Which do you prefer when it comes to crazy, maniacal, downright dirty and savage families looking to chop up some grade-A human flesh? I guess, it all comes down to personal preference, but isn’t preference drawing a fine line between comparing and downgrading the other? Well, you’re in luck, because another horror movie rip-off is in tow, and this time it brings the flesh by the pound, or pounds? I think it’s the latter. Today, we’re going to be discussing, a little bit of comparing, and see who claims victor, while the other takes the road less traveled in 2003’s Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses (watch it HERE), and Tobe Hooper’s 1986 follow-up in the Leatherface mythos, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (watch it HERE). Both are delightful, both are cult classics, ad both stack up well against each other. But who takes the cake, and is it a blatant ripoff? Let’s dive in.

IT’S ALL ABOUT FAMILY

Family is where the heart is, or maybe someone’s innocent beating heart about to be ripped out from them by either the Firefly Clan or the Sawyer Clan. Both TCM 2 and House possess two different, albiet the same style of families. They’re both hellbent bloodlust, decorating their establishments with all types of body mutilations, and unseen horrors that we do not dare try to piece together. It’s clearly an amusement park of horrors. You have the firefly clan made up of Otis, Baby, Tiny, Mother, Grandpa, Rufus, Earl, Dr. Satan and of course Captain Spaulding who is revealed to be the last centerpiece at the end of House’s finale. What’s truly amazing is Bill Mosely playing both Choptop and Otis Firefly in both these films and just loves to ham it up in both. You can’t help but wonder that Zombie used TCM 2’s family dynamic as influence except injected it with steroids, as TCM 2 has Leatherface, Choptop, Grandpa, and Drayton Sawyer running the show. It’s a family affair and they all possess different mentalities of sadism, masochism, and straight murderous intentions. Both also have some very weird grandfathers although House’s has a flair for the theatrical. But it’s all about preference, they’re different yet similar and you can’t help but to root for both, even if the fireflies are just a modern representation of the Sawyer clan. They do, however, sure know to make a fish and human work very well together.

IT’S A TRAP!

When it comes to horror films, you usually need dumb decisions to get the ball rolling, but both TCM 2 and House have a similar way in narrative that sets up their exposition. When young adult males decide to venture out to a football game, they take the desolate nightly Texas roads to get there, usually a bad idea. This in turn caused them to become bait for good ol’ Leatherface who makes one of them missing half a head, and the other one becoming a mangled mess in the forthcoming car wreck. Bad decisions usually don’t end well, which brings us to House’s group of feeble-minded minions – Jerry, Denise, Mary, and Bill looking to explore offside establishments, but take a liking to the fables and myths of Dr. Satan’s grave which Captain Spaulding gives them a “map” to get them there. Only this time on the way to their destination, they pick up a hitchhiker, named Baby, played by Zombie’s real-life wife, Sheri Moon Zombie. The car breaks down by a well-placed gunshot. Baby Firefly guides Bill on foot to her house so they can seek help and get back on the road. Clearly, they won’t be making it to their girlfriend’s father’s house for Halloween, that’s for sure. You gotta love when crazed families plan and map out tactics for their next victims. Great bonding time, that’s for sure.

UPHOLDING THE LAW

Both House and TCM 2 have the fuzz, as they call it on both family’s tails. In House of 1000 Corpses, when one of the victim’s Denise Willis goes missing, her father Don, calls the deputies to investigate which leads to Deputy George Wydell played by Tom Towles, and Deputy Steve played by Walton Goggins to the Firefly House. It doesn’t really end up well for the both of them, as they become pigs to the slaughter. As for Lefty in TCM 2 played by legend Dennis Hopper, he is the uncle to Franklin and Sally of the first film, and he is out for some good ol’ fashion revenge. Although, he does bend the honor and laws of the badge he represents going after the Sawyer clan on his own with a little help from Stretch. In the movie’s climax, Lt. Lefty has a climactic chainsaw fight against Leatherface and takes on the Sawyer clan by himself while also trying to save Stretch in the process. Hopper definitely has charisma and bravado in this role, it’s just a shame we weren’t comparing Lefty to House’s sequel, and Wydell’s ass-kicking, god-fearing righteous brother, Sheriff John Quincy Wydell played by William Forsythe.

