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[title] => Poltergeist at 40: Spielberg’s haunted house hit brought horror home
[link] => https://movieshere.movs.world/scream-away/poltergeist-at-40-spielbergs-haunted-house-hit-brought-horror-home/
[dc] => Array
(
[creator] => Harry World
)
[pubdate] => Sat, 04 Jun 2022 12:48:17 +0000
[category] => Scream AwaybroughtHauntedhitHorrorhousePoltergeistSpielbergs
[guid] => https://movieshere.movs.world/?p=123569
[description] => In the summer of 1982, Steven Spielberg released two movies in consecutive weeks, Poltergeist and ET the Extra Terrestrial, that now seem like mirror images of each other. Both are about suburban enclaves visited by supernatural phenomena – one a haunting, the other a close encounter of the third kind – and both are ultimately ... Read more
[content] => Array
(
[encoded] =>
In the summer of 1982, Steven Spielberg released two movies in consecutive weeks, Poltergeist and ET the Extra Terrestrial, that now seem like mirror images of each other. Both are about suburban enclaves visited by supernatural phenomena – one a haunting, the other a close encounter of the third kind – and both are ultimately storybook affirmations of the American family, which is made stronger through crisis. The California suburbs were a playground for Spielberg, who grew up in them, and these films were like new subdivisions in his personal colonization of Hollywood.
The nature of Spielberg’s involvement in Poltergeist has been in hot dispute from the beginning. He’s credited as the co-producer and co-writer on the film, which is based on his original story, but the director is the late Tobe Hooper, who was either a primary creative force or a bystander on his own set, depending on who’s being asked. At a minimum, the two had a unique collaboration that resulted in a distinctly Spielbergian horror film, albeit one with a dash of the malevolence of Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the spring-loaded shocks of his previous film, the underrated 1981 slasher The Funhouse. It’s as if Spielberg wanted to scare audiences while maintaining his cuddly veneer, and Hooper served in part as his alibi.
It also affirmed, post-Jaws, that PG-rated horror films had summer blockbuster potential, though 40 years later, it’s remarkable how few have tried to mimic its success. (The abysmal 1999 remake of The Haunting, from Spielberg’s DreamWorks Pictures, seems to have killed off the idea forever.) Though The Amityville Horror had been a hit in 1979, the slasher trend was in full bloom by 1982, which allowed Poltergeist to stake a lone claim to the haunted house movie, a subgenre that has always required more bumps and creaks than active bloodletting. Even when the ghosts go haywire in the final act, it feels as wholesome as a Halloween hayride.
In the brilliant opening sequence, Poltergeist strikes from the heart of every suburban home: the television set. As the man of the house, Steven Freeling (Craig T Nelson) snoozes in his recliner, a TV broadcast channel signs off for the night with The Star-Spangled Banner and the ghostly static that will carry it through to the next morning. The family dog goes rooting for scraps upstairs, which is an elegant way of introducing the other characters: Steven’s wife Diane (JoBeth Williams) and their three children – 16-year-old Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old Robbie (Oliver Robins), and, finally, Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke), a cute six-year-old who wakes up and wanders to the living room. The static speaks to her as the family watches. She calls her new friends “the TV people”.
The image of Carol Anne sitting crisscrossed with her hands against the snowy TV set, announcing “They’re here” in her ominous sing-song-y voice, was a hook so powerful that it served as the poster and the tagline. But in Poltergeist, it’s part of an effective strategy to back into a horror film through Spielberg wonderment, because it’s not immediately clear that “they” are not the friendly beings from Close Encounters or ET. A dead canary and bent silverware are signs of trouble, but when Diane discovers that the kitchen chairs can move on their own, she’s delighted by it. It could be a terrific party trick.
When Carol Anne gets sucked into the bedroom closet, however, the film shifts gears, and the Freelings are willing to try anything to rescue her from the house’s walls, where her voice can still be heard at a distance. Does she walk to the light or away from the light? Three parapsychologists from the local college are at a loss, but they get some help from Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein), a spiritual medium who assures Diane that her daughter is alive and in the house. At this point, Carol Anne’s bedroom is a zero-gravity spook zone and an odd spectral birth canal has opened up between her closet and the living-room ceiling. The mother will have to give birth to her child again, only coated in ectoplasm rather than amniotic fluid.
Photograph: MGM/Sla/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock
Williams is the glue that holds Poltergeist together – funny, sexy, and assertive, with Diane much more active than her husband to throwing herself into danger. (A bedroom scene where she’s rolling a joint while he’s reading a Ronald Reagan biography is a short story in itself.) When Tangina tells her, “I could do absolutely nothing without your faith in this world and your love for the children,” Williams shows the maternal conviction to back it up. She and Dee Wallace’s single mother in ET are cut from the same cloth. Their kids can always count on them.
At the time, Poltergeist was a premium showcase for Industrial Light & Magic, the George Lucas-founded effects house that here unleashes everything from subtle wisps of white to full-on screen-filling specters that suggest 3D without the red-and-blue cellophane glasses. Spielberg and Hooper supplement the visual effects with the old-fashioned analog of a creepy clown doll, a malevolent leafless tree, and skeleton-filled coffins bursting from the soil. Poltergeist was intended as a scare machine, first and foremost, and it updates the classic haunted house movie without losing its appeal to a general audience.
The revelation that the Freelings’ house and neighborhood was built atop the dead – only headstones were moved, not the bodies – suggests a darker message about American expansion, with families gobbling up land that was never theirs to claim. That syncs up with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, too, which is also about outsiders punished for encroaching on hostile terrain. Spielberg has often been optimistic about the magic and possibility of suburban life, but Poltergeist considers it from the other side of the lens.
We wish to say thanks to the writer of this short article for this outstanding content
)
[summary] => In the summer of 1982, Steven Spielberg released two movies in consecutive weeks, Poltergeist and ET the Extra Terrestrial, that now seem like mirror images of each other. Both are about suburban enclaves visited by supernatural phenomena – one a haunting, the other a close encounter of the third kind – and both are ultimately ... Read more
[atom_content] =>
In the summer of 1982, Steven Spielberg released two movies in consecutive weeks, Poltergeist and ET the Extra Terrestrial, that now seem like mirror images of each other. Both are about suburban enclaves visited by supernatural phenomena – one a haunting, the other a close encounter of the third kind – and both are ultimately storybook affirmations of the American family, which is made stronger through crisis. The California suburbs were a playground for Spielberg, who grew up in them, and these films were like new subdivisions in his personal colonization of Hollywood.
The nature of Spielberg’s involvement in Poltergeist has been in hot dispute from the beginning. He’s credited as the co-producer and co-writer on the film, which is based on his original story, but the director is the late Tobe Hooper, who was either a primary creative force or a bystander on his own set, depending on who’s being asked. At a minimum, the two had a unique collaboration that resulted in a distinctly Spielbergian horror film, albeit one with a dash of the malevolence of Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the spring-loaded shocks of his previous film, the underrated 1981 slasher The Funhouse. It’s as if Spielberg wanted to scare audiences while maintaining his cuddly veneer, and Hooper served in part as his alibi.
It also affirmed, post-Jaws, that PG-rated horror films had summer blockbuster potential, though 40 years later, it’s remarkable how few have tried to mimic its success. (The abysmal 1999 remake of The Haunting, from Spielberg’s DreamWorks Pictures, seems to have killed off the idea forever.) Though The Amityville Horror had been a hit in 1979, the slasher trend was in full bloom by 1982, which allowed Poltergeist to stake a lone claim to the haunted house movie, a subgenre that has always required more bumps and creaks than active bloodletting. Even when the ghosts go haywire in the final act, it feels as wholesome as a Halloween hayride.
In the brilliant opening sequence, Poltergeist strikes from the heart of every suburban home: the television set. As the man of the house, Steven Freeling (Craig T Nelson) snoozes in his recliner, a TV broadcast channel signs off for the night with The Star-Spangled Banner and the ghostly static that will carry it through to the next morning. The family dog goes rooting for scraps upstairs, which is an elegant way of introducing the other characters: Steven’s wife Diane (JoBeth Williams) and their three children – 16-year-old Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old Robbie (Oliver Robins), and, finally, Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke), a cute six-year-old who wakes up and wanders to the living room. The static speaks to her as the family watches. She calls her new friends “the TV people”.
The image of Carol Anne sitting crisscrossed with her hands against the snowy TV set, announcing “They’re here” in her ominous sing-song-y voice, was a hook so powerful that it served as the poster and the tagline. But in Poltergeist, it’s part of an effective strategy to back into a horror film through Spielberg wonderment, because it’s not immediately clear that “they” are not the friendly beings from Close Encounters or ET. A dead canary and bent silverware are signs of trouble, but when Diane discovers that the kitchen chairs can move on their own, she’s delighted by it. It could be a terrific party trick.
When Carol Anne gets sucked into the bedroom closet, however, the film shifts gears, and the Freelings are willing to try anything to rescue her from the house’s walls, where her voice can still be heard at a distance. Does she walk to the light or away from the light? Three parapsychologists from the local college are at a loss, but they get some help from Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein), a spiritual medium who assures Diane that her daughter is alive and in the house. At this point, Carol Anne’s bedroom is a zero-gravity spook zone and an odd spectral birth canal has opened up between her closet and the living-room ceiling. The mother will have to give birth to her child again, only coated in ectoplasm rather than amniotic fluid.
Photograph: MGM/Sla/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock
Williams is the glue that holds Poltergeist together – funny, sexy, and assertive, with Diane much more active than her husband to throwing herself into danger. (A bedroom scene where she’s rolling a joint while he’s reading a Ronald Reagan biography is a short story in itself.) When Tangina tells her, “I could do absolutely nothing without your faith in this world and your love for the children,” Williams shows the maternal conviction to back it up. She and Dee Wallace’s single mother in ET are cut from the same cloth. Their kids can always count on them.
At the time, Poltergeist was a premium showcase for Industrial Light & Magic, the George Lucas-founded effects house that here unleashes everything from subtle wisps of white to full-on screen-filling specters that suggest 3D without the red-and-blue cellophane glasses. Spielberg and Hooper supplement the visual effects with the old-fashioned analog of a creepy clown doll, a malevolent leafless tree, and skeleton-filled coffins bursting from the soil. Poltergeist was intended as a scare machine, first and foremost, and it updates the classic haunted house movie without losing its appeal to a general audience.
The revelation that the Freelings’ house and neighborhood was built atop the dead – only headstones were moved, not the bodies – suggests a darker message about American expansion, with families gobbling up land that was never theirs to claim. That syncs up with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, too, which is also about outsiders punished for encroaching on hostile terrain. Spielberg has often been optimistic about the magic and possibility of suburban life, but Poltergeist considers it from the other side of the lens.
We wish to say thanks to the writer of this short article for this outstanding content
[date_timestamp] => 1654346897
)
[1] => Array
(
[title] => Stranger Things: 10 Horror Movies To Watch After Season 4 Vol. 1
[link] => https://movieshere.movs.world/scream-away/stranger-things-10-horror-movies-to-watch-after-season-4-vol-1/
[dc] => Array
(
[creator] => Harry World
)
[pubdate] => Sat, 04 Jun 2022 11:26:29 +0000
[category] => Scream AwayHorrorMoviesseasonStrangerWatch
[guid] => https://movieshere.movs.world/?p=123462
[description] => Warning: This list contains spoilers for season 4 of Stranger Things. From the font of its titles to the color scheme it relies on, Stranger Things has been heavily inspired by iconic horror films of the past. It’s easy to make several connections between the events happening in Hawkins to several legendary features of the silver screen. ... Read more
[content] => Array
(
[encoded] =>
Warning: This list contains spoilers for season 4 of Stranger Things.
From the font of its titles to the color scheme it relies on, Stranger Things has been heavily inspired by iconic horror films of the past. It’s easy to make several connections between the events happening in Hawkins to several legendary features of the silver screen.
With season 4 already more than halfway over, many fans are still trying to get their fix until volume two finally drops in July. Until then, they will just have to sit back, relax, and enjoy the various films and features that have so obviously shaped the beloved Netflix series.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
Stream On AMC+
Season 4 features Robin and Nancy venturing to a sanitarium to question Victor Creel about the events involving Vecna and the death of his family all those years ago. While the presence of Robert Englund gives the episode some seriously chilling vibes, there’s something very familiar about a notorious convict being questioned from behind the bars of his cell.
There’s not even the shadow of a doubt that this episode had some influence from Silence of the Lambs. From the way Creel is positioned opposite the two girls to the dungeon light quality of his holding area, the resemblance between the two is uncanny. It’s enough to make some wonder if Hannibal Lecter isn’t further down the hall.
Fear Street: 1978 (2021)
Stream On Netflix
Period horror seems to be the hip new thing in the genre these days. Although Stranger Things makes excellent use of its setting, culture, and fixtures of the decade, it’s not the only series out there that relies on a certain era to establish its personality. In fact, fans don’t even have to leave Netflix to get their throwback thrills.
RELATED:Â 10 Things That Need To Happen In The Second Half Of Stranger Things Season 4
The Fear Street series as a whole relies on different decades and demons to craft its tales of terror, but Part II: 1978 is the one that will perhaps appeal the most to Stranger Things fans. Falling short of the ’80s only by a couple of years, the movie has that sort of retro quality that fans will immediately recognize and latch onto. Plus, it includes a great performance from Stranger Things star Sadie Sink.
The Exorcist (1973)
Stream On Netflix
The Satanic Panic plays a big role in season 4, and horror fans will find no shortage of demonic entities in the genre. However, there is one example that towers above them all in terms of scares, ambiance, and atmosphere. With possession, frightening imagery, and a nightmarish entity, The Exorcist is just the type of film that would terrify the town of Hawkins.
While the movement was caused by blatant sensationalism surrounding things like Dungeons and Dragons, to say something like the classic possession moviewas also a big contributor wouldn’t be far from the truth. If viewers are looking for something similar in that vein, the best place to start is with this horror classic.
It (2017)
Stream On HBO Max
A group of kids going up against an inter-dimensional monster will always have some form of audience. That being said, it’s easy to see how something like 2017’s It piggybacks off of Stranger Things. Granted, similar works from Stephen King like It and Stand By Me help shape the series’ identity, but one good turn deserves another.
Vecna might not be Pennywise, but there are some definite similarities especially with how they seem to feed on fair. Pair that with a ragtag group of heroes, a town that belittles them, Finn Wolfhard, and a cataclysmic event that could shape the fate of the entire town, and things start to blur together.
Firestarter (1984)
Stream On Peacock
Seeing as how both Firestarter and Stranger Things feature a young girl with special powers escaping from a lab and leaving a path of destruction in her wake, it makes sense that yet another Stephen King tale would act as both a powerful influence and satisfying chaser to its modern contemporary.
RELATED:Â 10 Unpopular Opinions About Stranger Things Season 4 So Far, According To Reddit
Although it received a recent remake in 2022, the 1984 original feels more akin to the design and atmosphere Stranger Things is going for. Again, there’s just something about relying on the decade that helps establish a visual identity for both the series and its sci-fi elements.
The Lost Boys (1987)
Stream On Showtime
Vampires aren’t exactly the flavor of the day in this series, but there’s no denying some similar themes between the Hellfire Club scene at Hawkins high school and a certain group of leather-clad vamps riding motorcycles in Joel Schumacher’s ’80s classic. In all honesty, Eddie Munson could be riding right alongside them, D20 and all.
A theme present in the early episodes of season 4 is that the boys are running with different crowds. While Lucas is on the basketball team making a name for himself amongst the jocks, Dustin and Mike have found a different tribe/clan to gather around the gaming table. Given the club’s reputation, there are some clear and present Lost Boys influences mixed in with the D20s and black leather.
The Amityville Horror (1979)
Stream On Starz & Max Go
In terms of style, appearance, and visual features, the Creel House has all the makings of an iconic horror movie manor. The genre has no shortage of haunted house films, but none are quite so infamous as The Amityville Horror. Although the house known as 112 Ocean Avenue lacks dual citizenship in the Upside Down, it does share a few similarities with the one seen in the new season.
With its demons, supernatural energies, and family tormented by malicious entities in the house, it seems that Stranger Things took a little influence from one of the most famous haunted houses in the United States. The creators even go as far as to give it distinct and recognizable features similar to Amityville’s large frame and eye-like windows.
The Gate (1987)
Stream On Hoopla, The Roku Channel, Tubi, & Freevee
Demons, gateways, metalheads, and Satanic panic are all things the citizens of Hawkins deal with in season 4, but they are also key themes and motifs in this ’80s creature feature. Like Stranger Things, The Gate sees a group of kids battling dark forces from another dimension when a portal opens up right in their own backyard. Although, the miniature monsters are a walk on the beach compared to Vecna.
RELATED:Â 10 Best 80s Pop Culture References in Stranger Things Season 4
While it’s true the demons seen in this movie can shapeshift, mess with reality, and even manage to take out a few victims, they’re still only a step or two above the Ghoulies. That being said, the stop-motion monsters themselves are still decidedly creepy even after all these years. It’s a solid springboard for newbies to the horror genre.
The Shining (1980)
Stream On HBO Max
While it’s already been said that Stephen King has had a prominent influence over Stranger Thingsno work of his is more referenced, honored, or studied than The Shining. Along with the elaborate Creel House being somewhat reminiscent of the Overlook Hotel, there are more than a few ties between the show and one of the author’s most famous works.
Along with the giant house with a haunted history, there’s a backstory about a father who murders his family in cold blood, connections to demons and spirits, and idealistic locations being fonts of evil energy. All it’s missing is a pair of ghostly twins in an elevator full of blood.
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Stream On Netflix & HBO Max
If there’s one horror movie season 4 takes from more than anything else, it’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Not only was the film and the sequels that followed it a big piece of ’80s pop culture, but the clawed hand of Freddy Krueger has a firm grip on many of the themes, visuals, and references throughout the new chapters.
