Double Feature: Spiral: From the Book of Saw & The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

Other than having the original release date of 2020 and being delayed to the summer of 2021 due to the COVID pandemic, what do Spiral: From the Book of Saw and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It have in common?  If the answer is both come from horror franchises created by horror master James Wan, then you are right! Spiral is the ninth movie in the Saw series while Conjuring 3 is the eighth film in the Conjuring-verse. Both franchises have been hit-or-miss unless Wan is behind the camera; having directed the first Saw film and the first two Conjuring films with frightening but fantastic results. Can these latest installments manage without Wan’s guidance?

Cinema Spotlight VIII - Leigh Whannell (Part 1): "Insidious: Chapter 3"

Stefanie Scott (known for her Queen Bee role on Disney Channel's A.N.T. Farm) 
as Quinn Brenner in Insidious Chapter 3.

Before he was trapped by Jigsaw with Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell dreamed of being a story-teller whether as an actor or a writer. He got his chance while attending college in his home county of Australia where he met best friend and future collaborator James Wan. During the years that lead to the creation of Saw, Whannell served as a film critic on a television program called Recovery (think of it as Australia's version of nineties MTV). Fun Fact: Angus Sampson was among the cast and a writer of the show who would work with Whannell again in the Insidious movies as the ghost-tracking duo Specs and Tucker.

Better Late Than Never Vol. 6

It's that time of the year when all the highly anticipated movies start to arrive and I try to watch a couple I missed during the summer.

Cinema Spotlight VII - Andrés Muschietti (Part 3): "It: Chapter Two"

The general consensus with the It mini-series is that Part Two isn't as good as Part One. The less said about that spider, the better. With the same team, lead by Andy Muschietti, can they bring the same quality from Chapter One and greatly improve in the second chapter of the Losers club?

Cinema Spotlight VII - Andrés Muschietti (Part 2): "It"

Two weeks before production on It began, the movie's original director, Emmy-award winner Cary Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation & True Detective) left the project due to creative differences and studio disagreements. When news reached Andy Muschietti, he immediately jumped in for the opportunity, having been a lifelong Stephen King fan and read It in his early teens. The studio gave him five days to come with a pitch, and in those five days he re-read the novel, utilized Fukunaga's script, presented his pitch, and the rest was history.

Cinema Spotlight VII - Andrés Muschietti (Part 1): Mama

Jessica Chastain as Annabel 

Early in his career, Andy Muschietti made commercials in his home country of Argentina with his real passion being cinema. He snagged some odd jobs in show business from public relations to assistant director; one in particular was as a set production assistant on the Madonna musical Evita. He moved to Spain and collaborated with his sister Barbara Muschietti in advertisement; still looking for the chance to make his motion picture break.

Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark Lives Up to its Name

Like with Goosebumps, Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark, were a series of horror books I was too chicken to read when I was a kid. The terrifying illustrations only added to keeping me away. Reading it years later, Alan Schwartz's anthology series, serves as a good introduction for young readers to horror; my favorite excepts include High Beams, The Haunted House, and The Girl Who Stood on the Grave. With Goosebumps getting the big-screen treatment, Scary Stories goes through a somewhat similar procedure of using the books as a plot device, rather than adapting a particular story.

Double Review: Men in Black:International & The Dead Don't Die

Two summer movies feature a ragtag team fighting foes not of this world while a strange occurrence appears in the night sky. Thor & Valkyrie take on the scum of the universe while Peter Venkman and Kylo Ren are left to deal with the undead. Despite the exciting premise, both films failed to connect with audiences. Are both deserving of such scrutiny? 

Cinema Spotlight V - David F. Sandberg (Part 2): "Annabelle: Creation"

Impressed by his work on Lights Out, James Wan offered David F. Sandberg his next movie that would set in the Conjuring Universe. An offer, Sandberg was hesitant to accept seeing the bad reputation of Horror sequels. It didn't help that the proposed project would be another Anabelle movie, with the last one to star the demented doll being widely despised. But when told that it would be a standalone prequel and have little to no connection to its predecessors, he accepted.

