While the great James Remar has been around since the 1980’s, starring in classics such as The Warriors and Tales From the Darkside: The Movie, younger readers will remember him as the father of Dexter Morgan on Showtime’s “Dexter”.
Next up is a pivotal role in Osgood Perkins’ supremely awesome satanic thriller, The Blackcoat’s Daughter (read my review), now on DirecTV with a theatrical and On Demand release set for March 31st.
Kiernan Shipka (“Mad Men,” Carriers) stars with Emma Roberts (“Scream Queens”, “American Horror Story”) as two terrified girls who must battle a mysterious evil force when they get left behind at their boarding school over winter break.
We caught up with Remar who was cool enough to tell us some of his favorite satanic/possession horror movies.
Here’s what we got:
THE EXORCIST
Not only is it shot in such a haunting, stark fashion, with the narrow staircases and wet cobblestone streets in Washington D.C.…the performances are just so spot on. It’s a phenomenal movie and it scares the crap out of everybody. Everything about that film was a massive, massive hit. The screenplay was immaculate, the source material was fantastic, the execution by the director, all of the production staff, and the actors was really a thing of perfection. And it really reintroduced the American audience to Satanism and exorcism.
THE OMEN
THE OMEN is scary and creepy. The reason being, once again there’s a little kid involved. When Gregory Peck trims his hair and sees the three 6s, it’s a terrifying moment. I actually read the script for it when I was a young actor. Lee Remick as the mom…she had these beautiful clear blue eyes that seemed so pure and so innocent. For that contrast of the darkness of evil that overcomes this family, it was really, really terrifying.
THE SHINING
Stanley Kubrick at his best. Positively haunting. Once again there’s a child in touch with echoes from the past that are demonic in nature. The Shining is an immaculate film, not a wasted frame in it, and it’s just utterly terrifying. Everyone in it is amazing…from the little boy, right up to Jack Nicholson, and obviously Shelley Duvall. What an incredible movie.
KWAIDAN
A personal favorite that is not known very well in this country, is a collection of Japanese demonic, possession, demon-oriented films. Literally translated as “scary story.” Travelers that are lost in the forest meet this demon who is a beautiful woman but if you look her in the eye she will steal your breath.
TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE
KWAIDAN was the inspiration for a movie yours truly did called TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE. The segment was called “Lover’s Vow.” My character has a similar experience, he sees a demon and the demon says “never tell anyone you saw me or I’ll spare you.“ It’s very heartbreaking.
A24 and DirecTV will release THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER in theaters and On Demand on March 31, 2017.
As I’ve said many times before, if it weren’t for It Follows, my favorite horror film of 2015 would have been Osgood Perkins’ The Blackcoat’s Daughter.
“A deeply atmospheric and terrifying new horror film, ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’ centers on Kat (Kiernan Shipka) and Rose (Lucy Boynton), two girls who are left alone at their prep school Bramford over winter break when their parents mysteriously fail to pick them up. While the girls experience increasingly strange and creepy occurrences at the isolated school, we cross cut to another story—that of Joan (Emma Roberts), a troubled young woman on the road, who, for unknown reasons, is determined to get to Bramford as fast as she can. As Joan gets closer to the school, Kat becomes plagued by progressively intense and horrifying visions, with Rose doing her best to help her new friend as she slips further and further into the grasp of an unseen evil force. The movie suspensefully builds to the moment when the two stories will finally intersect, setting the stage for a shocking and unforgettable climax.”
Principal photography took place in Ottawa on the film written and directed by Osgood Perkins, son of legendary Psycho actor Anthony Perkins.
