The humble writer from Portland, Maine, published his debut novel in 1974 and quickly became a household name. By 1978, he’d released five incredible books that continue to dazzle modern readers. Carrie, ‘Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Night Shift, and The Stand run the gamut of horror subgenres, exploring everything from vampire lore and feminism to haunted houses and the apocalypse. But despite these differences, each story is a showcase for the prolific author’s ability to create intensely relatable characters forced to confront their darkest fears.

To celebrate this unparalleled legacy, Vintage Books presents a stunning reissue of King’s first five publications.

Adorned with gorgeous new covers from award-winning illustrator Gary Pullin, this series combines each story’s retro vibe with the timeless terror we’ve come to associate with the man now known as the Master of Horror. 

Carrie (1974)

Considering his later success, it’s surprising to learn that King’s debut novel almost ended up in the trash. When he first envisioned the bloody story, King was a young father living paycheck to paycheck on a teacher’s salary, supplementing the family’s meager income with short stories published in men’s magazines. Frustrated with what was shaping up to be a longer work, King famously gave up on his draft of Carrie and threw the first few pages away. Fortunately, his wife and fellow writer Tabitha pulled the manuscript out of the wastebasket and encouraged him to continue writing. 

Carrie follows a lonely high school girl whose telekinetic abilities blossom with the late arrival of her first period. A victim of relentless bullying, Carrie White finds herself the target of a vicious prank when her popular classmates orchestrate her unlikely election to prom queen, then douse her with pig’s blood at the moment of coronation. Humiliated, Carrie unleashes the full force of her awful powers on the laughing prom-goers, sparking a fire that threatens to destroy the town. 

The slim novel sold modestly upon initial release, but became a worldwide phenomenon thanks to a masterful adaptation from Brian De Palma. Featuring powerhouse performances from Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie, Carrie (1976) remains a beloved genre classic and an early example of Good For Her horror. There’s even a new series adaptation on the way this year.

Vintage Books’ rerelease features an introduction from feminist author Margaret Atwood, who — upon the novel’s 50th anniversary — called its upsetting themes “still horrifyingly relevant.”

‘Salem’s Lot (1975)

King’s second novel highlights the author’s talent for creating abject terror while exploring the nuances of small town life. Haunted by an incident from his childhood, widowed novelist Ben Mears returns to the titular town intent on renting the Marsten House, a crumbling mansion said to be haunted by the ghost of its former resident. Unfortunately, he returns to find the home purchased by Kurt Barlow, a mysterious European antiques dealer, and his more visible companion, Richard Straker. Meanwhile, residents of the sleepy town find themselves shunning the light and inexplicably thirsting for human blood. 

A modern retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, King reverses the legendary text’s exploration of Victorian technology with characters so convinced of their rationality that they reject the growing vampire threat until the moment it bites them on the neck. Several sequences remain among the most frightening of King’s vast catalogue, but ‘Salem’s Lot is at its best when following the residents of the secretive town. One mesmerizing chapter begins with farmhands working in the pre-dawn hours before circling through a series of scandalous vignettes featuring a cantankerous bus driver, an elementary school bully, a corrupt real estate mogul, and an unfaithful housewife. The chapter ends when two young brothers are stalked through the darkening woods, kicking the vampiric horror into overdrive.

In some ways, ‘Salem’s Lot encapsulates the best of King’s distinctive style. Ben Mears serves as the first writer protagonist, while folksy side characters juxtapose fantasy elements with the grounded reality of everyday life. Neighboring the infamous Chamberlain — the town nearly destroyed by Carrie White — ‘Salem’s Lot also begins a literary connected universe still rippling through pop culture more than five decades later. 

Vintage Books’ rerelease of the novel that inspired multiple adaptations comes with an introduction by horror author Joe Hill.

The Shining (1977)

Not only King’s first hardcover bestseller, The Shining also introduces readers to his signature brand of storytelling through unflinching self-examination. The terrifying tale follows Jack Torrance, a failed teacher and fledgling playwright struggling to maintain his sobriety. Hoping to get his life back on track, Jack accepts a job as the winter caretaker at a luxury hotel set high in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Joining him in this eerie assignment is his watchful wife, Wendy, and son Danny, a little boy gifted with immense telepathic powers. But solitude begins to wear on the fracturing family as the spirits who wander the empty halls want to claim the child’s talents for themselves. 

On the surface, The Shining is a nerve-shattering tale of a haunted hotel filled with vengeful ghosts. But beneath this horrific exterior is an intimate story of addiction-fueled domestic violence and a man consumed by the worst parts of himself. Written several years before the author entered recovery, King has described Jack as a vessel for exploring his own relationship with alcohol and the pressures of early parenthood.

Four decades later, he would write Doctor Sleep, a sequel following an adult Danny Torrance struggling to make peace with his father’s legacy that would also be adapted into a feature film.

Night Shift (1978)

King’s first collection of short stories is a thrilling showcase for the author’s unparalleled creativity. Lean, mean, and often grisly, these twenty tales pack a powerful punch while spanning a variety of subgenres and subjects. “The Mangler” features an industrial steam ironer accidentally possessed by an unlikely demon, while “Sometimes They Come Back” follows a traumatized high school teacher who must battle disruptive students from beyond the grave. “The Lawnmower Man” is an Arthur Machen-inspired curio blending folk horror with the tedium of suburbia, while “Graveyard Shift” sees a factory worker devoured by hordes of mutant rats. 

In a nightmarish return to his tortured town, King bookends the collection with “Jerusalem’s Lot” and “One for the Road,” wildly different short stories which serve as prequel and coda, respectively, to ‘Salem’s Lot. Though many entries see King gleefully lean into the uncanny and gross — like “Gray Matter” in which a father is consumed by moldy beer — others are more poignant. “The Last Rung on the Ladder” follows a brother forced to reckon with his wayward sister’s legacy, while “The Woman in the Room” sees King explore the experience of watching his mother slowly pass away. 

With most entries clocking in under twenty pages, Night Shift is surprisingly cinematic and has spawned a staggering number of adaptations.

To date, thirteen feature films and TV series have risen from the collection’s pages, not including ten sequels to Fritz Kiersch’s campy classic Children of the Corn. With Rob Savage’s The Boogeyman — inspired by Night Shift’s sixth short story — terrifying audiences in 2023, this curious collection continues to fuel the horror genre with new iterations of unimaginable fear.

The Stand (1978)

The same year Night Shift became a national bestseller, King published The Stand, a sprawling apocalyptic fantasy inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. This harrowing story opens with a malfunctioning gate and a frightened security guard fleeing a chemical weapons research facility just minutes after a disastrous breach. Weeks later, the Superflu or “Captain Trips” has spread across the United States, decimating the population as the army frantically tries to maintain control. 

King shows the collapse of society through a handful of disparate characters who somehow prove immune to the virus and find themselves left behind in a country strewn with rotting corpses. As each struggles to pick up the pieces, some are drawn to an old woman playing guitar on a humble porch, while others dream of a Dark Man wandering deserted roads throughout the night. After a brutal summer, these two factions find themselves in a desperate battle between good and evil where the prize is the very soul of humanity. 

At a whopping 1,152 pages, King’s longest work to date was originally released in 1978 with dramatic edits removing around 400 pages of colorful prose. Vintage Books’ rerelease features the “Complete and Uncut” version of King’s epic novel, originally restored in 1990. Among other exciting sequences, this expanded tome features the Dark Man lurking within a massive tornado and a beer-swilling miscreant known as the Kid who pays an unthinkable price for his treachery.

The Stand is now considered a masterpiece and one of America’s best modern novels thanks to King’s skillfully balanced characters who contemplate the awful price of war and our collective ability to better ourselves. A poignant conclusion asks the reader, if given a clean slate to start again, would we find the courage to stand for what’s right or wind up remaking the same mistakes? 

Five decades after they first hit bookshelves, King’s first five novels continue to unnerve readers with stories that still feel frighteningly familiar. The Stand proved eerily prophetic during the 2020 pandemic, inspiring The End of the World As We Know It, a collection of in-world stories contributed by  Paul Tremblay, Tananarive Due, and more of the genre’s most popular writers.

Tobe Hooper’s 1979 adaptation of ‘Salem’s Lot just received a stunning new 4K rerelease while Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece The Shining continues to shape the look of modern horror, prominently referenced in blockbusters like Ready Player One and Coralie Fargeat’s awards darling The Substance. And no one goes to prom without thinking of a wide-eyed Carrie White doused in blood on the high school stage. Mike Flanagan’s upcoming miniseries adaptation promises to modernize Carrie’s brutal themes, bringing this disturbing tale of bullying into the digital age.

There’s never been a better time to pick up a copy of Vintage King and join the vast community of Constant Readers.  

The post Vintage Stephen King Collection Captures Enduring Legacy of Horror Master’s First Five Novels appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Actor Chris Chalk (Godzilla vs. Kong) plays Dick Hallorann in “IT: Welcome to Derry,” making him the fourth actor to portray the character on screen. Gifted with the titular power, Hallorann is of course a central character in Stephen King’s The Shining, played by Scatman Crothers in the Stanley Kubrick classic, Melvin van Peebles in the Mick Garris mini-series from the 1990s that was written by King himself, and later Carl Lumbly in Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep.

Dick Hallorann was indeed mentioned in Stephen King’s novel IT, which was published nine years after The Shining came along. The novel revealed that army cook Dick Hallorann worked at a Black nightclub called The Black Spot before finding his way to the Overlook Hotel, and the massacre at The Black Spot ended up being a pivotal moment in “IT: Welcome to Derry.”

“Welcome to Derry” also unlocked the darkest and most evil thoughts from within Hallorann’s mind, an event that forever changed the character and shaped him into the man we meet in The Shining. Hallorann was tortured by the horrifying spirits of the dead throughout the back half of the HBO Max series, though the finale suggests he’s on a much better path. The voices have been silenced, at least for now, and Hallorann is leaving the town of Derry behind.

Where does Dick Hallorann go from here? The first season of “Welcome to Derry” was set in 1962, so it’ll still be a couple decades before he finds himself at the Overlook Hotel. But that’s a future fate the season finale hints at. Dick tells Leroy Hanlon in the final moments of the episode that he’s headed off to a hotel in London, and “how much trouble can a hotel be?”

It’s of course a little wink for fans of The Shining, but it’s important to note that the Overlook Hotel is in Colorado rather than London. So Hallorann isn’t headed to the Overlook just yet.

Series co-creator/showrunner Jason Fuchs explains to Deadline this week, “As a Stephen King fan, it is hard when you’re working on these things, to not let your mind wander to his other Stephen King books you cared about, and think about how those stories might interact. Even you think about the end of Dick Hallorann’s journey in this show. Yes, he does say he’s going off to work at the kitchen of a hotel, but he’s not going to Colorado. He’s going to London.”

“It suggests there’s a lot of story that unravels between the end of this journey and the beginning of The Shining at the Overlook Hotel,” Fuchs goes on to explain. “We all tried very hard to stay focused on the task at hand. I’m still somewhat shocked and delighted by the reaction to the show. You just never know how people will respond. So I’m trying as best I can to live in the moment and celebrate the joy of sharing these eight stories with the audience.”

With planned future seasons of “Welcome to Derry” taking place in 1935 and 1908, does that rule out seeing more of Dick Hallorann’s journey within the confines of this series? One person who hopes to see more of the character on screen is Chris Chalk himself.

Chalk tells Men’s Health, “This is just the beginning. This is only a glimpse of who he will become, of him realizing, this is who I could be. I can be generous with my powers. But there’s still a long journey to get there. At this moment, he’s not even learning to use his powers for good yet—he’s just learning to use them at all.”

“Why not? Let’s make it happen. It’s my hope. Truly, it’s my hope,” Chalk answers when asked if he’d like to further explore the character in the HBO series. “I haven’t really talked to anybody about anything officially, but it makes so much sense. I do think there is an incredibly rich world to explore between now to once he gets to the Overlook, and then from when he gets to the Overlook until the story we all know [from The Shining].

Chalk continues, “My wife had a pitch. She said, ‘Once you get to the Overlook, there’s that picture [at the end of Kubrick’s film, of hotel guests and workers at a July 4 party in 1921]. Where did all those people go?’ And that’s the story. And you’ve got several seasons of meeting and then losing those people. Who are the twins? Did they come in alive or were they always dead? There are so many cool stories that we could explore.”

Stay tuned for more on “IT: Welcome to Derry” as we learn it.

‘The Shining’ (1980)

The post “How Much Trouble Can a Hotel Be?” What’s Next for Dick Hallorann in the ‘Welcome to Derry’ Universe appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After seven thrilling episodes, It: Welcome to Derry concludes its inaugural season with “Winter Fire,” a powerhouse finale that effectively wraps up the town’s 1962 cycle of death and destruction while peppering in shrewd connections to Stephen King’s larger body of work.

With Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) unbound by the protective Pillars previously used to confine him to Derry, the monster has emerged from his subterranean lair, seemingly ready to skip his traditional 27-year hibernation and continue to feast on children’s fear. This shift coincides with a mysterious fog that spreads through town, bringing out-of-season ice and snow while providing cover for the clown’s sinister deeds. Constant Readers will undoubtedly be reminded of another tiny Maine town overtaken by a deadly haze. 

King’s 1985 collection Skeleton Crew opens with “The Mist,” a novella in which a heavy summer storm is followed by dense clouds spreading through Bridgton, Maine, sparking chaos among the frightened survivors while cloaking a variety of massive beasts.  Co-creator Jason Fuchs has stated that the mist permeating Derry is not the same phenomenon that decimates Bridgton, but comparisons are nonetheless eerie. The Bridgton disaster is reportedly caused by a dangerous experiment at a nearby military base and the mysterious Project Arrowhead, reminiscent of General Shaw (James Remar) and his reckless Project Precept. Anyone familiar with King’s harrowing “The Mist” — not to mention Frank Darabont‘s devastating 2007 adaptation — will no doubt see this mist rolling through town and worry that Derry may be headed for a similar fate. 

Photo courtesy of HBO

After watching the weather turn from their lofty clubhouse, Marge (Matilda Lawler), Lilly (Clara Stack), and Ronnie (Amanda Christine) descend the stairs to find the walls of the Standpipe covered with Missing posters emblazoned with the images of Derry’s kids. Most upsetting is a flyer featuring Will (Blake Cameron James), who was pulled into Pennywise’s Deadlights in the final moments of episode 7. These bulletins nod to one of co-creator Andy Muschietti‘s more sinister visual frights in his 2017 adaptation It. After entering the house on Neibolt Street, Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard) is confronted with a Missing poster featuring his own smiling face. Determined to save their friend and still reeling from the deadly Black Spot fire, Marge insists, “I wanna kill that fucking clown,” paraphrasing Richie’s explicit call to arms in Muschietti’s It and It: Chapter Two. 

Disoriented by the freezing mist, the girls follow a trail of blood into the woods. But with just one bike between them, they’re unable to move fast enough. Fortunately, Marge commandeers an abandoned delivery truck after spying a milkman lying dead nearby, cleverly nodding to two of King’s most bizarre short stories. Skeleton Crew also features a pair of entries reworked from snippets of an abandoned novel. “Morning Deliveries (Milkman No. 1)” and “Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman No. 2)” are unsettling vignettes following Spike, a milkman and suspected serial killer who delights in delivering deadly ingredients like poisoned gas and venomous spiders hidden inside his bottles of milk. When Marge mentions learning to drive a truck by watching her uncle, Constant Readers may also remember another story collected in Skeleton Crew. “Uncle Otto’s Truck” is an eerie Castle Rock tale following a man plagued by guilt that takes the form of an abandoned truck creeping immeasurably closer to his bedroom window. 

Photograph by Brooke Palmer/HBO

Among those still left to battle the clown, none has been terrorized quite like Dick Hallorran (Chris Chalk). While using his telepathic powers to locate the Entity, Pennywise was able to infiltrate Dick’s mind and release a host of ominous spirits previously trapped in a mental lockbox. Terrorized by visions of the dead, Dick accepts a potent tea from Rose (Kimberly Guerrero), who promises it will help silence their voices.

This concoction is made from Maturin root, used as a hallucinogenic in Muschietti’s It: Chapter Two. Both inclusions of this mysterious plant reference an interdimensional turtle named Maturin who serves as a benevolent counterweight to the relentless evil of Pennywise. (For more information on Maturin, see our recap of episode 1). Rose explains that ingesting this root will connect Hallorann “to all things in the realm this evil came from.” Though she does not use the explicit term, Rose is referencing Todash Space, a liminal void between other worlds from which Pennywise – along with the aforementioned Bridgton monsters — likely originates. This tea not only allows Dick to quiet the dead and locate the Entity, but he’s also able to hijack Pennywise’s own consciousness and create a mental distraction while the kids attempt to rebury the Pillar. This metaphysical ruse sets up a similar tactic that Hallorann’s protege, Danny Torrance, will use to battle the True Knot in King’s 2013 novel Doctor Sleep. 

While this reference is admittedly thematic in nature, Muschietti wraps up Dick’s time in Derry with an overt nod to his origin story. Once Pennywise has been subdued, Hallorann plans to leave the military and try his hand at a new career. While saying goodbye, he mentions accepting an opportunity to cook at a friend’s hotel, foreshadowing his time as Head Chef at the sinister Overlook Hotel, first introduced in King’s 1977 novel, The Shining. Inside, he will be confronted with more visions of the dead, which seem to feed on his strange abilities. Hallorann quips, “How much trouble could a hotel be?” an ominous precursor to the horrors he will face in another of King’s most terrifying tales. 

Photograph by Brooke Palmer/HBO

In the midst of this episode’s jaw-dropping climax, Marge also gets a window into her own future. Having cornered the frightened girl away from her friends, Pennywise refers to her as Margaret Tozier, before noting that this is not her name … yet. After weeks of fan theories and speculation — sparked by the character’s thick glasses and affinity for impressions which heavily mirror Richie’s own persona — this name drop confirms that Marge is the future mother of Losers’ Club member Richie Tozier, forming a direct link between her survival and It’s demise. We don’t yet know who Richie’s father will be, but considering the events of episode 7, we can now assume that Marge will name her son after Rich Santos (Arian S. Cartaya), the brave boy who died to save her life. 

Marge turns this encounter over in her mind, wondering about the limits of the Entity’s power. Revealing that her child will one day cause It’s death, the trickster clown also alludes to the cyclical nature of time itself and warns that this end will also serve as a birth. Marge worries that It has the power to target her ancestors in previous cycles, potentially wiping out the Losers’ Club and their hard-won victory before it begins. Lilly calms her fears, noting that this will be “someone else’s fight,” simultaneously referring to the events of King’s novel and the remaining two seasons of It: Welcome to Derry, which promise to chronicle earlier Interludes. As the final credits roll, eagle-eyed viewers will note a subtle addition to the script. “Chapter One” not only mirrors the conclusion of Muschietti’s It, but promises a return to this troubled town. 

