The director and star of the better-than-expected Till Death (2021) are back together again for Subservience, with Megan Fox starring as a lifelike artificially intelligent android.

Director S.K. Dale’s AI thriller, which looks like a mix between thriller Fatal Attraction and horror movie M3GAN, will be released on VOD by XYZ Films on September 13.

Watch the official trailer for Subservience starring Megan Fox below. “Fox stars as Alice, a lifelike artificially intelligent android, who has the ability to take care of any family and home.

“Looking for help with the housework, a struggling father (Michele Morrone) purchases Alice after his wife becomes sick. Alice suddenly becomes self-aware and wants everything her new family has to offer, starting with the affection of her owner – and she’ll kill to get it.”

Whatever you do, don’t turn her on…

Madeline Zima, Atanas Srebrev, Andrew Whipp, Matilda Firth, and Kate Nichols also star.

The screenplay is written by Will Honley and April Maguire. Produced by Jeffrey Greenstein, Yariv Lerner, Tanner Mobley, Robert Van Norden, Les Weldon, & Jonathan Yunger.

The post M3GAN FOX Plays a Killer Android in Upcoming Thriller ‘Subservience’ [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Almost any search of Josh Hartnett will return a bevy of articles with a headline that is some variation of “Why Josh Hartnett Left Hollywood,” which is fair. It’s a fascinating story about a guy who saw himself as an artist thrust into the spotlight of a teen heartthrob. It’s the rare story of a human choosing a simpler, more purposeful life over ultra-fame.

It’s more than admirable. A great story. But today, in honor of his latest leading role in M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap, we’re just here to talk about blood, guts, and Josh Hartnett’s strange relationship with the horror genre.

It all began with The Faculty in 1998. Though Halloween: H20 was released first, he was offered the role of Zeke in The Faculty beforehand and had to work on both simultaneously. This started his career working with Dimension Films and the dreaded Weinsteins.

When you look at the track record, it’s no wonder Hartnett had a love/hate relationship with Hollywood. The Weinsteins decided he was their guy and immediately locked him into a multi-picture deal under the misleading guise that he wouldn’t be asked to see it through. Hartnett would explain, “We had a sort of antagonistic relationship because the contract I signed for those first two films guaranteed me to be a part of, like, five more or something. They’re called contract extensions. I was told at the time that nobody ever uses them, but then I guess I became popular and they decided to, um, exercise that right. What they did a few times was to jump on other projects I was working on already and become co-producers.”

Alas, history is history and we, the horror audience, had the pleasure of seeing Hartnett start his career with two prominent roles in the post-Scream horror genre. A guy who was so cool at the time, he could make a haircut that looked like it came from the “Suck Kut” machine in Wayne’s World appear bad ass. Hartnett had such an X-factor about him, he probably could have pulled off Courtney Cox’s Scream 3 bangs and gotten away with it. A legit star, the moment he arrived on the scene. Even if he hated it.

For the answer to the question of whether Hartnett was here for art or fame, one need look no further than the behind-the-scenes interviews for The Faculty. You won’t see a person who thinks he’s the next big thing. You’ll see a film nerd waxing philosophical about Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi. Again, we’re not here to talk about that. But it’s important to appropriately note as we adorn Hartnett in his well-earned horror flowers.

‘The Faculty’

On-screen in The Faculty, Hartnett was portrayed as a tortured but painfully hip drug dealer whose parents weren’t often around as he used their home to create his own drug, “scat.” Which was… of course… ”guaranteed to jack you up.” In the first draft of writer Kevin Williamson’s script, the character of Zeke was far more unlikeable. Bullying Elijah Wood’s character incessantly. Even forcing him by threat of a “beating” to rip off a girl’s top in front of the whole school. My imagination tells me someone at Dimension didn’t want their new leading man to be seen in such a harsh light, so we received the semi-toned-down version of Zeke.

And Hartnett brought more to the character of Zeke than he ever had to. While you wanted to like Zeke, you also kind of hated him and simultaneously felt genuinely bad for the guy. He was aware enough as an actor to bring out the nuances of the character Williamson had written, and we all know he rocked the shit out of the long sleeve undershirt/short sleeve t-shirt combo.

While Hartnett was never in a Scream film himself (he would have fit right in), his career trajectory was no doubt impacted by its success. Dimension was desperately trying to replicate the genre-rescuing success of Wes Craven’s film and was running writer Kevin Williamson down to his bones in an attempt to do so. While Williamson didn’t write Halloween H20 (those honors go to Robert Zappia), Harnett’s simultaneous debut film, he did write an initial treatment for it, and there’s no doubt when you watch the film…. well, it’s Scream influenced. In H20, Hartnett plays John Tate, the son of Laurie Strode. Hartnett wasn’t sure he even wanted to do it, stating at the time: “Halloween 7? Is that going straight to video? Or straight to Hell?”

