scary

15 Sep

Nightbooks: A Kids Movie That’s Too Scary?

New DVD releasemovie, nightbooks, scary

I’m not quite sure who Nightbooks is for. As marketed, the latest Netflix original film appears to be a fantasy-driven horror film for kids and tweens. But the movie itself, which deals with themes of child abuse and features some objectively terrifying monsters, may be too dark for that demographic. This can be an issue with book-to-film adaptations. What works for kids in a literary format can sometimes be too scary once brought to life on-screen. That being said, for adults and kids who have a high tolerance for horror, the Sam Raimi-produced Nightbooks is definitely worth a watch. A gorgeously…

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10 Sep

Empire of the Vampire Makes Vampires Scary Again

New DVD releaseagain, empire, makes, scary, vampire, vampires

This article is sponsored by As a species, humans have more or less always been obsessed with vampires. (The earliest references to blood-drinking creatures date back to ancient Mesopotamia, believe it or not.) But the way we relate to these creatures has shifted throughout the centuries, as legends, folklore, and popular culture have adapted to the needs and fears specific to respective societies.  Published in 1897, Bram Stoker’s Dracula may have sparked a particular vein of horror story that continues to this day (looking at you, American Horror Story: Double Feature), but Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, published in…

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02 Mar

The Dark Knight: Why Heath Ledger’s Joker is Still Scary Today

New DVD releaseheath, joker, knight, ledger, scary, still, today

It’s one of the great villain introductions in cinema history. Standing with a slight hunch at the center of a massive 70mm image, Heath Ledger’s interpretation of the Joker not so much dominates the frame as he commandeers it. He seduces the IMAX camera, which is still capturing vast amounts of Chicago’s cityscape around him, and draws it closer to his sphere of influence, and by extension us. Before this moment in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the director’s Gotham City functioned with clocklike precision. Even its greatest villains were slaves to the need of rationalizing everything in cold, utilitarian…

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08 Jan

Are You Afraid of the Dark? Season 2 Trailer Shows a Scary Expanded Scope

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The Midnight Society’s campfire was restoked—figuratively and literally—for the 2019 Halloween season by Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? three-episode miniseries, which enticed audiences old and new for more chilling exploits from a new generation of the classic kid coterie of scare-chasers. Thus, the network subsequently greenlit Season 2, this time for six episodes, which begin their weekly run in February. Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Curse of the Shadows is the title of Season 2, indicating that the series will again eschew its classic single-episode story format to utilize the entirety of a season to tell one…

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19 Dec

Scary Christmas Stories: A History of the Holiday’s Ghostly Tradition

New DVD releasechristmas, ghostly, history, holiday, scary, stories, tradition

“It always is Christmas Eve, in a ghost story” – Jerome K. Jerome, 1891 In the English countryside, dinner had ended, and the company retired to the drawing room. They gathered around the fire as the parson, who sat in a high-backed oak chair, proceeded to tell of goblins and ghosts. The squire, not a superstitious man himself, listened intently  as the parson spoke about the crusader who rose from his tomb for a nighttime ride. The old porter’s wife added to the tale with her own of the crusader’s march on Midsummer Eve, when fairies became visible. Such was…

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23 Oct

Link Tank: Best Scary G-Rated Movies For Young Kids

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For those out there with really young kids, here are some of the best and scariest G-rated movies you can watch this Halloween. “Halloween is a time for horrors, haunts, and movies with a lot of blood. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the most terrifying films out there are the ones that are considered “safe” for all ages. Here are our picks of the 10 scariest G-rated movies in modern history.” Read more at Gizmodo. Armie Hammer joked that he’s open to doing a sequel for The Man From U.N.C.L.E if someone wrote a good enough fanfiction. “Armie Hammer…

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21 Oct

A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting: How to Craft a Scary Story For Children

New DVD releasebabysitter, craft, guide, hunting, monster, scary, story

In the U.K., the pop culture phrase “behind the sofa” is used to refer to media that is scary enough to prompt kids to hide behind the nearest piece of furniture, but engaging enough to keep them from out-right fleeing the room. Strongly associated with Doctor Who, “behind the sofa” is a concept that can be applied far beyond the long-running science fiction series to speculative fiction (in particular horror) media targeted toward children and families. It’s perhaps a phrase British-American director Rachel Talalay, known for her work on some of NuWho’s most visually-ambitious installments, had in mind when directed…

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20 Oct

Call of Duty: Warzone’s Haunting of Verdansk Update is Surprisingly Scary

New DVD releasehaunting, scary, surprisingly, update, verdansk, warzone

On paper, Call of Duty: Warzone‘s Haunting of Verdansk update looked like a fun way to kill a little time before the release of Cold War and celebrate Halloween a little ahead of schedule (as if we weren’t already doing that). However, it turns out that Warzone‘s new Zombies mode is actually the battle royale’s best event so far and a pretty fun tribute to the glory days of CoD‘s best Zombies modes. As we previously talked about, Warzone‘s limited-time Zombies mode sees you drop into a relatively small part of the Verdansk map and battle other players as per…

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19 Jun

Why Kevin Bacon Went Scary Again in You Should Have Left

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The horror genre has always been good to Kevin Bacon, starting with his breakout role–and shockingly memorable death scene–in 1980’s classic Friday the 13th. That appearance made him a permanent part of one of horror’s most legendary franchises while roles in other films like Tremors (which launched a genre brand of its own), Flatliners, Hollow Man and even genre-adjacent offerings such as TV’s The Following have made him a steady presence in the field. One of his best genre outings was 1999’s Stir of Echoes, an old-fashioned ghost story set in a haunted Chicago home that Bacon made with writer-director…

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24 Apr

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Sequel in the Works at Paramount

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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark capitalized last year on the classic 1980s literary horror franchise responsible for generational childhood trauma with a feature film that—having earned $105.8 million worldwide—may not have set the box office scene on fire, but certainly provided a big enough bang for its studio’s budgetary buck. Consequently, sequel plans are now moving forward. The creative band is getting back together for the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark sequel movie, with director André Øvredal and writers Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman set to return. Additionally, Guillermo del Toro—who worked on the first film’s…

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18 Mar

The 20 Best Horror Movies on Netflix UK – Scary Films to Watch Right Now

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Netflix is an ever-changing, constantly growing treasure trove of hidden gems and secret delights (here’s everything new on Netflix UK this month). Sometimes, a teeny bit too secret though. Who hasn’t sat down to watch a horror movie and found themselves scrolling endlessly, either not being able to find something they’re in the mood for, or not really knowing what half the titles are, or if they’re any good? We’ve scoured the full current catalogue available to watch in the UK now and picked out the best scary movies. It’s a mix of classic and new, and a range of…

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08 Aug

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Max SchindlerMovie reviewsscary, stories

It?s 1968 in America. Change is blowing in the wind...but seemingly far removed from the unrest in the cities is the small town of Mill Valley where for generations, the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large. It is in their mansion on the edge of town that Sarah, a young girl with horrible secrets, turned her tortured life into a series of scary stories, written in a book that has transcended time?stories that have a way of becoming all too real for a group of teenagers who discover Sarah?s terrifying tome.Rated: PG-13Release Date: Aug 09, 2019

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01 Mar

Attack On Titan: makes giant monsters scary again

Max SchindlerNew DVD releaseagain, attack, giant, makes, monsters, scary, titan

Attack On Titan: makes giant monsters scary again Hit anime series Attack On Titan, now on its second season, contains some truly scary giant monsters, Ryan writes... Feature Mar 1, 2018 From http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/dvd-bluray/attack-on-titan/55585/attack-on-titan-makes-giant-monsters-scary-again

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