Photograph by Brooke Palmer/HBO

Also wary of the monster’s resurgence, Rose believes she’s found a new generation of guardians. Devastated by her nephew’s death, she offers to sell her farm to the Hanlons and, along with it, the task of monitoring Derry to make sure the Pillars stay in place. Though the Hanlons initially balk at this invitation, Charlotte (Taylour Paige) convinces her husband Leroy (Jovan Adepo) to stay, mirroring her grandson’s role in future cycles. After battling the shapeshifting nightmare as kids, members of the Losers’ Club scatter to the winds, growing wildly successful in their respective fields. But Mike Hanlon stays behind, dedicating his life to keeping the watch. While waiting for the monster to arise, he begins researching the town’s history, compiling his findings into four literary Interludes which will become the basis of It: Welcome to Derry. 

Despite this heartwarming conclusion, Muschietti is not yet done with the terror. A post-credits scene takes us inside Juniper Hill, a hospital for the mentally ill, where we see a disturbed Ingrid Kersh (Madeleine Stowe) ranting about the murderous clown. Muschietti then fast forwards to 1988, the year before the Losers’ Club forms. Joan Gregson reprises her role as the elderly Mrs. Kersh, nodding to her unsettling appearance in It: Chapter Two (see our recap of the Mrs. Kersh lore). 

The unnervingly cheerful woman hears sobbing from an open room and patters down the hall to take a peek. Inside, another patient named Elfrida Marsh has finally succeeded in dying by suicide. Standing in the doorway, Ingrid ignores the woman’s dangling body to focus on her grieving daughter. Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis) attempts to console her abusive father before turning to lock eyes with Mrs. Kersh, who promises that “no one who dies in Derry ever really dies.” She will later echo this ominous phrase as a warning to an adult Beverly (Jessica Chastain) as she returns to Derry, intent on killing Pennywise once and for all.

This connection also brings the episode’s title full circle. “Winter Fire” not only describes the icy fog overtaking the town, but references a line from a romantic poem sent to Beverly from a secret admirer, revealed to be fellow Loser Ben Hanscomb. This connection draws a direct line between Mrs. Kersh and her future victim while reminding us that both evil and good exist side by side within the borders of King’s infamous town.

For more on It:Welcome to Derry, check out episode by episode coverage from Bloody FM’s The Losers’ Club: A Stephen King Podcast.

Photograph by Brooke Palmer/HBO

The post ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ Explained: The Stephen King Connections & References in Season One’s Finale appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Welcome to Bloody Disgusting’s 2025 Holiday Gift Guide!

Terrifier 3 Ugly Christmas Sweater

You better not shout, you better not cry, because Art the Clown is coming to town. This bloody Terrifier 3 light-up sweater features pom-poms, jingle bells, and red LED lights that cycle through three patterns (solid, blinking, and strobing), plus sound effects.

Available for $56 from Spencer’s

The Shining Ugly Christmas Sweater

The carpet pattern from The Shining has become one of the most recognizable emblems in a film full of iconography. Also available as a cardigan, this sweater is perfect for cold winters at the Overlook.

Available for $85 from Middle of Beyond

Halloween Ugly Christmas Sweater

Michael Myers sees you when you’re sleeping, so be good, for goodness sake, with this Halloween sweater. Along with The Shape, the design includes jack-o’-lanterns, Christmas trees, and snowflakes to bridge the gap between Halloween and Christmas.

Available for $60 from FYE

Jaws Ugly Christmas Sweater

Don’t let the 50th anniversary of Jaws swim away without this sweater. Along with the iconic shark, the pattern includes anchors, snowflakes, and the unmistakable “da-dum” theme circling the hem. You’re gonna need a bigger stocking!

Available for $70 from Merchoid

Ghostbusters Ugly Christmas Sweater

Give slimy salutations for the holidays with this Ghostbusters sweater featuring everyone’s favorite ugly little spud. As if the ectoplasmic design wasn’t attention-grabbing enough, it also glows in the dark… just like Slimer!

Available for $20-30 from Fun.com

Chucky Ugly Christmas Sweater

Sleigh it like Chucky this Christmas with this delightfully tacky light-up sweater. In addition to a super-soft patch of the Child’s Play killer, it’s adorned with shiny ornaments, jingle bells, tinsel poms, and LED lights that cycle through three patterns.

Available for $60 from Spencer’s

Evil Dead 2 Ugly Christmas Sweater

Kiss your holiday nerves goodbye with this Evil Dead 2 cardigan. Featuring the Necronomicon on the front and the cabin on the back, the groovy design is begging to be possessed by you.

Available for $90 from Middle of Beyond

The X-Files Ugly Christmas Sweater

Scully, you’re not gonna believe this! The truth is out there on this X-Files crewneck sweatshirt designed in the style of a knit sweater, complete with aliens and UFOs.

Available for $37 from Hot Topic

Stranger Things Ugly Christmas Sweater

Have a Hellfire Christmas in honor of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. This sweater features the Hellfire Club logo topped with a Santa hat along with smaller details from the show, including guitars in loving memory of Eddie Munson.

Available for $33 from Netflix

The Shining Ugly Christmas Sweater

Come play with us in a faithful recreation of Danny Torrance’s Apollo 11 sweater from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. The custom-knit, heavyweight sweater will have you screaming “Redrum” with cheer.

Available for $75 from Fright-Rags

Godzilla Ugly Christmas Sweater

Have yourself a kaiju-sized Christmas with this Godzilla crewneck sweatshirt designed in the style of a knit sweater. The King of the Monsters is the centerpiece, surrounded by Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, and Rodan.

Available for $36 from Cavity Colors

Beetlejuice Ugly Christmas Sweater

It’s Showtime with this Beetlejuice sweater. Summon the ghost with the most with a knit-in graphic of Beetlejuice, along with gravestones, bugs, and skulls. A matching Lydia Deetz design is also available for his-and-hers coziness.

Available for $20-25 from Fun.com

The Nightmare Before Christmas Ugly Christmas Sweater

Bonus entry, because our four-legged friends deserve to be snug! Make your dog’s holiday screams come true with this Nightmare Before Christmas slip-on sweater featuring Jack Skellington in his Santa outfit.

Available for $20 from PetSmart

The post Holiday Gift Guide: 12 Ugly Christmas Sweaters for Horror Fans This Year! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Pearl Tree Topper from A24

Pearl is a star — so she belongs at the top of a Christmas tree.

A24 has turned the Mia Goth character into a 10” handmade felted tree topper for $43.

You can also get the tree topper with the X trilogy ornament set — including a bloody axe, Theda the alligator, and Mother Goose coke jar — for $74 total.

Scars of Dracula 4K UHD from Kino Lorber

Scars of Dracula will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on December 9 via Kino Lorber.

The 1970 sixth installment in Hammer Films’ Dracula series has received a new HDR/Dolby Vision master from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative.

Special features:

• Audio Commentary by Film Critic Tim Lucas (new)
• Audio Commentary by Director Roy Ward Baker, Actor Christopher Lee, and Hammer Films Historian Marcus Hearn
• Blood Rites: Inside Scars of Dracula
• Theatrical Trailers
• Reversible Artwork

Roy Ward Baker (Quatermass and the Pit) directs from a script by Anthony Hinds (Dracula: Prince of Darkness).

Christopher Lee stars as Count Dracula, with Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, and Christopher Matthews.

The Shining Sweater from Fright-Rags

Fright-Rags has faithfully recreated the Apollo 11 sweater worn by Danny Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

The custom-knit, heavyweight acrylic sweater costs $75.

The Stephen King adaptation will celebrate its 45th anniversary with an IMAX release on December 12.

American Psycho Posters by Hans Woody

Mad Duck Posters has released American Psycho 24×36 screen prints by Hans Woody.

The regular edition is limited to 125 for $75, while the bloody variant is limited to 100 for $95.

The hand-numbered posters are estimated to begin shipping in two months.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, American Psycho was recently released on 4K Ultra HD and VHS.

Weapons Apparel from Rucking Fotten

Rucking Fotten has a collection of Weapons apparel available through Sunday, November 16.

The line includes T-shirts ($34.99-35.99), all-over print tees ($62.99), long sleeves ($44.99), pullover hoodies ($64.99), dad hats ($36.99), and 60×50 throw blankets ($64.99).

Every order comes with a free Weapons hot dog stress ball!

They’ll ship in 6-8 weeks. Select pieces are limited in quantity and may sell out before the weekend is over.

Horror Pop!s from Funko

Funko is releasing new Pop! figures of several horror icons.

The line includes Pennywise with balloons, based on Tim Curry’s portrayal in 1990’s IT; Sam from Trick ‘r Treat with a flaming pumpkin; Regan from The Exorcist, possessed and covered in vomit; Chucky with a bloody nose from Child’s Play 2; and Rob Zombie donning his signature bandana.

Priced at $14.99 each, they’re due out between December and January.

Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden

Christopher Golden (Road of Bones, Ararat) will publish Carry Me to My Grave on July 21, 2026 via St. Martin’s Press.

The high concept horror novel is about a man trying to protect his dead mother’s body from the evil that is hunting them.

Golden, who co-wrote the script for Hellboy: The Crooked Man, has two high-profile adaptations in the works: Road of Bones from Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, and The House of Last Resort for Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society.

For more merch madness, peruse the Killer Collectibles archives.

The post 7 New Must-Have Horror Collectibles, Including ‘Pearl’ Tree Topper & ‘Scars of Dracula’ 4K UHD appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Celebrate the 45th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick‘s horror masterpiece like never before with IMAX screenings beginning December 12.

Kubrick directs from a script he co-wrote with Diane Johnson, based on the 1977 novel by Stephen King — who famously criticized the adaptation due to its deviations from the book.

In the 1980 film, writer Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic, accepts a job as the winter caretaker for a hotel high in the Rocky Mountains, isolating him, his wife and their psychic young son until spring.

But when the first blizzard blocks the only road out, the hotel’s stored energy from evil past deeds begins to drive Jack insane… and there may be no escape for his family in this haunting story of madness, memory and violence.

Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers star.

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The Grady Twins, previously released in 2020, are back on sale on November 13, 2025, at 9 am PT.

Mattel previews, “Inspired by legendary horror film The Shining and reimagined through a scary-cool Monster High filter, these collectible Grady Twins dolls feature killer looks with tons of film-inspired details. Each twin doll wears a blue babydoll dress with a dotted print, lace trim, sheer sleeves, and a pleated bodice. Gore-geous details include a hatchet hair accessory, sheer stockings, and a pair of platform Mary Janes with hedge maze-inspired heels.”

• Monster High Skullector The Shining Grady Twins  
• Originally sold out in 2020, it’s a new chance to add them to your skullection 
• Each doll is 10 inches tall with 11 points of articulation 
• Spine-tingling accessories include hatchet hair clips and hedge maze heels 
• Comes with a Room 237 key, a yellow ball, and a page from Jack’s manuscript 
• Specially designed packaging recreates the iconic scene of the hotel hallway 
• Package features “second release” sticker to differentiate from the 2020 release 
• Includes Certificate of Authenticity 

The dolls’ re-release arrives just ahead of The Shining’s return to theaters next month.

In the film, writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a former alcoholic, accepts a job as the winter caretaker for a hotel high in the Rocky Mountains, isolating him, his wife (Shelley Duvall), and their psychic young son until spring. But when the first blizzard blocks the only road out, the hotel’s stored energy from evil past deeds begins to drive Jack insane… and there may be no escape for his family in this haunting story of madness, memory, and violence.

The Grady Twins, played by Lisa and Louise Burns, were among the Overlook Hotel’s ghostly residents.

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The inaugural episode of It: Welcome to Derry introduced us to the sinister town via a lumbering, airborne mutant baby slaughtering a theaterful of screaming kids. Episode 2, “The Thing in the Dark,” debuts a strangely charming opening credits sequence. Set to the wholesome “A Smile and a Ribbon,” we drift through Norman Rockwell-esque illustrations that reference some of Stephen King‘s most frightening literary moments. A little girl peers into a sewer grate, recreating Georgie Denbrough’s iconic death, while children jump from the Kissing Bridge, close to where bully Henry Bowers will one day try to carve his name into Losers’ Club member Ben Hanscomb’s stomach. A frightening lobotomy unfolds in the infamous Juniper Hill Asylum, and a family poses for pictures in front of the dreaded house on Neibolt Street, where Loser Eddie Kaspbrak will battle the Leper and the Club will mount their first attack against the murderous entity. 

These disturbing images are followed by promises of seasons to come with tableaux pulled from the novel’s disturbing Interludes. A flaming Easter Bunny falls from the sky while children run for their lives, referencing the horrific Kitchener Ironworks explosion that sent the charred and dismembered remains of 88 children raining down on their horrified parents. Andy Muscietti’s It features a frightening scene in which one of these decapitated victims haunts Ben through the stacks of the Derry Public Library. 

Photograph by Brooke Palmer/HBO

The song concludes with a dying gangster waving an old-fashioned machine gun as he’s surrounded by armed residents and a clown somehow defying the laws of gravity by shooting from his horizontal perch on a building’s exterior. This doomed man is probably George Bradley, leader of a Depression-era gang who were murdered by the town’s self-righteous citizens. Episode 2 ends with a glimpse of their waterlogged car pulled from deep within the earth. Just moments before this grisly excavation, we will learn that the Derry Air Force Base is the site of Project Precept, a strange initiative designed to prevent nuclear annihilation with a mysterious weapon known to spark deadly fear. While perhaps far-fetched, this plan introduces us to one of King’s most beloved characters. 

Constant Readers first met Dick Halloran (Chris Chalk) as the outgoing chef of the malevolent Overlook Hotel in the pages of King’s 1977 novel The Shining. It positions a younger Dick as a survivor of the dreaded Black Spot massacre, but in Muscietti’s timeline, he is a stoic serviceman tasked with using his powerful Shine to locate beacons like the Bradley Gang’s corpse-filled car, said to surround the rumored weapon—likely Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) himself.  

Elsewhere in Derry, Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) is settling into a suburban home with his wife Charlotte (Taylour Paige) and tween son Will (Blake Cameron James). Father of Loser Mike Hanlon, Will, is kind and intelligent, a far cry from the deceased junky Mike will remember in Muschietti’s 2017 film. Perhaps this is a bit of retconning or evidence of the deceptive town’s habit of twisting the truth to vilify its non-white citizens.  

Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige. Photograph by Brooke Palmer/HBO.

Projectionist Hank Grogan (Stephen Rider) experiences this deadly manipulation firsthand when he becomes a suspect in the movie theater massacre solely because he is Black. With the investigation stalled, Chief of Police Clint Bowers (Peter Outerbridge) is confronted by Derry’s angry Selectmen and threatened with the loss of his elected position if he does not arrest the innocent man. Grandfather to the Club’s psychotic bully, Bowers, may briefly stand on principles, but he will go on to coerce Lilly (Clara Stack) into giving a false statement placing Hank at the grisly crime scene, proving the Selectmen’s dire assertion that “this isn’t America, it’s Derry.”

Charlotte encounters this sinister undercurrent on an idyllic stroll down Center Street. While passing the Center Street Drug Store, she smiles at a young Norbert Keene smoking just outside the door. This cruel pharmacist will one day hit on young Beverly Marsh and torment Eddie Kaspbrak by revealing the extent of his mother’s delusions. At the Dunning Butcher Shop—mentioned in King’s 2011 novel 11/22/63—Charlotte meets a friendly Stan Kersch (Larry Day), whose last name rings an ominous bell. As an adult, Beverly will visit her childhood home, now occupied by the elderly Mrs. Kersh, who proceeds to morph into a dangerous hag, possibly related to Pennywise himself. We don’t yet know if Stan will make a similar transformation, but his surname implies that “Stan the Cleaver” may be more than just a cheeky nickname.

Kimberly Guerrero, Taylour Paige. Photograph by Brooke Palmer/HBO.

Charlotte’s errands will eventually lead to Secondhand Rose, Secondhand Clothes, the location for one of King’s most exciting cameos. It: Chapter Two features the author himself sitting behind the thrift store’s register as adult Loser Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy) reacquires his trusty bike, Silver. But before reaching this inviting location, Charlotte witnesses the controversial construction of the Paul Bunyan statue that will one day attack Loser Richie Tozier and gazes warily at the dark alley where the newly assembled Club will attempt to mend Ben’s mangled stomach while comparing their experiences with the shapeshifting monster. 

This episode sees Lilly and Ronnie (Amanda Christine) endure their own frightening encounters with disturbing variations of the child-eating beast. While grocery shopping, Lilly notices uncanny stares from other shoppers and announcements that repeat on an ominous loop. One touts the sale of Fizzola, a soda referencing King’s iconic Nozzala brand. A variation of Coca-Cola, the presence of this mysterious drink has become an indicator that an entry in King’s sprawling canon takes place in an alternate world, strangely similar to our own. 

Clara Stack. Photograph by Brooke Palmer/HBO.

As shelves move fluidly on their own, Lilly finds herself surrounded by pickle jars containing the shredded remains of her father’s corpse. Ronnie survives a similar attack when her bed transforms into the oversized body of her deceased mother, who appears to have died in childbirth. Covered in viscera, the screaming girl is dragged back towards this nightmarish creature by a monstrous umbilical cord. Behind the mangled belly’s gnashing teeth, Ronnie spies a pair of familiar yellow eyes, promising the arrival of King’s notorious clown. 

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For the first time ever, Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, The Shining, can be experienced in IMAX on December 12, 2025, showcasing the iconic horror classic like never before.

Academy Award® winner Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall star in director Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s disturbing blockbuster horror novel.

Writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a former alcoholic, accepts a job as the winter caretaker for a hotel high in the Rocky Mountains, isolating him, his wife (Shelley Duvall) and their psychic young son until spring. But when the first blizzard blocks the only road out, the hotel’s stored energy from evil past deeds begins to drive Jack insane… and there may be no escape for his family in this haunting story of madness, memory and violence.

Sign up to be notified when The Shining IMAX tickets go on sale.

Stephen King is famously not a fan of Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of his horror novel, citing a handful of issues that have always bothered him about the classic movie. He was so bothered by it, in fact, that King wrote his own mini-series adaptation of The Shining back in the 1990s.

Despite King’s own issues with the film, it’s of course one of the most iconic adaptations of his work, with most horror fans agreeing that it doesn’t get much better in the King arena than Kubrick’s artful take on the material. You’ve seen it a dozen times… but never quite like this…

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Measuring 24×36, the 10-color screen print features a spot UV gloss treatment over the blood spilling from Jack’s typewriter and surrounding Wendy.

Mutant writes, “Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film adaptation of The Shining is a transcendent masterpiece of claustrophobic tension and atmosphere. A true descent into madness. We are proud to partner with artist Murugiah and to again see the work of Kubrick through his surreal and phantasmagoric lens as the horrors of the Overlook Hotel close in on the Torrance family.”

In Kubrick’s 1980 horror classic, a family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter, where a sinister presence influences the father into violence and his psychic son sees horrifying forebodings from both the past and the future.

Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers star in the adaptation of Stephen King‘s 1977 novel.