A KNACK FOR MASKS AND UNDERGROUND GHOULS

In TCM 2, Stretch’s friend L.G. Peters unfortunately becomes hammer fodder and has his face taken off by Leatherface. L.G’s face is forcefully put on Stretch’s face as she screams in terror withi the underground lair beneath the amusement park inhabited by the Sawyer clan. A truly horrifying sight to see. I believe Zombie wanted to use this infamous death by having his malevolent Firefly, Otis do the exact same thing to Denise Willis’ father Don, who is gun downed by Otis when he goes out to investigate with Wydell and Steve. Don’s face and body are flayed by Otis and is worn by Otis during the famous “Run Rabbit Run,” ceremony and sacrifice. Otis ends it by putting Don’s face on the daughter’s which is some truly horrific stuff. The survivors in House at this time which are Jerry and Denise, are thrown into a coffin and levered down into a literal pit of hell filled with ghouls, zombies, and of course Dr. Satan himself. Bones are draped all along the underground walls just like that in TCM 2. You got to appreciate the grisly artistry displayed by both the Fireflies and Sawyers with their lovely hang out spots.

CLOSING

You can’t help but deny that Rob Zombie used both TCM 1 and 2 as influence for his House trilogy. There are a lot of distinct parallels between them, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Family dynamics are usually hard to juggle but in House and TCM 2 they’re balanced perfectly well; giving us a taste of each character displayed throughout their runtimes. Tasteful, but totally disgusting is what I’ll say. Each movie has cemented itself as cult classics, and both are in my collection as it stands with repeat viewings from both. Sometimes taking influence and ripping off components into films work, but they need to draw a fine line without becoming watered down and boring. Usually, they’re elevated and are an homage to those that came before it. Thankfully Zombie didn’t overstay his welcome with TCM 2 Influences and made House of 1000 Corpses his very own. It truly shines when it warrants repeat viewings, especially every Halloween and I consider it a love letter to TCM In its own right.

Two previous episodes of Horror Movie Rip-Off can be seen below. To see more of our shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!

The post The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) vs. House of 1000 Corpses (2003) – Horror Movie Rip-Off appeared first on JoBlo.

Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat 2, which recently wrapped production after a bumpy ride through the year of the strikes. This film will be bringing popular video game character Johnny Cage to the screen, with Karl Urban of Dredd, Star Trek, and The Boys taking on the role. Despite Urban’s established awesomeness, he was an unexpected choice for Johnny Cage, and there are some fans who have let it be known that they would have chosen someone else to play the part. We’ll have to wait and see how it turned out, but one thing we know right now is that Urban had a great time working on the movie, calling it “most action packed fun I’ve ever had on a film!”

Urban said that while celebrating the end of production on Instagram, where he made a post that can be seen at the bottom of this article. He wrote, “That’s a picture wrap for me & Johnny Cage on Mortal Kombat 2! Massive thanks to our incredible crew, cast and phenomenal stunt team. Hands down the most action packed fun I’ve ever had on a film! Can’t wait for y’all to see it. Special thanks to everyone offset who helped make this time here on the Gold Coast Australia such a pleasure.“

The screenplay for Mortal Kombat 2 has been written by Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. Last year, Slater said that working on the project had been “really fun so far. … I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ … (The sequel is) the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.“

In addition to Urban, Mortal Kombat 2 stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and, as mentioned, Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 2, and to seeing Karl Urban play Johnny Cage? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Karl Urban (@karlurban)

The post Mortal Kombat 2 was the most action-packed fun Karl Urban ever had on a film appeared first on JoBlo.

The Ghostbusters: Afterlife (watch it HERE) sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (which, of course, also serves as a sequel to the original Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II) is set to reach theatres on March 22nd – and with that date swiftly approaching, a new trailer for the film has just arrived online! You can check it out in the embed above. In this trailer, we get nods to the original film (and the theme song), learn more about the Death Chill threat, see moments involving the original Ghostbusters and Slimer, and witness the return of Walter Peck.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife stars Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace are back for the sequel, reprising the roles of Trevor and Phoebe. They’re joined in the cast by Carrie Coon, playing Trevor and Phoebe’s mom Callie; Paul Rudd, back as his Afterlife character Gary Grooberson; William Atherton as Walter Peck, the antagonistic EPA inspector from the first Ghostbusters film; Celeste O’Connor as Trevor’s friend Lucky Domingo; Logan Kim as Phoebe’s friend Podcast; Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz; and new additions Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick), Patton Oswalt (The King of Queens), James Acaster (Hypothetical), and Emily Alyn Lind (Doctor Sleep). And yes, original Ghostbusters Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson are in the film as well, and it looks like they have more prominent roles than they had in the previous movie.

At first, Afterlife director Jason Reitman was expected to take the helm of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, once again directing from a screenplay he was writing with Gil Kenan – but then it was revealed that Kenan will actually be directing the new film. He previously directed the animated movie Monster House, the live-action films City of Ember, A Boy Called Christmas, and the remake of Poltergeist, and an episode of the Scream TV series.

What did you think of the new trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire? Will you be catching this movie on the big screen in March? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

After watching this trailer, I am officially fully hyped. This movie looks like it’s going to be a blast.