Cinema Spotlight V - David F. Sandberg (Part 1): "Lights Out"

Born in Jönköping, Sweden, David F. Sandberg's passion for cinema began when working at a video rental store in his late teens. Since then, he has made various shorts, commercials, and documentaries; many submitted in film festivals and uploaded on YouTube (goes by the name ponysmasher). One of his videos went viral that before he could say "I'm going to Hollywood," the Swedish YouTuber got the call. What was it about this particular short that garnered such popularity to warrant a movie deal? Let's just say, you might want to keep the lights on for this. 

Us Ups the Scares but Lacks the Flair

Having garnered critical acclaim in his thrilling directorial debut with Get Out, comedian turned filmmaker Jordan Peele goes for round two in full-out horror mode that gives double meaning to the phrase "you are your own worst enemy"

Better Late Than Never Vol. #4

Cinema Spotlight IV - James Wan (Part 8): 'The Conjuring 2'

Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga).

Horror sequels are notorious for not being good as the first movie, but because the genre doesn't require that big of a budget, they are quick to make and still make enough money at the box-office. It doesn't help when most of the time, its not the same people who stay on board after the first installment. Perhaps the Saw movies would have benefited if James Wan stuck around as a director. It certainly helped the Insidious movies as he returned for the sequel with good results; even after passing the torch with the later chapters. Returning back to The Conjuring universe, Wan does it again.

Cinema Spotlight IV - James Wan (Part 6): 'Insidious: Chapter 2'

Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Dalton (Tye Simpkins) Lambert. 

If you recall my take of Insidious, I thought it was a return to form for Horror director James Wan. What you may not know is that on my first viewing, I was severely underwhelmed at the last minute decision of the "made you look" ending. I knew there were sequels but when its in the Horror genre, they are vastly inconsistent. You can imagine my surprise when Insidious: Chapter 2 immediately picks off where the last one ended

Cinema Spotlight IV - James Wan (Part 5): 'The Conjuring'

Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren.

"...what’s funny is, when I made Saw, I got accused of being a fascist, when I made Insidious, I got accused of being godless, and now I made The Conjuring films and I’m accused of being too much God. (laughs) So it’s really interesting to see how people have reacted to my three sets of horror films."

-James Wan

Cinema Spotlight IV - James Wan (Part 4): 'Insidious'

Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson)

James Wan had three movies down but none reached the success of his first film. In a genre where spilled blood, gross guts and teenage stupidity made for quality entertainment, Wan refused to be part of that and wished to do an old-fashioned horror movie that didn't rely on those tropes. Working once again with Leigh Whannell, the two conjure up a ghost story that took viewers to the other side.

Micheal Myers Returns in Halloween

John Carpenter's Halloween has been regarded as the granddaddy of slasher films and laid the groundwork for future flicks like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. Despite good performances from Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence and Nick Castle, I found the original Halloween trashy and dated that even the kills were boring to watch. Seven schlocky sequels and a repugnant reboot later, director David Gordon Green and co-writing partner Danny McBride give their take on the silent killer in what is now the eleventh Halloween movie.

Triple Review Vol. 1

Which of the three do you wish to see? Perhaps a stroll on main street where an evil dummy brings Halloween to life. Check in at the El Royale hotel where nothing can go wrong or travel with first man on the moon. Whichever you choose, I guarantee you won't demand a refund.

Cinema Spotlight IV - James Wan (Part 2): 'Dead Silence'

Mr Ratburn: Since scary books and videos are so popular, lets talk about things that scare us. Anyone want to name something that scares them? 
Arthur: Ventriloquist dummies. I mean, what’s all that about anyway? Weird.

From the Arthur episode, "Night Fright"

Cinema Spotlight IV - James Wan (Part 1): 'Saw'

If you don't know the name James Wan, you definitely have heard of his work. Born in Malaysia, but raised in Australia, Wan began his movie career at RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) where he met his screenwriting partner and best friend Leigh Whannell. They brainstormed many ideas, one of them involving a freaky doll saying "Wanna play a game?"