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While “IT: Welcome to Derry” is of course primarily a prequel to IT, particularly the Andy Muschietti movie from 2017 and its 2019 sequel, the new trailer makes it clear that King stories including The Shawshank Redemption and The Shining will be referenced in the series. In some ways, that makes “Welcome to Derry” feel like something of a spiritual successor to “Castle Rock,” the short-lived television series that remixed various iconic King elements.

The “IT: Welcome to Derry” trailer promises the series will be taking us back to Shawshank Prison, and it also reveals that Dick Hallorann is a prominent character in the upcoming series.

Actor Chris Chalk (Godzilla vs. Kong) plays Dick Hallorann in “IT: Welcome to Derry,” making him the fourth actor to portray the character on screen. Gifted with the titular power, Hallorann is of course a central character in Stephen King’s The Shining, played by Scatman Crothers in the Stanley Kubrick classic, Melvin van Peebles in the Mick Garris mini-series from the 1990s that was written by King himself, and later Carl Lumbly in Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep.

Dick Hallorann was indeed mention in Stephen King’s novel IT, which was published nine years after The Shining came along. The novel revealed that army cook Dick Hallorann worked at a Black nightclub called The Black Spot before finding his way to the Overlook Hotel, and it’s The Black Spot that will serve as a central location in “IT: Welcome to Derry.”

As the Stephen King Wikipedia explains, “Dick is mentioned as an Army cook and member of the African-American army nightclub in Derry, Maine called The Black Spot, which was burned down by the Legion of White Decency (the Maine equivalent of the KKK) in 1930. Dick’s Shining allowed him to save the lives of several other clubgoers, including Mike Hanlon’s father. He is also notable for being one of the only sane adults able to see IT in one of its varying forms.”

“Welcome to Derry” kicks off with the debut season set in 1962 in the time leading up to the events of IT: Chapter One, and as we learned in the 2017 film, The Black Spot was burned down that very year in this particular timeline. That means those tragic events will play a role in the HBO series, so we can expect to see a whole lot of Dick Hallorann this October.

As Andy Muschietti explained to Entertainment Weekly last year, “Our baseline [for the series] is 1962, but we do a few jumps to the past…. Every 27 years when IT appears, IT’s cycle is marked by two catastrophic events, one at the beginning and one in the end. We are using the Black Spot as an event in which many stories are built around.”

The eight-episode series “IT: Welcome to Derry” premieres Sunday, October 26 on HBO & HBO Max. New episodes will debut weekly leading up to the season finale on December 14.

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The company has five pairs of lounge pants with all-over prints designed by Kyle Crawford: The Shining, Halloween III, Hellraiser, Twin Peaks, and Terrifier.

Priced at $35, lounge pants are made from a stretchy polyester/spandex blend with moisture wicking, an elastic waistband with drawstring, and two pockets.

They’re also offering four hats designed by Steve Roman Jr.: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Thing, The Return of the Living Dead, and Re-Animator.

Hat styles vary, including trucker caps, snapbacks, and velcro closures, along with flourishes like embroidery, under-brim prints, and glow in the dark accents. They’re $27 each.

The post Fright-Rags Drops Horror Lounge Pants & Hats from ‘Terrifier,’ ‘Halloween III,’ ‘Hellraiser,’ More appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After spending May discussing Ridley Scott’s controversial sequel Hannibal (listen) and Ana Lily Amirpour’s haunting A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (listen), we’re concluding the month by covering a juggernaut of a film in Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining (1980)!

The Shining sees struggling writer and recovering alcoholic Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) accept a position as the off-season caretaker of the historic Overlook Hotel. His wife Wendy (Shelley DuVall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) accompany him, but young Danny possesses “the shining,” a clairvoyant ability that allows him to see the true horrors that lurk in the hotel’s halls. When a winter storm snows the family in, Jack’s sanity slowly crumbles as the isolation and malevolent entities begin to influence his mind.

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 335: The Shining (1980)

Close the elevator and ash that cigarette because we’re discussing Stanley Kubrick‘s adaptation of Stephen King‘s The Shining for its 45th anniversary!

Join us as we go all in on this classic of horror cinema; from Kubrick’s controversial methods to Shelly DuVall‘s behind-the-scenes treatment, there’s no stone left unturned!

Plus: an unexpected queer reading involving bears (the animal kind), debating the best carpet in the Overlook (it’s Room 237’s carpet) and how Doctor Sleep retroactively affects rewatches of The Shining.

Cross out The Shining!

Coming Up Next: We’re taking a look at our second Frank Henenlotter film of the year in 1990’s Frankenhooker!

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 392 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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The original source of the Overlook Hotel 1921 July 4th Ball photo prominently featured at the end of Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining has been located at the Getty Images Hulton Archive.

Alasdair Spark, a retired academic at the University of Winchester, detailed his investigation via Getty’s Instagram, along with a new scan of the photo from its original glass plate negative.

“At last, it has been found. Following the earlier identification by facial recognition software of the unknown man in the photograph at the end of The Shining as Santos Casani, a London ballroom dancer, I can reveal that the photo was one of three taken by the Topical Press Agency at a St. Valentines Day Ball, 14 February 1921, at the Empress Rooms, the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington.”

Spark and others had trawled newspaper archives trying to find photos of the venue or the people in it but came up empty-handed.

“It was starting to seem impossible, every cross-reference to Casani failed to match. Other likely places that were suggested didn’t match. There were some places we could not find images for and we started to fear that meant the photo might be lost to history, and never be found,” Spark writes.

“The photo (and others) was found following my contact with Murray Close (the official set photographer, who took the image of Jack Nicholson used in the version seen on screen), who recalled that the original had been sourced from the BBC Hulton Library.

“This reinforced a remark by Joan Smith, who did the retouching work – she had said in interviews that it came from the Warner Bros photo archive, which proves never to have existed. However, she also said in passing, and often unreported, that it might have come from the BBC Hulton Library.”

Upon learning that some Topical Press images had been re-indexed following the agency’s 1958 acquisition by the Hulton — which was purchased by Getty in 1996 — the photo was discovered among the archive’s collection of over 94 million images.

“Nobody was composited into it except Jack Nicholson. It shows a group of ordinary London people on a Monday evening. ‘All the best people’ as the manager of the Overlook Hotel said,” Spark concludes.

Based on Stephen King‘s 1977 novel of the same name, The Shining is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. Nicholson stars with Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers.

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Rebeca Puebla‘s Doctor Sleep artwork is inspired by the first edition cover of The Shining by Dave Christensen. The 12×18 giclee print is limited to 140 for $50.

“It has been incredible and a real challenge for me to make this Doctor Sleep poster trying to emulate the cover of the original The Shining book,” Puebla said. “I really love this movie as it reflects, in a wonderful way, the spooky continuation of Danny Torrance’s life and the rest of dark and amazing characters created by Stephen King.”

“Mike Flanagan‘s Doctor Sleep had huge shoes to fill as a sequel to one of the greatest books and horror films ever made, both mediums often in opposition of each other. In the spirit of the book vs. film debate, Rebeca Puebla’s poster takes inspiration from Flanagan by paying homage to both … connecting the film adaptation to Dave Christensen’s haunting, original cover art for Stephen King’s The Shining,” added Mondo Senior Art Director Josh Manderville.

Elvisdead‘s spine-chilling glimpse into the sewer at Tim Curry as Pennywise in IT is a six-color print print.  Priced at $80, it measures 24×36 and is limited to 165.

“Like Predator and RoboCop, IT with Tim Curry is part of my cinematic and artistic DNA,” said Elvisdead. “I modestly set myself the task of creating a never-before-seen scene from the film, a disturbing, sticky image, to convey the emotional shock I felt when I first saw the film at the age of 11.”

“Never has a clown been as otherworldly frightening as Pennywise, lurking in the dark, preying on the helpless. Elvisdead pulled no punches in depicting everything about Tim Curry’s Pennywise that kept (keeps) me awake at night … and far away from storm drains,” commented Manderville.

Both prints are expected to ship in August.

The post ‘IT,’ ‘Doctor Sleep’ Limited Edition Prints on Sale Today at Mondo appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Work or play, enjoy your stay at the Overlook with apparel commemorating the masterpiece of modern horror from Fright-Rags.

Three new designs by Kyle Crawford — “Room 237,” “Snowed In,” and “The Overlook Hotel” — are available along with Saul Bass‘ classic yellow artwork.

Printed on super soft 4.5-once 100% pre-shrunk ringspun cotton, tees are $33. The Overlook design and Bass’ artwork also come on pullover hoodies for $55.

The post Don’t Overlook Fright-Rags’ ‘The Shining’ 45th Anniversary Apparel appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Now playing in theaters, Steven Soderbergh’s Presence (get tickets now) explores the motivations of an unseen spirit haunting the Payne family in their new suburban home. Told from the phantom’s point of view, we watch as this mysterious being causes chaos in the house while attempting to deliver a horrific message. Though their story is uniquely terrifying, the Payne family are not alone. The horror genre is filled with dangerous spirits who linger far beyond their moment of death.

With varied intentions and supernatural abilities, each of the following ghosts horrify audiences by terrorizing the unlucky souls who cross their path.

The Woman in Black (2012)

The appearance of a ghost provokes a variety of responses. Some are thrilled to have proof of the afterlife while others recoil from this visual reminder of death. But the frightened residents of Crythin Gifford know that seeing the ghostly Woman in Black can mean only one thing. Each manifestation of this tortured spirit coincides with the brutal death of a child from the village, punishment for loving parents who enjoy the happiness she was denied.

Adapted from Susan Hill’s bone-chilling novel, James Watkins’ gothic film The Woman in Black centers a town held hostage by the spirit of Jennet Drablow (Liz White), an unwed mother whose child was stolen then killed by an act of egregious neglect. Consumed with undying rage, Jennet steals children in turn by persuading them to cause their own deaths in unthinkable ways. Some drink lye or set themselves on fire while others are driven to walk into the sea or step out the window of a third-story attic. The residents of Crythin Gifford live in fear of this spectral assassin and diligently avoid Eel Marsh House where sightings most frequently occur.

Tasked with settling the troubled Drablow family’s affairs, London solicitor Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) arrives at the rundown mansion and catches a glimpse of this unsettled spirit lurking in the estate’s small cemetery. Though she vanishes a moment later, this latest sighting unleashes a new string of grisly child deaths alongside increasingly violent nighttime assaults. Trapped by circumstance in the haunted house, Arthur must find a way to reunite the phantom mother and child before his own young son falls into her clutches. 

The Shining (1980)

Like the Woman in Black, the ghosts confined to the infamous Overlook Hotel have a knack for inciting brutal acts of violence. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is a down-on-his-luck playwright who takes a job as the lavish hotel’s winter caretaker hoping for uninterrupted time to finish his play and cement his sobriety. Jack’s young son Danny (Danny Lloyd) senses a malevolent presence in the hotel but ignores warnings from his spiritual guide, hoping that his parents can also use the time to mend their fractured marriage. High in the Rocky Mountains, snow soon cuts the Torrances off from the world while the empty hotel comes alive with spirits of former residents who’ve died on the property.

At first just chilling images, each apparition grows stronger with time, feeding on Danny’s clairvoyance like a supernatural battery. Roaming the expansive hallways, the frightened child meets two little girls who were killed by their father inviting him to play forever and ever. While exploring a forbidden room he draws the attention of an elderly woman who climbs out of the bathtub in which she died. Though emboldened by Danny’s psychic abilities, these frightening ghosts pale in comparison to Lloyd (Joe Turkel), the spectral bartender who appears in front of a fully stocked shelf. Newly sober, Jack succumbs to this liquid temptation which awakens a streak of insecurity, resentment, and violence. Lloyd convinces the struggling father to murder his family in exchange for permanent residence within the hotel and validation from its sinister management.

Adapted from the novel by Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick’s film presents Jack as the story’s most dangerous character, however his bloody rampage starts with a suggestion from the cordial yet insistent ghost. 

Thir13en Ghosts (2001)

While some spirits have mastered the art of dangerous persuasion, others are able to harness their energy and cause physical harm in the real world. Steve Beck’s Thir13en Ghosts features twelve such spirits who are still just as deadly now that they’re dead.

Arthur Kriticos (Tony Shalhoub) is a widower struggling to hold his family together when a long-lost uncle appears with a miraculous gift. The recently deceased Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham) has left his nephew the deed to an ornate glass house filled to the brim with expensive artifacts and rare pieces of art. But lurking in the basement of the glass-walled building are twelve angry ghosts just waiting for an opportunity to break free from their spectral cells. The Torn Prince (Craig Olejnik) delights in using his fiery baseball bat to pummel the living while the Jackal (Shayne Wyler) unleashes a frenzied attack, digging into his victims with sharpened fingernails. But perhaps most dangerous of all, the Juggernaut (John DeSantis) is the revenant of a serial killer who gleefully dismembers anyone who crosses his path. As these twelve spirits descend on the family, we learn that each ghost occupies a place on the dark zodiac and that Cyrus—who has faked his own death—plans to drain their supernatural energy and use it to open a portal to hell.

Though admittedly a mark of its time, Howard Berger’s fantastic creature design is a smorgasbord of terrifying spirits each brought to life by grisly details that hint at their disturbing deaths.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

No film explores our collective fear of ghosts like M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense. Released in 1999, this groundbreaking story shocked audiences with an instantly iconic twist ending while convincing us all to fear visible breath and making a household phrase of the whispered “I see dead people.”

The story follows Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a lonely child with the ability to see and hear spirits. Wherever he goes, Cole is tormented by visions of the garish undead still bearing the marks of their brutal ends. An abused housewife corners him in the kitchen threatening to slit her wrists in despair. An older boy asks for help locating his father’s gun only to reveal a gunshot wound on the back of his head. At a birthday party, Cole is trapped inside an attic cupboard by a mysterious voice begging to be freed. Every day, Cole must contend with these demanding ghosts who don’t seem to realize they’ve passed away. Child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) begins working with the anxious boy and suggests Cole offer to help these supernatural visitors complete whatever mission keeps them tied to our world. But when Cole helps Dr. Crowe with his own marital problems, the sullen therapist realizes that he too is one of these restless spirits. Not only did he die in the film’s opening moments, Cole is now the only person who can see and hear him.

This haunting film remains a genre classic, suggesting that the unseen dead could be lurking around us at all times. But what lingers in the mind more than twenty years later is the thought that we could unknowingly become the ghost ourselves.

Lake Mungo (2008)

Similar to The Sixth Sense, Joel Anderson’s Lake Mungo serves as a uniquely horrifying ghost story while delivering an emotional punch to the gut. This faux documentary follows the Palmer family who begin to notice strange phenomena in their house several months after the drowning death of daughter Alice (Talia Zucker). Believing their recently deceased teen is trying to make contact from beyond the grave, they reach out to mediums and experts intent on unravelling this emotional mystery.

We eventually learn that Alice’s brother Mathew (Martin Sharpe) has been faking these appearances in a misguided attempt to deal with his own grief. But closer inspection reveals a horrific secret and possible reason for Alice’s suicide. While on a school trip to the titular lakebed, she’s haunted by an ominous ghost who carries an unimaginable message. Unearthed cell phone footage shows the doomed girl coming face to face with an eerie figure that bears striking resemblance to her own future corpse. The film’s haunting final sequence sees the Palmer family happily moving on with their lives while the lonely Alice watches from the shadows.

Anderson’s subtle approach creates a stark backdrop for this harrowing exploration of grief and depression while suggesting that a manifestation of our own inevitable death may be closer than we think. And isn’t that what horrifies us most about seeing a ghost? The certainty that we may one day gaze out at the world of the living from the other side of death’s divide.

Presence is now playing in theaters. In her four-skull review, Meagan Navarro calls it “an innovative and grim nail-biter with more on its mind than the logline suggests.” Get tickets now.

The post Dead and Dangerous: Horror’s Most Terrifying Ghosts appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Located in Estes Park, Colorado, the Stanley Hotel is the inspiration behind Stephen King’s classic horror novel The Shining, and the sold-out inaugural Overnightmare event delivered a unique, immersive, horror-filled experience that took full advantage of the iconic horror setting. The event began well before arrival: choosing your horror adventure.

Attendees had to sign waivers for participation, choose from a list of activities, and, more importantly, choose which fear experience to endure, each one themed to one of four Blumhouse films—Insidious, The Purge, Freaky, and Happy Death Day. Insidious promises the most intense scares for those seeking maximum thrills, like yours truly, while Happy Death Day lets the easily intimidated in on the Halloween fun as the least scary option. It was a no brainer, at least for this horror fan, to opt for the most thrills and chills this Halloween season.

Upon arrival, guests were greeted by the “conci-scare-ge,” Avery. Or rather, one of several. Multiple Averys wandered the Lodge foyer, eager to help the guests and answer whatever questions they may have. One very kind yet creepy Avery showed me to my room on the second floor, across the hall from the closed-off third floor that had been converted for multiple themed experiences. As for my room itself, it was decorated right out of Insidious, with a metronome on the dresser and an active baby monitor on the nightstand. Child drawings of the Lipstick Demon adorned the walls. Books on demonology and astral projection accompanied my itinerary and instructions for the stay.

PEACOCK EVENTS — “OVERNIGHTMARE” — Pictured: Atmospheric at the Stanley Hotel on October 15, 2024 — (Photo by: Thomas Cooper/Peacock)

A welcome dinner at the Lodge’s Brunch & Co, complete with a themed Overnightmare menu, gave scenic views of the area and the spooky ambiance while an Avery gave a rousing performance that not only set the stage for the immersive interactions that would come but set expectations on how the event would go. The biggest and most important rule was simple: pay attention to your schedule and be in your room fifteen minutes before your scheduled fear experience to hang the designated “Please Do Disturb” sign on the door. This sign signaled you were ready and available to be “dragged” from your room…to your potential doom.

On the first night, every guest would undergo the Freaky experience. At my designated time, post-dinner, a teen knocked on my room door, looking for Freaky’s MIA heroine, Millie Kessler (played by Kathryn Newton in the film). She asked me to accompany her to the raging party where Millie’s suspected to be, but also because this is a horror movie and there’s safety in numbers. We were met by another friend, who used the film’s trademark dance to verify our identities before heading into the party proper. Let’s just say that the body-swapping climax of Freaky played out amidst an impressive neon and blacklight party setting that required guests to recall those dance steps at least twice more before it was safe to head back downstairs to resume the festivities.

PEACOCK EVENTS — “OVERNIGHTMARE” — Pictured: Atmospheric at the Stanley Hotel on October 15, 2024 — (Photo by: Thomas Cooper/Peacock)

The final event of the evening was a screening of Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil in the Concert Hall, a place with no shortage of ghost stories of its own. 

Day two began with brunch at Brunch & Co, where you could choose among a plethora of tasty options like the “Mrs. Grady,” a sweet and savory take on chicken and waffles, or the “Room 217,” a custard soaked biscuit covered in honey marscapone, raspberry jam, lemon curd, and a “redrum” gastrique. It was every bit as delicious as it sounds.

