News

Beyond the Gates is the newest soap opera to hit TV, and there are already some casting updates!

The series just arrived on CBS this year, and has already pulled in some promising viewership numbers.

The series follows a powerful and prestigious family that reigns over a posh gated community with juicy secrets and scandals waiting to be uncovered.

Now, there’s at least one cast member who is being recast.

Keep reading to find out more…

Maurice Johnson, who plays Nicole’s (Daphnee Duplaix) husband Ted, is being replaced by Keith D. Robinson, per Deadline.

Maurice Johnson (L) will be replaced by Keith D. Robinson (R) as Ted Richardson

You may already know Keith for a string of Christmas movies (including two Sister Swaps), the third installment in the Mimic franchise and the role of Bill Cosby in the 2004 Fat Albert movie. He also starred in ABC’s A Million Little Things...

Guillermo del Toro has mastered the art of monster-horror movies but his work encompasses several subgenres. The Mexican filmmaker is known for making hauntingly scary and deeply personal movies. As a result, it shouldn’t be a surprise to his fans that the director’s personal experiences have greatly impacted his projects.

Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro | Credits: CBS News

During an interview, del Toro was asked about depicting pain in his films, admitting that two of the worst experiences in his life were responsible for it. In the process, del Toro compared his father’s tragic kidnapping with the experience of working with Harvey Weinstein. Here is what del Toro had to say about the most harrowing events in his life.

Guillermo del Toro recalled the two worst experiences of his life

Guillermo del Toro rose to prominence during the 1990s in his native Mexico before directing his first English movie,...

Vendredi sur Mer, the Swiss-born musical project led by Charline, is making a strategic move into English-speaking territories with her latest single “Hard,” a collaborative effort featuring Hanni El Khatib. The track represents a calculated expansion of her musical universe, building on her previous critically acclaimed projects Premiers Émois and Métamorphose.

Produced by Sam Tiba, a veteran French rap producer known for his work with artists like Zola and Georgio, the single marks a deliberate shift towards a more assertive pop sound. Tiba, formerly of the music collective Club Cheval, brings his production expertise to amplify Vendredi sur Mer’s distinctive musical approach.

The collaboration with Hanni El Khatib, a prominent figure in the 2010s California garage rock scene and creative director at Huf, adds depth to the track. Positioned as a romantic breakup duet, the single draws inspiration from the elegance of French chanson and the bold aesthetics of 1980s pop.

Coming off the success of his first Cbm venture, Blade II, which marked a pivotal point in Guillermo del Toro’s Hollywood run, the revered filmmaker was then handed the keys to the adaptation for Dark Horse Comics’ Hellboy. Given the director’s obsession with horror and monsters, whom he saw as the patron saints of imperfection, Hellboy proved to be right up his alley.

Ron Perlman in Hellboy | Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing

This, in addition to Ron Perlman’s casting, made for a memorable experience for fans, and interestingly, Del Toro didn’t take kindly to one suggestion from Perlman.

Guillermo del Toro wasn’t too thrilled about Ron Perlman’s input Hellboy II: The Golden Army | Credit: Universal Pictures

Prior to Ron Perlman‘s inclusion, the studio was apparently interested in casting the likes of Dwayne Johnson or Vin Diesel for the lead role. Although Guillermo del Toro...

The master of monsters Guillermo del Toro has brought to the table some of the most iconic pieces of all time, being credited with delivering masterpieces like Pacific Rim and Hellboy. To say the least, his genius brain really has gifted the world of cinema some of the most valuable pieces that will go on to be cherished in history forever.

Guillermo del Toro. | Credit: Image by Gage Skidmore / Cc-by-sa-2.0 / Wikimedia Commons.

That said, there was one movie in particular that especially helped out the filmmaker at a certain point in his career as well, when he needed it the most. This flick was the very film about ghosts that ended up clearing “all ghosts from my past” for del Toro, and pretty much changed everything for him to a significant extent: The Devil’s Backbone.

How The Devil’s Backbone helped Guillermo del Toro out

Released back in 2001, The Devil’s Backbone...

Quick LinksBefore 'Game of Thrones' There Was 'Dragonslayer'Fans Noticed Similarities Between 'Dragonslayer' and 'Game of Thrones'Should You Watch 'Dragonslayer'?

George R.R. Martin's Game of Throneshas become a cultural phenomenon and the most beloved fantasy series of the modern era. The first book, having sold over 45 million copies in the US alone, led to the HBO series, which would draw an average of 9.3 million viewers per episode for its inaugural season. Yet, the foundational success of Game of Thrones can be owed to its forbearers, from the iconic work of J.R.R. Tolkien to the grimdark world of Conan as created by Robert E. Howard. On the screen, early works like 1963's Jason and the Argonauts set the precedent for decades of films celebrating the fantasy genre.

