I ran into an unfortunate softlock during my review of Another Crab’s Treasure, an adorable but still intimidating Soulslike, that has so far barred me from completing the game. Near the end of the game, you’re prompted to activate an elevator by an NPC that takes players to the final major area and the last few…
Metal Gear Solid’s Master Collection has been out since October 2023. And while it is very lacking in some key ways that we’d expect from a modern remaster in the 21st century, it still contains a hefty selection of some of the greatest games of the late ‘90s and 2000s.
Metal Gear Solid’s Master Collection has been out since October 2023. And while it is very lacking in some key ways that we’d expect from a modern remaster in the 21st century, it still contains a hefty selection of some of the greatest games of the late ‘90s and 2000s.
A.A. Milne’s 1926 children’s book Winnie-the-Pooh and the characters in it lapsed into the public domain at the start of last year, paving the way for the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey horror franchise, which in turn kicked off the Twisted Childhood Universe, consisting of other horror movies inspired by children’s stories, like Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Pinocchio Unstrung, building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. On January 1st, the earliest versions of Mickey Mouse – seen in the animated shorts Plane Crazy, The Gallopin’ Gaucho, and most famously Steamboat Willie – became public domain, so Mickey-based horror movies also started springing up. Within the first three days of the year, we saw the short film The Vanishing of S.S. Willie, a trailer for the slasher movie Mickey’s Mouse Trap, and an announcement that Terrifier 2 producers Steven Della Salla and Michael Leavy and director Steven LaMorte, who previously made the Grinch-inspired horror movie The Mean One, were teaming up for a Steamboat Willie-inspired horror flick we now know is called Screamboat. Separate from all of these other projects that are cashing in on these characters’ public domain status, Untouchables Entertainment, in association with genre website iHorror, has announced that they are currently in production on a public domain horror mash-up called Mickey vs. Winnie.
We’ll reiterate that this has nothing to do with Screamboat or the Twisted Childhood Universe. Mickey vs. Winnie is a standalone project that’s being written and directed by Glenn Douglas Packard, an Emmy nominated choreographer turned filmmaker who previously made the 2016 slasher Pitchfork.
Mickey vs. Winnie will follow two convicts in the 1920s who escape into a cursed forest only to be dragged and consumed into the depths of the dark forest’s muddy heart. A century later, a group of thrill-seeking friends unknowingly venture into the same woods. Their Airbnb getaway takes a horrifying turn when the convicts mutate into twisted versions of childhood icons Mickey Mouse & Winnie-The-Pooh, and emerge to terrorize them. A night of violence and gore erupts, as the group of friends battle against their now monstrous beloved childhood characters and fight to break free from the forest’s grip. In a horrific spectacle, Mickey and Winnie clash, painting the woods in a gruesome tableau of blood—a chilling testament to the curse’s insidious power.
Packard had this to say about the project: “Horror fans call for the thrill of witnessing icons like the new Aliens and Avengers sharing the screen. While licensing nightmares make such crossovers rare, Mickey vs. Winnie serves as our tribute to that thrilling fantasy.“
Packard is producing the film under his Untouchables Entertainment banner, alongside his creative partner Rachel Carter. Anthony Pernicka, the founder of iHorror, is producing for his company of the same name.
Pernicka told Deadline, “We’re thrilled to unveil this unique take to horror fans. The Mickey Mouse featured in our film is unlike any iteration audiences have encountered before. Our portrayal doesn’t involve characters donning basic masks. Instead, we present deeply transformed, live-action horror renditions of these iconic figures, weaving together elements of innocence and malevolence. After experiencing the intense scenes we’ve crafted, you’ll never look at Mickey the same way again.“
How does Mickey vs. Winnie sound to you? Are you interested in seeing horror versions of these beloved public domain characters clash? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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It seems like every other week there’s a new horror release based on some classic literary character. Whether it’s Pinocchio or Winnie the Pooh, there doesn’t seem to be a sign of them slowing down. And this time their sights are on Cinderella. I’m sure you can imagine all the ways that classic tale can be given a horror slant, with Cinderella’s awful treatment by her stepfamily. The movie itself has some fun moments (you can check out my review HERE) but the real highlight is Natasha Henstridge as the Fairy Godmother. She relishes every moment of screen time and looks to be having a blast. So I was excited to be able to talk to her about the part.