There’s a monstrous boogeyman who gives his victims nightmares, frightening dream sequences, and even an appearance from Robert Englund as Victor Creel. If that wasn’t enough, Dustin even blatantly and verbally compares Vecna to the Springwood Slasher before the first half of the series concludes. It doesn’t get much more obvious.
NEXT:Â Stranger Things 4’s 10 Similarities To A Nightmare On Elm Street
Phase 4’s Kang Variants Can Perfectly Explain Val’s Dark Avengers Mystery
About The Author
Zach Gass (896 Articles Published)
Zach Gass is a writer from East Tennessee with a love for all things Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel. When not writing for Screen Rant, Zach is an active member of his community theatre, enjoys a variety of authors including Neil Gaiman, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkein, and is a proud and active retro-gamer.
More From Zach Gass
We want to give thanks to the writer of this article for this amazing material
)
[summary] => Warning: This list contains spoilers for season 4 of Stranger Things. From the font of its titles to the color scheme it relies on, Stranger Things has been heavily inspired by iconic horror films of the past. It’s easy to make several connections between the events happening in Hawkins to several legendary features of the silver screen. ... Read more
[atom_content] =>
Warning: This list contains spoilers for season 4 of Stranger Things.
From the font of its titles to the color scheme it relies on, Stranger Things has been heavily inspired by iconic horror films of the past. It’s easy to make several connections between the events happening in Hawkins to several legendary features of the silver screen.
With season 4 already more than halfway over, many fans are still trying to get their fix until volume two finally drops in July. Until then, they will just have to sit back, relax, and enjoy the various films and features that have so obviously shaped the beloved Netflix series.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
Stream On AMC+
Season 4 features Robin and Nancy venturing to a sanitarium to question Victor Creel about the events involving Vecna and the death of his family all those years ago. While the presence of Robert Englund gives the episode some seriously chilling vibes, there’s something very familiar about a notorious convict being questioned from behind the bars of his cell.
There’s not even the shadow of a doubt that this episode had some influence from Silence of the Lambs. From the way Creel is positioned opposite the two girls to the dungeon light quality of his holding area, the resemblance between the two is uncanny. It’s enough to make some wonder if Hannibal Lecter isn’t further down the hall.
Fear Street: 1978 (2021)
Stream On Netflix
Period horror seems to be the hip new thing in the genre these days. Although Stranger Things makes excellent use of its setting, culture, and fixtures of the decade, it’s not the only series out there that relies on a certain era to establish its personality. In fact, fans don’t even have to leave Netflix to get their throwback thrills.
RELATED:Â 10 Things That Need To Happen In The Second Half Of Stranger Things Season 4
The Fear Street series as a whole relies on different decades and demons to craft its tales of terror, but Part II: 1978 is the one that will perhaps appeal the most to Stranger Things fans. Falling short of the ’80s only by a couple of years, the movie has that sort of retro quality that fans will immediately recognize and latch onto. Plus, it includes a great performance from Stranger Things star Sadie Sink.
The Exorcist (1973)
Stream On Netflix
The Satanic Panic plays a big role in season 4, and horror fans will find no shortage of demonic entities in the genre. However, there is one example that towers above them all in terms of scares, ambiance, and atmosphere. With possession, frightening imagery, and a nightmarish entity, The Exorcist is just the type of film that would terrify the town of Hawkins.
While the movement was caused by blatant sensationalism surrounding things like Dungeons and Dragons, to say something like the classic possession moviewas also a big contributor wouldn’t be far from the truth. If viewers are looking for something similar in that vein, the best place to start is with this horror classic.
It (2017)
Stream On HBO Max
A group of kids going up against an inter-dimensional monster will always have some form of audience. That being said, it’s easy to see how something like 2017’s It piggybacks off of Stranger Things. Granted, similar works from Stephen King like It and Stand By Me help shape the series’ identity, but one good turn deserves another.
Vecna might not be Pennywise, but there are some definite similarities especially with how they seem to feed on fair. Pair that with a ragtag group of heroes, a town that belittles them, Finn Wolfhard, and a cataclysmic event that could shape the fate of the entire town, and things start to blur together.
Firestarter (1984)
Stream On Peacock
Seeing as how both Firestarter and Stranger Things feature a young girl with special powers escaping from a lab and leaving a path of destruction in her wake, it makes sense that yet another Stephen King tale would act as both a powerful influence and satisfying chaser to its modern contemporary.
RELATED:Â 10 Unpopular Opinions About Stranger Things Season 4 So Far, According To Reddit
Although it received a recent remake in 2022, the 1984 original feels more akin to the design and atmosphere Stranger Things is going for. Again, there’s just something about relying on the decade that helps establish a visual identity for both the series and its sci-fi elements.
The Lost Boys (1987)
Stream On Showtime
Vampires aren’t exactly the flavor of the day in this series, but there’s no denying some similar themes between the Hellfire Club scene at Hawkins high school and a certain group of leather-clad vamps riding motorcycles in Joel Schumacher’s ’80s classic. In all honesty, Eddie Munson could be riding right alongside them, D20 and all.
A theme present in the early episodes of season 4 is that the boys are running with different crowds. While Lucas is on the basketball team making a name for himself amongst the jocks, Dustin and Mike have found a different tribe/clan to gather around the gaming table. Given the club’s reputation, there are some clear and present Lost Boys influences mixed in with the D20s and black leather.
The Amityville Horror (1979)
Stream On Starz & Max Go
In terms of style, appearance, and visual features, the Creel House has all the makings of an iconic horror movie manor. The genre has no shortage of haunted house films, but none are quite so infamous as The Amityville Horror. Although the house known as 112 Ocean Avenue lacks dual citizenship in the Upside Down, it does share a few similarities with the one seen in the new season.
With its demons, supernatural energies, and family tormented by malicious entities in the house, it seems that Stranger Things took a little influence from one of the most famous haunted houses in the United States. The creators even go as far as to give it distinct and recognizable features similar to Amityville’s large frame and eye-like windows.
The Gate (1987)
Stream On Hoopla, The Roku Channel, Tubi, & Freevee
Demons, gateways, metalheads, and Satanic panic are all things the citizens of Hawkins deal with in season 4, but they are also key themes and motifs in this ’80s creature feature. Like Stranger Things, The Gate sees a group of kids battling dark forces from another dimension when a portal opens up right in their own backyard. Although, the miniature monsters are a walk on the beach compared to Vecna.
RELATED:Â 10 Best 80s Pop Culture References in Stranger Things Season 4
While it’s true the demons seen in this movie can shapeshift, mess with reality, and even manage to take out a few victims, they’re still only a step or two above the Ghoulies. That being said, the stop-motion monsters themselves are still decidedly creepy even after all these years. It’s a solid springboard for newbies to the horror genre.
The Shining (1980)
Stream On HBO Max
While it’s already been said that Stephen King has had a prominent influence over Stranger Thingsno work of his is more referenced, honored, or studied than The Shining. Along with the elaborate Creel House being somewhat reminiscent of the Overlook Hotel, there are more than a few ties between the show and one of the author’s most famous works.
Along with the giant house with a haunted history, there’s a backstory about a father who murders his family in cold blood, connections to demons and spirits, and idealistic locations being fonts of evil energy. All it’s missing is a pair of ghostly twins in an elevator full of blood.
A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Stream On Netflix & HBO Max
If there’s one horror movie season 4 takes from more than anything else, it’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Not only was the film and the sequels that followed it a big piece of ’80s pop culture, but the clawed hand of Freddy Krueger has a firm grip on many of the themes, visuals, and references throughout the new chapters.
There’s a monstrous boogeyman who gives his victims nightmares, frightening dream sequences, and even an appearance from Robert Englund as Victor Creel. If that wasn’t enough, Dustin even blatantly and verbally compares Vecna to the Springwood Slasher before the first half of the series concludes. It doesn’t get much more obvious.
NEXT:Â Stranger Things 4’s 10 Similarities To A Nightmare On Elm Street
Phase 4’s Kang Variants Can Perfectly Explain Val’s Dark Avengers Mystery
About The Author
Zach Gass (896 Articles Published)
Zach Gass is a writer from East Tennessee with a love for all things Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel. When not writing for Screen Rant, Zach is an active member of his community theatre, enjoys a variety of authors including Neil Gaiman, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkein, and is a proud and active retro-gamer.
More From Zach Gass
We want to give thanks to the writer of this article for this amazing material
[date_timestamp] => 1654341989
)
[2] => Array
(
[title] => 10 Movies From The 2010s Being Re-Released On Hulu In June
[link] => https://movieshere.movs.world/scream-away/10-movies-from-the-2010s-being-re-released-on-hulu-in-june/
[dc] => Array
(
[creator] => Harry World
)
[pubdate] => Sat, 04 Jun 2022 10:04:26 +0000
[category] => Scream Away2010sHuluJuneMoviesReReleased
[guid] => https://movieshere.movs.world/?p=123433
[description] => June is here, which means lots of sunshine, fun, and of course, a new wave of releases on Hulu. Among these releases include older films, brand new movies, and those that are neither too old nor new. The selection includes plenty of movies from the 2010s that audiences still love. The streamer never fails to stream ... Read more
[content] => Array
(
[encoded] =>
June is here, which means lots of sunshine, fun, and of course, a new wave of releases on Hulu. Among these releases include older films, brand new movies, and those that are neither too old nor new. The selection includes plenty of movies from the 2010s that audiences still love.
The streamer never fails to stream a myriad of genres every month, from romance to dark comedies. The films from the 2010s that they plan to re-release in June are just as diverse in their storylines. From Scary Movie 5 to The American, Hulu subscribers have lots of watches and re-watches to look forward to this month.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
The American (2010)
The 2010 crime drama The American follows a master assassin, Jack, as he hides out in Italy, waiting to complete his final kill. Starting June 1, Hulu subscribers will be able to keep up with Jack’s journey from the comfort of their own homes.
Related: 10 Movies From The 2010s Being Re-Released On Hulu In May
The film has friendship, romance, and action, making it the perfect watch for someone who likes watching movies with multitudes. Plus, George Clooney stars as Jack, so fans of the actor will be glad to know that Hulu has added The American to the platform.
Bridesmaids (2011)
June 1st will bring good news for fans of the iconic rom-com, Bridesmaids. The 2011 film tells the story of a maid of honor who pushes past her own messy love life to lead the rest of her best friend’s bridesmaids down the long and winding road to the wedding.
Bridesmaids is known for its impeccable humor and iconic cast. Not only does it feature Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson, and Rose Byrne, but it is one of Maya Rudolph’s best movies. In fact, one of the movie’s Academy Award Nominations was for Rudolph’s performance. Now that it is on Hulu, audiences will be able to look back and see why.
The Smurfs (2011)
The Smurfs franchise began as a Belgian comic strip in the 1950s. Since then, the iconic little blue people are a household name. The 2011 film shows the Smurfs struggle to acclimate when an evil wizard transports them to the middle of Manhattan.
Both The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2 will come to Hulu on June 1. With a few Smurfs video games in development, fans of the franchise can enjoy brushing up on their Smurf knowledge by re-watching the film. Those who have never seen the blue village in action will be able to soak in the family comedy for the first time.
The Duff (2015)
Teen comedy The Duff centers around a high school senior who finds out that she is the D.U.F.F. of her friend group, or the “Designated Ugly Fat Friend.” She and the school’s most popular jock embark on a mission to transform her and show up the popular mean girl.
The Duff comes to Hulu on June 2. Viewers will be able to see Mae Whitman’s head-to-toe transformation as Bianca, but they will also get to see Bella Thorne in a classic mean girl role just before the actor premieres in season 2 of American Horror Stories on Hulu in July.
Scary Movie 5 (2013)
On June 15, Hulu subscribers will be able to stream the last installment of the Scary Movie franchise. In this horror comedy, two parents bring their newborn back to their demon-infested house. They have no choice but to call up some experts on the paranormal, who set up cameras in their home.
Scary Movie 5 spoofs films like Mama, Sinister, Paranormal Activity, and Evil Dead. Although it is not the best movie in the Scary Movie franchise, it is still worth a watch for horror lovers who love to poke fun at their favorite genre’s greatest hits. Plus, given that the film is one of five, it will give subscribers the perfect opportunity for a binge watch.
Related: 10 Movies From The 2010s Being Re-Released On Hulu In March
The film first premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival before moving through the festival circuit to receive several prestigious nominations. Hulu subscribers will be able to experience the sweet tragedy for themselves starting June 20.
Breakup At A Wedding (2013)
On June 14, Breakup At A Wedding will be available to Hulu subscribers. Victor Quinaz’s comedy film follows a couple who breaks up, but gets married anyway. The bride may be done with the relationship, but the groom is hoping to rekindle their spark.
Related: 10 Underrated Feel-Good Movies From The 2000s
Audiences can keep up with the quirky and fun romance that the comedy delivers. It is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoesso those that have not seen it before have a good laugh to look forward to in the middle of the month.
The 10 Year Plan (2014)
The 10 Year Plan is a 2014 LGBTQ romance film in which two best friends promise to be together if neither of them finds love within the next ten years. The film, which is directed by JC Calciano, will come to Hulu on June 30.
Jack Turner and Michael Adam Hamilton star in the movie, which will leave Hulu subscribers on the edge of their couch as the two fight to find love before their own two-month deadline forces them to commit to each other.
Death At A Funeral (2010)
Neil LaBute’s 2010 dark comedy Death At A Funeral also joins the line-up for June releases. The film is an adaptation of the 2007 comedy by the same name, and the 2007 version is also available with Hulu’s premium subscription, so some subscribers will be able to watch both in one go.
The movie tells the story of a family who struggles to pull together a funeral service for their father while dealing with a multitude of obstacles. The iconic cast includes Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Regina Glover, Kevin Hart, and Danny Glover. In fact, it is one of Chris Rock’s best movies, which says a lot considering his vast filmography.
Brigbsy Bear (2017)
Brigsby Bear is a 2017 dramedy by Dave McCary that will come to Hulu in June. Kyle Mooney, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear, and Claire Danes work together onscreen to tell the story of a children’s television producer who sets out on a mission to finish the storyline of the canceled show, Brigsby Bear Adventures.
The movie is a sweet, light-hearted, and unique journey into a tale of friendship and growing up. Children and adults alike will be able to enjoy Brigsby Beareven if there are some rather dramatic underlying elements to its seemingly light tone.
NEXT: 10 Movies From The 2010s Being Re-Released On Hulu In April
Black Adam Image Gives New Look at Rock’s Anti-Hero Before Trailer Premiere
About The Author
Gabby Etzel (45 Articles Published)
Gabby Etzel is a Manhattan-based writer with an affinity for the fearsome and an inexplicable identification with Throg. She’s easily charmed by two things: A well-written villain and a smoked salmon bagel.
More From Gabby Etzel
We would love to give thanks to the writer of this article for this amazing material
)
[summary] => June is here, which means lots of sunshine, fun, and of course, a new wave of releases on Hulu. Among these releases include older films, brand new movies, and those that are neither too old nor new. The selection includes plenty of movies from the 2010s that audiences still love. The streamer never fails to stream ... Read more
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June is here, which means lots of sunshine, fun, and of course, a new wave of releases on Hulu. Among these releases include older films, brand new movies, and those that are neither too old nor new. The selection includes plenty of movies from the 2010s that audiences still love.
The streamer never fails to stream a myriad of genres every month, from romance to dark comedies. The films from the 2010s that they plan to re-release in June are just as diverse in their storylines. From Scary Movie 5 to The American, Hulu subscribers have lots of watches and re-watches to look forward to this month.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
The American (2010)
The 2010 crime drama The American follows a master assassin, Jack, as he hides out in Italy, waiting to complete his final kill. Starting June 1, Hulu subscribers will be able to keep up with Jack’s journey from the comfort of their own homes.
Related: 10 Movies From The 2010s Being Re-Released On Hulu In May
The film has friendship, romance, and action, making it the perfect watch for someone who likes watching movies with multitudes. Plus, George Clooney stars as Jack, so fans of the actor will be glad to know that Hulu has added The American to the platform.
Bridesmaids (2011)
June 1st will bring good news for fans of the iconic rom-com, Bridesmaids. The 2011 film tells the story of a maid of honor who pushes past her own messy love life to lead the rest of her best friend’s bridesmaids down the long and winding road to the wedding.
Bridesmaids is known for its impeccable humor and iconic cast. Not only does it feature Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson, and Rose Byrne, but it is one of Maya Rudolph’s best movies. In fact, one of the movie’s Academy Award Nominations was for Rudolph’s performance. Now that it is on Hulu, audiences will be able to look back and see why.
The Smurfs (2011)
The Smurfs franchise began as a Belgian comic strip in the 1950s. Since then, the iconic little blue people are a household name. The 2011 film shows the Smurfs struggle to acclimate when an evil wizard transports them to the middle of Manhattan.
Both The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2 will come to Hulu on June 1. With a few Smurfs video games in development, fans of the franchise can enjoy brushing up on their Smurf knowledge by re-watching the film. Those who have never seen the blue village in action will be able to soak in the family comedy for the first time.
The Duff (2015)
Teen comedy The Duff centers around a high school senior who finds out that she is the D.U.F.F. of her friend group, or the “Designated Ugly Fat Friend.” She and the school’s most popular jock embark on a mission to transform her and show up the popular mean girl.
The Duff comes to Hulu on June 2. Viewers will be able to see Mae Whitman’s head-to-toe transformation as Bianca, but they will also get to see Bella Thorne in a classic mean girl role just before the actor premieres in season 2 of American Horror Stories on Hulu in July.
Scary Movie 5 (2013)
On June 15, Hulu subscribers will be able to stream the last installment of the Scary Movie franchise. In this horror comedy, two parents bring their newborn back to their demon-infested house. They have no choice but to call up some experts on the paranormal, who set up cameras in their home.