Yet, the underrated gem Dragonslayer has flown mostly under the radar, an initial failure at the box office that saw some later resurgence in appreciation.

Guillermo del Toro is known for weaving complex narratives and characters into his movies and shows. And the filmmaker has opened up about how his real-life experiences often inspire such characters, as was the case with Michael Shannon’s Richard Strickland in the award-winning film The Shape of Water.

Guillermo del Toro | Credit: Boungawa/Cc-by-sa-4.0/Wikimedia Commons

Brought to life with chilling precision by Shannon, Strickland embodies cruelty and oppressive authority. The filmmaker later revealed how his personal experiences in Hollywood served as a powerful source of inspiration for crafting the despicable character in the movie.

Guillermo del Toro revealed the inspiration behind Michael Shannon’s villain in The Shape of Water

Starring Sally Hawkins in the lead role of Elisa Esposito, Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water introduced audiences to a deeply unsettling antagonist in Colonel Richard Strickland, portrayed by Michael Shannon.

Michael Shannon in The Shape of Water...

Since crossing paths in the early ’90s, Guillermo del Toro and James Cameron have become great friends both on and off the realm of filmmaking. Del Toro, who previously confessed to becoming an admirer of the Titanic director, especially after the latter helped him out after his father was kidnapped, didn’t back away from dishing out his honest viewpoints on Cameron’s works.

Guillermo del Toro | Credit: CBS News

However, one criticism from the Mimic director didn’t faze the Oscar winner, even though Cameron initially feared he might not enjoy the film in question as a veteran in the field.

James Cameron couldn’t care less about anyone else’s verdict than his The Abyss | Credit: 20th Century Studios

James Cameron has been pretty vocal about unabashedly being fond of mainstream movies, which has been pretty notable in his filmography, often geared towards big audiences where everything is big,...

The 90s were the salad days for sci-fi horror popcorn flicks. It was a time when wild B-movies got A-movie budgets and brought the visuals and campy excess of Roger Corman to the mainstream. One of the divisive films of that time is Species - a serviceable and sometimes maligned creature feature - currently #4 on Tubi's charts. The cheesy exploitation film is not without its flaws, but audiences are finding a lot to enjoy, as the once deep cable mainstay finds new life on streaming.

Species begins with a fun premise - a decoded alien message from space gives a team of unscrupulous scientists instructions on how to splice human and alien DNA. Because all scientists in movies have maxed out stats in ingenuity but zero foresight, they give life to Sil, an alien-human hybrid that is hellbent on reproducing and escapes her laboratory prison. The result is a...

Guillermo del Toro’s career is filled with gems, with only a few dings along the way. One of those rare hiccups was Mimic, his 1997 sci-fi horror flick starring Norman Reedus, Mira Sorvino, and Jeremy Northam. Released during an era when teen slashers were all the rage, this bug-monster filled thriller struggled to lure audiences in theaters.

Norman Reedus and Alix Koromzay in Mimic (1997) Credits: Miramax Film Corp.

While creepy creatures and a dose of sci-fi should’ve been a killer combo, Mimic just couldn’t find its footing. Here’s why this eerie experiment didn’t quite take flight!

How Mimic Became A Bump in Guillermo Del Toro’s Career

Based on Donald A. Wollheim’s short story, Mimic spins a wild tale about disease-carrying cockroaches evolving into human-hunting monsters.

Related Guillermo del Toro on Why His Father Getting Kidnapped Wasn’t Worse Than Working for Harvey Weinstein:...

The introduction of AI-generated content has created serious obstacles for professional manga artists. According to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure creator Hirohiko Araki, AI-generated artwork is now so "sophisticated" that, in some cases, it is virtually impossible to distinguish it from works created by human artists.

Araki discusses AI and its potential effects on the manga industry in-depth in his new book, New Manga Techniques. Recently, a chilling excerpt from the book began circulating on X (formerly Twitter). In one chapter, Araki recounts a situation where he genuinely mistook a piece of AI artwork as his own. "I came across a drawing and thought, 'this is something I drew, right?' I was shocked to find out that it was actually created by AI." This disturbing anecdote prefaces Araki's main argument, which asserts that, if left unchecked, AI will pose a major existential threat to the next generation of manga artists.

Related...

It looks like the behind-the-scenes of Hollywood is getting more and more attention these days. The whole situation with rapper Diddy has been a hot topic for a while, but Harvey Weinstein can’t be forgotten. The film producer has been in prison for a few years now after being convicted of s*x crimes. Guillermo del Toro, who had a movie produced by his production company, opened up about the stress he faced during that time.

Guillermo del Toro – Credits: GuillemMedina/Cca 2.0 (Credits: Wikimedia Commons)

The filmmaker, who was just starting his career, didn’t shy away from expressing how proud he is of the project, but he found it really tough to deal with Weinstein. At the same time, his father had been kidnapped, and when comparing the two situations, he mentioned that working with the producer was way worse.

