The Bite #63

Horror Slaycations, BLACK CHRISTMAS Reboot, and More!

June 18, 2019

In this Issue:

Horror History: Horror Slaycations
Image of the Week: Happy Birthday, Gremlins!
Tiny Bites – This Week’s Best Horror Headlines
Things We Love: Back to the Nostromo
Hey, That’s Us! – Shudder in the News

HORROR HISTORY: HORROR SLAYCATIONS

Tolstoy claimed that all great storytelling falls into one of two categories – a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town. If you base a scary movie around a vacation, you get both! Tension builds as characters contend with problems like culture clashes, unfamiliar landscapes, language barriers, baggage both physical and emotional, and that’s before the bodies start to pile up. As we eagerly await the July release of Ari Aster’s Midsommer, about a trip to a pagan summer festival that turns seriously sinister, we’re revisiting a few other vacation horror movies that left us with fond memories.

Stories about road trips gone wrong tend to journey into hixploitation, as evidenced in 1964’s Two Thousand Maniacs!, which pits Yankees lured off the main highway against a town full of Southern Confederates. Deformed local goons that prey upon unsuspecting teens and families on wheels have set the stage for many a franchise, including The Hills Have Eyes, Wrong Turn, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Backpackers don’t fare any better in the Wolf Creekfilms once they encounter psychotic Mick Taylor (then again, pretty much anything in Australia can kill you), while An American Werewolf in London serves as a clear warning for tourists to keep off the English moors during a full moon. Many Friday the 13th films toss a few random campers into Jason’s kill count on top of the requisite counselors; closely related is the formula of depositing victims into a rented or borrowed cabin in the woods for a weekend of fun, a plot device so common it earned its own movie, The Cabin in the Woods.

For merrymakers in foreign countries, the destination is often their final one, whether partying in Mexico (devoured by killer vines in The Ruins), Brazil (harvested for organs in Turistas), or Slovakia (tortured by the highest bidder in Hostel and its criminally underrated sequel).

The best getaway horror films make a point of turning the location itself into the star, like the claustrophobic maze of caves in The Descent, the inherent surrealism of Disney World in Escape From Tomorrow, and even the icy, isolating terror of an open ski lift in Frozen.

Too bad none of these films’ characters took note of the grim warning tucked inside the lyrics of “Vacation” by The Go-Go’s: “Now that I’m away, I wish I’d stayed.”

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

Happy Birthday, Gremlins!

Joe Dante’s holiday horror classic turned 35 last week and to celebrate, Warner Bros. released some special images from their archives. This sweet moment between Stripe and puppet designer, Chris Walas, is a definite highlight.

TINY BITES

DANNY TORRENCE IS BACK, CHUCKY’S NEW THEME & MORE

Entertainment Weekly says these are “the best horror movies of 2019 so far.” And you can watch three of them on Shudder right now.

The holidays came early with Blumhouse announcing a second reboot of Black Christmas, with Sophia Takal in the director’s chair. The original 1974 film is a Canadian horror classic that popularized slasher tropes as we know them. The 2006 remake has … niche appeal.

Bear McCreary shared his epic Child’s Play themewith the public, and it is incredible. Make sure you listen all the way to the end for a special … treat.

McCreary also made a music video for the themecomplete with creepy toys and manic gestures. It is everything.

Stephen King called on Netflix to remake Under The Dome by “starting from scratch and actually doing the book.”

And Danny Torrence is back in the new trailer for Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep. A sequel to The Shining, it’s got King’s seal of approval, so we’re all in!

HBO and Fred Armisen have teamed up for a Spanish-language horror-comedy series, Los Espookys, and it looks delightful.

Moschino got spooky with their 2020 spring runway show. Their best accessory? A bejeweled slit throat.

Amazon’s Dark Tower series is shooting in Croatiawith The Walking Dead’s Michael Rooker, whose role has yet to be announced.

Sony Pictures Animation announced they’re developing Anthony Bourdain’s graphic novel, “Hungry Ghosts”, into a twisted culinary-inspired anthology series.

In anticipation of Nightmare Cinema’s June 21st release date, Mick Garris shared an awesome list ofhis top 5 horror anthologies of all time.

The Midnight Society has some new members as the cast was announced for the Are You Afraid Of The Dark? revival.

Want some off-the-radar horror to check out this summer? Bloody Disgusting’s got you covered with this list of 10 great lesser-known slashers.

For Tales From The Crypt’s 30th anniversary, Meagan Navarro ranked the 10 most gruesome episodes, including the killer Santa classic “And All Through The House” from the series premiere.

Gayly Dreadful pays tribute to Don Mancini’s “queer inclusion” in the Child’s Play franchise – with extra love for camp gem Seed of Chucky.

THINGS WE LOVE: BACK TO THE NOSTROMO

We’re obsessed with this limited-edition Alien print from Sideshow Collectibles. Playing with some of the iconic imagery we’ve all come to know and love, artist Orlando Arocena is giving us something new and unique, with Ripley front and center where she belongs.