The post Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire gets a new trailer with Slimer, Walter Peck, and the OGs appeared first on JoBlo.

There’s a certain rarified echelon of video games that have birthed entire genres based on their innovation, and their fingerprints can still be spotted all over many games today. Super Mario Bros. defined the concept of a side-scrolling platformer, DOTA made the MOBA mainstream, and Doom is the benchmark for…

Read more…

There’s a certain rarified echelon of video games that have birthed entire genres based on their innovation, and their fingerprints can still be spotted all over many games today. Super Mario Bros. defined the concept of a side-scrolling platformer, DOTA made the MOBA mainstream, and Doom is the benchmark for…

Read more…

Jeremy Renner has been out of commission for a year since having his unfortunate snow plow accident. Much of his past year was spent rehabilitating his body after suffering blunt chest trauma and 30 broken bones. However, even with his recovery putting a pause on the actual filming of projects, Renner would still have a couple of TV works set to make their debut during the year. Season 2 of his hit Paramount+ show, Mayor of Kingstown, would premiere along with his Disney+ series, Rennervations, which saw the actor reimagine large decommissioned vehicles into “mind-blowing creations” that serve kids in communities worldwide.

Renner had recently returned to start shooting season 3 of Mayor of Kingstown, and the Avengers star would admit his nervousness to being back at work after the hiatus. He would commemorate the occasion with an Instagram post that featured him on set with the caption, “Day one on set … nervous today. Hope this works out that I can ACTUALLY pull this off for our production and more importantly the fans.“ Additionally, according to The Hollywood Reporter, he would tell People very bluntly, “I don’t know if I’m looking forward to it. I try to just do everything kind of step by step here. That’s one foot in front of the other. Then you’re walking.”

Despite his natural apprehension, Renner would add that once he’s in the groove of things, everything just comes together again. He continues, “I think I’m excited when I’m there and I get in a rhythm there. I’m excited about the character and, of course, all the people involved and all that in the storyline, but for me, I’m just tentative of confidence in work.”

Production on season 3 has been rolling for a few weeks now, and while there is excitement there, Renner also feels that filming has been “arduous” as it requires long days “in the freezing cold outside in Pittsburgh.” The condition of the weather at this time of year in a city whose geography sports many hills has Renner “scared of slipping and falling” as he still hasn’t fully gained back his lower body strength.

The post Mayor of Kingstown: Jeremy Renner speaks about his uncertainty when returning to film season 3 appeared first on JoBlo.

Heeeere’s Johnny! And maybe even M3gan and Michael Myers and the Armitage clan, too. Jason Blum and his Blumhouse productions recently announced that they will be establishing and curating a horror museum inside of the Stanley Hotel, the historic location in Estes Park, Colorado that served as inspiration for Stephen King’s The Shining and has been linked to paranormal activity.

The Horror Film Museum — described as “mini-Academy Museum dedicated to horror” — inside of The Stanley Hotel will open in 2026 as part of the 10,000-foot Stanley Film Center. In a statement, Jason Blum said, “The Stanley Hotel is hallowed ground for horror fans, and that makes this presence at the Stanley Film Center a natural extension for Blumhouse…Fans are going to get closer than ever before to their favorite films…though they may want to keep their distance with a few of the ‘items’ in our collection. We’re excited to get to work, but first we need to make it out of the hedge maze.”

Those who visit The Stanley Hotel might have been initially disappointed to learn that there was no actual hedge maze on the property, although that changed in 2015, albeit in a drastically scaled-down form. There is actually also a pet cemetery…oh, you’re good, King!

But it’s not just horror that has a link to The Stanley Hotel. Movie fans will also recognize it as the Danbury from Dumb and Dumber. No word yet if any dead parakeets or defiled toilets will be part of the exhibit.

According to The Denver Post, “Blumhouse will curate exhibits pulled from the company’s catalog of its movie and television franchises, as well as its gaming offerings.” While we hope the building has far more than just Blumhouse properties (and The Shining props; the axe just went up for auctioon again) to rely on in their exhibit, the fact that there will be a horror museum on the property of The Stanley Hotel is both fitting and welcome.

Have you visited or stayed at The Stanley Hotel? Which pieces of horror memorabilia would you want to see on display? Let us know below!

The post Blumhouse to establish horror museum inside famed Stanley Hotel appeared first on JoBlo.

$940 million. That’s how much money the last Despicable Me film, Minions: The Rise of Gru, made at the worldwide box office. People love this series, so it’s no wonder that Universal and Illumination have made sure not to let their cash cow lay dormant for too long. Spanning two franchises, the characters are back for Despicable Me 4, which has just gotten a new trailer. 

