Ulysses Press is publishing Hannibal: The Official Coloring Book on November 24.

The new release captures the show’s visual style in intricate, hand-drawn artwork from all three seasons. Organized into three acts, the book begins with elaborate murder tableaux, moves through striking character portraits and iconic scenes, and concludes with a reimagined alternative timeline in a stylized, anime-inspired art style.

Iconic characters—including Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham, Bedelia Du Maurier, and Team Sassy Science—appear throughout, alongside recurring motifs, such as teacups, clocks, and antlers (of course). Devoted Fannibals will savor unforgettable moments along the way, from the Angel Wings and the Human Cello to Beverly Katz’s vertical vivisection and Hannibal and Will’s final embrace.

Created by Fannibals for Fannibals, illustrators Ani Louhetar, Chelsea Lowe, and Zillabean bring their signature styles to the art.

The series follows gifted criminal profiler Will Graham, whose empathy allows him to reconstruct the minds of killers, until he meets psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter. One of the all-time saddest TV cancellations for horror fans came when NBC pulled the plug on the Bryan Fuller-created series after just three seasons back in 2015, leaving the fates of Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) quite literally hanging off a cliff.

All three seasons are available to stream on Netflix currently, so cozy up this Thanksgiving with an extra serving of Hannibal, in all its cannibalistic, murder tableaux glory via an official coloring book.

Hannibal: The Official Coloring Book is available for pre-order now at your preferred book retailer.

The post ‘Hannibal’ Official Coloring Book Serves Up Fannibal Favorites and Murder Tableaux This Thanksgiving appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

But “Hannibal” is at least returning to Netflix this Summer…

All three seasons of “Hannibal” will be streaming on Netflix July 27, 2026.

The hope from fans has always been that a streaming service like Netflix will bring “Hannibal” back to life, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt if a whole lot of fans stream the existing three seasons whenever they pop up on the service. What’s the latest update on a potential return?

Bryan Fuller told Bloody Disgusting’s Horror Queers podcast late last year, “Everybody wants to return. Hugh [Dancy], and Mads [Mikkelsen], definitely. But also Lawrence Fishburne, Katie Isabelle, Caroline Dhavernas, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Aaron Abrams, and Scott [Thompson] all want to come back to the story.”

“Right now, it’s a little complicated since Martha de Laurentiis‘ passing. The rights are in the process of reversion to Thomas Harris. MGM/Amazon has some,” Fuller explained. “They’re all being navigated in a way that is going to be a little trickier to iron out now. They’re in process, and I keep on touching base and trying to encourage folks to get back together.”

Fuller continued in his chat with the Horror Queers last year, “I’ve talked a little bit about wanting to do a The Silence of the Lambs adaptation, which may be free of certain obligations to include Gaumont [International Television], who is the studio on Hannibal. You can’t copyright a performance, you know? So there are things that we’re trying to figure out if we can get away with that would make it an easier path that might shake the possibilities loose of things that we might be hindered from doing at this point, given the status of the rights.”

For now, keep streaming “Hannibal.” And keep the hope alive. #RenewHannibal

[Related] The Queer Legacy (and Future) of “Hannibal”: An Open Letter to Netflix

The post ‘Hannibal’ Returns to Netflix This July With All Three Seasons of Bryan Fuller’s Brilliant Series appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The 1991 horror thriller will screen on April 26 and April 29 as part of Fathom Entertainment’s “Big Screen Classics” programming.

On the hunt for an elusive serial killer who skins his female victims, the FBI assign trainee Clarice Starling to interview Hannibal Lecter – an imprisoned, cannibalistic psychopath who might be able to help uncover the killer’s identity. Lecter’s dazzling criminal genius unearths clues, but at the price of deadly mind games with the vulnerable Clarice.

Jonathan Demme directs from a script by Ted Tally, based on Thomas Harris‘ 1988 novel of the same name.

Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins star with Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, and Anthony Heald.

The Silence of the Lambs was the third film in history to win the “big five” Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Fathom’s full “Big Screen Classics” 2026 lineup includes:

The post ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ Returns to Theaters in April for 35th Anniversary appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Speaking with The Horror Queers podcast ahead of Fuller’s Dust Bunny release, in theaters on December 12, the filmmaker revealed that rights to the IP are the biggest barrier to Season 4.

“Everybody wants to return. Hugh [Dancy], and Mads [Mikkelsen], definitely. But also Lawrence Fishburne, Katie Isabelle, Caroline Dhavernas, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Aaron Abrams, and Scott [Thompson] all want to come back to the story. Right now, it’s a little complicated since Martha de Laurentiis‘ passing.

“The rights are in the process of reversion to Thomas Harris. MGM/Amazon has some. They’re all being navigated in a way that is going to be a little trickier to iron out now. They’re in process, and I keep on touching base and trying to encourage folks to get back together.”

As for what that would look like, Fuller has a clear plan.

“I’ve talked a little bit about wanting to do a The Silence of the Lambs adaptation, which may be free of certain obligations to include Gaumont [International Television], who is the studio on Hannibal. You can’t copyright a performance, you know? So there are things that we’re trying to figure out if we can get away with that would make it an easier path that might shake the possibilities loose of things that we might be hindered from doing at this point, given the status of the rights.”

It’s worth noting that Fuller very recently mentioned his desire to tackle The Silence of the Lambs, with Zendaya as Clarice Starling.

Fuller expands further, “I know exactly what season 4 of Hannibal is, and I was frustrated with Season 1. That felt a little more like traditional television to me. There was a lot more ‘murder mystery of the week’ crime procedural kind of things. I was not necessarily drawn to that as an audience member, but I thought Season 2 was better. Season 3, I was like, ‘Okay, this is what we should be doing. This is what I want to be doing. This is the type of storytelling that I think the show can do. And there are a lot of people who don’t like Season 3, and I was like, ‘Well then, you really don’t want a Season 4, because that’s it.’ If you’re not down with Season 3, then you’re not going to be grooving on the plan for Season 4 because it’s following that arc.”

Creator Bryan Fuller has been keeping the hope alive for the return of “Hannibal” ever since NBC pulled the plug back in 2015, and it sounds like he’s not alone. 

The filmmaker reunites with Hannibal Lecter actor Mads Mikkelsen on the gateway genre movie Dust Bunny next month. Stay tuned for more on The Horror Queers’ upcoming chat with Fuller.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, and RSS.

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“My dream project is to do a limited series of Silence of the Lambs with Mads and Zendaya as Clarice Starling,” the creator of NBC’s short-lived “Hannibal” television series tells the outlet. “If I could put anything out into the universe, I would put that into the universe.”

Fuller has made no secret of the fact that he wants to put his own spin on Silence of the Lambs within the “Hannibal” universe, but that’s a bit more complex than you might be thinking.

The reason NBC’s “Hannibal” never delved into the events of The Silence of the Lambs is because the rights to that particular story (and its characters) are held by MGM, and MGM recently brought the character back with their own series “Clarice,” which aired on CBS. The series, which came to an end after just one season, was a sequel to The Silence of the Lambs.

The De Laurentiis Company owns the rights to the character of Hannibal but not the Silence of the Lambs story/characters, which is the big hurdle Bryan Fuller would have to overcome.

Bryan Fuller has been keeping the hope alive for the return of “Hannibal” ever since NBC pulled the plug back in 2015, but at this moment in time, there seems to be no actual movement in regards to any sort of revival. “Hannibal” ran for three seasons on NBC between 2013 and 2015, and the show’s massively dedicated fanbase has been hungry for its return ever since.

It’s only a matter of time before Hannibal Lecter returns to the screen. Here’s hoping it’s Mads Mikkelsen who once again finds himself in the role. Stay tuned for more as we learn it.

The post Bryan Fuller Wants to Make a ‘Silence of the Lambs’ Limited Series With Zendaya as Clarice Starling appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Sequels — particularly horror sequels — are subject to an extra level of scrutiny that often makes it seem as if they’re set up to fail, whether that’s by playing it safe and delivering more of the same or taking a wild swing that goes in a completely different direction. One of the most interesting angles that a sequel can take is when the first film’s antagonist turns into an unlikely ally and protector in the second go around. Terminator 2 may be the gold standard of this pivot, but it’s a controversial approach that’s found a healthy life in horror.

Most recently, M3GAN 2.0, the sequel to 2022’s Blumhouse hit, opted for a genre-bending angle that also turns M3GAN into the lesser of two artificial evils. 

M3GAN 2.0’s underwhelming box office returns are a helpful reminder that this bold shift can’t just be done with any character. Certain horror icons, whether it’s Freddy Krueger, Pinhead, Art the Clown — or evidently, M3GAN –either feel unnatural in this friendly role or its antithetical to what made their character so interesting in the first place. M3GAN 2.0 is a fascinating lesson in both understanding one’s audience and the tenets of a film’s universe.

That being said, M3GAN 2.0 is hardly the most radical example of a horror villain-turned-hero.

Norman Nordstrom

Don’t Breathe

Fede Álvarez has proven to have a knack for reinventing classic franchises, whether it’s Evil Dead, Alien, or even The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Don’t Breathe, Álvarez’s original film, reinvents home invasion horror with a massive twist that turns the prey into the predator. Don’t Breathe actually sets up a sequel, only for Don’t Breathe 2 to go in a completely different direction than what makes sense. Stephen Lang’s Norman Nordstrom is certainly presented as a victim in the original Don’t Breathe, but his attempts to karmically rebalance the universe are the definition of overkill and he gets pushed into increasingly disturbing territory.

There’s a world in which a Don’t Breathe sequel that still presents Nordstrom as its main character would work, but he has to be up against a considerably more vile threat. This is a tall task after what’s accomplished in the first Don’t Breathe. However, Don’t Breathe 2 gets a little too sure of itself and Lang’s cache as an actor when it attempts to turn Nordstrom into a full-on hero, rather than an antihero who the audience loves to hate. Don’t Breathe 2 unleashes Nordstrom on a gang who has kidnapped his adopted daughter as he selflessly does whatever it takes to get her back. It turns Don’t Breathe into Taken and it’s just too difficult to forget Nordstrom’s basement baster of horrors.

John Kramer

Saw

The Saw franchise crafts a surprisingly intricate lore with overlapping characters and timelines that are spread out across ten films and counting. When the first film was released, James Wan and Leigh Whannell had no idea that it would evolve into a billion-dollar franchise, otherwise John Kramer (Tobin Bell) — Jigsaw — wouldn’t have been at death’s door with a fatal prognosis. Jigsaw’s twisted morality is still present in the first movie, but he’s firmly a villain here. Over time, Kramer gets treated as a misunderstood prophet who has spawned plenty of loyal acolytes who are actually grateful for his death games.

John Kramer’s position in the spotlight varies over the course of the franchise, but Saw X — which is set between Saw and Saw II’s events — makes him the hero and asks the audience to empathize with his actions and see them as just. The people who are caught in his traps this time around are presented as truly wicked individuals, particularly Cecilia Pederson, an opportunistic and corrupt doctor who preys upon people’s hope. Saw X actually sticks the landing when it comes to John Kramer’s heroic turn, even if it doesn’t justify the many lives he’s claimed.

Daniel Robitaille

Candyman

Tony Todd’s Candyman helped turn the actor into a legendary horror icon. Candyman’s evolution as a character has been particularly fruitful and it follows a trajectory that’s rather fitting for this oppressed figure. Daniel Robitaille – Candyman – is a murderous figure in all three of the ’90s Candyman films, even though they do spend a healthy amount of time on Robitaille’s past and that the mythic monster he’s become is because of tremendous social injustice and racism. This message permeates through the entire franchise and Nia DaCosta’s underrated 2021 reboot/legacy sequel connects the dots with the original in a powerful way.

2021’s Candyman teases the idea of the Candyman urban legend being a generational force of nature that evolves with society. This new take on the classic horror icon initially resembles Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), but eventually morphs into Todd’s Robitaille. Candyman claims lives throughout the movie, yet the film concludes with Candyman being turned into a protective figure who punishes the corrupt and helps protect the targeted and afflicted in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green. Brianna (Teyonah Parris) can summon Candyman to solve her problems and know that he’s a figure of justice, rather than someone who she should fear.

Norman Bates

Psycho

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is not just a classic horror film, but it’s regarded as one of the most iconic films of all-time. The first film’s presentation of Norman Bates left audiences terrified to take a shower and while the film tells a complete story on its own, there’s actually quite a bit of value in Norman’s continued adventures in the subsequent Psycho films.

Richard Franklin’s Psycho II actually crafts a brilliant mystery about the nature of rehabilitation as a slew of murders begin and Norman is left to wonder if he’s responsible for these crimes. Anthony Perkins pours everything into this role and his deep understanding of Norman is part of the reason that his directorial work on Psycho III works as well as it does. Norman’s morality and the fate of his soul is in play in each of these films as the audience actively hopes that he’ll make it out of this okay and gain control of his trauma.

Psycho IV: The Beginning provides a de facto conclusion to Norman’s saga. Psycho IV juxtaposes Norman’s painful childhood with his present years as he faces rehabilitation and exorcises his demons for good. It’s the type of definitive end to a franchise that’s become more and more rare today.

Andre Toulon’s Puppets

Puppet Master

Full Moon’s Puppet Master franchise has had a robust expansion that’s led to dozens of tiny puppet-based murders. These films are hardly high art, but there’s a charming quality to the first two films that showcase a wide range of disturbing killer puppets, such as Blade, Leech Woman, and Tunneler. The third Puppet Master movie, Toulon’s Revenge, is a prequel that explores the life of the puppets’ creator, Andre Toulon. In this context, it makes sense for the puppets to be helpful, since they’re still carrying out their master’s bidding.

However, Puppet Master 4 takes the franchise in a radical new direction that introduces the demon lord, Sutekh, who uses tiny demon Totems to cause chaos. Toulon’s puppets are now the heroes who help battle these underworld monsters. Puppet Master 4 and 5 skew to a younger audience and have a very Power Rangers quality to the villains. The franchise eventually figures out that Toulon’s puppets are at their best when they’re taking out humans, rather than demons from Hell.

Leatherface

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Horror is a genre where less is often so much more, which is definitely the case with the Sawyer family from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Bubba “Leatherface” Sawyer has certainly become the franchise’s face, yet he’s actually the most ‘innocent’ member of the family. The first Texas Chain Saw Massacre film lets the audience infer many of the circumstances behind Leatherface. However, it’s still quite easy to perceive him as a threat, especially when he accrues a body count and waves around his chainsaw. The rest of the Sawyer family are too far gone for redemption, but Leatherface becomes an increasingly tragic figure as the franchise continues.

There are even several films that turn back the clock and unpack Bubba’s roots before he dons the mask and learns that the saw is family. Leatherface transforms from an enigmatic monster to fear into a scared boy who just wants to feel like he belongs. He may never officially become a “hero,” but later Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequels do turn him into a savior of sorts who is one of the few people who can stand up to his macabre family.

Hannibal

Hannibal

Hannibal Lecter is one of fiction’s most popular characters and someone who has endured across multiple decades. The problem with a character like Hannibal Lecter is that returning to the same well inevitably dilutes what made the figure so effective. Lecter’s appearances in Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal all present him as a wicked and cannibalistic serial killer, even if he’s infinitely enigmatic. Hannibal succumbs to temptation and begins to turn the character into more of an anti-hero as he takes on the deranged Mason Verger.

Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal series also presents the titular character in a complicated light. Hannibal may often feel like it’s in love with its charismatic cannibal, but it makes it clear that he is by no means a “good” person. The franchise does go a step too far with the largely unnecessary prequel effort, Hannibal Rising, which pathologizes Hannibal’s habits and turns him into a sympathetic victim of circumstance. These details are alluded to in other stories, but few were interested in a Hannibal Lecter origin story movie.

Predators

Predator

The Predator franchise was in a rough place for a long time that seemed beyond the point of redemption before Dan Trachtenberg’s creative reimagining has made the Yautja killers more versatile than ever. To be fair, Predators aren’t necessarily villains so much as they are highly-skilled mercenaries who thrive on a good hunt. The Predators’ staunch sense of honor presents them in a more honorable light than their Xenomorph adversaries in the Alien vs. Predator films.

The idea of a rehabilitated Predator becomes more normalized in Shane Black’s 2018 sequel, The Predator, which pits Yautja against Yautja and leaves the humans aided with the hunters’ extraterrestrial tech. This trajectory seems like it will reach its apex in the upcoming Predator: Badlands, which has a young Yautja outcast as its protagonist, who works together with a Weyland-Yutani android. Audiences have previously feared the Predator and been left in awe of their skills, but Badlands will make them empathize with these aliens.

The Firefly Family

The Firefly Trilogy (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, 3 From Hell)

Rob Zombie’s Firefly family have become modern horror icons and their introductory film, House of 1000 Corpses, is an especially impressive debut feature by Zombie. Cut from the same cloth as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the sadistic Firefly family are certainly the film’s most interesting figures. That being said, it’s the beleaguered teens who wind up at Captain Spaulding’s Museum of Monsters and Madmen who are positioned as the movie’s heroes. The film’s sequel, The Devil’s Rejects, adopts a subversive approach by making the Firefly family the main characters. However, The Devil’s Rejects is careful to never praise these individuals. They’re arguably even more depraved than ever in this sequel and the audience is forced to reckon with this extended exercise in torture, as if they’re one of the Firefly family’s victims. 

The audience follows the Firefly family, but there’s a desire to see Sheriff Wydell succeed in his vicious mission to execute these outlaws. The audience isn’t supposed to mourn their deaths at the end of the film, but rather cheer that twisted “justice” has been served. What’s odder than this finite ending spawning another sequel, 3 From Hell, is that this final film does in fact present the Firefly family as sympathetic folk heroes. The audience has seen these characters commit too many atrocities to suddenly be rooting for them, let alone believing that the public would hold protests over their incarceration and demand their release. 3 From Hell doesn’t just ask its audience to root for these characters, but it gaslights them into thinking it’s the norm as they go up against individuals who are presented to be just as depraved.