Guillermo del Toro Has Negative Memories Of The...

The genre of giant bug movies has never been a noble one. It arose in the 1950s as fears of nuclear war seeped into the zeitgeist, while giving filmmakers an easy hook for some flashy (for the time) special effects. It rarely attained high art, but it captured some of the era's core anxieties, and insects are creepy enough to ensure that the genre has survived in some form or another right up to the present. It's even attracted Oscar-winning directors in recent years, such as Guillermo del Toro's Mimic and Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of King Kong.

The classic era of giant bug movies, however, really has just one indisputable masterpiece. Them! is a 1954 black-and-white effort from director Gordon Douglas that embodies all of the genre's classic tropes assembled in just the right way. Most notably, it relies on practical effects combined with efficient technical filmmaking to make...

Mexican-born auteur Guillermo del Toro hit the Oscar jackpot with his fantastical love story “The Shape of Water” (2017), which took home four prizes including Best Picture and Best Director. But that’s just one of many eye-popping fantasies he has crafted throughout his career. Let’s take a look back at all 12 of del Toro’s films, ranked worst to best.

Del Toro made his feature directing debut with the Spanish-language horror drama “Cronos” (1993), which established him as a maker of dark, visually-stunning fright-fests. The film wrote him a ticket to Hollywood, where he helmed the creepy chiller “Mimic” (1997). Over the next two decades, he would bounce back-and-forth between mainstream American productions and more personal stories in his native language.

It was for “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006), a fable about a young Mexican girl escaping into a terrifying fantasy realm during the falangist Spain of 1944, that del Toro reaped his first Oscar bid for Best Original Screenplay.

Promised Consort Radahn is typically one of the harder fights in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, but some players discovered a way to make his fight absurdly easy. Using simple exploits, players werent just able to quickly finish off Radahn, but they were doing so without even taking any damage. Using this exploit may have been an anticlimactic way to finish out Shadow of the Erdtree, but it was undeniably silly after slogging through the DLCs many difficult bosses.

Exploits like this can be a nice way to get back to playing the rest of a game if one is stuck on a particular boss fight. However, it also can be far less rewarding than buckling down and grinding it out. Its hard to imagine any player who gets to Radahn in the first place isnt up for a challenge, but using this exploit could be a nice way...

Hellboy has gone on to become one of the most iconic characters of all time who also had a wildly successful live-action run through his own superhero film series. Tamed by the mastermind Guillermo del Toro in the real-action universe, the movies performed incredibly commendably among fans, bringing in revenue that was good enough for a first-timer like the character.

Hellboy in the comics. | Credits: Dark Horse Comics.

However, while the end results were truly star-studded and appeased a majority of the viewers to the core, things weren’t always expected to go that way. As it turns out, the studios had some really serious concerns about this character succeeding among global audiences, and thus, proposed some of the most disastrous changes – like giving him the same powers as the Hulk!

Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy Could’ve Been Different – But Not in a Good Way

Back in the early 2000s,...

Things may be looking a bit tough over at Paramount+, with the streaming giant entering a pivotal point. The company is suffering a series of layoffs and testing the waters with a recent price increase. As of August 20, 2024, ad-supported Paramount+ Essential will run $8 per month, up from $6, and ad-free Paramount+ with Showtime will cost $13 per month, up from $12. Thankfully, what is not slowing down is their content, with September marking three notable movies making their streaming premiere and an abundance of great films added to their catalog.

For horror fans, the upcoming Apartment 7A offers a refreshing take on the genre backed by a sleek 1960s aesthetic. Likely to ruffle some feathers this month, We Will Dance Again will likely be the most talked about documentary in September. Finally, sci-fi fans get a treat with the streaming premiere of the reality-bending movie Parallel. To prep you for the fall and upcoming October,...

Secret of the Mimic hints at Fnaf timeline placement with 1979 setting, earliest in franchise. Fall Fest explored in Fnaf lore, ties to Mimic and possible Freddy Fazbear origin. Teaser trailer suggests deep dive into Seventies lore, potential origin story for franchise.

The teaser trailer for next years Five Nights at Freddys: Secret of the Mimic has already hinted towards the game having a particularly intriguing place within the Fnaf timeline. With concrete details about the games lore and setting often hard to discern, it can be difficult to definitively place many of the franchises depicted and referenced events on a timeline. However, putting the Fnaf games themselves in chronological order is generally much easier, and Secret of the Mimic has given an early hint which continues this trend.

Within the Fnaf games, the Mimic is an animatronic first encountered during the ending of Security Breachs Ruin Dlc, although it also...