The second, fuller day is where the selected activities come into play. I chose the Shining Tour, where a tour guide took our group to various places in the Stanley while telling its history with Stephen King. Suffice it to say that King’s stay at the Stanley Hotel in the ’70s, the fated trip that inspired his novel, didn’t just change the course of his life but the historic hotel’s too. King’s presence is felt everywhere, from the darker color that he deemed necessary for filming the 1997 Shining miniseries right down to the detailed Caretaker’s Cottage that was restored in 2022 and recreates the iconic bathroom in Kubrick’s adaptation. Our guide covered everything from the hotel’s history to King’s part in it and even the history of ghosts that linger in the Stanley’s hallowed halls. 

PEACOCK EVENTS — “OVERNIGHTMARE” — Pictured: Atmospheric at the Stanley Hotel on October 15, 2024 — (Photo by: Thomas Cooper/Peacock)

The second activity selected took me to the Vault on the bottom floor of the Stanley. This experience gives guests a private, curated tasting from the rare collection of The Stanley’s other spirits (pun intended) that also explores a little whiskey history, classifications, and the best way to enjoy it. Our wonderful guide and his pup Ollie pulled out some of the rarer spirits in the Vault, including the Shining collaboration with Jack Daniels and a preserved bottle of Hannisville Pure Rye Whiskey that was bottled in 1927.

Dinner on night two took place at the Cascades Restaurant, with another Overnightmare-themed menu that included tasty options like Whiskey Peach Glazed Duck or a Rocky Mountain Grilled Flight that let guests try elk, venison, and bison. As for downtime between events and activities, Peacock’s “Teacup“ hospitality suite lets guests get cozy along the fire with snacks and beverages- hydration is crucial at high altitudes. The Blumhouse bar next door to the suite lets guests sample the new Blumhouse game, Fear the Spotlight, and peruse screen-used props from Blumhouse horror films while partaking in themed cocktails. And if that’s still not enough, Peacock’s expansive Halloween horror library was available in each guest’s room. 

PEACOCK EVENTS — “OVERNIGHTMARE” — Pictured: Atmospheric at the Stanley Hotel on October 16, 2024 — (Photo by: Thomas Cooper/Peacock)

Guests could also watch the first two episodes of “Teacup“ in the Concert Hall, the perfect wait for my fear experience finale: Insidious. Shortly after midnight, back in my room, the baby monitor erupted in eerie sounds of screaming, harsh whispers, and a baby crying. It stayed active right until an Avery came to collect me; I was told I’d been summoned to room 1310 upstairs.

Avery walked me to the end of a long, dark corridor with only a few red lights lighting the way. This Avery gave explicit instructions to walk the long hallway and knock precisely three times on the door. It slowly, eerily creaked open once I did, where I was greeted by scare actors resembling Elise and Tucker, who were gathered around a small table with Elise’s gas mask and recorder in the darkly lit room. I was instructed to say aloud everything that Tucker was writing down on his notepad as Elise searched the Further for signs of the missing boy who’d ventured too far there. With the room getting intense and activity picking up, Elise sent me into the Further- an extremely foggy room next door cast in a deep red glow. The only thing I could see was a baby crib, and behind it was where the Lipstick Demon emerged, creeping closer and closer until Elise pulled me back. Her camera began to flicker, creating a strobe effect that left the room pitch-black. The perfect setup for both the Lipstick Demon and a Further ghost to land their effective jump scare moment.

Elise yanked open the door and ordered me to run. Just outside was Avery, waiting to see me back to my room. It was here where she confessed that no one had been in the room at all; she found my summons on a hand-written note. To add to the ambiance, the metronome on my room’s dressed went off, as if to greet me when I returned.

PEACOCK EVENTS — “OVERNIGHTMARE” — Pictured: Atmospheric at the Stanley Hotel on October 15, 2024 — (Photo by: Thomas Cooper/Peacock)

It was the showstopper finale of an impressive, fulfilling Halloween event. Peacock and Blumhouse pulled out all the stops with an impressively produced immersive experience that lets guests tailor the fun to their own interests and comfort levels. The scenic Stanley Hotel and its grounds provide a rich backdrop of horror before the event even begins, and Overnightmare incorporates that history at every step. The food is fantastic, and the production value for each immersive experience is incredible; it really feels like you’re stepping into a Blumhouse movie. 

But it might be the scare actors and the Avery conci-scare-ges that steal the show. The more you pay attention to them, the more you notice backstories and hierarchies emerge that further immerse you in this cozy little horror space. You also notice how they’re always observing, waiting for the right moment when guests are at their most vulnerable to deliver a jolt of fright.

Overnightmare makes great use of a historic location intertwined with horror history, a perfect backdrop to induce contemporary Blumhouse and Peacock inspired frights. If they transform this into an annual event, and hopefully they do, it has the making to quickly become a requisite Halloween destination event.

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Located in Estes Park, Colorado, the Stanley Hotel is the inspiration behind Stephen King’s classic horror novel The Shining, and Blumhouse’s “Overnightmare” event promises a one-weekend-only experience that will be a living nightmare from check-in to after dark.

Step (and sleep) inside the worlds of Blumhouse’s Insidious, The Purge, Freaky and Happy Death Day at Peacock and Blumhouse’s “Overnightmare,” which will take over The Lodge at The Stanley Hotel, from Friday, October 18 – Sunday, October 20, where rooms will be themed to the aforementioned Blumhouse horror favorites.

The thrilling experience starts immediately at check-in, where guests will be greeted by a conci-scare-ge and will continue throughout the weekend with encounters of various characters and frights throughout the space, including the Teacup Room, a spooky salon that will take guests inside the world of the new thriller series produced by James Wan’s Atomic Monster exclusively on Peacock, and the Blumhouse Bar, a haven for horror fans to have a sip and a scare, and play the company’s upcoming video game, Fear the Spotlight. 

Come sundown, things will quite literally go bump in the night. Each evening will feature an after-dark experience as guests are pulled from their rooms for one of four personalized, fully immersive activations, inspired by each of the Blumhouse films and featuring interactive characters, narratives, and scares.

Experiences will be geared toward different horror levels to allow guests to face their fears no matter their terror threshold – from Freaky and Happy Death Day for those who want just a taste of the terrifying, to Insidious and The Purge for a full nightmare experience. 

As an added treat (no tricks), guests will also be invited to two nights of screenings, including episodes of the Peacock series Teacup from James Wan’s Atomic Monster, which premieres Thurs., Oct. 10.

Those who are brave enough can boo-k their stay at The Stanley Hotel’s website. The weekend package includes a two-night stay in a double occupancy room in The Lodge, an interactive Scare Experience, a complimentary welcome dinner, $100 credit toward breakfast or lunch at Brunch & Co., nightly screenings, and two drink vouchers for the Blumhouse Bar per guest.

Those who prefer scares from the comfort of home can find some of the best of Blumhouse streaming on Peacock now, like Insidious, Happy Death Day, Halloween KillsandGet Out, with more coming on October 1, including The Purge franchise and Freaky. Plus, new episodes of Peacock original series Teacup will drop weekly through Halloween after its debut on Oct. 10.

From “Freaky Franchises” to “Horror 101” collections, the full Peacock Halloween offering includes more than 150 titles to help you Face Your Fears. 

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Here’s all the new horror released on Friday, July 26, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

A couple unwittingly allows dark and sinister forces into their home when their son begins behaving strangely in Starve Acre, released into theaters and on VOD beginning today.

Starring Matt Smith (His House) and Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud), Starve Acre is written and directed by Daniel Kokotajlo based on the book by Andrew Michael Hurly.

“1970s, rural England. Richard and Juliette’s seemingly idyllic family life is thrown into turmoil when their son starts acting out of character. At Starve Acre, their remote family home, archaeologist Richard buries himself in exploring a folkloric myth that the ancient oak tree on their land is imbued with phenomenal powers.

“While Juliette turns to the local community to find some kind of peace, Richard obsessively digs deeper. An unexpected discovery soon occupies the couple’s attention and dark and sinister forces, unwittingly allowed into the home, offer a disturbing possibility of reconnection between them.”

A handful of shark attack horror movies have already been released in the first half of the year, and RLJE Films adds The Last Breath to the mix today. It’s available on VOD outlets.

This one comes courtesy of director Joachim Hedén, who directed the intense underwater thriller Breaking Surface back in 2020. This time, he’s swimming with the sharks…

Here’s the full synopsis: “Finding the long-lost wreck of the warship USS Charlotte has been the lifelong pursuit of Levi (Julian Sands), an aging expat running a tourist dive business in the British Virgin Islands together with recent college dropout Noah (Jack Parr). When the USS Charlotte emerges for the first time in eighty years after a tropical storm, Noah’s friends visiting the island insist for them all to do a once-in-a-lifetime dive on the newly discovered wreck before it’s handed over to the authorities. The dream dive rapidly turns into a nightmare as they become trapped in the darkness of the Charlotte’s interior, thirty meters down and with a dwindling air supply. And then they discover that they are not alone.”

Nick Saltrese (Prayer Before Dawn) wrote the script for The Last Breath.

If you’d rather check out a new werewolf horror movie this weekend than a new shark attack horror movie, Well Go USA’s The Beast Within is now playing in select theaters.

Kit Harington (“Game of Thrones”) stars.

In the werewolf movie, “After a series of strange events leads her to question her family’s isolated life on a fortified compound deep in the English wilds, 10-year-old Willow follows her parents on one of their secret late-night treks to the heart of the ancient forest.

“But upon witnessing her father undergo a terrible transformation, she too becomes ensnared by the dark ancestral secret they’ve tried so desperately to conceal.”

Ashleigh Cummings, James Cosmo, Caoilinn Springall, Miriam Arabella Maslin, and Adam Basil also star in The Beast Within, the narrative debut of filmmaker Alexander J. Farrell.

NEON has been having a killer year here in 2024 and they’re back in the wake of Longlegs with Mothers’ Instinct, which first arrives in select theaters beginning today, July 26.

Mothers’ Instinct later comes home to Digital on August 13. The psychological thriller stars Academy Award winners Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway.

Mothers’ Instinct is based on the novel Derrière la Haine by Barbara Abel, and it’s also a remake of director Olivier Masset-Depasse’s same-titled French-language film from 2018. 

From director Benoît Delhomme, the new film is set in the early ’60s…

“Best friends and neighbors Alice (Chastain) and Celine (Hathaway) live an idyllic traditional lifestyle with manicured lawns, successful husbands, and sons of the same age. But life’s perfect harmony is suddenly shattered after a tragic accident.

“Guilt, suspicion, and paranoia combine to unravel their sisterly bond, and a psychological battle of wills begins as the maternal instinct reveals its darker side.”

Writer Sarah Conradt (50 States of Fright) penned the adaptation.

From director Phil Volken, Vertical’s Dead Sea was released on VOD outlets today.

“Stranded in the open sea after a fatal accident, a young woman and her two friends are rescued by a fishing vessel’s captain, unaware that the ship harbors a chilling secret.”

Isabel Gravitt, Genneya Walton, and Alexander Wraith star.

The cast also includes Dean Cameron, star of the 1980s comedy classic Summer School!

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining gets explored from a fresh angle in Shine On – The Forgotten Shining Location, which will premiere for free on the Stanley Kubrick YouTube channel today (Friday, July 26) at 2pm EST.  The documentary, certified by the Stanley Kubrick Film Archive and family estate, is said to “capture the location scouting and making of the art direction for the Overlook Hotel at Elstree Studios.”

Indiewire had informed us, “Michael Sheen narrates Shine On, which includes interviews with The Shining executive producer Jan Harlan, art director Les Tomkins, and Kubrick’s daughter Katharina Kubrick, who worked as a location researcher on the film.” They will share memories of the production while also revisiting the iconic studio locations.

“There have been so many rumors about some of the sets from The Shining still existing at Elstree Studios, but to actually find them and walk around them was like discovering a holy grail of film history,” director/producer Paul King said in a statement.

Katharina Kubrick added, “The production of The Shining has been well documented and analyzed, but this is a story which has never been told. Pivotal scenes from the film took place in these areas, so going back to them felt like stepping into the movie itself.”

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The documentary’s trailer will make its way online this Friday while the documentary itself will premiere on the Stanley Kubrick YouTube channel on Friday, July 26 at 2pm EST.

Indiewire’s report details, “Michael Sheen narrates Shine On, which includes interviews with The Shining executive producer Jan Harlan, art director Les Tomkins, and Kubrick’s daughter Katharina Kubrick, who worked as a location researcher on the film.” They will share memories of the production while also revisiting the iconic studio locations.

“There have been so many rumors about some of the sets from The Shining still existing at Elstree Studios, but to actually find them and walk around them was like discovering a holy grail of film history,” director/producer Paul King said in a statement.

Katharina Kubrick added, “The production of The Shining has been well documented and analyzed, but this is a story which has never been told. Pivotal scenes from the film took place in these areas, so going back to them felt like stepping into the movie itself.”

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“Duvall died in her sleep of complications from diabetes at her home in Blanco, Texas.”

“My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,” Gilroy said in a statement shared by the website.

Shelley Duvall is of course known here in the horror world for her all-time-great performance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, playing opposite Jack Nicholson as Wendy Torrance.

Duvall got her start in the 1970s working with director Robert Altman, making her debut in the 1970 film Brewster McCloud. She went on to work with Altman on McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), Thieves Like Us (1974), Nashville (1975) and 3 Women (1977), as well as Woody Allen in Annie Hall (1977), and Altman later cast her as Olive Oyl for the Popeye movie in 1980.

That was the very same year Duvall starred in Kubrick’s The Shining, with subsequent roles throughout the 1980s including Time Bandits, Tim Burton’s original short film Frankenweenie, and Roxanne. Duvall even hosted her own series “Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre” from 1982 to 1987, which featured a collection of classic fairy tale adaptations.

Subsequent TV shows hosted by Duvall, “Shelley Duvall’s Tall Tales & Legends” and “Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories,” earned the actress Emmy nominations in 1988 and 1992.

In the 1990s and beyond, Duvall appeared in Suburban Commando, Aliens for Breakfast, “Wishbone,” Casper Meets Wendy, Home Fries, and The Portrait of a Lady, and she was last seen on screen in 2002’s Manna from Heaven. Duvall has been living a quiet life outside the entertainment industry ever since, away from the public eye outside of occasional interviews.

Shelley Duvall’s final performance will be featured in the upcoming horror film The Forest Hills, which has already wrapped production and will be releasing soon. The role in the new werewolf movie will be Duvall’s first on-screen appearance in more than 20 years.

Shelley Duvall in ‘The Forest Hills’

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Family is the ultimate encapsulation of society. It offers us a taste of the whole world, but at a molecular level – and is very convenient if you want to destroy the world via your storytelling. The Greeks knew it with their tragedies, and we’re still using it to this day.

The tale of The Vourdalak is about how a monster can destroy their relatives from within, feeding one by one on those they love the most. In our case it’s a fatherly, patriarchal figure who has transformed into something inhuman… but the horrible threat can come from elsewhere in the family unit.

Here, I share my five favorite horror films about that very topic…

HORROR FEATURING… THE FATHER AND MOTHER

Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining, of course, is my definitive pick when it comes to fear of one’s father. Even if there’s nothing left to say about this masterpiece, it still deserves to be brought up. We are all somehow both Danny and Jack Torrance, even as our protagonist completely loses his mind.

Similarly, there is so much to love about Peter Jackson‘s iconic family-centric gorefest Braindead / Dead Alive, wherein an overbearing mother, killed via a poisonous animal bite, returns from the dead, transforms into a giant rat creature, and begs her doting son to “come to mommy.”

In this sneakily-smart film, the Oedipal dynamic between mother and son has never been wilder — or gorier.

HORROR FEATURING… THE SISTER

I’m absolutely fascinated by the character of Baby Jane Hudson, played by the great Bette Davis, in Robert Aldrich‘s Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. From her performance and detailed costuming to the song she repeatedly sings (“I’ve written a letter to daddy!”), this middle-aged woman dressed like a little girl, living almost solely in her memories while ghoulishly torturing her sibling, is just as shocking now as she was when the film was released back in 1962

I’m so grateful she has become such an icon of cinema – and I really hope I’m going to be like her when I get older.

HORROR FEATURING… THE DAUGHTER

When discussing horror films focused on the horror of one’s daughter, there’s nothing more terrifying than William Friedkin‘s masterpiece, The Exorcist.

A Catholic nightmare for women and mothers in particular, its story wisely focuses its first act on a modern woman who works full-time as a successful actress while raising her daughter on her own. She has very little time left to spend with her daughter, even though she loves her very much. But on the rare occasion that her attention is elsewhere, conservative Christian mythology sees that her baby girl cruelly transformed into something unsettlingly evil.

HORROR FEATURING… THE BABY

Roman Polanski‘s Rosemary’s Baby has a simple, perfectly effective message: The devil is here… in your building… in your neighbors… in your husband… and in your belly.

And nothing could be scarier.

AND FINALLY, HORROR FEATURING… THE EMBRYO

Ridley Scott‘s Alien is one of my favorite films of all-time, and a very eloquent and clever pro-choice manifesto. Forget the sequels and dive into the original’s message: It’s a brilliant feminist manifesto, sensitively depicting the fear of an unwanted pregnancy. Those eggs… those creatures, growing in the bellies of their hosts… that all-encompassing ship, which everyone refers to as “Mother”… and the blood of android Ash, which could very easily be interpreted as spilled mothers’ milk.

Even in the 70s, we already knew that some of us were just better off with cats.

The Vourdalak opens this Friday, June 28th, at New York City’s IFC Center with writer/director Adrien Beau in attendance. Limited tickets for the screenings are still available HERE.

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The Losers’ Club: A Stephen King Podcast heads to Frazier, New Hampshire to review Stephen King’s 2013 novel, Doctor Sleep. The sequel to 1977’s The Shining follows a much-older Danny Torrance, whose battle with alcoholism becomes all the more complicated when he crosses paths with a young child who also has the shine.

Join Losers Randall Colburn, Michael Roffman, and Dan Caffrey as they discuss the True Knot, dirty dishes with poundcake, and debate if King should have ever burned down The Overlook Hotel. Note: This episode was recorded in 2019 and is being re-released today as part of their ensuing chronological read-through.

Stream the discussion below and stay tuned next week for an episode on Bryan Fuller’s Carrie. For further adventures, join the Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of content in The Barrens (Patreon), including more Lobstrosities like this episode.

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Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

The Shining (1997) Blu-ray from Scream Factory

The 1997 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining will be released on Blu-ray on March 12 via Scream Factory. It has been newly scanned in 2K from the interpositive with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo.

Displeased with Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation, King took it upon himself to write the script based on his 1977 novel. Mick Garris (The Stand, Sleepwalkers) directs. Steven Weber, Rebecca De Mornay, Melvin Van Peebles, Courtland Mead, and Wil Horneff star.

An archival audio commentary with King, Garris, Weber, and more is included along with 11 additional scenes.

