Lil Bites
There were a few really great pieces this week. So, even though the majority of this week will still be Fantastic Fest/Welcome to the Blumhouse focused, this section returns with some remarkable entertainment journalism that needed highlighting.
Incredible reporting from Eric Vespe on the potential IASTE strike and why folks should care.
Super smartypants lawyer and fangirl Lindsay Traves broke down the deal with Spider-Man and Marvel's various legal woes when it comes to its characters.
Fantastic Fest Continued!
SyFy has a Slumber Party Massacre remake coming soon, (October 16th, to be exact) and it's just swell. As a matter of fact, I can't say that Level 16 is my favorite Danishka Esterhazy movie anymore!
Truth be told, the original Slumber Party Massacre wasn't for me. However, I'm glad I gave it a watch right before Danishka's take on the story. There's a clear love for the property she's remaking. There's also no shame in how loudly she says what she's saying with the film.
Folks are quick to roast loud, feminist stories as "on the nose" or "heavy handed" (commentary on shows like Supergirl being the perfect example), but we've tried subtle for years and no one's listening. So, maybe it's time for more stories to say it slow for the folks who don't quite get the message. Slumber Party Massacre has no problem doing just that, and I love it.
Welcome to the Blumhouse
Only half of Blumfest's offerings are out at the time of this newsletter, but the good news is that they're already available to the public! I had the chance to check out both Bingo Hell and Black as Night and was pretty surprised at both. Welcome to the Blumhouse 2020 was pretty rough. They still selected four films to highlight, they just weren't anything to write home about. While it seems like this year's four are the same quick-turnaround low-budget offerings, both Bingo Hell and Black as Night are memorable in ways the 2020 lineup wasn't.
Bingo Hell follows a group of elderly friends who are forced to defend their neighborhood once again. Of course, the first time was against a drug problem. This time? Well, there's something more supernatural afoot. Some of the film is a little hapdash, but it works for me. If your flick features a town or neighborhood banding together to fight evil, there's a pretty strong chance I'm going to forgive all of its sins and squeal about it to the masses.
Then there's Black as Night. I cannot stress enough how much I loved this film. Technically speaking, there are some bumps in the road. There's a scene in an old vampire lair that gets a little too close to the flameless candle and takes you all the way out of the moment and other such silly mistakes. BUT. It is so good as a YA horror flick. Asjha Cooper nails it as the lead, and the whole cast is obviously having fun with what they're doing.
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