Godzilla

Godzilla

Godzilla often doesn’t get enough credit for being one of the longest-running film franchises of all-time, with nearly 40 films that have been released for more than 70 years. Godzilla is a destructive force of nature that’s meant to be a condemnation of America, yet the kaiju’s role changes over time, especially once more kaiju enter the equation. The fifth Godzilla movie, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, marks the start of the creature’s transition into a friendlier kaiju and ally to Japan against deadlier monsters. In fact, King Ghidorah becomes the central antagonist of the Godzilla universe, which further highlights how far the character has come. It even reaches the point when Son of Godzilla introduces Minilla and this once-feared kaiju is now a proud parent.

The American Monsterverse has continued to subvert Godzilla’s image, even though King Kong is often presented as more of the hero in their crossover efforts. Audiences have repeatedly proven at this point that they buy the King of the Monsters as a virtuous hero and symbol of peace, ironically enough.

The post M3GAN, Norman Bates & The Strangest Cases of Horror Villains Becoming Horror Heroes appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After concluding April defending the much-maligned fourth Alien franchise entry Alien Resurrection (listen) and celebrating Earth Day with a look at Lee Haven Jones’ The Feast (listen), we’re kicking off May by revisiting the wonderful world of Thomas Harris in Ridley Scott‘s 2001 adaptation Hannibal.

Hannibal sees the world-famous cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) still at large following his escape at the end of The Silence of the Lambs. The disfigured Mason Verger (Gary Oldman), Hannibal’s only surviving victim, is dead set on revenge and begins working with the corrupt and misogynistic Justice Department official Paul Krendler (Ray Liotta) to capture him.

You can’t catch something without bait, though, and Verger has the perfect person in mind to fill that role: Special Agent Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore).

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, and RSS.

Episode 333: Hannibal (2001)

Bowels in or bowels out? That’s the question we hope to answer as we discuss Ridley Scott‘s controversial sequel to The Silence of the Lambs in 2001’s Hannibal!

Join us as we discuss the Clarice of it all before heading to Italy to check in with everyone’s favorite cannibal. There’s no denying it: this is just a weird movie. Be it Gary Oldman‘s prosthetics or Ray Liotta‘s brain sac, there’s a lot here that mainstream audiences weren’t ready for 20+ years ago!

Cross out Hannibal!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re taking a look at Ana Lily Amirpour’s Iranian vampire Western A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014).

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 386 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on The Ugly Stepsister, Clown in a Cornfield, Until Dawn, Final Destination: Bloodlines, The Last of Us Season 2 and an audio commentary on the brand new Anna Kendrick/Blake Lively sequel, Another Simple Favor.

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Chatting with Business Insider this week, Mikkelsen made it clear that his passion for stepping back into the suits of Hannibal Lecter has not waned in the slightest in the past ten years.

“It’s no secret that all of us who were part of the cast and Bryan, we all want to go back,” Mikkelsen tells the outlet. “It’s got to happen eventually sooner than later because we’re not getting any younger, right? But the story itself can jump, it can have that gap, which is fine. So it’s all about finding a home for it, but that’s nothing concrete out there now.”

Mikkelsen continues, “He’s got a few ideas, Bryan. So I can’t really reveal any, in case we do start, but I’m sure [Hannibal and Will survived the events of Season 3] somehow.”

The actor later said in the same interview, “I really don’t want to go back to any of my characters, except maybe for Hannibal because he’s not over yet. But things are done when they’re done and then we move on. I might be persuaded for some crazy, funny characters. But I don’t feel there’s anything I want to redo. The next step is a new dream.”

[Related] “Hannibal”: Ranking the 10 Most Gruesome Death Tableaus

Creator Bryan Fuller has been keeping the hope alive for the return of “Hannibal” ever since NBC pulled the plug back in 2015, but at this moment in time, there seems to be no actual movement in regards to any sort of revival. As Mikkelsen notes, the hope is that a network or streamer will see the value in picking the show up and bringing it back for a fourth season.

“Hannibal” ran for three seasons on NBC between 2013 and 2015, and the show’s massively dedicated fanbase has been hungry for its return for nearly ten years now. Most recently, the CBS series “Clarice” brought the world of The Silence of the Lambs back to the small screen with a reboot in 2021, but the series has seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth.

It’s only a matter of time before Hannibal Lecter returns to the screen. Here’s hoping it’s Mads Mikkelsen who once again finds himself in the role. Stay tuned for more as we learn it.

The post “Not Over Yet”: Mads Mikkelsen Is Getting Us Excited About a “Hannibal” Revival Again appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Can’t remember ’em all? Have no fear: In anticipation of their coverage on SyFy’s Chucky, the Halloweenies take inventory of all the horror movies that have similarly pivoted from the big screen to the boob tube. Many of the franchises we’ve already covered!

Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, and The Evil Dead. This year? It’s Chucky!

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Darkman), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Manhunter), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.

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The post Taking Inventory on All the Horror Movies That Have Haunted TV [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In television, this means that we’ve seen plenty of forgettable shows based on existing franchises, with everything from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to Clueless spawning soulless spin-offs meant to capitalize on brand awareness. And when it comes to horror, the situation was even more dire before the genre renaissance of the mid 2010s, with bombs like Blade: The Series convincing viewers that it simply wasn’t possible to translate theatrical scares to the small screen. Back in the day, it appeared that only Buffy the Vampire Slayer could escape the confines of its cinematic source material, with many viewers even forgetting that it was actually based on a movie.

Thankfully, the television landscape has changed a lot since then. These days, masters like Mike Flanagan and even Don Mancini are allowed to push broadcasting boundaries with horror-centric programs, and general audiences no longer wince when it’s announced that a beloved genre film is being adapted into a tv series. However, certain shows were at the forefront of this revolution, and I’d argue that one of the most important was Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal, a refreshingly creative reinvention of Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter universe that somehow managed to step out from beneath the shadow of its big-screen counterparts and deliver a memorable experience in its own right.

And with my favorite cannibal soap opera celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year, I thought that this might be the perfect time to dive into why the show was so much more than a procedural serial killer investigation, with this bonkers project paving the way for a completely new kind of televised horror.

Obviously, Hannibal wasn’t the first successful small screen translation of an existing horror property, releasing a few weeks after the underrated Bates Motel (and a few years after the massively popular The Walking Dead), but I believe it was instrumental in proving that audiences are willing to set aside their fondness for classic portrayals of iconic characters if presented with a genuinely engaging story. Fuller was well aware of this when NBC tasked him with developing a prequel to Red Dragon for the small screen, asking himself what an unorthodox storyteller like David Lynch might do if given these characters to play with and re-envisioning the protagonist/antagonist rivalry as a twisted love story.

In the finished show (which boasted an initial script so impressive that NBC completely skipped over the Pilot stage of development), we follow Hugh Dancy as Will Graham, a troubled FBI profiler who initiates a partnership with the mysterious psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter as they work together to track down a serial killer. Naturally, it’s soon revealed that Hannibal has his own cannibalistic secrets, though the good doctor develops a dangerous fondness for Will as he realizes that the two of them may have a lot more in common than previously thought.

Thus, Harris’ forensic epic is transformed into a deeply psychological game of shifting loyalties and interpersonal relationships between broken people, with this compelling premise being further elevated by stunning art direction and memorable performances that stand toe-to-toe with previous incarnations of these characters. Hell, there’s no shortage of think-pieces praising Mads Mikkelsen’s star-making portrayal of the world’s most charming cannibal, and it’s no surprise that the show would spawn endless waves of erotic fanfiction celebrating Dancy and Mikkelsen’s oddly enticing chemistry.

However, I think the real source of Hannibal’s enduring success is the fact that none of its episodes ever felt like watching a cheaper version of Brett Ratner’s Red Dragon (or even Michael Mann’s Manhunter, for that matter). Despite covering much of the same ground, the final season feels like a completely new story about love and betrayal that only happens to feature the same characters and set-pieces as Harris’ novel, making this a worthy companion piece to both the book and its film adaptations instead of an ill-fated attempt at a replacement.

And fortunately for genre fans, Hannibal also pioneered gruesome visuals on network television, disturbing viewers with gnarly death tableaus and unsettling subject matter that exceeds even the horrors present in the Anthony Hopkins films. Moments like Eddie Izzard being forced to consume his own flesh as Hannibal’s prisoner and comatose patients being used as living mushroom farms are likely to haunt you long after the credits roll, and that’s not even mentioning the near-sensual displays of graphic violence.

While we’d go on to see even more gory content on television, it’s likely that many producers would hesitate to allow for so much blood and guts in contemporary genre TV if wasn’t for the precedent established by Fuller and his team. That’s why I think the show laid the groundwork for all sorts of original horror programming in the following years, with series like Yellowjackets and Slasher owing a lot to the flesh totems and enticing recipes crafted by Lecter and company.

Although Hannibal was never a ratings juggernaut, it did boast a steady viewer-base that only grew as the show became available on more streaming services, so it’s only natural that it would end up influencing a whole generation of genre TV. It’s a shame that it ended so soon, with the story concluding on a literal cliffhanger instead of going on to adapt The Silence of the Lambs as the showrunner intended (with Fuller claiming to have a whopping six seasons planned out), but I still appreciate the series that we got and there’s a reason why it remains relevant even a decade later. In fact, I defend that gruesome finale – and its Siouxie-Sioux soundtrack – as a perfect place to end the story, as fans of the books know that Lecter and Graham’s relationship would never recover from that final encounter.

I’m pretty sure that too much time has passed for any network or streaming service to want to invest in a proper revival of the series, but I believe Hannibal’s legacy reaches far beyond a potential fourth season. Even if you don’t enjoy Fuller’s romantic twist on cops and cannibals, fans of shows like Ash vs. Evil Dead, Chucky and even What We Do in the Shadows should be grateful that a certain NBC production paved the way for competent cinematic spin-offs on TV.

The post 10 Years Later – How Bryan Fuller’s “Hannibal” Raised the Bar for Genre Television appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

While on the red carpet for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Mikkelsen was asked about the return of “Hannibal,” and his answer once again suggested that he’s still very much hungry to bite back into the iconic role. The problem? The show is without a home.

“Always a chance… there’s always a chance,” Mikkelsen tells Deadline. “It’s all about finding a home for it. Of course, we’re running out of time. We can’t wait 20 years… but in the next couple years, if someone finds a home, we are all ready to take it up again.”

[Related] “Hannibal”: Ranking the 10 Most Gruesome Death Tableaus

Creator Bryan Fuller has been keeping the hope alive for the return of “Hannibal” ever since NBC pulled the plug back in 2015, but at this moment in time, there seems to be no actual movement in regards to any sort of revival. As Mikkelsen notes, the hope is that a network or streamer will see the value in picking the show up and bringing it back for a fourth season.

“Hannibal” ran for three seasons on NBC between 2013 and 2015, and the show’s massively dedicated fanbase has been hungry for its return for nearly ten years now. Most recently, the CBS series “Clarice” brought the world of The Silence of the Lambs back to the small screen with a reboot in 2021, but the series has seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth.

It’s only a matter of time before Hannibal Lecter returns to the screen. Here’s hoping it’s Mads Mikkelsen who once again finds himself in the role. Stay tuned for more as we learn it.

Mads Mikkelsen on if he’d bring back his ‘Hannibal’ character, Hannibal Lecter pic.twitter.com/qhKJFFT60W

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) June 15, 2023

The post “It’s All About Finding a Home for It” – Mads Mikkelsen Still Hungry for a “Hannibal” Return appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

No character exemplifies our fascination with charismatic madmen like Thomas Harris’ most infamous creation, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. While the overall quality of the media he’s been featured in may vary, I’d argue that every single incarnation of this charming cannibal has been captivating for one reason or another. From Brian Cox’s cold-blooded grifter in Michael Mann’s Manhunter to Mads Mikkelsen’s nearly Luciferian performance in Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal, this iconic character is a gold-mine of storytelling possibilities.

That’s why it makes sense that we’d eventually see an origin story for one of the most celebrated killers in media. Back in 2006, Harris released the final addition to his Hannibal saga with Hannibal Rising, a prequel that detailed the titular character’s disturbing beginnings while also adding some controversial tragic elements to his backstory. A few months later, the Dino de Laurentis Company was already hard at work on a big-screen adaptation of the book, which was set to release the following year.

British filmmaker Peter Webber was soon hired to direct a script penned by Harris himself, with the up-and-coming French actor Gaspard Ulliel landing the coveted role of our liver-eating/chianti-guzzling protagonist. Like the novel, the film is a coming-of-age thriller that follows an orphaned Hannibal as he slowly discovers his passion for cannibalistic murder while seeking revenge against members of the Lithuanian militia that murdered his sister.

Fans of Harris’ true-crime inspired narratives were anxious to see what kind of murderous shenanigans led to Hannibal’s people-devouring habits, so when the first trailer dropped, folks were convinced that the flick was going to be a high-profile psychological thriller with a sinister edge.

SO WHAT WENT WRONG?

Grossing a little over $82 million dollars on a $50 million budget, Hannibal Rising wasn’t exactly the resounding success that the studio was hoping for. While the obvious lack of Anthony Hopkins’ star power is likely what kept the flick from reaching the same box office heights as its predecessors, the picture was also massacred by critics who accused it of cheapening Thomas Harris’ legacy. These days, the film sits at a disappointing 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Many complaints were directed towards Rising’s admittedly tacky approach to a previously complex and dignified character, with the film nearly turning Hannibal into a comic-book vigilante. The flick was even nominated for a couple of Golden Raspberry awards, though I wouldn’t put much faith in the institution that infamously criticized Shelley Duvall’s iconic performance in Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining.

Of course, part of the problem with Rising’s negative reception is its source material. Harris was practically strong-armed into writing the novel after being pressured by producer Dino de Laurentis, who knew that a Lecter origin story was all but inevitable due to the character’s massive fanbase. Not wanting someone else to take over his beloved creation, Harris rushed out an unpolished yarn that pales in comparison to his previous work. Naturally, that lack of narrative finesse bled into his script.

Presenting audiences with paper-thin antagonists and several long stretches of movie where Hannibal deals with angst over the death of his sister, the film really isn’t as engaging as it should be. Vengeance is too simple of a motivation for a character as emotionally complex as Hannibal, so it’s hard to buy the protagonist’s Nazi-hunting adventures and clichéd moments of PTSD when we’ve already seen what kind of man he grows up to be. In all honesty, I think it would have been better to keep the iconic cannibal’s origins a mystery, as this anti-hero approach doesn’t add much to the franchise’s established mythology.

The choice to turn this chapter of the story into a prequel also sucks out much of the tension from what should have been incredibly thrilling scenes. We already know that the main character is going to survive to torment Will and Clarice as a ruthless villain in the future, so a lot of the story’s conflicts feel like characters are just going through the motions, with the experience often bordering on trope-heavy fanfiction.

THE SILVER LINING

This may be the weakest chapter in the Hannibal saga, but I’d argue that even Rising has its moments of brilliance. If you can get past the script’s shortcomings as a trope-heavy prequel with shallow psychological elements, you may find yourself enjoying a charming little revenge thriller with an underrated lead performance and some impressive production value.

While the film is impeccably shot and produced, with stunning European vistas and a nostalgic gleam that helps to set it apart from the gloom and doom of previous Harris adaptations, the real star of the show here is the late Gaspard Ulliel. No matter what you think about the rest of the flick, there’s no denying that the French thespian did this notorious character justice despite a less-than stellar script.

Ulliel is a joy to watch as this mild-mannered beast and I think it’s unfortunate that his unique take on the character was forced to live in the Hopkins’ shadow, especially when the actor made a visible effort not to simply imitate that iconic performance.

I’d also argue that Hannibal’s relationship with the Lady Murasaki makes for a genuinely human addition to his monstrous origin. The duo’s hesitant rapport becomes the true heart of the story and I wish that the idea could have been expanded further. A doomed love story between an honorable mentor and a deranged boy that’s destined to become a monster has a lot of potential for a compelling narrative, even if the film doesn’t quite nail the landing.

In fact, there are plenty of good ideas here (like the Samurai mask that foreshadows Hannibal’s iconic muzzle), but this tragic origin ultimately fumbled the execution. Fortunately, elements of the story were later salvaged by Fuller’s Hannibal series, which beautifully incorporated the titular character’s morally ambiguous motivations into the show sans the cheesy vigilante angle.

At the end of the day, Thomas Harris is a gifted writer and he still manages to deliver a compelling narrative even when rushing out a studio-mandated cash-grab. It likely won’t win over any new fans, but like its main character, Hannibal Rising has enough charm to be worth revisiting so long as you keep a safe distance.

Watching a bad movie doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad experience. Even the worst films can boast a good idea or two, and that’s why we’re trying to look on the bright side with The Silver Lining, where we shine a light on the best parts of traditionally maligned horror flicks.

The post Finding an Underrated Performance in ‘Hannibal Rising’ [The Silver Lining] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

When speaking with Bloody Disgusting about “Chucky,” series creator Mancini revealed the inspiration behind the franchise’s move from film to TV: Bryan Fuller’s “Hannibal.” Mancini, who’d produced and written episodes of “Hannibal,” drew from personal experience when developing the next stage for Chucky.

“One of the reasons I wanted to bring Chucky into television was because of the very nature of television, the way it works, the way it’s run; it invites that level of collaboration. I experienced it on Hannibal and Channel Zero. I found it particularly instructive on Hannibal because it was an established movie franchise and literary franchise that now had made its way into television, but with a very specific vision that Bryan Fuller had. When I worked on that show, one of the things that was so exciting about it was that it felt in a way like fanfiction done by experts. A lot of what you do is speculate, as Bryan did with Hannibal. It’s like, okay, one thing they’ve never done is depicted Hannibal before he was caught when he was a practicing psychiatrist,” Mancini explains.

“If you’re a fan of something like that, as I was, you do spend some time fantasizing about that. What would’ve been Hannibal like in practice? What would it have been like to have been a patient of Hannibal Lecter? I think that that was a fundamental appeal of that show. The making of the show was Bryan bringing his own amazing talent and vision, but also the talents and genuine enthusiasm and fan boyishness and fan girlishness of seven or eight like-minded Hannibal fanatics,” Mancini continues.