Scary Movie 5 spoofs films like Mama, Sinister, Paranormal Activity, and Evil Dead. Although it is not the best movie in the Scary Movie franchise, it is still worth a watch for horror lovers who love to poke fun at their favorite genre’s greatest hits. Plus, given that the film is one of five, it will give subscribers the perfect opportunity for a binge watch.
Related: 10 Movies From The 2010s Being Re-Released On Hulu In March
The film first premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival before moving through the festival circuit to receive several prestigious nominations. Hulu subscribers will be able to experience the sweet tragedy for themselves starting June 20.
Breakup At A Wedding (2013)
On June 14, Breakup At A Wedding will be available to Hulu subscribers. Victor Quinaz’s comedy film follows a couple who breaks up, but gets married anyway. The bride may be done with the relationship, but the groom is hoping to rekindle their spark.
Related: 10 Underrated Feel-Good Movies From The 2000s
Audiences can keep up with the quirky and fun romance that the comedy delivers. It is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoesso those that have not seen it before have a good laugh to look forward to in the middle of the month.
The 10 Year Plan (2014)
The 10 Year Plan is a 2014 LGBTQ romance film in which two best friends promise to be together if neither of them finds love within the next ten years. The film, which is directed by JC Calciano, will come to Hulu on June 30.
Jack Turner and Michael Adam Hamilton star in the movie, which will leave Hulu subscribers on the edge of their couch as the two fight to find love before their own two-month deadline forces them to commit to each other.
Death At A Funeral (2010)
Neil LaBute’s 2010 dark comedy Death At A Funeral also joins the line-up for June releases. The film is an adaptation of the 2007 comedy by the same name, and the 2007 version is also available with Hulu’s premium subscription, so some subscribers will be able to watch both in one go.
The movie tells the story of a family who struggles to pull together a funeral service for their father while dealing with a multitude of obstacles. The iconic cast includes Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Regina Glover, Kevin Hart, and Danny Glover. In fact, it is one of Chris Rock’s best movies, which says a lot considering his vast filmography.
Brigbsy Bear (2017)
Brigsby Bear is a 2017 dramedy by Dave McCary that will come to Hulu in June. Kyle Mooney, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear, and Claire Danes work together onscreen to tell the story of a children’s television producer who sets out on a mission to finish the storyline of the canceled show, Brigsby Bear Adventures.
The movie is a sweet, light-hearted, and unique journey into a tale of friendship and growing up. Children and adults alike will be able to enjoy Brigsby Beareven if there are some rather dramatic underlying elements to its seemingly light tone.
NEXT: 10 Movies From The 2010s Being Re-Released On Hulu In April
Black Adam Image Gives New Look at Rock’s Anti-Hero Before Trailer Premiere
About The Author
Gabby Etzel (45 Articles Published)
Gabby Etzel is a Manhattan-based writer with an affinity for the fearsome and an inexplicable identification with Throg. She’s easily charmed by two things: A well-written villain and a smoked salmon bagel.
More From Gabby Etzel
We would love to give thanks to the writer of this article for this amazing material
[date_timestamp] => 1654337066
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[3] => Array
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[title] => Ghosts of Suburbia: POLTERGEIST At 40
[link] => https://movieshere.movs.world/scream-away/ghosts-of-suburbia-poltergeist-at-40/
[dc] => Array
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[creator] => Harry World
)
[pubdate] => Sat, 04 Jun 2022 07:20:19 +0000
[category] => Scream AwayGhostsPoltergeistSuburbia
[guid] => https://movieshere.movs.world/?p=123314
[description] => “The kidnapping of children by preternatural forces is a plot device as old as â€The Pied Piper”’ ― Tobe Hooper Underneath the Cuesta Verde Estate, a more hidden threat is at play. Invisible. At least to begin with… This is the first “Star-Spangled” end to a night. Everyone is asleep. That is until the five-year-old ... Read more
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[encoded] =>
“The kidnapping of children by preternatural forces is a plot device as old as â€The Pied Piper”’ ― Tobe Hooper
Underneath the Cuesta Verde Estate, a more hidden threat is at play. Invisible. At least to begin with…
This is the first “Star-Spangled” end to a night. Everyone is asleep. That is until the five-year-old daughter awakens. Seemingly lured downstairs by unheard voices ― lit up by strobing TV static ― she proceeds to “channel” something else entirely through the television. After Jerry Goldsmith diffuses us with a sentimental cue of “The Neighborhood”, what follows is a heady mix of PG-rated terror: the portent of a dead canary, an ominous-looking tree, a possessed toy clown, crawling food, body horror, and apparitions caught on camera. In its implosive climax, the “Green Slope” becomes a bloody mudslide into a rain-filled pool of rotting corpses [1], a hint of Lovecraftian nightmares, buckets of ectoplasm, and an entire house pulled into a portal to the “other side.”
All this and Poltergeist remains one of the most feel-good gateway horror movies you will ever find. Curses [2] and controversies [3] hopefully laid to rest, this piece is more a portal to the history of celluloid ghosts, personal childhood reflections, and how the Freelings are the epitome of the “Happy Family” ― white America and the “Dream” ― as their lives turn into a Reaganomics, suburban nightmare.
Stateside, Häxan director Benjamin Christensen’s The Haunted House (1928) arrived just before the Universal monsters placed a Hollywood spin on the Gothic with their more tangible creatures of the night. Set in Cornwall, Lewis Allen’s The Uninvited (1944) (more on this later) is a romanticized version of England and the first genuinely realistic depiction of a ghost on screen. Although relying on more restrained approaches, natural successors include Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961) and Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963); a particular influence on Tobe Hooper.
Two years before Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, an overlooked TV movie by Steven Spielberg, also remains an early example of a rural haunting and possession. Something Evil (1972) was to Poltergeist what Duel (1971) was to Jaws (1975). It showcased both Spielberg’s Rockwellesque hallmarks of chocolate box sentiment ― affluent white family of four, even a young blonde-haired daughter ― coupled with a foreboding quality; “The land breathes like any man, indifferent as one is to another. Good and bad.” Most importantly, it predates the wave of possession and haunted house movies that followed throughout the ’70s and early ’80s with The Exorcist (1973), The Legend of Hell House (1973), The Amityville Horror (1979), The Shining (1980), The Changeling (1980), The Fog (1980), and Ghost Story (1981).
Based on Spielberg’s story ― another offshoot of his “evil ET” script, Night Skies ― writers Michael Grais and Mark Victor were hired to work with him on the script. As documented in issue #23 of FANGORIA, there are also some “plot similarities” to Richard Matheson’s Twilight Zone episode “Little Girl Lost” (1962) [4] that apparently caused some controversy. “â€It was noticed,’ says Hooper, â€but only after the fact.’” Spielberg is also linked to Matheson’s work via Duel, but wider influences and more personal motivations exist. Where Spielberg drew from his childhood nightmares, Hooper experienced poltergeist activity soon after his father died.
Perhaps the most influential (news) story that permeated ’50s America was the haunting of the Herrmann family in 1958, which drew so much attention it became the subject of an article in Life Magazine. Again, much like the Freelings, their home was not the old haunted house but a suburban model of the American dream. Similar to parapsychologist Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight) and her assistants during the second act of Poltergeist, a Dr. J.B. Rhine ― director of Duke University’s Parapsychology Laboratory ― visited with his colleagues to record what happened.
Spielberg hired visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund, mechanical effects supervisor Michael Wood, and Industrial Light & Magic optical photography supervisor Bruce Nicholson (nominated for an Academy Award on the film) to capture their own ghosts on camera. Having just completed work for Spielberg on Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), it made sense they brought the same magic; the Ark’s spectral forms a natural precursor. The three men and the rest of their team were crucial to the film’s success; the varied effects integral in ramping up the tension throughout. What starts off subtle morphs into something louder, moving somewhere between The Entity one moment and Ghostbusters the next. After the subtle TV static whispers, stacked chairs appear followed by flying objects ― the most difficult matting sequence Edlund had ever worked on ― a full-size hell-mouth, and, finally, home implosion. The latter one of the best examples of early ILM model work and practical effects before they harnessed (and mastered) CGI.
Family spirit
The Freelings are as far away from Tobe Hooper’s cannibalistic family in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as one could travel. Less Leatherface, more peeled face; post-Vietnam anxieties are replaced with a capitalist Band-Aid and Spielberg’s Amblin vibe that still manages to provide a healthy serving of Disturbia. Despite what some may think, the collaboration of Hooper and Spielberg managed to push the film to its absolute limit when it comes to a “wholesome” movie rating. PG-13 wasn’t invented until 1984, so, in true commercialized fashion Poltergeist was originally released as a PG; the strongest example of how much the MPAA were cajoled into what was essentially an R-rated movie.
When we think of what is (perceived to be) the traditional, wholesome family, cinema often provides a romanticized version. Of course, if the characters are believable enough in the circumstances presented to them, we relate, regardless of our backgrounds. More than ever, Poltergeist is glaringly white ― a product of its time ― and a distinct contrast to 21st-century horror that provides a collective trauma through more diverse examples of supernatural narratives. These include Ring (Japan, 1998), Lake Mungo (Australia, 2008), international co-production Under the Shadow (Qatar / Jordan / UK, 2016), and haunting immigration tale, His House (UK, 2020).
Poltergeist’s nationalism ― its “united front” ― paints a picture of the family unit and the role a mother and father play. In this instance, protecting their children, which is one of the most relatable themes of all, whether from the perspective of a parent or child. The Freelings are not the satirical inversion of Charles Addams’ New Yorker cartoons, nor are they the humble Kents. They are much closer to the Brodys before them and the McFlys after, who are distinctly defined by what we deem to be “Spielbergian”; families facing insurmountable odds, whether broken or intact. Through this lens, Spielberg is the best of nostalgia; a comfort blanket for those brought up on his work ― now filmmakers themselves ― who often default to their “stranger things” and retro aesthetics.
The Freeling kids ― teenager Dana (Dominique Dunne), Robbie (Oliver Robins), and Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) ― are at the heart of the film, but it is Jobeth Williams’ performance as their mother, Diane Freeling, that is the bedrock of the family. Mr. Incredible himself, Craig T. Nelson, plays Steve Freeling with a hint of vulnerability [5] ― cracked wide open in the sequel ― a father wrestling with insecurities and the potential failure of protecting his family against something he is (unknowingly) part of. The chemistry is perfect, an unwritten history elevating things even more during those powerful and climactic moments when they attempt to save their children from forces beyond their control.
Uninvited memories
As with most British kids of my generation raised on the fringes of a grey engineering town, America was our bubblegum shtick. It tasted “fuckin’ fantastic.” My British suburbia was a cul-de-sac, a walled-off brook at the bottom. This was the border that separated us from the safe haven of the neighborhood and the beckoning wide-open space beyond. This was our (small) frontier; farmers’ fields, old ruins, ancient footpaths, and hallows that fed the imagination; harkening back to a pre-colonial history we had no realization of. Here were the original myths, legends, and folklore; our metal detector medievalism evoking (and provoking) the classic terror of older, more Gothic ghosts.
However, despite its Americana, there is a great deal I relate to when it comes to Poltergeist. Not only was I brought up in a relatable environment with a Labrador and Retriever; at five, I was obsessed with climbing trees and getting lost. There were the worksites of the other houses being built, where I would sneak off and climb into the holes of waterlogged foundations and release the handbrakes on dumper trucks. Of course, my parents had a heart attack when they found this out. Handful that I was, these are many moments I look back on and, being a parent myself, realize more than ever how precious your child is, how much we fear losing sight of them.
My memories of home life were the perfect example of two (great) parents doing the best they could to nurture and protect. This is the epitome of what Poltergeist is about, tapping into the anxieties of both a child’s fevered (and fuelled) imagination and the fear of parents searching for a missing child. As with all good parents, The Freelings will stop at nothing to find Carol Anne. But she’s not wandered off onto some building site, open field, or park… she’s abducted and lost in another dimension entirely.
From my point of view, I’m going to paint an even more defining moment. Most of us brought up during the ’80s recall the TV sign-off routine ― our national anthem (yay patriotism) “God Save the Queen” ― ushering in midnight. The only times I recall this as a kid was if I was poorly. Anyone who suffered from croup will relate to how fucking terrifying (and painful) it was to cough up razor blades. To fix it, my parents would hold the kettle button down to steam up the room as much as possible, and, in my delirium, as the room fogged up, my tired brain (possibly doped up on medicine) focused on the apparitions. It cured the croup but fuelled the nightmares.
There’s also a serendipitous spirit at play that will segue into a key reference already briefly mentioned. I recall one year being poorly again. Unable to sleep, I dozed in and out of consciousness with an old black and white movie that turned out to be The Uninvited. Its spectral imagery was surprisingly effective and genuinely terrified me. My parents obviously naïve to the film’s impact. It was an easy mistake to make, in hindsight; the comedy (and tonal imbalance) is enough to fool anyone. There is also the realization that Poltergeist ― specifically visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund’s optical photography ― owes a great deal to The Uninvited.
As alluded to already, Allen’s film is often regarded as the first full-length horror to treat haunted houses and spirits seriously. The influences on Poltergeist are more than apparent, from the outstanding female apparition on the staircase (cut out for British audiences) to an old tree that is almost identical to the one that comes alive in the Freelings’ backyard. If all of this wasn’t enough proof, Diane’s third act line, “Smell that mimosa,” is an obvious nod to Spielberg’s appreciation of this supernatural classic; the flower’s scent a key device in The Uninvited that triggers the presence of a ghost. In his Criterion essay, Farran Smith Nehme describes the ghost as, “… a mist curling like opium smoke and topped by an indistinct face. (The effect is enough like the spirits that swirl through the climax of Raiders of the Lost Ark to suggest that Steven Spielberg knows this film too).” [6]
What lies beneath…
American columnist and author Bill Vaughan once said, “The suburb is a place where someone cuts down all the trees to build houses, and then names the streets after the trees.” On the Cuesta Verde Estate ― “where dreams come true” ― the developers cut down gravestones and leave the nameless bodies under your new family home. The only hint of irony; one of their employees has just moved in with his family and, before Steve learns the morbid truth, is offered an even better view across the valley. Poltergeist spoke to an audience ― mainly the aspiring white middle class ― brought up in a modern society, where the safety of these “relatable” areas was brought into question. Interviewed for issue #19 of FANGORIA at the time, co-producer Frank Marshall highlighted, “Rather than in some old house … [Steven] decided that we should do it in a setting that is normal almost to the point of abnormal.”
However, say all you want about Spielberg’s influence and Amblin vibes, a lot of the (grim) satire can be attributed to Hooper’s more liberal chainsaw history of cutting straight through the heart of America. Poltergeist, zeitgeist; the film perfectly reflected ’80s commercialism and consumerism; a result of Reagan’s “free economics” that had reverted to more conservative “traditional values.” Here, there is a constant drive for the perfect home (and lifestyle), room for a pool but a little less room for “family values.” This isn’t to say the Freelings are not a “good” example, but, if anything, they become a much stronger unit once the ghosts remind them of what really matters.
So, what appears to be just another “beautiful day in the neighborhood” [7] is merely a veneer for something more corruptive buried right under our noses. For the most part, the themes are laid on as thick as the gore; some of which have been misconstrued. There is a Mandela Effect at play, and with it, the assumption of a more ancient trope. “The concept of the Indian Burial Ground is so strong that it finds its way into places it doesn’t even belong.” [8] Yet, despite this interpretation, it remains a crucial (if somewhat distorted) element in exploring deep-rooted national guilt. Truth: America is a Native burial ground… the entire landscape an indigenous (scattered) grave. More explicitly, Poltergeist exposes capitalism for what it has become; having profited from colonialism, it is now our white ancestors we build on top of. Generations we eventually find are buried on top of the remains of an apocalyptic death cult and perhaps, outside of the film’s narrative, more ancient bones.
Rather than “muddy” itself too much, this is a horror movie that relies on pop culture and iconography, leaving most of its skeletons in the same closet Carol Anne disappears into. On the surface, it feeds into the childhood fears Spielberg intended ― of scary clowns and monstrous trees ― but also goes much further with its symbolism; “all-white” angelical references, a hellish portal, umbilical ropes, and the wizardry of a Dorothy-scale storm. Although primarily a fairy Godmother, there is also a child-like nature to the clairvoyant Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein). She is tender, yet brutally honest. Her bone-chilling speech addresses the Freelings’ situation head-on; the truth that their “lost child” is about to be deceived by an evil spirit, “It lies to her. It tells her things only a child can understand. It’s been using her to restrain the others. To her, it simply is another child. To us, it is The Beast.”
A distinct loss of childhood is also at the film’s core. Although tonally, this is by no means Friedkin’s The Exorcist, Spielberg’s more innocent approach still taps into theories of possession and hauntings intrinsically linked to pubescent children. The same parapsychologist who documented the Herrmann house also believed that the presence of adolescents ― specifically teenage girls ― might have attracted these “noisy spirits”, based on the nature of reported poltergeist activity. Yet, it’s not just about the “children.” Even the parents’ “activities” highlight how much Steve and Diane claw onto their adolescent (pot smoking) lifestyle as we watch them forced to grow up and take responsibility; by the end jorts and sneakers are replaced with slacks and white streaks of hair. Less fashionable but all the wiser.
Once more, with Freeling
How do you make a new house scary? You look underneath it. Poltergeist still provides a genuine supernatural threat that reveals the greed and corruption of capitalism and, in turn, its haunted homeland. The TV becomes a conduit, media as a medium. Of course, Hideo Nakata’s Ring and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse took such concepts further; definitive J-horror exploring other ghosts in the machine via video and the internet. These haunted (red) rooms and other uncanny suburban spaces simply shift (or change channel) to their respective cultures; the rise of hauntology ― the postmodern nostalgia that is often laced with fear and dread of the unknown ― a ghost manifest.