The Words and Music of House of 1000 Corpses from Waxwork Records

The Words and Music of House of 1000 Corpses — featuring the complete audio from Rob Zombie’s 2003 directorial debut on 2xLP vinyl — is available for $50 from Waxwork Records.

Shipping in April, the album is pressed on two color variants: “Captain Spaulding” (clear and blue swirl with red and white splatter) and “Halloween Party” (orange, purple, and green swirl).

It’s housed in a gatefold jacket with matte satin coating featuring art by Pete Bregman along with a 28-page 11×11 companion comic, printed inner sleeves, character cut-out sheet, and fishboy fortune teller.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Skateboards from Madrid Skateboards

Madrid Skateboards is celebrating The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s 50th anniversary with a line of skateboards dedicated to the Tobe Hooper classic.

10 limited edition designs are available in various sizes/styles — including 3D artwork and a chainsaw-shaped deck! Expected to arrive on or before August 18, prices ranging from $79.95 to $184.95.

An American Werewolf in London Sign from Factory Entertainment

Factory Entertainment has released a miniature replica of An American Werewolf in London’s The Slaughtered Lamb sign featuring artwork reproduced by Jeremy Sniatecki.

Made from wood with metal fittings, the piece measures 9″ tall, 7″ wide, and 2.5″ long. It costs $79.99, and shipping is free with the code WINTER79.

Brave Like Godzilla Book from Penguin Young Readers

Teach the next generation of monster kids to be Brave Like Godzilla with a new book aimed at readers ages 4-8. Inspired by 1967’s Son of Godzilla, the 32-page picture book will be published on June 25 via Penguin Young Readers.

Written by Charlie Moon and illustrated by Jordan Bradley and Milo Moore, Brave Like Godzilla features the King of the Monsters teaching Minilla to face his fears, with appearances from such monsters as Mothra, Rodan, Anguirus, and Gabara.

For more merch madness, peruse the Killer Collectibles archives. You can also visit Broke Horror Fan.

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Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

The Shining & Jaws Prints from Readful Things

Best known for his one-of-a-kind pop culture action figures, Readful Things is also a talented artist beyond the realm of toys. He reimagined two classic Norman Rockwell paintings with characters from The Shining and Jaws.

“The Runaway” is parodied with Jack Torrance, Danny Torrance, and Lloyd the Bartender on 12×16 matte prints for $35.

“Freedom of Speech” is parodied with Mayor Larry Vaughn on 12×18 matte prints for $40.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Shirt from Fright-Rags

It’s hard to believe we’re two decades removed from Platinum Dunes’ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which helped usher in remake trend that dominated much of the early 2000s.

Celebrate the 20th anniversary with new shirts from Fright-Rags, including Justin Osbourne’s homage to the classic 1974 poster using 2003 imagery.

Terrifier Ornaments from Scare Pros

While we wait for Terrifier 3 in 2024, Scare Pros is making Art the Clown ornaments based on the Art Crispies cereal box in Terrifier 2. Shipping in July, they cost $15.99. They can also be personalized with one name for $18.99 or two names for $19.99.

Lunch Boxes from Full Moon

Full Moon Features has launched a line of lunch boxes with designs from Subspecies, Evil Bong, Trancers, Puppet Master, Demonic Toys, and Jack Attack.

Each tin tote measures 7″ long, 4″ wide, and 3″ tall. Regularly $19.95, they’re currently only $11.97 as part of a 40% off site-wide sale through July 6.

A Call to Cthulhu from Titan Comics

A Call to Cthulhu will be published on October 10 via Titan Comics’ new young adult imprint, Titan Nova. Priced at $12.99, it’s written and illustrated by Hey Duggee lead animator Norm Konyu.

Part comic, part art book, and part children’s story, the 48-page hardcover graphic novel takes adults and children alike on an irreverent trip through the classic stories of H.P. Lovecraft.

For more merch madness, peruse the Killer Collectibles archives. You can also visit Broke Horror Fan.

The post 5 of This Week’s Coolest Horror Collectibles Including ‘Chainsaw Massacre’ 20th Anniversary Shirt appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Stephen King has always been a self-referential writer. In addition to his poignant memoir On Writing and a multitude of forwards and afterwards in his Uncle Steve voice, the Master of Horror tends to inject his fiction with characters that bear a striking resemblance to his own persona. Equating writing with therapy, he often seems to be working through issues that underlie his novels and one can often pick out themes and seasons of life peeking through the windows of his work.

Before hitting the bestseller list, King was a young husband and father struggling to make ends meet and the weight of supporting a family frequently appears in his early writing. The newest King adaptation to hit the big screen, Rob Savage’s The Boogeyman, reimagines a story from the author’s first collection Night Shift in which a surly father mourns the deaths of his three young children. The bulk of these paternal characters appear in early phases of King’s career, but the prolific writer has continued to create complex and conflicted fathers for the past five decades.

As Father’s Day approaches, let’s celebrate the good, the bad, and the dastardly dads that weave their way through Stephen King’s body of work. 

Worst: Lester Billings – The Boogeyman

David Dastmalchian as Lester Billings in ‘The Boogeyman’

The Lester Billings we meet in Rob Savage’s adaptation of The Boogeyman is a far cry from the despicable father haunting the pages of Night Shift. Both versions of the character visit a psychiatrist hoping to share the tragic story of their children’s deaths and both versions insist that the child killer is a shadowy monster lurking in darkened closets. While Savage’s version is understandably despondent, King’s original Lester is much more unpleasant. An abusive bigot, he casually mentions assaulting his wife and hints that he would rather his son die than turn out to be what he calls “a sissy.” His story is horrifying, but it’s difficult to feel too much sympathy for the grieving father when he describes sending his young son back to his crib alone to divert the Boogeyman’s attention away from himself. Even worse, an alternative reading of King’s story implies that the Boogeyman is merely a manifestation of Lester’s own rage. He is the true monster and has created the Boogeyman to hide from the reality that he has killed his own children.  

Best: Andy McGee – Firestarter

David Keith as Andy McGee in ‘Firestarter’

When most Constant Readers think about King’s 1980 novel, their minds naturally turn to Charlie McGee. However, the story is actually a two-hander following the titular pyrokinetic child and her father as they run from a clandestine government agency known as the Shop. Andy McGee met his late wife Vicky during a college experiment in which they were both injected with a serum designed to enhance psychic abilities. Their daughter Charlie was subsequently born with the power to start fires with her mind along with a bevy of other abilities that continue to grow stronger as she ages. Despite Andy’s tendency to use his own psy talents, all he wants for his daughter is a normal life. He’s taught her to suppress her enormous gifts in fear that the Shop will hold her captive and subject her to cruel experiments. Andy is not a perfect father. His lessons have caused Charlie to live in fear of her own body, but this parental control stems from an all-consuming desire to shield his daughter from harm. He sacrifices his own life to save her from a sinister father figure working on behalf of the Shop. Most of the fathers in King’s early work fall victim to their own inadequacies, but Andy stands out as a dedicated dad determined to protect his child. 

Worst: Billy Halleck – Thinner

IMAGE – Robert John Burke as Billy Halleck in Thinner

Billy Halleck is arguably a better father than he is a husband. A highly connected lawyer, Halleck pulls strings to avoid jail time when he kills a Romany woman with his car while receiving a hand job from his wife. The deceased woman’s husband curses the obese Halleck with a single word: thinner, and dooms him to rapidly lose weight until he wastes away to practically nothing. Though never exactly pleasant, Halleck begins to lose his grip on reality as the pounds melt away. He resents his wife, Heidi, and believes that she should be the one to pay the price for the old woman’s death. Halleck seems to genuinely care for his daughter, Linda, though his insistence that his wife has caused all his problems suggests a mean streak that might eventually land on his daughter’s shoulders. Halleck eventually finds a way to escape the curse by passing it to someone else with a pie poisoned with blood. He leaves the treat for his wife to eat and falls asleep believing that all of his problems have been solved. Unfortunately, Linda also consumes a slice and Billy wakes up to learn that he’s now doomed his own daughter to a horrendous fate. Written under King’s dark pseudonym, Thinner is a mean story about a careless and selfish man who destroys his family because he cannot accept responsibility for his own actions. 

Best: Clay Riddell – Cell

John Cusack as Clay Riddell in ‘Cell’

The main protagonist of King’s tech apocalypse nightmare is a bit of an anomaly. Instead of an author, he’s a graphic novelist hoping for a lucrative contract that will allow him to reconcile with his estranged wife, Sharon, and young son, Johnny. Clay has just emerged from a meeting in Boston when a phenomenon called the Pulse uses cell phones to transmit a deadly signal turning anyone who hears it into feral murderers. Clay joins a rag tag group of survivors and becomes a father figure of sorts to 12-year-old Jordan and 15-year-old Alice who have both become orphaned in the world-wide massacre. However, Clay never gives up on Johnny and ventures through the post-apocalyptic hellscape determined to find (or find out the fate of) his own son. The novel ends with a bittersweet reunion and the vague promise that Clay might be able to save Johnny from the horrific mind virus. Cell may not be King’s most beloved novel, but by refusing to give up on the chance of saving his son, Clay becomes one of the author’s most inspirational fathers. 

Worst: Joe St. George – Dolores Claiborne

David Strathairn as joe St. George in ‘Dolores Claiborne’

On the opposite end of the paternal spectrum is Joe St. George. The disgusting husband of Dolores Claiborne, Joe’s single good quality seems to be a smooth forehead the island woman fell in love with in high school. Now married with three children, Joe spends his days picking up odd jobs around the tiny community of Little Tall Island and his evenings drinking and gambling away the money Dolores has been saving for her children’s college funds. When Dolores learns that Joe has also been molesting his oldest daughter Selena, she decides to take matters into her own hands and create an “accident” that will rid her home of this predatory monster. Under cover of a full eclipse, Dolores lures Joe out into the blackberry brambles behind their ramshackle house and leads him straight to the rotted cover of an old well. Joe falls through the wood and eventually dies at the bottom of the dried up pit screaming for his wife to either pull him out or join him in the deadly darkness. A caricature of abusive evil, Joe is one of King’s worst fathers and deserves to rot away in a hole deep under the ground. 

Best: Mike Anderson – Storm of the Century

Tim Daly as Mike Anderson in ‘Storm of the Century’

Another resident of Little Tall Island, Mike Anderson proves that the tiny New England community does have fathers who love their children. When a brutal Nor’easter cuts the town off from the larger world, a mysterious stranger named Andre Linoge begins to pick off the island residents in a string of grisly murders and suicides. Despite being jailed by Anderson, serving as a part-time constable, Linoge exerts mental control over the town’s residents and repeats the simple phrase “give me what I want and I’ll go away.” Unfortunately, what this centuries-old sorcerer desires is a child to raise as his own evil successor. Faced with certain death, the adults of Little Tall Island decide to give the monster one of their children and devise a lottery system to choose the unfortunate sacrifice. The lone dissenter, Mike is devastated when his own son Ralphie is chosen to become Linoge’s progeny. Mike does his best to save his son, but tragically finds himself outmatched by a dark wizard and a town full of frightened people desperate to save themselves. 

Worst: “Big Jim” Rennie – Under the Dome

Dean Norris as “Big Jim” Rennie in ‘Under the Dome’

Arguably King’s worst villain, “Big Jim” Rennie is a slick politician and Second Selectman of the small Maine town of Chester’s Mill. This used car salesman and secret drug lord pulls the town’s strings from behind the scenes while maintaining the façade of a god-fearing father. When the whole of Chester’s Mill becomes encased in an indestructible dome, Big Jim seizes the opportunity to murder his enemies and increase his control over the terrified town. He’s so busy orchestrating riots and vilifying his political rivals that he fails to notice his son committing murders of his own. Due to an undiagnosed brain tumor, Junior Rennie careens through town assaulting and killing anyone who angers him or threatens his authority as the town’s most powerful son. Big Jim appoints Junior and his friends to the office of Special Deputy and essentially gives them free reign to terrorize the town under the guise of martial law. Two of King’s most evil characters, Big Jim and his son Junior are terrifying simply because they seem so plausible in a divided political landscape that feeds on fear mongering and deception.

Debatable: David Drayton – The Mist

Thomas Jane as David Drayton in ‘The Mist’

Thomas Jane may just want his kids back, but his most famous Stephen King character, David Drayton, has been struggling to care for his young son Billy in the wake of a mysterious catastrophe. When a vicious storm ushers in a dense fog that essentially swallows the town of Bridgton, Maine, several of the town’s residents find themselves trapped together in the local grocery store. As otherworldly monsters emerge from the mist and begin to snatch survivors, David must find a way to protect Billy while convincing his stubborn neighbors that the monsters he’s seen lurking outside the store are real. Even worse, a local zealot named Mrs. Carmody decides that this plague is a punishment from a vengeful God. She amasses a group of terrified followers and demands to take Billy as a sacrifice. David eventually flees the store with his son and a small group of likeminded residents. King’s original David merely keeps driving through an endless sea of mist, dodging monsters and continuing to care for his son while Frank Darabont’s adaptation takes a much darker turn. Hearing the approach of a gigantic creature, David and his unofficial ka-tet decide that a quick death is more appealing than a slow and agonizing demise at the hands (claws) of these Lovecraftian beasts. He shoots Billy and everyone else in the car before running out of bullets and stepping outside to face what he believes will be certain death. Only then does he realize that the sound they heard was the arrival of salvation; army tanks approaching to sweep them away to safety. King’s ending is haunting, but Darabont’s grim conclusion dramatically changes the tone of this bleak horror film and catapults David to the upper echelons of the author’s worst fathers. 

Worst: Wilfred James – 1922 

Thomas Jane as Wilfred James in ‘1922’

In Zak Hilditch’s adaptation of King’s novella 1922, Thomas Jane brings to life another of King’s flawed fathers. Nebraska farmer Wilfred James claims to want to protect his son Henry’s inheritance, but his desire to murder his wife Arlette stems from petty jealousy that the parcel of land she owns is larger than his own. When the headstrong woman begins making plans to sell off her portion of the property and move to Omaha, Wilfred convinces his teenage son Henry to help him carry out a gruesome murder. The reluctant son joins his father in a plan to slash Arlette’s throat and send her tumbling down a well that subsequently becomes infested with rats. Perhaps predictably, Henry struggles with the weight of this crime and his promising life quickly falls apart. He impregnates his girlfriend and the young lovers set out on a Bonnie and Clyde style crime spree that eventually leads to their own tragic deaths. Wilfred ends up depressed and alone, forced to sell the land he once killed for and move to the city he hates. Haunted by the rats who seem to embody Arlette’s vengeful spirit, Wilfred succumbs to his own guilt while trying to tell the story of a life shattered by his own selfishness.  

Worst: Bob Anderson – A Good Marriage

Anthony LaPaglia as Bob Anderson in ‘A Good Marriage’

No relation to Little Tall’s Mike, Bob Anderson proves to be one of King’s most devious fathers. The central villain of the novella A Good Marriage, Bob seems to have the perfect life: a loving wife named Darcy, two happy adult children, and a small yet successful business selling rare coins to dedicated collectors. While Bob is away on a business trip, Darcy stumbles upon her husband’s dark secret. Searching for batteries in the garage, she finds evidence of her his taste for sadomasochistic torture and confirmation that he is a notorious serial killer known as Beadie. Darcy tries to hide her shock, but Bob confronts her with the truth and convinces his wife to keep his horrific secret to protect their children. She agrees, but secretly begins to plan a way out of her disintegrating marriage. Though Bob is ostensibly a family man and loving parent, he’s spent the past few decades murdering the daughters of other fathers. He claims to be thinking only of his children, but anyone can see that his insistence that Darcy keep his secret stems from a selfish desire to avoid prison or death. King based this character on the horrifying true story of Dennis Rader, a Kansas serial killer who operated under the noses of his picture perfect family for decades. Rader’s small community was devastated by the discovery of his crimes, leaving little doubt of the dark fate awaiting Darcy and her children should Bb’s secret ever come out. 

Best: Edgar Freemantle – Duma Key

One of King’s most unusual protagonists, Edgar Freemantle moves to a quiet Florida island known as Duma Key in order to recover from a near-fatal accident. After a collision with a massive crane, Edgar discovers that he now has the ability to create reality with his drawings and see far away scenes by envisioning them in his mind and translating them to canvas. Unfortunately his curious power seems to come from a terrifying female force known as Perse lurking just off the coast. Having divorced his wife in the aftermath of the accident, Edgar remains close to his younger daughter Ilse whom he invites to stay with him on Duma Key. With this innocent visit, Edgar inadvertently introduces Isle to the island’s sinister presence and Edgar scrambles to keep her from falling under Perse’s deadly spell. The novel concludes with a father’s desperate quest for revenge. Guided by memories of his beloved Ilse, he ventures to the island’s dark edges to battle the centuries-old sea-witch once and for all. King’s bittersweet ending proves that though time heals all wounds, some losses are forever. 

Worst: Frank Dunning – 11/22/63

Josh Duhamel as Frank Dunning in ‘11.22.63’

Arguably one of King’s best novels and most romantic stories, 11/22/63 also contains one of the most horrific scenes in his entire body of work. Frank Dunning is a popular butcher who constantly flirts with the ladies of Derry, Maine. Unfortunately, he’s also an angry and controlling drunk and frequently abuses his wife and children. On Halloween night of 1958, Frank tries to force a reunion with his estranged wife and winds up attacking his family with a sledgehammer, gruesomely killing all but young Harry who emerges from the chaos with a mental disability and debilitating limp. Decades later, Harry tells this tragic story to a young teacher named Jake Epping who finds a way to travel back through time and save the family from this horrific fate, giving the audience a ring-side seat to this harrowing massacre. Frank’s fate is a minor part of King’s epic novel, but this Halloween night and the raging father who turns out to be worse than any monster is one few Constant Readers will ever forget. 

Best: Alan Pangborn – Needful Things

Ed Harris as Alan Pangborn in ‘Needful Things’

When Sheriff George Bannerman falls victim to a rabid St. Bernard, Castle Rock’s next Chief of Police will undoubtedly have big shoes to fill. Fortunately, the job falls to one of King’s most beloved characters, Alan Pangborn. This husband and father of two first emerges in the pages of The Dark Half when he attempts to help another father, Thad Beaumont, defend his own family against the murderous manifestation of his sinister pseudonym. Pangborn returns in the black comedy Needful Things to square off against devilish salesman Leland Gaunt for the souls of the small New England town. Between the timelines of these two Castle Rock stories, Alan’s wife Annie dies in a car accident along with the couple’s younger son Todd. The grieving father not only struggles with depression, but guilt at failing to recognize the symptoms of a brain tumor that may have caused Annie to crash the car. Alan may protect the town from annihilation, but his true paternal strength lies in a more quiet kind of courage. Devastated by the loss of his wife and son, Alan bravely confronts his own grief and finds a way to heal his broken heart in order to love and support the son he still has left.  

