Editorials
Orion Pictures Hosted a Pregnant Moms Screening of ‘The Prodigy’…and We Were There!
Leave it to Fons PR to orchestrate a screening of a movie about an evil child with an audience comprised primarily of expectant mothers. Much like the Alamo Drafthouse‘s all-female Wonder Woman screenings and clown-only It screenings held in 2017, the PR company, along with Orion Pictures, held a one-night-only advance screening of the latter’s upcoming horror film The Prodigy. And yes, this is the first screening of its kind (not that there is much competition in the “first pregnant mom advance screening for a horror film” category).
While there were no evil child-themed baby shower games to be played at the screening, the mothers-to-be were all greeted with free popcorn before they were all invited to the front of the intimate theater before the movie began. The women were all able to celebrate the miracle of pregnancy in unison while preparing for a film that was potentially going to induce them into early labor.*
*No one went into early labor during the screening of this film.
Credit: Heather Kennedy
Director Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact, At the Devil’s Door) sent a personal message to greet the attendees:
“Thank you for agreeing to watch The Prodigy when you are pregnant. You are all completely insane.
“As the father of a child that is the same age as the boy in the movie, I can say with some certainty that you should not fear what you are going to see, because most of it likely won’t happen to you. MOST of it.
“Also, enjoy going out at all because that privilege is about to be robbed from you for the next 20 years.
“In all seriousness, I really do appreciate that you have come out to see the movie and hope you like it. You are wonderful people to come tonight, And, I repeat: completely insane.“
After the screening, one of the mothers-to-be even exclaimed: “In the best possible way, fuck that movie!”
The Prodigy tells the story of a young mother (Taylor Schilling, “Orange is the New Black”) who, concerned about her 8-year-old son’s (Jackson Robert Scott, IT) disturbing behavior, thinks something supernatural may be affecting him. Fearing for her family’s safety, Sarah must grapple with her maternal instinct to love and protect Miles in favor of investigating what – or who – is causing his dark turn. She is forced to look for answers in the past, taking the audience on a wild ride; one where the line between perception and reality remains blurry.
Look out for our review of the film when the embargo lifts next Wednesday!
Orion Pictures will release The Prodigy in theaters nationwide on February 8, 2019.
I was never against Sony’s initial idea to produce solo movies based on Spider-Man’s most memorable supervillains. After all, a hero is only as good as his Rogues’ Gallery is intimidating, so it stands to reason that there were plenty of dark stories to tell here.
While rushed productions like Morbius and Kraven the Hunter didn’t quite turn out as I had hoped, it’s a relief to see James Gunn and the DC Extended Universe learn the right lessons from Marvel’s flops by investing in supervillain stories that aren’t afraid to step into the horror genre.
The new trailer for James Watkins’ upcoming Clayface movie is a great example of this, as the new footage confirms our suspicions that the movie is set to be a full-on piece of body horror focusing more on telling a standalone scary story than setting up a brand.
With that in mind, I’ve decided to take a closer look at the trailer in order to find out what we can expect from this highly anticipated comic-book adaptation from hell.
So without further ado, here are four things we learned from the new Clayface trailer!
4. Matt Hagen is a Club Vesuvius Regular
A seedy nightclub owned by “former” mobster Johnny Sabatino, the comic books have established Club Vesuvius as a hotspot for criminal activity and metahuman action since 2009. Throughout the years, the club has seen everything from an attempted arson by Firefly to magical acts performed by Zatanna herself.
The trailer for Clayface appears to suggest that Vesuvius will feature prominently in this story as well, as the footage shows us several shots of Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) casually attending the club as well as a couple of more concerning moments where Gotham City Police roll up to the establishment to deal with some kind of emergency.
3. The Movie Will Not Adapt Any Single Specific Comic
As I mentioned before in my Clayface primer for horror fans who aren’t all that familiar with the character, the initial teaser for the film had me convinced that the project would be more of an adaptation of Batman: The Animated Series’ two-part episode Feat of Clay rather than any specific comic-book.
This latest trailer has only confirmed my suspicions, with Hagen’s predicament here feeling much more in line with Marv Wolfman and Michael Reaves’ sympathetic vision of the character than the more traditional criminal that we usually see in the comics. That being said, I’m curious to see how the filmmakers intend to connect this tragic version of Clayface to the more unpleasant monster we saw in Creature Commandos now that it’s been confirmed that these are indeed the same person.
2. James Watkins is Combining Practical and Digital Effects
I’ll always prefer a well-executed practical effect over CGI simply because the former is closer to the stage magic that inspired early moviemaking. That being said, there’s an undeniable artistry to well-crafted visual effects, and I’d argue that a character like Clayface requires the best of both worlds in order to be convincingly brought to life on the big screen.
I’m clearly not the only one who thinks so, as the trailer has shown us that Watkins is combining digital imagery with prosthetics and plenty of flesh-colored goop to depict Hagen’s unique brand of monstrous body horror. James Gunn had already promised us that the film would feature plenty of old-school practical effects wizardry, so it’s exciting to see that this approach in action.
1. Hagen Will Eventually Transform into Clayface’s Iconic True Form
In the comics, whenever Clayface isn’t pretending to be someone else, the character spends most of his time in his “natural” form resembling a gigantic golem-like monster. This look has certainly evolved over the years, but, at this point, most artists have settled on a vaguely humanoid shape accompanied by a gaping maw (though the villain’s terrifying re-imagining in DC’s Absolute Universe is a bit more complicated than that).
While fans were initially skeptical regarding whether or not the upcoming adaptation would even feature this admittedly outlandish design, the trailer has basically confirmed that Hagen’s condition will get progressively worse until he finally resembles the hulking monstrosity from the comics!
Be sure to comment below if you think we overlooked any interesting details in the trailer, and keep in mind that Clayface will be hitting theaters on October 23.
You must be logged in to post a comment.