Feature Category: Article

Anthology films are nothing new to horror cinema. The story collection format has been a hallmark of the genre, going all the way back to Paul Leni’s 1924 silent film, Waxworks. Leni’s film helped set the template for what viewers have come to expect from the horror anthology: a framing device helps set up the various stories that will be related over the course of the film, and then the mini-movies play out, returning to the interlinking tale in between each instalment. The omnibus usually wraps up with some sort of ironic twist ending, à la The Twilight Zone, before the credits roll.

It’s an effective setup, judging by the innumerable films that utilise the format: Tales from the Crypt and many other Amicus releases in the 1970s, Deadtime Stories and Creepshow in the 1980s, Grim Prairie Tales and Tales from the Hood in the 1990s, and all the way up through recent collections like Chillerama and the V/H/S series have all taken the anthology and made decent money and fandom from the format.

However, despite the success of these films with fans, there’s always something somewhat lacking in horror portmanteaus. Despite a robust frame tale, the real lack of through-line from one instalment to the next lends most collections feeling like compilations, rather than a proper movie. It was the rare feature such as 1985’s Cat’s Eye that managed to connect all the pieces in a robustly satisfying way. For the most part, anthologies have all had more in common with a dog-eared issue of Creepy than anything that might approach actual cinematic storytelling.

Lately, however, it seems that enterprising producers and directors are taking the anthology and making it into something more than just a collection, but rather a series of interconnected tales exploring a shared universe and characters. Michael Dougherty’s 2007 film, Trick ‘r Treat, took the concept of several tales all happening on the same night and became a movie that is definitely more than just a bunch of stories. Characters from one section pop up in the background of another, the story related in one instalment is shown in full later on, and the whole thing comes full circle by the end. It’s a brilliant concept, and was the high water mark for modern anthologies for the better part of a decade – that is, until the 2015 release of Southbound.

Southbound takes the idea of a shared cinematic universe for its short films and ups the ante in a big way. Premiering at the 2015 Toronto International Film Fest as part of the festival’s Midnight Madness lineup, Southbound immediately demonstrated that it was more than just another anthology. Toronto Film Scene writer Andrew Parker kicked off his review by stating that, “While anthology horror is back in vogue, the uniquely solid Southbound blows all other examples out of the water quite handily.”

It was a statement echoed by Perri Nemiroff at Collider, who went on to point out, in terms of anthology films, Southbound was “more even and has more connective tissue than most”, which really does a fine job of sorting out Southbound’s most enduring feature, which is that every story in the film is connected in some tangible way to the ones both preceding and succeeding it.

Starring everyone from musician David Yow of Jesus Lizard to stand-up comic Dana Gould, along with a slew of people whose faces you’re sure to recognise, Southbound hits a lot of genre sweet spots, while still offering up something new and exciting. The resulting film is one that bobs and weaves, interpolating strange creatures from beyond, wreaking vengeance on those who have done wrong, along with mystic symbolism, omniscient voices from beyond, and – obviously – ritual sacrifice.

There’s a lot of blood – an awful lot, really – but there’s a surprising amount of black humour to be found in every section. Even as Mather Zickel’s character, Lucas, is carrying the battered body of the young woman he nearly obliterated with his car, the viewer will find themselves giggling as things begin to fall apart (literally) in his hands. That levity keeps the film tied to its evolution from those previous V/H/S anthologies, all of which had at least one instalment which played in the realm of comedy for a minute or two, such as the bonkers final segment of V/H/S/2, Slumber Party Alien Abduction.

One of the film’s producer, Brad Miska – who also helped bring the V/H/S films to the screen – explained that the concept behind Southbound was that everyone involved wanted to make a film that was fresh and exciting and that while Trick ‘r Treat was definitely a movie they enjoyed, that wasn’t the primary inspiration.

“If anything, it was sort of a response to the V/H/S rip-offs and other anthologies that were coming out that felt lazy,” Miska told us. “We wanted to try and further the anthology and do something that felt different, even though Trick ‘r Treat will always be the gold standard.”