Now, the static has been replaced with constant streaming. Maybe here there is a legacy version of a Freeling. An adult Carol Anne. She doesn’t look at any screens; simply lives her life far away from the “TV people”; the strange, quirky aunt beyond suburbia; a clairvoyant who shows us that the screen no longer speaks to us… but possesses us all.
It is a fact that medical skeletons were used in the pool scene. Many horror movies employed this because it was cheaper than making them.
Read into it what you will; from the murder of Dominick Dunne several months after the release ofPoltergeist to Will Sampson’s passing in 1987, and the tragic death of Heather O’Rourke during the filming ofPoltergeist III in February 1988.
InFANGORIA #19 (pp.57), producer Frank Marshall stated, “It was a collaborative effort. Tobe directed it, while Steve was the guiding force.” Make sure you read Hooper’s own “personally damaging” perspective inFANGORIA #23 (pp.28). You can also listen to FANGORIA’s Vanguard of the Vault, Natasha Pascetta who summarizes further via“It Came From the Vault – Poltergeist” (2019).
Based on his 1953 short story first published inAmazing Stories, on which Spielberg would later base his anthology TV series.
Insecurities of fatherhood and the strength of the mother are a Spielberg trait, taken from personal childhood experience. Fathers are often portrayed as distant and/or absentee figures, as seen in the rest of his “Suburban Trilogy”;Close Encounters of the Third Kind (distant/distracted father) andET the Extra-Terrestrial (single mother).
“Who the hell is this guy?” The jock neighbors of Cuesta Verde are that ignorant, they have no idea who Fred McFeely (aka “Mister Rogers”).
Most of this is down to audiences misreading the presence of Native American character, Taylor, fromPoltergeist II: The Other Side who acts as a spiritual guide for Steve Freeling and Mr. Teague’s flippant reference.Atlas Obscura’s,“Why Every Horror Film of the 1980s Was Built On â€Indian Burial Grounds’” by Dan Nosowitz (2015) is a good summary.
We want to say thanks to the author of this post for this outstanding material
)
[summary] => “The kidnapping of children by preternatural forces is a plot device as old as â€The Pied Piper”’ ― Tobe Hooper Underneath the Cuesta Verde Estate, a more hidden threat is at play. Invisible. At least to begin with… This is the first “Star-Spangled” end to a night. Everyone is asleep. That is until the five-year-old ... Read more
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“The kidnapping of children by preternatural forces is a plot device as old as â€The Pied Piper”’ ― Tobe Hooper
Underneath the Cuesta Verde Estate, a more hidden threat is at play. Invisible. At least to begin with…
This is the first “Star-Spangled” end to a night. Everyone is asleep. That is until the five-year-old daughter awakens. Seemingly lured downstairs by unheard voices ― lit up by strobing TV static ― she proceeds to “channel” something else entirely through the television. After Jerry Goldsmith diffuses us with a sentimental cue of “The Neighborhood”, what follows is a heady mix of PG-rated terror: the portent of a dead canary, an ominous-looking tree, a possessed toy clown, crawling food, body horror, and apparitions caught on camera. In its implosive climax, the “Green Slope” becomes a bloody mudslide into a rain-filled pool of rotting corpses [1], a hint of Lovecraftian nightmares, buckets of ectoplasm, and an entire house pulled into a portal to the “other side.”
All this and Poltergeist remains one of the most feel-good gateway horror movies you will ever find. Curses [2] and controversies [3] hopefully laid to rest, this piece is more a portal to the history of celluloid ghosts, personal childhood reflections, and how the Freelings are the epitome of the “Happy Family” ― white America and the “Dream” ― as their lives turn into a Reaganomics, suburban nightmare.
Stateside, Häxan director Benjamin Christensen’s The Haunted House (1928) arrived just before the Universal monsters placed a Hollywood spin on the Gothic with their more tangible creatures of the night. Set in Cornwall, Lewis Allen’s The Uninvited (1944) (more on this later) is a romanticized version of England and the first genuinely realistic depiction of a ghost on screen. Although relying on more restrained approaches, natural successors include Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961) and Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963); a particular influence on Tobe Hooper.
Two years before Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, an overlooked TV movie by Steven Spielberg, also remains an early example of a rural haunting and possession. Something Evil (1972) was to Poltergeist what Duel (1971) was to Jaws (1975). It showcased both Spielberg’s Rockwellesque hallmarks of chocolate box sentiment ― affluent white family of four, even a young blonde-haired daughter ― coupled with a foreboding quality; “The land breathes like any man, indifferent as one is to another. Good and bad.” Most importantly, it predates the wave of possession and haunted house movies that followed throughout the ’70s and early ’80s with The Exorcist (1973), The Legend of Hell House (1973), The Amityville Horror (1979), The Shining (1980), The Changeling (1980), The Fog (1980), and Ghost Story (1981).
Based on Spielberg’s story ― another offshoot of his “evil ET” script, Night Skies ― writers Michael Grais and Mark Victor were hired to work with him on the script. As documented in issue #23 of FANGORIA, there are also some “plot similarities” to Richard Matheson’s Twilight Zone episode “Little Girl Lost” (1962) [4] that apparently caused some controversy. “â€It was noticed,’ says Hooper, â€but only after the fact.’” Spielberg is also linked to Matheson’s work via Duel, but wider influences and more personal motivations exist. Where Spielberg drew from his childhood nightmares, Hooper experienced poltergeist activity soon after his father died.
Perhaps the most influential (news) story that permeated ’50s America was the haunting of the Herrmann family in 1958, which drew so much attention it became the subject of an article in Life Magazine. Again, much like the Freelings, their home was not the old haunted house but a suburban model of the American dream. Similar to parapsychologist Dr. Lesh (Beatrice Straight) and her assistants during the second act of Poltergeist, a Dr. J.B. Rhine ― director of Duke University’s Parapsychology Laboratory ― visited with his colleagues to record what happened.
Spielberg hired visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund, mechanical effects supervisor Michael Wood, and Industrial Light & Magic optical photography supervisor Bruce Nicholson (nominated for an Academy Award on the film) to capture their own ghosts on camera. Having just completed work for Spielberg on Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), it made sense they brought the same magic; the Ark’s spectral forms a natural precursor. The three men and the rest of their team were crucial to the film’s success; the varied effects integral in ramping up the tension throughout. What starts off subtle morphs into something louder, moving somewhere between The Entity one moment and Ghostbusters the next. After the subtle TV static whispers, stacked chairs appear followed by flying objects ― the most difficult matting sequence Edlund had ever worked on ― a full-size hell-mouth, and, finally, home implosion. The latter one of the best examples of early ILM model work and practical effects before they harnessed (and mastered) CGI.
Family spirit
The Freelings are as far away from Tobe Hooper’s cannibalistic family in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre as one could travel. Less Leatherface, more peeled face; post-Vietnam anxieties are replaced with a capitalist Band-Aid and Spielberg’s Amblin vibe that still manages to provide a healthy serving of Disturbia. Despite what some may think, the collaboration of Hooper and Spielberg managed to push the film to its absolute limit when it comes to a “wholesome” movie rating. PG-13 wasn’t invented until 1984, so, in true commercialized fashion Poltergeist was originally released as a PG; the strongest example of how much the MPAA were cajoled into what was essentially an R-rated movie.
When we think of what is (perceived to be) the traditional, wholesome family, cinema often provides a romanticized version. Of course, if the characters are believable enough in the circumstances presented to them, we relate, regardless of our backgrounds. More than ever, Poltergeist is glaringly white ― a product of its time ― and a distinct contrast to 21st-century horror that provides a collective trauma through more diverse examples of supernatural narratives. These include Ring (Japan, 1998), Lake Mungo (Australia, 2008), international co-production Under the Shadow (Qatar / Jordan / UK, 2016), and haunting immigration tale, His House (UK, 2020).
Poltergeist’s nationalism ― its “united front” ― paints a picture of the family unit and the role a mother and father play. In this instance, protecting their children, which is one of the most relatable themes of all, whether from the perspective of a parent or child. The Freelings are not the satirical inversion of Charles Addams’ New Yorker cartoons, nor are they the humble Kents. They are much closer to the Brodys before them and the McFlys after, who are distinctly defined by what we deem to be “Spielbergian”; families facing insurmountable odds, whether broken or intact. Through this lens, Spielberg is the best of nostalgia; a comfort blanket for those brought up on his work ― now filmmakers themselves ― who often default to their “stranger things” and retro aesthetics.
The Freeling kids ― teenager Dana (Dominique Dunne), Robbie (Oliver Robins), and Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) ― are at the heart of the film, but it is Jobeth Williams’ performance as their mother, Diane Freeling, that is the bedrock of the family. Mr. Incredible himself, Craig T. Nelson, plays Steve Freeling with a hint of vulnerability [5] ― cracked wide open in the sequel ― a father wrestling with insecurities and the potential failure of protecting his family against something he is (unknowingly) part of. The chemistry is perfect, an unwritten history elevating things even more during those powerful and climactic moments when they attempt to save their children from forces beyond their control.
Uninvited memories
As with most British kids of my generation raised on the fringes of a grey engineering town, America was our bubblegum shtick. It tasted “fuckin’ fantastic.” My British suburbia was a cul-de-sac, a walled-off brook at the bottom. This was the border that separated us from the safe haven of the neighborhood and the beckoning wide-open space beyond. This was our (small) frontier; farmers’ fields, old ruins, ancient footpaths, and hallows that fed the imagination; harkening back to a pre-colonial history we had no realization of. Here were the original myths, legends, and folklore; our metal detector medievalism evoking (and provoking) the classic terror of older, more Gothic ghosts.
However, despite its Americana, there is a great deal I relate to when it comes to Poltergeist. Not only was I brought up in a relatable environment with a Labrador and Retriever; at five, I was obsessed with climbing trees and getting lost. There were the worksites of the other houses being built, where I would sneak off and climb into the holes of waterlogged foundations and release the handbrakes on dumper trucks. Of course, my parents had a heart attack when they found this out. Handful that I was, these are many moments I look back on and, being a parent myself, realize more than ever how precious your child is, how much we fear losing sight of them.
My memories of home life were the perfect example of two (great) parents doing the best they could to nurture and protect. This is the epitome of what Poltergeist is about, tapping into the anxieties of both a child’s fevered (and fuelled) imagination and the fear of parents searching for a missing child. As with all good parents, The Freelings will stop at nothing to find Carol Anne. But she’s not wandered off onto some building site, open field, or park… she’s abducted and lost in another dimension entirely.
From my point of view, I’m going to paint an even more defining moment. Most of us brought up during the ’80s recall the TV sign-off routine ― our national anthem (yay patriotism) “God Save the Queen” ― ushering in midnight. The only times I recall this as a kid was if I was poorly. Anyone who suffered from croup will relate to how fucking terrifying (and painful) it was to cough up razor blades. To fix it, my parents would hold the kettle button down to steam up the room as much as possible, and, in my delirium, as the room fogged up, my tired brain (possibly doped up on medicine) focused on the apparitions. It cured the croup but fuelled the nightmares.
There’s also a serendipitous spirit at play that will segue into a key reference already briefly mentioned. I recall one year being poorly again. Unable to sleep, I dozed in and out of consciousness with an old black and white movie that turned out to be The Uninvited. Its spectral imagery was surprisingly effective and genuinely terrified me. My parents obviously naïve to the film’s impact. It was an easy mistake to make, in hindsight; the comedy (and tonal imbalance) is enough to fool anyone. There is also the realization that Poltergeist ― specifically visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund’s optical photography ― owes a great deal to The Uninvited.
As alluded to already, Allen’s film is often regarded as the first full-length horror to treat haunted houses and spirits seriously. The influences on Poltergeist are more than apparent, from the outstanding female apparition on the staircase (cut out for British audiences) to an old tree that is almost identical to the one that comes alive in the Freelings’ backyard. If all of this wasn’t enough proof, Diane’s third act line, “Smell that mimosa,” is an obvious nod to Spielberg’s appreciation of this supernatural classic; the flower’s scent a key device in The Uninvited that triggers the presence of a ghost. In his Criterion essay, Farran Smith Nehme describes the ghost as, “… a mist curling like opium smoke and topped by an indistinct face. (The effect is enough like the spirits that swirl through the climax of Raiders of the Lost Ark to suggest that Steven Spielberg knows this film too).” [6]
What lies beneath…
American columnist and author Bill Vaughan once said, “The suburb is a place where someone cuts down all the trees to build houses, and then names the streets after the trees.” On the Cuesta Verde Estate ― “where dreams come true” ― the developers cut down gravestones and leave the nameless bodies under your new family home. The only hint of irony; one of their employees has just moved in with his family and, before Steve learns the morbid truth, is offered an even better view across the valley. Poltergeist spoke to an audience ― mainly the aspiring white middle class ― brought up in a modern society, where the safety of these “relatable” areas was brought into question. Interviewed for issue #19 of FANGORIA at the time, co-producer Frank Marshall highlighted, “Rather than in some old house … [Steven] decided that we should do it in a setting that is normal almost to the point of abnormal.”
However, say all you want about Spielberg’s influence and Amblin vibes, a lot of the (grim) satire can be attributed to Hooper’s more liberal chainsaw history of cutting straight through the heart of America. Poltergeist, zeitgeist; the film perfectly reflected ’80s commercialism and consumerism; a result of Reagan’s “free economics” that had reverted to more conservative “traditional values.” Here, there is a constant drive for the perfect home (and lifestyle), room for a pool but a little less room for “family values.” This isn’t to say the Freelings are not a “good” example, but, if anything, they become a much stronger unit once the ghosts remind them of what really matters.
So, what appears to be just another “beautiful day in the neighborhood” [7] is merely a veneer for something more corruptive buried right under our noses. For the most part, the themes are laid on as thick as the gore; some of which have been misconstrued. There is a Mandela Effect at play, and with it, the assumption of a more ancient trope. “The concept of the Indian Burial Ground is so strong that it finds its way into places it doesn’t even belong.” [8] Yet, despite this interpretation, it remains a crucial (if somewhat distorted) element in exploring deep-rooted national guilt. Truth: America is a Native burial ground… the entire landscape an indigenous (scattered) grave. More explicitly, Poltergeist exposes capitalism for what it has become; having profited from colonialism, it is now our white ancestors we build on top of. Generations we eventually find are buried on top of the remains of an apocalyptic death cult and perhaps, outside of the film’s narrative, more ancient bones.
Rather than “muddy” itself too much, this is a horror movie that relies on pop culture and iconography, leaving most of its skeletons in the same closet Carol Anne disappears into. On the surface, it feeds into the childhood fears Spielberg intended ― of scary clowns and monstrous trees ― but also goes much further with its symbolism; “all-white” angelical references, a hellish portal, umbilical ropes, and the wizardry of a Dorothy-scale storm. Although primarily a fairy Godmother, there is also a child-like nature to the clairvoyant Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubinstein). She is tender, yet brutally honest. Her bone-chilling speech addresses the Freelings’ situation head-on; the truth that their “lost child” is about to be deceived by an evil spirit, “It lies to her. It tells her things only a child can understand. It’s been using her to restrain the others. To her, it simply is another child. To us, it is The Beast.”
A distinct loss of childhood is also at the film’s core. Although tonally, this is by no means Friedkin’s The Exorcist, Spielberg’s more innocent approach still taps into theories of possession and hauntings intrinsically linked to pubescent children. The same parapsychologist who documented the Herrmann house also believed that the presence of adolescents ― specifically teenage girls ― might have attracted these “noisy spirits”, based on the nature of reported poltergeist activity. Yet, it’s not just about the “children.” Even the parents’ “activities” highlight how much Steve and Diane claw onto their adolescent (pot smoking) lifestyle as we watch them forced to grow up and take responsibility; by the end jorts and sneakers are replaced with slacks and white streaks of hair. Less fashionable but all the wiser.
Once more, with Freeling
How do you make a new house scary? You look underneath it. Poltergeist still provides a genuine supernatural threat that reveals the greed and corruption of capitalism and, in turn, its haunted homeland. The TV becomes a conduit, media as a medium. Of course, Hideo Nakata’s Ring and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse took such concepts further; definitive J-horror exploring other ghosts in the machine via video and the internet. These haunted (red) rooms and other uncanny suburban spaces simply shift (or change channel) to their respective cultures; the rise of hauntology ― the postmodern nostalgia that is often laced with fear and dread of the unknown ― a ghost manifest.
Now, the static has been replaced with constant streaming. Maybe here there is a legacy version of a Freeling. An adult Carol Anne. She doesn’t look at any screens; simply lives her life far away from the “TV people”; the strange, quirky aunt beyond suburbia; a clairvoyant who shows us that the screen no longer speaks to us… but possesses us all.
It is a fact that medical skeletons were used in the pool scene. Many horror movies employed this because it was cheaper than making them.
Read into it what you will; from the murder of Dominick Dunne several months after the release ofPoltergeist to Will Sampson’s passing in 1987, and the tragic death of Heather O’Rourke during the filming ofPoltergeist III in February 1988.
InFANGORIA #19 (pp.57), producer Frank Marshall stated, “It was a collaborative effort. Tobe directed it, while Steve was the guiding force.” Make sure you read Hooper’s own “personally damaging” perspective inFANGORIA #23 (pp.28). You can also listen to FANGORIA’s Vanguard of the Vault, Natasha Pascetta who summarizes further via“It Came From the Vault – Poltergeist” (2019).
Based on his 1953 short story first published inAmazing Stories, on which Spielberg would later base his anthology TV series.
Insecurities of fatherhood and the strength of the mother are a Spielberg trait, taken from personal childhood experience. Fathers are often portrayed as distant and/or absentee figures, as seen in the rest of his “Suburban Trilogy”;Close Encounters of the Third Kind (distant/distracted father) andET the Extra-Terrestrial (single mother).
“Who the hell is this guy?” The jock neighbors of Cuesta Verde are that ignorant, they have no idea who Fred McFeely (aka “Mister Rogers”).