“I realized if I did that with my own franchise, we could do something really amazing. Because Bryan had done it with Hannibal. That was the initial inspiration for bringing Chucky to TV, when I worked on Hannibal.” 

From there, Mancini used that inspiration to delve into the dangling plot threads from Cult of Chucky. “I deliberately set up a bunch of different cliff hangers with the intention specifically of getting into the ramifications of those cliff hangers in the TV series because I knew that we were doing such potentially juicy stuff like Nica becoming possessed by Chucky. It’s such a big left turn that I felt like the ideal way to address the ramifications would be with television because you have so much room at your disposal, so much storytelling room, as opposed to just a film. You could do any individual 90-minute film, say on the origins of Charles Lee Ray or something, but it would take up a whole film. Do you know what I mean?”

Transitioning to TV series didn’t just allow Mancini and the team to play and expand upon new ideas, it allowed them to spend less time setting up familiar concepts thanks to a shorthand. Mancini says, “One of the things that we’ve learned to do over the decades when we want to reinvent the franchise, it always seems to work by establishing the new milieu and the new characters first, because Chucky himself gives us really handy storytelling, shorthand. You don’t have to have seen a Chucky movie to get easily caught up that Chucky is a doll from the eighties who was possessed by the soul of a serial killer, and he kills people.”

Mancini adds, “With Bride of Chucky, then Curse of Chucky, and now with the TV series, each time what we’ve done is we establish the new milieu and the new characters and get you involved in that and Chucky. Then we start feathering in the legacy characters and the legacy storylines and bring them in in hopefully surprising ways. I mean, I always wanted to try to do, if not the opposite of what you expect, just something a bit fresh and different.” 

The inaugural season of “Chucky” did indeed deliver on fresh and different. Stay tuned for more from Bloody Disgusting’s chat with Mancini, where we dig into the season’s mythology, the show’s surprising new love triangle, and much more.

Season One of “Chucky” is available to stream on Peacock now.

The post Don Mancini Reveals How “Hannibal” Inspired Chucky’s Move to the Small Screen [Interview] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

De Laurentiis passed away at age 67 after a battle with cancer.

Martha De Laurentiis formed the Dino De Laurentiis Company with her late husband in 1980, launching her career by associate producing and producing Stephen King adaptations including Firestarter, Cat’s Eye, Silver Bullet, and Maximum Overdrive.

Martha De Laurentiis went on to produce King Kong Lives, Unforgettable, Breakdown, U-571, 2001’s Hannibal, Red Dragon, and the feature film prequel Hannibal Rising.

More recently, Martha De Laurentiis executive produced the NBC series “Hannibal” as well as the Mads Mikkelsen-starring movie Arctic. The powerhouse producer is also attached as executive producer on the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter, bringing her career full circle and back to Stephen King adaptations. That movie is releasing next year.

Prior to co-founding the De Laurentiis Company, Martha was an assistant on 1983’s Wolfen, production auditor on Amityville II, and production accountant on Amityville 3D.

“Hannibal” TV series creator Bryan Fuller writes on Instagram tonight, “What an amazing lady. Martha De Laurentiis left us yesterday peacefully with her family at her side.”

“Long live Martha and her brilliant legacy,” Fuller adds.

Martha De Laurentiis is survived by two daughters, Carolyna and Dina.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Bryan Fuller (@bryanfullergram)

The post [R.I.P.] “Hannibal” Executive Producer Martha De Laurentiis Has Passed Away appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Naturally, I’m referring to Bryan Fuller‘s Mockingbird Lane, a darkly humorous re-imagining of The Munsters produced by NBC.

Originally airing as a Halloween Special back in 2012, Mockingbird Lane was actually the failed Pilot episode for a proposed revival of the iconic sitcom, this time re-imagined as a gothic drama with a humorous twist. The basic setup remains the same, with the Munster family moving into their iconic mansion and dealing with nosy neighbors and supernatural hijinks, but the presentation is completely different. Taking inspiration from Fuller’s previous work on morbid comedies like Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies, Mockingbird Lane attempted to apply an even darker coat of paint over the usually cheerful family, playing around with their monstrous qualities while also updating the characters for a new generation.

From the opening scene, which reveals Eddie Munster (Mason Cook) in a less-cuddly version of his werewolf form, it’s clear that Mockingbird Lane was willing to remix familiar characters in order to tell a more modern story. Oblivious to his inherited bloodthirsty tendencies, Eddie isn’t the only one to undergo an edgy makeover. Jerry O’Connell (Scream 2, Piranha 3D) takes over as a decidedly sexier Herman Munster, looking more like an undead model than a jolly Boris Karloff knock-off. While Jerry retains the character’s (quite literal) soft heart, this version of the show sees him struggling to come to terms with the family’s darker side.

Played by Arrested Development favorite Portia de Rossi, Lily Munster also underwent a visual overhaul. While Mockingbird Lane retains her characterization as a loving yet fiery-tempered housewife, this version of Lily leans heavily into the seductive Vampiress trope (though the costume design sadly ditches the goth-friendly outfits of Yvonne De Carlo). Lily’s niece Marilyn (Charity Wakefield) is the only character that appears to have been directly transplanted from the original show, complete with 60s-styled mannerisms and a wardrobe to match. Ironically, these idiosyncrasies make her stand out alongside her misfit relatives, though it’s clear that the others are disappointed with her “condition” as a regular human.

The family is also joined by the legendary Eddie Izzard, who turns in a highly memorable performance as the wise-cracking Grandpa. Heavily implied to be Count Dracula himself (he even bakes D-shaped cookies for the neighbors), Izzard’s interpretation of the geriatric vampire simply takes Al Lewis’ sardonic personality traits and dials them up to 11, resulting in the most entertaining character of the lot. From his gaudy outfits to his nonchalant approach to bloodshed, Grandpa’s sarcastic remarks and vampiric outbursts are clearly the glue that hold this special together.

While a single 40-minute episode doesn’t allow for the kind of character development that made the original show a hit, Mockingbird Lane had plenty of potential for both traditional sitcom stories like dealing with prejudice and family drama as well as tongue-in-cheek homages to classic horror films. I particularly enjoyed Herman’s fake-out introduction, which frames his silhouette like a square-headed Frankenstein’s monster only to reveal a lightly-scarred father figure when he steps into the light.

It’s a shame that the production didn’t allow for more practical effects, as complex elements like Eddie’s werewolf form and the pet dragon reveal are depicted through low-budget digital imagery. It’s also worth noting that Grandpa occasionally shapeshifts into a winged bat-like creature when he’s about to feed, resulting in a few instances of remarkably dated computer graphics. There are a few shots of Izzard in full bat makeup, which adds to the fun factor, but the difference in quality makes these moments even more jarring.

The locations are also brought to life via a clever mix of CGI and beautiful set design, though it mostly blends together pretty well. Like in the original show, the 1313 Mockingbird Lane residence is something of a character in and of itself, with its lavish corridors and decorations meshing well with the special’s colorful costumes and even more colorful characters. This gives the program a stylistic edge that we’d only see again when Fuller began work on NBC’s Hannibal, another show which would adapt established characters and take them into unexpected directions.

Ultimately, I think the bloated runtime is what really keeps Mockingbird Lane from reaching its full potential. This peculiar blend of horror and sitcom tropes would work much better in 22-minute bursts rather than an hour-long drama, and I think that’s what really killed the Pilot. It’s also possible that audiences simply weren’t ready for this particular brand of tongue-in-cheek horror on the small screen back in 2012, with network executives complaining about the excessive violence and inconsistent tone. Either way, this would be the last time that we’d see the Munster family for nearly a decade.

Even if Fuller’s approach to humor isn’t your cup of tea, I think it’s safe to say that Mockingbird Lane is one of the weirdest and most loving depictions of the Munster family since their inception back in the 60s. That’s why I’d argue that it’s still worth revisiting today as a televised oddity, even if it wasn’t popular enough to warrant a full show. While I’m still excited to see Rob Zombie’s take on the iconic family, I would have loved to watch a complete season of Fuller’s modernized Munsters, if only to see more of Eddie Izzard’s absurd suburban Dracula.

The post “Mockingbird Lane” – Looking Back on Bryan Fuller’s Edgy Reboot of ‘The Munsters’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

We’ve learned this morning that all three seasons of “Hannibal” will be leaving Netflix on June 4, 2021, exactly one year after the entire series began streaming on the platform.

It’s clear at this point that Netflix obtained the rights for one year, and the seasons could always return in the coming months. As for the revival that Bryan Fuller and stars Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy are still as hungry for as the fans, we still don’t have anything to report at this time. But never say never, and make sure to keep on asking for it if you want it.

If Netflix saw huge viewership numbers for “Hannibal” in the past year, there’s certainly always the chance that they’ll be interested in resolving that Season 3 cliffhanger proper…

[Related] The Queer Legacy (and Future) of “Hannibal”: An Open Letter to Netflix

Horror movies leaving Netflix in June 2021 include Gothika, Jason X and Leprechaun on June 30, with the original version of “The Twilight Zone” also leaving on the same day.

As for what’s coming to Netflix next month, watch the video below for the full rundown.

The post All Three Seasons of Bryan Fuller’s “Hannibal” Leaving Netflix in June appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Of course, Fuller had plans for Hannibal and Will beyond the episode that ultimately became the show’s finale, but unless/until “Hannibal” is someday revived, it’s probably safe to say that Hannibal and Will died together on that fateful night. Their fates were intertwined from the moment they met, and it only makes sense that they went out in a blaze of togetherness.

As Samantha McLaren wrote in the article The Queer Legacy of Hannibal, “While countless shows shamelessly queerbait then ridicule their fans for reading into the subtext, Hannibal drags its subtext so far out of the closet that by the third season, it’s undeniably just text. Before long, the leads have basically adopted a child together, and Lecter is reminding Graham on the regular that he loves him. A love ballad plays over their final scene together.”

As it turns out, that final moment between Hannibal and Will was at one point going to be even more romantic than it ended up being. Speaking with Vulture this week, Mads Mikkelsen explains that the season three finale almost ended with a kiss between the two.

“We actually did a couple of takes of the very last scene where we were looking at each other, and it was a little too obvious — it was almost a kiss,” Mikkelsen explains. “Me and Hugh were like, ‘Why not? We have a couple of takes. Let’s do one. It might be cool.'”

He continues, “We never went for the kiss. Bryan loved it, but he was like, ‘Too much, guys. It’s too obvious.’ And he was absolutely right. I think we were just stuck on that. And a lot of the Fannibals wanted it as well. It’s been a subject of homoerotic fan art. And for good reason, because they are so united as twins in many ways.

“But we never wanted it to be a physical thing. It was something much bigger than that.”

The post Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy Almost Sealed the Series Finale of “Hannibal” With a Kiss appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Chucky got lucky when we covered Ronny Yu’s Bride of Chucky and then the children got possessed (maybe?) when we discussed Jack Clayton’s The Innocents. Now it’s time to dive into one of the most well-known and controversial films ever made: Jonathan Demme‘s The Silence of the Lambs!

In the film, Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), a top student at the FBI’s training academy, to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into the case of the serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) and that Starling may be just the bait to draw him out.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Episode 121 – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The lambs have stopped screaming so we’re going all-in on Jonathan Demme’s critically-acclaimed and Oscar-winning film The Silence of the Lambs. Joining us is Reyna Cervantes, the co-host of the Horror In Session podcast!

In what is an admittedly unorthodox episode for us, we eschew a traditional plot summary in favor of a more analytical episode, looking back at the film’s development while tackling the transphobic elements of Buffalo Bill and the impact it has had on the trans community in the 30 years since the film’s release.

Plus, feminist horror, intent vs. impact, and what would a 4th season of Hannibal look like with Clarice Starling?

Cross out The Silence of the Lambs!

Coming up on Wednesday: We return to the world of video games and butch, queer-coded cops in the foggy town of Silent Hill!

– Joe & Trace

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for tons of additional content! In April we’re doing a video game theme month with episodes on Paul W.S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter and his 1995 Mortal Kombat film, plus an episode on the new 2021 Mortal Kombat as well!

The post The Transphobic Legacy of ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ [Horror Queers Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Deadline reports that Mikkelsen will be starring alongside Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the new Indiana Jones movie that’s being directed by James Mangold (Logan)!

Steven Spielberg is producing the film, which still has its plot details under wraps. At this time, we also have no details on what character Mikkelsen will be playing in this one.

Currently, the untitled fifth installment in the franchise is dated for July 29, 2022.

Mikkelsen is fresh off the Oscar-nominated Another Round, and he’ll soon be making his way into the Harry Potter franchise when he takes over the role of Gellert Grindelwald for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3. Mikkelsen of course recently made his way into the Star Wars franchise with Rogue One, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Doctor Strange.

As for the potential return of “Hannibal,” we’ll forever be waiting. And according to recent comments from Mikkelsen, he’s still very much on board for reprising the iconic role.

Never say never, friends.

The post While We Continue Waiting for “Hannibal” Revival, Mads Mikkelsen Joins New ‘Indiana Jones’ Movie appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Since Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror throughout London’s Whitechapel district, society has developed a morbid curiosity for that of the serial killer. Their crimes are horrific, repulsive, acts that none of us would ever daydream of committing – yet we can’t turn away from stories involving them.

The horror genre has become a safe means to observe these terrors. Through the numerous films and true crime documentaries that exist, audiences can satiate their dark intrigue and explore the haunted psyches of these killers. Cinema has produced a number of iconic serial killers throughout the decades, ranging from the madman in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, up to the brutal cruelty of Jack in Lars Von Trier’s The House That Jack Built. But among all the killers introduced in horror, very few have come close to the status that Hannibal Lecter holds within the genre.

While his initial debut was in Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel Manhunter, Lecter’s horror stardom was cemented in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs, where he was portrayed by the talented Anthony Hopkins. Directed by Jonathan Demme and written by Ted Tally, Silence of the Lambs has become renowned as a classic, even becoming the first (and so far only) horror movie to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. In the 30 years since the film made its debut, this cannibal and psychiatrist has become one of horror’s most iconic villains. But why is that? What was it about Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs that both freaked out and won over audiences? Well that’s what this month’s installment of Unveiling The Mind is all about. In honor of the film celebrating such a major anniversary, I look to examine Hannibal Lecter and what makes him tick.

Before we get into that, I think it’s important to explore another question first: Why are we fascinated by serial killers?

An eerie way of considering our curiosity with these individuals is that, through the media, they are presented to us as a twisted sort of celebrity. In an article for Psychology Today, criminologist Scott Bonn shares, “Highly stylized and pervasive news media coverage of real-life serial killers and their horrible deeds transforms them into what I refer to as celebrity monsters.”

He goes on to also say:

“The average person who has been socialized to respect life, and who also possesses the normal range of emotions such as love, shame, pity, and remorse cannot comprehend the workings of a pathological mind that would compel one to abduct, torture, rape, kill, engage in necrophilia, and occasionally even eat another human being. The incomprehensibility of such actions drives society to understand why serial killers do incredibly horrible things to other people who often are complete strangers.”

In short, there is such a dissonance in comprehending the horrible crimes of these people, that part of us almost becomes driven to try and understand how someone is even capable of such madness. Media attention further fuels this curiosity by sensationalizing these killers and their acts. Their murders, though horrific and despicable, are a warped aspect of our pop culture. As Bonn even mentions at one point, “Exaggerated depictions of serial killers in the mass media have blurred fact and fiction. As a result, real-life killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer and fictional ones like Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ Lecter have become interchangeable in the minds of many people.”

Now that we’ve addressed the fascination behind serial killers, I also want to briefly talk about how serial killers tend to be represented in horror movies. This may be a bit general, but they tend to be presented in two forms of narrative perspective; from a distance and up close and personal. 

Distance comes in the form of killers like Seven’s John Doe. In movies like this, the excitement of the story comes in the form of catching the killer, and the mystique surrounding them, while also highlighting their murders for added thrill. The up close and personal direction comes in the form of stories like The House That Jack Built or Maniac (2012), where the central spotlight is on the killers and the audience gets to partake in a character study. In a film like Seven, there’s some interest surrounding the killer, but the film puts more focus on the murders over the actual person; when taking a more personal direction, there’s more attention provided to the character and observing their psyche. 

So where does Hannibal Lecter fit regarding these two models? Well, I think it’s fair to say that his character borrows from a little of each. A big element that makes him unique is how vicious of a person he is, yet, he spends the majority of the film in a cell. Clarice Starling and the audience get to be up close to him, but always at a safe distance. The film also doesn’t shovel exposition upon the viewer either; instead, there’s a brief scene of newspaper headings regarding Lecter’s kills, and a couple conversations about how dangerous he is. No backstory however regarding why or how he became the cannibal and killer he is today. That creates an allure surrounding Lecter, primarily keeping the audience in the dark as to how deep his treachery goes.

But for as treacherous as Lecter is, he comes off like a relaxed guy. Though our understanding of serial killers has developed overtime, there may be folks who feel that to be a serial killer, one must be completely unhinged. While some may be more outwardly ferocious, others can display high organizational skills and intellect. While Lecter certainly enjoys getting under people’s skin (no pun intended), he has an air of poetry to his words; his insight into the arts, philosophy, and science present him as someone of high society. On top of this, Lecter is also a psychiatrist. Who would ever think that a psychiatrist, someone who is certified and has devoted their life to studying the mind, could be capable of being insane? 

In these ways, Silence of the Lambs teases so much about Lecter that the audience wants to latch on and learn more. He is brimming with contradiction and irony; he is not some wacked out redneck killer, but a sophisticated person who enjoys eating others. This intrigue is a big aspect as to why I feel people enjoy watching Hannibal Lecter – but not the main reason. The core of Lecter’s ability to attract audiences, I think, is that he is horror’s most unique anti-hero. 

It’s fair to say that, for the most part, serial killers tend to be the antagonist of the stories they are part of. In Seven, John Doe is the main bad guy; Jigsaw is the main bad guy of the first few Saw movies. But in Silence of the Lambs, though Lecter is far from a good guy, he’s neither its central villain, nor totally a threat. He poses more of a psychological threat than physical, given how he probes Clarice’s mind, but he only ends up hurting a small number of people in the film. The film doesn’t shy away from expressing how dangerous he is, but it also provides more of a spotlight to Buffalo Bill’s killings, making him the prominent antagonist. 

