Movies
[Kill of the Week] Larry the Larvae Attacks in ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night 5’
Every week, we spotlight a kill that we just can’t get enough of. This is Kill of the Week.
If there’s any Christmas horror film that can be considered the most underrated of the bunch, it’d simply have to be Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker.
The Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise is easily the most bizarre of all the horror franchises, ditching the core storyline entirely for its final two installments – Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: The Initiation isn’t even necessarily a Christmas horror movie, oddly enough, while The Toy Maker again presents its own standalone story.
Mickey Rooney, who had famously lashed out against the original Silent Night, Deadly Night for its depiction of a killer Santa Claus, plays Joe Petto in The Toy Maker, a twisted toymaker with an evil plan: not unlike Conal Cochran in Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, Petto builds deadly toys that he hopes will kill all the children on Christmas.
So it’s basically Halloween 3: The Christmas Version, and it’s kinda awesome.
One of those killer toys is Larry the Larvae, which is gifted to an unlucky landlord. As he’s driving home at night, Larry comes to life, jumping down the man’s throat and eventually emerging out of his eye socket. For good measure, the car plummets off a cliff.
Seek this one out. Trust me.
Movies
‘Boorman and the Devil’ Documentary Trailer Chronicles Complicated Relationship with ‘Exorcist II’
Critically acclaimed documentary Boorman and the Devil chronicles how one of the world’s greatest filmmakers made one of the most hated movies ever: Exorcist II: The Heretic. A new trailer highlighting some of the troubled production woes has arrived.
Boorman and the Devil opens at The Quad in NYC on August 28 before opening wider in various cities on September 4, including: Los Angeles, Columbus, Houston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Seattle and more.
After the success of Point Blank and Deliverance, Warner Brothers offered John Boorman the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to direct a sequel to their smash hit, The Exorcist. The result was one of the biggest disasters in movie history. A critical and financial failure that not only changed how Hollywood did business, but nearly ended Boorman’s filmmaking career… but to be an artist is to be a risk-taker.
Now, John Boorman, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, Karyn Kusama, Joe Dante, Mike Flanagan, and more reflect back on the ambition of the film, the artistry and craft, and the value of big creative swings.
“I am beyond thrilled that Yellow Veil has come on board to help us share this story with a larger audience,” said director David Kittredge. “Like myself and the rest of our team, they’re huge cinema-lovers. It’s so exciting that a film which is not only a love letter to John Boorman, but also to ambitious filmmaking, will be handled by people who share the same passions that our team shares.”
“I first saw the film at an early festival screening and the post-screening buzz was just electric. Everyone was loving Boorman and the Devil,” added Yellow Veil co-founder Justin Timms. “To be able to team up with David and the filmmaking team on this release is incredibly exciting, and we can’t wait to spread that post-screening electricity with audiences across the country.”
Boorman and the Devil is produced by Kittredge’s Triple Fire Productions, Travis Stevens (Jodorowsky’s Dune, Starry Eyes) of Snowfort Pictures, and Jim Fall (The Lizzie McGuire Movie), with Alan Koenigsberg of Milton Ventures Media serving as co-producer.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review, “Boorman and the Devil goes above and beyond to be the definitive text on Exorcist II. This documentary will delight horror and Exorcist fans alike, but it also provides incredible insight for anyone who is just marginally interested in film production.”