So many people in Hollywood knew about industry warthog Harvey Weinstein’s disgusting, illegal behavior behind the scenes but so few actually confronted him about it. There is the famous story of Brad Pitt defending Gwyneth Paltrow when she was coming up but those are few and far between. But only one man has ever come close to bashing Harvey Weinstein over the head with an Oscar statue he so desperately wanted: the King of the World himself that year, James Cameron.

On Oscar night 1998, James Cameron and Harvey Weinstein found themselves competing at the Shrine Auditorium, with the director there with odds-on favorite Titanic and Weinstein supporting the Miramax-supported Good Will Hunting. Titanic got off to the strong start it would carry for the rest of the night, while Good Will Hunting would nab only two statues. With Titanic having just won Best Editing, Cameron was about to...

Elden Ring can be an excruciatingly painful game for those who are new to FromSoftware’s game design elements. Especially if the player isn’t acquainted with how things usually work in a game like this.

However, much of this journey can be simplified thanks to the existence of Summons. These are NPCs players can call upon for much-needed assistance, and they can be earned through exploration and quests in the game.

The Elden Ring Community Is Still Deciding Which Is the Best Summon

While the list below is an objective take on some of the best Spirit Ashes found in Elden Ring, much of it relies on your playstyle and how you choose to summon an ally in battle.

SUGGESTEDMarvel Rivals Beta 5 Best Characters

Some prefer a tanky companion who can take a lot of damage. Others prefer an Elden Ring summon that can distract enemies while the Tarnished deals most of the damage.

When it comes to filmmakers, there are some who have such a unique style to them that their work is instantly recognizable. Guillermo del Toro is one of these filmmakers. With a style that embraces both the dark and the whimsical, his work often feels like a twisted fairy tale. From films such as Pan's Labyrinth to The Shape of Water, he's proven his prowess as a creator time and time again. His repertoire is chock-full of films that balance the negative and positive and weave them into something beautiful, and one of the greatest examples of that is his sci-fi horror film Mimic. Released in 1997, Mimic stars Mira Sorvino as Dr. Susan Tyler, an entomologist who creates a hybrid insect breed intended to kill off cockroaches carrying a disease that's killing children. The film is a perfect amalgamation of del Toro's styles. His love of bugs and the strange,...

Following his return as Gurney Halleck in Dune: Part Two, Oscar nominee Josh Brolin finally opened up about his next high-profile movie in the form of New Line Cinemas newest horror thriller Weapons. The project hails from actor-turned-filmmaker Zach Cregger, who gained recognition for his 2022 feature directorial debut Barbarian.

During a recent interview with Collider, Brolin expressed his excitement about the Weapons movie, revealing that getting to know more about Creggers vision for the film makes his decision of joining the cast "better and better" every day. He also shared that hes looking forward to sharing the screen once again with Alden Ehrenreich, who he previously starred opposite in the Coen Brothers 2016 period comedy Hail Caesar! "I really liked his first movie, but its still new for him and all that," Brolin said. "Then I met him a couple of times, and we talked through what he was thinking. Its a really good script,...

Actor Josh Brolin excitedly endorses upcoming horror film Weapons due to fantastic script and cast. Brolin's choice to join the project felt better each day, highlighting brilliant script and talented actors. Cast includes Julia Garner, Benedict Wong, Alden Ehrenreich, Amy Madigan, and Austin Abrams in unknown roles.

Josh Brolin provides his strong endorsement of the upcoming horror film Weapons. The horror film is the next film from Barbarian director Zach Cregger. The 2022 horror film Barbarian was a success both critically and commercially, wowing audiences with its suspense and originality. Now, this next feature will also be a horror film and will tell a story about a series of mysterious disappearances of high school students in a small suburban town.

Barbarian is currently available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.

Speaking with Collider, Brolin hypes up the upcoming film Weapons. Brolin said multiple times that the script for Weapons is...

Clockwise from top left: The Holdovers (Focus Features), The Last Temptation Of Christ (Universal Pictures), Red Eye (DreamWorks Pictures), Música (Amazon MGM Studios)Image: The A.V. Club

An Oscar-winning drama-comedy, a controversial Martin Scorsese movie about Jesus, an underappreciated Wes Craven movie starring Cillian Murphy, and a music-filled rom-com lead...

Guillermo del Toro’s love for cinema has always fascinated fans. The Shape of Water director recently revealed that he has been involved in giving his touch to a few movies with huge fanbases, and fans are over the moon.

Guillermo del Toro. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

del Toro has been one of the greatest filmmakers of the generation, especially in his go-to genre. The Pan’s Labyrinth director blends fantasy and drama with his unique signature touch that keeps the moviegoers at the edges of their seats.

Guillermo del Toro’s Personal Touch On Blade II

Wesley Snipes in Blade II

In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Guillermo del Toro revealed four movies— Crimson Peak, Cronos, Mimic, and Blade II are in the process of 4K transfer and will be out possibly next year.