Most of this is down to audiences misreading the presence of Native American character, Taylor, fromPoltergeist II: The Other Side who acts as a spiritual guide for Steve Freeling and Mr. Teague’s flippant reference.Atlas Obscura’s,“Why Every Horror Film of the 1980s Was Built On â€Indian Burial Grounds’” by Dan Nosowitz (2015) is a good summary.
We want to say thanks to the author of this post for this outstanding material
[date_timestamp] => 1654327219
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[4] => Array
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[title] => Horror Movies: 10 Of The Highest-Grossing Franchises
[link] => https://movieshere.movs.world/scream-away/horror-movies-10-of-the-highest-grossing-franchises/
[dc] => Array
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[creator] => Harry World
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[pubdate] => Sat, 04 Jun 2022 05:58:19 +0000
[category] => Scream AwayFranchisesHighestGrossingHorrorMovies
[guid] => https://movieshere.movs.world/?p=123282
[description] => Horror films are popular choices among moviegoers during the Halloween season, but diehard fans of the genre love to watch them year-round. Horror movies keep audiences on the edge of their seats with riveting suspense and gruesome monsters. A great horror film is compelling, unforgettable, and, of course, delightfully scary. Some standout horror films even ... Read more
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[encoded] =>
Horror films are popular choices among moviegoers during the Halloween season, but diehard fans of the genre love to watch them year-round. Horror movies keep audiences on the edge of their seats with riveting suspense and gruesome monsters. A great horror film is compelling, unforgettable, and, of course, delightfully scary. Some standout horror films even go on to launch multi-movie franchises, which keep fans filling theater seats year after year and spawn everything from TV series to comic books. Furthermore, iconic horror characters frequently appear in the form of Halloween costumes for adults and kids alike. The highest-grossing horror film franchises of all time have an important place in movie culture – both in the U.S. and beyond.
10. Final Destination Is Full Of Supernatural Suspense
The Final Destination franchise started in 2000. It was written and directed by a team of writers from The X-Files, which accounts for its eerie supernatural tone. The teen-scream film’s premise is simple: a group of teenagers inadvertently cheat death by avoiding a catastrophic plane crash, but Death comes to collect the souls wh0 should have perished. That first film launched a five-film franchise, with a rumored sixth film on the way. The franchise has also spawned two comic books and a set of novels. To date, Final Destination has generated $665,080,639 worldwide, earning it a respectable spot among the highest-grossing horror franchises.
9. Scream Inspired A Popular Halloween Costume Choice
The mask worn by the killer in Scream has become an icon in its own right since the first film premiered in 1996. The franchise has grown to five movies, the latest of which was released in 2022. The franchise also includes a short-lived television series and, of course, plenty of merchandise related to the infamous mask. So far, the 2022 Scream reboot is sitting at number eleven on the list of the highest-grossing movies for this year – not bad for a twenty-five-year-old franchise. All told, the Scream franchise has grossed $744,424,331 and counting.
8. Predator Built An Empire Across Multiple Media Channels
It’s rare for even the best movies to have as wide of a reach as the Predator franchise. The first film didn’t even crack the top ten highest-grossing films list for 1987, but the franchise has nonetheless developed a cult following over the years. The franchise has four canonical movies but is still growing. A spin-off series called Alien Vs. Predator took the franchise in a new direction, but there have also been Predator comic books, video games, and even a set of novels. The fifth film in the franchise, Prey, debuted in 2022, so this enduring franchise shows no signs of slowing down. So far, the franchise has grossed $744,593,166.
7. Halloween Is A Legend Among Horror Movie Franchises
It may not be the highest-grossing movie franchise on the list, but Halloween is one of the most recognizable. It is also one of the longest-running: Halloween’s infamous killer, Michael Myers, first graced the silver screen back in 1978. The franchise has grown to eleven films, with Halloween Ends rounding out the Danny McBride trilogy in October 2022. There was also a related comic book line and a novelization of the first film. The franchise serves as inspiration for countless other films, and it’s unlikely that fans will ever truly see the last of Michal Myers. So far, the franchise has grossed $773,971,323, which is sure to change after Halloween Ends premieres.
6. Paranormal Activity Is A Realistic Horror Movie Franchise
Paranormal Activity uses the “found footage” gimmick to give its films a signature style. This technique also lends a heavy dose of realism to the movies, which is part of what makes them so popular. The film series even spawned a video game in 2017. The Paranormal Activity franchise has only been around since 2009 but has already amassed $890,533,646 in gross. Another installment of the franchise is projected for release in 2023. That installment, titled The Other Side, will be the franchise’s eighth film – so far.
5. Hannibal Built Its Empire On Book Adaptations
The first Hannibal franchise film was technically 1986’s Manhunterbut most fans of horror movies associate the birth of the franchise with 1991’s The Silence Of The Lambs. The five films in the franchise are based on the life and crimes of Hannibal Lecter, a cannibal serial killer created by author Thomas Harris. Most recently, NBC revived the franchise in a television series adaptation/prequel, which won a handful of Saturn Awards. The franchise has grossed $924,422,301 as of now, with no new film projects announced as of yet.
4. Saw Became A Twenty-First Century Phenomenon
Saw is one of few horror movie franchises to cross the billion-dollar threshold in gross profits, coming in at $1,012,620,413 to date. The franchise consists of nine full-length films revolving around a unique fictional serial killer named John Kramer. Rather than simply killing his victims, Kramer traps his victims in “games” that force them to fight for their lives. All nine films have received mixed reviews from critics, but fans continue to love the gory franchise. There are rumors that a television adaptation of one of the films is on the horizon, so horror lovers may get a chance to return to their favorite series soon.
3. Resident Evil Expanded On A Video Game Series
Resident Evil got its start as a 1996 Capcom video game for Playstation and is still as popular as ever. The film franchise spin-off of the games launched in 2002 and spawned six canonical films. In 2021, a reboot movie called Resident Evil: Welcome To Racoon City began a new chapter in the franchise. Â This horror movie franchise is one of the most successful ever, grossing $1,279,538,320 and counting. All six canonical films cracked the list of top fifty highest-grossing movies for their release years, an impressive feat for a horror franchise.
2. Alien Combines Suspenseful Horror And Satisfying Sci-Fi
Some of the most popular directors in Hollywood have directed Alien movies, including Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and David Fincher. The franchise centers around one woman’s battles against an aggressive alien lifeform sometimes referred to as a Xenomorph. The franchise has been around since 1979 and has spawned six movies so far. The total gross for all six movies is $1,653,812,293, placing it among the top highest-grossing film franchises ever made, regardless of genre. Supposedly, a television adaptation of the franchise is in pre-development as of 2022.
1. The Conjuring Is A Rapidly Expanding Horror Universe
For a film franchise that has only been around since 2013, The Conjuring has covered a lot of ground. To date, there are seven movies in the franchise. Michael Chaves is currently filming the eighth movie, and a ninth movie is also in development. To date, the franchise has grossed an impressive $2,128,077,472. A DC comic book line was launched in March of 2021, and a potential television series was also announced. By all accounts, The Conjuring has plenty more to offer horror fans, and the franchise is just getting started.
We would love to say thanks to the writer of this write-up for this amazing material
)
[summary] => Horror films are popular choices among moviegoers during the Halloween season, but diehard fans of the genre love to watch them year-round. Horror movies keep audiences on the edge of their seats with riveting suspense and gruesome monsters. A great horror film is compelling, unforgettable, and, of course, delightfully scary. Some standout horror films even ... Read more
[atom_content] =>
Horror films are popular choices among moviegoers during the Halloween season, but diehard fans of the genre love to watch them year-round. Horror movies keep audiences on the edge of their seats with riveting suspense and gruesome monsters. A great horror film is compelling, unforgettable, and, of course, delightfully scary. Some standout horror films even go on to launch multi-movie franchises, which keep fans filling theater seats year after year and spawn everything from TV series to comic books. Furthermore, iconic horror characters frequently appear in the form of Halloween costumes for adults and kids alike. The highest-grossing horror film franchises of all time have an important place in movie culture – both in the U.S. and beyond.
10. Final Destination Is Full Of Supernatural Suspense
The Final Destination franchise started in 2000. It was written and directed by a team of writers from The X-Files, which accounts for its eerie supernatural tone. The teen-scream film’s premise is simple: a group of teenagers inadvertently cheat death by avoiding a catastrophic plane crash, but Death comes to collect the souls wh0 should have perished. That first film launched a five-film franchise, with a rumored sixth film on the way. The franchise has also spawned two comic books and a set of novels. To date, Final Destination has generated $665,080,639 worldwide, earning it a respectable spot among the highest-grossing horror franchises.
9. Scream Inspired A Popular Halloween Costume Choice
The mask worn by the killer in Scream has become an icon in its own right since the first film premiered in 1996. The franchise has grown to five movies, the latest of which was released in 2022. The franchise also includes a short-lived television series and, of course, plenty of merchandise related to the infamous mask. So far, the 2022 Scream reboot is sitting at number eleven on the list of the highest-grossing movies for this year – not bad for a twenty-five-year-old franchise. All told, the Scream franchise has grossed $744,424,331 and counting.
8. Predator Built An Empire Across Multiple Media Channels
It’s rare for even the best movies to have as wide of a reach as the Predator franchise. The first film didn’t even crack the top ten highest-grossing films list for 1987, but the franchise has nonetheless developed a cult following over the years. The franchise has four canonical movies but is still growing. A spin-off series called Alien Vs. Predator took the franchise in a new direction, but there have also been Predator comic books, video games, and even a set of novels. The fifth film in the franchise, Prey, debuted in 2022, so this enduring franchise shows no signs of slowing down. So far, the franchise has grossed $744,593,166.
7. Halloween Is A Legend Among Horror Movie Franchises
It may not be the highest-grossing movie franchise on the list, but Halloween is one of the most recognizable. It is also one of the longest-running: Halloween’s infamous killer, Michael Myers, first graced the silver screen back in 1978. The franchise has grown to eleven films, with Halloween Ends rounding out the Danny McBride trilogy in October 2022. There was also a related comic book line and a novelization of the first film. The franchise serves as inspiration for countless other films, and it’s unlikely that fans will ever truly see the last of Michal Myers. So far, the franchise has grossed $773,971,323, which is sure to change after Halloween Ends premieres.
6. Paranormal Activity Is A Realistic Horror Movie Franchise
Paranormal Activity uses the “found footage” gimmick to give its films a signature style. This technique also lends a heavy dose of realism to the movies, which is part of what makes them so popular. The film series even spawned a video game in 2017. The Paranormal Activity franchise has only been around since 2009 but has already amassed $890,533,646 in gross. Another installment of the franchise is projected for release in 2023. That installment, titled The Other Side, will be the franchise’s eighth film – so far.
5. Hannibal Built Its Empire On Book Adaptations
The first Hannibal franchise film was technically 1986’s Manhunterbut most fans of horror movies associate the birth of the franchise with 1991’s The Silence Of The Lambs. The five films in the franchise are based on the life and crimes of Hannibal Lecter, a cannibal serial killer created by author Thomas Harris. Most recently, NBC revived the franchise in a television series adaptation/prequel, which won a handful of Saturn Awards. The franchise has grossed $924,422,301 as of now, with no new film projects announced as of yet.
4. Saw Became A Twenty-First Century Phenomenon
Saw is one of few horror movie franchises to cross the billion-dollar threshold in gross profits, coming in at $1,012,620,413 to date. The franchise consists of nine full-length films revolving around a unique fictional serial killer named John Kramer. Rather than simply killing his victims, Kramer traps his victims in “games” that force them to fight for their lives. All nine films have received mixed reviews from critics, but fans continue to love the gory franchise. There are rumors that a television adaptation of one of the films is on the horizon, so horror lovers may get a chance to return to their favorite series soon.
3. Resident Evil Expanded On A Video Game Series
Resident Evil got its start as a 1996 Capcom video game for Playstation and is still as popular as ever. The film franchise spin-off of the games launched in 2002 and spawned six canonical films. In 2021, a reboot movie called Resident Evil: Welcome To Racoon City began a new chapter in the franchise. Â This horror movie franchise is one of the most successful ever, grossing $1,279,538,320 and counting. All six canonical films cracked the list of top fifty highest-grossing movies for their release years, an impressive feat for a horror franchise.
2. Alien Combines Suspenseful Horror And Satisfying Sci-Fi
Some of the most popular directors in Hollywood have directed Alien movies, including Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and David Fincher. The franchise centers around one woman’s battles against an aggressive alien lifeform sometimes referred to as a Xenomorph. The franchise has been around since 1979 and has spawned six movies so far. The total gross for all six movies is $1,653,812,293, placing it among the top highest-grossing film franchises ever made, regardless of genre. Supposedly, a television adaptation of the franchise is in pre-development as of 2022.
1. The Conjuring Is A Rapidly Expanding Horror Universe
For a film franchise that has only been around since 2013, The Conjuring has covered a lot of ground. To date, there are seven movies in the franchise. Michael Chaves is currently filming the eighth movie, and a ninth movie is also in development. To date, the franchise has grossed an impressive $2,128,077,472. A DC comic book line was launched in March of 2021, and a potential television series was also announced. By all accounts, The Conjuring has plenty more to offer horror fans, and the franchise is just getting started.
We would love to say thanks to the writer of this write-up for this amazing material
[date_timestamp] => 1654322299
)
[5] => Array
(
[title] => A24 vs. Blumhouse: Who Makes Better Horror Movies?
[link] => https://movieshere.movs.world/scream-away/a24-vs-blumhouse-who-makes-better-horror-movies/
[dc] => Array
(
[creator] => Harry World
)
[pubdate] => Sat, 04 Jun 2022 04:35:19 +0000
[category] => Scream AwayA24BlumhouseHorrorMovies
[guid] => https://movieshere.movs.world/?p=123255
[description] => There are two major players in the horror movie game: A24 and Blumhouse. John Hodges, David Fenkel and Daniel Katz founded A24 in 2012 and Jason Blum started his company in 2000. Both are famous and beloved for putting out well-done and discussion-worthy scary movies, and when fans see new releases that they look forward ... Read more
[content] => Array
(
[encoded] =>
There are two major players in the horror movie game: A24 and Blumhouse. John Hodges, David Fenkel and Daniel Katz founded A24 in 2012 and Jason Blum started his company in 2000. Both are famous and beloved for putting out well-done and discussion-worthy scary movies, and when fans see new releases that they look forward to checking out, the movie is likely an A24 or Blumhouse production.
When horror fans think about the quality of movies put out by each company, it’s definitely tough to say who puts out the best films as they are fairly comparable and equal. When fans compare A24 and Blumhouse, who would win?
GAMERANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
RELATED: 5 Great Blumhouse Movies That Aren’t Horror
When horror fans think about whether A24 or Blumhouse makes better movies, one big question comes up: do people prefer elevated horror or more mainstream, fun, and entertaining flicks? For the most part, it could be argued that A24 puts out films that are in the elevated horror category and Blumhouse makes popular horror movies. Both films are necessary and important, and neither type is better than the other. It’s all about what people are looking for and what they’re in the mood for.
Some of A24’s most famous and beloved horror releases include The Lighthouse (2019), X (2022), Hereditary (2018), and Midsummer (2019). Blumhouse’s most well-known movies include Paranormal Activity (2007), The Purge franchise which began in 2013, Unfriended (2014), and the Halloween trilogy which began in 2018. Blumhouse also has some gems like Ma (2019) which haven’t gotten enough attention but definitely deserve to be seen by everyone. A film like Truth Or Dare (2018) might be a disappointing Blumhouse movie but fans can count on the company for fun, creative, compelling stories that are sure to get attention. At the same time, fans of A24’s films love that the company isn’t afraid to tell artistic and interesting stories with dark themes.
It’s tough to answer if A24 or Blumhouse has better content because at the end of the day, it really depends on what horror fans are looking for. It could be argued that Blumhouse has one major release that is elevated horror: the super successful and impressive 2017 film Get Out. Fans can’t wait to see Jordan Peele’s Nope which is sure to raise big and important questions as well. It could also be argued that A24 has a movie coming out in August 2022 that could be put in the fun category and could also be a movie that Blumhouse would make: Bodies Bodies Bodies†Directed by Halina Reijn, A24’s Bodies Bodies Bodies stars Amandla Stenberg and Pete Davidson and tells the scary story of friends playing a game during a party. Both Nope and Bodies Bodies Bodies are sure to get lots of people talking this summer and the films have an equal amount of buzz and excitement surrounding them.
The ultimate showdown might be between two films that are widely considered to be the best horror movies of the past few years: Get Out and Hereditary. It could be argued that these movies are completely equal in terms of performances, storytelling, shocks, scares, and social/political/religious commentary. Both films make people think, talk to each other, and consider big questions that don’t have simple answers. Get Out is a Blumhouse production and A24 put out Hereditaryand horror fans appreciate the artistry behind both films. It’s fair to say that each movie has inspired other filmmakers and changed the horror movie game and everyone is watching to see what the talented and impressive Ari Aster and Jordan Peele work on next.
When it comes to 2022 horror releases, fans are looking forward to Blumhouse’s 2022 horror movies, but A24 knocked it out of the park with Ti West’s Xwhich premiered at South by Southwest in March 2022. This movie is absolutely incredible, with solid performances, a stunning setting, twisty moments, and killers who are very different from slasher villains. Horror filmmakers can learn from X and it definitely seems like it will be hard to top this movie. It does what a contemporary horror movie should do as it’s a shocking and awe-inspiring story with big moments, twists that are logical, and some nods to classic flicks.
While Blumhouse does put out great movies that are in genres other than horror, A24 might win there, as their non-horror films include Spring Breakers (2012), Moonlight (2016), Eighth Grade (2018), and Lady Bird (2017). It’s definitely true that both A24 and Blumhouse are putting out incredibly well-made horror films and both companies deserve praise. When fans really think about it, though, people associate Blumhouse more with the horror genre, so in terms of word and mouth and buzz, they might win.
