The Devilâs Candy is a dark, atmospheric, disturbing horror that doesnât get the flowers that it deserves. With a metal soundtrack, powerful performances and haunting visuals, it is an absolutely beautiful film.
The second feature from The Loved Ones and Dangerous Animals director Sean Byrne, The Devilâs Candy fits firmly into a subgenre that I love – metal horror. Painter Jesse and his family move into an isolated, rural home and his sudden artistic inspiration comes from an unexpected source. Jesse and his daughter are metalheads – long hair, tattoos and headbanging on the school run. Itâs always nice to see metallers in a film that feel authentic – not what a fancy dress shop says we look like. Ethan Embry, who plays Jesse, is a heavy metal fan himself so it really was an authentic performance. There is an incredible original score from Michael Yezerski and a banginâ soundtrack featuring Metallica, Sunn O))), Pantera, Machine Head and Slayer.
The Devilâs Candy is also visually stunning. The editing and cinematography masterfully juxtapose horrific acts with Jesseâs creative process. (The scene with the bathtub is just gorgeous.) The Satanic and religious imagery littered throughout is unsettling and works perfectly with the metal soundtrack and score. Dark imagery and dark music, paired with a loving family that feels full of light.
Ethan Embry as Jesse
The cast is small, but perfect. Ethan Embry is fantastic – he is able to balance the loving, devoted father and husband side of Jesse, with the âtortured artistâ side without either ever feeling like a stereotype. The intensity of his performance is captivating and I think itâs Embryâs best role. Pruitt Taylor Vince is chilling as Ray, a genuinely intimidating presence who somehow elicits fear and sympathy. Shiri Appleby as Astrid and Kiara Glasco as Zooey are also brilliant as Jesseâs wife and daughter, anchoring him to reality.
Limited edition release from Second Sight
The ever-wonderful Second Sight have given The Devilâs Candy a beautiful release on limited edition 4K UHD & blu-ray, which you can preorder now and will be available from 25th May. Thereâs a fantastic commentary from Sean Byrne, interviews with Embry, Director of Photography Simon Chapman, Editor Andy Canny and Production Designer Tom Hammock. Thereâs also a vfx feature and two of Byrneâs short films, Advantage Satan and Work? The limited edition boxset also includes 6 art cards and a 120 page booklet of essays – one of my favourite things that Second Sight does with their releases. This is a 5 star movie, with a 5 star special release and I canât recommend it more.
Thank you to Second Sight and Aim Publicity for sending me the release to review.
Could there be a more perfect pairing than Second Sight and Hammer Films?! As someone who is working through the Hammer back catalogue, these releases are an absolute gift and a dream. Originally released on special edition, both films will be available on standard blu-ray from Monday 25th May.
The Mummy and Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell are new films to me and itâs been great being able to watch them, immediately followed up by special features talking about the history of Hammer and the impact of the films. Both have fantastic performances from the iconic Peter Cushing, a highlight of my Hammer history lessons, as well as the incomparable Christopher Lee in The Mummy.
Of the two, The Mummy is my favourite. The neon green lighting is stunning and much more of a visual treat than the muted palette of Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell. Terence Fisherâs take on two classic monster stories is interesting to see – I feel The Mummy has been far more influential on horror, than Frankenstein⊠The look of the Monster (good ole Darth Vader himself, David Prowse) is very different than other iterations Iâve seen over the almost 100 years of Frankenstein on screen. While this creation wouldnât necessarily be my favourite of Frankensteinâs monsters, itâs nice to see Hammer doing something different. I definitely want to see the studioâs other Frankenstein stories!
The Franz Reizenstein score for The Mummy and the James Bernard score for Frankenstein⊠are both beautiful. They just donât make film scores like that anymore. The music in both films is lush, atmospheric and absolutely getting added to my horror scores playlist. Both blurays contain special features about the scores, which is a delight. We donât get extras dedicated to the score very often and when we do, itâs usually from Second Sight!