Southbound is certainly anything but lazy, and even goes one further than Trick ‘r Treat. Whereas that film features narratives that interweave, Southbound’s stories also lead from one to the other in a sequential fashion that’s not only direct but cyclical. All of the characters in this dusty desert universe pass by one another, if not interacting directly. It’s a complicated skein from which to pull, but it really succeeds in making Southbound a film that bears up under multiple viewings.

On a basic level, the interconnectedness begins when Mitch (Chad Villella), from opening tale The Way Out, enters a hotel where the band The White Tights are staying in the next instalment, Siren. At the end of Siren, The White Tights’ Sadie (Fabianne Therese) runs into the road to be hit by the protagonist of The Accident, who is on the phone with Sandy (Maria Olsen), who leaves the door open in The Trap, allowing Danny (Yow) to enter in. Finally, it’s Danny’s sister who attracts the notice of Jem (Hassie Harrison) in The Way In, who is killed by Mitch from The Way Out.

The original idea for Southbound came from the fact that Miska had a concept for a new kind of anthology and started talking with writer Matt Bettinelli-Olpin back and forth a bit, as well as some communication with directing team Radio Silence, with whom Miska had worked on the V/H/S segment, 10/31/98.

“[Radio Silence] came back and put their own spin on my nugget of an idea, and really wanted it to feel seamless,” Miska says. “It was the seed of a direction but enough to start discussing at lengths. I immediately called Roxanne Benjamin – one of my favorite people, who produced V/H/S and V/H/S/2 with me – and asked if she’d do this project with me. She asked, ‘Can I direct one?’“

Miska had no hesitation in her getting behind the camera because, he says, she’s incredibly talented, and Miska knew “she would kick ass” –  which she does, knocking it out of the park with the film’s strongest segment, Siren, about a garage rock trio encountering a strange family after blowing a tire. Benjamin then rounded David Bruckner back up, and Miska was able to get MPI Media to back it based off a pitch. From there, Miska continues, they mixed in Patrick Horvath, who would do Jailbreak, arguably the film’s strangest segment. Miska had always wanted Horvath for V/H/S, so it was a bit of a coup. From there, the writers, directors, and producers started a sort of brain trust.

“Everyone would meet to discuss ideas and plans, and worked together to create the seamless atmosphere,” explains Miska. “The biggest win, I think, was the decision to shoot in the desert.”

The desert setting of Southbound is vast and uncompromising, and it is desolate, although sparsely populated. The film is almost monochromatic in how washed-out the harsh, unceasing sunshine makes everything, be it during daylight or nighttime. The heat’s almost palpable and lends a certain panicked urgency to every character and their situation. Along with the omnipresent radio DJ – voiced by genre icon Larry Fessenden – the desert is both the connective tissue of and character in the film.

The decision to make the segments all part of one overarching story came from Radio Silence, who wanted them to interweave and the producers decided on the desert setting.

“Once everyone started bringing in treatments we played around to see in what order they work,” Miska continues. “It’s dangerous because you’re committing to that lineup and there’s no reorganising it. Also, it was tough having to use the same crew for the entire shoot, although it was the best I’ve ever worked with. It was like the best summer camp ever.”

Also connecting the film is the way the brain trust worked together. When talking with Miska, the topic of coordinating five interweaving stories came up, especially given that the V/H/S films have a wraparound story, but the interior sections are mostly disconnected from one another, whereas Southbound’s segments tie into one another quite a bit. The producer described it as akin to making several films at once.

“As somebody who loves puzzles, making an anthology is a super frustrating and nearly impossible task that feels incredibly rewarding when assembled,” he says. “It’s a lot of fun figuring out how to put all the pieces together and make it work. You also get to work with several talented people at once and build relationships that last a lifetime.”

In terms of impact, Southbound made a big splash on the festival circuit, and then again on home video, as well as when Mondo released the film’s score by the Gifted on vinyl earlier this year. However, it keeps finding fans, especially now that it’s streaming. Being able to call the film up on Amazon Prime means that someone might just happen upon it, and end up pleasantly surprised – much like Miska’s relations.