Worst: Jack Torrance – The Shining

Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in ‘The Shining’

King’s most famous father will always be associated with Jack Nicholson’s incredible performance as Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining, though King’s own version of the character enjoys a bit more humanity. As the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, Jack drags his family to an isolated resort hidden deep in the Colorado mountains after losing his teaching job due to a violent temper and struggles with sobriety. Jack intends to spend the quiet months finishing a play, but begins to feel resentment for his wife, Wendy, and young son, Danny. When the sinister ghosts haunting the hotel begin to prey on Jack’s weakened psyche, they convince him to kill Wendy and the psychically gifted Danny as the bloody price of admission to the Overlook’s system of power. Having struggled with addiction himself, King has since written that Jack may have been an unconscious manifestation of his own inner demons. He offers Jack a final moment of redemption not found in Kubrick’s adaptation and this near-perfect novel becomes a poignant reminder that hope never dies. Even the worst parents have the power to find their way out of darkness and remember to selflessly love their children. 

Most Tragic: Louis Creed – Pet Sematary

Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed in ‘Pet Sematary’

Louis Creed’s life seems practically perfect when he moves to the sleepy town of Ludlow, Maine. Having taken a job as a doctor at the local university, the husband and father of two moves his family into a country home that just happens to lie next to a two-lane road frequented by large trucks. When his neighbor Jud introduces him to a charming, but eerie Pet Sematary in the woods behind his house, a sinister force awakens in the forest’s deeper darkness. This innocent hike begins a deadly chain reaction that claims the life of the family’s pet cat and toddler son Gage. Louis tries to harness this dark power to resurrect the happy family now lying shattered at his feet, but winds up plunging his wife and daughter into an inescapable nightmare. King was inspired to write this terrifying novel after watching his own young son run into the road and famously put the finished manuscript in a drawer convinced it was too dark for publication. Pet Sematary is indeed devastating, and may be King’s most terrifying tale, but it’s also one of his best. Watching Louis try to reject the inevitability of loss allows us all to confront the terror of loving children in a world that doesn’t promise to protect them. His descent into hell reminds us to hold our loved ones a little closer and treasure their presence in our lives while we still can. 

The post The King of Father’s Day: Stephen King’s Best and Worst Fathers appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

It’s been a rollercoaster few years for the English filmmaker, and he shows no signs of slowing down, as evidenced in his latest conversation with The Losers’ Club. Last week, Savage sat down with Losers Michael Roffman and Jenn Adams to discuss his roots with King, the monster vs. the metaphor, shooting in the dark, and working with a major studio.

Elsewhere, Savage also shares a few scenes they had to cut for time, the hurdles in transitioning away from found footage, his affinity for Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining, a charming anecdote involving King’s reaction to The Boogeyman, and why The Langoliers is the next story he’d love to tackle in King’s Dominion. So, yeah, lots to unpack.

Stream the episode below and be sure to check out the Losers’ original horror audio drama The Boogeyman: Mortality Rate. For further adventures, join the Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of content in The Barrens (Patreon).

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The post Rob Savage on Building ‘The Boogeyman’, Scaring Stephen King, and Looking to ‘The Langoliers’ [The Losers’ Club Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Join Losers’ Club co-host Jenn Adams as she cues up the arena rock and tips off a series of head-to-head battles in which an expert panel that includes fellow co-hosts Michael Roffman, Dan Caffrey, and Julia Marchese slowly narrow down the field to an epic, final showdown. Nail-biters and buzzer-beaters abound in our quest to identify King’s ultimate writer.

Who wins? Play along and find out!

Stream the episode below and return next week when the Losers head to Hollywood to discuss all the King news comin’ outta Cannes. For further adventures, join the Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of content in The Barrens (Patreon).

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The post Ranking Stephen King’s Writers: From Ben Mears to Scott Landon [The Losers’ Club Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As Campbell points out, the venue alone already has some pretty legendary horror bona fides.

“The Stanley inspired Stephen King to write The Shining when he stayed there,” he tells us. “I love the fact that it’s supposed to be haunted. I’m not a ghost guy, but I like to play along.” Fans can get to know the hotel better (and maybe spot a rotting corpse or two in the bathtub) during a Bruce-centric scavenger hunt.

While BruceFest won’t feature any King adaptations (the closest the two have gotten to working together was King convincing Dino De Laurentiis to produce Evil Dead 2), it will showcase some of the finest films in the Campbell canon. He and longtime collaborator Ted Raimi will be hosting a watch-along of Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness for fans, who will get to be in the same room as the two genre legends as they offer up their insights in real-time.

“I still do commentary, even highlighting ‘wince’ moments,” Campbell says. “It’s part of the routine show.” He even gives us a little bit of film analysis ahead of the screenings. When asked about the different tones between the first two Evil Dead films, he calls the first one “a failed melodrama. The original Evil Dead was never supposed to be funny. Evil Dead 2 is a different story.”

Fans also get to watch Bubba Ho-Tep with Campbell (ask him about his favorite Elvis karaoke song, “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”), plus they’ll see him all over the hotel grounds throughout the weekend at photo-ops, signings, cosplay competitions, and a trivia contest that he’ll be hosting. They’ll also get the chance to take on Ted Raimi one-on-one in some of his favorite tabletop games.

But the highlight of the festival might be several immersive experiences involving S-Mart, the infamous department store that plays a pivotal role in the Evil Dead series and its hit television sequel, Ash vs Evil Dead. On Friday, there’s a holiday party at the store, complete with Bruce-themed cocktails and appetizers from celebrity chef Chris Binotto.

The second S-Mart event is more mysterious. All weekend long, fans can participate in an alternate reality game involving an ominous expansion of the department store. Everyone’s encouraged to solve the mystery (you can start doing so online now), then physically venture to the store on Saturday, where they’ll be able to shop, enjoy game rooms, a photo booth, and an exhibit of Sam Raimi’s prop extensive prop collection. Campbell also promises that there will be “a special treat in store for folks,” regarding the S-Mart ARG.

Tickets are currently on sale at the BruceFest website, with two-for-one passes available while supplies last. Just place two individual tickets in your cart and use the promo code GROOVY at checkout to access the discount.

With Evil Dead Rise on the horizon, we can’t think of a better way to celebrate than BruceFest. Get your tickets today, and prepare to hail to the king, baby!

The post Groovy Party Isn’t It? Bruce Campbell Invites You to BruceFest 2022 at the Stanley Hotel appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After all, what’s more vulnerable than a child? And with so many child-centric scary movies out there, we’ve come up with this list celebrating six of the best “Final Kid” performances in horror.

Talented child actors are hard to come by, so I think it’s time to shine a light on the pint-sized survivors that helped to make some of our favorite horror flicks so memorable.

While this list is based on personal opinion, there are a couple of rules. First of all, we’ll only be featuring horror protagonists, so no creepy children like Harvey Stephens’s Damien or Linda Blair’s Regan. Second, no ensembles like the cast of Monster Squad or either version of Stephen King’s It, as they would take up too much space on the list.

With that out of the way, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite child actor performances in horror movies if you think we missed an important one.

Now, onto the list…

6. Jamie Lloyd / Danielle Harris – Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Named after the original final girl Jamie Lee Curtis, Danielle Harris’ Jamie Lloyd is much more than a simple rehash of her namesake. An innocent child with a seemingly supernatural connection to her serial-killing uncle, Jamie is actually a driving force behind the plot, with a lynch mob forming around the poor girl when Michael decides to return to Haddonfield and reclaim his long-lost niece.

She’s also extremely likable and clever, trying her best to stay alive even when she’s being used as bait. Of course, the final reveal that Jamie has inherited Michael’s taste for blood is made all the more horrifying by the lovable performance that came before. It’s just a shame that the subsequent sequels didn’t really know what to do with Harris’ iconic survivor.

5. Ofelia / Ivana Baquero – Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Often considered to be Guillermo Del Toro’s magnum opus, this historical monster movie is a unique case where the flick doesn’t feel terrifying precisely because of our ten-year-old protagonist. Played to perfection by Ivana Baquero, Ofelia is an imaginative young girl that’s simply trying to make sense of the chaos surrounding her – both in and out of the titular Labyrinth.

Dealing with child-eating creatures and totalitarian horrors alike, Ofelia stands out due to her inquisitive nature as well as her courage and outstanding moral fiber. While her status as a “final kid” depends on your interpretation of the film’s ambiguous finale, there’s no denying that the little Ivana left a sizable mark on Del Toro’s filmography.

4. Oskar / Kåre Hedebrant – Let the Right One In (2008)

Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In is mostly remembered for Lina Leandersson’s fascinating portrayal of the child-vampire Eli, but the movie simply would not work if it wasn’t for Kåre Hedebrant’s melancholy portrayal of the lonely Oskar. A sensitive kid who’s the frequent target of bullies, Hedebrant adds just the right amount of pathos to make you understand why the poor kid would fall in love with a vampire.

This is also a particularly tragic entry as Oskar is ultimately doomed to become Eli’s new familiar, meaning that his condition as a “final kid” isn’t necessarily a happy ending. Oskar was competently played by Kodi Smit-McPhee in Matt Reeves’ 2011 remake of the film (here called “Owen”), but I believe that Hedebrant’s take on the character remains the definitive version.

3. Tommy Jarvis / Corey Feldman – Friday the 13^th – The Final Chapter (1984)

Tommy Jarvis is usually remembered as the unfortunate teenager (played by Thom Mathews) who accidentally turned Jason Voorhees into an invincible zombie in Friday the 13th Part VI – Jason Lives, but his character was originally introduced back in Part IV, where he was a young horror fan played by the ever-lovable Corey Feldman.

Not only is Jarvis responsible for outsmarting and murdering the hell out of the original “human” version of Jason Voorhees, but he also does it through his unusual love of horror media and special effects, making him one of the most compelling final kids out there.

2. Danny Torrance / Danny Lloyd – The Shining (1980)

Stanley Kubrick famously convinced Danny Lloyd that The Shining was actually a comedy in an effort to not traumatize the kid during production, but you could never tell due to the boy’s chilling performance. Jack Nicholson may have gotten all the glory due to his memorably manic portrayal of Jack Torrance, but Lloyd – and Shelley Duvall – make up the real heart of this Stephen King adaptation.

From his eerie way of speaking to his “imaginary friend” Tony to his odd facial expressions when faced with the horrors of the Overlook Hotel, Danny is a huge part of what makes this intricate puzzle of a film tick, and that’s why he ranks so high on this list.

1. Andy Barclay / Alex Vincent – Child’s Play (1987)

Chucky may have gone on to become a pop culture super-star, just as (if not more) recognizable as Freddy and Jason, but it’s easy to forget that the original Child’s Play began as the tragic story of a young boy being framed for his favorite doll’s homicidal tendencies. The entire film only works because it’s so easy to fear for Andy’s well-being, and most of that is due to Alex Vincent’s charming line delivery and overall cute-ness.

That’s why I’m glad that Vincent returned to the role back in 2013’s revival of the franchise (not to mention SYFY’s TV series), as I think you can’t tell a proper Child’s Play story without bringing up the original “Final Kid” that took Charles Lee Ray down.

The post Unlikely Survivors: Six of the Best “Final Kids” in Horror appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Ti West has pulled off an impressive feat in 2022 by not only introducing audiences to Maxine, Pearl, and the world of X, but fleshing it out into its own horror trilogy within the span of a year. Pearl builds upon the ideas that Ti West first explored in X, only to push them in new directions and through a completely distinct filter. It’s a movie that both stands on its own, but also immediately makes the viewer want to rewatch X to view the film with greater insight.

Horror prequels debatably have an even more contentious reputation than sequels do since a lot of the time they rob characters or concepts of their initial mystique and a level of suspense is missing since audiences know what lies ahead on some level. Pearl is proof that prequels can be a viable way to expand upon a story and don’t run the risk of “ruining” properties in the ways that sequels do. There are some particular horror films where prequels wouldn’t just be appropriate, but also a smart way to return to these worlds.

Here are 10 more horror prequels we’d love to see someday.

Creep

Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice’s Creep films are thoroughly disturbing character studies that detail the manipulative exploits of a serial killer with an increasingly fluid backstory. Both Creep movies are exceptional exercises in tension that build upon the same themes, but hardly feel like they’ve derivative of each other. Duplass and Brice have struggled to crack the right story for a third Creep film to close out the trilogy and perhaps the best approach would be to look back to the past of Duplass’ killer instead of his future. 

Creep 2 is predicated upon “Aaron’s” mid-life crisis upon turning forty and losing his zeal for murder. “Aaron” claims to have 39 kills to his name and with Creep 2 shining a light on what might be his final kill, there’d be a welcome symmetry to a prequel that details his very first murder. This Creep prequel could still keep the franchise’s found footage aesthetic, but present it in an even more archaic style of video with a potentially sloppier film style that mirrors the novice nature of Duplass’ killer character. 

Midsommar

Ari Aster’s Midsommar is a haunting tone poem on loss, grief, and female empowerment that makes such a strong impact because it functions as a standalone story. It’s a relief that there hasn’t been a follow-up that continues to follow Dani Ardor’s tenure as May Queen, but what could make for a curious and contemplative movie is a prequel that follows the previous generation of Hårga. The Midsommar ceremony that becomes the morbid focus of the film is revealed to be an event that occurs every 90 years in order to perpetuate their customs. Turning the clock back 90 years to the previous Midsommar festival and May Queen crowning could prove to be an enlightening way to expand upon the Hårga’s culture, while still highlighting new sacrificial horrors. 

There’s even the possibility for Midsommar’s Hårga elders, Father Odd and Grandmother Siv to possibly appear in the prequel as children that the audience views these new experiences through. A Midsommar prequel could also chronicle the events of the “Black One,” an entity that visited the Hårga people’s village and tricked their children to dance until their deaths. Audiences could see many of the Hårga’s macabre customs find their roots and first come into action.

Pumpkinhead

Stan Winston’s Pumpkinhead is a relic from the ’80s that often doesn’t get its due and the two SyFy original movies from the 2000s are hardly the revival that fans were looking for. Pumpkinhead is a Stan Winston creation that’s honestly on par with Alien’s Xenomorph, but behind the horrors of this film is a haunted fairytale aesthetic. It’s arguably the only monster movie that’s inspired by a poem, which is oddly fitting for this heightened tale of vengeance. 1988’s Pumpkinhead attributes Lance Henriksen’s Ed Harley for summoning Pumpkinhead, this demon of vengeance. However, the movie begins with a prelude that’s set twenty years earlier and looks at a past encounter between a young Ed, his dad, and Pumpkinead. 

Pumpkinhead ends on a definitive note, but the movie’s sequels take so many liberties with the eponymous monster’s mythology that it wouldn’t be out of place to just wipe the slate clean and start anew, albeit far in the past as the “first” Pumpkinhead story. This Pumpkinhead prequel could return to the original movie’s introduction or instead look at previous Pumpkinhead tales of vengeance (or even explore any of the other sin-based monsters that are teased). Desperate villagers from the 1600s who turn to summoning Pumpkinhead in a gothic Witch-like environment could be exactly what Pumpkinhead has been lacking.

It Follows

Many of the best horror films are the ones that operate as social allegories that have more to say beyond their surface level horrors. It Follows excels as a terrifying monster movie, but it’s also an exceptional modern horror story with what it has to say about casual sex and dating dynamics. Maika Monroe’s Jay and her friends are the target of a shapeshifting monster that stalks its victims based upon their sexual partners. 

It Follows ends on a conclusive note, but the movie kicks off with a sublime introduction that chronicles the tail end of another victim’s unsuccessful attempts to survive the same dark presence. Audiences see the ferocious and flexible aftermath of Annie’s death, but her whole experience with this monster could fuel its own film. It’d leave such an impression if an It Follows prequel were to conclude with the beginning of It Follows, with one movie seamlessly feeding into the other as one big story.

Hellraiser

Hellraiser is set for a modern reboot on Hulu courtesy of The Night House and The Ritual’s David Bruckner, which will hopefully resurrect the gruesome horror franchise from the direct-to-video purgatory that it’s been restricted to for several sequels. What’s most compelling about Clive Barker’s Hellraiser universe is the origins of the Lament Configuration puzzle box and the circumstances behind the horrific Cenobites that they summon. Hellraiser IV: Bloodline is not what most would consider to be a good movie, but it adopts a unique structure that’s set both way in the futuristic time period of 2127, but also flashes back to Paris, France at the end of the 1700s.

Philip LeMarchand is a French toymaker who’s responsible for the Lament Configuration’s creation and later experiences his own twisted fate. A prequel film could properly detail this 1796 origin story, but with some actual weight and stakes this time around (but they better also bring back Adam Scott in a powdered wig, while they’re at it). Hellraiser’s comics depict LeMarchand as a serial killer who creates the puzzle box out of human fat and bone, which could also make for a fascinating cinematic story. Alternatively, a Hellraiser prequel could abandon the LeMarchand lore in favor of a markedly looser, but more action-driven prequel. This could be as simple as a Lament Configuration box getting discovered by ancient warriors, pirates, or Colonial soldiers who suddenly need to contend with Cenobites and their delicious pleasures of the flesh. Who doesn’t want to see Pinhead take on Blackbeard after he finds the Lament Configuration box in one of his treasure hauls?

Oculus

Mike Flanagan is one of the most exciting and passionate names that’s currently working in horror and Oculus is one of the director’s strongest, yet most overlooked, films. The movie tells a powerful story about two traumatized siblings who attempt to get revenge on a haunted mirror that destroyed their family a decade earlier. Oculus jumps back and forth between two narratives in 2013 and 2002 that detail the Russell family’s history with the deadly Lasser Glass. 

However, Kaylie Russell’s comprehensive research on the Lasser Glass breaks down eight previous tragedies that the mirror has caused. All of these events have tantalizing prequel potential, whether the movie details the initial carnage between the Earl of Leicester and his wife Virginia Lasser back in 1754, the tragedy that befell a Southern railroad tycoon in the 1860s, or any of the freak accidents that took out the owners of the Lasser Glass during the 1900s. Kaylie details the grisly consequences of each of these scenarios, but there’s still lots of room to flesh out their specifics.

Final Destination

Having its initial roots as a prospective X-Files episode, the Final Destination series turned into a surprise success story out of the 2000s. There are five Final Destination movies that explore the twisted whims of fate as Death itself tries to balance the scales and claim the lives that he’s owed. Curiously, the Final Destination series has already played around with non-linear chronology and delivered unexpected prequels, but the franchise could go even further in this department and take a page out of Prey’s book. 

The Rube Goldbergian nature of deaths that transpire in Final Destination could instantly feel fresh if they were filtered through dangerous time periods like the Roman Empire or the trenches of World War I. There are so many eras from history that could benefit from the Final Destination treatment. Alternatively, Tony Todd’s mysterious William Bludworth character appears in the first, second, and fifth films in the series and he clearly has some understanding over the supernatural forces that are in play. A Final Destination prequel could highlight the potential tragedy that set Bludworth on this path and explain just what kind of relationship he has with Death.

The Shining

Stephen King’s The Shining is one of the most totemic horror novels and Stanley Kubrick’s epic cinematic adaptation, while quite different from its source material, is viewed with just as high esteem. The Shining tells a satisfying story that really doesn’t need to be expanded upon, but Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep is proof that such endeavors aren’t always a bad idea. There have been efforts to make a Shining prequel film, and series, that focus on earlier exploits at the Overlook Hotel before the Torrance family sets up shop for a fated winter in the 1970s. 