The new artwork from Graham Humphreys is gorgeous too. Beautiful additions to my physical media collection and more gaps in my horror history filled!
The Psychic is, sadly, a victim of its marketing. Audiences familiar with the utterly terrifying Ghost Stories may expect another fright-filled experience from the images on social media of seance tables and the ominous scrawl of âmummy wants to kill youâ in chalk. The new play from writers Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson is a thriller filled with twists and turns, but it doesnât deliver much in the way of scares. Itâs not intended to. The Psychic isnât a horror play, but unless you hear those words from Nyman and Dyson in interviews, youâd be forgiven for expecting another Ghost Stories.
I must preface this by saying how massive a fan of Ghost Stories and Dyson and Nymanâs work I am. I have seen their first production eight times and have spent the last 15 years preaching the gospel of Ghost Stories to anyone who will listen (and even if they arenât listening!). I have never been so frightened in my entire life, as the night I sat in front of Andy Nyman himself playing Professor Goodman. I was so scared I couldnât stop sweating, I had the most horrendously dry mouth and was on the verge of tears the whole time. Now I revel in its familiar scares and drag my poor friends along, while I watch them out of the corner of my eye at key moments. Gleefully rubbing my hands together, like an evil little fly.
The Psychic follows celebrity medium, Sheila Gold, who is wondering âis any of it real?â. Unlike Ghost Storiesâ all-male cast, this play centres around a matriarchal community. Sheila grew up in the Showman community and the story shares some of the traditions and how this can impact the relationships within. This is the true heart to the story and is a fascinating look into a world I had no idea about. Dyson and Nyman have done their research, littering the script with Showman lingo and treating the themes with respect. They even go as far to cast actress Megan Placito as Tara, who came from a Showman background herself. There is a glossary of terms in the theatre foyer, with a list of the key words weâll hear throughout the play. I now know where the phrase âcushtyâ comes from!
Megan Placito as Tara.Photograph: Manuel Harlan
The Psychic is a very good, very enjoyable play. Iâd purposefully avoided any information about it, but excitedly watched the teasers as they popped up on my Instagram feed. The focus on the seance imagery led me to believe The Psychic would centre around a seance parlour set-piece and hopefully feature some terrifying parlour tricks. Perhaps with something akin to the debunking of âPsychic Cheatsâ in the Ghost Stories film adaptation.Â
As much as I would have loved that version of the play, what we got was an interesting, tense thriller. I was very lucky to attend the press night last week and also a performance with a post-show Q&A with the cast and creatives. Had I only seen the first performance, I think my review would have been much less positive. While I enjoyed the show, I was very disappointed as I felt like the play we got wasnât the same play we were promised. Speaking to others after both shows, it seems many of the audience were also Ghost Stories fans who expected another spooky scarefest. This was further compounded when audience quotes shared from the press night included âI was genuinely scaredâ, âI yelped once or twice in my seatâ, âgenuinely chillingâ and âI was grabbing onto [my friend] in fearâ. That may well have been the case for those theatre-goers, but from reading reviews and talking to others at both performances, that sentiment seems to be in the minority. On the second watch I was able to approach it as a fun rollercoaster ride thriller and enjoyed it all the more for it, knowing what to expect. The story is exciting, with layered, likeable characters and I feel there was a way of focusing the marketing on this aspect, without giving too much away. Iâm doing my best to âkeep the secretsâ of The Psychic, as we are also asked to do at the end of Ghost Stories. While there are twists in the tale that Iâd hate to spoil, as the play doesnât centre around set-pieces and scares that will lose impact if you know what is coming, Iâm not sure the request is as warranted as with Ghost Stories.
The cast really are fantastic, with the three female leads giving stellar performances. Eileen Walsh is brilliant as Sheila Gold, who includes an element of improvisation in every show. She makes balancing dark humour, emotional vulnerability and intensity look easy and is a genuine pleasure to watch. The most recognisable cast member, Frances Barber, is wonderful as the delightfully camp Rosa, commanding the stage and clearly enjoying every minute and every laugh from the audience. The stand-out was Megan Placito as Tara, an incredibly magnetic actress who shows a lot of range and brought her Showman heritage to the stage. This was something I only learned from the post-show Q&A and it seems Megan helped ensure the script and story were a true reflection of Showman life, even giving tarot readings to her castmates at rehearsals. I think this input and dedication to authenticity is a strong point of the play, but (to me) this is another element that could have been key to the marketing.