“Personally, I love that was able to actually show my family. As proud of V/H/S as I am, it was embarrassing and weird showing that film to friends and family who don’t like horror,” Miska explains. “Southbound is safe enough for anyone, and we were really proud to make something that looked so gorgeous, which juxtaposes how ‘ugly’ the V/H/S films were.”

The producer explains that the look of Southbound was something they tried to do this with the V/H/S: Viral segment, Gorgeous Vortex by Todd Lincoln, but fans rejected it in a big way.

“Which bums me out,” Miska says because he thinks it’s stunning. “I loved how unapologetic we were with that franchise – but, hey, Southbound was for the V/H/S haters in some way, I guess.”

Given that film is circular and cyclical, and that the fan theories as to what the hidden meanings of the different segments allude, spawn a fascinating rabbit hole down which to escape, it almost seems like a given that Southbound would have some sort of follow-up in the works, in the way V/H/S has spawned both a franchise and a spin-off in SiREN. When asked if he foresees any expansion of the Southbound universe, however, Miska’s, unfortunately, a little uncertain.

“Possibly,” replies Miska. “We have some ideas, but everyone is super busy right now. Producer Chris Harding has been trying to rope everyone into a room, but I’m not sure it’ll ever come to fruition. It’s a bummer because I think we have an INSANE concept.”

That said, Miska will continue to work on Bloody Disgusting, the horror movie news and reviews site he co-founded in 2001, as well as working on new projects.

“I’m a masochist who likes playing with fire, so I’m doing an indie sci-fi film,” Miska concludes. “Indie and sci-fi are two words that when combined could combust.”

SOUTHBOUND débuts on Horror Channel on October 29th. Sky 319, Virgin 149, Freeview 70, Freesat 138.

STARBURST takes a look back at classic John Carpenter film BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA …

“I’m not saying I’ve been everywhere and done everything. But I do know this is a pretty amazing planet we live on here. And a man would have to be some kind of fool to think we’re all alone in this universe.”

Wise, prophetic words spoken by truck driver Jack Burton at the beginning of what is one of the most iconic, well-loved and significant films of the ‘80s. Rarely does a film capture the imagination quite in the way this one does, combining Chinese mysticism and magic with the modern day; blending the exuberance of a boy’s own adventure with elements of horror, while its cast delivers some of the best one-liners ever committed to screen.

In fact, only one film truly does all this: Big Trouble in Little China.

If you are unfamiliar with John Carpenter’s masterpiece – we’ll leave that there and come back to it later – this is a film of unwitting adventurers battling an ancient evil; a simple, age-old story in essence. Simply plotted at heart, a tale of largely unprepared heroes-in-waiting setting out to rescue two women selected for marriage and/or sacrifice to a millennial Chinese sorcerer so that he may have eternal life. Well, perhaps not so simple, but let’s go back to the beginning.

At the dawning of the ‘80s, John Carpenter could do no wrong. Assault On Precinct 13 (1976) and his seminal slasher movie Halloween (1978) had established the writer, director, and composer as one of the key talents in the genre. While The Fog (1980) received a negative critical response, it still proved a commercial success, and Carpenter carried that momentum into making the cult favourite Escape from New York (1981) and horror staple The Thing (1982), both featuring Kurt Russell. But despite his relationship with horror, the director sought to try a new genre and after the award-friendly Starman (1984), he began to look for a martial-arts inspired script to fulfil a long-held ambition. Carpenter sated that ambition with Big Trouble in Little China.

“Ol’ Jack always says… what the hell?”

Originally conceived as a Western that incorporated Oriental influences by first-time screenwriters Gary Goldman and David Z. Weinstein, Big Trouble in Little China underwent various re-writes and alterations before Hollywood script doctor W. D. Richter was brought in by 20th Century Fox. With essentially everything from the original discarded, apart from the story of bad guy Lo Pan, Fox first offered the script to Carpenter in 1985. With Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, and Dennis Dun now on board the film finally went into production and was released to a lukewarm reception on July 2nd, 1986. With mixed reviews from the critics, and an uninspiring box office, how did this mishmash of cultural references and corny gags become one of the most beloved films of the decade? Watching Big Trouble in China now, the answer seems strangely obvious.

