It takes a particular kind of hubris to look at Brian De Palma’s 1976 masterwork and say, “I have more to say.” Even the grandfather of modern horror himself wasn’t entirely convinced. When Mike Flanagan first approached Stephen King about adapting his 1974 debut novel for television, King’s immediate, protective instinct was short and sharp: “Leave her alone. She’s been through enough.”
But Flanagan is a persistent conjurer, and today, Prime Video exhaled the first-look imagery and official details for his eight-episode Carrie series, dropping this fall. Anyone expecting a nostalgic, lace-trimmed retread of the past had better steel their nerves. Flanagan isn’t just updating the story; he is radically altering the very architecture of Carrie White’s tragedy.
“The only way to approach it was to build something new out of the ingredients of Carrie,” Flanagan revealed to Entertainment Weekly. “Otherwise, there’s really no purpose in trying to retread ground that’s been so beautifully walked before.”
‘Carrie’ TV series first look reveals Mike Flanagan’s modern twist. Credit: Robert Falconer/Prime
Flanagan has dragged Chamberlain, Maine into the vicious, unforgiving landscape of the present day. This is the era of digital execution, where online humiliation doesn’t stop at the school gates—it becomes permanent and global. Summer H. Howell (Time Cut) steps into the titular role, beating out over a thousand hopefuls to inherit the crown of horror’s ultimate outcast.
In this sharp reinvention, Carrie has been kept entirely hidden within the claustrophobic walls of her home by her fiercely religious mother, Margaret—played by Flanagan’s reliable high priestess of psychological torment, Samantha Sloyan (Midnight Mass). It is only after the sudden, violent death of Carrie’s father that she is dragged out of the dark and thrown into the wolf-den of public high school, immediately navigating a viral bullying scandal.
But the most staggering deviation—the one that will undoubtedly set purist tongues wagging—is Flanagan’s decision to blow open King’s mythology.
In the original texts, Carrie was a freak occurrence, a tragic anomaly. Flanagan is rejecting that isolation. He is leaning heavily into the “TK gene” hinted at in the novel, transforming Carrie from a lonely victim into part of a global, historical sisterhood. Each episode will reportedly open with a vignette introducing a completely different woman, in a different place and time, coming to terms with her own telekinetic curse. Carrie is no longer just a broken girl in a blood-soaked prom dress; she is a link in a chain of dangerous, gifted women.
“The themes that Steve was talking about half a century ago of kindness versus cruelty, of empathy and bullying, and violence at school have become even more relevant today than he could have contemplated because of our relationship to technology,” Flanagan explained. “We’re not retelling the story as it’s been told… We’re focused way more on the destruction of a community through these very modern tools.”
Alison Thornton as Chris Hargensen and Siena Agudong as Sue Snell on ‘Carrie’. Robert Falconer/Prime
Supporting Howell and Sloyan is a fascinatingly sharp ensemble, including Siena Agudong as Sue Snell, Alison Thornton as Chris Hargensen, Amber Midthunder as the gym teacher Miss Desjardin, and Matthew Lillard as Principal Grayle.
The series poses a chilling question that feels far more volatile than the original narrative: in a world this cruel, are we watching the birth of a monster, the rise of a hero, or something far more complicated?
The prom invitations have been sent. Prepare yourselves for a very different kind of slaughter.
A fresh take on 20th Century Studios iconic sci-fi/horror franchise, Alien: Romulus is set to offer audiences a “truly terrifying cinematic experience.” Directed by Fede Álvarez (Don’tBreathe, Evil Dead), the new film is a standalone story yet still deeply rooted in the existing mythology of the Alien franchise. The beginnings of the story took root in Álvarez‘s mind while watching a deleted scene from 1986’s Aliens. “There is a deleted scene in Aliens, where a bunch of kids are running among the workers in the colony,” explained Álvarez. “I remember thinking about what it would be like for teenagers to grow up in a colony so small and what would happen to them when they reached their early 20s.“
Álvarez presented his idea to Ridley Scott, who directed Alien, the groundbreaking 1979 film that birthed the franchise, who then pitched the idea to 20th Century Studios. Shortly after, Álvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues met with Aliens director James Cameron and began working on the script which features a core cast of young adults, a first for the franchise.