Eileen Walsh as Sheila Gold. Photograph: Manuel Harlan
The sets are beautiful, with a particularly impressive set in the second act that made me gasp in awe. The illusions were designed by Chris Fisher, the absolute genius behind the nightmare-inducing Paranormal Activity stage show and the incredible (but sadly besmirched) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. While there were some brilliant moments on stage, I wish Iâd been able to lose sleep after seeing tables floating, people disappearing and planchettes and glasses move of their own accord, in the version of the play I thought we were getting. While I appreciate only the more nerdy audience members would see the name Chris Fisher and go âyes, we are ABSOLUTELY getting some mindblowing, terrifying stage magicâ, his involvement further supported the scary play expectations.
I am fully aware I have said a lot, without actually saying much at all, but am conscious to not ruin any of the plot. But I would like to manage expectations for anyone hoping to catch the show before the end of its run at the York Theatre Royal on Saturday 23rd May. Itâs a really good play that is well written and brilliantly acted. If thatâs what you are expecting, then I think you will thoroughly enjoy The Psychic. If youâre expecting Ghost Stories part 2, you may leave the theatre a little disappointed. As someone who has definitely hyperfixated on Ghost Stories and made it part of their personality, Iâm painfully conscious of the fact I am approaching The Psychic from a very different place to most people. But I did find solace in the fact that many others have expressed similar thoughts about their expectations from the marketing and how they would have enjoyed it so much more if they werenât completely thrown by the tone of the play. I expect weâll see The Psychic tour the UK and I recommend it for a fun (if not scary!) night at the theatre.
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Tickets for The Psychic are available from the York Theatre Royal. Thank you to the Theatre Royal for having me along to the press night.
I love getting to chat to people about movies, so talking horror on Let’s Talk Horror was a good time! We chose Barbarian out of a shortlist of possible choices and I love getting to share my appreciation of Mama. What a sweet baby angel!
I’m always conscious of talking TOO much when it’s not my podcast, so didn’t want to shoehorn in some small business Barbarian merch recommendations! But I’ll share them here, as I love them!
The incredible monster-maker extraordinaire, Tom of The Evil Shed, has sculpted the most gorgeous plaque of Mama. She’s not on the website at the moment, but keep an eye out for Tom at conventions as she’s often on display there. Tom’s work is INSANE and I’d love to own some of his busts, as they are masterpieces!
Rabbit Trap is an incredibly beautiful folk horror from Bryn Chainey and Spectrevision and I absolutely loved it. I still feel under its spell, even after itâs finished.
Set in Wales, Rabbit Trap follows a married couple who are recording an album in a remote house. Daphne is a musician, Darcy is a sound engineer and Darcy happens upon a neighbour, while out recording in nature. Credited as âthe childâ, the neighbour seems to be a genderless, ageless being who knows a lot about the area and the local folklore. The tiny, but perfect, cast of Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen and Jade Croot really grounded the fantastical story.
While it was filmed in Yorkshire, Rabbit Trap really captures the magic and beauty of Wales. The scenery, the language and the rich history of myths and legends. I felt very emotional hearing Welsh words and Welsh song in a film thatâs been produced outside of Wales (by Spectrevision, no less!) And to hear âbe there now in a minuteâ in a film that will be seen all around the world (starting at bloody Sundance!) was magical in itself.
Sound is so integral to this film and by a happy accident, I watched it with headphones on. The sound design is absolutely incredible and so engrossing. While the plot of film is entirely different, the soundscape reminded me a lot of In the Earth by Ben Wheatley – capturing something ancient, otherworldly and unknowable. For the first time in ages (I know, for shame!) I sat through the entirety of the credits at home, so I could bask in the sound for as long as possible. I really need to see Rabbit Trap on the big screen, not only for the visuals, but to appreciate the sound on huge speakers.