In the end, he took the role and made it one of the more memorable characters of the Halloween sequels. He made his mark in multiple face-offs with both Michael Myers and his mother/school headmistress, as his character tried to break his mother of her obsession with her past, paranoia, and alcoholism. Trading lines with a legendary actress (Jamie Lee Curtis) returning to her most legendary role in your first-ish film ever is quite the task and it never appeared that Hartnett ever so much as blinked.

’30 Days of Night’

Perhaps working in the horror genre via the confines of Dimension soured Hartnett to the genre for a while, or maybe it was just fate, but Hartnett wouldn’t work directly in horror again for almost a decade before 30 Days of Night came calling. Or more specifically, producer Sam Raimi, who Harnett credited as the reason he took the role. Raimi assured Harnett (in Hartnett’s own words) that, “Aside from this being a vampire film it was going to be something that was quite elevated. Something that was actually worth working on as an actor.”

Hartnett would run and scream, of course, as the film’s premise (based on a graphic comic series) was a small Alaskan town being hunted by vampires during their month of total darkness. Hartnett, however, spent most of his time playing the character Sheriff Eben Olsen more as if he were in a subtle Western than your typical vampire flick. A soft-spoken, calming center of gravity amidst the bloody chaos. Sam Raimi wasn’t lying to him.

A mostly inward but multi-faceted character, Olsen was one of the very few protectors of a remote town, suffering through a broken relationship with his significant other (played by Melissa George). The film had its moments; a great idea for a horror movie, along with a stand out setting, and a frightening lead vampire (played by Danny Huston), albeit with some major pacing issues and a lack of true scares. Hartnett though, was again a bright spot and a welcome sight for the sore eyes of horror fans who had missed seeing him. It was the beginning of an actor maturing in front of our eyes, complete with vampires ripping out folks’ throats.

Hartnett’s next tour into the dark arts would be in 2014 when he played Ethan Chandler in the TV series Penny Dreadful, which ran for three seasons on Showtime.

For a man who loves to play multi-dimensional characters with introspective turmoil, Ethan Chandler was an interesting choice for Hartnett. The character was a womanizing, American gunman, and semi-con artist with a drinking problem. One of those characters who had a whole hell of a lot going on behind those eyes. The show takes this character along with fellow leads, Timothy Dalton and Eva Green, into a twisted underworld, using his talents, and misgivings, to unravel a story involving everything from Frankenstein to more vampires. Lots of vampires. For those of us who hadn’t seen Hartnett in a while, it was awesome just to see him in general. But also great to see him in a role where he could do some real scenery chewing.

‘Penny Dreadful’

Fast forward to 2023 and Hartnett was back in the horror genre, or at the very least, in the ballpark, with an episode of Black Mirror titled Beyond the Sea. I’ll keep this mostly spoiler-free as I imagine many who haven’t heard of this mini-movie will want to check it out, and it’s well worth doing so. In the episode, we’re in an alternate universe of 1969. Two astronauts, played by Hartnett and Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, are the first test subjects of a new technology. While they are in space on a six-year mission, they are able to crawl into a chamber of some sort and mentally take over the synthetic version of themselves that is back at home with their families. But when a group of hippies decide this is unnatural, they intervene Charles Manson style and send the episode catapulting into a horrific tale of pure anguish.

Hartnett is tasked with playing a character who goes through the absolute darkest of human emotions from unbelievable grief to extreme loneliness. It’s an amazing exhibition of his underrated acting abilities. It’s a must-watch episode of the show and feels more like its very own movie than anything else.

A while back, Hartnett stated himself that, “People wanted to create a brand around me that was going to be accessible and well-liked, but I didn’t respond to the idea of playing the same character over and over, so I branched out. I tried to find smaller films I could be part of and, in the process, I burned my bridges at the studios because I wasn’t participating. Our goals weren’t the same.”

As we stand today, I think it’s fair to say that Josh Hartnett has flipped the script the way he wanted to all those years ago. Hollywood knew he was a star, but he was more interested in becoming a serious actor. Anyone who’s seen his recent work knows he’s accomplished that, and I’m willing to bet he’s still pretty damn marketable too.

We look forward to seeing him back in the thriller/horror genre with Trap on August 2.

It’s guaranteed to jack us up.

