Does the dog die? 😱 #6
It's the film we've all been waiting for. Plus your cheat guide to GRIMMFEST.
Welcome home, horror lover! 👋 And a particular welcome to a flurry of new subscribers. Scream Society is the home for horror lovers, whether you’re a casual enjoyer or a full-time genre obsessive. Delivered weekly and ad-free. Thanks for joining.
It’s a great day to be a horror fan with cinemas practically bursting at the seams with excellent genre films right now.
You can’t beat horror on the big screen, and one of my fondest memories was watching IT Chapter Two solo in a particularly moody screening at Whitechapel’s Genesis Cinema.
I’d love to know where you watch your films so we can spotlight those indie cinemas and cosy nooks in future editions.
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Horror latest 🩸
👹 The Black Phone 2 will be “more violent” than the original film, according to director Scott Derrickson. During an interview with SFX magazine, the filmmaker shared: “The teenagers who grew up really loving The Black Phone, they’re older now. They’re the kids who paid to see Terrifier.”
🔪 Charlie Hunnam visited the grave of the real Ed Gein after portraying him in Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story. The actor called it a “healing way to say goodbye” to his grisly character.
📼 Sinister is the scariest horror film of all time, according to science. Now in its fifth year, the Science of Scare project ranks the most terrifying films using the heart rate data of audiences.
📚 R.L. Stine’s work is being turned into an animated series for the first time. The new show will be adapted from the Goosebumps author’s Stinetinglers books, which follow teenagers plagued by unknown forces in the town of Blooming Hills.
🌳 A new poster for YouTuber Chris Stuckmann’s upcoming film Shelby Oaks has been released which pays tribute to every single person who backed it on Kickstarter. The film broke records as the highest-funded horror film ever on the crowdfunding platform before it was acquired by NEON.
On the slab
A note from your editor ✨
It’s the first edition of October, which is significant anyway in spooky circles, but especially so today with the release of Good Boy.
The film has been a breakout star of the festival circuit and rightly so with its unique premise and adorable lead, and Google has been ablaze with people asking whether the dog dies before diving in. I couldn’t possibly say, but if you want a spoiler, the answer is here.
It comes hot on the heels of Steven Soderbergh’s 2024 flick Presence which flipped the script and told the story from the perspective of a ghost, so comparisons will naturally be drawn.
I wonder though, what perspectives could we get next in horror? Any Black Mirror fans in the room may remember the divisive Crocodile episode which ended with the memories of a guinea pig proving pivotal to the story. It can’t get any weirder than that, right? Go nuts, filmmakers!
Keep on screaming 😱,
Samantha
EXCL: Your cheat guide to GRIMMFEST
As a native of the north of England, it fills me with joy and happiness that one of the best horror and sci-fi film festivals takes place here.
GRIMMFEST kicked off yesterday and runs until October 12 in Manchester. There’s a whopping 22 feature films on show across the event, including four World Premieres, so what should you look out for?
Festival director Simeon Halligan and lead film programmer Steve Balshaw told me what they were most excited for this year, so consider this your cheat guide!
Simeon and Steve: “This year we are opening with the World Premiere of our very own movie, the psychological mystery thriller Past Life.
“Every film at the festival is a premiere of one kind or another, with half a dozen International Premieres, several European Premieres and the rest either UK or Regional. Plus we’ve three themed programmes of shorts that we cannot wait to traumatise our audience with.
“We have more guest filmmakers and stars than ever joining us for the screenings, from Europe, the States, Canada, and even as far afield as Japan, and we are excited to be presenting their work, and giving them the chance to network and interact with our audience.”
For more details about the event and the full film line-up, visit the festival website.
Horror bite 👄: Lily-Rose Depp’s movements in her Nosferatu possession scenes were inspired by the Japanese dance Butoh.
To a friend, I recommend… 🎀🩸
Years before his chilling turn in Get Out, Caleb Landry Jones starred in a disturbing sci-fi horror which I count among my favourite horror films of all time. Be warned, you’ll need a strong stomach for this one.
Antiviral explores a world where the obsession with celebrity has reached fever pitch, and in which fans can pay to be infected with the same bugs and viruses their beloved stars have contracted.
Caleb stars as Syd, an employee of a clini specialising in infecting fans. After he starts to steal pathogens from work and sells them on, he finds himself caught up in a dangerous situation far bigger than he’d ever expected.
Hot on #HorrorTok 🔥
Put a dog in a horror film and you have the internet in the palm of your hand.
With Good Boy now out in cinemas, there’s plenty of excellent canine content doing the rounds, namely a lot of interviews with the film’s four-legged star, Indy.
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For those not in the loop, Good Boy is a horror film which unfolds via the perspective of a dog. Indy plays a canine companion trying to protect his owner from the supernatural forces that lurk in their new home.
Thankfully director Ben Leonberg (who is the real-life owner of Indy) set the record straight on how they made the pup seem scared on camera and I promise the above clip will set your mind at ease during those tense moments. No spoilers.
Don’t miss… 📅
🐕 Good Boy - Cinemas (October 10)
🎁 Vicious - Paramount+ (October 10)
👻 Presence - Sky Cinema & NOW (October 11)
💀 Revival (Season 1, all episodes) - Sky Max & NOW (October 12)
🎥 GRIMMFEST concludes - Manchester, UK (October 12)
🤼♂️ Guts & Glory - Shudder (October 14)
🧙♀️ Witches of Essex (All episodes) - Sky History & NOW (October 14)
Kill some time 🔪⏰
🦇 Ever wondered what became of the cast of noughties horror series Mona the Vampire?
🐶 Just a bunch of dogs being interviewed about what they thought of Good Boy.
🤡 Warner Bros just dropped a Welcome to Derry merch line and my Christmas list suddenly grew.
🩸 This is what Ed Gein’s voice really sounded like.
Most visited links from the last newsletter
Scream Society is written by me, Samantha King (you can call me Sam), a lifelong horror nerd and journalist.
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