Rabbit Trap is just a glorious film and itâs especially impressive that this is Bryn Chaineyâs debut feature. I truly hope that this gets a wide release so I can see it again and more people can experience a little bit of Welsh magic.
Rabbit Trap had it’s European premiere at Grimmfest on 11th October and a UK release date has not yet been announced. Rabbit Trap is available to watch online in the US.
âIf you go looking for monstersâŠyouâll find themâ
Foxhollow is the brilliant debut feature film from Tom Hughes of Ritual Video. Tom has directed, written, edited and starred in Foxhollow and this genuinely tense and scary found footage movie had me making little whimpers of fear!
Set in the South Wales Valleys, Foxhollow follows Tom, a struggling filmmaker that is hired to make a nature documentary by a local eccentric. But once the pair get deep into the woods, their film devolves into a desperate fight for survival. Found footage will always be scary to me, because I forget Iâm watching a film. I watch a lot of vlogs, so my brain naturally goes into âletâs watch a nice vlogâ mode. Add in the fact that Iâm from the valleys and the accents made me feel right at home, and Iâm totally immersed and scared for Tomâs survival. Even though he was playing a character and Iâve spoken to him since!
Tom Hughes
Tom does a brilliant job playing “himself” and Paul Black as Trapper Harding is an intimidating presence. Sarah-Louise Tyler and Andrew Lennon both give solid supporting roles, as the Foxhollow park ranger and investigator. Each character felt natural, with relatable dialogue and decisions made – which doesnât often happen in found footage movies! A character who is skeptical from the off is a breath of fresh, non-infuriating air.
Shot on GoPros and a vlogging camera, the footage is believable and it doesnât have that âshot on a good camera and made to look shitty in postâ feeling. The whole film feels plausible and like fuck am I ever going into the woods in South Wales! Itâs real, itâs relatable and itâs made with love and a DIY, punk rock attitude.
Paul Black
Tomâs shorts and music videos are also brilliant and if Foxhollow is anything to go by, Tom has a very bright future in film.
Foxhollow will be released on Halloween and Tom is currently crowd-funding for a physical release. If youâd like to support indie cinema and get yourself a cool AF limited edition DVD to boot, visit Foxhollow on Indiegogo. I’ve backed the crowfunder myself and can’t wait to get my hands on the DVD!
Tom is also planning a screening for local horror fans and cast and crew. Follow Ritual Video on Instagram for updates!
If going to hell is this much fun, let the sinning begin! đđ„ Go to Hell is the debut short film from hot sauce maestro and, now, filmmaker Dean of the Dead. A 28 minute comedy horror, Go To Hell is a funny, campy romp and is hopefully coming to a festival near you, soon!
After a fatal fall, Robert wakes up in Hell – a bizarre, nightmarish underworld where demons drink, deals are struck, and revenge is just a ritual away. Guided by a sly barfly named Sid, Robert seeks out a powerful entity capable of sending darkness back to the living world. But in Hell, nothing comes without a cost⊠and some pasts refuse to stay buried!
Gary Amos as Robert Cummings and Tiff Griffiths as Medical Nurse Demon
While this is a very low budget indie production, itâs a perfect example of why I love the horror community so much. Dean has utilised his favourite scare parks as sets, their scare-actors as extras and friends from the small business and horror community as actors. Everyone involved is clearly here for their love of horror and look to be having as much fun as I had watching. Stand-out performances came from James Hamer-Morton as cheeky scamp of a demon Sid and Cadaverous Black as the truly haunting Mr Black.
