This week's creepy post explores what's new in paranormal pop culture and more! Curated by myself and loglady BOOKS & COMICS
This week we have Sherrilyn Kenyon discussing her cursed attempts at getting to Salem, Massachusetts; author Justina Ireland talks subverting the white gaze in her writing; a new supernatural series is launching at Dark Horse Comics; and filmmaker Haifaa Al-Monsour discusses her film Mary Shelley about the famous author.Have you ever been to Salem, ONTD? Author Sherrilyn Kenyon almost didn’t make it there, and in the article she mentions all the bad things that got in the way of her visiting Salem. When she was finally able to visit, her and her son went to the Witch Museum and the memorials to the Witch Trials. Kenyon claims she’s traced family back to Salem: “We had family who accused family,” calling that “tragic.”
- On being called “the most controversial figure in young adult literature" by Vulture magazine: “It’s pretty funny that in the age of male YA authors being accused of sexual assault that I would be considered controversial. I mean, my big claim to fame is criticizing a few books.”
- Ireland is scared of horror and doesn’t consider Dread Nation to be horror.
- Explaining what she means by “subvert[ing] the “white gaze” in publishing”:“When we talk about publishing, we have to consider the gatekeepers, the folks who decide what makes it to the shelf at the front of the store, or who gets in the store in the first place. [...] They don’t necessarily have to write to center white identity, but there has to be a level of the narrative that white readers can connect with otherwise it will be very difficult to even get to the table.”
- On taboos in writing:“[W]hile I would write an Asian or Latinx character, I would never write a story that deals with issues of identity. Those stories are better coming from authors with that lived experience.”
- Ireland’s next book is Star Wars: Lando’s Luck, which will be the first book in the Flight of the Falcon series from LucasFilm Publishing.
- Saudi Arabian filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour discusses her film, Mary Shelley, which tells the story of the author. Elle Fanning stars as the title character.
- She read Frankenstein as a child in Arabic, and as an adult, when she read the script, began researching about Mary Shelley. She says it’s important to have female figures like Shelley, who did something different and succeeded.
- The movie is not about the monster. She says Frankenstein is described as a “monster of piece of work”, but it’s actually about “a direct result of everything that happened to her life as a woman.” She says it was sad to know the monster and not Shelley, and criticizes the book considered “masculine.”
- She discusses being ridiculed in Saudi Arabia as a woman trying to make films, and how that made her feel sympathetic to what Shelley went through.
- The rest of the interview discusses other topics, including Shelley’s rebellious spirit and Al-Mansour says Shelley is not celebrated enough, working with a young cast and casting Percy.
- The interview is less than 20 minutes long, definitely recommend listening to it.
- A new supernatural horror series is being launched by Dark Horse Comics.
- Christofer Emgård (Mirror’s Edge: Exordium) as writer; Tomás Aira (War Stories, Night of the Living Dead: Aftermath) is the artist.
- Synopsis: Hannah Vance believed her faith in God could survive anything. But when her helicopter is shot down behind enemy lines, she will fight and kill on an ever more savage battlefield, desperate for a way home. On the horizon, an evil waits for her—and freedom, of a sort.
- Issue #1 goes on sale on October 24.
SERIES & SHORTS
Happy #SciFiSunday! This week we have a short sci-fi film by Elan Dassani & Rajeev Dassani about synthetic humans and is available to watch online right now; and an interview with filmmaker Huriyyah Muhammad, who has created and directed the supernatural webseries Keloid.
- Seam is a 20 minute short film, available to watch at the source, and is celebrated for its diverse, international cast.
- Synopsis: After a sleeper agent explodes in Hong Kong, a synthetic woman named Ayana (Rakeen Saad) and her husband Yusef (Khaled Al Gwairi) are targeted by a human military commander (Oded Fehr). The desperate couple are pursued in a thrilling chase across the vast deserts of Jordan which culminates in a spectacular climax at the border of the synthetics' haven - a region known as the SEAM.
- Seam is written and directed by Elan Dassani & Rajeev Dassani.
- OP note:Seam is freaking awesome, if you are at all interested in sci-fi then you need to watch it. For a short film it was very impressive in terms of story, acting, cinematography and effects. The film is in 3 languages, but mostly Arabic, and has subtitles.
- In the interview, Huriyyah Muhammad discusses how her love for writing brought her to filmmaking and ultimately to making Keloid, which is “a supernatural drama” web series about an atypical boy who has special powers such as telekinesis.
- Keloid was created for the Black TV & Film Collective, a non-profit in NYC whose “mission is simply to increase opportunities for artists of color working in television, film and digital." It was produced “as a web-series because through web-series, producers have the ability to tell great stories with smaller budgets.” It cost 10K to produce the first season.
- Muhammad also discusses casting the mother and son; how she wrote simply from experience; and more about the Black TV & Film Collective.
- To watch the series please go to http://www.keloid.tv/.
GAMING
Survival horror is coming to your Xbox and PS4!The survival horror game
Monstrum, originally released for PC back in 2015, is now being brought to Xbox One and Playstation 4, both as a physical and digital release! No release date is set yet; game trailer at the source.
MUSIC
Do any songs come to mind when you think of iconic horror movie themes?This article explains how and why iconic theme songs to horror films have become a thing of the past. Some notes:
- The music industry itself has evolved.
- It’s not as feasible to pull in well-known musicians to record theme songs as it once was.
