Movies
‘Friday the 13th’/’Texas Chainsaw’ Director Conjures Up ‘Backmask’
Just announced in time for Cannes is Conan the Barbarian, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th director Marcus Nispel‘s latest genre offering: Backmask, which will be produced by Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Lords of Salem, The Bay).
“During a sex, drugs, and rock-fueled party, six small-town teenagers find an old vintage record and decide to play it backwards in order to listen for any subliminal/satanic messages. Lo and behold, a seemingly malevolent spirit quickly infiltrates the group, wreaking havoc as it moves from one body to another. Eventually, however, it’s revealed that the spirit in question is actually trying to convey a message….and that the real source of horror isn’t particularly paranormal, but rather something (or someone) much closer to home.”
Sounds like a new spin on the classic ’80s flick Night of the Demons. While Nispel is known as a difficult director, all of his features have looked pretty good. But I’m not quite sure he “understands” the horror audience. We can only hope the experience of horror guru Schneider can help…
Principal photography begins on July 13.
Movies
‘Ebenezer’ – Johnny Depp is Scrooge on First Official Poster for Ti West’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Movie
Ti West (X, Pearl, MaXXXine) is taking his own crack at the classic Charles Dickens tale A Christmas Carol with his next movie, the ghost story Ebenezer starring Johnny Depp.
Johnny Depp will play Ebenezer Scrooge in Ti West’s Ebenezer, and Paramount is bringing the film to theaters on November 13, 2026. Check out the official poster below.
The tagline? “The name you know. The story you don’t.”
Andrea Riseborough (Possessor), Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings), Tramell Tillman (“Severance”), Rupert Grint (Harry Potter franchise), Daisy Ridley (Star Wars franchise), Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games franchise), Charlie Murphy (“Peaky Blinders”), Arthur Conti (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice), and Ellie Bamber (“Willow”) also star.
Deadline had detailed in a recent report, “This version, a thrilling ghost story set in Dickens’ London, follows one man’s supernatural journey to face his past, present and future and fight for a second chance. Stephen Deuters and Jason Forman to executive produce.”
Nathaniel Halpern wrote the adaptation for Ti West to direct.
Written by Charles Dickens, the classic tale of A Christmas Carol has been adapted for the screen countless times over the years, with notable film adaptations including Scrooge (1951) starring Alastair Sim, Scrooge (1970) starring Albert Finney, A Christmas Carol (1984) starring George C. Scott, Scrooged (1988) starring Bill Murray, The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) starring Michael Caine, and A Christmas Carol (2009) starring Jim Carrey.
A Christmas Carol is classically a period piece ghost story. As Luiz H.C. wrote here on Bloody Disgusting, “Isn’t it weird how the single most influential piece of Christmas-related media is technically a horror story? One can even make the argument that Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol paved the way for the rise of Victorian Spiritualism during the following decade.”
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