‘Halloween H20’

The post From ‘The Faculty’ to ‘Trap’: Looking at Josh Hartnett’s Career in Horror appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

It was shortly after the theatrical release of Cocaine Bear that The Asylum teased they were working on a “mockbuster” titled Attack of the Meth Gator, which has now been shortened to simply Meth Gator. It’s finished, it’s coming soon, and the trailer has been unleashed today.

Meth Gator will release in a small handful of theaters as well as Digital on August 2.

Watch the retro grindhouse-style trailer for Meth Gator below.

The film will be playing in the following theaters:

• Laemmle Glendale – Glendale, CA
• Hickory Ridge Cinemas – Brunswick, OH
• Trylon Cinema – Minneapolis, MN
• Film Noir Cinema – Brooklyn, NY
• Aurora Cineplex – Roswell, GA

In the creature feature, “Police warn residents to refrain from flushing methamphetamine down the toilet to prevent “meth-gators.” In Sweet Water Point, Florida, they didn’t listen.”

Patrick Labyorteaux, Robbie Rist, LaRonn Marzett and Vanessa Tamayo star in the film. Christopher Ray directed Meth Gator, which was written by Joe Roche & Lauren Pritchard.

The Asylum is the company behind horror movies including Snakes on a Train, 2-Headed Shark Attack, Atlantic Rim, Sharknado, and Aquarium of the Dead, and they’ve become known for capitalizing on Hollywood success stories with their own low-budget knockoffs.

The post Move Over, Cocaine Bear: ‘Meth Gator’ Swims Home in August [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

By the power of Umbrella Entertainment! Australia’s indie distribution treasure has given us another banger of a release with 1987’s Masters of the Universe. Now we can all watch the live-action production from the defunct, yet beloved, Cannon Films pitting He-Man versus Skeletor battle for Eternia re-Mastered via a new Blu-ray!

In this film, Skeletor (in an amazing and underrated performance by Frank Langella) and his legion wreak havoc on Eternia that results in imprisoning the Sorceress (Christina Pickles) and capturing Castle Grayskull. And he accomplishes these great feats by using a stolen portal-hopping musical device, the Cosmic Key, thanks to the help of Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster). He uses the Key to penetrate the Castle’s defenses, thus giving him “the power of Grayskull.”

In an attempted rescue effort, He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) and his squad featuring Man-At-Arms (Jon Cypher) and Arms’ daughter Teela (Chelsea Field) track down the inventor of the Cosmic Key, Gwildor (Billy Barty), and use his prototype of the Key to bypass Skeletor’s forces and enter Castle Grayskull. Our hero quartet is overwhelmed and are forced to make an impromptu escape using the Cosmic Key prototype to hop through a portal that lands them on Earth.

Unfortunately, the prototype is damaged in the process, trapping them on Earth, while Skeletor and company try to locate and finish off our heroes once and for all. Meanwhile, He-Man and his crew meet aspiring musician Kevin (Robert Duncan McNeill) and his college-bound girlfriend Julie (Courtney Cox) who get caught up in the multidimensional battle. The pair’s unexpected, out of nowhere side love story provides the film with a surprisingly welcome and warm human element.

In the summer of 1987, Cannon Films doubled-dipped with two superhero films, including this one and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (which also received a 4K release as a part of the franchise’s quadrilogy boxset last year). The movies were released mere weeks apart and pulled in equally meager returns at the box office at approximately $17m each; less than their production budgets. Needless to say, they were both considered flops. Most cinephiles know Cannon’s history and recognize Superman and MOTU as the notable releases that were instrumental to the production company’s demise.

Speculation to the many reasons why the film was panned upon its initial release are due to it being released on the end of Masters’ early ’80s craze, having little screen time on Eternia, lack of familiar characters from the popular cartoon and toy line, and the peculiarly shot final battle between He-Man and Skeletor because Mattel cut bait during production. And as much as Dolph Lundgren has recently found a place in the hearts of many nowadays, his casting as He-Man was not considered a good move by critics as well as Mattel back then.

But once MOTU hit VHS and cable, it became revered enough to eventually morph into a cult classic, since there is a lot here to appreciate. For starters and as previously mentioned, Langella’s performance as Skeletor is considered to be one of the best for live-action cartoon villains. People also stopped hating on missing fan favorite character Orko and embraced the Gwildor character—Orko’s movement as a practical effect just wasn’t feasible for the film. The new baddie characters standing alongside Beast Man and Evil-Lyn (OG villains but with different likenesses for this Universe), Saurod, Blade, and Karg were specifically added to sell new toys for Mattel. From a business perspective, this made a whole lotta sense since Hasbro successfully executed the same strategy one year prior with Transformers: The Movie.