The first thing you notice about the film is the effortless chemistry between the actors. Reversing the usual trope, Russell’s Jack Burton is more a sidekick to Dun’s central Wang Chi, playing a more incompetent, everyman role than the Indian Jones-like character you would expect. The plot is driven by Wang Chi’s obsessive search for his kidnapped bride, and Burton is as much along for the ride as he is an able assistant in the quest. The witty dialogue feels as natural as it is funny, and you’re drawn to the true sense of friendship and respect between the pair. Add in a wonderfully over-acting, exposition-spouting Kim Cattrall as Gracie Law, part love interest for Burton, part brains of the group, and Victor Wong’s enigmatic local mystic, you have a core cast that blends perfectly.

There is also that extraordinary premise of the story. The early ‘80s was a period of cinema dominated by blockbusters such as Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984), and horror had built on a strong late-‘70s with films such as Scanners (1981) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). The fantasy genre was also experiencing a resurgence with and Dragonslayer (1981) and, most notably, Conan the Barbarian (1982) and its sequels. But with Big Trouble in Little China, Carpenter combined key elements from all those genres into a film that defies standard classification, and is all the stronger for it. Seat-of-pants action scenes, dark-magic-wielding bad guys, beautiful but strong damsels to be rescued… and, of course, true heroes. This is a film that challenges the conventional and discards traditional Hollywood rules, replacing them with bold, brash and brave filmmaking that, as mentioned, was met with mixed reactions at the time of its 1986 release.

Over the past thirty years or so, this outlandish comedy-horror-action-kung fu-thriller has grown in stature, rightly becoming one of the most revered and respected films of the decade.

“Sit tight, hold the fort, keep the home fires burning. And if we’re not back by dawn… call the President.”

So, what makes this John Carpenter’s masterpiece?

More than any other film he has made, Big Trouble in Little China is a John Carpenter-y film. The themes and tropes we are so used to seeing throughout his films are strikingly present here. A long-time fan of Westerns, all Carpenter’s films feature references to this genre but Kurt Russell’s Jack Burton ‘riding’ into town on his Pork-Chop Express resonates more than most. The challenge faced by an unlikely band of heroes, up against a seemingly invincible foe continues the Western theme. Never has Carpenter’s wry, cynical sense of humour been more present than it is in Big Trouble in Little China; Burton’s endless one-liners hiding both the character’s confusion at the situation he’s facing, and offering a blue-collar bravado also present in Carpenter and Russell characters Snake Plissken (Escape from New York) and R. J. MacReady (The Thing). The electric, synthesised soundtrack so synonymous from Carpenter’s films is both pounding and melodic here, with the main theme (Pork-Chop Express) a career highlight.

There is so much to relish. But the one, single most significant element that sets Big Trouble in Little China apart from any other John Carpenter film is its sheer, unashamed, unflinching enjoyability. From the opening scene of Victor Wong’s Egg Shen demonstrating Chinese magic to an office full of sceptical policemen, to Jack Burton’s final monologue aboard the Pork-Chop Express, this is a film resplendent in its ridiculousness, and revelling in its reverie. Almost every genre is touched by the unstoppably entertaining narrative, and the cultural importance of how balanced the interracial characters are should not be underestimated.

Big Trouble in Little China would be a masterpiece in any filmmaker’s career, but in one as prolific and influential as that of John Carpenter, it is an even greater achievement. So, take care of yourselves out there, always look that big ol’ storm right square in the eye and, as seems fitting, we’ll leave you with the words of the great Jack Burton himself…

“When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favourite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye and you remember what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like that.”

“Have ya paid your dues, Jack?”

“Yessir, the cheque is in the mail.”

Get reacquainted with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA when it screens on Horror Channel on September 30th. Sky 319, Freeview 70, Virgin 149, Freesat 138.