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
-Official synopsis for Alien: Romulus
Opening on August 16th, Alien: Romulus is set to be one of the last big tentpole films of the Summer season. Whether you’re brand new to the Alien franchise or a longtime lover of the face-hugging/chest-bursting horror franchise, you’ll need to be prepared as you head into theaters. With that in mind, we present the Ultimate List of What to Watch Before Alien: Romulus!
Tier One
Alien: Romulus is a standalone adventure set within the Alien franchise, so technically, there’s no “required reading” necessary to enjoy the new horror flick. However, it is set in 2142, roughly 20 years after Ridley Scott‘s original which still stands as one of the best sci-fi/horror films of all time. So, whether you are a newbie or a vet, the bare minimum amount of prep you’ll need to do before heading to the theater is to check out the film that launched the franchise.
Alien (1979)
Set in the year 2122, Alien pits the crew of the commercial spaceship, the Nostromo, up against the terrifying Xenomorphs. After responding to what they believe is a distress signal, the crew–led by Sigourney Weaver‘s Ellen Ripley–discovers it was instead a warning and find themselves up against one of the universe’s most lethal organisms. Iconic doesn’t truly begin to describe Alien and if you’ve never seen it…well, what are you waiting for?
Tier Two
Alien: Romulus will be the seventh entry in the core Alien franchise. While it’s a standalone story, there’s still plenty of reason to view the other five films in the franchise after watching Alien. Although there’s no ongoing narrative you’ll need to be able to follow, these projects expand on the history and mythology of the Alien universe and provide a more comprehensive understanding of exactly what the young crew of Alien: Romulus is up against. The following projects are presented in the order in which they were released.
Aliens (1986)
Aliens finds Sigourney Weaver‘s Ripley right back on the same moon where she first encountered the Xenomorphs 57 years prior. Ripley escorts a crew of Colonial Marines led by Michael Biehn‘s Corporal Hicks back to Acheron where they locate only one survivor: an orphan named Newt who survived a Xenomorph attack. As if having the original film directed by the legendary Ridley Scott wasn’t enough reason to start watching the franchise, Aliens is directed by another member of sci-fi’s Mount Rushmore: James Cameron. A classic ’80s flick and one of the best sci-fi movies ever made, Aliens is worth your time even if it is set 37 years after Alien: Romulus.
Alien 3(1992)
An immediate sequel to Aliens, Aliens 3 is an underwhelming follow up to its predecessor. After struggling to find a director for the film, David Fincher was hired for his directorial debut. In 2010, Fincher said of the film that “No one hated it more than me; to this day, no one hates it more than me.” Now that you have an idea what you might be getting into, you should also know that Aliens Cubed was intended to be the last film in the series until…
Alien Ressurection (1997)
Even though Alien 3 was a critical dud, it raked in enough money to keep the studio interested in pumping out more Alien films. Given that Weaver’s Ripley sacrificed herself as the end of the previous entry, the studio had to find a work around. Writer Joss Whedon did so by setting the film in 2381, nearly 200 years after the events of Aliens and Alien 3, and “ressurecting” Ripley via cloning. Alien: Ressurection gets pretty nutty but it does star Winona Ryder and end in a way that leaves the future of the franchise wide open.
Prometheus (2021)
Rather than push further into the future (Whedon did develop a script for an Earth-set Alien 5) the studio went in the opposite direction. Ridley Scott returned to the franchise to direct Prometheus, a quasi-prequel to theAlien quadrilogy set in 2093. Scott, who developed the premise of the film with Cameron, explained that while Prometheus shares “strands of Alien‘s DNA” it also stands on its own, exploring themes of creation and the co-existence of religion and science. Prometheus has an absolutely killer cast with Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Noomi Rapace and Guy Pearce leading the way and is loaded with Easter eggs and symbology. If you’re into mythology, you’ll be into Prometheus.
