Movies
Fan Cuts Together Awesome ‘Heart Eyes’ Trailer in the Style of 1980s Holiday Slashers
Made popular beginning in the 1970s with films including Black Christmas and Halloween, and then taken to the next level throughout the 1980s, the holiday slasher has long been a staple of the sub-genre, with pretty much every major (and even minor) holiday getting its own slasher over the years. Valentine’s Day is no exception, with 1981’s My Bloody Valentine standing tall all these years as the definitive Valentine’s Day slasher movie. But we’ve got a new contender vying for the throne this year, with Heart Eyes slashing into theaters soon.
The filmmakers behind Freaky, Happy Death Day and Werewolves Within join forces for Heart Eyes, coming to theaters on February 7, 2025. Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within, Scare Me) directed the Valentine’s Day-themed Heart Eyes, with Mason Gooding (Scream) and Olivia Holt (“Cruel Summer”) leading the cast of the rated “R” slasher gore-fest.
While you wait, fan Wilson Cleveland has taken it upon himself to cut together a trailer for Heart Eyes that pays tribute to the 1980s slashers that inspired the upcoming movie.
Cleveland explains in a tweet, “This would be the trailer for Heart Eyes if it came out in 1981 during the first holiday slasher boom. Take it from someone who was there.”
The fan-made trailer pitch perfectly captures the retro 1980s vibe that Cleveland was aiming for, with this Heart Eyes trailer indeed making the film feel like a lost relic from the golden age of slasher cinema. Watch the (non-official) trailer for Heart Eyes down below.
In Heart Eyes…
“For the past several years, the Heart Eyes Killer has wreaked havoc on Valentine’s Day by stalking and murdering romantic couples. This Valentine’s Day, no couple is safe.”
The new horror movie from Screen Gems and Spyglass (Scream, Scream VI, Thanksgiving) features a screenplay written by Phillip Murphy (The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard) and Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky) & Michael Kennedy (Freaky).
Movies
‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons Is No Fan of Generative AI: “Defeats the Purpose Entirely for Me”
There has been a lot of talk recently about filmmakers embracing generative AI as part of the filmmaking process, from Darren Aronofsky to Martin Scorsese. But what about filmmakers that are against the use of Gen AI for creative pursuits? You can count 20-year-old Backrooms director Kane Parsons among that group, which should give you some hope for the future.
In a new chat with The Australian, the self-taught young filmmaker makes it crystal clear that he won’t be using generative AI in any of his upcoming filmmaking projects.
“I think I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” Parsons tells the outlet. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
“What interests me more is interrogating it artistically,” Parsons notes. “We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That’s become part of our visual reality. To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.”
He explains, “I’m interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.”
Kane Parsons also notes during the interview with The Australian, “… there’s so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening.”
Backrooms marks young prodigy Kane Parsons’ feature directorial debut, and it’s based on his own series of YouTube videos that were brought to life using Blender, the open-source 3D computer graphics software suite. So it’s no surprise that Parsons, who has hand-made his filmmaking career up to this point, isn’t buying into the hoopla around Generative AI.
His debut feature is the #1 movie in the world, so perhaps he’s onto something.
What’s next from Kane Parsons, you ask? Stay tuned…
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