Movies
B-D Takes A Look At Chiller’s ’13’
The Sci-Fi Channel didn’t really come into their own until they started producing original programming, and now they are a force to be reckoned with, airing one of the most acclaimed genre shows in recent memory (Battlestar Galactica) and, as of today, producing films aimed at theatrical distribution. Well now it appears to be Chiller’s turn, as the horror network debuts its first original program: Chiller 13: The Decades Scariest Movie Moments. Read on for a look at what you can expect!Much like I Love The 80s or whatever, the special features a variety of talking heads from various mediums and backgrounds (comedians, filmmakers, etc) summarizing, critiquing, and often riffing on a certain topic, in this case, the chosen 13 scariest films of the past decade. While there will be some argument among viewers, I personally think it’s a very good list, featuring many of the films I myself would have chosen (Paranormal Activity, The Descent). Also, there are a few unexpected choices that fans should applaud, such as The Mist or Orphan, both of which are featured while expected big smashes like The Grudge and Texas Chainsaw (2003) are ignored. Basically, while you might be disappointed that foreign films don’t have much of a presence (no [Rec], bummer), it’s far from a studio stroke-fest, either – at least four films on the list were produced independently. With one exception, I had no problem talking positively about the choices.
Yes, I, your ‘beloved’ BC, am one of the talking heads featured. Honestly I think I’m in it too much – who the hell wants to look at me when Ashlynn Yennie or Betsy Russell are on hand? But they used some of my better lines, and I’m the only one who gets bleeped twice I think, so that’s a nice little badge of honor. I was disappointed they didn’t use my defense of Cloverfield (“I’d run halfway up a collapsing building to save Odette Yustman too!”), however.
Luckily, they have far more exciting people than me offering their thoughts, including “30 Days of Night” creator Steve Niles, Tony Todd, KNB legend Greg Nicotero, Ti West, and Lucky McKee, plus some comedians like Ed Alonzo and the guys from CollegeHumor.com. There’s even a legit psychologist named Brian Russell and… uh, Ace from American Idol? OK, I have no idea how he got thrown in the mix, but he does hilariously hold up a demon mask for his first few appearances, so there’s something. But the eclectic nature is part of the fun; one minute you’re hearing legitimate experts discuss fear, the next you get a comedian mocking the same movie.
One caveat, which might not be necessary for a typical B-D reader, but should be mentioned – this special is loaded with spoilers. The ending of pretty much every movie is discussed in detail (the segment on The Mist basically STARTS with the ending of the film), which is kind of a bummer as I would hope that the average viewer would watch this and be enticed to check out something they had missed. So if you’re spoiler-phobic, I’d steer clear of the segments involving the movie or movies you hadn’t seen yet (the “coming up” clip before each commercial break always reveals the next two movies so you can plan ahead). But we’ve seen them all, right?
Hopefully this is a start of a long line of specials. It’s the type of thing that’s fun to watch and can be about anything (top 10 sequels, worst remakes, etc), so there’s an endless wealth of topics they can cover for future specials. Plus, even if the topic or choices are questionable, the resulting show can still be entertaining provided they get good guests. And if they can’t, well, I’m usually available if all else fails.
Chiller 13 premieres Friday, December 17th at 8 pm and airs throughout the night (and I’m sure will air more throughout the month). Check your listings!
There’s been a lot of talk about how Christopher Nolan snuck in some horror elements into his epic adaptation of The Odyssey. However, even before the Cyclops began to eat Ithican soldiers and Circe subjected them to magical body-horror, cinemagoers were already witnessing supernatural terror through a certain trailer that was attached to most IMAX screenings of Nolan’s film.
It turns out that this trailer was for Rob Savage’s Other Mommy, an adaptation of Bird Box author Josh Malerman’s horror novel, Incidents Around the House. With the teaser now available online and revealing that the award-winning Jessica Chastain is playing the titular antagonist (as well as her ill-fated human counterpart), not to mention the fact that the picture is being helmed by the director of hits like Host and The Boogeyman, genre fans are understandably hyped for this upcoming thriller.
That’s why I’ve decided to take a closer look at the trailer and share four things we learned from this sneak peek at Other Mommy!
4. Rob Savage is Going Back to His Supernatural Horror Roots
I know I’m in the minority when I admit that Dashcam is my favorite Rob Savage movie, but even I understand why the filmmakers’ fans have been waiting a while for the director to get back to telling more grounded paranormal stories as he did with 2020’s Host.
Other Mommy obviously isn’t a found footage movie, but moments like the poltergeist activity on the kitchen table combined with the nature of the source material, which actually features a full-on exorcism, indicate that this adaptation is more than a simple creature feature. That’s why I think Savage is once again going to borrow from the same ghostly narratives that made his debut film such a viral hit.
3. Other Mommy is a More Convincing Doppelganger in the Adaptation
Part of the horror from Malerman’s original novel came from the fact that the entity taking on the form of Bela’s (Arabella Olivia Clark) mother wasn’t very good at passing itself off as human. This resulted in several uncanny moments where other characters began to notice that there was something visibly wrong with the family and decided to keep their distance.
Savage’s film appears to be taking a different route, with the trailer showing a version of the entity that can, at least physically, imitate Chastain’s character perfectly. This change is likely the result of the filmmakers wanting to incorporate more paranoid scenes where Bela and her father, played by Jay Duplass, are confused about which Mommy is safe to interact with.
2. The Family is Also Better Off This Time Around
Incidents Around the House featured some interesting subtext about how poverty can negatively affect American family dynamics. After all, the main characters were already feeling scared and isolated before the entity emerged from Bela’s closet and began scratching at their emotional wounds. The trailer for the movie, however, depicts the family as being relatively well off before these incidents begin to occur.
I can only imagine that this part of the story was changed so that the family’s fall from grace can be even more dramatic as the mom and dad’s pasts are revealed and Bela falls further into the clutches of the demonic antagonist.
1. Jessica Chastain is Embodying Evil Dead Rise’s Alyssa Sutherland
Mothers turning against their children is one of the most disturbing horror tropes out there (just check out classics like Hereditary and Carrie if you need proof), but it takes a remarkably skilled actress to pull off such a monstrous transformation. This is especially true when both a regular, loving mother and the Other share the screen in the same film.
That’s why I appreciate how Chastain appears to be channeling another evil redhead mother that recently traumatized audiences with her performance. It’s too early to be sure, but I’m fairly confident that Chastain’s character has at least some amount of Ellie in her cinematic DNA – Ellie being the iconic deadite brought to life by Australian actress Alyssa Sutherland in 2023’s Evil Dead Rise.
Let us know in the comments if you think we missed any important details from the trailer, and don’t forget to check out Other Mommy when it hits theaters on October 9!
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