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Set in 2104, 11 years after the events of Prometheus, Alien: Covenant serves as both a true sequel to that film and a true prequel to Alien. Fassbender reprises his role in Covenant and slays it while taking a sinister turn and the flick does a nice job of spanning the gap between Prometheus and Alien without serving as a direct set-up. While Scott has shared that he has plans for a third prequel film that would lead right into Alien, it’s unclear if Disney intends to proceed with it.
Tier Three
So you’ve made it through the first two tiers…
Once you’ve watched the 6 films listed above, you’ve fully immersed yourself in Alien canon; however, it turns out there’s more to the Alien universe than the Alien films…and then there may be more than that! And if you’re a completist, you’re going to have one helluva watchlist to work through which includes some of the best sci-fi/action films ever created.
While only the Alien films are considered canon in the Alien timeline, the Alien franchise crossed over with another great sci-fi franchise featuring a terrifying alien: the Predator franchise.
Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Two of the most surprising choices on the list, Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 make the list thanks to Ridley Scott who directed films in both franchises and himself made the case for their shared connective tissue.
There’s almost like a connective tissue between all the stuff I went through on Alien into the environment of the Nostromo and people living within close proximity to people who still have Earth-bound connections and here we have people on Earth, so almost this world could easily be the city that supports the crew that go out in Alien. So, in other words, when the crew of Alien come back in, they might go into this place and go into a bar off the street near where Deckard lives. That’s how I thought about it.
-Ridley Scott, Director’s Commentary on Blade Runner home media
In addition to Scott’s thoughts, a bonus feature on the 20th Anniversary Alien DVD indicates that Tom Skerrit‘s Nostromo captain, Arthur Dallas, once worked for the Tyrell Corporation, the company which is responsible for producing the genetically-engineered replicants that populate the Blade Runner franchise. A similar extra exists on the home release version of Prometheus that connects the creation of replicants to the Weyland androids that populate the Alien franchise and a quick shot of what appears to be a prototype Engineer is seen in Blade Runner 2049‘s first teaser.
Predator (1987), Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010), The Predator (2018) and Prey (2022)
You son of a bitch. While there’s no direct link to the Alien universe in Predator, if you’re watching the Tier Three films there’s no reason not to watch one of the greatest sci-fi action movies ever made…get to the choppa!
If you’ve ever wondered to yourself, “Is that a Xenomorph skull on the Yautja’s trophy wall in that ship in Predator 2?”, the answer is yes. Predator director John McTiernan cut the idea from the original so rather than Arnold’s Dutch finding it, Danny “I’m Too Old for This Shit” Glover’s Lt. Harrigan got the honors. It was the first hint of a larger, shared universe in which Xenomorphs and Yautjas have a history…and a future.
2010’s Predators is a solid entry in the Predator franchise unlike 2018’s The Predator and while they both flesh out the mythology of the Yautja, they don’t have much of anything to do with their history with Xenomorphs and are only worth a watch if you REALLY feel the need to be a completist. 2022’s Prey, on the other hand, is an absolute must-watch despite also adding nothing to the shared history of the two fiercest aliens in the galaxy. A wonderful reinvention of the franchise and quite possibly the best Predator movie ever made, Prey (you can check out or rankings of all 7 Predator franchise films here) is also a great pre-Romulus watch in order to evaluate if the new direction of the Alien franchise can match Dan Trachtenberg‘s vision.
Alien vs. Predator (2004) & Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
Let’s be honest: both of these movies are bad. Like all-time bad. It’s hard to imagine having to watch a pair of films like this when you’ll ultimately be comparing them to several classics but they do give you exactly what they promise: Xenomoroph on Yautja violence.
Soldier (1998)
While its inclusion, even in Tier Three, can be debated–mostly due to writer David Peoples not being able to keep his own story straight–Soldier is so bad that it’s good. Regardless of whatever Peoples takes during interviews that took place 40 years apart, there’s plenty of dialogue and even some visual cues to suggest that the adventures of Kurt Russel‘s Sergeant Todd 3465 are in fact part of a Blade Runner “sidequel” as originally stated by Peoples.