- There’s a cheesy level to spelling out the plot of a movie in a song, which is seen as nostalgic these days and wouldn’t hold up in serious movies.
Be sure to read the whole article at the
source!! It also lists some of the best theme songs to 80s and 90s horror films with tidbits for each song!
TELEVISION
Swedish sci-fi actress Moa Gammel recently revealed that Netflix is interested in adapting her podcast, Ufopodden. More information under the cut!
- Gammel is working on the pilot along with Inger Scharis, “using the UFO archive at Norrköping.” The show will be a supernatural drama.
- On her interest in UFOs, she says. “I’m a UFO agnostic. These mysteries, these phenomena that defy any natural explanations, are extremely fascinating.”
- If you are interested in her UFO podcast, the second season was just launched on July 3rd on Sveriges Radio P3.
FILM
We have five genre films written and/or directed by women that are out this month. Find out the top reviewed Blumhouse reviewed films (we pick 5 to highlight in the post). Filmmaker Boots Riley shares some behind-the-scenes shots from his new film, out now, Sorry To Bother You. Latin horror filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero discusses being a female in both a male-dominated industry and genre. What are the scariest masks in horror films? We chose five! And lastly, two trailers: Lifechanger, about a murderous shape-shifter, and Book of Monsters, about demonic creatures descending upon a birthday party.From their list, we have selected five genre films written and/or directed by women to highlight.
- “Bleeding Steel” – Co-Written by Erica Xia-Hou (Also Available on VOD). Synopsis via IMDB: A special force agent is assigned to protect a scientist and his creation from a sinister gang.
- “Sunset Society”– Co-Written and Co-Directed by Phoebe Dollar (Available on VOD July 24). Synopsis via IMDB: Welcome to the world of the Sunset Society, a secret organization in Hollywood where parties are held, musicians gather and blood flows freely! Ace (Lemmy from "Motorhead") is the head vampire in charge who likes to keep the fun going while keeping the profile low. However, due to a few rebels in his midst, humans are starting to catch on to his vampire ways.
- “The Devil’s Doorway” – Co-Written and Directed by Aislinn Clarke (Also Available on VOD). Synopsis via IMDB: In the fall of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for 'fallen women', only to uncover something much more horrific.
- “Good Manners”– Co-Written and Co-Directed by Juliana Rojas (Opens in NY; Opens in LA August 17). Synopsis via IMDB: Clara, a lonely nurse from the outskirts of São Paulo, is hired by mysterious and wealthy Ana as the nanny for her unborn child. The two women develop a strong bond, but a fateful night changes their plans.
- “The Row”– Written by Sarah Scougal (Also Available on VOD). Synopsis via IMDB: A college freshman trying to get into a sorority discovers a dark secret about the house she's pledging for after a series of murders terrorize the campus.
Sorry to Bother You is a science fiction/comedy film written and directed by Boots Riley out and currently in theaters. Riley shared some behind-the-scenes shots on his twitter:Women of horror: Interview with Gigi Saul Guerrero
- In this interview, Mexican-Canadian horror filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero discusses her nickname, “La Muneca del Terror” and the Luchagore Productions, of which she is co-founder and director.
- She says that she has “stuck with Latin Horror over the years and it has really worked. It is not necessarily which target will get you most exposure, but instead which target understands you as an artist."
- Her favorite film that she’s made is EL GIGANTE, which is also the goriest of all her films.
- She also discusses the importance of festivals, saying that “EL GIGANTE is a prime example: A WB exec was watching at a festival, contacted us and suddenly, we made La Quinceañera for Warner Brothers. Filmmakers must go and/or submit to festivals as much as they can.”
- She says if she has to die in a horror movie, she would pick dying like a “bruja”: “Burn at the stake and laugh at everybody!”
- La Quinceañera is available to watch on the Studio Plus app, and is also being screened at the upcoming Fantasia Festival as a feature.
21 (5) of the scariest masks in movie history17: Night Owl from
Stage Fright13: Hag Mask from
Curtains9: Preacherman from
Slashers4: Frank’s Rabbit Mask from
Donnie Darko1: Leatherface from
The Texas Chainsaw MassacreThere are photos of all the masks at the source. Night Owl is WTF worthy.The 20 (5) best reviewed films from Blumhouse:Based on reviews aggregated by Metacritic.
2
The Gift (score 77)
4
Creep (score 74)
9
Oculus (score 62)
18
Sinister (score 53)
20
Insidious (score 52)
Favorite Blumhouse film?FILM TRAILER TIME!The trailer for Lifechanger is here! The horror film will premiere at Fantasia Fest later this month.
Lifechanger follows “a murderous shape-shifter on a blood-soaked mission to make things right with the woman he loves”.
Starring: Lora Burke, Jack Foley, Elitsa Bako, Sam James White, Rachel Vanduzer, Steve Kasan, and Bill Oberst Jr.
We also have the trailer for
Book of Monsters, a horror film premiering at London’s Fright Fest next month.
Synopsis: Sophie's 18th birthday party becomes a bloodbath when six terrifying monsters descend upon her house, intent on devouring the party guests and killing anyone who tries to leave.
Starring: Lyndsey Craine, Michaela Longden, Lizzie Stanton & Nicholas Vince.
SOURCES 12345678910111213141516Anything here caught your eye, ONTD? Lots of great filmmakers/creators out there to support!