Movies
The Games Begins at Uni’s ‘Halloween Horror Nights’
We broke the news here on B-D that both Michael Myers and Jigsaw would be coming to Universal Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Night’s this September/October, this morning half of that was confirmed as Lionsgate has inked a deal with Universal Studios to integrate its Saw franchise into the theme park’s annual “Halloween Horror Nights” event. Read on for the story.
Pact makes “Saw” the latest horror franchise that wasn’t produced by Universal to be added to the event’s lineup. Last year, it introduced a haunted maze themed around New Line’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street” pics and featured “Friday the 13th.”
It also helps kill off competition created by a “Saw” haunted house that had been set up south of Los Angeles in Brea last year and scared visitors away from U’s park in Hollywood. An estimated 20,000 people visited the “Saw” house last year.
Lionsgate had officially backed the house, set in a shuttered movie theater and built by franchise fan Jeff Schiefelbein, with promos and other support to push the fifth installment. Schiefelbein has built more general-themed haunted houses there over the last several years.
Given its success, Lionsgate and “Saw’s” producers at Twisted Pictures had planned on moving the “Saw” house to a larger location closer to L.A. in order to accommodate more visitors this Halloween, but opted to broker the deal with Universal instead.
The theme park should guarantee not only a bigger budget to build the planned horror maze that will promote the sixth film, but also a considerably larger audience, considering the “Saw” attractions will appear at U’s parks in Hollywood and Orlando.
Combined, the parks attract hundreds of thousands of thrill-seekers each year for “Halloween Horror Nights.”
Universal plans to incorporate the “Saw” franchise’s characters and grisly traps in a maze and in the parks’ dedicated “scare zones,” as well as on the “Terror Tram,” a revamped version of its studio tram tour.
“This partnership represents a new landmark for the ‘Saw’ film franchise in that it allows us together with Twisted Pictures to further expand the brand and immerse fans in the horrifying world of ‘Saw,’ ” said Aubrey McClure, senior VP of promotions and licensing for Lionsgate.
Universal Studios Hollywood’s creative department will work with Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures to incorporate “Saw” into the parks.
Movies
‘Monster’ – Indonesian Remake of ‘The Boy Behind the Door’ Heading to Netflix
An Indonesian remake of Justin Powell and David Charbonier’s intense 2021 thriller The Boy Behind the Door, titled Monster, is on its way. Netflix has unveiled images from the twisted thriller ahead of its debut on the streaming service.
In Monster, “After being abducted and taken to a desolate house, a girl sets out to rescue her friend and escape from their malicious kidnapper.”
As of now, Netflix hasn’t set an official date for Monster, only that it’s coming soon.
Monster is directed by Rako Prijanto and written by Alim Sudio. It stars Sultan Hamonangan, Anantya Kirana, Alex Abbad, and Marsha Timothy.
The Boy Behind the Door follows twelve-year-old Bobby and his best friend, Kevin, as they’re abducted from a park. Bobby wakes alone in a trunk and escapes, only to return when he realizes his best friend is still held captive inside a desolate house.
The Indonesian remake gender swaps the ill-fated kids embarking on a harrowing cat-and-mouse chase to escape, but, according to an interview with Kapanlagi, Monster also updates the original story by making one of the main characters mute. Meaning, expect very little dialogue in this update. The change will likely make the horror-thriller even more suspenseful, which is saying a lot considering how intense The Boy Behind the Door is.
I wrote in my review of The Boy Behind the Door that “it gives a unique and intense spin on the home invasion. The constant ratcheting of tension leaves you alternating between edge-of-your-seat panic and cringe-worthy repulsion; this thriller isn’t afraid to put its children through absolute hell.”
Check out new images from Monster below, as well as a tense trailer from the film’s premiere at the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival last November.
Stay tuned for an official release date as it’s announced, but expect this to arrive on Netflix soon.
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