NEXT: 8 Best A24 Horror Movies You Should Watch
We want to say thanks to the author of this short article for this incredible web content
)
[summary] => There are two major players in the horror movie game: A24 and Blumhouse. John Hodges, David Fenkel and Daniel Katz founded A24 in 2012 and Jason Blum started his company in 2000. Both are famous and beloved for putting out well-done and discussion-worthy scary movies, and when fans see new releases that they look forward ... Read more
[atom_content] =>
There are two major players in the horror movie game: A24 and Blumhouse. John Hodges, David Fenkel and Daniel Katz founded A24 in 2012 and Jason Blum started his company in 2000. Both are famous and beloved for putting out well-done and discussion-worthy scary movies, and when fans see new releases that they look forward to checking out, the movie is likely an A24 or Blumhouse production.
When horror fans think about the quality of movies put out by each company, it’s definitely tough to say who puts out the best films as they are fairly comparable and equal. When fans compare A24 and Blumhouse, who would win?
GAMERANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
RELATED: 5 Great Blumhouse Movies That Aren’t Horror
When horror fans think about whether A24 or Blumhouse makes better movies, one big question comes up: do people prefer elevated horror or more mainstream, fun, and entertaining flicks? For the most part, it could be argued that A24 puts out films that are in the elevated horror category and Blumhouse makes popular horror movies. Both films are necessary and important, and neither type is better than the other. It’s all about what people are looking for and what they’re in the mood for.
Some of A24’s most famous and beloved horror releases include The Lighthouse (2019), X (2022), Hereditary (2018), and Midsummer (2019). Blumhouse’s most well-known movies include Paranormal Activity (2007), The Purge franchise which began in 2013, Unfriended (2014), and the Halloween trilogy which began in 2018. Blumhouse also has some gems like Ma (2019) which haven’t gotten enough attention but definitely deserve to be seen by everyone. A film like Truth Or Dare (2018) might be a disappointing Blumhouse movie but fans can count on the company for fun, creative, compelling stories that are sure to get attention. At the same time, fans of A24’s films love that the company isn’t afraid to tell artistic and interesting stories with dark themes.
It’s tough to answer if A24 or Blumhouse has better content because at the end of the day, it really depends on what horror fans are looking for. It could be argued that Blumhouse has one major release that is elevated horror: the super successful and impressive 2017 film Get Out. Fans can’t wait to see Jordan Peele’s Nope which is sure to raise big and important questions as well. It could also be argued that A24 has a movie coming out in August 2022 that could be put in the fun category and could also be a movie that Blumhouse would make: Bodies Bodies Bodies†Directed by Halina Reijn, A24’s Bodies Bodies Bodies stars Amandla Stenberg and Pete Davidson and tells the scary story of friends playing a game during a party. Both Nope and Bodies Bodies Bodies are sure to get lots of people talking this summer and the films have an equal amount of buzz and excitement surrounding them.
The ultimate showdown might be between two films that are widely considered to be the best horror movies of the past few years: Get Out and Hereditary. It could be argued that these movies are completely equal in terms of performances, storytelling, shocks, scares, and social/political/religious commentary. Both films make people think, talk to each other, and consider big questions that don’t have simple answers. Get Out is a Blumhouse production and A24 put out Hereditaryand horror fans appreciate the artistry behind both films. It’s fair to say that each movie has inspired other filmmakers and changed the horror movie game and everyone is watching to see what the talented and impressive Ari Aster and Jordan Peele work on next.
When it comes to 2022 horror releases, fans are looking forward to Blumhouse’s 2022 horror movies, but A24 knocked it out of the park with Ti West’s Xwhich premiered at South by Southwest in March 2022. This movie is absolutely incredible, with solid performances, a stunning setting, twisty moments, and killers who are very different from slasher villains. Horror filmmakers can learn from X and it definitely seems like it will be hard to top this movie. It does what a contemporary horror movie should do as it’s a shocking and awe-inspiring story with big moments, twists that are logical, and some nods to classic flicks.
While Blumhouse does put out great movies that are in genres other than horror, A24 might win there, as their non-horror films include Spring Breakers (2012), Moonlight (2016), Eighth Grade (2018), and Lady Bird (2017). It’s definitely true that both A24 and Blumhouse are putting out incredibly well-made horror films and both companies deserve praise. When fans really think about it, though, people associate Blumhouse more with the horror genre, so in terms of word and mouth and buzz, they might win.
NEXT: 8 Best A24 Horror Movies You Should Watch
We want to say thanks to the author of this short article for this incredible web content
[date_timestamp] => 1654317319
)
[6] => Array
(
[title] => 10 Best Surreal Movies, According To Ranker
[link] => https://movieshere.movs.world/scream-away/10-best-surreal-movies-according-to-ranker/
[dc] => Array
(
[creator] => Harry World
)
[pubdate] => Sat, 04 Jun 2022 03:13:06 +0000
[category] => Scream AwayMoviesRankerSurreal
[guid] => http://movieshere.movs.world/?p=123180
[description] => When it comes to the trippiest and most mind-scrambling movies of all time, it’s no surprise that some of the same filmmakers come up time and again. Whether it’s David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, David Cronenberg, Ari Aster, Charlie Kaufman, or others, the most surreal filmmakers can tap into the human subconscious in ways the audience ... Read more
[content] => Array
(
[encoded] =>
When it comes to the trippiest and most mind-scrambling movies of all time, it’s no surprise that some of the same filmmakers come up time and again. Whether it’s David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, David Cronenberg, Ari Aster, Charlie Kaufman, or others, the most surreal filmmakers can tap into the human subconscious in ways the audience is often unaware or ill-prepared for, inevitably leading to a profoundly unforgettable cinematic experience.
While horror movies often provide rife settings for surreal stories, the best examples aren’t always limited to the genre, especially in the eyes of online fansites such as Ranker.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
From the director of such surrealist tales as Brazil and Tidelandthe great Terry Gilliam one-upped himself with The Man Who Killed DonQuixotean adventurous dramedy that plays to the director’s strongest sensibilities. Adam Driver stars as Toby, a film director who goes on a series of trippy misadventures with a disillusioned cobbler named Javier (Jonathan Pryce) who believes he is Don Quixote.
RELATED: Top Rated Movies Directed By Terry Gilliam, According To IMDb
Despite the messy, chaotic story, the film was hailed for being daringly original, bearing Gilliam’s surrealist signature, and capturing the quixotic spirit of the original Cervantes novel that remains so celebrated. Gorgeous, uncompromising, and wonderfully strange, it’s good to see Gilliam return to his bizarre corner of the sandbox.
Anomalisa (2015)
Charlie Kaufman has made a career out of being one of the most original and offbeat cinematic voices who has created some of the weirdest art movies Hollywood has ever seen. While Being John Malkovich and Adaptation certainly count, Ranker favors his 2015 stop-motion dramedy He finishes instead.
Co-directed by Duke Johnson, He finishes follows Michael Stone (David Thewlis), a customer service agent who cannot make human connections. But when Michael meets Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) during a business trip, the joyless nihilist finds a ray of hope and begins to experience happiness. Bizarre, disorienting, and oddly uplifting, Kaufman’s popular and well-received movie manages to mix the jarring visuals with grounded human emotion, resulting in a surprisingly warm and welcoming way.
Meshes Of The Afternoon (1943)
Dreams are always rife for the most surreal stories committed to celluloid, with one of the earliest examples coming from experimental filmmaker Maya Deren. Co-directed with Alexander Hammid, Meshes of the Afternoon tracks The Woman (also played by Deren) who returns home, falls asleep, and experiences intense nightmares that blur the line between conscious and subconscious, waking life and sleep, in the most effective ways imaginable.
The head-spinning avant-garde film is unlike anything people have seen before or since, with the German expressionist use of light and shadow, canted angles, jarring music, and unnerving editing style all coalescing to create a truly terrifying dreamlike experience.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
Since his feature debut in 1977, no filmmaker has earned a reputation for being as surreal as David Lynch. Able to tap into the human subconscious in the most disturbing and thought-provoking ways, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk WithMe is the movie adaptation of his cult TV show Twin Peaks, essentially serving as a prequel to the mysterious Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) saga.
In depicting the final week of Laura Palmer’s life, Lynch manages to create one of the strangest, knottiest, most unpredictable, and nightmarish cinematic experiences on record. The twists and turns and easy-to-miss hidden details that the story entails have a cryptic dream logic that is hard to decipher, but it’s the oddball characters that make the movie so unforgettably hypnotic.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Often hailed as David Lynch’s finest film, moviegoing experiences do not get more surreal than Mulholland Drive. Dreams, nightmares, memories, and psychic amnesia are all blended into one noirish, mind-blowing tale of a woman named Betty (Naomi Watts) trying to make sense of her life following a devastating car crash in Los Angeles.
RELATED: David Lynch’s 10 Favorite Movies, Ranked (According To IMDb)
The cinematic puzzle piece is challenging narratively yet deeply rewarding for those who can crack the film’s encoded meaning. Few filmmakers know how to tap into the unventured corners of the human mind like Lynch while delivering consistent entertainment. Seductive, sexy, strange, and highly replayable, Mulholland Drive is as twisted as the road it’s named for.
Midsummer (2019)
In his second feature film, Ari Aster explored the lasting lore of Scandinavian folk horror in Midsummer. While not quite as scary as Hereditary, Midsummer is much more maddening in the way the viewers vicariously unravel spiritually and psychologically through the main characters as it progresses.
Plot-wise, the film finds a troubled American couple attempting to work out their problems at a sunny Swedish summer festival during vacation. The local customs and rituals turn increasingly bizarre and violently unsettling, making audiences squirm and writhe in their seats while also scratching their heads for answers to the overall meaning. Ambitious, creepy, and full of freaky Freudian imagery, Midsummer is a top-tier mind-scrambler.
Daisies (1966)
The only outright comedy to make the grade, Daisies is an obscure Czech movie from writer/director Vera Chytilova. The story tracks two women named Marie (Jitka Cerhova, Ivana Karanova) who begin robbing older men and using their money to have as much fun as humanly possible. The indulgence, debauchery, and mischief that ensue lead to a crazy and delirious curio of a conclusion.
The visual whirlwind of imagery was cutting edge for its time, its rare female perspective as refreshing as can be, and the unadulterated hedonism depicted is done in a way that plot and character seem irrelevant. All add up to a dazzling montage of remarkable surrealism every film fan should experience at least once.
Eraserhead (1977)
David Lynch shocked the world with his nightmarishly surreal feature debut Eraserheadan industrial black-and-white, avant-garde assault of the senses. It’s hard to overstate the importance and influence of the movie, not just among Lynch’s filmography but for an entire generation of filmmakers as well.
RELATED: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About David Lynch’s Surreal Masterpiece Eraserhead
The film centers on Henry Spencer (Jack Nance), a strange man living in an impoverished industrial wasteland. When his mutated child arrives, he tries to keep it alive while dealing with his angry girlfriend and her ultra-bizarre parents. As only Lynch can do, the film plumbs the darkest caverns and most remote recess of the human psyche to create a waking nightmare onscreen.
Naked Lunch (1991)
Like David Lynch, David Cronenberg has authored several wildly surreal cinematic experiences. Also known as the master of body horror, Cronenberg fused the two tenets in the perfect source material, adapting William S. Burroughs’ insanely surreal novel Naked Lunch to the big screen.
The hallucinatory story follows Bill Lee (Peter Weller), a bug exterminator who becomes addicted to the lethal substance he uses to extinguish creepy crawlers, leading to a kaleidoscopic array of visual projections he can’t quite get a grip on. A cult classic in every sense, Cronenberg’s highly-acclaimed Naked Lunch blends styles, tropes, periods, and more in ways bound to leave an irreparable dent in one’s brain.
House (1977)
Hopefully, everyone comes away willing to seek out Housethe best surreal movie of all time, according to Ranker. The highly amusing and mind-boggling Japanese horror-comedy goes places that need to be seen to be believed, taunting and tickling every psychological node in the human brain.
Directed with great vim and vigor by Nobuhiko Obayashi, the story finds seven schoolgirls convening in one of their aunt’s haunted ancestral abodes, where the most unbelievably bizarre, mind-bending, and illogically nightmarish supernatural phenomena take place. The explosion of color is one thing, being eaten alive by an animated piano is quite another, and that may be the tamest scene in the movie.
NEXT: 10 Great Japanese Horror Films On The Criterion Channel
Watch Jared Leto Joke About Morbin’ Time Meme With Fake Morbius 2 Script
We would love to give thanks to the writer of this short article for this incredible material
)
[summary] => When it comes to the trippiest and most mind-scrambling movies of all time, it’s no surprise that some of the same filmmakers come up time and again. Whether it’s David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, David Cronenberg, Ari Aster, Charlie Kaufman, or others, the most surreal filmmakers can tap into the human subconscious in ways the audience ... Read more
[atom_content] =>
When it comes to the trippiest and most mind-scrambling movies of all time, it’s no surprise that some of the same filmmakers come up time and again. Whether it’s David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, David Cronenberg, Ari Aster, Charlie Kaufman, or others, the most surreal filmmakers can tap into the human subconscious in ways the audience is often unaware or ill-prepared for, inevitably leading to a profoundly unforgettable cinematic experience.
While horror movies often provide rife settings for surreal stories, the best examples aren’t always limited to the genre, especially in the eyes of online fansites such as Ranker.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
From the director of such surrealist tales as Brazil and Tidelandthe great Terry Gilliam one-upped himself with The Man Who Killed DonQuixotean adventurous dramedy that plays to the director’s strongest sensibilities. Adam Driver stars as Toby, a film director who goes on a series of trippy misadventures with a disillusioned cobbler named Javier (Jonathan Pryce) who believes he is Don Quixote.
RELATED: Top Rated Movies Directed By Terry Gilliam, According To IMDb
Despite the messy, chaotic story, the film was hailed for being daringly original, bearing Gilliam’s surrealist signature, and capturing the quixotic spirit of the original Cervantes novel that remains so celebrated. Gorgeous, uncompromising, and wonderfully strange, it’s good to see Gilliam return to his bizarre corner of the sandbox.
Anomalisa (2015)
Charlie Kaufman has made a career out of being one of the most original and offbeat cinematic voices who has created some of the weirdest art movies Hollywood has ever seen. While Being John Malkovich and Adaptation certainly count, Ranker favors his 2015 stop-motion dramedy He finishes instead.
Co-directed by Duke Johnson, He finishes follows Michael Stone (David Thewlis), a customer service agent who cannot make human connections. But when Michael meets Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh) during a business trip, the joyless nihilist finds a ray of hope and begins to experience happiness. Bizarre, disorienting, and oddly uplifting, Kaufman’s popular and well-received movie manages to mix the jarring visuals with grounded human emotion, resulting in a surprisingly warm and welcoming way.
Meshes Of The Afternoon (1943)
Dreams are always rife for the most surreal stories committed to celluloid, with one of the earliest examples coming from experimental filmmaker Maya Deren. Co-directed with Alexander Hammid, Meshes of the Afternoon tracks The Woman (also played by Deren) who returns home, falls asleep, and experiences intense nightmares that blur the line between conscious and subconscious, waking life and sleep, in the most effective ways imaginable.
The head-spinning avant-garde film is unlike anything people have seen before or since, with the German expressionist use of light and shadow, canted angles, jarring music, and unnerving editing style all coalescing to create a truly terrifying dreamlike experience.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
Since his feature debut in 1977, no filmmaker has earned a reputation for being as surreal as David Lynch. Able to tap into the human subconscious in the most disturbing and thought-provoking ways, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk WithMe is the movie adaptation of his cult TV show Twin Peaks, essentially serving as a prequel to the mysterious Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) saga.
In depicting the final week of Laura Palmer’s life, Lynch manages to create one of the strangest, knottiest, most unpredictable, and nightmarish cinematic experiences on record. The twists and turns and easy-to-miss hidden details that the story entails have a cryptic dream logic that is hard to decipher, but it’s the oddball characters that make the movie so unforgettably hypnotic.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Often hailed as David Lynch’s finest film, moviegoing experiences do not get more surreal than Mulholland Drive. Dreams, nightmares, memories, and psychic amnesia are all blended into one noirish, mind-blowing tale of a woman named Betty (Naomi Watts) trying to make sense of her life following a devastating car crash in Los Angeles.
RELATED: David Lynch’s 10 Favorite Movies, Ranked (According To IMDb)
The cinematic puzzle piece is challenging narratively yet deeply rewarding for those who can crack the film’s encoded meaning. Few filmmakers know how to tap into the unventured corners of the human mind like Lynch while delivering consistent entertainment. Seductive, sexy, strange, and highly replayable, Mulholland Drive is as twisted as the road it’s named for.
Midsummer (2019)
In his second feature film, Ari Aster explored the lasting lore of Scandinavian folk horror in Midsummer. While not quite as scary as Hereditary, Midsummer is much more maddening in the way the viewers vicariously unravel spiritually and psychologically through the main characters as it progresses.
Plot-wise, the film finds a troubled American couple attempting to work out their problems at a sunny Swedish summer festival during vacation. The local customs and rituals turn increasingly bizarre and violently unsettling, making audiences squirm and writhe in their seats while also scratching their heads for answers to the overall meaning. Ambitious, creepy, and full of freaky Freudian imagery, Midsummer is a top-tier mind-scrambler.
Daisies (1966)
The only outright comedy to make the grade, Daisies is an obscure Czech movie from writer/director Vera Chytilova. The story tracks two women named Marie (Jitka Cerhova, Ivana Karanova) who begin robbing older men and using their money to have as much fun as humanly possible. The indulgence, debauchery, and mischief that ensue lead to a crazy and delirious curio of a conclusion.