In fact, besides the one portion in Silence of the Lambs where he kills people, Lecter’s role is that of assisting Clarice. He isn’t handing out free info on Buffalo Bill per se, but he actively contributes to helping her catch him, even deceiving other law enforcement and officials to favor her. Among the whole cast, he is the most supportive character to the protagonist. 

Unlikely team ups have existed for years and continue to be popular; one could view the interviews between Holden and Ed Kemper in Mindhunter to be such an odd duo. But in Silence of the Lambs, you have an FBI trainee teaming up with a serial killer – one who is genius and vile. Lecter engages with people who he either wants dead, to eat, or to play with. For him, Clarice is a special specimen, one he can psychically feast upon, but also assist.

Traditionally in cinema, the serial killer is a character meant to be hunted and defeated –in Silence of the Lambs however, Lecter is already captured. As the audience, we are intrigued to learn more about him; the minimal detail provided to us, the unnervingly calm demeanor he expresses, the evil we can sense from his eyes and words, it all stirs us to want to see more of him. We also sort of root for him when it comes to Clarice. So much of the film is working against her and her goals to become an official FBI agent. Yes, her boss gives her a chance to work on a case, but it is Lecter who sees possibility in her; he is the one that pushes her to the limits to solve the case surrounding Buffalo Bill.

This role of the anti-hero, of the protagonist’s aid, has been an aspect that has stuck with Lecter’s character. While a prequel to Silence of the Lambs, Lecter also assisted Will Graham in Red Dragon. The same set of characters shared a similar dynamic in the TV show Hannibal; in this case though, the show follows a Lecter who is not locked up and able to move about freely in the world. The show also made for a superb demonstration of how Lecter carried himself in the public eye, and how this madman was capable of coming across so charming and likeable. 

Throughout his narrative journey, Lecter has always been the evil to somewhat help the good guy. It’s a bizarre, complex relationship. In Hannibal, we see him dangerously tread the tightrope while working with law enforcement on cases – providing what he can to help while making sure to cover his own dark secret. It makes for exciting storytelling and a wealth of character depth. 

This dynamic between Lecter and protagonists looking to capture killers is what I think has won over the hearts of so many. He subverts expectations of the hero-villain relationship. He gets close to the protagonist, whether it be Clarice or Will, with each developing a sort of grim kinship with him. Can you think of such a relationship in horror? Who has Jason, Freddy, or Leatherface befriended? For so much of the horror genre’s history, the villain has purely been a source of evil to be stopped, to be fought against, to be rejected. But Hannibal Lecter contradicts this ideology. He is all those things, but he is also someone who participates in acts of justice. It isn’t just his way with words or his viciousness that draws us, but his duality of being both the foil and the aid to the hero. 

In a world where we are already so fascinated by the anomaly that is the serial killer, Hannibal Lecter adds a whole other layer of morbid appeal. He is a presence of darkness that also does good. 

Lecter’s means of toying with the line of morality has allowed him to gain a massive fandom in the world of horror. It’s remarkable too, given how he isn’t a supernatural threat or anything of existential immensity, but rather a human being. He is a man, normal appearing on the surface, who has committed horrendous crimes and exudes terror. Yet, we can’t turn away from his charm. We can’t escape the pull he has on us. When we see him working alongside Clarice or Will, we go to voice our support for him – but then stop. This is the villain; this is a monster.

How has he gotten in our heads?

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To celebrate the occasion, the Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs is currently on sale for $7.99 in 4K UHD on both Vudu and Apple TV. Its 2001 sequel Hannibal is also on sale for $7.99, but unfortunately only in HD.

In the film, Jodie Foster plays an FBI trainee assigned by her superior to interview an imprisoned, cannibalistic psychopath, Hannibal “the Cannibal” Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), in the hope that he may help uncover the identity of an elusive serial killer.

The Silence of the Lambs is one of the rare occasions when the Academy didn’t ignore our genre, awarding the film five Oscars: “Best Picture”, “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Foster), “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Hopkins), “Best Director” (Jonathan Demme), and “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published” (Ted Tally).

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According to Entertainment Weekly, the “Clarice” series can’t show or even mention Hannibal Lecter by name, which exec producer Alex Kurtzman says has been freeing.

“I’m still trying to understand how the rights are divided,” Kurtzman told Entertainment Weekly this week. “But it’s been quite liberating because we have no interest in writing about Hannibal — not because we didn’t love the films and the show, but because it was done so well by so many people that it didn’t feel fresh for us.”

We’re still waiting on the potential return of Bryan Fuller’s “Hannibal,” which presumably could still continue as a separate entity entirely from the “Clarice” series. The De Laurentiis Company owns the rights to the character of Hannibal but not the Silence of the Lambs story/characters, so just don’t expect any Hannibal/Clarice interactions in the future.

Head over to EW for more insights and a few new photos from next year’s series.

Watch the premiere of “Clarice” on Thursday, February 11 at 10/9c on CBS and CBS All Access.

Rebecca Breeds (“Pretty Little Liars”) will star as Clarice Starling. The previously announced cast also includes Michael Cudlitz as Paul Krendler, Lucca de Oliveira as Tomas Esquivel, Kal Penn as Shaan Tripathi, Nick Sandow as Agent Clarke, Devyn Tyler as Ardelia Mapp and Marnee Carpenter as The Silence of the Lambs character Catherine Martin.

“Clarice is set in 1993, a year after the events of The Silence of the Lambs. The series is a deep dive into the untold personal story of Clarice Starling, as she returns to the field to pursue serial murderers and sexual predators while navigating the high stakes political world of Washington, D.C.”

“Brilliant and vulnerable, Clarice graduated Magna from UVA with a double major in Psych and Criminology. Her bravery gives her an inner light that draws monsters and madmen to her. Her complex psychological makeup comes from a challenging childhood, and her drive comes from her need to escape the burden of family secrets that have haunted her throughout her life.”

Elizabeth Klaviter (“The Resident”) will show-run “Clarice,” working alongside writers/executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Maja Vrvilo directs the pilot.

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If “Hannibal” is ever brought back to life, could we see the show’s take on the iconic events of The Silence of the Lambs? It’s no secret that Fuller and the team were never ever able to gain the rights to that story from MGM, with the studio more recently joining forces with CBS for a sequel series titled “Clarice,” but that doesn’t mean such a thing will never happen.

This past July, as a matter of fact, Fuller himself kept that door open. And in his new chat with Indiewire, Mikkelsen touched upon the same future possibility for the “Hannibal” series.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that if it does happen, we would love to go into Silence of the Lambs,” Mikkelsen told the site. “That’s always been an issue because they didn’t have the rights for that book. But that’s obviously the most famous part and we’d love to go in there. We’d obviously switch it around a little and do all kinds of crazy stuff with it.”

He continued, “That story is so interesting and the characters in it are as interesting. We’d switch around the genders and maybe even put two characters into one. We would love to find someone to play Buffalo Bill. That’s going to be tough. We found a Hannibal, so it’s possible.”

Mikkelsen also noted during the chat that if he hadn’t already played Mason Verger in the second season of “Hannibal,” Michael Pitt would be a great choice to play Buffalo Bill.

Again, the “Hannibal” team doesn’t actually have the rights to The Silence of the Lambs storyline/characters, nor has the show been renewed, but it’s always fun to imagine.

For now, that remains all we can do.

The post Mads Mikkelsen Talks “Hannibal” Season 4 Hopes; “Would Love to Find Someone to Play Buffalo Bill” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Anthony Hopkins may have made Hannibal an icon, but it was Mads Mikkelsen who completely reinvented the character for a new generation. Mikkelsen took over the role for all three seasons of NBC’s brilliant series “Hannibal,” bringing to the screen a seductive, arthouse version of Lecter that quite frankly may now be the definitive depiction of the character. It’s hard to imagine anyone but the Danish actor playing the title role in Bryan Fuller‘s series, but chatting with Collider, Fuller reveals that NBC initially wanted anyone but Mikkelsen.

As Fuller recalls, NBC was dead-set on offering the role to an actor more familiar to audiences here in the United States, hopeful that a name on the marquee would draw in viewers.

“There was a casting kerfuffle on who to cast for Hannibal Lecter, and there was a difference of opinion on what a traditional television network would want as a leading man and what we would want as an actor playing Hannibal Lecter to personify playing that character. I think the network wanted somebody that was much more poppy, much more mainstream, much more American I think in some ways,” Fuller explains to the site.

Two of the actors who were offered the role by NBC? John Cusack and Hugh Grant!

Fuller continues, “We were dealing with a very American network that wanted a very American actor to sell to American audiences, and all the creatives on the show wanted somebody who was the best person for the role.” Of course, Fuller eventually got his way, and he credits the casting of Mikkelsen with providing the show with the freedom to be, well, what it was.

Head over to Collider for more on that.

The post John Cusack?! Bryan Fuller Recalls NBC’s Resistance to Cast Mads Mikkelsen as Their “Hannibal” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The push and pull between Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and the cunning Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) provided the heartbeat of the series. The grisly “death tableaus,” or graphic corpse works of art that provided the centerpieces to disturbing crime scenes, appeased gorehounds and tested the boundaries of what network television could air. They offered visceral visuals to enhance the twisted cat and mouse game between the show’s leads. As fans of the series are well aware, there’s no shortage of gruesome death tableaus either.

To whet your appetite for a rewatch, we rank the ten best death tableaus.

10) Large Heart – “Primavera” 

With Hannibal on the run in season three, the death tableaus tapered a bit. In the second episode of the season, Hannibal leaves Will a gift in the form of a giant heart propped up on swords. At first glance, it’s not nearly as elaborate or gruesome as many of the crime scenes featured on the show. But that’s before you realize that it’s the folded-up, contorted, and sewn corpse of Antony Dimmond (Tom Wisdom). Origami has never been quite as gory as it is here.  

9) Saber-tooth – “Naka-Choko” 

Featured in the second season’s tenth episode, Hannibal’s sway over Will meant things got dark. Very dark. Randall Tier, who fancied himself a saber-toothed beast, hunted and slaughtered his victims in a mechanical suit he created. Then he came after Will, and Will’s little dog. Will killed him in self-defense, but then he granted Randall his wish of becoming an animal: by merging his corpse with a cave bear skeleton.  

8) Human Cello – “Fromage”

The episode that demonstrated just how much killers sensed and sought each other out, “Fromage,” features a musically inclined serial killer that wanted to know what it’d be like to turn a human into a cello. The result? A victim with his throat torn out, the neck of a cello wedged into its gaping hole through the mouth. Yet another creatively unpleasant way to die.

7) Mushroom Garden – “Amuse-Bouche” 

This series wastes no time letting the audience know just how gnarly the murders will get. The second episode of the inaugural season introduces a serial killer that uses the corpses of his victims as fertilizer for his mushroom garden. As disturbing as that sounds, what’s worse is that Will Graham and the gang find one of the victims decaying yet still alive. Sort of alive. It’s gross.

6) Guardian Angels – “Coquilles” 

The death tableau in this season one episode was the first to truly showcase how beautiful they could be in an extremely morbid way. The bodies of a man and a woman are found positioned at the foot of a bed, kneeling and praying, with the skins of their back flayed out and hung like guardian angel wings. What makes this so artistic and moving is the reason behind it. The killer, Elliot Buddish, suffers from brain tumors and is afraid of dying in his sleep. So, he seeks out criminals and transforms them into angels to watch over him while he sleeps. It’s as tragic as it is warped.

5) Dragonfly – “Secondo”

In season three, Will heads to Hannibal’s family home in his search for the sophisticated cannibal. There he finds Chiyo (Tao Okamoto), a woman tasked by Hannibal years ago to watch over the man responsible for murdering Hannibal’s sister. Fulfilling his request makes Chiyo a prisoner there. To free her, Will sets loose the murderer who then attacks Chiyo, and she kills him in self-defense. Channeling the mind of the man he’s trying to catch, perhaps, Will transforms the body into a human firefly. The look on his face as he admires his work is as creepy as it is heartbreaking.

4) Horse – “Su-zakana” 

This work of art bends the rules a little, as it’s not the murderer responsible for it. Social worker Clark Ingram is the stereotypical mean psychopath, likely the most straightforward killer on the show. His crimes are discovered, however, when stable worker Peter (Jeremy Davies) symbolically tries to revive one of Clark’s victims by putting her body inside a dead horse, with a live bird sewn up inside her chest in place of a beating heart. Think Hannibal-style Turducken. This death tableau is a touching tribute by an off-kilter, sympathetic soul. That doesn’t make it any less morose.

3) The Human Eye – “Sakizuke” 

Though strange, nothing seems particularly grotesque about this tableau. Not from a distance at least. It’s so intricate and the composition so well thought out that it would earn critical praise if not for being a crime scene. Looking down from the peak of a silo, the killer has arranged his nude victims in the shape of a human eye, carefully coordinating them by skin color. Even the deaths aren’t as violent; the killer overdoses his victims with heroin. Yet, seeing a victim with a high tolerance to heroin rip himself away from the flesh of fellow victims he’d been sewn into is cringe-inducing. The visuals that burn into your mind about the rest of the corpses in the tableau are equally demented.

2) Damien Hirst Tribute – “Mukōzuke” 

Death is a central theme in artist Damien Hirst’s works. He rose to fame with a series of dead animals dissected numerous times lengthwise, with each piece preserved in glass. The precise type of art that exemplifies Hannibal. It’s no surprise that art would imitate life here, and it’s a gruesome sight to behold when taking into consideration just how painstaking the process was for the killer to display his victim in this way. The real kicker, though, and what makes it rank so high among the most gruesome death tableaus is that it’s personal. For the first time in the series, this victim is someone both the characters and the audience knew quite well- Beverly Katz. This one stung.

1) Totem Pole – “Trou Normand” 

For sheer effort, season one’s totem pole made out of human bodies is a winner. The spectacle of it all, and the imposing height, makes a solid case for the number one spot on this list. Also refreshing is that the killer behind it isn’t aiming for some artistic endeavor, but petty revenge. Most of the bodies were dug up; only one was a recent murder. That doesn’t make it any less impressive. Major bonus points: horror stalwart Lance Henriksen plays the killer. Be still our horror-loving hearts; this death tableau wins the top prize.

The post “Hannibal”: Ranking the 10 Most Gruesome Death Tableaus appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Could Netflix be the new home for brand new seasons of “Hannibal,” in addition to the existing three seasons that originally aired on NBC? Anything is possible, especially in 2020.

The cast and crew of the show, including Fuller as well as stars Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy, came together for a special Nerdist House reunion over the weekend, and the conversation naturally turned to talks of a potential revival. Speaking on that particular subject, Fuller stated that at this point in time he’s “very hopeful” that “Hannibal” will return.

[Related] The Queer Legacy (and Future) of “Hannibal”

“I am very hopeful,” Fuller said during the reunion, talking about a fourth season of the show. “The great thing about the idea that if we are going to be meeting [back up with Hannibal and Will] and it takes five, six, seven years or what have you, that’s just how long they’ve been on the lam. Then the story picks up from that point. And we’ll adapt.”

Fuller is of course referring to the literal cliff-hanger that was season three’s finale, with a potential fourth season picking up several years after that particular incident on the cliff.

When asked about his dream fourth season, Fuller commented: “It’s very sort of sunny and sweaty, as compared to the cold, harsh realities of Toronto. I think it would be fun to go sunny and sweaty and beachy. A whole new temperature to the cinema.”

And what about the characters from this iteration of “Hannibal” being woven into the iconic Silence of the Lambs story? We already know that CBS is working on their own sequel series titled “Clarice,” but it sounds like Fuller is still keeping that possibility on the table.

“It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the show moving forward, and whether…if there ever is to be a Silence of the Lambs miniseries with this cast,” Fuller mused.

You can watch the full hour-long Nerdist House reunion below.

The post Bryan Fuller Currently “Very Hopeful” That “Hannibal” Will Return for a “Sunny and Sweaty” Fourth Season appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Nerdist brought Bryan Fuller and the “Hannibal” cast/crew back together for a special Zoom reunion this week, and we’ve learned that you’ll be able to watch it on July 11th, 2020.

The virtual reunion is set to air at 10am PT on Nerdist’s YouTube Channel and will simultaneously stream on the Geek & Sundry YouTube Channel and Geek & Sundry’s Twitch Channel, where fans can join a live chat with cast and crew from the show. The event kicks off Nerdist’s planned virtual panel series Nerdist House 2020.

The panel was moderated by Nerdist’s Rosie Knight and includes creator Bryan Fuller, Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal Lecter), Hugh Dancy (Will Graham), Gillian Anderson (Bedelia Du Maurier), Caroline Dhavernas (Alana Bloom), Katie Isabelle (Margot Verger), Raúl Esparza (Frederick Chilton), Hettiene Park (Beverly Katz), Kacey Rohl (Abigail Hobbs), Scott Thompson (Jimmy Price), Aaron Abrams (Brian Zeller), executive producer Martha De Laurentiis, co-producer Loretta Ramos, director/executive producer David Slade, and food consultant Janice Poon.

Fans who submitted questions using the hashtag #AskHannibal may hear their questions asked and answered. Once the panel airs, it will be available as VOD on all three channels, but fans who want to chat with each other and with the Hannibal cast and crew will want to tune in on July 11 at 10am PT. It’s a perfect prelude to a Hannibal rewatch, needless to say.

The post Bryan Fuller and the “Hannibal” Cast/Crew Come Together for Zoom Reunion; Watch It July 11th! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Reading the novel for the first time as a teenager not yet fully in touch with her own queerness, I remember thinking, “That’s pretty gay.” And it was. Throughout the novel, Lecter is nothing if not the ex from hell, lashing out when Graham won’t give him his phone number, trying to remove his new partner from the picture, and generally refusing to let the other man move on. 