“4 new 4K transfers coming up: Crimson Peak, then Cronos, Blade II and finally Mimic...

4K is about to get a lot darker, as director Guillermo del Toro teased over the weekend that four more of his films will be hitting the format within “the next year or so”. They are: his 1993 debut Cronos, 1997 follow-up Mimic, 2002’s Hellboy, and 2015’s Crimson Peak, which is one of del Toro’s most visually striking features.

In an X post from yesterday, Guillermo del Toro wrote, “4 new 4K transfers coming up: Crimson Peak, then Cronos, Blade II and finally Mimic all in the next year or so. I am done with the color timing of 3 out of the 4.” Note that these releases will not be coming out simultaneously or in chronological order.

4 new 4K transfers coming up: Crimson Peak, then Cronos, Blade II and finally Mimic all in the next year or so. I am done with the color timing of 3 out of the 4.

— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT...

Fallout is the most exciting Amazon Original dropping this month. From Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, this long-awaited adaptation of the popular video game franchise looks incredible, and is bound to be a hit among video game fans and newcomers alike. The series stars Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Walton Goggins (The Righteous Gemstones), and Aaron Clifton Moten (Disjointed).

Prime Video doesn’t have much else in the way of original offerings this month, aside from the return of Alex Rider on Freevee a few other films and TV series, but there are plenty of popular films joining the streaming service’s library. Cloverfield, Batman & Robin, Titanic, and The Notebook are just a few of the notable movies coming to Prime this month.

Here’s everything coming to Prime Video and Freevee in April – Amazon originals are designated with an asterisk.

New on Amazon Prime Video – April 2024 April 1 Blaze...

Brolin's return to horror in "Weapons" after 20 years could lead to more A-listers embracing the genre's fun and freedom. "Weapons" is described as a "horror epic" with a high-concept story that will transcend typical horror movie fare. Brolin teaming up with rising horror director Zach Cregger in "Weapons" showcases potential for a strong partnership in the genre.

Josh Brolin is currently in talks to star in the upcoming horror movie Weapons, the exciting new feature from Zach Cregger, which would represent an exciting return to horror for the Hollywood star after more than two decades away from the genre. Cregger is the writer/director responsible for the 2022 surprise horror hit Barbarian, and his next project is set to be much larger in both scope and budget. Pedro Pascal was originally supposed to lead the upcoming spine-chiller, but due to scheduling conflicts, the starring role may pass to Brolin.

Recently,...

Avengers: Endgame star Josh Brolin may potentially star in the upcoming horror drama Weapons, the anticipated horror film that hails from Barbarian director Zach Cregger.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Brolin has entered negotiations for one of the leading roles in New Line Cinema’s Weapons movie. The high-profile film was supposed to be led by The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal, who exited the project last January due to conflicting filming schedules with Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four reboot. Should Brolin’s casting push through, this would mark the Oscar-nominated actor’s first horror project in a very long while, after previously starring in films like Mimic, Nightwatch, Hollow Man, and Planet Terror.

Related Christopher Nolan Teases Making a 'Really Exceptional' Horror Movie Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan expresses his desire to make a horror movie along with what's holding him back from doing it. Close

Acquired by New Line...

Fedora fashion.

After kicking off 2024 with discussions on the better-than-it-has-any-right-to-be sequel Hellbound: Hellraiser II (listen), the surprisingly progressive Killer Condom (listen) and the very gay (and very terrible) The Covenant, we’re wrapping up January with a conversation about Christian E. Christiansen‘s pseudo-remake of Single White Female: The Roommate.

The Roommate sees Sara (Minka Kelly), a young design student from Iowa, arrive for college in Los Angeles. Her wealthy roommate, Rebecca (Leighton Meester), is more than eager to take Sara under her wing and show her the ropes. The two become close, but when Sara begins to branch out and make more friends on campus, Rebecca becomes resentful. This brings out her more psychotic tendencies as she embarks on a mission to prove that Sara only needs one best friend: her.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts,...

Forgiven for Forgetting

After starting the year with one of the best horror sequels of all time in Hellbound: Hellraiser II, we moved into the hilariously smart German satire Killer Condom. Trace and I should have known the good times wouldn’t last!

With this week’s discussion of Renny Harlin‘s The Covenant, we begin a two-week stretch of poorly rated, very dumb thrillers. In the film, Caleb (Steven Strait) is a member of the popular Boys of Ipswich at an elite boarding school. He also has a dangerous birthright: the men in his family can use The Power to get what they want.

The trade-off? The more they use their abilities, the faster they age, as evidenced by his father’s (Stephen McHattie) condition.

Things change with the arrival of dangerous bad boy Chase (Sebastian Stan). Suddenly both Caleb’s relationship with Sarah (Laura Ramsey) and his 18th birthday ascension are under threat.