It did not seem like a big deal at the time, but Courtney Cox being in this film didn’t hurt things in the long run. She delivers one heck of a performance, but her turning into a major star helped put more eyes on the film as the years went by with a lot of play on basic cable. And Bill Conti composing the music was a major get—especially in the ’80s with him flexing his musical talents during that time for both the Rocky and Karate Kid franchises. And he provided this movie with a great service, busting out a gem of a score like he has done so many times before.

So it appears that time has been kind to the film, for the most part. It is recognized in both the franchise’s expanded universe by fans and seems to reinvigorate nostalgia of that decade by those who continue to discover it nowadays. And here we are in 2024 with the box office failure-cum-cult classic live action MOTU film getting some new Blu-ray play from our friends Down Under!

The verdict: it’s safe to throw away your cardboard snap case DVD and any other older versions and upgrade to Umbrella’s outstanding Blu-ray transfer. The picture looks mint with the cleanest print ever made commercially available. The audio is 2.0, and while 5.0 would have been more than welcome, it is not a detractor from enjoying this release. But wow did Umbrella kill with that picture quality!

They didn’t skimp on the extras either. There is an all-new featurette on the planned sequel that never saw the light of day. We hear from some players behind that doomed project, such as the late Albert Pyun (Cyborg). Other bonus features include director commentary, extended interviews from Electric Boogaloo, archival features, a Cannon Films reel, trailers and even an Easter Egg. The almost-immediately sold-out Collector’s edition included a 48-page booklet set of lobby cards, rigid slipcase and a poster. So if that set piques your interest, unfortunately you will have to hunt for it on the secondary market since it was adios during the pre-order stage.

Good journey, everyone! If you are a fan of this film or even slightly curious about checking this one out for the first time, you will most certainly get the bang for your buck.

Head over to Umbrella Films now to pick up a copy today.

The post ‘Masters of the Universe’ Blu-ray Review – Time Has Been Kind to This 1980s Gem appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Director Andy Fickman, most known for films like She’s the Man, Race to Witch Mountain and Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, heads into the horror genre with Don’t Turn Out the Lights.

A departure from his normal direction, this will be Fickman’s first horror film! Quiver Distribution will release Don’t Turn Out the Lights in theaters and on VOD September 6.

Exclusively watch the official trailer for Don’t Turn Out the Lights below.

“Reuniting for an unforgettable weekend, a group of high school friends takes a break from their separate lives at college to travel by RV to a musical festival. Their exciting weekend plans quickly unravel as they find themselves fighting to survive each other and the unknown.”

The cast includes Bella DeLong, Amber Janea, Ana Luz Zambrana, John Bucy, Crystal Lake Evans, Jarrett Austin Brown, Daryl Tofa, and Finley Rose Slater.

Andy Fickman wrote and directed the upcoming horror film. Producers include Andy Fickman, Todd Slater, Grant Slater, Betsy Sullenger, Scott Prisand, Katie Leary, and Michael Speyer.

The post ‘Don’t Turn Out the Lights’ Trailer – ‘Race to Witch Mountain’ Director Made His First Horror Movie appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

It’s been a few months since we’ve gotten an official update on Scream 7, but one thing we do know for certain is that Neve Campbell will be back as Sidney Prescott this time around.

And according to Campbell, the upcoming seventh installment will be a return to the franchise’s roots in the sense that Sidney Prescott will be the central character of the movie.

“We are going to follow Sidney,” Campbell confirms to ET Online this week.

“They did pitch the concept to me, and it’s the reason that I jumped on board,” Campbell adds. “I love these movies, they are so much fun to be a part of. I’m so grateful for them; I could never have imagined being a part of a movie that would have lasted this many decades.”

Sidney was featured as a supporting character in 2022’s Scream, while Campbell infamously did not return for the following year’s Scream VI due to a pay dispute. Those two movies, both directed by the filmmakers Radio Silence (Abigail), mixed a new generation of characters with the legacy characters, but much has happened since Scream VI released last year.

The franchise has been mired in controversy in the past several months, with new series leads Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega both exiting the project. Barrera was fired, while it was subsequently announced that Ortega wouldn’t be returning. At this time, we still don’t know if Jasmin Savoy Brown or Mason Gooding will be returning for Scream 7.

Original Scream scribe Kevin Williamson will DIRECT the upcoming Scream 7, with franchise mainstay Courteney Cox expected to also return as heroine Gale Weathers.

The upcoming Scream 7, which is currently untitled, was written by Guy Busick from a story by James Vanderbilt & Guy Busick. Stay tuned for more on the film as we learn it.

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