As the third season of Syfy hit DARK MATTER makes its way to DVD, our Production Manager gives his personal view on why we shouldn’t be overlooking this show…

I am always looking for a good sci-fi show that involves spaceships and zooming around the galaxies. So two years ago, I invested my time in what was then a new show called Dark Matter, and it was a wise investment – this show wasn’t a Star Trek clone nor a Marvel or DC-type series, but to my way of thinking, turned into a good old space romp with characters that were well-rounded and interesting.

Dark Matter is a Canadian science fiction series created by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, based on their comic book of the same name. For those who have not caught up with the wonderful world the pair have come up with, the simple synopsis is a spaceship crew awaken from stasis. Since they awoke on the derelict spaceship with no memory of who they were or how they got there, they have managed to piece together some of their past – but only at the price of becoming ensnared in betrayal, vengeance and deadly interplanetary secrets, culminating at the end of Season Two with the EOS 7 space station blowing up with some of the team still aboard. The survivors must stay alive and find the missing crew members in as the story continues to the third season.
In Season Three, Dark Matter took advantage of its strengths of the first two seasons, and concentrated on the extraordinary origins and complex pasts of the crew members of the spaceship Raza. One of the reasons I love the show so much is that it has androids – in fact, two on the Raza in Season one. The first, The Android (Zoie Palmer) is an outsider, constantly searching for acceptance from the crew. She has a child-like demeanour, desperate to fit in. As she engages with the crew, she both grows and learns to understand human actions and emotions. Sure, she’s not technically alive, but thanks to some upgrades, The Android actually feels – well, sort of. Not altogether unlike Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, then. With the mind of a computer, the curiosity of a child, and the protectiveness of a mother cat for the Raza crew, The Android might be the most human of them all – particularly in Season Three. All I can say is “boobs, boobs, boobs”, but that’s not my quote, but The Android herself.  Zoie Palmer’s portrayal of the character gives us so much throughout the seasons you cannot help but admire her every performance.

The other android is Wendy (Ruby Rose), an entertainment model android that the crew of the Raza found disassembled in their cargo hold vault. They decided to put her back together, and once her entertainment protocols engaged, she quickly set about charming most of the crew through culinary service, a massage for Ryo Tetsuda (Alex Mallari Jr), and even a sexual encounter with One (Marc Bendavid, who left the show in Season Two). She later attempted to kill the entire crew, but was decapitated by Ryo, before being partially reactivated when the crew needed information stored in her memory. She was subsequently unplugged once this had been retrieved. During this information retrieval process, the crew also discovered that she had been deliberately placed on the Raza to sabotage it and kill them all. It’s like The Terminator all over again – never, ever trust an android, or should you?

But Dark Matter isn’t all about androids. In Season Three, the scattered survivors of EOS-7 battle to regroup amidst the backdrop of corporate war. Ryo Ishida, now emperor of Zairon, makes an enemy of his former allies, while the past comes back to haunt the crew of the Raza. Interestingly, the impending corporate war feels like it could be our future, and like so many good sci-fi stories, you feel that future portrayed may not be that far away from real life. Just when I think I’ve got something figured out, it completely fools me, and that is one of the many reasons you are hooked. Don’t trust everything you see, even salt looks like sugar.

I cannot praise this mid-budget TV show enough, from its entertaining storylines to its crafted acting performances. And, to add, we don’t have that once-a-week different alien approach to the story – of course, there are small issues within the plots that are unfolding, but not enough to stop you buying into all the characters and enjoying the ride on the Raza. I now only hope we get a Season Four, as I am not sure I could handle another Firefly situation – that just doesn’t bear thinking about.

As one of the creators of the show Joseph Mallozzi says, “Viewers tune in for the hook, but they stay for the characters. It’s a lesson I learned working on Stargate. As much as fans enjoy the sense of adventure, the action, and the dazzling visual effects, it’s the characters at the heart of each show that draw them back, week after week. Whether it’s SG-1, the Atlantis expedition, the crew of The Destiny, or the crew of The Raza, fans check in with the characters they love because they’ve formed a connection with them. They are, in a way, extended family members they can visit with every time they watch an episode. I think that one of the things that makes Stargate and Dark Matter special (and you can include Killjoys in this unique grouping) is that they offer science fiction fans something unique and, frankly, atypical of the genre – a sense of fun.”

