A man dressed in a “Scream” costume killed his neighbor Monday in Lehighton and then went back home to watch a movie, according to police.
State police said Zak Russel Moyer, 30, intended to kill his neighbor, Edward Whitehead Jr., 59, because of crimes he believed Whitehead committed.
Moyer is charged with one count of homicide. He was sent to Carbon County jail without bail.
Police responded about 3:30 p.m. Monday to the 200 block of Carbon Street for a report of an assault. Whitehead was hit with a knife and a chainsaw, according to court documents. He was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital-Carbon, where he died from his injuries
The controversy around the film seems to center on the use of AI art.. numbers are decent for the film showing in 1,034 locations..
Let’s first start with this: There was something very calming about watching the horror flick LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL in a theater with a packed audience.. we highly recommend it if you can find a theater showing it.
Now that we have that out of the way…
The Shudder horror film LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL was getting rave reviews and even had a 100% rotten rating on ROTTEN TOMATOES.. While it is maintaining a decent rating with critics and an 83% with audiences, controversy marred the opening weekend.
At issue: The AI art..
Just a few images, really. But those images caused shockwaves of hostility across social media platforms..
When it was revealed this week that the film used some AI imagery, there were immediate calls for a boycott of the movie.
Cameron and Colin Cairnes, the Australian siblings who wrote and directed the film, released a statement to Variety clarifying the scope of AI art in the film. The statement reads:
“In conjunction with our amazing graphics and production design team, all of whom worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we had always imagined, we experimented with AI for three still images which we edited further and ultimately appear as very brief interstitials in the film. We feel incredibly fortunate to have had such a talented and passionate cast, crew and producing team go above and beyond to help bring this film to life. We can’t wait for everyone to see it for themselves this weekend.”
But consider the fact that the film was made prior to 2024.. released originally in 2023 (long before the current AI debate really hit like it’s doing now) … Can we get some forgiveness?
Beyond the AI controversy, some truly despised this movie–others seemingly loved it. Perusing the former Twitterverse now Xsphere, we are greeted by a number of people who hated the film giving it a o out of 10.. others who loved it with a 9 out of 10. There seems to be little meeting in the middle among fans.
Seriously.. David Dastmalchian rocked this role.
The movie will be in some people’s top 10 of horror.. others will not think to include it.
At the point this is written, IFC’s LATE NIGHT is showing in 1,034 locations .. it posted a $1.1M Friday, 3-day heading to $2.9M. From reports, there are solid numbers in NYC, Toronto, Salt Lake City, Edmonton, Dallas, San Antonio and LA..
It seems appropriate that the final season of the show will actually take place during the same “Seasons” as the opening.
Recent reports strongly suggest that the final season will unfold during Christmas.
A Reddit user shared photos from the sets of Stranger Things. The location is likely Hawkins High School and it features a Christmas tree. There’s also a message on the board that reads, “We know times are tough for all of Hawkins, but anything you can spare will be much appreciated.
Perhaps there will be a need for Joyce’s wall art to light up yet again.
It reportedly has ‘nothing to do’ with the fallout from Melissa Barrera‘s firing by Spyglass Media over that actress’ social media repostings on the Hamas-Israel conflict..
Deadline is splashing and exclusive about the upcoming SCREAM 7: Ortega out!
More..
Jenna Ortega, who was heralded to be a huge draw in getting Scream VI to the horror franchise’s best opening grosses ever at $44.4M stateside, $67M global, isn’t expected to return for the newest film..
According to DEADLINE, the departure has ‘nothing to do with the fallout from Melissa Barrera‘s firing yesterday by Spyglass Media over that actress’ social media repostings on the Hamas-Israel conflict’; nor does it have to do with the actress asking for an end to her Scream contract. Ortega and Barrera played sisters in 2022’s Scream and this year’s Scream VI respectively as Tara and Sam Carpenter
Noah Schnapp was featured in a video promoting stickers with phrases like ‘Zionism is sexy’ and ‘Hamas is ISIS
Into the fray!!
Noah Schnapp was featured in a video promoting stickers with phrases like ‘Zionism is sexy’ and ‘Hamas is ISIS.’ This video has triggered outrage among social media users, with many fans labeling his actions as disgusting. The backlash has escalated to the extent that many people are now advocating for a boycott of the final season of Stranger Things.
In addition to Schnapp, Brett Gelman, recognized for his role as Murray Bauman, has come under scrutiny for sharing anti-Muslim posts on social media. Beyond the cast, there is criticism directed at Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy and the show’s writers, The Duffer Brothers. They are facing backlash for endorsing a letter in support of Israel, further fueling the controversy surrounding the show.
— Read on strangerthingshub.com/stranger-things-fans-are-leaving-the-fandom-after-new-controversy/
This is amazing! Keep spiting those reviewers who don’t matter!
Enjoy the season!
This from DEADLINE:
SATURDAY AM: Refresh for more analysis and chart Universal/Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s is meeting the expectations of all those crazy projections that were out there. Since yesterday midday when we saw $68M, the Emma Tammi directed feature take of the videogame, which is also co-written by the game’s creator Scott Cawthon is looking at $78M weekend. Some have this movie at near Oppenheimer‘s opening ($82.4M), not that the movie will leg out to north of $300M in the end, but it’s fun to see how Universal in its marketing, literally repeated that type of moviegoer turnout again; another title here that’s harnessed the spirit of fans.
— Read on deadline.com/2023/10/box-office-five-nights-at-freddys-1235584788/
“Caught between PG and R, as well as lost at the crossroads of inadvertent comedy and horror, the PG-13 Five Nights at Freddy’s has to go down as one of the poorest films in any genre this year.”