32 Centimeters

After kicking off the year with Trace’s favorite Hellraiser film, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, we’re taking a hard left turn into camp, politics, and a German take on New York City with Killer Condom.

We’ve previously discussed director Martin Walz‘s film in our editorial series (here) and it was a delight to revisit the sly, subversive tale of prophylactics that bite off men’s dicks. The hero of the tale is gay cop Luigi Mackeroni (Udo Samel), who has a trans ex, a mildly homophobic partner, and a twinky sex worker love interest.

As police captains and politicians dispute the dangers of the penis-munching condoms, Mackeroni must use his considerable <ahem> talent to find Smirnoff, the Russian mad scientist, and the mastermind behind the plan to eliminate Germany…er…New York City’s gay population.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday.

We’re here about a mattress…

After wrapping up 2023 with look at New French Extremity in Inside (listen), horror musicals in Anna and the Apocalypse (listen) and the Best Horror Films of 2023 (listen), we’re kicking off our first official episode of 2024 with a lengthy discussion of Tony Randel‘s better-than-it-has-any-right-to-be sequel Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), which just celebrated its 35th anniversary!

Hellbound: Hellraiser II picks up hours after the first film ended, seeing Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) confined to a mental hospital after she tells the authorities that her father was betrayed by his evil, adulterous wife, Julia (Clare Higgins), and is now being tormented in hell by sadomasochistic demons called Cenobites. Few believe Kirsty, except the thrill-seeking Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), who is so intrigued by her frightening stories that he teams up with a newly resurrected Julia. When they open the gates to Hell and unleash the Cenobites,...

The Year That Was

After two weeks of holiday horror movies with killer baby mamas in Inside (2007) and Anna and the Apocalypse, Trace and I are closing out Horror Queers for 2023 with a look back at the year.

It was quite the year in terms of horror trends, including a spate of liminal horror films, younger skewing films killing it at the box office, and the (mostly successful) return of franchises at the multiplex.

Then we offer up our fifteen favourite horror movies of the year, including franchises (Saw), one and done originals (No One Will Save You) and amazing foreign films (When Evil Lurks).

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Episode 262 – Best of 2023 + Bloopers

We’re wrapping up the year with a look...

Back in 1996, the Twister cast, outside of Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton was largely unknown. At the time, not too many of them were famous. However, in the years since the film, much of that has changed and much of the Twister cast has gone on to fame both in front and behind the camera.

Helen Hunt was arguably the film’s biggest star in the cast back in ’96, but she wasn’t the first choice for the movie. Before the role of Dr. Jo Harding went to her, Jurassic Park standout Laura Dern, Bridget Fonda, and Kate Mulgrew almost wore the good doctor’s white tank top and reinforced mud-stompers. Initially, Tom Hanks eyed the role of Bill Harding but ultimately felt Twister wasn’t the right fit for his brand of character creation. Other actors floated for Bill Harding include Kevin Costner, Michael Keaton, Kurt Russell, Richard Gere,...

Doug Jones has had a diverse and underrated career in Hollywood, starting with his roles as a mime and contortionist in TV shows and commercials. Jones gained recognition for his collaborations with Guillermo del Toro, notably for his portrayal of Abe Sapien in the Hellboy films and the Faun in Pan's Labyrinth. His most famous role is Captain Saru in Star Trek: Discovery, but his work behind the makeup of various characters often steals the spotlight in his scenes.

An American actor, contortionist, and mime artist, Doug Jones was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, as the youngest of four brothers. For college, he attended Ball State University, which he represented as the "Charlie Cardinal" mascot. He utilized his established miming skills to accurately portray the anthropomorphic bird, and after graduation, he dove headfirst into the realm of television and film, albeit in a rather unorthodox fashion.

Parlaying his skills as a contortionist,...

From the hidden depths of the sea, to the farthest corners of the globe, legendary monsters lie in wait. These colossal and fabled creatures, broadly referred to as kaijū, remain dormant or lurk in the shadows until there is no mistaking their existence. During the course of their travels, they often menace civilizations or battle other beasts of a similar size. Their legacies are formidable and their powers are devastating.

Yet despite their sheer enormity and astonishing abilities, audiences today may find it difficult to imagine the likes of Godzilla being genuinely scary. Their destruction can be shocking, but the monsters themselves don’t always strike fear in mankind’s heart. Even so, there are those instances in the course of Japanese kaijū cinema — from Godzilla, Gamera, or otherwise — where viewers are genuinely unnerved by what they see on screen.

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)

Legion First Appears

Subways are...

