Hagiwara) is walking around and somehow manipulating people’s minds using the flame of a lighter and a strange conversational cadence to hypnotize them and convince them to murder. The detectives eventually catch him but are unable to understand the scope of what’s happening before it’s too late.
If you thought dealing with a psychopathic murderer was hard, imagine dealing with one who could convince you to go home and murder your wife. Not only is Cure amazingly filmed and edited but it has more horror elements than your average serial killer film.
MANHUNTER (1986)
In the first-ever Hannibal Lecter story brought in front of the cameras, Detective Will Graham (William Petersen) finds his serial killers by stepping into their headspace. This is how he caught Hannibal Lecter (played here by Brian Cox), but not without paying a price. Graham became so obsessed with his cases that he ended up having a mental breakdown.
In Manhunter, Graham not only has to deal with Lecter playing psychological games with him from behind bars but a new serial killer in Francis Dolarhyde (in a legendary performance by Tom Noonan). One who likes to wear pantyhose on his head and murder entire families so that he can feel “seen” and “accepted” in their dead eyes. At one point Lecter even finds a way to gift Graham’s home address to the new killer via personal ads in a newspaper.
Michael Mann (Heat, Thief) directed a film that was far too stylish for its time but that fans and critics both would have loved today in the same way we appreciate movies like Nightcrawler or Drive. From the soundtrack to the visuals to the in-depth psychoanalysis of an insanely disturbed protagonist and the man trying to catch him. We watch Graham completely lose his shit and unravel as he takes us through the psyche of our killer. Which is as fascinating as it is fucked.
Manhunter is a classic case of a serial killer-versus-detective story where each side of the coin is tarnished in their own way when it’s all said and done. As Detective Park put it in Memories of Murder, “What kind of detective sleeps at night?”
INSOMNIA (2002)
Maybe it’s because of the foggy atmosphere. Maybe it’s because it’s the only film in Christopher Nolan’s filmography he didn’t write as well as direct. But for some reason, Insomnia always feels forgotten about whenever we give Nolan his flowers for whatever his latest cinematic achievement is.
Whatever the case, I know it’s no fault of the quality of the film, because Insomnia is a certified serial killer classic that adds several unique layers to the detective/killer dynamic. One way to create an extreme sense of unease with a movie villain is to cast someone you’d never expect in the role, which is exactly what Nolan did by casting the hilarious and sweet Robin Williams as a manipulative child murderer. He capped that off by casting Al Pacino as the embattled detective hunting him down.
This dynamic was fascinating as Williams was creepy and clever in the role. He was subdued in a way that was never boring but believable. On the other side of it, Al Pacino felt as if he’d walked straight off the set of 1995’s Heat and onto this one. A broken and imperfect man trying to stop a far worse one.
Aside from the stellar acting, Insomnia stands out because of its unique setting and plot. Both working against the detective. The investigation is taking place in a part of Alaska where the sun never goes down. This creates a beautiful, nightmare atmosphere where by the end of it, Pacino’s character is like a Freddy Krueger victim in the leadup to their eventual, exhausted death as he runs around town trying to catch a serial killer while dealing with the debilitating effects of insomnia. Meanwhile, he’s under an internal affairs investigation for planting evidence to catch another child killer and accidentally shoots his partner who he just found out is about to testify against him. The kicker here is that the killer knows what happened that fateful day and is using it to blackmail Pacino’s character into letting him get away with his own crimes.
If this is the kind of “what would you do?” intrigue we get with the story from Longlegs? We’ll be in for a treat. Hoo-ah.
FALLEN (1998)
Fallen may not be nearly as obscure as Memories of Murder or Cure. Hell, it boasts an all-star cast of Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, James Gandolfini, and Elias Koteas. But when you bring it up around anyone who has seen it, their ears perk up, and the word “underrated” usually follows. And when it comes to the occult tie-ins that Longlegs will allegedly have? Fallen may be the most appropriate film on this entire list.
In the movie, Detective Hobbs (Washington) catches vicious serial killer Edgar Reese (Koteas) who seems to place some sort of curse on him during Hobbs’ victory lap. After Reese is put to death via electric chair, dead bodies start popping up all over town with his M.O., eventually pointing towards Hobbs as the culprit. After all, Reese is dead. As Hobbs investigates he realizes that a fallen angel named Azazel is possessing human body after human body and using them to commit occult murders. It has its eyes fixated on him, his co-workers, and family members; wrecking their lives or flat-out murdering them one by one until the whole world is damned.
Mixing a demonic entity into a detective/serial killer story is fascinating because it puts our detective in the unsettling position of being the one who is hunted. How the hell do you stop a demon who can inhabit anyone they want with a mere touch?!
Fallen is a great mix of detective story and supernatural horror tale. Not only are we treated to Denzel Washington as the lead in a grim noir (complete with narration) as he uncovers this occult storyline, but we’re left with a pretty great “what would you do?” situation in a movie that isn’t afraid to take the story to some dark places. Especially when it comes to the way the film ends. It’s a great horror thriller in the same vein as Frailty but with a little more detective work mixed in.
Look for Longlegs in theaters on July 12, 2024.
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