How to Watch the Core Alien Universe Films in Chronological Order
Prometheus set in 2093
Alien: Covenant set in 2104
Alien set in 2122
Alien: Romulus set in 2142
Aliens set in 2179
Alien 3set in 2179
Alien: Ressurection set in 2381
How to Watch the Expanded Alien Universe Films in Chronological Order
Prey set in 1719
Predator set in 1987
Predator 2 set in 1997
Alien vs. Predator set in 2004
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem set in 2004
Predators set in 2010
The Predator set in 2018
Blade Runner set in 2019
Soldier set in 2036
Blade Runner 2049 set, surprisingly enough, in 2049
Prometheus set in 2093
Alien: Covenant set in 2104
Alien set in 2122
Alien: Romulus set in 2142
Aliens set in 2179
Alien 3set in 2179
Alien: Ressurection set in 2381
About Alien: Romulus
A truly terrifying cinematic experience from producer Ridley Scott and director/writer Fede Alvarez, 20th Century Studios’ Alien: Romulus opens in theaters nationwide August 16, 2024. The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
-Official Press Announcement for 20th Century Studios’ Alien: Romulus
The film stars Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun) and Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. Alien: Romulus is produced by Ridley Scott (Napoleon), who directed the original Alien and produced and directed the series’ entries Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Michael Pruss (Boston Strangler), and Walter Hill (Alien), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (Charlie’s Angels), Brent O’Connor (Bullet Train) and Tom Moran (Unstoppable) serving as executive producers.
Alien: Romulus will open exclusively in theaters nationwide August 16, 2024.
Five Nights at Freddy’s had a record-breaking opening for a horror film, which some believed was the highlight of the continued rise of video game adaptations. While it’ll take some time before people get tired of these adaptations, it seems that fans have front-loaded the latest entry quite a bit. As of now, the horror adaptation is going to have a second weekend at around $17.8M. That would mark a painful 78% drop.
The weekend is looking to be quite slow in general, especially as Dune Part 2 was delayed from its original release date due to the writer’s strike. Still, it’s not a good sign for day-and-date streaming releases to remain a thing moving forward, but there’s also a good chance that the film generally was frontloaded by fans similar to what we’ve seen with Marvel films throughout the last few years since the pandemic.
The rest of the weekend isn’t looking too great. Taylor Swift: Eras Tour is still at the second spot with $12M to $15M, which is a stronghold so far. Killers of the Flower Moon dropped to $6.5M which isn’t too bad given it’s initially a streaming release but given its $200M price tag still stings a bit. Priscilla also opens this weekend with a minor release with around $5M, which will put it on the fourth spot.
We’ve had some big reveals throughout the gaming summer. Quite a few major remakes are heading our way with Metal Gear Solid Detal: Snake Eater, Persona 3 Reload, and more. Yet, there was a noticeable lack of a confirmed remake of Silent Hill 2 by production studio Bloober Team. There have been quite a few questions surrounding the production since the first reveal trailer and their promise to only update the fighting system. Now, a new rumor might have given us our first hint at the game’s release date.
Pre-order listings by the Australian retailer Gorilla Gaming may have given away that Bloober Team is hoping to release the game at some point later this year. It includes a listing that states the game will release on the 29th of September, which would perfectly position it before the month of Halloween; a popular release window for horror games.
Of course, there’s always a chance they have simply just added a release date as a placeholder. They may have guessed that they’d release before October given the popularity of the release window, but it’s definitely interesting that the listing exists to begin with as they usually get some details ahead of reveals. Yet, we don’t know when we can expect the next showcase of the game, as there hasn’t been much development and Summer of Gaming is wrapping up.