The episode of Revisited covering Crimson Peak was Written by Emilie Black, Edited by Ric Solomon, Narrated by Niki Minter, Produced by Tyler Nichols and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

As of now, I think my love for Guillermo Del Toro as a filmmaker is well established. I adore the man and his work. He plays in my favorite sandboxes, with monsters, vampires, kaiju, giant robots, and in the gothic world whenever he feels like it. The man is after my heart with every single movie he makes. In 2015, he went ahead and asked himself, what does this girl love that she hasn’t gotten a whole lot of lately? And he answered with a gothic love story with ghosts in a Hammer-esque setting in a mansion with walls that bleed and memories imbedded in its construction. So, if you didn’t guess from all that, this...

Frankenstein is one of the most revered and famous horror stories of the last several centuries. The original story by Mary Shelley was first published over 200 years ago in 1818, and in the last 100 years, the character of Frankenstein’s Monster has become a staple of horror cinema. While Frankenstein was first put to film in the form of a short film by J. Searle Dawley in 1910, the most famous iteration of the story wouldn’t hit screens until 1931. That film, directed by James Whale, starred Boris Karloff as the central monster with Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein himself. It was the second film in what would become the iconic Universal Monsters franchise, with the first film, Dracula, having been released earlier that year.

Since then, there have been countless iterations of Frankenstein and his monster on screen. Karloff played the monster in three films, and the character has also been...

Today is the second and final day in Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days. Get a jump-start on holiday shopping for the genre fan in your life (or treat yourself!) with slashed prices on horror 4K Ultra HDs and Blu-rays ranging from classics to recent releases.

Many of yesterday’s deals are still active, along with a slew of new ones.

Here are the top horror and genre-adjacent highlights from the Prime Big Deal Days event…

4K Ultra HD Collections:

Us / Get Out – $17.99 Back to the Future: The Ultimate Trilogy – $23.74 Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection – $94.99

Individual 4K UHDs:

Color Out of Space – $9.96 Godzilla (2014) – $9.99 Godzilla vs. Kong – $9.99 John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum – $9.44 No Time to Die – $9.49 R.I.P.D. – $9.49 Glass – $9.99 The Mummy (2017) – $9.99 Bumblebee – $9.99 Ghost in the Shell (1995) – $10.19 Warcraft – $10.44 The Invisible Man (2020) – $10.99 A Clockwork Orange – $10.99 Jurassic Park – $10.99 Inglourious Basterds – $10.99 Knives Out – $11.89 Moonfall – $11.89 The Cabin in the Woods – $11.99 Highlander – $13.30 The Green Knight...

There isn’t another filmmaker quite like Guillermo del Toro.

While he’s been working since 1993, he’s only made 12 films. But each one of those films is so singularly well-crafted and emotionally resonant, that they stand out as being unlike any other films being made today (or really at any other time). Del Toro stuffs these bejeweled treasures, made with clockwork intricacy, full of ghosts and ghouls and phantasmagorical creatures. But they are also populated with human characters who sport actual and psychic scars, made whole or irreparably damaged by their encounter with the unknown. Whether in English or Spanish, with the tiniest budget or the most expansive, del Toro maintains his creative vision through it all.

It’s with this in mind that we look back at his entire filmography, from the least to most mind-altering.

Photo credit: Photo: Dimension

12. “Mimic” (1997)

Del Toro himself would probably admit that this was his worst film,...

Guillermo del Toro didn't direct Pacific Rim: Uprising because he had to leave to helm The Shape of Water when the Toronto soundstages were lost. He has never watched the sequel because he says it's like watching home movies from an ex-wife - terrible if it's good and worse if it's bad. The final script for Pacific Rim: Uprising was very different from Del Toro's original vision, although some elements remained.

Guillermo del Toro has revealed why he didn't direct – and never watched – Pacific Rim: Uprising. His original 2013 movie Pacific Rim was set in a world where pairs of human soldiers operate giant robots called Jaegers to fight giant monsters called Kaiju. He eventually dropped out of making the 2018 sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising and the job went to television director Stephen S. DeKnight. The movie, which starred John Boyega, failed to make a profit at the box office and earned...

Guillermo del Toro has been one of the most beloved filmmakers in all of fandom, and perhaps all of cinema, for the past 30 years. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, del Toro was fascinated with the fantastical at an early age, turning his childhood obsessions into a long creative career that has celebrated the monstrous, the grotesque, and the otherworldly. His is an aesthetic that gives the macabre with a sense of beauty and poetry.

From the start, del Toro’s passion for horror, science fiction, and fantasy in all their myriad forms—movies, TV, literature, comics, art—came through unapologetically, making him not just seem like he was one of us, a fan, but an uber fan; one of us who got to realize the visions and dreams that sparked inside his imagination. He even owns a house that is stuffed to the brim with all the tangible objects of his obsession,...