Cadaverous Black as Mr Black
While thereâs room for growth for Dean as a writer (a positive!), he shows real promise as a director, clearly influenced by schlocky 80âs horror gems. If youâve ever met Dean at a convention or a festival, Go to Hell is exactly the funny, cheeky good time youâd expect him to deliver. Iâm really looking forward to seeing what Dean of the Dead creates next đ„đ€đ»đ„
Lou Jones as Divine Sparks
Keep your eyes peeled – Iâll be chatting with Dean soon, talking all about Go To Hell on Horror Hyperfixations.
Update – 24th June
Since publishing this, Dean shared some exciting news that he’s officially been selected for the Rhyller Thriller film festival in August! I’m going to be at Rhyller Thriller and I’m so excited to see the film again with an audience! Congrats, Dean!
How beautiful is this Second Sight Films release of Caye Casas’ The Coffee Table?! đ This incredible, jam-packed blu-ray has some amazing extras (including a commentary from Zoe Rose Smith ) – pre-order from Monday 28th April đđ»
MadS is intense, claustrophobic, un-nerving, gory and absolutely fucking brilliant.
The camera work in this film is insane – how anyone can make a film in one shot, amazes me. Yet alone one like this, with vehicles, practical sfx and a whole bunch of stuff I canât get my head around. I am desperate for a directors commentary and special features on a shiny physical release.
The actors are incredible and to keep up that intensity of performance for an hour and 20 minutes, must have been utterly exhausting. I was gripped, invested and a little bit tired!
I’m a sucker for a physical release, especially when they come in beautiful packaging and have a stack of special features. Second Sight have been producing the most incredible big box releases with new artwork, art cards, essay books and brand new extras. I’ve only managed to snag a few of the limited edition editions, as they sell out pretty quick, so if you’re a Cronenberg fan grab these! They’re out today, Monday 31st March, from the Second Sight website. Both movies are also available as standard edition bluray and 4K UHD disks – they don’t come with the book or art cards, but still have all the brilliant special features.
Of the Cronenberg movies I’ve seen, these aren’t my favourites. But, as with any good physical release, I appreciate so much more about them after watching through all of the special features. I always love well-curated extras and Second Sight may be the best distributor putting out releases at the moment. I’ll often upgrade my blurays to get new, or extra special features, because I just want to know as much as I can about what went into making each and every movie. Because special features make my heart sing, I thought I’d review the extras on these discs in case you love them as much as I do.
A huge thanks to Second Sight and Aim Publicity for sending me some review discs!
A worried father attempts to uncover a controversial psychologist’s unconventional therapy techniques on his institutionalised wife, amidst a series of horrific murders that seem to be targeting those closest to him.
Special Features
A new 4K restoration approved by Director David Cronenberg
(UHD discs only) Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
(UHD discs only) UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
Limited edition features
Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Krishna Shenoi
120-page book with new essays by Jenn Adams, William Beard, Craig Ian Mann, Carolyn Mauricette, Shelagh Rowan-Legg, Amber T, Alexandra West and Scott Wilson
6 collectors’ art cards
New audio commentary by Martyn Conterio and Kat Ellinger and audio commentary by William Beard – I picked the audio commentary with Martyn and Kat, as itâs new for this release. I love conversational commentary tracks like this, as itâs like listening to a really cool podcast. Kat and Martyn had some really insightful conversations, discussing the psychology of the movie. I love hearing smart people talk about films!
Meet the Carveths: an interview with Actors Art Hindle & Cindy Hinds by Fangoria Editor Chris Alexander – This was such a lovely segment, Cindy and Art still have such a great rapport. The first part of the interview took place in a cinema screen, where they had bags of popcorn. Cindy sat politely, just holding the bag, whereas Art munched on popcorn and rustled throughout. I love him!
A lot of the features talked about working with Oliver Reed (which is to be expected!), who was infamous for drinking while working. I enjoyed hearing his exploits and they shared a story of how Reed was arrested and needed to be bailed out, during production. He also took a bottle of cognac that was gifted to Cindyâs mum and drank it on set. He was a talented actor, but he sounded like a nightmare to work with! Cindy and Art also visited some of the filming locations and talked about working with the children and Broodlings and how they all ate the fake blood, because it was so tasty.
