Month: September 2024

26 Sep

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game adds Elvira and Tom Savini as playable characters

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Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game Tom Savini Elvira

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game was released as a digital exclusive for PC, Playstation 5, and Xbox Series X|S back on June 4th, and a physical media edition is set to be released on October 15th – but before we reach that date, the game has just added genre icons Elvira (the horror host played by Cassandra Peterson) and Tom Savini (actor and special effects artist) as playable characters! These characters are part of the game’s latest DLC – and next month a new map will be added to the game as well.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (the movie) was directed by Stephen Chiodo from a screenplay he wrote with his brother Charles Chiodo. Stephen and Charles also produced the film with their other brother, Edward Chiodo. It has the following synopsis: When teenagers Mike and Debbie see a comet crash outside their sleepy small town, they investigate and discover a pack of murderous aliens who look very much like circus clowns. They try to warn the local authorities, but everyone assumes their story is a prank. Meanwhile, the clowns set about harvesting and eating as many people as they can. It’s not until they kidnap Debbie that Mike decides it’s up to him to stop the clowns’ bloody rampage.

Neither Elvira nor Tom Savini had anything to do with that 1988 classic, but they were both popular among genre fans at the time of its release, so it seems somewhat fitting that they would get involved with some Klown action.

Here’s the information on the video game: Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is a crazy, fresh take on asymmetrical survival horror experience. Based on the iconic 80s movie, the three-versus-seven multiplayer game brings back the unique, over-the-top mix of horror and comedy. In the battle between Killer Klowns and the citizens of Crescent Cove, team up and harvest humans or save the world from an alien invasion! The game was first announced at Gamescom in 2022 and immediately drove huge buzz and excitement that spread across the globe.

Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, Killer Klowns has become a true pop culture phenomenon with scary-good products from a wide range of licensees for costumes, apparel, accessories, interactive, location-based entertainment and home and beauty, and MGM continues to grow the program into new categories.

Crescent Cove is a sprawling arena for these unique multiplier fights between Klowns and humans—boasting various locations, and various tactical opportunities for both teams. Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game provides a unique approach to hide-and-seek gameplay, customization and respawn systems, player-versus-player-versus-environment, and dynamic objectives leading to multiple match results. This game evolves the online horror formula in new ways.

Gameplay

Take on the Role of the Iconic Killer Klowns – Cooperate in a team of three players, utilize unworldly abilities, hunt humans with zany weapons, and plan your alien invasion to harvest the population of Crescent Cove successfully.

Fight Back as a Team of Seven Brave Citizens of Crescent Cove – Explore the city for valuable loot and weapons, avoid getting captured by Klowns, and try to survive the alien invasion.

Do you already play Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game? Are you waiting for next month’s physical media release? And what do you think of Elvira and Tom Savini being added into the game? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game Tom Savini Elvira

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26 Sep

Florence Pugh is set to star in an East of Eden series for Netflix

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Florence Pugh

While Florence Pugh is teaming up with a group of supervillain misfits for Marvel Studios’ upcoming closer to phase five, Thunderbolts*, she will also be gearing up for a Netflix drama that’s based on John Steinbeck’s literary classic, East of Eden. The Hollywood Reporter has unveiled that the streamer has given the go-ahead to a seven-episode limited series based on the 1952 novel. The book was previously adapted for a 1955 movie, which was directed by Elia Kazan and featured the iconic James Dean in his first lead role.

Elia Kazan’s granddaughter, Zoe Kazan, is set to adapt the novel into an episodic show and will serve as co-showrunner along with Jeb Stuart, known for projects like Die Hard and Vikings: Valhalla. Pugh will be joined by Christopher Abbott, as well as Mike Faist, who is playing the role Dean had in the film adaptation, and Hoon Lee will also starring. The series is set to be produced by Fifth Season and Anonymous Content.

Kazan would give a statement in which she said, “In the process of bringing this family saga to life, the resonance of my own familial connection to the material has not been lost on me. But it is Steinbeck’s writing — personal, shocking, profound and free — that has kept me enthralled to East of Eden since I first read the book as a young teen. Working on this has been the greatest joy, and I am thrilled by the cast and crew we are assembling – and deeply grateful to Netflix, Fifth Season and Anonymous Content for their support.”

Meanwhile, Peter Friedlander, the VP of scripted series for Netflix, would enthusiastically mention, “Zoe’s thoughtful and artistic vision pays homage to her grandfather’s revered film adaptation while beautifully honoring and introducing new audiences to a true canon of American literature. She is an inspiring, creative force and we can not wait for everyone to see what she and Jeb, alongside the brilliant cast led by Florence Pugh, bring to screen.”

Kazan, Stuart and Pugh are on board as executive producers for East of Eden. Director Garth Davis (Top of the Lake), will be taking on the first four episodes, then Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (Impeachment: American Crime Story), will helm the last three installments. Davis and Clermont-Tonnerre will also executive produce with Antoine Douiahy and Zack Hayden.

The post Florence Pugh is set to star in an East of Eden series for Netflix appeared first on JoBlo.