Plus, if you know me, you know I’m going to ask Ms. Henstridge about some random horror movie she’s in. The culprit this time happened to be John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars, in which Henstridge starred. We get into how she was recommended by her at the time boyfriend after Courtney Love (yes, THAT Courtney Love) dropped out of the project just one week before filming. And it’s hard to think of Natasha without thinking of the film that put her on the map: Species. We get into whether or not the franchise has any place in today’s sexually sensitive society and if she’d have any interest in returning.
Cinderella’s Revenge plot:
Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters and stepmother push her too far, leading her to swap her glass slippers in pursuit of blood-soaked vengeance with the help of her Fairy Godmother.
CINDERELLA’S REVENGE IS RELEASING TO THEATERS ON APRIL 26TH, 2024.
The post Interview: Natasha Henstridge Talks The Insanity Of Cinderella’s Revenge + Future of Species Franchise appeared first on JoBlo.
It seems like every other week there’s a new horror release based on some classic literary character. Whether it’s Pinocchio or Winnie the Pooh, there doesn’t seem to be a sign of them slowing down. And this time their sights are on Cinderella. I’m sure you can imagine all the ways that classic tale can be given a horror slant, with Cinderella’s awful treatment by her stepfamily. The movie itself has some fun moments (you can check out my review HERE) but the real highlight is Natasha Henstridge as the Fairy Godmother. She relishes every moment of screen time and looks to be having a blast. So I was excited to be able to talk to her about the part.
Plus, if you know me, you know I’m going to ask Ms. Henstridge about some random horror movie she’s in. The culprit this time happened to be John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars, in which Henstridge starred. We get into how she was recommended by her at the time boyfriend after Courtney Love (yes, THAT Courtney Love) dropped out of the project just one week before filming. And it’s hard to think of Natasha without thinking of the film that put her on the map: Species. We get into whether or not the franchise has any place in today’s sexually sensitive society and if she’d have any interest in returning.
Cinderella’s Revenge plot:
Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters and stepmother push her too far, leading her to swap her glass slippers in pursuit of blood-soaked vengeance with the help of her Fairy Godmother.
CINDERELLA’S REVENGE IS RELEASING TO THEATERS ON APRIL 26TH, 2024.
The post Interview: Natasha Henstridge Talks The Insanity Of Cinderella’s Revenge + Future of Species Franchise appeared first on JoBlo.
Melissa Rauch’s revisit to the nocturnal courthouse has been renewed. Deadline reports that NBC has ordered another season of the Night Court revival that aims to recapture the charm of the 1984 classic sitcom that starred Harry Anderson as Judge Stone. Rauch executive produces in addition to starring on the show and she portrays Judge Stone’s daughter, Abby.
According to Deadline, there was a delay in the greenlight, which was caused by NBC and the producing studio Warner Bros. TV having renegotiate on the size of the order for the third season. A deal was finally reached and will ultimately consist of 18 episodes. The contract for the show has stipulated that the series would feature a usual 22-episode run for each season. However, the network requested 18 episodes. The show premiered as a mid-season launch and, for that reason, it would sport a halved number of episodes to a normal run of a show. The first season would consist of 16 episodes while the second season would be affected by the strikes and only be able to reach 13 episodes.
The new Night Court series revolves around “unapologetic optimist judge Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch), the daughter of the late Harry Stone, who follows in her father’s footsteps as she presides over the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court and tries to bring order to its crew of oddballs and cynics, most notably former night court prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette).” The launch of the series gave NBC their best comedy premiere since Will & Grace in 2017, so it would be foreseen that a second season would get ordered. The revival is finding a way to bring back fan favorites, and season 2 would even feature the return of Brent Spiner and Annie O’Donnell as Bob and June Wheeler, the perpetually down-on-their-luck couple who always have a wild story about their misfortunes.
The post Night Court will continue to be in session as NBC renews the revival for season 3 appeared first on JoBlo.
It’s been a terrible day for Helldivers 2 and the team behind it. Angry players swarmed the co-op shooter’s Steam page to review-bomb it like a giant hive of Terminids after a PlayStation Network login requirement was reinstituted on PC. “Ouch, right in the review score,” Arrowhead Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt tweeted…
It’s been a terrible day for Helldivers 2 and the team behind it. Angry players swarmed the co-op shooter’s Steam page to review-bomb it like a giant hive of Terminids after a PlayStation Network login requirement was reinstituted on PC. “Ouch, right in the review score,” Arrowhead Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt tweeted…
PLOT: A six-episode journey into the fearsome Galactic Empire through the eyes of two warriors on divergent paths, set during different eras. After losing everything, young Morgan Elsbeth navigates the expanding Imperial world toward a path of vengeance, while former Jedi Barriss Offee does what she must to survive a rapidly changing galaxy. The choices they make will define their destinies.
