Comics
Proof Tobey Maguire Was Creepy as Peter Parker in ‘Spider-Man’
I’ve never liked the casting of Tobey Maguire in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films. Not only does he come off as ultra geeky, but there’s not a shred of “hip” or “cool” out of his performance. Instead, I found him creepy, especially during that bizarre diatribe in the hospital when Peter Parker explains what he told Spider-Man he thinks of Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). While the films are a great deal of fun (especially the first two), and probably the main catalyst behind this golden age of superhero movies, it’s found itself already a bit dated. So, it’s sort of fun to look back and question the decisions that were once right, and are now so clearly wrong.
In this fan-edit, what was once a cute coming-of-age drama has been spun into a horror film where Parker is the stalker that he always appeared to be. Aunt May is onto him…
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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