Exclusives
‘Toolbox Murders 2’ Update, First Casting News!
Here’s a little late night snack for you horror hounds. This evening I got in touch with Dean Jones, the man behind the long-delayed Toolbox Murders sequel, who finally has some news on the film’s progress. Beyond the break you can find out the first casting news, see the new tentative title and read what Jones has to say about the project. Watch this spot for plenty more as the film finally goes into production!
STORY CONFIRMED
What we’ve been told is that Dean Jones is still set to direct the sequel to Toolbox Murders from his own screenplay. The working title is currently TBK, with a new website slated to be launched in the coming weeks.
Casting is currently in progress, although, Brain Krause (Growth, Triloquist), Jeffery Combs (Re-Animator), Tony Todd (Candyman), Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Pumpkinhead), and Red West are already on board.
“This script is very powerful, provocative, and original and rises far above the last Toolbox,” he tells Bloody-Disgusting. “I work in a world where I create death on a daily basis and so with that in mind this script will have highest body count ever in the history of horror films.”
He continues, “However, the story will not be gore for the sake of having gore…it has depth and style.”
Our previous report indicated that the story will continue to take place in Hollywood. This time you will see more of the killer, there will be more murders and more of a backstory about where he’s from and how he came to be.
Tobe Hooper directed the first film back in 2003, which was a remake of the classic from 1978. The reboot took place in a historic Hollywood hotel that’s been subdued for decades – but when renovations start, a series of murders take place.
Jones’ make-up credits include Chain Letter, Fast & Furious, Train, Day of the Dead, Mortuary, Dead Birds, the first Toolbox Murders, and many more.
Exclusives
‘The Haunting of Pennhurst’ Exclusive Clip Trains Scare Actors For Historic Haunt in Tribeca Doc
The past and present collide in haunting, poignant ways in the genre documentary The Haunting of Pennhurst, which sees a Halloween haunt serve as a reclamation of true historic horrors.
Ahead of its world premiere at the 25th Tribeca Film Festival, we have an exclusive clip that sees scare actors in training for the Halloween season. The catch? This haunt is opening at the historic Pennhurst State School & Hospital site, a facility that caused immense harm to its disabled patients over decades of its operation.
In the documentary, “For over seventy years, Pennhurst State School & Hospital was called a place of care. What happened inside killed over half its population. It closed in 1987, leaving behind unmarked graves and an unresolved history. Today, on those same grounds, disabled performers – many living with the same conditions that once sent people to Pennhurst – put on their makeup, pull on their costumes, and prepare to scare people for a living.
“Through grit, compassion, and buckets of blood, the eclectic performers of the Pennhurst Asylum haunted attraction are wrestling with a space that is at once a lucrative business and a gravesite.”
The upcoming documentary hails from directing trio Nathan Stenberg, Mike Attie, and Katarina Poljak, who explore their socially-relevant subject through archival footage, first-hand accounts, and an immersive verité.
“Pennhurst has haunted us since we first passed through its dragon-tooth gates; the horrors of the institution echo through the site today. We are so grateful to bring this film to the Tribeca Festival, particularly the Escape from Tribeca section, which feels right for a story where past and present bleed together. We hope audiences leave unnerved and asking the same uncomfortable questions we did,” Attie, Stenberg, and Poljak said in a statement.
Watch the clip below that sees disabled and neurodivergent scare actors learning the ropes of a Halloween haunt, reclaiming the site’s grim history in the process.
Tribeca Screenings:
- Public 1 (Premiere) Screening – Friday, June 5 at 9:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 2 Screening – Sunday, June 7 at 3:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 3 Screening – Tuesday, June 9 at 6:15PM at Village East by Angelika