Producing the Brood: an interview with Executive Producer Pierre David – âThe biggest craziness of The Brood was around Oliver Reed – I had no idea what I was getting intoâ. Pierre shared his experience of the story Art shared, about Reed getting arrested. The night after being bailed out, he threw all of his pillows and blankets out the hotel window. Despite all the stories Iâve heard about Oliver Reed, Pierre said he was never hungover, was always on time and very funny and nice. It was interesting to hear a different side of working with Reed.
The Look of Rage: an interview with Cinematographer Mark Irwin (13 minutes) – I enjoyed hearing Mark talk about filming the birth scene. He said they had t-shirts made that said more âblood, more bloodâ because that was what Cronenberg would say. (I want a shirt like that, too!) The fake blood solidified on Samantha Eggar and she became a âcandy appleâ. It took an hour of trying to dissolve the fake blood with warm water, to free her. Irwin also shared his memories of working with Reed and said he would come back from lunch drunk. The child actors would be scared of him and he always smelled of scotch. How he ever gave such strong, memorable performances is beyond me!
Scoring the Brood: an interview with Composer Howard Shore (8 minutes) – Howard Shore shared lots of interesting stories between this feature and its counterpart on the Scanners release. Shore is one of the composers I forget how prolific they are. I love when directors and creatives work together over many decades, so it was great to hear how Shore and Cronenberg met. Theyâd grown up in the same neighbourhood and Cronenberg was the cool kid on a motorbike. Before they worked together, Shore would go to see his 16mm and 18mm films at underground film festivals in Toronto.
Character for Cronenberg: an interview with Actor Robert A Silverman (10 minutes) – Robert A Silverman isnât a name or face I recognise but had a prolific acting career and appeared in many of David Cronenbergâs movies. Silverman was hit by a car at 31 – he was left unable to walk or talk and was severely brain damaged. After 3 years of exercises and sheer determination, he had a vision of what he wanted to do with his life and went to California. To then go on and earn 23 acting credits, is amazing!
Cronenberg – The Early Years: an archival interview with David Cronenberg (13 minutes) – I loved hearing Cronenberg talk about his experience with film making. I didnât know he had met some soft porn directors who asked could he make a movie for them. He filmed a few auditions, before sharing the Shivers screenplay with them. He talked about his experience making Shivers, which Iâve given myself a nudge to watch as I still havenât seen it!
Anger Management: Cronenberg’s Brood and the Shapes of Cinematic Rage – a video essay by Leigh Singer (22 minutes) – Another lovely example of listening to clever people talk about film. I really love video essays like these, as they always include lots of things Iâve never considered. Leigh Singer said that Cronenbergâs movies discuss the evolution of the flesh vs annihilation of the flesh. I definitely need to watch more of his films, with this in mind. I really didnât expect so much discussion of The Hulk in this essay, but it tracks as the big, green guy would probably be the first character people would think of as a depiction of rage on screen. De Palmaâs Carrie was another movie discussed, which I think is one of the best âgood for herâ films. I always want to see female rage on the big screen!
A scientist recruits a drifter with extraordinary telepathic ability to hunt down an equally powerful âscannerâ who, together with others of their kind, is hellbent on taking over the world.
Special features
New 4K restoration approved by Director David Cronenberg
(UHD discs only) Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
(UHD discs only) UHD presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
Limited edition features
Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Krishna Shenoi
120-page book with new essays by Dr Xavier Aldana Reyes, Eugenio Ercolani and Gian Giacomo Petrone, Kurt Halfyard, Craig Ian Mann, Francesco Massaccesi, Jessica Scott, Emma Westwood and Heather Wixson
6 collectors’ art cards
New audio commentary by Caelum Vatnsdal and audio commentary by William Beard – I chose the commentary by Caelum, as the newer of the two tracks. I usually prefer a more production-focused commentary, to find out how everything was done, but again it was fascinating to hear about the wider impact of the film. Caelum is an author and clearly very knowledgeable about film. I enjoyed hearing about Cronenberg and the castâs careers and thought it was a nice touch to highlight lots of their successes outside of Scanners. I didnât know that Chris Walas had also worked on Gremlins – some of the art in the gallery was very Gremlins-esque!