There’s also the Silent Hill sequel film that is supposedly releasing at some point this year. We haven’t heard anything on it since the confirmation as part of the big Silent Hill showcase. They may just drop a trailer randomly to hype up when we can expect the release, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they release the horror film around the same time as the game to make good use of the synergy.
It looks like the popular horror game Dead by Daylight is making its way to Hollywood, as Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are set to team up with Behaviour Interactive and bring the multiplayer game to the silver screen. It’s no wonder given just how big the game became after starting in 2016, it has grown to a player base of 50M worldwide. The interactive elements of trying to survive with friends against original and even some familiar monsters offer a unique appeal.
Executive Vice President of Behaviour Interactive, Stephen Mulrooney, shares his excitement bout the new partnership and the chance to bring Dead by Daylight to the silver screen.
We couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Jason Blum and James Wan, two giants of the horror film industry, to further expand the ‘Dead by Daylight’ universe. At Behaviour, our motto is to create unique moments, together, forever. Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are the ideal partners to craft ‘Dead by Daylight’s’ killer entrance onto the big screen.
Stephen Mulrooney
Horror veteran and CEO of Atomic Monster, James Wan, shared his thoughts and excitement to tackle this unique environment of The Fog.
In ‘Dead by Daylight’ the Behaviour team has created a love letter to the world of horror, building an incredible environment teeming with atmosphere and terrifying villains — perfect for a scary cinematic adaptation. We’re big fans of the game at Atomic Monster, and are thrilled to be teaming up with Blumhouse to bring this frighteningly visceral world to the big screen.
James Wan
As of now, the project has no screenwriter or director attached. So, while they are moving forward with the project, they haven’t quite found the talent that’ll bring it to life. Here’s hoping they find a horror veteran that can bring that classic slasher feeling to the game. This also marks the second major gaming adaptation for Blumhouse, who are actively working on an adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy’s film.
Horror has proven it’s one of the franchises that’ll pull in an audience. Even during the pandemic, the genre has remained a power player and we’re seeing an increase in more projects finding their way into theaters. Warner Bros. has even decided to push Evil Dead Rise into a theatrically exclusive release instead of streaming, and Scream is also about to release its next entry after the franchise’s successful revival last year.
It seems that it was just the beginning, as Bloody Disgusting has shared that Friday the 13th producer and director Sean S. Cunningham is helping revive the franchise once again. He’s set to bring a reboot off the ground but that isn’t all. He’s also working on a reboot of 1985’s House and an original film titled The Night Driver.
There are other classic franchises that might see a return, especially if this new reboot might turn out quite popular. Who knows if perhaps we’ll get a new entry into A Nightmare on Elm Street that could potentially build towards another reunion between Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees. With cinematic universes still a big trend, there would be some fun to see some slasher films give it a simple attempt by just offering some classic confrontations between horror icons.
Ruh Roh Freddy, it seems that the upcoming Blumhouse adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy’s is finally moving forward. After countless delays over script issues with the creator Scott Cawthon, they are finally moving forward with the project. They have no added two starts with production set to start in New Orleans in February. Long-time Shaggy voice actor Matthew Lillard has joined alongside Josh Hutcherson, who is well known for his performances in The Hunger Games.
They’re definitely an interesting addition and there’s no details on who exactly they might end up playing. To be fair, the FNAF franchise isn’t well-known for its cast but rather the creepy animatronics that haunt the Pizza restaurants named after Freddy Fazbear. Though, Lillard would make for a great phone guy if that staple character will make an appearance or they simply have Cawthon cameo in the role.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is a simple concept but the lore that has build around the franchise with each new entry offers a lot. The only question is if Cawthon‘s perchance for cryptic storytelling will translate well into live-action cinema. He may try to sneak in details and build up a franchise that barely gets going if the story doesn’t hit those same emotional beats you’d expect from a film. The recent PlayStation exclusive game Security Breach faced a similar issue in trying to bring the gaming franchise into a quasi open world format.