Jack learns that the Overlook has quite the troubled history and any of the lost souls that show up in the movie could receive greater depth in an Overlook-centric prequel story. An Overlook prequel could even play with the supernatural idea that Jack has “always been the caretaker” at the Overlook and insert his image into idiosyncratic incidents from the hotel’s past. A prequel of this nature would have very big shoes to fill, but Mike Flanagan has proven that additional stories in The Shining universe can work.

The Descent

The Descent is a standout horror film from the 2000s and Neil Marshall’s claustrophobic meditation on grief and friendship is already captivating before the subterranean Crawlers reveal themselves. The Descent Part 2 likely soured most people to the idea of any additional Descent movies, but it’s been long enough that a prequel that looks at the origins of these creatures could be a unique experiment.

The Descent illustrates that the Crawlers have developed a full colony that’s made up of males, females, and children who have learned to adapt to these dark, cold surroundings. The roots of their genesis is much more interesting than just another story about spelunkers in peril. While not at all necessary, The Descent Part 2 also ends on a cryptic conclusion that indicates that mine operator, Ed Oswald, might have brokered some kind of partnership with the Crawlers that also has prequel potential.

Sinister

Scott Derrickson’s Sinister is dark, unflinching horror that makes such an impact because of Ethan Hawke’s committed performance and the increasingly alarming snuff films that his character exposes to himself. The supernatural Bughuul reveal in Sinister doesn’t work for everyone and the film’s sequel largely has diminishing returns. That being said, the original film lays the groundwork for several upsetting prequel pictures that chronicle the massacres of other families that Bughuul infects.

Seeing the events of “Pool Party ’66” or “BBQ ’79” get expanded into a fully Amityville Horror-style movie would be an interesting exercise in nihilism. Events would play out differently than Sinister and its sequel since Bughuul’s manipulation would presumably go undetected and left to the audience to discover.

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Turkel was 94 years old, passing away at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California.

In addition to his iconic role in The Shining, Joe Turkel also appeared in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner just two years later, playing the creator of the Replicants, Dr. Eldon Tyrell.

With 142 credits on a resume that dates back to 1949, Joe Turkel also appeared in the films City Across the River, The Glass Wall, Mad at the World, The Beast of Budapest, Tormented, Portrait of a Mobster, The Yellow Canary, King Rat, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, The Devil’s 8, The Hindenburg, and most recently, 1990’s The Dark Side of the Moon.

On the small screen, Joe Turkel returned to the horror genre in the 1985 episode of “Tales from the Darkside” titled “Levitation,” playing a once-great circus magician named Kharma.

According to Entertainment Weekly, “Turkel completed his memoir, The Misery of Success, just before his death, and his family plans to publish it later this year.”

Joe Turkel is survived by his sons Craig and Robert.

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For his third published novel, the author penned a tragic, personal story about coming to terms with his alcoholism. The 1980 film — masterful technical achievement though it is —is more of a clinical exercise in dread. King has called it “a big, beautiful Cadillac with no engine inside it.”

So when ABC approached King to do another TV miniseries based on his work following the success of 1994’s The Stand, the author expressed interest in The Shining. To ensure this version was more faithful, King translated his own 447-page novel into a three-part teleplay. The general plot is the same as Kubrick’s — a recovering alcoholic moves into a haunted hotel with his family — but there are several impactful changes along the way.

After Brian De Palma — who, of course, was the first to adapt King with Carrie — passed on helming the project, King reunited with The Stand and Sleepwalkers director Mick Garris. Produced by Warner Bros. Television, the 1997 miniseries was filmed in 72 days on a budget of $21 million. (For the project to move forward, Kubrick was paid $1.5 million, and it was stipulated that King could not disparage the original movie.)

The production was largely filmed on location at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado; the allegedly haunted locale that inspired King to write the novel. Most of the cast and crew resided there during the shoot, and some even reported feeling a paranormal presence. King was present for approximately two thirds of the shoot, during which he was writing The Green Mile.

King’s chief criticism of Kubrick’s The Shining is Jack Torrance’s lack of a character arc; rather than a slow descent from family man to madman, King found Jack Nicholson’s portrayal to be crazy from the start. Many actors approached for the role of Jack — including The Stand lead Gary Sinise — turned it down out of fear of being compared to Nicholson. With pressure mounting, Wings star Steven Weber read for the role and was cast a mere three days before shooting began.

Weber has gone on record saying he did not feel any trepidation; rather, he relished the opportunity to flex his acting chops after being typecast as affable goofballs for so long. The lack of intimidation paid off, as Webber brings the nuance of King’s words to the screen in a way that Nicholson — undeniably iconic as he is — did not.

King has also taken umbrage with Kubrick’s misogynistic take on Jack’s wife, Wendy, played by Shelley Duvall. King affords his version of the character, portrayed by Rebecca De Mornay (Risky Business), more agency rather than relegating her to, as he once eloquently referred to it, a “screaming dishrag.”

Arguably, the only misstep in The Shining TV miniseries’ casting is that of Courtland Mead (The Little Rascals) as the Torrance’s son, Danny, who possesses a form of precognition referred to as the shine. The young actor, who turned 9 during production, is more animated but also more grating than Danny Lloyd’s earlier portrayal.

Casting Melvin Van Peebles (best known as the filmmaker/star behind the landmark blaxploitation film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song) as hotel cook Dick Hallorann, on the other hand, was inspired. Like Scatman Crothers before him — albeit with a different fate — he’s the story’s secret weapon, bonding with Danny over their shared gift.

Other notable cast members include Elliott Gould (M*A*S*H) as the Overlook’s general manager, Pat Hingle (Batman) as his right-hand man, Mick’s wife Cynthia Garris as the ghastly woman in room 217 (which earned her a coveted Fangoria cover), Shawnee Smith (Saw) as a waitress, and an uncredited Miguel Ferrer (who starred in The Stand as well as The Night Flier) as the voice of Jack’s abusive father.

In addition to cameos from King (playing an orchestra conductor credited as Gage Creed, sharing his name with the ill-fated boy from Pet Sematary) and Garris, genre luminaries Sam Raimi, Frank Darabont, The Crow scribe David J. Schow, and writer Richard Christian Matheson (who later adapted King in Nightmares & Dreamscapes and Big Driver) make brief appearances.

Another significant discrepancy between the novel and Kubrick’s film that King aimed to correct was the ending. “The book is hot, and the movie is cold; the book ends in fire, and the movie in ice,” the author astutely observed. Indeed, the momentous finale in which Jack Nicholson is left to freeze in the hedge maze was written for the movie. The book and miniseries conclude with Jack dying when the Overlook’s boiler explodes, destroying the hotel with him.

Moreover, the hedge maze itself was Kubrick’s creation. The book instead features topiary animals that come to life, but Kubrick smartly recognized that the technology did not yet exist to pull them off satisfactorily. They are restored for Garris’ production; their movements accomplished via a mix of puppetry and early CGI (which, although adequate by 1997 standards, has not aged well). Garris cites the topiaries as the most challenging part of the shoot.

Several more of the most memorable elements from Kubrick’s movie — including the Grady twins, the bleeding elevator, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” Jack’s axe, “Here’s Johnny,” and the distinctive carpet pattern — were of his own making. The ease with which he created iconography speaks to the auteur’s genius, but it also allows Garris’ adaptation to forge a more unique identity.

The pacing lags at times, especially when viewed through the modern lens in which long-form content is tailor-made for binging. But the miniseries format allows for the characters and their motives to be considerably more fleshed out than in Kubrick’s version, which left much to the imagination. Editor Patrick McMahon (A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Stand) reins in the 273 minutes of material.

The influential aesthetics of Kubrick’s film left big shoes to fill; it was a pioneer of both the Steadicam and electronic scores. Shelly Johnson (Captain America: The First Avenger, Jurassic Park III), who Garris calls the best director of photography he’s ever worked with, serves as the miniseries’ cinematographer. While the camerawork isn’t particularly ostentatious, the visuals are appropriately atmospheric. Nicholas Pike‘s (Sleepwalkers, Blood and Bone) score, performed by a 60-piece orchestra, adds a Gothic flavor with a haunting choral motif.

The TV version of The Shining won two Emmy Awards: Outstanding Makeup and Outstanding Sound Editing. The former was accomplished by a team that includes prosthetics by Steve Johnson (Ghostbusters, Species), makeup supervision by future Academy Award winner Bill Corso (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Deadpool), and additional work by Ve Neill (Beetlejuice, Ed Wood) and Joel Harlow (Star Trek, Inception).

The Shining aired on TV between April 27 and May 1, 1997. The initial reaction was largely positive, earning strong ratings (albeit not as high as The Stand), predominantly favorable reviews (including a rare perfect rating from TV Guide), and numerous awards and recognitions. Time has not been entirely kind to the miniseries; in addition to the CGI aging poorly, the critical opinion has shifted over the years, particularly when compared to Kubrick’s opus.

25 years later, The Shining remains one of the most faithful adaptations of King’s work and a fascinating TV companion to Kubrick’s feature film version. Not unlike Gus Van Sant’s shot-for-shot remake of Psycho, the miniseries illustrates both the advantages and disadvantages of an obsequious dedication to source material. With The Stand recently receiving a high-definition restoration, I hope The Shining is granted a similar opportunity to shine; the only way to see it currently is on DVD.

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The Prop Store lets us know, “A number of fire axes were created for filming. Photographs from the set show as many as a dozen differing versions lined up ready for use.”

This latest auction for a screen-used prop axe from The Shining comes courtesy not of The Prop Store but rather Gotta Have Rock and Roll, with a starting bid of $55,000.

The website notes in their listing for the auction, “This axe prop was screen used by actor Jack Nicholson in the ultimate horror film, The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick. The axe prop is displayed in a 25 x 2.5 x 40.5 shadow box frame with photos from the film. Very good, screen used condition. Comes with a letter from NORANK Engineering, Engineers to the Film, Television and Entertainment Industry, dated June 8, 1989 stating that the axe prop was used in the film. Also comes with a Gotta Have Rock & Roll Certificate of Authenticity.”

With 2 bids thus far and 10 days left in the auction, The Shining screen-used axe is expected to fetch between $60,000 – $90,000, though it very well may go for even higher.

Gotta Have Rock and Roll is also currently auctioning off a screen-used knife from The Shining, which is signed by Danny Lloyd. That’s expected to go for a few thousand dollars.

You can check out both screen-used auction items below, as they appear today. For a deeper dive into the Stanley Kubrick classic, stream a recent episode of The Losers’ Club featuring Host writer and producer Jed Shepherd.

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It’s another high-octane news episode that finds Losers Michael Roffman, Jenn Adams, Justin Gerber, and Randall Colburn cycling through all the latest Stephen King headlines.

Topics include HBO Max’s potential It prequel series Welcome to Derry, Ben Stiller‘s potential role in The Shining stage adaptation, and the what-ifs involving Stephen King gaming.

Stream the episode below and return next week when the Losers revisit Lawrence Kasdan’s 2003 sci-fi horror epic Dreamcatcher with filmmaker Gillian W. Horvat.

For further adventures, join the Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of content in The Barrens (Patreon).

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The post Stephen King News Roundup: On ‘Welcome to Derry’, Ben Stiller’s ‘The Shining’, and King Gaming [The Losers’ Club Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Deadline reports, “Rehearsals are set to begin in the fall, with London performances targeted for January 2023. An eventual move to Broadway is expected.”

King’s classic horror novel is being adapted for the stage by Tony winner Simon Stephens (Morning Son), with Ivo van Hove (West Side Story) leading the team.

Deadline notes in their report, “Sources say the stage play of The Shining will adhere more closely with King’s 1977 book than Stanley Kubrick’s film.” This is surely music to Stephen King’s ears, as King is famously not a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s iconic take on his material.

Jack Torrance was of course played by Jack Nicholson in Kubrick’s classic horror film, the role subsequently played by Steven Weber in the 1997 mini-series directed by Mick Garris.

More recently, Henry Thomas played Jack in Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep.

It’s always interesting to see comic actors take on darker, more serious material, and Ben Stiller as Jack Torrance in The Shining is certainly an intriguing bit of casting that could turn out to be quite inspired. Stiller is of course no stranger to showing off his dramatic acting chops, in films including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Permanent Midnight, and Empire of the Sun.

Stiller most recently directed the Apple TV+ thriller series “Severance.”

It should be noted this is not the first time The Shining has graced the stage. In 2016, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec adapted King’s story as an opera at the Ordway Music Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This past month, it returned for five chilling nights at The Ellie Caulkins Opera House in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. In anticipation, Moravec joined our weekly King cast, The Losers’ Club, a conversation you can revisit below.

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The Overlook Hotel is back in business, and The Losers’ Club is checking into Room 237 to revisit Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Scatman Crothers, the iconic Stephen King adaptation continues to lull generations of cinephiles and horror fans alike into its never-ending labyrinth.

Forever… and ever… and ever…

Joining Losers Michael Roffman, Rachel Reeves, and Dan Pfleegor in The Gold Room is writer-executive producer Jed Shepherd (Host, Dashcam). From the storied production history to the rich sonic tapestries, the endless fan theories to the curious cast, very little blood is left in the elevator. No, everything is on the floor for discussion.

So, what are you waiting for?

Stream the episode below and return next week when the Losers answer your questions in another (Mail) Bag of Bones episode that will also see them catch up on a few headlines. For further adventures, join the Losers’ Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

You can also unlock hundreds of hours of exclusive content in The Barrens (Patreon).

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The post Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ Traps Stephen King’s Prose In a Neverending Labyrinth [The Losers’ Club Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In 2016, however, the story found a new life when Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell adapted King’s work into the most unlikeliest art form: the opera. Spanning two acts and an epilogue, the inspired production premiered at the Ordway Music Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota to critical acclaim.

Now, the spine-tingling opera returns for five chilling nights at The Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver, Colorado, only a gasp away from where the story originated at the nearby The Stanley Hotel. In anticipation, Moravec joins the Losers today to discuss the rare process of going from page to stage and the slight adjustments he made this time around.

Stream the entire conversation below. Want to see it yourself? Well, good news: Constant Listeners who wish to attend can save 25% off tickets by using promo code LOSERSCLUB (all one word) when they pick up tickets at operacolorado.org. Act soon as the doors to the Overlook re-open from February 26th to March 6th!

For further adventures with the Losers, join the gang over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of content in The Barrens (Patreon), where commentaries, exclusive interviews, and countless bonus episodes await you.

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Bloody Disgusting’s Boo Crew spent some time with Brandon to talk about growing up in the aisles of video stores, The Evil Dead, Victorian seances and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre-obsessed guitar god Buckethead, among many other things.

“I grew up here in Los Angeles but I grew up kind of like, in a rural part of LA in the Santa Monica mountains. We had no television reception and no cable, but we had a TV and we had a VCR. We were allowed a weekly ritual of renting a movie or two,” Boyd tells us.

“What we had in my house were movies. Almost exclusively movies. There’s quite a few that were my original, highly influential films, you know the ones that kinda like, if I was heading in a certain direction they knocked me off in another direction. One of them is The Shining. I remember seeing that way too young and it absolutely f*&#ing destroyed me. I was terrified to walk down hallways, you know what I mean? I was looking over my shoulder and peaking into dark rooms expecting there to be people dressed as furries, performing fellatio on bartenders and I don’t know, that movie really messed me up. I remember seeing it again in my 20s and being struck that it was still disturbing but then I started to hone in on the acting and the shots and the general sort of filmmaking of it. Then I watched it again in my 30s and I’ve watched it again now in my 40s and it’s become one of my favorite films because of the kind of impact that it had. I’ve seen it now at four different iterations of my life. Roughly speaking the halfway point of my life… I’m blown away by this film.”

Boyd continues, “Another one was Rosemary’s Baby. That one really disturbed me from a young age but then, saw it again as a young adult and then as someone in my 30s and then now in my 40s. They don’t make films like this anymore, there’s so much sort of…I still love horror films… sci-fi films… but very rarely do you get ones that kind of haunt you in the ways that films from that era do. They stick with you, not because of something that jumps out at you… though that’s fun and everything but it’s more like the psychology inherent in the plot and the deeper levels of poetry that was speaking thru the filmmaking.”

Brandon reflects on some more recent cinematic experiences that have managed to capture this feeling. “I haven’t seen this film I’m about to mention in a couple of years though I’d like to watch it again because I remember it did have an impact on me, but The Others.”

“I loved the kind of dreamy sequence it was able to portray with the continual fog and the continual darkness and the kind of… the stress of the unknowing, like why are they there? It’s like they’re living on an island and where is everybody and this whole thing… and it goes into a borderline gratuitous twist at the end which I found fun at the moment, I’m not sure how well it holds up now but I’ll get back to you on that. Another one even more recently./ .there were two that really had quite an impact on me. It was Ari Aster’s two films Hereditary and Midsommar. Hereditary I left it kind of disturbed but also kind of blown away that Ari Aster had made the decisions that he made. There is this one sort of gripe I’ve always had with horror films and that there’s usually some kind of not so subtly veiled catholic propaganda, which is fine because where we’ve grown up in a Judeo-Christian society, it’s like there are certain psychological precepts that are set in stone in our culture, that’s fine. Something that I’d always wanted to happen was I really wanted to see the bad guy win. I really wanted to see the demon persevere. Let’s see what happens with a little more sympathy for the devil, right? So that’s one thing about Rosemary’s Baby that I always loved was like, oh wow… they didn’t wrap this back around and have it be “yay everything’s fine now!” it was like oh shit, she’s gonna be Satan baby’s mom. I’ve always loved that about that film and so Ari Aster comes along and oh shit, the demons win.

“It’s an interesting, once again, psychological take on human beings because we are so fallible psychologically and spiritually speaking and we so often, it doesn’t get talked about as much, but so often the demons of our lives, the sort of devil on your shoulder so to speak, kind of wins a lot of the time. But in films and in storytelling we want to kind of wrap it around to be a happy ending and that’s not really always the case. So it’s interesting and it’s courageous from a filmmaking perspective as far as I’m concerned… To walk away from a film and be truly surprised especially when now with so much kind of pandering that happens in the marketplace, it was refreshing.”

Amidst the horror film watching, painting, writing, and preparing for some upcoming live dates scheduled with Incubus this Spring, Brandon’s been tirelessly working on a new solo album. Its first tastes comes in the form of two songs, the just-released Petrichor and Pocket Knife. The latter a dreamy swash of the collision of melody and prose unique to Brandon Boyd.