The visual whirlwind of imagery was cutting edge for its time, its rare female perspective as refreshing as can be, and the unadulterated hedonism depicted is done in a way that plot and character seem irrelevant. All add up to a dazzling montage of remarkable surrealism every film fan should experience at least once.
Eraserhead (1977)
David Lynch shocked the world with his nightmarishly surreal feature debut Eraserheadan industrial black-and-white, avant-garde assault of the senses. It’s hard to overstate the importance and influence of the movie, not just among Lynch’s filmography but for an entire generation of filmmakers as well.
RELATED: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About David Lynch’s Surreal Masterpiece Eraserhead
The film centers on Henry Spencer (Jack Nance), a strange man living in an impoverished industrial wasteland. When his mutated child arrives, he tries to keep it alive while dealing with his angry girlfriend and her ultra-bizarre parents. As only Lynch can do, the film plumbs the darkest caverns and most remote recess of the human psyche to create a waking nightmare onscreen.
Naked Lunch (1991)
Like David Lynch, David Cronenberg has authored several wildly surreal cinematic experiences. Also known as the master of body horror, Cronenberg fused the two tenets in the perfect source material, adapting William S. Burroughs’ insanely surreal novel Naked Lunch to the big screen.
The hallucinatory story follows Bill Lee (Peter Weller), a bug exterminator who becomes addicted to the lethal substance he uses to extinguish creepy crawlers, leading to a kaleidoscopic array of visual projections he can’t quite get a grip on. A cult classic in every sense, Cronenberg’s highly-acclaimed Naked Lunch blends styles, tropes, periods, and more in ways bound to leave an irreparable dent in one’s brain.
House (1977)
Hopefully, everyone comes away willing to seek out Housethe best surreal movie of all time, according to Ranker. The highly amusing and mind-boggling Japanese horror-comedy goes places that need to be seen to be believed, taunting and tickling every psychological node in the human brain.
Directed with great vim and vigor by Nobuhiko Obayashi, the story finds seven schoolgirls convening in one of their aunt’s haunted ancestral abodes, where the most unbelievably bizarre, mind-bending, and illogically nightmarish supernatural phenomena take place. The explosion of color is one thing, being eaten alive by an animated piano is quite another, and that may be the tamest scene in the movie.
NEXT: 10 Great Japanese Horror Films On The Criterion Channel
Watch Jared Leto Joke About Morbin’ Time Meme With Fake Morbius 2 Script
We would love to give thanks to the writer of this short article for this incredible material
[date_timestamp] => 1654312386
)
[7] => Array
(
[title] => How the Insidious Movies Targeted a Different Type of Fear for Audiences
[link] => https://movieshere.movs.world/scream-away/how-the-insidious-movies-targeted-a-different-type-of-fear-for-audiences/
[dc] => Array
(
[creator] => Harry World
)
[pubdate] => Sat, 04 Jun 2022 01:50:22 +0000
[category] => Scream AwayAudiencesFearInsidiousMoviestargetedType
[guid] => https://movieshere.movs.world/?p=123131
[description] => When considering the success of the Insidious franchise, it’s important to spotlight what exactly made these films different yet equally terrifying. The 2010 supernatural horror film Insidious was directed by James Wan and had a wonderful cast, including Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne. Over a decade after its initial release, Insidious is now streaming on ... Read more
[content] => Array
(
[encoded] =>
When considering the success of the Insidious franchise, it’s important to spotlight what exactly made these films different yet equally terrifying.
The 2010 supernatural horror film Insidious was directed by James Wan and had a wonderful cast, including Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne. Over a decade after its initial release, Insidious is now streaming on HBO Max and serves as a staple for the resurgence of horror movies in the 2010s. Wan only directed the first two films of the franchise, which went together quite well before the series was taken over by Whannell for the third and fourth movies.
What differentiated Insidious from its competitors, including Wan’s other works, such as Saw and The Conjuringwas the fact that the true fear came from the concept of dream walking rather than relying on physical violence, CGI or jump scares. Horror movies often use these tactics to trigger fear responses in their viewers, but Wan wrote on Facebook that he wanted to “shake the torture-porn label” he had acquired from creating Saw in 2004. Many people can probably agree that he accomplished this and used the premise of dream walking as his ultimate scare factor in Insidious.
RELATED: Morbius Demanded a Horror Director – and James Wan Would Have Been Perfect
Eventually, more CGI was added to the later films in the Insidious franchise as scary imagery became more of a selling point for the movies, but the original two movies in the series relied heavily on their ominous tone. Nightmare on Elm Street created an entire successful franchise based on the concept of a spirit that followed people into their dreams, and Insidious hit this mark without relying on a scissor-handed creature (sorry Freddy Krueger) or physical violence. The scares for Insidious were focused more on the idea of children traveling to another world in their dreams and being confronted with spirits that wanted to invade their bodies and walk among the living.
The dream walking aspect in Insidious could also easily represent a generational wound that gets passed down from father to son. Josh (Wilson) doesn’t remember having the ability to travel to “The Further” when he was a child, so he had no way of preparing his son to experience the same terror. This concept adds to the fear as many people could probably relate to the idea of suffering from certain conditions their family had forgotten runs in their lineage. The son Dalton could possibly never wake up from his comatose state, and the fault would be on the father’s side for not taking the initial threat from his childhood seriously.
RELATED: Sam Raimi Horror Movies to Watch After Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
For those who have seen the original Insidiousthe ending does reveal that Josh ultimately becomes possessed by the evil woman who had been harassing him and their son throughout the film. The ending was a perfect way to close out the first movie, as it gave viewers something to look forward to in the next installment, which involved saving Josh from “The Further.” In Insidious: Chapter 2the movie starts with Josh and Renai (Byrne) contacting the demonologist that helped them previously to confront the continued haunting their family had experienced in the film.
Elise’s (the demonologist) suggestion for how to confront this spirit once again was to force Josh to forget his astral projection ability, repeating the cycle that had put them in danger in the first place. This aspect infers to the audience that forgetting traumatic events doesn’t protect the survivors. When considering the concept of having an uncontrollable condition that causes instability and constant threat to an individual can produce true fear. Focusing on that element for the film truly differentiated Insidious from other horror films at the time since its premise targeted that specific fear of possession and haunting within the dream world.
We wish to give thanks to the writer of this article for this awesome web content
)
[summary] => When considering the success of the Insidious franchise, it’s important to spotlight what exactly made these films different yet equally terrifying. The 2010 supernatural horror film Insidious was directed by James Wan and had a wonderful cast, including Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne. Over a decade after its initial release, Insidious is now streaming on ... Read more
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When considering the success of the Insidious franchise, it’s important to spotlight what exactly made these films different yet equally terrifying.
The 2010 supernatural horror film Insidious was directed by James Wan and had a wonderful cast, including Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne. Over a decade after its initial release, Insidious is now streaming on HBO Max and serves as a staple for the resurgence of horror movies in the 2010s. Wan only directed the first two films of the franchise, which went together quite well before the series was taken over by Whannell for the third and fourth movies.
What differentiated Insidious from its competitors, including Wan’s other works, such as Saw and The Conjuringwas the fact that the true fear came from the concept of dream walking rather than relying on physical violence, CGI or jump scares. Horror movies often use these tactics to trigger fear responses in their viewers, but Wan wrote on Facebook that he wanted to “shake the torture-porn label” he had acquired from creating Saw in 2004. Many people can probably agree that he accomplished this and used the premise of dream walking as his ultimate scare factor in Insidious.
RELATED: Morbius Demanded a Horror Director – and James Wan Would Have Been Perfect
Eventually, more CGI was added to the later films in the Insidious franchise as scary imagery became more of a selling point for the movies, but the original two movies in the series relied heavily on their ominous tone. Nightmare on Elm Street created an entire successful franchise based on the concept of a spirit that followed people into their dreams, and Insidious hit this mark without relying on a scissor-handed creature (sorry Freddy Krueger) or physical violence. The scares for Insidious were focused more on the idea of children traveling to another world in their dreams and being confronted with spirits that wanted to invade their bodies and walk among the living.
The dream walking aspect in Insidious could also easily represent a generational wound that gets passed down from father to son. Josh (Wilson) doesn’t remember having the ability to travel to “The Further” when he was a child, so he had no way of preparing his son to experience the same terror. This concept adds to the fear as many people could probably relate to the idea of suffering from certain conditions their family had forgotten runs in their lineage. The son Dalton could possibly never wake up from his comatose state, and the fault would be on the father’s side for not taking the initial threat from his childhood seriously.
RELATED: Sam Raimi Horror Movies to Watch After Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
For those who have seen the original Insidiousthe ending does reveal that Josh ultimately becomes possessed by the evil woman who had been harassing him and their son throughout the film. The ending was a perfect way to close out the first movie, as it gave viewers something to look forward to in the next installment, which involved saving Josh from “The Further.” In Insidious: Chapter 2the movie starts with Josh and Renai (Byrne) contacting the demonologist that helped them previously to confront the continued haunting their family had experienced in the film.
Elise’s (the demonologist) suggestion for how to confront this spirit once again was to force Josh to forget his astral projection ability, repeating the cycle that had put them in danger in the first place. This aspect infers to the audience that forgetting traumatic events doesn’t protect the survivors. When considering the concept of having an uncontrollable condition that causes instability and constant threat to an individual can produce true fear. Focusing on that element for the film truly differentiated Insidious from other horror films at the time since its premise targeted that specific fear of possession and haunting within the dream world.
We wish to give thanks to the writer of this article for this awesome web content
[date_timestamp] => 1654307422
)
[8] => Array
(
[title] => Friday the 13th and Other Films & TV Shows on Disney+ & Paramount+ This Weekend
[link] => https://movieshere.movs.world/scream-away/friday-the-13th-and-other-films-tv-shows-on-disney-paramount-this-weekend/
[dc] => Array
(
[creator] => Harry World
)
[pubdate] => Sat, 04 Jun 2022 00:28:26 +0000
[category] => Scream Away13thDisneyfilmsFridayParamountWeekend
[guid] => https://movieshere.movs.world/?p=123120
[description] => It’s the start of the month, and that means streaming platforms like Paramount+ and Disney+ have released a ton of new content just in time for the summer. Whether it’s too hot to be outside or a break from outdoor activities is necessary, these five movies and shows will leave any summertime viewer satisfied. Friday ... Read more
[content] => Array
(
[encoded] =>
It’s the start of the month, and that means streaming platforms like Paramount+ and Disney+ have released a ton of new content just in time for the summer. Whether it’s too hot to be outside or a break from outdoor activities is necessary, these five movies and shows will leave any summertime viewer satisfied.
Friday the 13th Brings Halloween Haunts to Summer
The ’80s was notorious for an influx of horror movies that would go on to become cult classics, and Friday the 13th is perhaps the most well-known slasher flick of all time. And for those in the mood for a taste of Halloween, Paramount+ is now streaming this iconic scary movie.
RELATED: Best Horror Films to Watch on Shudder in June 2022
For teens trying to enjoy the summer at Camp Crystal Lake, hockey-masked serial killers are the furthest thing from their minds, though locals warn of a malicious presence in the surrounding woods. It’s all fun and games until an encounter with Jason Voorhees brings the realization that this summer camp is far from a relaxing getaway. Starring Adrienne King and Kevin Bacon, Friday the 13th is hailed as a near-perfect scary movie.
Harold and Maude Is a Lost Gem From the ’70s
From criminally underrated director Hal Ashby, Harold and Maude was considered incredibly controversial at the time of its release in 1971. However, in the years since, it has gained notoriety from both audiences and critics alike. Now, it’s available on Paramount+ for those seeking an artistic window into what it means to love life.
RELATED: How Bedknobs and Broomsticks Ties to Mary Poppins’ Magical Influence
Starring acting legends Bud Court and Ruth Gordon as Harold and Maude, this film follows a young man obsessed with staging fake suicides in order to get the attention of his emotionally distant mother and grow his fascination with an eccentric old woman who keeps popping up in his life. Exploring themes of depression, learning to love again and overcoming mental obstacles, Harold and Maude is a prime example of what made cinema in the ’70s so renowned.
Wildboyz Expands on the Jackass Franchise
Casual fans of the Jackass series may not be familiar with the spinoff series Wildboyzbut diehard fanatics know what a hilarious and surprisingly educational show Wildboyz proved to be. Following Jackass alumni Steve-O and Chris Pontius as they travel around the world, Wildboyz had a successful four-season run on MTV, with all seasons now available to stream on Paramount+. For those interested in watching two daredevils interact with a variety of wild animals and learn about other cultures, this series is the perfect weekend watch.
Hollywood Stargirl Is a Highly Anticipated Sequel
Fans of competitive talent shows such as America’s Got Talent may remember Grace Vanderwaal, the child singer that took the world by storm after performing her original song on one of the biggest stages in the world. Since then, Vanderwaal has broken into the acting arena, starring in the original Stargirl movie and returning for the sequel Hollywood Stargirl.
Stargirl received praise for its poignant themes of first love and self-expression, and the sequel looks to expand on those themes even further. When Stargirl and her mother relocate to Los Angeles to break into the film industry, Stargirl unintentionally begins changing the town for the better. A lighthearted celebration of individuality, Hollywood Stargirl ponders what Hollywood could be like if it truly respected talent, good intentions and kindhearted people.
Glee Provides the Perfect Binge Watch
When Glee first sprang onscreen in 2009, it got hailed for its diversity, inclusive message and high-level performances. In the years since, however, controversy both on and off-screen has tarnished the original reception of the show. Despite that, the series remains as entertaining as when it originally aired.
Centered appropriately on the misfits of William McKinley High School’s Glee club, Glee brings drama, discussions on important topics and plenty of musical numbers to audiences. Starring Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester, the Glee club’s faculty advisor, and Lea Michele as protagonist Rachel Berry, the series remains a solid binge-watch.
We want to thank the author of this write-up for this remarkable material
)
[summary] => It’s the start of the month, and that means streaming platforms like Paramount+ and Disney+ have released a ton of new content just in time for the summer. Whether it’s too hot to be outside or a break from outdoor activities is necessary, these five movies and shows will leave any summertime viewer satisfied. Friday ... Read more
[atom_content] =>
It’s the start of the month, and that means streaming platforms like Paramount+ and Disney+ have released a ton of new content just in time for the summer. Whether it’s too hot to be outside or a break from outdoor activities is necessary, these five movies and shows will leave any summertime viewer satisfied.
Friday the 13th Brings Halloween Haunts to Summer
The ’80s was notorious for an influx of horror movies that would go on to become cult classics, and Friday the 13th is perhaps the most well-known slasher flick of all time. And for those in the mood for a taste of Halloween, Paramount+ is now streaming this iconic scary movie.
RELATED: Best Horror Films to Watch on Shudder in June 2022
For teens trying to enjoy the summer at Camp Crystal Lake, hockey-masked serial killers are the furthest thing from their minds, though locals warn of a malicious presence in the surrounding woods. It’s all fun and games until an encounter with Jason Voorhees brings the realization that this summer camp is far from a relaxing getaway. Starring Adrienne King and Kevin Bacon, Friday the 13th is hailed as a near-perfect scary movie.
Harold and Maude Is a Lost Gem From the ’70s
From criminally underrated director Hal Ashby, Harold and Maude was considered incredibly controversial at the time of its release in 1971. However, in the years since, it has gained notoriety from both audiences and critics alike. Now, it’s available on Paramount+ for those seeking an artistic window into what it means to love life.
RELATED: How Bedknobs and Broomsticks Ties to Mary Poppins’ Magical Influence
Starring acting legends Bud Court and Ruth Gordon as Harold and Maude, this film follows a young man obsessed with staging fake suicides in order to get the attention of his emotionally distant mother and grow his fascination with an eccentric old woman who keeps popping up in his life. Exploring themes of depression, learning to love again and overcoming mental obstacles, Harold and Maude is a prime example of what made cinema in the ’70s so renowned.
Wildboyz Expands on the Jackass Franchise
Casual fans of the Jackass series may not be familiar with the spinoff series Wildboyzbut diehard fanatics know what a hilarious and surprisingly educational show Wildboyz proved to be. Following Jackass alumni Steve-O and Chris Pontius as they travel around the world, Wildboyz had a successful four-season run on MTV, with all seasons now available to stream on Paramount+. For those interested in watching two daredevils interact with a variety of wild animals and learn about other cultures, this series is the perfect weekend watch.
Hollywood Stargirl Is a Highly Anticipated Sequel
Fans of competitive talent shows such as America’s Got Talent may remember Grace Vanderwaal, the child singer that took the world by storm after performing her original song on one of the biggest stages in the world. Since then, Vanderwaal has broken into the acting arena, starring in the original Stargirl movie and returning for the sequel Hollywood Stargirl.
Stargirl received praise for its poignant themes of first love and self-expression, and the sequel looks to expand on those themes even further. When Stargirl and her mother relocate to Los Angeles to break into the film industry, Stargirl unintentionally begins changing the town for the better. A lighthearted celebration of individuality, Hollywood Stargirl ponders what Hollywood could be like if it truly respected talent, good intentions and kindhearted people.
Glee Provides the Perfect Binge Watch
When Glee first sprang onscreen in 2009, it got hailed for its diversity, inclusive message and high-level performances. In the years since, however, controversy both on and off-screen has tarnished the original reception of the show. Despite that, the series remains as entertaining as when it originally aired.
Centered appropriately on the misfits of William McKinley High School’s Glee club, Glee brings drama, discussions on important topics and plenty of musical numbers to audiences. Starring Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester, the Glee club’s faculty advisor, and Lea Michele as protagonist Rachel Berry, the series remains a solid binge-watch.