Norman Reedus improvised a touching moment in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon episode 2, where his character embraces two children. Reedus' portrayal of Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead franchise has made him an iconic character. Reedus initially auditioned for a different role but impressed the creators so much that they created Daryl specifically for him. Reedus' performance throughout 10 seasons of The Walking Dead led to the development of the spinoff series, showcasing his incredible talent and understanding of the role.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon director Daniel Percival reveals that Norman Reedus improvised a small moment in episode 2, "Alouette." A spinoff from the original The Walking Dead franchise, Daryl Dixon follows the titular character, who suddenly finds himself on the shores of France and attempts to navigate the chaos of infested walkers in hopes of finding his way back home. Reedus reprises his role as Daryl Dixon, and the remaining...

“If people want movies made by AI – let them get them immediately.”

Guillermo del Toro has bullishly addressed fears around artificial intelligence in the film industry, saying he is more worried about “natural stupidity” than the technology itself.

Speaking at the latest TIFF Visionaries event at Toronto International Film Festival, the Mexican filmmaker said, “People say ‘are you worried about AI?’. I’m worried about natural stupidity”, to laughter from an excited audience.

“If people want movies made by AI – let them get them immediately,” continued the filmmaker, who was in conversation with TIFF head Cameron Bailey. “I don’t...

“If people want movies made by AI – let them get them immediately.”

Guillermo del Toro has bullishly addressed fears around artificial intelligence in the film industry, saying he is more worried about “natural stupidity” than the technology itself.

Speaking at the latest TIFF Visionaries event at Toronto International Film Festival, the Mexican filmmaker said, “People say ‘are you worried about AI?’. I’m worried about natural stupidity”, to laughter from an excited audience.

“If people want movies made by AI – let them get them immediately,” continued the filmmaker, who was in conversation with TIFF head Cameron Bailey. “I don’t...

Actor Norman Reedus has been in the spotlight for nearly three decades. Reedus began his career on screen in the 1990s, landing his first major film role in Guillermo Del Toro's 1997 film "Mimic." Over the course of the late 1990s and 2000s, Reedus built his résumé, starring in TV shows like "Charmed" and "Law & Order: Svu" and box-office hits like "Blade II" and "American Gangster." By 2010, the actor quickly became a household name for his role as Daryl Dixon in "The Walking Dead," which he appeared in for the show's 11 seasons. Most recently, Reedus is reprising his role as Daryl Dixon in the AMC spinoff series, "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon," set to premiere on Sept. 10.

Reedus, known for keeping his personal life out of the spotlight, balances his career with being a father of two. The actor shares a son, model Mingus Lucien Reedus, with former girlfriend,...

The Virus episode of Wtf Happened to This Horror Movie? was Written and Edited by Ric Solomon, Narrated by Adam Walton, Produced by Andrew Hatfield and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

The ’90s are chock full of some great sci-fi horror films. Who can forget Event Horizon, The Lawnmower Man, Mimic or Deep Blue Sea…. ya know, the one where Samuel L. Jackson gets eaten by a shark? Anyways, let’s fast forward to the end of the decade, 1999 in particular. It was, and still is, considered to be the best year movies were released. In January, director John Bruno would bring us the film, Virus (watch it Here). A movie that makes us ask the question “Wtf Happened To This Horror Movie?”

Back in 1992, writer Chuck Pfarrer and Canadian artist Howard Cobb brought to life the comic series Virus. The story revolves around a group of...

If there was ever a match made in heaven, it was Guillermo del Toro and Disney's "The Haunted Mansion." Del Toro is a monster kid through and through. His fascination with the macabre has deep literary and cinematic roots, to be sure. He can break down the gothic artistry of Mary Shelley's writing or grapple with the problematic side of H.P. Lovecraft with as much intelligence and passion as the most respected college professor.

But del Toro's passion for genre goes way beyond the intellectual. It's his whole heart, which you can see in everything he's ever produced. He has a childlike love of ghosts and monsters and anything spooky, so of course he was the right person for Disney to hire to try to make a real version of "The Haunted Mansion" back in 2010.

His particular adaptation had a long history of stops and starts before he eventually departed the project,...

The 20th edition of Skip City International D-Cinema Festival had been physically held from July 15 to July 23 (and virtually from July 22 to July 26), and wrapped at the Closing Ceremony, Sunday July 23. Jury and Audience award winners were announced at the Ceremony.

For the International Compeition, an Asian Premiere film, When the Seedlings Grow (Syria), directed by Rêger Azad Kaya, received the Grand Prize. I Woke Up with a Dream (Argentina, Uruguay), directed by Pablo Solarz, won the Best Director and Six Weeks (Hungary), directed by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi received the Special Jury Prize. This year's jury members were Masao Teshima, President of the Jury and a renowned producer from Asmik Ace, Naomi Akashi, the producer of Egoist (Dir. Daishi Matsunaga) and Patrice Nezan, a French producer, who produced the festival's 2019 winner The Tower (Dir. Mats Grorud). In addition, Midwives (France), directed by Léa Fehner, was chosen for the Audience Award.