Luckily, I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Three decades later, Bryan Fuller, an openly gay creator, showed up to give me the canonically queer adaptation I didn’t know I needed in the form of Hannibal, a series that stays true to its horror roots while delivering on a promise in its character development that LGBTQ+ fans seldom get to see. Now, just in time for Pride, all three seasons of Fuller’s Hannibal have arrived on Netflix in the U.S. and Canada (the UK and South Korea have had them for some time), and you may have heard rumblings from fans that another season would be truly delectable right about now. If you were on the fence about taking a bite out of this twisted horror romance, allow me to whet your appetite and leave you hungry for that fabled fourth season—because the show’s queer past, present, and future is something you might need in your life, too. 

First, a brief history. Hannibal debuted in 2013 on NBC, imagining the relationship that Graham (Hugh Dancy) and Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) might have had before the latter’s eventual capture. Of course, with Hannibal the Cannibal on the loose (not to mention a worryingly high number of active serial killers per capita), the bodies quickly pile up, and Fuller and his creative team push every boundary of network TV-approved gore—folding human origami, stacking a totem pole of corpses, flaying backs, and filling torsos with flowers. But between all the blood and mutilated bodies, something interesting starts to happen between the series’ two male leads. 

They start to fall in love. 

I feel it’s important to pause here and say, this is not just my interpretation. While countless shows shamelessly queerbait then ridicule their fans for reading into the subtext, Hannibal drags its subtext so far out of the closet that by the third season, it’s undeniably just text. Before long, the leads have basically adopted a child together, and Lecter is reminding Graham on the regular that he loves him. A love ballad plays over their final scene together.

I don’t believe Fuller set out to create a gay story. Based on various interviews he’s given over the years, some of it seems to have happened organically (perhaps fueled by that undercurrent of homoeroticism, subtle but unmistakably there, that runs through the original novel, as well as the queer-coding of Lecter’s character as a means of making him appear more deviant in Jonathan Demme’s 1991 adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs). The rest may have been inspired by the passion of the fans, who instantly clocked a romantic and sexual tension between Lecter and Graham that Fuller was too close to the material to see. And while a lesser show might have doubled down on its heterosexuality in an attempt to brush the question of queerness under the rug, Hannibal did something unusual. It allowed its more sexually liberal character, Lecter, to pine after the object of his desire, while forcing Graham to confront how his feelings for Lecter squared away with something he’d always clearly believed about himself—that he was fundamentally straight. 

This culminates in a fascinating scene in the third season where Graham sits down with Bedelia Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson), Lecter’s psychiatrist, and asks her something that has obviously been eating at him for some time: whether Lecter is in love with him. “Could he daily feel a stab of hunger for you and find nourishment at the very sight of you? Yes,” Du Maurier replies. “But do you ache for him?” 

Graham doesn’t have an answer for her then, but by the time the season reaches its erotically charged final act, he appears to have come to terms with a few things about himself (despite the fact that Lecter does indeed, during his incarceration, become the ex from hell that queer readers of the novel always knew he was). It’s an incredibly nuanced and beautiful arc, and one we rarely see in media, much less in gory horror television. The fact that Fuller remains to this day a vocal advocate for queer content created by Hannibal fans (aka “Fannibals”) is the icing on the cake. Where other creators quietly pretend that the queer corners of their fandoms don’t exist (or, in the worst cases, blatantly roll their eyes), Fuller has always set a place at the table for us. 

Now that the show has found a new home on Netflix, I’m here to extend the invitation. To all the horror fans, queer and straight alike, who haven’t had a taste of Hannibal yet: we’ve kept a seat warm for you. And to the folks who might have originally dismissed it as just another remake of a popular horror property—I once assumed the same, and I can assure you it’s not. Hannibal raises the bar for horror television so high that, since it aired its final episode in 2015, every dish I’ve sampled since has tasted bland in comparison. It begins as a seemingly straightforward police procedural with a curious fixation on body horror and evolves into a psychological nightmare told through the lens of a European art film.

And it does all this while weaving an intimate and endlessly enthralling queer love story, taking a small seed of a backstory from Harris’ original novel and growing it into something unique and daring and beautiful. So come for the elaborate murder tableaux, but I promise you’ll be staying for sexual tension so thick you could cut it with knife. Trust me. Both Lecter and Graham try. 

As for you, Netflix, it’s your turn to cook. The Fannibals have been waiting a long time for a fourth season, and this delicacy of queer-created, queer-friendly horror media deserves to find a new life on your platform. While the show was critically acclaimed during its original run, network TV audiences weren’t ready for it. Your viewers are. Auteur-driven horror and queer horror are having a moment, and you could be at the forefront of both. The time for Hannibal is most definitely now. 

I would encourage you to step through the door Bryan Fuller is holding open. It’s dark on the other side, and madness is waiting—but it’s the kind you can’t look away from, and the kind that stays with you long after the final credits have rolled. After all, five years after it went off the air, we fans still daily feel a stab of hunger for Hannibal. 

And yes, we ache for more.

The post The Queer Legacy (and Future) of “Hannibal”: An Open Letter to Netflix and Horror Fans appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Our biggest hope has been that Netflix or another streaming service will swoop in for the save, and though that hasn’t actually happened yet, we’ve gotten word this week that Netflix will at least be streaming all three seasons of the NBC series next month.

Every episode of “Hannibal” will begin streaming on June 5. And who knows, maybe Netflix will consider ordering up more episodes if viewership is through the roof? Wishful thinking, to be sure, but it certainly couldn’t hurt the cause.

If you haven’t yet taken a bite out of “Hannibal,” the good news is that the three seasons of NBC’s series do tell a complete and fully satisfying story, capped off with what is quite honestly a perfect conclusion to the saga. So if you’re hesitant to jump in because you’re worried the story gets cut short in the end, well, that’s not quite the case. And as much as I’d love to see the series get revived, I can’t complain about the fact that NBC gave us three blood-soaked seasons of one of the most brilliant horror shows to ever grace the small screen.

On a related note, CBS just handed a series order to “Clarice,” which will be set one year after the events of The Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal Lecter is not expected to appear in the series, and it likely won’t impact whether or not Fuller’s take on Thomas Harris’ novels finds new life outside of NBC. Fuller had tweeted early this year, “Martha [De Laurentiis] & I tried many times to work with MGM to include Clarice into our Hannibal story. They ultimately told us they had their own plans for Clarice and they didn’t need Hannibal to tell her story. Don’t think this impacts a potential Hannibal S4 as we never had Clarice rights.”

Could this be the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Netflix and “Hannibal”? Only time will tell…

The post All Three Seasons of NBC’s Brilliant “Hannibal” Coming to Netflix in June appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

From retro series worth revisiting, to brand-new episodes to discover and dig into for the first time, these binge-worthy shows make for a fantastic start to endless TV watching.

Hulu

“The Exorcist”

This show deserved a lot more love and attention during its run on Fox. Created by Jeremy Slater, season one kicks off with Angela Rance (Geena Davis) enlisting the help of two priests when she suspects a demonic entity is targeting her family. It’s only the beginning of a twisty and harrowing nightmare conspiracy. Season two offers a whole new family and scenario coping with demonic possession. Seriously, this show is great.

“Preacher”

Based on Garth Ennis’s comic book, this series follows Jesse Custer, a preacher in a small town trying to evade his previous life of crime. Supernatural events change everything, causing him to enlist his ex Tulip and Irish vampire Cassidy in his quest for answers.

“American Horror Story”

Though this anthology horror story by Ryan Murphy is also available on Netflix and Prime Video, Hulu has the advantage of being the only one to offer the most recent season; “1984”.

“The Terror”

A supernatural horror anthology series, with each season drawing inspiration from historical events. Season one was based on Dan Simmons’ novel of the same name, a fictional account of Captain Sir James Franklin’s lost expedition to locate the Northwest Passage. Season two centered around a Japanese American community haunted by bakemono during World War II.

“NOS4A2”

Based on Joe Hill’s epic novel, immortal vampire Charlie Manx feeds off children, transforming them into monstrous shells in his nightmarish Christmasland. Only a New England teen with a unique gift can stand in his way.

“Castle Rock”

Taking place in Stephen King’s fictional town of Castle Rock, characters, themes, and plot beats from King’s novels are re-purposed to create completely new stories in “Castle Rock.” Two seasons are currently available, with season two centered on Misery‘s Annie Wilkes.

“The Purge”

Once a year, any and all crime – including murder – is legal in America for a period of 12 hours. A spinoff TV series from the popular film franchise.

“Stan Against Evil”

John C. McGinley stars as a retired sheriff who joins forces with the new sheriff to fend off demons plaguing their town. Think wacky horror comedy in the vein of Ash vs. Evil Dead, but from creator Dana Gould.

“Twin Peaks”

Mark Frost and David Lynch’s beloved series follows quirky FBI Agent Dale Cooper in his quest to solve the murder of a young woman in the bizarre town of Twin Peaks.

“Salem”

A fictional retelling of the Salem witch trials, heavy on the horror. Witches, plagues, gruesome rituals, murder, and more as witch Mary Sibley vies for control in her quest to summon Satan.

“Inside No. 9”

An anthology series by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith that varies in genre, from horror to drama, but always employs dark humor. When it’s scary, it’s scary. A very original and creative show for genre fans.

Netflix

“The Haunting of Hill House”

Mike Flanagan’s modern reworking of Shirley Jackson’s classic novel brought the heart and horror in equal measure. It’s also the perfect series to revisit again and again- there’s no way you’re going to catch all of the hidden ghosts upon first watch, after all. Plus, a rewatch now seems ideal with The Haunting of Bly Manor on the way.

“Marianne”

When famous horror author Emma is on the verge of ending her most popular novel series, the entity haunting her pages bleeds over into her waking life. A bizarre encounter with a childhood friend prompts her to return home to confront her past. If you’re in the mood for masterful scares, this is it.

“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa brings his comic to life for Netflix, which sees the teen witch trying to navigate both the mortal world and the world of witches. Things get downright Satanic.

“I Am Not Okay with This”

Like most teens, Sydney is struggling with her family life and budding feelings for her best friend. Unlike most teens, she’s also struggling with a new mystery power that leads to catastrophe when she gets too upset. Things get funny, then bloody.

“You”

Joe is a charming bookstore manager in New York City who’s obsessed with the idea of being in love. So much so that he’ll go to devastating lengths to win over the latest object of his desire. Including murder. Lots of creepy, unnerving murder.

“Santa Clarita Diet”

This delightful and gory comedy was canceled far too soon. At least there’s still three wonderful seasons to revisit. Sheila and Joel are married real estate agents in Santa Clarita, California. When Sheila dies, their lives take a dark turn. Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant are delightful in their roles, and the blood flows freely.

“Ash vs. Evil Dead”

Ash reluctantly picks up the chainsaw once more to save the world from a Deadite plague. Never mind that he actually started it. This time he has help in the form of the Ghost Beaters, and the Evil Dead universe gets expanded like never before.

“Kingdom”

In this period thriller, a Korean prince is sent out on a mission to investigate an outbreak that threatens his kingdom. That outbreak, of course, is zombies. Season two just dropped.

“Mindhunter”

For the true crime junkies. Set in the late 1970s, two FBI agents are tasked with interviewing serial killers to solve open cases.

“Stranger Things”

Sci-fi horror meets ‘80s nostalgia in this mega-popular series. When a young boy disappears, his mother, a police chief and his friends must confront terrifying supernatural forces in order to get him back.

“Penny Dreadful”

An original series set in Victorian London that weaves together characters from popular classic and Gothic fiction, like Dorian Grey, Victor Frankenstein, and Dracula. Well cast and brilliantly executed, Eva Green stole the show in this series. And it’s perfect to revisit ahead of the upcoming spinoff, “City of Angels.”

“Supernatural”

Two brothers follow their father’s footsteps as hunters, road tripping across the country to fight evil supernatural beings of all varieties. Now in its final season, now’s a perfect time to get caught up.

“Ghoul”

In a totalitarian near-future India, a mysterious prisoner is sent to a remote military interrogation center where he turns the tables on his captors by exposing their most shameful secrets and unleashing a demon from Arabic folklore. If you’re looking for a series that requires little to no commitment, Ghoul is only three episodes long.

“From Dusk Till Dawn”

Created by Robert Rodriguez, this series expands upon the events of the original film, beginning with the Gecko brothers’ bank heist that leads to their fateful encounter with the supernatural at the vampire-inhabited strip club in Mexico.

“Locke & Key”

After their father is murdered, the three Locke siblings and their mother move into their ancestral home, Keyhouse, which they discover is full of magical keys that may be connected to their father’s death. Based on the popular comic series, this Netflix show is gearing up for a second season.

Prime Video

“Hannibal”

Before the events of Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, Hannibal Lecter was a renowned psychiatrist in the employ of the FBI. This prequel series by Bryan Fuller explores Lecter’s relationship with young FBI criminal profiler Will Graham, who is haunted by his ability to empathize with serial killers. Grisly and clever, it’s a must-see horror show.

“The Boys”

Based on Garth Ennis’s comic book series, “The Boys” shows the darker side of superheroes. Much, much darker. To the public, superhero team “The Seven” are godlike celebrities. Behind the scenes, though, they’re narcissists that abuse their power. The Boys are the vigilantes that aim to keep them in check. Gore and violence ensue.

“Dark Shadows: The Revival”

Created by Dan Curtis, this 1991 Gothic soap opera streamlined the original story. Victoria Winters comes to Collinwood to work as a governess, but soon finds herself drawn into a strange world of vampires, ghosts and curses. Ben Cross assumes the role of vampire Barnabas Collins and Joanna Going plays Victoria Winters. Look for a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt as one of the Collins children.

“Grimm”

All six seasons are available to binge. Inspired by Grimm’s Fairy Tales, detective Nick Burkhardt discovers he’s a descendant of “Grimm” hunters charged with preserving the balance between humans and supernatural creatures of the world.

“Hammer House of Horror”

Hammer Horror’s anthology series told tales of haunted houses, demons, ghosts, and other supernatural wonders. There are a lot of great gems in this 13-episode run, including “The House That Bled to Death.”

Shudder

“The Dead Lands”

In ancient Maori times, an undead warrior and a young tribeswoman team up to find a way to stop the evil dead from rising. A unique genre series by Glenn Standring, based on his 2014 movie of the same name.

“Creepshow”

The Creep is back once more, this time in anthology series form for Shudder. Showrunner Greg Nicotero assembles a Murderers’ Row of horror talent, and an insane amount of Easter eggs for the Creepshow fan.

“Cursed Films”

Jay Cheel’s five-part documentary series examines the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood’s notoriously cursed horror film productions. The Exorcist is available now. Look for the next two episodes to drop on April 9.

“Channel Zero”

Nick Antosca’s anthology series centered each season on a specific Creepypasta. It was canceled far too soon, but at least we can binge Candle Cove, The No-End House, Butcher’s Block, and The Dream Door on Shudder now.

“The Core”

Mickey Keating hosts this horror talk show that examines and dissects the horror genre, from techniques and tropes to psychology. Look for breakdowns of special effects and insights from guests.

“Wolf Creek”

Greg McLean continues the murderous exploits of Mick Taylor in series form. In season one, American teenager Eve barely escapes from Taylor when he slaughters her family. Left for dead, Eve sets off on a quest for revenge. Season two, which arrives on April 30th, revolves around a new set of characters for Taylor to torture.

Tubi

“Dark Shadows”

For the ambitious overachiever, all 1,245 episodes of Dan Curtis’s original Gothic soap opera are available for your viewing pleasure. You can even break it down in chunks according to your favorite storylines. Vampire Barnabas Collins, for example, doesn’t even enter the series until episode 211.

“Masters of Horror”

Creator Mick Garris assembled the foremost names in the horror film genre, including John Carpenter, Dario Argento and Takashi Miike, to unleash hour-long horror films for “Masters of Horror.” Both seasons are available, including the infamously banned episode “Imprint.”

The post Bloody Disgusting’s Guide to Over 30 Binge-Worthy Horror Shows You Can (and Should) Stream Right Now appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

But along came the announcement this morning that CBS has ordered up a new television series titled “Clarice,” which will center on Clarice Starling and be set one year after the events of The Silence of the Lambs. Needless to say, the series is very much not the small screen continuation of Thomas Harris’ world that fans have spent the last several years craving.

In the wake of the announcement, “Hannibal” fans have been using #SaveHannibal to show their undying support for Fuller’s take on Harris’ world, which had plans to bring Clarice Starling into the fold going forward. Unfortunately, MGM had different plans, leading them to partner with CBS on the “Clarice” series that will have nothing to do with NBC’s “Hannibal.”

Fuller himself responded to the news on Twitter this afternoon, giving us some insight into MGM’s thinking here: “Martha (De Laurentiis) & I tried many times to work with MGM to include Clarice into our Hannibal story. They ultimately told us they had their own plans for Clarice and they didn’t need Hannibal to tell her story.“

In other words, MGM was probably never going to give Fuller and his team the rights to the Silence of the Lambs story and its main character. On the plus side, Fuller added:

“Don’t think this impacts a potential #HANNIBAL S4 as we never had Clarice rights.”

As always, if you want more “Hannibal,” keep ringing that dinner bell and keep making sure you let your voice be heard. Use #SaveHannibal on social media to do just that.

You never know who might be listening. And if we’ve learned anything in recent years, it’s that two different versions of the same world can exist together in harmony!

Martha & I tried many times to work with MGM to include Clarice into our Hannibal story. They ultimately told us they had their own plans for Clarice and they didn’t need Hannibal to tell her story. Don’t think this impacts a potential #HANNIBAL S4 as we never had Clarice rights.

— Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) January 12, 2020

The post Fans Rally to #SaveHannibal in the Wake of “Clarice” Television Series Announcement from CBS appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

It used to reek of creative bankruptcy when a television show would decide to adapt a popular movie for its source material, or vice versa. This wasn’t always a failed prospect, but it crashed and burned enough times to sour audiences on the idea for some time. That being said, there’s been a serious resurgence of television shows that deliver incredible adaptations or continuations of classic films, horror included.

In the past few years there have been television takes on Hannibal, The Exorcist, and Psycho that all far exceeded expectations, and there’s already TV versions of The Grudge, Creepshow, and Child’s Play on the way. With the recent announcements that James Wan will be producing an I Know What You Did Last Summer television show and Adam Wingard on board to headline an Event Horizon series, the opportunity has never been more viable. Older properties that perhaps couldn’t properly be realized in a feature film will get a better shot through a season (or more) of a television show.