Walter Hamada is a name many might recall as a big part of the post-Justice League era of DC Films. While the studio has been renamed DC Studios with new leadership under Peter Safran and long-time superhero director James Gunn, the producer fought his way uphill on trying to set a plan for DC’s future. Under new leadership with Warner Bros. Discovery, he left the studio and many wondered where he’d show up again. As it turns out, he went on to return to his horror roots.
In a new report by The Hollywood reporter, he has signed on as of January 1st, 2023 to oversee Paramount’s horror line-up. After their recent success with Smile, it’s no wonder that they want to bank on the current rise of horror projects and Hamada is no stranger to the task. His mandate is to set a bunch of mid-budget horror films not only for theatrical release but also eyeing a streaming release every year. Not a small undertaking to boost their horror output.
I am thrilled to collaborate with Paramount Pictures with the singular goal of creating exceptional movies in the horror genre. Over the course of my career, nothing has been more gratifying than discovering emerging, first-time filmmakers and writers and unleashing their brilliance in a studio setting. Thank you to Brian and the entire team at Paramount Pictures for this tremendous opportunity, I can’t wait to get started.
Walter Hamada
Paramount Pictures CEO Brain Robbins also highlighted the “tremendous appetite for original, high-concept storytelling in the global market” and is quite excited to build this new horror corner of its studio.
Think Night of the Living Dead, but with Adderall! Sleep. Walk. Kill. is a funny, campy horror film built on a fresh concept and worth toughing out through its slow opening. When a strange alien sound blares across the skies of Yardley, Pennsylvania, folks rise from their sleep with murder on their minds. Wives butcher husbands; children murder parents; and, presumably, the only way to stay alive is to stay awake. Though at times it feels like the cast is still finding its footing in the early minutes, there’s plenty of tension and compelling storytelling worth staying through the third act. I spoke with Director and Screenwriter Justin Miller and lead actor Bill Reick about the creation of the film and the comedically-talented cast in this independent horror debut.
Tell me about the creation of Sleep. Walk. Kill. How long has this project been in the works?
Justin Miller (JM): It was actually shot three years ago. About a year before that is when I started to write it. I’ve always been fascinated with dreams and night terrors and people talking in their sleep (like my wife sometimes does). But what really got me to write a script I could shoot was I wrote comedy for a theater in Philly and my daughter never really got to see that. But I’d watch movies when I was home and she’d refer to me as “the guy on the sofa.” (laughs) I didn’t want to be that to her! So I started writing something I could shoot. I knew I was going to have to do a lot of it and thank goodness I had a lot of help on this project with Bill (Reick) and Samantha Russell. So that really got me started on it.
That’s a good motivation! Not being the guy on the sofa. (laughs)
JM: Exactly! (laughs) I showed her hard work. It was really hard work. Everyone put in a lot of time and effort on this.
So you shot this film three years ago. Was that at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, or just before?
JM: Just before. We finished shooting about two months or so before the pandemic. We were pretty fortunate in that respect because there’s no way we could have shot in that tiny, cramped basement during the pandemic.
Sleep. Walk. Kill. is sure to invoke memories of Night of the Living Dead with its taut basement scenes.
The basement scenes especially were very reminiscent of some of my favorite horror films. Night of the Living Dead comes to mind. Maybe Shaun of the Dead? That forced closeness always ratchets up the tension between people who are confined together. What were your biggest influences for the film?
JM: Definitely Night of the Living Dead. I try, though, when I’m writing to not specifically think of “I want to make it seem like this…” but it definitely has a strong Night of the Living Dead feel. I can see the connection also between Shaun of the Dead. The Thing. John Carpenter is definitely a big influence. I just wanted to show what happens to this family when they’re put in extreme circumstances.
Yeah! Very fun practical effects in the film, speaking of The Thing and John Carpenter. And speaking of Carpenter, is it true that you also did the score, Justin?
JM: Yes, that is true. You know, pretty much everyone on this film—actors included—did more than just one thing. (laughs) They’d be like, “Hey I’m not in this scene, hold this light.” Or “Pour blood on somebody.” Everyone worked pretty hard on this!