26 Sep

Killer Heat Review: Joseph Gordon-Levitt leads a lifeless neo-noir

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Killer Heat review

PLOT: A thrilling, contemporary mystery in classic noir style, Killer Heat follows private eye Nick Bali, an American expat in Greece, hired to investigate the supposed accidental death of young shipping magnate Leo Vardakis on the island of Crete. The victim’s sister-in-law doesn’t believe the official police report. But what exactly happened to Leo, and why? Despite the sun-drenched beauty of its exotic Mediterranean locale, Nick finds darkness at every turn: where the rich and powerful Vardakis family rule like gods, where jealousies run deep, and anyone could be a suspect.

REVIEW: The hard-boiled detective movie has been a trope since the early days of cinema. The term “noir” has taken on a meaning in modern film that has turned into a cliche itself. If you picture the genre in your mind, you likely conjure up fedoras, femme fatales, cigarettes, cocktails, dastardly villains, and lots of gunfire. The new film Killer Heat wallows in those elements but takes it out of dark alleys and New York City bars and places it on the sun-washed shores of Greece. Led by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a youthful surrogate for Humphrey Bogart, Killer Heat promises all of the key elements of a noir mystery and delivers all of them. The problem is that Killer Heat sticks so close to the formula for a successful noir that it fails to try and be anything original. Despite solid supporting turns by Shailene Woodley, Richard Madden, and Clare Holman, Killer Heat is neither hot nor cool.

Killer Heat opens with requisite voice-over narration from Nick Bali (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a former New York City cop turned private investigator now living in Athens. Nick is called to a remote island by Penelope Vardakis (Shailene Woodley), the wife of Elias Vardakis (Richard Madden), the scion of a major European company. Penelope called in Nick to investigate the death of Elias’ identical twin brother, Leo (also Madden), whose climbing accident she believes was murder. Nick quickly ingratiates himself with local cop George Mensah (Babou Ceesay) as he looks into how Elias, Penelope, and matriarch Audrey Vardakis (Clare Holman) may or may not be involved. What follows involves watching the suspects via telescopes and binoculars, Nick posing as various people to investigate, and multiple red herrings meant to trick the viewer into thinking anyone could be the killer.

As the film progresses, we learn that Nick’s unique insight into this investigation comes from an event in his past involving his wife, Monique (Abbey Lee), and their daughter, Cleo. What occurred to Nick comes into focus as the story develops and serves as an explanation for why he lives in Athens and why he has such a bad drinking problem. Nick also seems to be fixated on white pants, and he calls out the distinct legwear three different times in the first half hour of the movie. Nevertheless, Nick is a good investigator but one whose temperature rarely rises above the monotone delivery of the narration. Gordon-Levitt previously starred in Rian Johnson’s unique take on the noir genre, Brick, which imbued the story with a youthful energy. Killer Heat opts for a more traditional take on the material despite being populated by a cast predominantly under the age of 40. There is nothing wrong with homage or respecting the classics, but Killer Heat tends to do this to a fault, including constantly overexplaining character motivations via wooden dialogue.

Killer Heat review

Very little in Killer Heat defies expectations. The closest to deviating from the classic noir formula is that the femme fatale character is not a femme fatale. Shailene Woodley parades around in bikinis and has a sex scene, but the most revealing character is played by Richard Madden, whose abs and rippling biceps are bared more often than not. But, when there is a sex scene, more is suggested than shown, which keeps the film from crossing from thriller into erotic. My favorite interactions come from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Babou Ceesay, who have a nice back-and-forth chemistry as the cop and PI discuss naming conventions for New York boroughs. It is the sole moment of levity in an otherwise dour film. As well-cast as everyone is in Killer Heat, no one really gets to do much but spout their lines and stand where they are supposed to stand.

Directed by Philippe Lacôte, Killer Heat is the director’s first English-language film after his critically acclaimed French productions Run and Night of the Kings. Lacôte uses the Mediterranean vistas and rich shooting locations but is saddled with a weak script. Roberto Bentivegna (House of Gucci) and Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies) based Killer Heat on the short story “The Jealousy Man” by Jo Nesbo. Nesbo is the best-selling author of multiple mystery novels, including the fan-favorite Harry Hole series. Nesbo’s work was previously adapted as the film The Snowman starring Michael Fassbender and Harry Hole, which is being turned into a Netflix series, but those books have much more to them than Killer Heat. This story is so by the numbers that if the characters are not explaining things, then the narration does it for them. From the expected opening to the not-quite-shocking twist ending, Killer Heat is very familiar, but not in a good way.

Based on the talent involved, I had higher hopes for Killer Heat, and it seems like they did as well. There was a lot of potential for this to have been a sexy throwback to a bygone genre. Instead, Killer Heat is as formulaic and cliche as they come, with no real surprises or energy. It is a safe watch with no nudity and mild violence, leaving the R-rating to be based on the use of more than one f-bomb. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is better than this material, but he is still more than capable of playing a hard-boiled detective, and I would love to see him get a project worthy of that. Killer Heat is a mystery that is not mysterious and too familiar to distinguish itself from everything else out there.

Killer Heat is now available to watch on Prime Video.


Killer Heat

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post Killer Heat Review: Joseph Gordon-Levitt leads a lifeless neo-noir appeared first on JoBlo.

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