Accordingly, here are a number of films that would also make for solid TV shows, along with who we think would be good choices to run them.

Urban Legend

Urban Legend is another horror film that’s just as steeped in the ‘90s as I Know What You Did Last Summer and there’s arguably a much richer, more satisfying premise that drives Urban Legend forward. This is a film that could benefit from a television show for a number of reasons, but a major one being that there are a number of modern-driven urban legend and “creepy pasta” variations that this show could pepper between the all-time classics. Each episode could even be centered around a different urban legend-based murder so they all really get a chance to breathe.

Glen Morgan and James Wong of X-Files fame would be a perfect fit for this, but they were also separately involved in other projects like The Twilight Zone and Lore that are both centered around material that’d be appropriate for an Urban Legend series. Bring along Darin Morgan to take care of film’s dark wit and you’ve got a winner here.

The Faculty

The Faculty is itself a ‘90s-drenched, self-aware, modern reinterpretation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but it’s the film that deserves the TV show, not the source material it’s based upon. The reason being that the heightened high school drama is a highly popular genre now with shows like Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina casually intermixing murder with teen drama. “Riverdale, but it’s Body Snatchers” doesn’t seem like a hard sell.

The director and writer combination of Karyn Kusama and Diablo Cody that brought Jennifer’s Body to life could seriously kill this material. Kusama has only gotten more adept as a filmmaker and films like The Invitation show that she could make this a very conversational show with strong dialogue. And giving the material a slightly more feminine slant wouldn’t be the worst angle for the story either.

The Brood

David Cronenberg is responsible for all sorts of creepy creations and unnerving set pieces, but his 1979 masterpiece The Brood features some of not only the scariest work from his career, but also some of the most upsetting killer children in cinema history. This is another film where allowing the material to be expanded upon would only make it more disturbing, even if it were just for a six-episode treatment. The Brood is a complex enough horror film that it could easily sustain that much material.

Nick Antosca has done a lot of incredible work within both the horror genre and the medium of television, but his work on the four seasons of Channel Zero is truly next level stuff. The heights that are achieved on Channel Zero show that Antosca could easily replicate the terror present in the film and take it even further. Additionally, the show’s Butcher’s Block season specifically features evil deformed children that look like they’re explicitly influenced by The Brood, as well as a focus on mental illness. Make it happen.

Cube

Puzzle-horror film Cube has gained a second life as a cult classic in more recent years, but the movie has such a good premise that anyone can turn this gem into gold under the right circumstances. A television series version of Cube could break down the mind-bending narrative even more and devote a whole episode to each room of the cube and really put some thought into the ideas. It could even be treated almost like an elimination horror show where the audience knows that someone will meet their demise at the end of each episode.

Vincenzo Natali has only leaned into horror more over the years and become a greater part of the television scene that there’s no reason why he couldn’t handle the show himself. That being said, bringing in Marcus Dunstan of The Collector series or Saw mainstay Darren Lynn Bousman would perhaps offer up some more variety to the concept without being too redundant of their previous works.

Audition

Films that have a massive twist and really take their time to show their hand can be some of the most satisfying experiences ever. Takashi Miike’s Audition is such an example where the first half almost looks like a twisted attempt at a rom-com before things spiral out of control and it turns into a brutal, painful meditation on gender roles. Audition could have even more impact if it had an entire season of television to play out. Different examples of Asami’s dark side could be revealed in each episode before the larger twist finally comes to pass. Moving the film to an American setting wouldn’t be necessary, but a very different vibe could be cultivated by placing this within Los Angeles as opposed to Japan.

Audition should be a tender horror story that isn’t afraid to strike at unsuspecting moments. It’s also a story that should have a generous female slant to it rather than straight-up turning Asami into a monster. A director like Andrea Arnold could give Asami the layers she deserves and find a take on the story that makes it gutting and challenging in entirely new ways that are still in conversation with the original film.

The Omen

It’s already been done, but maybe a second chance is in order?

The Omen Trilogy is one of the few trilogies of films that actually doesn’t struggle to justify itself as each one marks a different phase in Damien’s life. It’s like Boyhood, but with the Son of Satan. The Omen could really find an interesting perspective by breaking itself down into a television show where each season spans the course of a different film and Damien’s maturation. It would take its time and show the slow development of this budding, confused devil.

Carlton Cuse has been a part of a number of prolific series, but his work with Kerry Ehrin on Bates Motel really does turn into something special. The series slowly show’s Norman Bate’s growth and struggles in a way that would be a perfect lateral move over to The Omen. Lucifer may handle comparable issues, but it’s Damien’s youth here that makes this such an interesting story.

Sleepaway Camp

Camp slasher Sleepaway Camp is sometimes seen as more of a punch line than an integral piece of horror canon, but there’s no denying that it’s left its mark on the genre and it spawned a whole slew of sequels. There’s a fun quality that this film achieves that other similar movies attempt to recapture, but fail to reach. It also has one of the most insane, controversial endings to a horror film of all time. Sleepaway Camp could definitely be matured-up a little (or made even more ridiculous), but a camp slasher series would be easy and something that audiences deserve.

Ryan Murphy may be tackling this exact sub-genre of horror with American Horror Story: 1984, but strangely David Wain seems like he could be a more eventful fit here. Wain has predominantly tackled comedy, but that’s recently proven to be no barrier for entering the horror genre. Wain’s work on the Wet Hot American Summer series is the perfect prerequisite for this, but his work on Childrens’ Hospital and They Came Together shows that he’s a genre and parody master and could easily tap into horror.

Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Viewers definitely don’t need a series based on Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but they said the same thing about a Hannibal series, so you never know what can work. An interesting angle for the show may be the prequel angle that Bates Motel did for Psycho where much of the series is a precursor to the film that looks at a growing Leatherface, with the final season chronicling the events of Texas Chain Saw. Arguably, the many attempts that have tried to expand on the Sawyer Family and Leatherface have been misfires, but a television show has the room to make this rough family story work.

Jean-Marc Vallée made something special with Sharp Objects and was able to deliver a sweaty, frantic energy that would be perfect for Texas Chain Saw’s gritty aesthetic. Vallée’s partner in crime on the series, Marti Noxon, also has enough experience to bring the twisted, dark Sawyer family history to life and isn’t afraid to tackle controversial material and then go even deeper with it. The two could absolutely find a unique, worthwhile angle for the material.

Alien

Alien is a classic piece of both horror and sci-fi canon and there would absolutely be a lot of pushback if an Alien television series were announced. But if shows based on Psycho and The Exorcist can happen, then clearly nothing is sacred if there’s enough money or a good enough idea on the table. The most appealing aspect of an Alien TV show is that there really aren’t any claustrophobic killer alien shows on television, so this would nicely fill that gap. There have also been enough disappointing Alien offshoots at this point that a TV series couldn’t do any greater damage than what’s been done in the past.

Bryan Fuller has helped bring some of the most beautiful television shows to life and he’s made it abundantly clear that he’s a horror fiend. Fuller has worked on enough disparate properties, some of which were even set in space, that this doesn’t feel out of his wheelhouse by any stretch. It’d be even better if he could remix the material from across the various films in the franchise, like he did with Hannibal, and get particularly creative with the show’s lore.

Final Destination

There’d be an odd poetic justice the universe if Final Destination ended up as a television show since the script for the first film originally began as a pitch for an X-Files script. The Final Destination films are surprisingly some of the most consistent horror films to come along in a series and allowing that a chance to grow even further on television is well deserved. There have been attempts and rumors to get another film back together, but maybe TV is the better route. It’s yet another series where devoting each episode to a different death could yield some very satisfying results.

Brad Anderson hasn’t just stuck to the horror genre through his career, but he’s turned out some winners so far. It’s actually Anderson’s work on an episode of Fringe, “The Plateau,” that points to why he would fit well with this show. The episode’s introduction illustrates how the episode’s villain is able to pull off an elaborate murder through an outrageous Rube Goldbergian series of events, all from him just dropping a pen. Final Destination thrives off of that kind of interconnected energy.

The Ring

A Grudge television series may already be in production for Netflix, but there’s debatably even more that could be done with a prolonged look in The Ring’s universe. There have been such sophisticated detective procedurals that deal with the occult, like True Detective or Mindhunter, so really focusing on the investigative aspect would turn this into a unique spin on the genre. Besides, after the total failures of The Ring 2 and Rings, this could only be an improvement for the series’ brand.

Ana Lily Amirpour has done solid, impressive work on ambitious television series like Legion, Castle Rock, and The Twilight Zone, plus her signature film, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a classic. Conjuring that same energy for a Ring series could be really powerful and she could even return to her black-and-white aesthetic. Amirpour has a unique enough point of view that she could take this premise and turn out something personal with it.

Pumpkinhead

Pumpkinhead and its sequel are hardly the Holy Grail of the horror genre, which is exactly why they’d make for a fun, experimental television show. Fans of the Pumpkinhead films are usually more invested in the creature’s grotesque design than the finer story beats. In that regard, Pumpkinhead could really work by veering off course from the original and just using the skeleton of the original films to fuel its fresh take. A particularly interesting take would be if one of the main characters gets turned into Pumpkinhead and they have to learn how to deal with it and turn it to their advantage, rather than making the character an outright villain.

The above approach is very similar to the structure of Swamp Thing, so it stands to reason that Gary Dauberman and Mark Verheiden could also find a creative take on Pumpkinhead for a series. The two of them both have enough experience with connected universes that it’d be interesting to see what a larger universe of monsters for Pumpkinhead to square off against might look like.

Prince of Darkness

John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness has always been a bit of a dark horse in the director’s filmography, but it still has plenty of die hard fans that can appreciate its different approach to an apocalypse story. Prince of Darkness basically involves some evil goo that gets discovered that’s the essence of Satan himself and then all Hell starts to break loose—literally. Prince of Darkness is seen as a flawed masterpiece from Carpenter, but it provides almost an Agatha Christie-like approach to its setup as this evil attempts to be understood. This is where a television version of the material could really prosper and turn the story into more of a claustrophobic meditation on faith and the nature of evil. It could make for a very different horror series.

Mike Flanagan creates an intense claustrophobic terror on The Haunting of Hill House and so much of that series revolves around characters simply talking. Flanagan always knows how to get the most out of his adaptation, so it feels like he could take this premise from Carpenter and deliver an even more terrifying take on it. There’s even a bit of an Oculus energy to Carpenter’s film.

The Thing

The Thing is another one of those legendary horror films that are nearly untouchable due to their influence on the genre. Any attempt to redo The Thing would have to be done with extreme trepidation, the utmost respect for the source material, and a firm understanding of the importance of practical effects and gore. This is another horror series that probably isn’t necessary, but it’d just be so much fun to watch The Thing’s alien whodunit mystery play out over the course of eight episodes.

Craig DiGregorio and his team from Ash Vs The Evil Dead seemed to often be able to defy what was thought to be possible with practical effects on that series. The show marked a strong return to form for practical gore and if anyone’s able to do this original film justice, it’d be these guys. They’d likely also be able to find a dark humor to the property that can go a long ways in something as tense as this.

Castle Freak

Castle Freak is schlocky horror fun from the 1990s courtesy of Stuart Gordon. There’s an inherently terrifying idea at the center of the film where a couple purchase a new home that happens to have a deformed monster hidden away within it. Castle Freak is gross, exploitative fun that doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s currently a remake in production, but a television show could take the bare structure of this film and turn it into something much deeper. A season-long take on Castle Freak could let the monster really bide his time before his reveal to the family and play into the myriad of weirdness in their castle before everything comes to light. There’s such a loose story in place that the show could explore directions like who’s responsible for the “castle freak,” if more are out there, and if he can possibly be befriended to fight an even greater threat.

Neil Marshall is no stranger to horror films that revolve around creatures, with The Descent and Dog Soldiers both being strong examples, but his more recent work in Game of Thrones and Hellboy shows the British director moving further in the direction of gothic castles and the territory that consumes Castle Freak. Marshall could actually make the story scary rather than just shocking.

These selections are just a taste of what could be possible. Which horror films do you think are prime for a longer exploration via television?

The post 15 Horror Films That Would Probably Make Good TV Shows (and Who Should Run Them) appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“Hannibal” keeps a loyal fanbase to this day — though it was canceled in 2015 — because it never truly slumped in its 39 episode run. The show works as one seamless, deeply twisted, beautiful movie. From the first episode to the last, there is a progression in both style and story that always feels natural.

Taking the heart of Harris’ novels — especially “Red Dragon,” the first Lecter novel — “Hannibal” was a television series with a poetry to its dialogue and a twisted obsession with the more macabre corners of society. Each episode went down like a glass of well-aged wine and the show broke a surprising amount of new ground despite airing on NBC. 

It may be difficult to identify the “best” of a series that literally put its heart on a dish to serve up to viewers week after week, but there are a handful of episodes of “Hannibal” that particularly exemplify just why the show continues to be such a delicious obsession. 

Season 1, Episode 1 (Apéritif)

With so many Lecter fans loyal to Harris’ novels and the Anthony Hopkins-starring films, there was not a lot of goodwill going into “Hannibal.” Both the book and the movie franchises had fizzled out a bit when NBC brought a new take to the world. “Hannibal Rising” the novel and “Hannibal Rising” the movie both felt like quick cash grabs in 2006. Both the novel and the movie failed to find the sizable audiences that had eaten up the previous adventures, whether they were on the silver screen or the written page.

The announcement of a new television series to be based off of Harris’ finest work, “Red Dragon,” felt like just another excuse to keep squeezing the sponge dry until it cracked. Add to that a synopsis that seemed to suggest Lecter was being turned into a sort of anti-hero cop, and the prospects for the series being anything more than a one-and-done procedural were slim.

Then something crazy happened. “Hannibal” wasn’t just good, it was great. During the first episode of the series, I had to keep checking to make sure I was actually watching the boundary-pushing series on network television. The pilot episode to “Hannibal” doesn’t open with the bloody credits every other episode would end up opening with. It instead begins quietly with the title of the series appearing briefly as we are introduced to Will Graham.

The Anthony Hopkins adaptations of Harris’ book always had their charms, but any Harris fan will tell you the characters never quite matched up to the page, even Hopkins’ Lecter. “Hannibal” was different. Despite making some gender and race changes to supporting players, the hearts of each character remained completely intact and full passages or character traits were clearly pulled straight from “Red Dragon.”

Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen play the best screen versions of Graham and Lecter and their odd connection is clear and intriguing from the beginning. 

Bryan Fuller’s leadership on the series was brilliant. He took all of the best parts of the mesmerizing novel, jumbled them around and stitched everything back together to create a Frankenstein monster that was amazing to watch grow each week. What’s impressive about the first episode of “Hannibal” beyond it simply introducing a brilliantly twisted world to chew on is that it accomplishes far more than most pilots. Many pilot episodes are considered some of the weaker chapters in a show’s run because so much time is spent explaining things and introducing characters. Pilots are often held back by the crutch that is the basic need to lay a foundation before you start building the actual house. 

But “Hannibal” somehow bucked the trend and gave very little time to exposition. Characters are mostly explained through action, rather than words. “Hannibal” chose ambiguity over being the traditional crime procedural and it paid off big time. 

There’s also so much in this pilot that affects what comes the rest of the show. The (spoilers) death of Garrett Jacob Hobbs and the introduction of Abigail remain plot threads until the very end of the series. Unlike lesser crime shows that basically seem to start from scratch each episode, “Hannibal” was a show where characters were deeply affected and changed by everything we see happen to them each week. 

Season 1, Episode 6 (Entrée)

Bryan Fuller has said in the past that if “Hannibal” were to continue into a future film or television season, he would be interested in playing with “The Silence of the Lambs,” the Thomas Harris novel that was turned into the 1991 classic film of the same name. Fuller would likely do a great job with the “Silence of the Lambs” material, and in fact he paid homage to both the book and movie in one of the first episodes of “Hannibal.”

“Entrée” introduces Anna Chlumsky (“My Girl”) as Miriam Lass, a young FBI agent clearly modeled after Clarice Starling from “Silence.” Her story of is told in flashback as we walk into the world of the Chesapeake Ripper, a killer never caught but who we know (though none of the characters do) is Hannibal Lecter. With an imprisoned doctor (a perfectly cast Eddie Izzard) trying to take credit for the crimes of the Ripper from behind bars, Lecter is faced with a dilemma that actually surprises him — surprise being a feeling he rarely comes across. 

Chlumsky is pitch perfect in a role that many actresses likely couldn’t do well, considering the Jodie Foster shadow they have to perform under. And “Entrée” is an essential episode because it is when it becomes clear how Fuller is adapting Harris’ work. The way he twisted the “Silence” storyline to fit into his almost-fanfiction Thomas Harris world made it clear that there was no predicting where this show was going or how it was going to be pulling its Harris material.

The script showed off new layers to the show, as well as characters like Jack Crawford, an interesting Harris creation who never really got his full due on cinema screens. With more time to develop the character, Laurence Fishburne inhabited the best version of Crawford in “Hannibal.”

Season 1, Episode 8 (Fromage)

This episode might be a guilty pleasure for some, but I think it is one of the most unique and memorable episodes of “Hannibal.” Lecter often hunted (or helped) serial killers, but this episode offered him the chance to face off against one. The story was wonderfully cheesy and yet written with a deadly serious tone. It was serial killer vs. serial killer in the eighth week of the first season of “Hannibal” and it was far more exciting than any recent “vs.” movie we’ve been victim to at cinemas. 

The episode acts as the loony payoff to a plotline teased early in the series. Dan Fogler stars as a patient a little too desperate to be Lecter’s friend, and he himself has a friend who Lecter discerns to have the look of a man who may be up to devious things. This man who may or may not be up to bad deeds reaches out to Lecter, somehow knowing the good doctor’s bloodiest secrets. This serial killer wants a friend. The story of the two starts rather innocently for being about two evildoers. It’s one monster hiding away from society looking for friendship from another monster hiding from society. Despite his fondness for connecting with Will Graham, Lecter denies this new friend and the two quickly become enemies. 