You have a very talented and funny cast that assembles in that basement. Those later scenes are a lot of fun. Ellen Boscov is fantastic as Edgar’s Mom—funny, annoying, frustrating—I mean that in the best of ways.
JM: Yeah, if you hate her than she did her job.
Yes! And The Legendary WID, who maybe had some of the best one-liners in the film. And of course Bill, who plays Edgar, who has to bounce off each of these characters in different ways. Tell me a little bit about assembling this cast and what it was like wrangling their comedic skills into a horror film.
JM: Samantha Russell, she’s a sketch director from Philly, she helped assemble the cast. She did an amazing job. Actually the first thing she said when she read the script was, “I thought it would be funnier.” (laughs) But I wanted to write a horror movie that had comedic elements, not specifically a comedy, though that’s what we do in sketch writing.
I had a few people audition for the dad and one of the people I was considering was Bob Quintana. I knew he was in theater productions around the area and he knocked it out of the park. And working with them was such a blast. We had such a fun time on set—sometimes a little too fun. (laughs) When it was time to get serious everyone turned it on and did an amazing job.
I think maybe that’s who we’re aiming for. People who’ve been left a little bit cold by multi-million-dollar productions and want something a little more human and a little less decided by committee.
Bill Reick
Bill, can you talk a little about the role of Edgar and your approach to it, and also riding that line between horror and comedy?
Bill Reick (BR): Well the character is a real slob so I didn’t really have to try to get in the role or anything. (laughs) I can be a loser. That’s not too far out of my wheelhouse.
The only real adjustment I had to make is on set is when Justin would say, “Hey thank you for that last take. It was really funny. But let’s make it serious this time. Let’s convey that somebody just died. Let’s give it the weight it deserves.” (JM laughs) Justin did a really good job of helping me tune things into what he was looking for.
It’s interesting to hear that the approach was more horror film with comedic elements because you did have a very funny cast. I imagine that almost might have been a bit of a challenge with that team to work with.
BR: Yeah it was definitely a bunch of cut-ups in there. It was going to be a funny movie whether Justin set out for it to be or not, just because of who he put in it. It was definitely great to be able to utilize that. But everyone was talented enough to be able to fine-tune their approach so that if a given scene wasn’t calling for a comedic approach, Justin was able to step in, like any great director, and say “hey, let’s dial it this way,” just so we could keep a more consistent tone.
Sure. And it seems like Edgar has quite the arc in the film.
BR: Oh my gosh, does he.
Maybe he starts off as a slob, but especially toward the end he becomes our point person and our sort of a savior. But Edgar definitely does get a little beat up in the film emotionally.
BR: Oh, and physically.
And physically. Do you have a lot of experience with physicality in your roles or with horror?
BR: Oh, definitely I have a lot of experience being physical on stage. Prior to this film—and during, and after it—I was doing a lot of sketch comedy. If there’s a chance I could get one person to laugh, I will grievously injure myself at the drop of a hat. (JM laughs) It was nice to be able to take those… skills? (laughs) and apply them to a recorded medium where I don’t have to hurt myself every time to get the laugh. They can just press play.
(laughs) Any injuries sustained on set for this one?
BR: Oh plenty! (Thinks for a moment.) Yeah, none that… Maybe… Well, I don’t think I should have gone to hospital for any of them. (JM laughs) But definitely lots of really, really solid bumps and bruises where I’d come home and my girlfriend would say, “I thought you were making a movie.”
Ellen Boscov delights and annoys as Edgar’s mom in Sleep. Walk. Kill.
There’s very much a lot centering around how Edgar relates to his mom and his ex-wife in the film. Which relationship was maybe most fun to work with?
BR: Ellen Boscov was just a howl to work with. We knew each other and we’d bump into one another in Philly, but as soon as we started to work on this project—she must have some crazy acting training I don’t have—because she was getting herself super in-the-zone and treating me like her son right away. She’d come up to me and give me big smooches. (laughs) She made a scrapbook, like a photo album, and she found pictures of me that I’d never given her. And that was really cool, really interesting.