“I used to have terrible dreams when I was a child when up until the point when, I don’t remember exactly how old I was but I was young enough that I was still in that highly impressionable stage and my mom really just without any pomp or circumstance around it she just said, “oh honey you’re having bad dreams well just do this next time you are in your bad dream, just look at your hands and then open and close your hands. If you can do that then you can have control over your dreams and if you don’t want to have bad dreams anymore you don’t have to”, and I was like, “oh…thanks!” So I go to bed early that night and I will never forget this but I remember the dream too,” Boyd tells us. “It was a witch or something. Some type of a scenario where there were people in dark robes coming towards me or something. The sky was going grey and there was this foreboding feeling, I must have been six years, seven years old or something. It occurred to me, in the dream that oh, and I looked down at my hands. Then I opened and closed them and I was like I’m doing this. Woah! I’m dreaming. I’m doing this. I looked up at the things or whatever they were that were pursuing me and I was like “NO!” They all just went <poof> <poof><poof> poofed away and I’ve literally never had a nightmare since.”

For more with Brandon Boyd, including the art of horror movie posters, his Evil Dead obsession and much more, check out The Boo Crew Podcast Episode 286. Available now on Apple, Spotify and everywhere you get your podcasts!

Follow Brandon Boyd on:

Instagram: @brandonboyd
Twitter: @mybrandonboyd

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Instagram: @talesfromtheboocrew
Twitter: @talesfromtheboo

The post The Boo Crew Talks Ari Aster, ‘Evil Dead’ and Horror Memories With Singer Brandon Boyd! [Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After all, a great trailer doesn’t necessarily guarantee a great feature, and the anticipation of a fun time at the movies can often be more entertaining than the experience itself. That’s why we’ve come up with this list celebrating six of the best horror movie trailers, as an effective teaser can be just as (if not more) memorable than a completed film, and it’s fun to look back on the ones that scared and/or entertained us the most.

This list is obviously based on personal opinion, but it’s worth mentioning that we’ll be selecting trailers regardless of the finished film’s overall quality. As usual, don’t forget to share your own favorite horror trailers in the comments below, as there are plenty to choose from.

Now, onto the list…

6. Cloverfield (2007 Teaser Trailer)

While the Cloverfield franchise is now best known for retrofitting unrelated movies into its convoluted cinematic universe, the original film benefited from the element of surprise back when it was first announced. Coupled with a viral marketing campaign that tied it into J.J. Abrams’ other projects, this 2007 teaser managed to entice audiences with the promise of a unique Found Footage disaster movie without actually revealing what it was about.

Clearly influenced by post-9/11 paranoia and ending on an unexpected John Carpenter reference as Lady Liberty’s head recreates the iconic Escape From New York poster, this trailer proves that spoilers aren’t necessary to market a movie. With a hit like this one, it’s no wonder that director Matt Reeves would later take over huge franchises like Planet of the Apes and even the upcoming Batman reboot.

5. Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1989 Theatrical Trailer)

While I can’t speak for David Blue Garcia’s upcoming sequel/reboot, I think every entry in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise is fun in its own strange way. That’s why I appreciate the sheer batshit insanity behind this 1989 teaser for Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, which sees everyone’s favorite cannibal take on the role of King Arthur as he receives an Excalibur-like chainsaw from the Lady in the Lake.

Filmed before the studio had even hired a director (or finished the script, for that matter), this infamous teaser was only meant to reassure audiences that Leatherface would be back for another round of homicidal shenanigans, but it ended up promising an Army-of-Darkness-like horror/fantasy adventure that sadly never materialized.

4. Maximum Overdrive (1986 Stephen King Teaser)

“I just wanted someone to do Stephen King right”. Those are bold words coming from a man who infamously criticized Stanley Kubrick’s filmmaking skills, but I can’t help but smile when I see Stephen King gleefully announce his first (and last) feature. From bazookas to giant Green Goblin heads, Maximum Overdrive has it all, and this trailer promises the kind of B-movie extravaganza usually reserved for over-the-top parodies.

While it’s not exactly a masterpiece, the movie actually delivers on most of the heavy-metal carnage suggested by the preview, so I’d say that this iconic teaser isn’t at all misleading. The trailer also benefits from recycled John Carpenter music from Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which I think is just as cool as the finished film’s AC/DC soundtrack.

3. Paranormal Activity (2009 Audience Reaction Teaser)

Presented as a home movie from hell, the original Paranormal Activity isn’t your average horror flick, so traditional marketing techniques likely wouldn’t have been enough to sell tickets. That’s why the studio suggested focusing on audience reactions instead of the scares themselves when selling the picture, making for a memorable trailer without resorting to spoilers.

The genuine screams and terrified faces do a better job of advertising the experience as a thrilling theme park ride than any single scene ever could, making this a brilliant trailer for a ground-breaking Found Footage movie. It’s also a great example of why these films are usually best enjoyed in theaters, so it makes sense that future entries in the franchise would also rely on audience reaction teasers.

2. Psycho (1960 Hitchcock Theatrical Trailer)

Six minutes might seem a little excessive for a movie trailer, but this promotional blast from the past somehow manages to hype up the then-upcoming Psycho without showing a single scene from the movie. Relying on spooky atmosphere and Hitchcock’s reputation as a master of suspense, this glorified real estate visit is a memorable piece of standalone media even if you’re not a fan of the 1960 thriller.

The gloomy hallways of the Bates Motel speak for themselves as audiences traverse the house alongside the legendary director, with viewers filling in the horrific blanks as Hitchcock describes the awful things that happened within these walls. It’s a real shame that studios no longer trust celebrity directors to market their own movies, as I’d love to see contemporary masters like Ari Aster and Jordan Peele present their work in new and creative ways.

1. The Shining (1980 Theatrical Trailer)

Stanley Kubrick. Jack Nicholson. Shelley Duvall. Stephen King. Need I say more? Sometimes, the legendary talent behind a movie should be enough to sell the picture without spoiling any of the details. Couple that with the nightmarish image of a river of blood gushing out of an elevator and you’ve got yourself a recipe for one of the greatest movie trailers of all time.

A minimalistic masterpiece when it comes to establishing tone and atmosphere, this infamous trailer remains the gold standard for cinematic marketing, and I wish more modern horror flicks had the guts to take this simplistic approach to advertising. And the best part? The finished film actually lives up to the hype. Even if Stephen King doesn’t agree.

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Knight Light: A Horror Movie Podcast is back posting again on Bloody Disgusting to celebrate the closing of our Stephen King month with Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining!

I am sure we all know the tale, but for those who don’t, we follow the Torrance family spending a long Winter in the Overlook Hotel in Colorado. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) receives a job caretaking the hotel during this time, while his wife, Wendy (Shelly Duvall), and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), tag along with him.

However, things take a sinister turn when Jack’s mind is clouded by the paranormal mysteries that plague the hotel…

Knight Light: A Horror Movie Podcast is available anywhere you consume your podcasts. A new episode is released every Friday on all podcast services and every Monday on our Patreon. Feel free to use linktr.ee/KnightLight and choose where you would like to listen to our embedded show.

You can support Knight Light: A Horror Movie Podcast over on Patreon and Twitter.

Follow the hosts here:

Prince Jackson – @theheadknight
Freddy Nuti – @FrederickNuti
David Celarie – @DavidCelery

The post [Podcast] Knight Light: A Horror Movie Podcast Closes Out Stephen King Month With Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A new piece of poster art for the special was debuted by the streaming service today, and it brings the lovable Porgs into the terrifying Overlook Hotel from The Shining!

All work and no Porg makes Darth a dull toy…

“The all-new animated special from Lucasfilm and the LEGO Group is a seasonal celebration of the villainous dark side of the Star Wars galaxy— just in time for Halloween.”

After the events of “The Rise of Skywalker,” Poe and BB-8 must make an emergency landing on the volcanic planet Mustafar where they meet the greedy and conniving Graballa the Hutt who has purchased Darth Vader’s castle and is renovating it into the galaxy’s first all-inclusive Sith-inspired luxury hotel. While waiting for his X-Wing to be repaired, Poe, BB-8, Graballa, and Dean (a plucky and courageous young boy who works as Graballa’s mechanic) venture deep into the mysterious castle with Vader’s loyal servant, Vaneé. Along the way, Vaneé shares three creepy stories linked to ancient artifacts and iconic villains from across all eras of Star Wars.

As Vaneé spins his tales and lures our heroes deeper into the shadowy underbelly of the castle, a sinister plan emerges. With the help of Dean, Poe and BB-8 will have to face their fears, stop an ancient evil from rising, and escape to make it back to their friends.

“LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales” features a talented voice cast that includes Jake Green as Poe Dameron; Raphael Alejandro as Dean; Dana Snyder as Graballa the Hutt; Tony Hale as Vaneé; Christian Slater as Ren; Trevor Devall as Emperor Palpatine; Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as NI-L8; and Matt Sloan as Darth Vader.

David Shayne is writer and executive producer, and the director is Ken Cunningham. James Waugh, Josh Rimes, Jacqui Lopez, Jill Wilfert, Keith Malone and Jason Cosler are executive producers. “LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales” is produced in collaboration with Atomic Cartoons.

The post Awesome New Poster for “LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales” Pays Tribute to ‘The Shining’… With Porgs appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Vans has taken to social media today to tease the Vans x Horror collection, a collection of spooky shoes for the Halloween season that are each inspired by classic horror films!

The brief teaser video for “Horror Vans” that has been shared this afternoon gives us a sneak peek first-look at shoes based on the following iconic horror movies/franchises…

• Stephen King’s IT
• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• Friday the 13th
• The Shining

The Elm Street shoes look to be the standout highlight here, hi-top shoes with weathered red & green stripes as well as splashes of blood. The Friday the 13th shoes are emblazoned with the franchise’s iconic logo on one shoe and Jason’s hockey mask on the other, while the It shoes feature red balloons and The Shining shoes are inspired by the film’s original art.

Check out the teaser below and expect more info soon!

Coming this October, the Vans x Horror collection brings to life your favorite iconic horror films. pic.twitter.com/aeB6lbXlcB

— Vans (@VANS_66) September 21, 2021

The post Vans Launching a Collection of Shoes Inspired By Horror Films Including ‘Elm Street’ and ‘Friday the 13th’! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Those plans have changed, however. Deadline reports today that HBO Max decided not to go ahead with the “Overlook” series, but that doesn’t mean the project is dead in the water.

“The company and studio Warner Bros. Television are currently shopping the show, which is expected to land at a new home soon,” Deadline notes in their report today. Deadline also reports, “I hear HBO Max brass liked the project but felt it was not a fit for them at this time.”

The show had previously been described as “a horror-thriller that explores the untold stories of the Overlook Hotel.”

Dustin Thomason and Scott Brown wrote the “Overlook” project.

The post “Overlook”: Bad Robot Series Based on ‘The Shining’ Finding New Home After HBO Max Passes appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Notable genre titles include Godzilla (1954), Blade, The Shining, Doctor Sleep, Annabelle Comes Home, I Am Legend, Beetlejuice, Pacific Rim, The Meg, and Pan’s Labyrinth.

Outside the horror genre, titles include Edge of Tomorrow, the Lord of the Rings films, Mad Max: Fury Road, Ready Player One, Suicide Squad, The Goonies, and Blade Runner.

Again these are *digital copies* of the films, not physical copies.

The sale is only live through June 30. Take advantage while you can!

The post Warner Bros. Offering Four 4K UHD Digital Titles for $19.99 Including ‘The Shining’, ‘Blade’ and ‘Beetlejuice’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

When James Wan passed the baton to director Michael Chaves for the third entry in the Conjuring series, Chaves shared that part of his preparation entailed studying not just the franchise itself but classic horror at large. He previously told Bloody Disgusting during a press event, “I think the Conjuring movies are love letters to the very best classic horror movies. Like The Changeling in the first movie. There are so many great references in that one.”

That meant that Chaves also drew from classic horror when creating The Devil Made Me Do It, paying homage to formative movies that shaped his love of the genre. Chaves wove in those homages in interesting ways, with some easier to spot than others.

Here are the most prominent nods to classic horror movies found in The Devil Made Me Do It.

The Exorcist

The first and most apparent horror movie nod made its way into the trailer. This reference appears in the opening sequence, which sees series regular Father Gordon (Steve Coulter) getting dropped off at the home of the latest possession case. It’s a tip of the hat to the iconic image of Father Merrin arriving at the MacNeil household with a briefcase in hand.

Carrie

The opening sequence packs in the references, most notably at the moment that sees young David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard) terrorized by the demon that’s fighting for control of his body and soul. Loud pounding drives him from his bed to hide in the bathtub, where he’s doused in blood. Just like Carrie White on prom night.

Psycho

Chaves pulls from Psycho not once but twice. First, he blends Carrie with Psycho in the bloody shower scene during the opening sequence. Then, it’s referenced in an early tease of the film’s villain, The Occultist (Eugenie Bondurant). Arne (Ruairi O’Connor) is up in a tree, sensing that he’s being watched. He is; the Occultist slowly pulls the curtain back to watch, emulating Mother from Psycho.

Halloween II

The Devil Made Me Do It takes place in 1981, the same year the slasher sequel Halloween II was released in theaters. That makes it tough to overlook the similarities between Brookfield Hospital, where Ed Warren was taken post-heart attack, and Haddonfield Hospital. Even more interesting is the station wagon parked out front. While it doesn’t look like the one Michael Myers drove in Halloween, the entire visual seems like an all too perfect coincidence.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

The waterbed scare in The Conjuring 3 might’ve been a highlight for many, but for Chaves, it was a way to pay tribute to the horror movie that introduced him to Freddy Krueger; A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. In The Dream Master, survivor and Elm Street kid Joey (Rodney Eastman) falls asleep on his waterbed. Freddy assumes the appearance of a poster model from within the water. Freddy then attacks, much the same way that the ghastly figure attacks David in The Devil Made Me Do It.

Pet Sematary

David channeled Gage in the opening sequence in terms of scares that saw him attack his dad with a knife. But the most overt visual cue came much later, in the scene that saw Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) seek answers about a totem found beneath the Glatzel home from Father Kastner (John Noble). The introduction to Kastner borrows from Pet Sematary, specifically the first appearance from Jud Crandall.

Vertigo

Psycho wasn’t the only Alfred Hitchcock movie to appear in the Conjuring 3. Ed and Lorraine travel to Danvers, Massachusetts, and aid in investigating the missing person, Katie. Back at the hotel, Lorraine explains to Ed that she’s connected to the one behind the curse and that the connection still lingers. This scene more than visually borrows from Vertigo, but thematically as well. Hitchcock’s classic saw a former police detective become obsessed with a woman that eventually commits suicide. The man then becomes obsessed with another woman that appears to be her doppelganger, discovering much later that they’re the same person and part of a scheme. In Conjuring 3, Lorraine faces off against her counterpart, a woman that matches her background and powers but long ago took a dark path. They’re two sides of the same coin.

The Shining

In the climax, Ed enters the Occultist’s tunnels to find and save Lorraine. Instead, the Occultist finds him first and casts a spell that causes him to channel Jack Torrance. With a sledgehammer, he stalks Lorraine and attempts to murder her, smashing walls along the way.

The post The Classic Horror Homages of ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The sculpture is cleverly designed so that books can lean into both sides of Jack’s face, recreating the iconic “Here’s Johnny!” scene from the 1980 horror film right there on your shelf.

Jack’s head is made out of clay, ceramic gypsum, and resin, and each sculpture measures 18 centimeters (about 7″) high, 11 centimeters wide, and 11 centimeters deep.

Where can you get one? It’s available through Big Garden, and it looks like single pieces are currently on sale for $34.99 apiece, while you can get a set of two for $64.99 total.

Are you tempted? Because we’re tempted…

The post Incredibly Cool ‘The Shining’ Sculpture Recreates the “Here’s Johnny” Moment on Your Bookshelf appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As reported by ToyArk today, Medicom’s tribute to The Shining stands over 13.5″ tall and depicts the Grady Twins holding hands, and the statue will be selling for approximately $617!

“Holding hands in their perfectly matched blue dresses, with distinctly different expressions on each of their faces, they’ll be a perfectly creepy centerpiece to your own collection.”

You can pre-order the statue through Hobby Link Japan.

The estimated release date for the statue is October 2021.

The post ‘The Shining’: Creepy Grady Twins Statue from Medicom Wants to Play Forever and Ever appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

One of our favorite topics to discuss with guests is their first experience watching a horror movie. When asked about her first horror movie experience, Kesha tells us, “It’s still my favorite movie. And actually my cosmetic packaging was inspired by THE SHINING, that I have seen SO many times. It’s so traumatizing and it’s one of my favorite movies ever.” When asked about this film in particular and what moved her about it she says, “Everything. The story obviously but also where it was shot, I’ve also been to the hotel that it’s based on. The interior design, the cast, the little creepy kid Danny, the twins, the whole thing!”

There are many horror movies in recent years that Kesha has enjoyed. A couple of recent horror movies that left an impression on her include, “HEREDITARY was shocking and also by the same director, MIDSOMMAR, was also shocking. Those are two that stick out and I kinda get obsessive and watch things over and over. I’m the same with records, I listen to them over and over. Also, PEEPING TOM, it’s from the 1960s. It’s about a Peeping Tom that’s a total creep and it’s shot in hypercolor, which I love. Everything is really extra blue and extra colorful like THE WIZARD OF OZ. And I also love old school horror movies.”

The feeling of being scared is something us horror fans enjoy immensely. When we asked Kesha about being scared and why she personally enjoys the experience, she explained, “It’s just so fun to be scared. Right? It just makes you feel alive. I’ve jumped out of an airplane for the same reason, and I go swimming with sharks for the same reason. I live off of adrenaline and I love it. It’s addictive and when I go on stage I feel that same rush where it’s like… who knows what’s about to happen but it’s going to be fun! That’s what I feel when I watch scary movies – I like to scare the shit out of myself. I don’t know why.”

Last November, Kesha launched her very own podcast “Kesha and the Creepies” on iHeart Radio. Her inaugural guest featured the Godfather of Shock Rock himself, Mr. Alice Cooper, on an episode titled “Demons Vs Ghosts with Alice Cooper”. She shares this about talking with fellow music icons and celebrities, “It’s a whole new world to me. I am genuinely interested in talking to people and hearing about their spiritual experiences, their weirdest experiences, their supernatural experiences – anything that’s unexplainable. I recently talked to Demi Lovato about her experiences with extraterrestrials and I’m so interested in that. All those kind of things, I love hearing people that I respect on their perspectives on what is going on in the world. I think that a lot of things in life are driven by the fear of dying, right? Which is why I’m attracted to scary movies.”

We had an absolute blast chatting with Kesha. She also talked to us about seeking out haunted locations while on tour, shooting a music video at the Cecil Hotel in Downtown LA back in the day, and much more!

Check out Kesha’s latest album release HIGH ROAD, and her incredible new single “Stronger,” a collaboration with Dutch DJ Sam Feldt, as well as her new podcast “Kesha and the Creepies” wherever you get your podcasts. And listen to our interview below!

Follow Kesha on:

Instagram: @iiswhoiis
Twitter: @kesharose

Follow The Boo Crew on:

Instagram: @talesfromtheboocrew
Twitter: @talesfromtheboo

The post The Boo Crew Gets Creepy with Kesha to Talk Horror and More! [Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.