DARK MATTER Season Three and a box set of the first three seasons are available on DVD now.

There is nothing better in a high-octane, action-packed, stressful console game than getting to play a little mini-game to diffuse some of that tension. It seems a pattern in big budget console games that, almost as an Easter egg – yet often also as part of the narrative – the protagonist has to do something that requires us to play a game within a game. More often than not, not to break the narrative too much, the mini-games are ones that are inspired by casino games.

But it’s not just as mini-games; casino themes are extremely popular in console games. For example, in Red Dead Redemption – the Frontier revenge game – you can play poker. The mini-game serves to ease some of the tension. Named Liar’s Dice, it consists of players guessing how many of a certain number will be showing out of the five dice they have in their cups. Players can bet, raise, call, or declare – and if you win outright, you gain a scrap for the Bandito outfit.

Moreover, players in the Grand Theft Auto series, starting with Vice City, can wager money on races – which has little effect on the outcome and narrative of the game but provides an added bit of excitement to go alongside the actual game. Fallout: New Vegas, as the name might suggest, also contains a plethora of casino-inspired mini-games. Players can engage in a variety of casinos in games from slots to blackjack to roulette. While the mini-games have no actual effect other than changing the cash levels, they offer a sense of familiarity.

Source: @paradisecasinop on Twitter

Indeed, a lot of the mini-games are snatched from gameplay straight out of online casino sites, such as online Casino Cruise. While the games on the sites are framed around popular content and themed around the premise of some games, such as the Halloween slot, Jurassic World, and faux-Indiana Jones, the mini-games in big console games are framed around the online casino slots. By spreading the influence in an almost cross-platform approach, the players can flit between the two and audiences can be widened.

Dead Rising 2 – as another improvement on the original – also allows Chuck to play mini-games in the various casinos located around the sandbox Fortune City entertainment complex town. While allowing the player to take a welcome break from slaughtering the living dead, and avoiding death at the hands of the living, they also allow him to earn cash or prestige points. The mini-games range from dice games, to slot games, to poker. Indeed, the casino theme at large is a strong one in Dead Rising 2 – with the Yucatan, Americana, Atlantica, Slot Ranch, Cash Gordon’s, and Shamrock Casinos being playable areas.

The casino theme is a good one for the more dramatic console games as the theme of the casino is usually snappy, yet containing enough excitement and tenterhooks moments to keep the adrenaline going. But, particularly in the later missions in games, it also provides a breather from the heavy narrative.

Header image:  source: @oni_balonia via Twitter

Halloween is one of people’s favorite holidays where they get to dress up and showcase their creativity. One can walk around as a cat, witch, or even a purse without being questioned. Additionally, there is a lot of candy out for grabs. Even though Halloween is undeniably exciting, it can be scary. Considering the fact that the holiday is a day to celebrate the dead, this aspect comes as no surprise.

Online Gaming software providers have been known to create slots based on various themes such as the most popular Cleopatra slots, which are Egyptian themed. Halloween has also become a growing theme trend that has widely been accepted by online gamblers. Here, we’ll review some of the most enjoyed Halloween themed slots that come with a touch of horror on the online platform:

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street Slot

This slot developed by 888 is based on the Halloween horror film sharing the same name. It comes with five reels and thirty-win lines that are placed on a bloody display with a dark silhouette of the film’s main character, Freddy Krueger. The tunes used in the background are as chilling as the display and are enough to make one feel as though they are about to die in the hands of a madman from their nightmares. However, on the reels, Freddy’s face is one to look forward to since it comes with some pretty high winnings.