I was definitely one of the least experienced people on set. Everyday was a lesson and everybody was a teacher. I was super grateful to learn by watching John Reshetar and Melanie Rosedale, same with Raquel Watson, who auditioned to be in this film. They were actors. I got to say, “Oh hey they did that. That worked well. Maybe I’ll apply that next time.”
Same with (Bob) Quintana too. I feel like I learned how to deliver dialogue by just watching him because he’s tasked with explaining the science of the story and it was quite a monologue. But he was able to handle it with the gravitas that it deserved. I learned so much from just observing everybody.
Ellen Boscov showed up with a scrapbook? Was that the scrapbook that’s in the film?
BR:(laughs) Yeah she showed up with it.
JM:Yeah it’s in the script, but she… (laughs) she showed up with a scrapbook full of memories.
That’s amazing! (laughs)
BR: It was a trip to see this other life with my face on it. (BR and JM laugh)
No spoilers, but as we approach the end of the film, we really see that relationship with Edgar’s mom… blossom. (BR laughs) How did you feel about the gore? Was it fun? Was it gross?
BR: Oh, I was there for the gore. I was showing up early for the gore. (laughs) Allison Goetz was the professional who did all of our makeup effects and blood spray… She was just really fantastic in making blood go where it needed to be.
The only parts that were gross were at the end of the day when I’d go to peel something off (laughs), when I had dried, peeled up, fake blood and it would get caught in my arm hair. That was a little nasty. But as far as everything on camera, no I’m a gore-hound. I love it.
Actor Bill Reick as Edgar with Samantha Russell as Ady in Sleep. Walk. Kill.
So for the both of you, I’m curious, promotion about the film includes the line “This is a message-in-a-bottle we hope will reach like-minded misfits.” Who do you have in mind as fans for this film? Who do you hope sees this film?
JM: Anyone who dreamed of making a movie and wants to go out and do it no matter what. It didn’t matter if I hired 10 people and they all backed out, I was going to get this done. It didn’t matter the budget. I hope it just inspires people to go out and make something. Make something because they want to because it’s something they’ve always wanted to do. What do you think Bill?
BR: That piece of artsy-fartsy copy came out of me. (BR and JM laugh) I really see this movie as a flare going off from Yardley, Pennsylvania. I just hope somebody else sees this and goes “Oh yeah, I could do that.” And I think that’s what I love about a lot of horror movies, some of my favorites being Dead Alive, Evil Dead 2… There’s a quality about it that says it’s not the traditional studio system. So I think maybe that’s who we’re aiming for. People who’ve been left a little bit cold by multi-million-dollar productions and want something a little more human and a little less decided by committee.
That’s an aspiration worth reaching for. You can check out Sleep. Walk. Kill. streaming now on Vudu, Google Play, and Amazon Prime, and coming soon to Tubi and other platforms.
2022 has been quite a successful year for horror franchise revivals. Not only did we get the third entry of the new incarnation of Halloween, but even saw Scream return with a new sequel to quite the success. It’s been a good year for long-running horror franchises and The Conjuring is ready to expand upon its spinoff, The Nun.
The sequel to the 2018 blockbuster release was based on a story written by James Wann and directed by Corin Hard, who adapted it based on a script by Gary Dauberman. The sequel’s plot still remains under wraps, but Taissa Farmiga will reprise her role as Sister Irene, who witnessed the events from the first film alongside the priest played by Demián Bichir. She will be joined by Anna Popplewell and Katelyn Rose in the sequel.
Michael Chaves will direct the sequel after his work on The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which is the seventh entry in the franchise and has made quite a splash at the box office. As of now, The Conjuring franchise has already passed $2 billion worldwide and is the highest-earning horror franchise of all time.
The scrapped is based on Akela Cooper, who also worked on M3GAN but the project has gone through some revisions by Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing. Currently, The Safran Company and Atomic Monsters are set to produce with Wan once again serving as a producer on the project alongside Peter Safran.
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