My Art Keeps Me Sane: an interview with Actor Stephen Lack (24 minutes) – Lack seems like an interesting, charismatic chap but I did get a little put off when he used the phrase âas tired as a hooker in the back of a Chevy with a football teamâ. Eesh. But it was interesting to hear about his experiences with anxiety and channelling it into his art.
Method in his Madness: an interview with Actor Michael Ironside (30 minutes) – Ironside was great to listen to, especially his story about how he burned and scarred his eyes during the fire scenes because of the sclera lenses. Nightmare fuel. As well as the white sclera lenses, Ironside wore hand-painted lenses that Dustin Hoffman had worn in Little Big Man. For such an impactful performance, I was surprised to hear Ironside earned a fraction of the rest of the cast.
Bad Guy Dane: an interview with actor Lawrence Dane (5 minutes) – Lawrence says being the bad guy âisnât rocket scienceâ, that itâs always simple as everything is there on the page. He seems like a lovely man, even though itâs only a short feature. Itâs nice to hear an actor say they do actually enjoy watching themselves back, as he said thereâs always something that can be learned from your performance.
The Eye of Scanners: an interview with Cinematographer Mark Irwin (15 minutes) – It was funny to hear Irwin started in porn too – I wonder if thatâs where him and Cronenberg met (he may have said, but I missed it if so!) Irwin talked about his early career, including making Funeral Home which I saw for the first time recently. He shared a story how one of the actresses complained she was given âraccoon eyesâ and how he later gave her a plush raccoon as a gift. Excellent!
Mind Fragments: an interview with Composer Howard Shore (18 minutes) – This feature contained some of the same conversation from the feature on The Brood. Only this version was much longer and delved more into his history. Shore was was part of a programme in schools, where he took a computer-based test to find musical children. He scored high, so was asked if he wanted to play an instrument. Iâve never heard of programmes like that before. Itâs incredible that The Brood was only the second film he had scored and the first time he had ever live recorded. It was great to hear his history and realise just how many of his scores I know and love – his score for The Silence of the Lambs is one of my favourites!
The Chaos of Scanners: an interview with Executive Producer Pierre David – I enjoyed hearing Pierre talk about the success of the film and his work on the Scanners sequels. I didnât even know there were sequels! Pierre was very complimentary of Cronenberg and said it was a good collaborative environment, with no egos – âDavid has a huge ego, but knows how to manoeuvre in a way that doesnât seem that way
Exploding Brains & Popping Veins: an interview with Makeup Effects Artist Stephan Dupuis – I was very excited to watch this feature – make-up and SFX extras are always my favourite. It was amazing to hear how they made the exploding head on such a small budget – even including leftover McDonaldâs from lunch, in between layers of fake blood and gelatine.
Monster Kid: an interview with Makeup Effects Artist Chris Walas (22 minutes) – Sentences like âDick Smith called me because Rick Baker had recommended meâ blow my mind (pun not intended). It was fun to hear the about all the sfx tests and the panics the crew had. Initially THE scene was supposed to be just a close up of the head for the explosion, but then the sfx team needed to make a torso and hands for a wider shot. Walas cast his own hands for the model and had to make gold rings out of morticianâs wax.
Cronenberg’s Tech Babies: a video essay by Tim Coleman (14 minutes) – I enjoyed this essay and found myself connecting more with the movie and the Scanners, than I had done previously. Coleman discusses the Scannersâ place in society as âhuman trashâ and compared their need to find community and support with the LGBT+ community. For me, this reminded me of the feeling of being neurodivergent and often feeling so othered to society at large. This had an emotional impact on me and Iâll definitely look more into the themes of being on the outside of society, as it was really interesting.
Visit Second Sight for The Brood and Scanners and more gorgeous limited edition releases.
Sam Munster 