In it, Steve Carell’s Gru is now a family man and the former super-villain is now an agent in the Anti-Villain League while raising his growing brood (with some help from his Minions). The trailer is about what you’d expect from the series, with perhaps the most cliche needle drop of all time, Guns n’ Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine”, used in the intro. Once again, Carell is joined by Kristen Wiig, who voices Gru’s wife, Lucy, and this time, some of his big-screen pals are joining in on the fun. Will Ferrell voices the movie’s new bad guy, Maxime Le Mal, while Carell’s old Daily Show crony (and partner in the Ambiguously Gay Duo from SNL) Stephen Colbert is also in the cast, opposite Sofia Vergara (currently getting raves in Griselda), Joey King, Chloe Fineman, and – natch – Pierre Coffin, the voice of the Minions.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Following the 2022 summer blockbuster phenomenon of Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, which earned almost $1 billion worldwide, the biggest global animated franchise in history now begins a new chapter as Gru (Oscar^® nominee Steve Carell) and Lucy (Oscar^® nominee Kristen Wiig) and their girls —Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Madison Polan)—welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad.

Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (Emmy winner Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Emmy nominee Sofia Vergara), and the family is forced to go on the run. 

Will you be checking out Despicable Me 4? Let us know in the comments. 

The post Despicable Me 4 Trailer: Steve Carell’s Gru and his minions return appeared first on JoBlo.

$940 million. That’s how much money the last Despicable Me film, Minions: The Rise of Gru, made at the worldwide box office. People love this series, so it’s no wonder that Universal and Illumination have made sure not to let their cash cow lay dormant for too long. Spanning two franchises, the characters are back for Despicable Me 4, which has just gotten a new trailer. 

In it, Steve Carrell’s Gru is now a family man and the former super-villain is now an agent in the Anti-Villain League while raising his growing brood (with some help from his Minions). The trailer is about what you’d expect from the series, with perhaps the most cliche needle drop of all time, Guns n’ Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine”, used in the intro. Once again, Carrell is joined by Kristen Wiig, who voices Gru’s wife, Lucy, and this time, some of his big-screen pals are joining in on the fun. Will Ferrell voices the movie’s new bad guy, Maxime Le Mal, while Carell’s old Daily Show crony (and partner in the Ambiguously Gay Duo from SNL) Stephen Colbert is also in the cast, opposite Sofia Vergara (currently getting raves in Griselda), Joey King, Chloe Fineman, and – natch – Pierre Coffin, the voice of the Minions.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Following the 2022 summer blockbuster phenomenon of Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, which earned almost $1 billion worldwide, the biggest global animated franchise in history now begins a new chapter as Gru (Oscar^® nominee Steve Carrell) and Lucy (Oscar^® nominee Kristen Wiig) and their girls —Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Madison Polan)—welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad.

Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (Emmy winner Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Emmy nominee Sofia Vergara), and the family is forced to go on the run. 

Will you be checking out Despicable Me 4? Let us know in the comments. 

The post Despicable Me 4 Trailer: Steve Carell’s Gru and his minions return appeared first on JoBlo.

While most would say The Untouchables is the movie that made Kevin Costner a star, in many ways, Orion’s No Way Out solidified his stardom. The film was shot before The Untouchables, with him scoring the leading role after being cast by Lawrence Kasdan in the Western classic Silverado (as a way to make up for cutting all his scenes from The Big Chill). No Way Out was the first time he headlined a big film on his own, and it was the perfect showcase. If gave him a chance to do action, drama and romance, with his backseat love scene with Sean Young noted as one of the steamiest in Hollywood history up to that point.

It was part of an essential three-movie deal that Costner signed with the now-defunct Orion Pictures, which included Bull Durham and Dances With Wolves, both of which helped cement him as one of the biggest stars of his time. However, No Way Out is often overlooked in his filmography. Here at JoBlo, we’re big fans of this thriller, having done a Best Movie You Never Saw on it a while back. Alas, it looks like the good folks at Kino/Lorber also appreciate it, with the movie set for a 4K Blu-ray release this year from a new restoration of the original 35mm negative.

Here’s their announcement:

While it hasn’t been dated yet, this is a good one to watch out for. In it, Costner plays a fast-rising Naval officer whose mistress (Sean Young) is murdered by the Secretary of Defence (Gene Hackman), who was also seeing her. Costner’s character gets set up as her killer and a potential Soviet mole, leaving him only hours to uncover the plot. It was directed by Roger Donaldson, a terrific journeyman director who keeps the pacing nice and tight.

Keep an eye out for No Way Out once it hits physical media, as it’s well worth adding to your collection. 

The post No Way Out: Early Kevin Costner gem getting a 4K release appeared first on JoBlo.