REVIEW: While fans have been somewhat divided over the live-action offerings in the Disney era of Star Wars, we can all agree that the animated projects have been fantastic. From the revival of The Clone Wars to the spin-off The Bad Batch and the unique anthology Visions, animated Star Wars is stronger than ever. Following the 2022 series Tales of the Jedi, the latest series again gives us a bite-sized limited series focusing on secondary characters in the Star Wars canon. Tales of the Empire sounds like it would focus on stormtroopers and Sith but instead gives us a look at two characters whose journeys are impacted by the titular group. Fitting nicely into the expanding world of Star Wars mythology, Tales of the Empire is a quick watch with some cool moments fans will definitely enjoy.
In Tales of the Jedi, the six episodes present glimpses into the lives of Count Dooku and Ahsoka Tano. Opening with a story about Ahsoka’s birth, the series shifted to three episodes about Dooku before concluding with two Clone Wars-era entries. In Tales of the Empire, the six episodes are split evenly, with two sets of three episodes, each chronicling a particular character’s tale. With each entry clocking in at no more than fifteen minutes each, Tales of the Empire is structured like two mini-movies cut into bit-size segments. While this formula could work for seasons to come, it makes the release format of these tales somewhat underwhelming. This series may have felt more robust if we had six hour-long episodes focused on a single character or story. Still, Disney and Lucasfilm aim for a format that will appeal to adult fans of the expanding Star Wars universe while also allowing younger viewers with limited attention spans to engage.
The first trio of episodes centers on Morgan Elspeth, who recently played a key role in the live-action series Ahsoka. Once again, played by Diana Lee Inosanto, this tale shows us how the former Nightsister became associated with the Empire, specifically Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen). Over her three episodes, we see Morgan at important moments in her past that inform her transformation into the villain she would become. The trailer footage showing General Grievous comes from one of these episodes. The short format of the fifteen-minute glimpses keeps the pace moving quickly but also limits how much we actually delve into the character, whom some Star Wars fans may not be all that interested to know about. The story ends fairly abruptly, with an ending to the third chapter that left me wondering if there would be a fourth episode to wrap things up. There are several deep-cut moments that hardcore fans will be familiar with, while the casual viewer will be left somewhat confused.
The second story arc centers on Jedi warrior Barriss Offee. Meredith Salenger reprises her voice role from The Clone Wars as one of the few survivors of Order 66 from The Revenge of the Sith. Having previously been a key ally to Ahsoka Tano, this arc also feels like another Dave Filoni-centric return to the prequel era designed to expand on Ahsoka and what is to come from that series in seasons to come. Here, Barriss’ fate is shown as being connected to the Grand Inquisitor (Jason Isaacs) and the brutal Fourth Sister (Rya Kihlstedt). There is a cameo appearance from none other than Darth Vader, which is a nice nod but unnecessary. This arc is stronger than the Morgan Elsbeth episodes, mostly due to the lightsaber action. Two key scenes are some of the darkest in any Star Wars animated series I have seen before and build to a solid showdown to wrap the final episode.
Like the previous episodes, the back half of Tales of the Empire ends with something of a cliffhanger. Dave Filoni, who serves as producer, writer, director, and now godfather of Star Wars for Lucasfilm, seems to want to whet audiences’ appetite with this anthology but fails to ignite a consistency in the limited screen time allotted here. Yes, the animation is as good as any other Star Wars, but the stories are weaker than the more polished Tales of the Jedi. At least those stories had something of an ending, whereas these are incomplete. I will say that the maturity of these episodes is much higher than that of the preceding series, with blood, death, and violence that may actually scare some younger viewers. It is nothing on screen we have not seen before, but the implication of some action hinted at off-camera is enough to scare some younglings.
Tales of the Empire is an odd title for this entry in the animated anthology as the stories, while connected to the Empire, are not directly about it. Tales of Ahsoka Tano may have been too on the nose, but that is more akin to what this season is centered on. Both storylines here are worth telling but could have been expanded far more to give audiences a satisfying and full story. As they stand, Tales of the Empire feels incomplete and would have benefitted from at least one more episode for each half of the season. The voice work is very good, as it always is with Star Wars animation, but this feels anticlimactic as the new chapter in Star Wars arrives for the franchise’s de facto holiday. Hardcore fans will be pleased, casual viewers will be underwhelmed, and everyone else will be left wanting a little more closure.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire premieres on May 4th on Disney+.
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