It all culminates in a wonderfully zany hand-to-hand fight in the very office where Lecter and Graham chat about their problems week after week. 

What this episode also accomplished was showing just how deadly Lecter could be. Not only was this a man who could manipulate in ways most cannot even dream, he is also a cunning animal with a strong instinct for survival. He was dangerous before, but seeing him come so close to death’s doorstep and fighting it with everything he had in him made Lecter a far more dangerous character to fans in the series going forward. 

Season 2, Episode 8 (Su-zakana)

The second season of “Hannibal” took on the personality of a procedural in some ways, which definitely irked fans looking for more time to be focused on pushing forward the Graham and Lecter relationship. But those week-after-week crimes also provided a great platform for Fuller and the other writers to let their imaginations run free and to tell some unique tales that had never been seen on television before. 

“Su-zakana” finds Will Graham out of the hospital and back in the world, cleared of the wrongdoing that had found him accused of being the Ripper. The character’s constant questioning of his moral standing in the episode makes for gripping television, but guest star Jeremy Davis is what really propels this episode to greatness.

If you want evidence that the “Saving Private Ryan” star is criminally underrated and more talented than most actors working today then just flip on this hour of television. The tragic character he creates in Peter Bernadone, a man in love with animals despite being mentally stunted by one thanks to a kick to the head. He’s one of the best characters introduced in “Hannibal” and his interactions with Dancy’s Graham make for some of the show’s best writing and acting.

As unpredictable and dark as every other “Hannibal” episode, “Su-zakana” also has a hopefulness fighting to be noticed through the grime and muck infecting Graham and the world he inhabits. This episode is where moral lines and their importance to characters and places in this world become clearer. 

Season 3, Episode 13 (The Wrath of the Lamb)

After surviving a couple close call cancellations, “Hannibal” finally got the boot after its third season. Luckily, the show managed to tell the actual “Red Dragon” story (with a brilliant Richard Armitage taking on the serial killer role of Francis Dolarhyde) and leave us with a surprisingly satisfying conclusion to the saga of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter.

As the two come face to face in the final moments of the show and death can be read in both of their eyes, the two men are finally forced to draw a line in the sand and choose who they are. Even as they fight and rip each other apart, there is a beauty to the connection and closeness these two seemingly polar opposite characters feel towards each other. 

It’s difficult to say this as a fan, but even if we never get another chapter in the “Hannibal” storyline, that’s okay. This episode acts as a delightful series finale that is as exciting as anything that came before it.

One of the best parts of the episode is, of course, a vague scene tacked on at the end that sees (spoilers) Bedelia (Gillian Anderson) alive and being served at a dinner table. As the scene goes on, it is suggested that an alive-and-well Lecter is about to serve the woman her own leg. The scene is great in that it suggests a world of possibilities, but none of those possibilities need to be realized for it to be satisfying. It’s a wonderful little wink to the audience and its amusing ambiguity fits with how “Hannibal” chose to tell each and every one of its stories. 

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For the past four years, Bryan Fuller has continually made it clear that he’s not giving up hope on “Hannibal” coming back to life, and this week he reminds us of that fact.

Fuller tweeted to a fan, “No one has given up! I’ve made it clear I want to do it, the cast wants to do it and Martha wants to do it. We just need a network or a streaming service that wants to do it, too. I don’t feel there’s a clock on it or an expiration date for the idea.”

“We just need someone to bite,” Fuller reiterated.

When we chatted with star Mads Mikkelsen earlier this year, he too offered a glimmer of hope.

Mikkelsen told us, “I haven’t heard anything specific. I know Bryan is still working on some ideas where we can find a new home for this. I also have a strong feeling that everybody who was involved in it would gladly pick up the glove again if that happens. I know that [Fuller] was working to get the rights to Silence of the Lambs so he could get in there and use some of those characters for his own universe. I have a hunch that might be where we’re going.”

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The toys depict Anthony Hopkins’ iconic take on the flesh-eating Hannibal Lecter, with two versions available: standard and blood-covered, fresh off attacking his prison guards.

Both toys are listed as Coming Soon.

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Today, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has announced that they’re bringing Hannibal to both Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD, with a brand new 4K restoration and hours of extras.

Here’s everything you can look forward to:

• Brand New 4K Restoration – HDR and SDR Color Graded by Cinematographer John Mathieson
• Audio Commentary by director Ridley Scott
  
• Breaking the Silence: Five Unique Making-of Hannibal including rare footage and interviews (75 Minutes)
• Anatomy of a Shoot-Out: A Five-Angle Breakdown of the “Fish Market” Action Scene (40 Minutes)
• Ridleygrams: A Featurette on the Art of Storyboarding (8 Minutes)
  
• An Exploration of the Film’s Opening Title Design (8 Minutes)
  
• Over 35 Minutes of Deleted and Alternate Scenes with Optional Director Commentary
  
• Alternate Ending with Optional Director Commentary (6 Minutes)
  
• 19 TV Spots
  
• Theatrical Teaser
  
• Theatrical Trailer
  
• 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo
  
• Limited O-card Slipcase

Hannibal bites his way onto 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on April 30th.

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“Yeah, I think there’s always new hope,” Mikkelsen told us.

“I haven’t heard anything specific. I know Bryan is still working on some ideas where we can find a new home for this. I also have a strong feeling that everybody who was involved in it would gladly pick up the glove again if that happens.”

It’s been three and a half years since Hannibal went off the air on NBC, and early hopes for a streaming pickup never materialized. Mikkelsen isn’t aware of the details, but he hears that talks are still ongoing.

“I don’t know where they looked,” Mikkelsen said. “That is above my paycheck, but I know they’ve been talking to different studios.”

The NBC run took Hannibal through the Red Dragon storyline, and Mikkelsen notes that if the series comes back, it’ll likely delve into the story we’ve all been waiting for.

“I know that [Fuller] was working to get the rights to Silence of the Lambs so he could get in there and use some of those characters for his own universe,” Mikkelsen said. “I have a hunch that might be where we’re going.”

We’ll have more with Mikkelsen on Polar in the coming weeks at Bloody-Disgusting.

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A few years after NBC pulled the plug on the brilliant “Hannibal,” Dancy and Mikkelsen are reuniting at the “Red Dragon 5” fan event in the UK early next year, providing fans of the series with the opportunity to meet both stars at the Renaissance Hotel, Heathrow. The event is taking place from February 1st through February 3rd, 2019.

From the best selling books to blockbuster films and now a critically acclaimed TV series, “Red Dragon 5” celebrates the terrifying legacy of Hannibal Lecter, with the world’s only event dedicated to the fans of Bryan Fuller’s amazing TV series. The event will feature:

• Guest talks
• Photo and autograph sessions
• Competitions
• Parties
• And much more

Also appearing? The Red Dragon himself, Richard Armitage!

Head over to Starfury Conventions to learn more and purchase tickets.

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“Hannibal” is one of the very few horror TV shows that’s a true masterpiece, documenting the relationship between serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy). Beautiful, gruesome and elegant, the Bryan Fuller-created series was a visionary new take on Thomas Harris’ characters and storylines, as gorgeous as it was gory, and it ran for three seasons before NBC pulled the plug back in 2015.

In the years since its cancellation, Bryan Fuller has repeatedly expressed a desire to continue the story with a fourth season and beyond, but at the time of writing this article, it hasn’t yet been picked up for post-cancellation renewal. That said, we’re living in a time where it seems like no TV show is ever truly dead, so there’s certainly a lot of hope that it’ll happen.

For now, the three seasons of “Hannibal” are perfection, culminating in a finale so satisfying that you won’t find me complaining if we never do get more. But here’s hoping we do!

Head over to Vudu to digitally purchase the series for $9.99 while you can.

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At their location on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, California, Gallery 1988 is currently playing host to “Idiot Box,” an exhibit featuring artwork inspired by the small screen.

The exhibit runs until August 4, and you can purchase art on the gallery’s website.

Check out some of our favorite pieces below.

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Mind you, the witty epicurean with a taste for human flesh had been terrifying long before — in Thomas Harris’s original novels, or when Brian Cox played him as a sulky genius in Michael Mann’s 1986 Manhunter, and especially in Jonathan Demme’s Academy Award winning The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Anthony Hopkins’s magnetic and unsettling performance in that film not only earned him a Best Actor Oscar, but also cemented Hannibal’s place among the great movie monsters.

But like Dracula, Freddy, and nearly all of his predecessors, Lecter quickly devolved into something familiar and toothless. Hopkins’s portrayals grew increasingly hammy in Ridley Scott’s Hannibal (2001) and Brett Ratner’s Red Dragon (2002), and by the time French actor Gaspard Ulliel played the character in the 2007 prequel film Hannibal Rising, Lecter had been reduced to a familiar set of tics and quotes.

NBC’s weekly series Hannibal returned the character to his frightening glory. A network crime procedural hardly seems like the ideal venue for such a rehabilitation, but over the course of three seasons, showrunner Bryan Fuller and his collaborators created some of the most surreal and disturbing prime time television since the original Twin Peaks.

Set before the events of Harris’s first novel Red Dragon, Hannibal follows the relationship between FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), whose “pure empathy” allows him to assume anyone’s perspective, and Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), known at this time only as a respected psychiatrist and gracious host. As they investigate cases brought to them by FBI Director Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne), the two men engage in something between a romance and cat and mouse game.  

By his own admission, Fuller gave Hannibal a “case of the week” procedural structure as a concession to NBC, allowing it to sit comfortably alongside legal thrillers like CSI and Law & Order. For the first season and a half, episodes would involve Crawford sending a wise-cracking forensic team (featuring Aaron Abrams, Hettienne Park, and Kids in the Hall alum Scott Thompson) to investigate some bizarre crime, with Graham creating psychological profiles of the perpetrator, while Hannibal and fellow psychiatrist Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) keep Will from getting lost in murderous minds.

But despite its conventionality, the structure placed the series in a troubling alternate reality, one where anybody could be a killer. Combining the lurid absurdity of Harris’s prose with the gothic whimsy Fuller demonstrated in his earlier death-obsessed shows Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies, Hannibal found grisly tableaux in the most inconspicuous places: a kindly pharmacist turns his victims into a mushroom farm, a caring acupuncturist blinds her patients and fills their bodies with beehives. Fully embracing Fuller’s “pretentious art film from the 80s” aesthetic, Hannibal portrayed the corpses in a manner both grotesque and gorgeous, eschewing realism for dream-like phantasmagoria.

In the era of The Blacklist and The Following, gory crime has almost become commonplace, accepted by both tv investigators and the audiences watching them. But Hannibal made the convention part of the show’s worldview. Throughout the series, Lecter nudges others towards acts of violence, in an attempt to normalize himself. He quotes great philosophers and Renaissance artists, but nothing proves his point better than a grouchy old man who gathers 30 years’ worth of victims into a macabre totem pole.

In a world such as this, what makes Hannibal Lecter remarkable? His ability to manipulate. Where all versions of the character have had that quality, most exercised their control through overt provocation —just recall Hopkins’s wide-eyed glee when Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) recoiled at his story about the census taker. Mikkelsen’s Lecter is a consummate observer. He’s always watching from his shark black eyes and cataloguing responses to his suggestions. So detached is this Lecter that his own therapist Dr. Du Maurier (Gillian Anderson) describes him as a monster wearing a “person suit.”

And what a compelling suit it is, as Mikkelsen underplays the menace to underscore his manners. Largely restraining his murderous impulses (at least until season three, when he fully reveals his nature), Hannibal covers his machinations with good psychiatry, and his schemes with decedent dinner parties. In Mikkelsen’s hands, we understand how Lecter could live so long as among high society. This Lecter can believably demonstrate empathy for his patients, as when he encourages Jack Crawford’s wife Bella (Gina Torres) to view her terminal cancer diagnosis as change to embrace, not a defeat to suffer.

But the show never lets us forget that Hannibal’s compassion is an extension of his curiosity, not of his humanity. When Bella attempts suicide, ending life on her own terms instead of allowing the cancer to kill her, the camera rests on Hannibal watching her expiring body before he casually pulls out a coin and flips it into the air. He decides to revive her, to prolong her suffering and create turmoil in Jack’s life, all based on a coin toss, just to see what they would do.

This inhumanity also allows Mikkelsen to bring plenty of playfulness to the role, as someone who, as Du Maurier puts it to the FBI, can be brought down by his own “whimsy” toward his crimes. The camera catches the twinkle in Mikkelsen’s eye when he talks of having friends for dinner, or of eating the rude. The jokes are funny, sure, but they’re also terrifying, and not just because they’re about cannibalism. They’re terrifying because we’re enjoying the thought of eating people.

Take the end of the 7th episode of season one, which features Hannibal’s first on-screen murder spree as he collects ingredients for a dinner party. The final scene begins with a pan across a table filled with ornate dishes, guests clapping as baroque classical plays, eventually landing on Hannibal, taking it all in. “Before we begin, you must all be warned,” he declares with a pregnant pause. “Nothing here is vegetarian.”

We viewers share in the attendees’ satisfied chuckles, and when Hannibal raises a glass in salute, he raises it directly toward the camera, toward us as well. As his smirk reveals, Lecter has accomplished his goal: he’s made his guests into ravenous cannibals and he’s made us enjoy it.

That’s why Fuller’s most effective stroke was making Will Graham the protagonist of Hannibal’s story. An FBI agent who cares for stray dogs obviously makes for an easier audience surrogate than a cannibal psychiatrist (no matter how charming), but Will’s empathy abilities better serve the show’s primary theme and builds the tension.

The series’s iconography demonstrates the relationships between Will and the criminals he hunts, particularly Hannibal himself. Throughout the show, Will has visions of a black stag, a representation of the serial killer Garrett Jacob Hobbs (Vladimir Jon Cubrt), who Will had to shoot in the series pilot and to whom he feels a connection. As Lecter pushes Will into becoming a butcher himself, it mutates into a slate black creature with Hannibal’s face and the stag’s horns, sometimes stalking Will and sometimes giving birth to a chimera with Will’s face.

But for viewers, the most powerful illustration of Will’s vulnerability is the visual representation of his empathy. These sequences open with establishing shots on a crime scene, such as a man with a cello neck protruding from his throat or a dead family with mirrors in their eyes. Yellow bars wipe across the screen, each pass erasing the viscera until all lives and limbs have been restored. The audience then watches the crime play out, with Will taking the place of the murderer, narrating each of his bloody actions until he declares, “This is my design.”

As with the killer of the week structure, these empathy sequences serve a generic purpose by providing exposition. But they also show us Will’s unraveling mind; they make us scared for him and, by extension, scared of Hannibal.

One of the best examples occurs in the 4th episode of season two, which features the death of Beverly Katz (Park), a member of the show’s forensics team. Pushed by the incarcerated Will to investigate a murder, Katz discovers evidence of Hannibal’s involvement. Director David Semel frames the scene in classic horror movie fashion: in the foreground, dread creeps across Katz’s face as she realizes what she’s found; in the background, Hannibal emerges from the shadows. Cut to black.

The real terror comes in the next episode, in which Jack finds Katz’s body, cut into vertical slices and displayed in glass. Jack brings Will from prison to profile the killer, and viewers watch a recreation of the scene. After the yellow bars undo the carnage, we watch Will strangle Katz. We see him freeze her body and cut it into bits, preparing it for the display. We see him fully corrupted by Lecter.

This tension plays out in various ways throughout Hannibal’s three seasons, giving us a fresh take on Lecter. He’s just as charming and witty as he’s ever been, and despite the constraints of network television, Hannibal kills and cooks with memorable violence.

But as we grow to know and love Will, Jack, and the other characters, and as we continue to enjoy Mikkelsen’s mesmerizing performance, we find that Lecter has stuck in our head. Our bodies might be safe from a voracious tv cannibal, but we experience a new horror as we turn off the tv and still feel him there, nibbling on the corners of our minds.

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“The history of eating one’s fellow man is rich with culinary tradition and innovation, carried on in no small part by Dr. Hannibal Lecter,” explains Rea. “In this pivotal scene, he gives a fellow killer a taste of his own medicine, so to speak – if, at the time, he had medicine in his bloodstream, because he’s eating his own leg. So to speak.” The site carries both instructions and full list ingredients.

“Looking at his work, it would appear as though David Lynch loves a few themes: surrealism. Dream sequences. Machinery. And apparently, coffee. Learn how to make the fluffiest of pancakes and the coffeeist of coffees with the help of Nick Fisher from Cocktail Chemistry as we welcome back Twin Peaks this weekend.”

The post Learn How to Make the Clay-Roasted Thigh from ‘Hannibal’, Pancakes From “Twin Peaks” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Halloween is officially over, which means that the frigid winds of Winter will soon be upon us. Believe it or not, we’re already just two weeks away from Thanksgiving, and Christmas will be here in just over a month. I guess time flies when you’re waiting for Halloween, huh?

Along with the Christmas season comes a whole host of Christmas-themed horror gems to watch, including personal favorites Christmas Evil, Silent Night, Deadly Night and Black Christmas, so expect lots of fun content in the coming weeks that’s geared towards holiday horrors.

In the meantime, let’s turn some horror icons into snowmen.

Digital artist and illustrator Nikita Veprikov is the man behind these digitally-created snowmen of three horror icons: Freddy Krueger, Saw‘s Billy and Hannibal Lecter!

Anyone want to take a crack at making these in real life this Winter?

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But NBC wasn’t on board with *everything* the writers dreamed up.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, creator Bryan Fuller just revealed the Season 1 death scene that the network didn’t go for. In Episode 11 of the first season, titled “Rôti,” Dr. Abel Gideon (Eddie Izzard) gives psychiatrist Paul Carruthers a “Colombian necktie,” slitting his throat and pulling his tongue through the gaping wound.

But that wasn’t the originally scripted death for Carruthers.

EW explains, “Originally the plan was for Gideon to lure tabloid blogger Freddie Lounds to a psychiatrist’s office, where she would flip a light switch, unwittingly activating a ceiling fan that was attached to an incision in the living doctor’s abdomen.”