“A weird horror concoction, fleetingly clever in the early going before gumming up the gears down the home stretch.”
“One problem is that the title imposes a stop-and-start structure which keeps killing the momentum. One scary night would work better than five with time-outs for daytime plot about the evil auntie or a deep backstory.”
“Expanding the game’s simple, primal premise with a surfeit of character melodrama, it’s a Five Nights at Freddy’s that labors under the bizarre assumption that the loyal fanbase wants a lot of extraneous plot surrounding the fun-center horror.”
But does it matter???
We are getting word of this tonight: Five Nights at Freddy‘s is eyeing a $50 million-plus start and possibly even more. At that level, it would make it the second-best domestic box office opening of the fall behind Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour!!
The limited engagement puts the spotlight on William Friedkin’s Extended Director’s Cut, sourced from the Original 1973 Cut Camera Negative with newly restored and remastered picture and sound in stunning 4k—removing dirt, scratches, and other defects, while maintaining the film’s original creative integrity…
End that writers strike now, eh!?
This year marks the 50th anniversary of The Exorcist..
It will hit theaters on Sunday, October 1 at 4pm and 7pm local time, and Wednesday, October 4 at 7pm local time.
The limited engagement puts the spotlight on William Friedkin’sExtended Director’s Cut, sourced from the Original 1973 Cut Camera Negative with newly restored and remastered picture and sound in stunning 4k—removing dirt, scratches, and other defects, while maintaining the film’s original creative integrity…
There is no word yet on who will be writing Scream 7, but THR reports that Melissa Barrera and Mason Gooding are expected to return. As for Jenna Ortega, only time will tell.
BLOODY DISGUSTING first reported this news today followed by the Hollywood Reporter..
Spyglass “has tapped Christopher Landon, a scary movie stalwart whose credits include the Happy Death Day movies as well as body-switching horror-comedy Freaky, to direct the seventh installment of the long-running franchise.” Scream and Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Radio Silence) will remain on board as executive producers, as will Chad Villella.
At this point it is assumed but there is no official word yet on who will be writing Scream 7, but THR reports that Melissa Barrera and Mason Gooding are expected to return.
Of course this is all this contingent on Hollywood actually coming back soon from a writers strike..
The magic of this frustration is overwhelming in concept: You are stuck in the house with these kids. Whether you are stuck in a dream, their dream, your dream, or some paranormal realm, you are stuck.
Unless you want to? Seriously, go see it if you do. You may never see a movie like this in a theater again.
We traveled to Reading PA to see a late night showing of the film Sunday night–a few friends were mad it wasn’t in their hometown of Philadelphia but a smaller venue like the AMC in Berks County.
It was not overly crowded for our showing, just a few people sprinkled around the theater, mostly with blankets and their feet up.
The Horror Report will make the valiant attempt of keeping spoilers mostly out, but expect a few here and there.
There is a simple (we think) premise:
In the year 1995, two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. Kyle Edward Ball, the writer of the low budget movie *$15,000!* takes us on a journey from there..
From the moment the film begins until the second it ends, you feel automatic frustration. There is anger over the camera angles–why do they only show the tops and bottom of doors! Why only feet! Why only legos over and over and over again. Then when the TV starts playing? Sheesh.. We quickly had our fill of old fashioned creepy cartoons. Fast.
There are scenes of confusion. Scenes where there are subtitles for sentences that you can clearly understand, but no subtitles for muffled words being said in dark hallways or upstairs in the house.
There were moments of Twilight Zone vibes when toilets vanished and reappeared, or blood streaked and then went backwards. But so many other scenes clearly expanded this movie longer than it should have been. What would have been a great 15-minute turned into an hour and 40 minutes of confusion. Mania. Anxiety.
So in that sense, it also worked.
Look, we don’t know if Kyle Ball wants us to like this movie or hate it. It divided the horror world since its inception. But while it seems hard to watch, you can also become trapped by it. You are painfully watching each camera angle and slow movement, you are vaguely understanding what is going on but it all takes place off camera. So you are just a witness to something happening somewhere else, constantly. You never quite see the full story, just hear bits and pieces.
The magic of this frustration is overwhelming in concept: You are stuck in the house with these kids. Whether you are stuck in a dream, their dream, your dream, or some paranormal realm, you are stuck. The imagery, in all its mundane attire, is perfect for the theme: These dark corners, long hallways, and shadows created by a cartoon at midnight, are all things kids are frightened of. They are the origins of dreams, or at least confusion when you are trying to wake from a dream but somehow still being held in it.
There is a scene in the film that so perfectly illustrates that stuckness.. It is a moment when a cartoon continuously repeats over. And over. And over. And over and over.. again..
At the same time for all the positive statements just made, Skinamarink was at the same time almost unwatchable. Almost. But we watched. Perhaps that was a bit of the goal of film makers? Give us a movie that is so dreadful it is boring, so dark it becomes overdone?
There is also a sense of sadness in this house. While we cannot put our finger quite on it, the kids don’t have normal reactions. As a matter of fact, we grew to somewhat dislike the kids, eventually you end up not even feeling emotion towards them. Quite frankly, this is one of the few movies ever with little character development. You are simply just a fly on the wall, stuck in the house watching kids react to not having parents, windows, or doors. SPOILER: Even when the girl gets her mouth taken off and the boy stabs himself in the eye, you are so done with them that you lose interest. For all the sadness you felt now you just feel like you want to get out of the theater just as much as they want to get out of the house.
So yes indeed we watched.
We watched until the end when the movie simply said ‘the end.’ And THAT may have been the most frustrating part of all.