We want to thank the author of this write-up for this remarkable material
[date_timestamp] => 1654302506
)
[9] => Array
(
[title] => David Cronenberg’s Dreams and Nightmares
[link] => https://movieshere.movs.world/scream-away/david-cronenbergs-dreams-and-nightmares/
[dc] => Array
(
[creator] => Harry World
)
[pubdate] => Fri, 03 Jun 2022 23:06:22 +0000
[category] => Scream AwayCronenbergsDavidDreamsNightmares
[guid] => https://movieshere.movs.world/?p=123001
[description] => David Cronenberg’s breakout film, “Shivers,” was both a success story and a scourge for the Canadian film industry. Released in 1975, it told the tale of a parasite that spreads through a Montreal high-rise, turning residents into sex-crazed zombies. The movie cost a hundred and eighty thousand dollars and brought in some five million, making ... Read more
[content] => Array
(
[encoded] =>
David Cronenberg’s breakout film, “Shivers,” was both a success story and a scourge for the Canadian film industry. Released in 1975, it told the tale of a parasite that spreads through a Montreal high-rise, turning residents into sex-crazed zombies. The movie cost a hundred and eighty thousand dollars and brought in some five million, making it the highest-grossing film Canada had ever put out. Alas, it was not to everyone’s taste. Cronenberg gave his outrageous sci-fi premise a queasy sociological casing and played ruthlessly with horror-movie conventions, as in a bloody bathing scene à la “Psycho”—but with the deadly threat slithering up from the drain. The result was a parable of sexual revolution that split the difference between art and trash. In the U.S., the film was threatened with an X rating until Cronenberg agreed to remove a scene of a character hungrily stuffing bugs into his mouth. In Canada, Parliament debated whether its program of government-subsidized filmmaking had taken the cause of creative expression too far. Writing in the cultural journal Saturday Night, the novelist Robert Fulford excoriated Cronenberg as an opportunist gaming the system in a piece titled “You Should Know How Bad This Film Is. After All, You Paid for It.”
It’s one thing to get a bad review; it’s another to be accused of creating the “most perverse, disgusting and repulsive” film that a critic had ever seen. Cronenberg’s elderly landlady at the time read Fulford’s piece and apparently took literally his claim that her tenant made “sadistic pornography.” At the age of thirty-three, with a wife and young daughter, Cronenberg was suddenly evicted from his flat. A few weeks later, he recounted the ordeal in an editorial in the Globe and Mail, describing the “despicable hysteria” of Fulford’s article as an “attempt to take away both my livelihood and the expression of my dreams and nightmares.” He also revealed that, after he was evicted and had relocated to a house across the street, a city inspector arrived at his door to search the premises for evidence of filmmaking equipment in a residential setting, supposedly a zoning no-no. Cronenberg welcomed the man to come in and look around as much as he liked. “I felt confident and secure,” Cronenberg wrote. “This man would find nothing. He did not know what to look for.”
In the nearly half century since “Shivers,” through nineteen more feature films, Cronenberg has remained obsessed with bringing his nightmarish visions to life. He is fascinated by the flexibility and ferocity of the human organism, the myriad ways in which the body and its desires can betray us. He has explored those subjects using a clinical style punctuated by bursts of imaginative savagery, often achieved with stomach-turning, lo-fi special effects. His Ĺ“uvre encompasses a gun made of gristle that fires teeth (“eXistenZ”); a typewriter with an anus (“Naked Lunch”); weaponized armpits (“Rabid”); a chest cavity reconfigured as a VCR (“Videodrome”); and, in “The Fly,” perhaps his best-known film, a human-insect mutant played by Jeff Goldblum. Many of his films have been met with revulsion or at least aggrieved ambivalence. Roger Ebert called “Dead Ringers”—about sibling gynecologists whose sinister intimacy dissolves in a haze of drug abuse, narcissicism, and sexual jealousy—the kind of movie “where you ask people how they liked it, and they say, â€Well, it was well made,’ and then they wince.” When Cronenberg first competed at Cannes, in 1996, the jury was so flummoxed by the neurasthenic depravity of “Crash,” his adaptation of J. G. Ballard’s novel about car-wreck fetishists, that they jerry-rigged a special citation for “audacity.” Upon the film’s release in England, the country’s national-heritage secretary urged theatre owners not to show it. Cronenberg, in turn, has maintained a cool contempt for officious pundits and their agendas. He once joked to an interviewer, of his 1981 film “Scanners,” “I was exploding heads just like any other young, normal North American boy.” Like any North American boy, he achieved the infamous scene in question using a plaster cast stuffed with bits of leftover hamburger.
David Foster Wallace once wrote that “Quentin Tarantino is interested in watching someone’s ear getting cut off; David Lynch is interested in the ear.” Cronenberg (whose sensibility, like Lynch’s, is unmistakable enough to function as an adjective) has supplied his new film, “Crimes of the Future,” with a character who has ears growing all over his body and his eyes sewn shut. The warped extremity of Cronenbergian body horror has kept him at a distance from the mainstream, but it’s also earned him a respect and influence that few other cult directors can claim. His work has been the subject of film-studies courses, Ph.D. dissertations, and critical anthologies, driving up the intellectual value of genre cinema without ever gentrifying it. His peerless series of gross-out mindfucks and philosophical schlockfests have shaped art-making in the movies and beyond, from the corporeal jolts of Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” to the experimental pop of Charli XCX, who named a recent album “Crash.” Jordan Peele, an ascendant master of art-house scary movies, told the Wall Street Journal, in 2020, that watching “The Fly” taught him “the power of horror.” The veteran film critic J. Hoberman has called Cronenberg “the most provocative and consistently original North American director of his generation.”
“Crimes of the Future,” Cronenberg’s first feature in eight years, marks something of a return to form. (It premièred at Cannes on May 23rd and is in theatres on Friday.) In the twenty-first century thus far, Cronenberg has made a string of relatively refined films, including literary adaptations such as Don DeLillo’s Wall Street odyssey “Cosmopolis” and the when-Freud-met-Jung period piece “A Dangerous Method.” He also wrote a novel, 2014’s globe-trotting thriller “Consumed,” which garnered respectful reviews from the likes of Jonathan Lethem, who praised the “sculptural intensity” of its details. “Crimes of the Future,” by comparison, is old-school Cronenberg body horror. It bears the same name as one of his earliest films, from the seventies, an experimental feature centered on a melancholy dermatologist navigating a world wiped of fertile women. The new “Crimes of the Future” echoes the original as a dystopic tale of human devolution, though, in a recent interview, Cronenberg claimed that the recycled title didn’t signal any particular connection between the two. “They both are accurately called â€Crimes of the Future,’ ” he said. “So why not do it?”
“People will say, â€Oh, he’s back to body horror; he’s doing the same stuff he always did,’ ” Cronenberg, who is seventy-nine, told me recently. “But it’s never changed for me. My interest in the body is because, for me, it’s an inexhaustible subject—and of the essence of understanding the human condition. You will forgive me if I repeat myself. It’s just that these things are still true.” Before its première at Cannes, rumors circulated that “Crimes” 2.0 might cause viewers to suffer fainting spells or panic attacks. As it turned out, the Cannes première prompted only a few walkouts and received a standing ovation. Cronenberg, who dressed for the red carpet in white wraparound mountaineering glasses, told the audience, “I hope you’re not kidding.”
Since the late nineties, Cronenberg has lived in a three-story family home in the prosperous Toronto neighborhood of Forest Hill. One afternoon in April, I visited him at the house, which is shielded from the street by several trees. Martin Scorsese once wrote that he’d been nervous to meet Cronenberg, given the nature of his films, and then was surprised to discover that he looked like “a gynecologist from Beverly Hills.” Slight and spry, Cronenberg greeted me at the door, wearing a sweatshirt in a pale-blue shade similar to the color of his eyes. His silver-white hair, as always, was upswept neatly from ear to ear, and his manner was as even and pleasant as his appearance. The pianist Glenn Gould, another Torontonian, observed that the city offered its inhabitants peace of mind because it “does not impose its â€cityness’ upon you.” Cronenberg, in that sense, was made in the image of his home town.
Cronenberg has lived alone since the death of his second wife, Carolyn, a filmmaker, five years ago, but he maintains close relationships with his three children—a daughter and son with Carolyn, and a daughter from his first marriage, to Margaret Hindson—all of whom live nearby. He gently dismissed my suggestion that we take a stroll through the neighborhood’s bustling, patio-lined strip of coffee shops and restaurants, though not for fear of being recognized. “I’m common as dirt around here,” he said, leading me past rows of family photos and a dark-brown Braunschweig piano passed down from Carolyn’s mother, before ducking into the kitchen to prepare us espressos. We sat down in the dining room, which is decorated with an enormous photorealistic portrait of Cronenberg’s face woven from threads by the Argentinian art collective Mondongo. “Viggo commissioned them secretly and gave it to me as a gift,” Cronenberg told me. “It’s pretty good. It’s me being God.” Nearly a decade ago, Cronenberg donated a trove of personal mementos and props to the Toronto International Film Festival, including the fleshy bio-ports from “eXistenZ” and the steel surgical tools from “Dead Ringers.” The only movie ephemera I spotted in his home was a miniature version of Brundlefly, from “The Fly,” which sat on a shelf near a cluster of bulbous vintage Genie Awards—Canada’s equivalent to Oscars statuettes—one of which was put to use as a murder weapon in Cronenberg’s scabrous 2014 showbiz satire “Maps to the Stars.”
)
[summary] => David Cronenberg’s breakout film, “Shivers,” was both a success story and a scourge for the Canadian film industry. Released in 1975, it told the tale of a parasite that spreads through a Montreal high-rise, turning residents into sex-crazed zombies. The movie cost a hundred and eighty thousand dollars and brought in some five million, making ... Read more
[atom_content] =>
David Cronenberg’s breakout film, “Shivers,” was both a success story and a scourge for the Canadian film industry. Released in 1975, it told the tale of a parasite that spreads through a Montreal high-rise, turning residents into sex-crazed zombies. The movie cost a hundred and eighty thousand dollars and brought in some five million, making it the highest-grossing film Canada had ever put out. Alas, it was not to everyone’s taste. Cronenberg gave his outrageous sci-fi premise a queasy sociological casing and played ruthlessly with horror-movie conventions, as in a bloody bathing scene à la “Psycho”—but with the deadly threat slithering up from the drain. The result was a parable of sexual revolution that split the difference between art and trash. In the U.S., the film was threatened with an X rating until Cronenberg agreed to remove a scene of a character hungrily stuffing bugs into his mouth. In Canada, Parliament debated whether its program of government-subsidized filmmaking had taken the cause of creative expression too far. Writing in the cultural journal Saturday Night, the novelist Robert Fulford excoriated Cronenberg as an opportunist gaming the system in a piece titled “You Should Know How Bad This Film Is. After All, You Paid for It.”
It’s one thing to get a bad review; it’s another to be accused of creating the “most perverse, disgusting and repulsive” film that a critic had ever seen. Cronenberg’s elderly landlady at the time read Fulford’s piece and apparently took literally his claim that her tenant made “sadistic pornography.” At the age of thirty-three, with a wife and young daughter, Cronenberg was suddenly evicted from his flat. A few weeks later, he recounted the ordeal in an editorial in the Globe and Mail, describing the “despicable hysteria” of Fulford’s article as an “attempt to take away both my livelihood and the expression of my dreams and nightmares.” He also revealed that, after he was evicted and had relocated to a house across the street, a city inspector arrived at his door to search the premises for evidence of filmmaking equipment in a residential setting, supposedly a zoning no-no. Cronenberg welcomed the man to come in and look around as much as he liked. “I felt confident and secure,” Cronenberg wrote. “This man would find nothing. He did not know what to look for.”
In the nearly half century since “Shivers,” through nineteen more feature films, Cronenberg has remained obsessed with bringing his nightmarish visions to life. He is fascinated by the flexibility and ferocity of the human organism, the myriad ways in which the body and its desires can betray us. He has explored those subjects using a clinical style punctuated by bursts of imaginative savagery, often achieved with stomach-turning, lo-fi special effects. His Ĺ“uvre encompasses a gun made of gristle that fires teeth (“eXistenZ”); a typewriter with an anus (“Naked Lunch”); weaponized armpits (“Rabid”); a chest cavity reconfigured as a VCR (“Videodrome”); and, in “The Fly,” perhaps his best-known film, a human-insect mutant played by Jeff Goldblum. Many of his films have been met with revulsion or at least aggrieved ambivalence. Roger Ebert called “Dead Ringers”—about sibling gynecologists whose sinister intimacy dissolves in a haze of drug abuse, narcissicism, and sexual jealousy—the kind of movie “where you ask people how they liked it, and they say, â€Well, it was well made,’ and then they wince.” When Cronenberg first competed at Cannes, in 1996, the jury was so flummoxed by the neurasthenic depravity of “Crash,” his adaptation of J. G. Ballard’s novel about car-wreck fetishists, that they jerry-rigged a special citation for “audacity.” Upon the film’s release in England, the country’s national-heritage secretary urged theatre owners not to show it. Cronenberg, in turn, has maintained a cool contempt for officious pundits and their agendas. He once joked to an interviewer, of his 1981 film “Scanners,” “I was exploding heads just like any other young, normal North American boy.” Like any North American boy, he achieved the infamous scene in question using a plaster cast stuffed with bits of leftover hamburger.
David Foster Wallace once wrote that “Quentin Tarantino is interested in watching someone’s ear getting cut off; David Lynch is interested in the ear.” Cronenberg (whose sensibility, like Lynch’s, is unmistakable enough to function as an adjective) has supplied his new film, “Crimes of the Future,” with a character who has ears growing all over his body and his eyes sewn shut. The warped extremity of Cronenbergian body horror has kept him at a distance from the mainstream, but it’s also earned him a respect and influence that few other cult directors can claim. His work has been the subject of film-studies courses, Ph.D. dissertations, and critical anthologies, driving up the intellectual value of genre cinema without ever gentrifying it. His peerless series of gross-out mindfucks and philosophical schlockfests have shaped art-making in the movies and beyond, from the corporeal jolts of Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” to the experimental pop of Charli XCX, who named a recent album “Crash.” Jordan Peele, an ascendant master of art-house scary movies, told the Wall Street Journal, in 2020, that watching “The Fly” taught him “the power of horror.” The veteran film critic J. Hoberman has called Cronenberg “the most provocative and consistently original North American director of his generation.”
“Crimes of the Future,” Cronenberg’s first feature in eight years, marks something of a return to form. (It premièred at Cannes on May 23rd and is in theatres on Friday.) In the twenty-first century thus far, Cronenberg has made a string of relatively refined films, including literary adaptations such as Don DeLillo’s Wall Street odyssey “Cosmopolis” and the when-Freud-met-Jung period piece “A Dangerous Method.” He also wrote a novel, 2014’s globe-trotting thriller “Consumed,” which garnered respectful reviews from the likes of Jonathan Lethem, who praised the “sculptural intensity” of its details. “Crimes of the Future,” by comparison, is old-school Cronenberg body horror. It bears the same name as one of his earliest films, from the seventies, an experimental feature centered on a melancholy dermatologist navigating a world wiped of fertile women. The new “Crimes of the Future” echoes the original as a dystopic tale of human devolution, though, in a recent interview, Cronenberg claimed that the recycled title didn’t signal any particular connection between the two. “They both are accurately called â€Crimes of the Future,’ ” he said. “So why not do it?”
“People will say, â€Oh, he’s back to body horror; he’s doing the same stuff he always did,’ ” Cronenberg, who is seventy-nine, told me recently. “But it’s never changed for me. My interest in the body is because, for me, it’s an inexhaustible subject—and of the essence of understanding the human condition. You will forgive me if I repeat myself. It’s just that these things are still true.” Before its première at Cannes, rumors circulated that “Crimes” 2.0 might cause viewers to suffer fainting spells or panic attacks. As it turned out, the Cannes première prompted only a few walkouts and received a standing ovation. Cronenberg, who dressed for the red carpet in white wraparound mountaineering glasses, told the audience, “I hope you’re not kidding.”
Since the late nineties, Cronenberg has lived in a three-story family home in the prosperous Toronto neighborhood of Forest Hill. One afternoon in April, I visited him at the house, which is shielded from the street by several trees. Martin Scorsese once wrote that he’d been nervous to meet Cronenberg, given the nature of his films, and then was surprised to discover that he looked like “a gynecologist from Beverly Hills.” Slight and spry, Cronenberg greeted me at the door, wearing a sweatshirt in a pale-blue shade similar to the color of his eyes. His silver-white hair, as always, was upswept neatly from ear to ear, and his manner was as even and pleasant as his appearance. The pianist Glenn Gould, another Torontonian, observed that the city offered its inhabitants peace of mind because it “does not impose its â€cityness’ upon you.” Cronenberg, in that sense, was made in the image of his home town.
Cronenberg has lived alone since the death of his second wife, Carolyn, a filmmaker, five years ago, but he maintains close relationships with his three children—a daughter and son with Carolyn, and a daughter from his first marriage, to Margaret Hindson—all of whom live nearby. He gently dismissed my suggestion that we take a stroll through the neighborhood’s bustling, patio-lined strip of coffee shops and restaurants, though not for fear of being recognized. “I’m common as dirt around here,” he said, leading me past rows of family photos and a dark-brown Braunschweig piano passed down from Carolyn’s mother, before ducking into the kitchen to prepare us espressos. We sat down in the dining room, which is decorated with an enormous photorealistic portrait of Cronenberg’s face woven from threads by the Argentinian art collective Mondongo. “Viggo commissioned them secretly and gave it to me as a gift,” Cronenberg told me. “It’s pretty good. It’s me being God.” Nearly a decade ago, Cronenberg donated a trove of personal mementos and props to the Toronto International Film Festival, including the fleshy bio-ports from “eXistenZ” and the steel surgical tools from “Dead Ringers.” The only movie ephemera I spotted in his home was a miniature version of Brundlefly, from “The Fly,” which sat on a shelf near a cluster of bulbous vintage Genie Awards—Canada’s equivalent to Oscars statuettes—one of which was put to use as a murder weapon in Cronenberg’s scabrous 2014 showbiz satire “Maps to the Stars.”