“[It] essentially disembowels him by spinning the fan, all in one fell swoop,” Fuller told the site, “That was the only one where NBC was like, ‘I just don’t know how you’re going to do it.’ We would have pushed back if we also hadn’t been told that financially we didn’t know how we could afford to produce such a gag, because you have intestines swinging around a ceiling fan.”

EW was even provided with a gory illustration of the unfilmed death scene!

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Of course, there are always blurred lines when it comes to what counts as horror or not (N.B. yes, IT, the film about a child-eating clown monster is a goddamn horror movie!). Films like World War Z, Prometheus, Godzilla, I Am Legend, The Mummy Returns, Signs, Jurassic Park and Van Helsing are undoubtedly inspired by horror, but I’ve excluded them here as I consider them to operate more as action adventure or sci-fi films, not to mention their blockbuster budgets: likewise, the Scary Movie films, which did big business, but were viewed by most as comedies. But I’d say it’s hard to argue with this list of top 10 domestic opening weekends (all figures thanks to Box Office Mojo):

• IT (2017) – $117,150,000 (estimated)
• Hannibal (2001) – $58,003,121
• Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – $52,568,183
• The Village (2004) – $50,746,142
• The Conjuring (2013) – $41,855,326
• Shutter Island (2010) – $41,062,440
• Paranormal Activity 2 (2010) – $40,678,424
• Friday the 13^th (2009) – $40,570,365
• The Conjuring 2 (2016) – $40,406,314
• Insidious Chapter 2 (2013)- $40,272,103

That means that, unless the Sunday estimates don’t hold up, IT will have doubled the previous record holder. And, if anything, the numbers could creep up a little.

But what about inflation, I hear you cry! Well, that’s where this weekend becomes even more impressive. The Stephen King adaptation still comes out on top when inflation is taken into account:

• IT (2017) – $117,150,000 (estimated)
• Hannibal (2001) – $91,103,800
• Interview with the Vampire (1994) – $77,393,400
• The Village (2004) – $72,646,200
• Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) – $65,382,600
• Scream 2 (1997) – $63,772,400
• Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) – $59,684,700
• The Haunting (1999) – $58,511,500
• Scream 3 (2000) – $57,254,500
• The Grudge (2004) – $56,015,200

Suffice to say, this is unprecedented for a horror film. At this rate, there’s every chance IT becomes the highest grossing horror film of all time in the US. A mere 2.5x multiplier (totally possible – Annabelle: Creation is at 2.75x already) gets the film above The Sixth Sense’s $294m gross in 1999.

One record IT won’t be breaking, however, is the highest grossing horror film adjusted for inflation. The Exorcist will continue to hold that crown safe for a long while yet, given that film’s (deep breath!) $983m adjusted total, including reissues.

Not that any of us needed the memo, but horror is box office gold. Always has been; always will be. Maybe this is the film that will finally make the studios start paying attention…

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Not that I hadn’t already seen the writing on the walls, but the official announcement that NBC was cancelling “Hannibal” after three seasons was pretty heartbreaking. Granted, it always seemed like that’d be the show’s fate, and I was ultimately happy that the gory, boundary-pushing series lasted as long as it did.

It’s now been two years since the final episode of “Hannibal” aired on NBC, and creator Bryan Fuller has ensured over those two years that the show remains part of the small screen conversation. Every so often, Fuller provides little updates on the potential of some sort of revival, and we’ve got another one for ya today.

Over on Twitter last night, Fuller was questioned about the status of those talks.

“Conversations couldn’t start until 2 years after the final airing of season 3,” he replied. “[The De Laurentiis Company] has started those conversations. This takes time.”

All we really know is that both Fuller and stars Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen are very interested in heading back into the kitchen. So perhaps it’s only a matter of time.

Conversations couldn’t start until 2 years after the final airing of season 3. @neoprod has started those conversations. This takes time.

— Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) August 9, 2017

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Two of the most prominent examples are The X-Files, which returned to FOX with record viewership, and Twin Peaks, earning David Lynch some of the best critical reception of his career. Both are considered horror-themed series, so why not strike while the nostalgia iron is hot and bring back some other beloved horror series? This is a list of other great horror TV series that could make a comeback.

(They’re listed in order of likelihood of return, from most to least.)

HANNIBAL

Horror fans loved Bryan Fuller’s interpretation of the Thomas Harris novel series, but unfortunately, they were the only ones watching. After three critically acclaimed but poorly watched seasons filled with disturbingly beautiful imagery, stunning dialogue, and flawless performances from Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen, NBC pulled the plug.

Unlike other shows on this list, though, Fuller still talks regularly and excitedly about bringing it back for another run with the same cast and creative team. The excitement hasn’t died for the return of this series from the fans OR the creators, so don’t give up hope. Hannibal may dine again.

TREMORS

Back in 2003, before the horror-film-to-TV-series trend hit strong with Bates Motel and Hannibal, the Sci-Fi Channel adapted the beloved horror-comedy franchise Tremors into a series, complete with the original writers on board. The show was fun, delving into the town of Perfection, Nevada as a protected wildlife sanctuary/tourist attraction for the giant, carnivorous worms. It also expanded its mythology to include crazed scientists in the desert creating even more troubling monsters that intrepid survivalist Burt Gummer had to deal with.

The series was canceled after a single season when the network began to rebrand itself as Syfy and create darker series content like Battlestar Galactica. Interest in Tremors never fully vanished, however, with another film entry in the series popping up in 2015; later, interest was expressed from original cast member Kevin Bacon to bring a continuing series back to TV. The life cycle of the Graboids may see another incarnation yet.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/ANGEL

With one of the most dedicated and rabid fan bases on television and a cult following long after its original run on television ended, the Buffy universe has long been rumored to be making some kind of return. From the big-screen relaunch (which wouldn’t have involved creator Joss Whedon) to spinoff series’ about Faith and Giles (the latter of which, called Ripper, nearly became a reality on the BBC) to comic book storylines that tell season-long arcs continuing past the TV show’s end, no one truly believes that we’ve heard the end of the franchise.

Creating a return to the universe and for Buffy herself, seeing her as a grown-up and watching supernatural tales that allegorically represent the struggles of adulthood, marriage, and being a parent, might be just the thing that grown Buffy aficionados would flock to.

MILLENNIUM

Millennium was a dark and affecting horror series about a criminal profiler with an uncanny ability to get inside the heads of disturbed killers, and it was influential on procedural television and even the framework of the aforementioned Hannibal. The X-Files creator Chris Carter toyed with the supernatural in Millennium as well, but focused mostly on the evil of humanity. The series was narrowly renewed for a second and third season, and it took a crossover episode of The X-Files to give lead character Frank Black some resolution.

Though the original impetus for the series, the millennium itself, is long gone, returning to the life and work of Frank Black would make for some great, dark television. And Lance Henriksen has already gone on record as wanting to return to the character, so only FOX and Chris Carter need to sign off.

EERIE, INDIANA

A beloved cult show that deserves even more love and admiration than it already receives, the horror-comedy series perfectly portrayed what any adolescent horror fan’s inner world would look like if it sprang to life. It was cancelled in its first season, but reruns on The Disney Channel kept it in the popular imagination for years afterwards and led to another single-season spin-off, Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension.

If the original series was about a boy who uncovered the strange secrets of his hometown but no one believed him, bringing the show back with a grown-up Omri Katz playing his character as an adult seems like a perfect continuation. Instead of being the investigating child, perhaps he’s now the creepy adult figure who works out of the local library, still trying to solve decades-old mysteries…

INVASION

Television creator Shaun Cassidy will be remembered as a visionary whose ideas were ahead of their time, from the epic fantasy series Roar to the recent Emerald City to this series, about an alien invasion in the aftermath of a hurricane in Florida. The series was well-received critically and commercially, but it was dropped when its post-Lost time slot didn’t produce as many viewers as the network felt it should for such prime TV real estate.

The smart, low-key supernatural thriller series reworked the Invasion of the Body Snatchers concept into a story about family, and much of that storytelling could still work now. Tyler Labine and William Fichtner have both expressed sadness at not being able to continue the story, as did the creator; so though it is not likely to see it again, there is still interest from the people who created it.

AMERICAN GOTHIC

If the cancellation of Shaun Cassidy’s Invasion was a tragedy, then the unceremonious ending of his series American Gothic was an epic heartbreak. With producer Sam Raimi, the series boasted small-town Southern creepiness and a brilliant cast including Gary Cole, Lucas Black, and Sarah Paulson. The plot, about an evil sheriff in a small town manipulating everyone except a new local doctor and a powerful young boy, was too complicated and challenging for audiences of the time.

A new series could easily pick up years later, with young Caleb (a fantastic young Lucas Black) all grown up and struggling not to become the same evil figure that the old Sheriff Buck was trying to mold him to be. It was like nothing else on television, and audiences might welcome its originality back with open arms.

FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES

If you can get past the fact that it is entirely unconnected to the film franchise whose name it bears, this was a fun three-season show about a couple of kids collecting evil artifacts that pre-dated other similar high-concept series like Warehouse 13. The series, which was actually nominated for an Emmy, ran for three seasons and boasted behind the camera work from horror luminaries like David Cronenberg, Mick Garris, and Tom McLoughlin.

The series was abruptly canceled in season three, so it ended with no conclusion. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that the work of collecting those antiques has gone on all these years, and people have died and joined the cause along the way.

NIGHTMARE CAFE

A brilliant high-concept series from horror genius Wes Craven, Nightmare Café had just a handful of episodes to show the versatility and possibility it contained. The story revolved around a café that appeared in random places, involving itself and its employees in the lives of unsuspecting patrons. The show was a balance of anthology-style stories about its patrons and a continuing narrative about its employees, making it an interesting narrative hybrid.

The series only made six episodes before its unfortunate cancellation, but the premise is one that a show could immediately jump right back into. Robert Englund is still alive and likely willing to return in his role as restaurant owner Blackie, and the framework of this should make for a compelling dark fantasy series a la The Magicians or American Gods.

FREAKYLINKS and STRANGE LUCK

The longest of longshots, the only reason these shows made the list is because of the fond (if foggy) memories they bring back for the small group of viewers who caught them on their initial runs. Both shows were vaguely supernatural concepts that popped up on FOX after the network’s success with The X-Files, and both were victims of the perceived underperformance when compared with Chris Carter’s juggernaut. Freakylinks was an X-Files for the Gen-X crowd with a likable lead performance from Ethan Embry, and Strange Luck was a spooky-tinged modern noir series about a photographer with preternaturally odd luck who gets sucked into outlandish events.

Let’s be honest: these two are almost certainly not coming back. But in a world with hundreds of channels and dozens of streaming outlets, it may not be too much of a pipe dream to imagine that any of these shows might find their way back to our television, computer, or phone screens.

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Ever since NBC cancelled the exceptional “Hannibal” back in 2015, after just three seasons, creator Bryan Fuller has been keeping the hope alive by providing regular updates about the status of the series. Yes, it’s currently dead in the water, but Fuller has repeatedly assured that a future revival (or perhaps even a feature film) are not completely off the dinner table.

What’s the latest? Fuller spoke with Mick Garris on the latest episode of Garris’ podcast Post Mortem, and he still seems hopeful about the future of “Hannibal.”

“I have conversations with [producer] Martha De Laurentiis. I have conversations with Mads [Mikkelsen] and Hugh [Dancy]. We’re all excited about the prospect of returning to the story,” Fuller told Garris. “There are some hurdles to get through. I just had a great idea for Season 4. There’s an interesting next chapter in the relationship between Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter that would be fascinating to unpack. I’ve shared it with the gentlemen, and they’re both keen on it.”

Fuller also laid out a potential plan for the Margot Verger character.

“There’s a whole storyline that I want to do with Katharine Isabelle’s character, Margot Verger, who now is the mother of the Verger heir and in control of the Verger meatpacking industry,” Fuller said. “I wanted her to humanize all the Verger meatpacking plants and turn them over to PETA-approved [authority]. That would definitely be marbled through the season: Margot Verger taking down the meat industry as a hot, powerful lesbian.”

For now, “Hannibal” sadly remains dead.

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Here is a list of single episodes of television that can be watched free of the rest of the series, and just enjoyed as an hour of horror. Minor character information aside, each of them plays like a mini-movie with unique and compelling concepts that make the time worth investing.

The list runs from most well-known to most obscure…

SERIES- The Walking Dead
Episode- “Clear” (Season 3, Episode 12)

Many things have been said about the series, both positive and negative, but most viewers agree that there are a handful of episodes that are undeniably effective. “The Grove” and “Here’s Not Here” are often cited, along with this episode. Though the back story between Rick and Morgan is from a previous episode, the interactions and the tragedy of Morgan’s plight are obvious no matter how little the viewer knows about the characters. The balancing act between hope and despair, a longtime theme of the series, is brilliantly on display in “Clear.”

SERIES- Hannibal
Episode- “Amuse-Bouche” (Season 1, Episode 2)

After the stunning hour that was the pilot, Hannibal didn’t rest on its accomplishments. The first episode of the series to embrace the “case of the week” element that weaved through season one, “Amuse-Bouche” is a procedural episode so dark and grotesque that Law & Order: SVU wouldn’t touch it. It also has beautiful cinematography, fantastic performances, and a score that will put your teeth on edge.

SERIES- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Episode- “Hush” (Season 4, Episode 2)

A lot has been said about this series and this episode in particular. An episode that is almost entirely without spoken dialogue, this one would be noteworthy for its gimmick alone. However, the gimmick is just part of the appeal; the terrifying villains, The Gentlemen, are truly iconic monsters. Silent, floating cadavers dressed in fancy suits with straight-jacketed minions attack Buffy and friends, looking to collect human hearts. The slow, deliberate movements of The Gentlemen (one of whom is played by horror mainstay Doug Jones) are wholly unnerving.

SERIES- The X-Files
Episodes- “Home” (Season 4, Episode 2) & “Daemonicus” (Season 9, Episode 3)

“Home” is a notorious hour of television, one that fought a hard battle to reach television screens and which was never rebroadcast on Fox. The graphic discussion of incest, the disturbing make-up, and the especially upsetting home invasion sequence all combined to make “Home” not only one of the scariest episodes of The X-Files, but one of the most notorious episodes of television ever.

Since that episode of The X-Files is so well-known that horror fans might already know about it, there is another episode that might surprise and shock, from much later in the series. Another story with a disturbing home invasion sequence, “Daemonicus” is an episode from the Doggett/Reyes era, written and directed by Frank Spotnitz. The guest appearance by James Remar is creepy and sticks with you.

SERIES- Masters of Horror
Episodes- “Imprint” (Season 1, Episode 13) & “John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns” (Season One, Episode 8)

It takes an extreme piece of horror for producer Mick Garris and the Showtime network to decide that an episode of a series is too graphic and disturbing for American pay cable. Takashi Miike is the man to make that extreme piece of horror. “Imprint” was intended to be the thirteenth episode of the first season, but Miike’s episode was so extreme that it was pulled from the airing order, and only appeared in the complete season DVD release.

Another episode of Masters of Horror which was less controversial but equally compelling, “John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns” is a return to filmmaking for the director after a four-year break from features. “Cigarette Burns” was a supernatural spin on the plot of 8MM with disturbing visuals and excellent performances from Udo Kier and a pre-The Walking Dead Norman Reedus – Carpenter enjoyed the experience so much that he returned for another episode in season two.

SERIES- Millennium
Episode- “Covenant: (Season 1, Episode 16)

Hot off the success of The X-Files, Chris Carter created one of the darkest and most emotionally devastating crime series’ of all time with Millennium. Following an intuitively skilled criminal profiler played by Lance Henriksen, the series looked into the dark heart of humanity and dealt with the aftermath of violence. Nearly any episode from the first season makes for an excellent standalone experience, but the heartbreaking revelations in “Covenant” are a perfect example of the unflinching look at tragedy that the show did best.

SERIES- The River
Episode- “Los Ciegos” (Season 1, Episode 3)

A fascinating experiment in found footage horror television from the creator of Paranormal Activity, The River ran for eight episodes on ABC but never received a further episode order. Many of the episodes were tightly locked into the narrative about a son’s search through the mystical Amazon for his jungle reality star father, but the third episode, “Los Ciegos” (from The X-Files writer Glen Morgan), is fairly self-contained and packs some effective moments into its run time.

SERIES- Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King
Episode- “Battleground” (Season 1, Episode 1)

Before he was known for his TV work on Damages and Goliath, William Hurt was a movie star who did this single, brilliantly weird episode of the Stephen King anthology series Nightmares and Dreamscapes. It was inspired by The Outer Limits episode “The Invaders” and directed by Brian Henson, Muppets producer and son of Jim Henson. There is not a single line of dialogue in the entire episode, and the action of the story is somehow both intense and absurd. While every episode of the series is a standalone story from King, “Battleground” is by far the most memorable.

SERIES- Fear Itself
Episodes- “Eater” (Season 1, Episode 5) & “Skin and Bones” (Season 1, Episode 8)

After creating Masters of Horror, producer Mick Garris brought a similar concept to network television with Fear Itself, an anthology series directed by some of horror’s most famous directors. The first episode listed here is “Eater,” from director Stuart Gordon. It follows a young police officer, played by Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss, as the sole survivor of a police station slaughter by a supernatural slasher. The cannibalistic elements of the episode were shocking for network television at the time.

More shocking than “Eater” is “Skin and Bones,” an episode about the Wendigo myth directed by Larry Fessenden. Starring the previously mentioned Doug Jones as an emaciated wilderness survivor whose actions to remain alive have changed him in unusual ways, the episode is a taut chamber piece with moments of cannibalism even more disturbing than “Eater” because of their emotional immediacy and frankness. A tour de force performance from Jones makes this episode a no-brainer.

SERIES- The Greatest American Hero
Episode- “The Beast in the Black” (Season 2, Episode 6)

It may seem strange to have a comedic super-hero show from the early 1980s on this list, but there was a single episode of The Greatest American Hero that scarred many unprepared young viewers: “The Beast in the Black.” When the main hero’s friend is possessed by the spirit of an evil woman, the hero must face a monster from another dimension hidden in a portal inside a brick wall in a creepy old house. Though the episode is dated, the impact of the scares still works now, and the full episode can be seen up above.

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