Movies
Okay, the ‘Ghostbusters’ Snapchat Filter is Kinda Cool
Putting aside all thoughts and reservations on the upcoming Ghostbusters, I have to admit that the Sony marketing campaign of working with Snapchat has resulted in a filter that’s playful, entertaining, and surprisingly fun. Additionally, it’s apparently a revolutionary filter because it uses the rear camera as well as the front facing one.
Okay, so here’s what happens: When you use the front facing camera, Slimer appears and dances around the screen while the infamous Ghostbusters theme song plays. Then, a proton blaster appears and tries to zap Slimer. All of this, by the way, is happening while your face is doing whatever it wants to do.
As for the rear-facing camera, supposedly it allows the user to “bust” some ghosts, but all I saw was a spook flying around my screen. It appeared to be the vomiting blue ghost that we’ve seen in all the Ghostbusters trailers so far.
I’m not saying that this filter is something revolutionary or that it is going to convince anyone who’s not interested in the movie to see it. I just enjoyed it for about 20 seconds, which is sometimes all something needs to do.
Movies
‘Herbert West: Reanimator’ First Look Introduces Contemporary H.P. Lovecraft Reimagining
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
Adam Simon (The Haunting in Connecticut, “Salem”) and Tim Metcalfe (The Haunting in Connecticut, Kalifornia) penned the script. The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallace.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.

Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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