2. Blood Suckers

If you’ve ever questioned what it would be like to be a vampire hunter, Gaming1 has presented you with the opportunity to do it on the slots. The development of the game is quite creative in achieving the ‘fight against evil’ objective. The display is made creepy with a lot of bats and placed in a scene full of blood and flames. The game comes with five reels and ten set win lines. It features numerous bonuses, with multipliers standing out amongst them all.

3. Halloween

This slot by Microgaming draws its inspiration from the film Halloween, which is renowned for being among the most horrific films of all time. First released in 1978, the movie was redone in 2007. Microgaming uses the latter in the creation of the slot. It has five reels and over fifty bet lines. These lines get adjusted depending on the gambler’s gameplay. Even so, the playability is similar to those of other slots where the basic objective is matching icons.

4. Halloween Horrors

1×2 Gaming has developed this slot game to live up to the expectations of the title it carries. The theme is as scary as it gets with gamers being taken through a dark forest full of pumpkins that glare at them and a sky full of bats. The icons used on the five reels are also drawn from the scary Halloween theme that appear like cartoons. These unattractive features are created with top-notch graphic quality that has a huge effect in making the slot as scary as possible.

5. Haunted Hospital

Most gamers have been known to enjoy Halloween slots with a touch of horror, but this slot will have you scared of the dark at night: a good indication that Wazdan hit the mark with it. The game has five reels and twenty-seven selectable win lines that feature various spooky icons with pretty high payouts. A bonus round is also included that gives players the chance to build their winnings.

6. Diablo 13

If you have ever wondered what hell is like, Top Game may have an answer for you in this slot. The slot has a bloody red display that showcases a lot of demons and skulls. This slot has a unique take since evil is not a theme that has been explored for the most part. As much as it is scary, the slot offers a huge jackpot of thirty-nine thousand dollars, which is sure to make things exciting through all the horror it presents.

7. Maniac House

From the looks of it, when Media Gamble developed this slot, they definitely had the strong at heart in mind. The treasure hunt through the haunted house featured in this slot game will have you shaking to the core. However, the huge winnings and bonus offers that come with these five reels and twenty-win line slot will keep you going through all the insanity. The ninety-six percent RTP rate is also sure to add some excitement to this blood-chilling adventure.

8. Walking Dead

Mutilated hands, spiders, and witches dot the display of this spooky slot by Inbet. The fact that this slot is developed using 3D technology makes every scary aspect of it visible with clarity. The background of the slot is made entirely dark except the moon and the Grim Reaper’s piercing eyes. It comes with five reels and nine selectable bet lines.

9. Zombie Hunter

Zombies have on numerous occasions been used as themes for slots and other games. Even though this theme has many slots under it, this one by SA Gaming has managed to gain a massive following among gamers. The slot takes gamblers through the adventure of battling with the dead as they collect various real money prices and bonuses.

10. The Ghost Walks! Under the Moonlight

Belatra Games offers a mix of scare and drama in this slot. It is developed with five reels and twenty set win lines that feature icons with a cartoon theme. Gamblers get to walk through a haunted castle collecting various artifacts that come with pretty winnings.

These horror themed slots offer an exciting scare that will leave you with a fill-your-pants filling and fill your pockets at the same time.

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/tarot-cards-magic-fortune-telling-991041/

There’s something very special about the lure of the casino, a blend of danger, sophistication and the possibility to win vast amounts of money. When you think about it that way, it is unsurprising that they feature in so many of the most popular movies.

Of course, when casinos feature on the big screen, the action seldom takes place around the slot machines. It is the gaming tables, where success or failure depends on the turn of a card and there is always that outside possibility that someone is cheating the system, that capture our imagination.

Poker might have the most famous card scenes, in movies like The Cincinnati Kid and The Sting, but there is always the factor that many of those watching are a step behind. Nine of clubs, is that good or bad? Blackjack, however, is a game everyone understands, at least as far as the fundamental rules are concerned. That means we can get involved and feel every card dealt with the character.

So here, shuffled and dealt in no particular order, are four of the best blackjack movies.

Licence to Kill (1989)

You can’t mention casino film scenes without thinking of James Bond. While baccarat might be his usual game of choice, there is one famous blackjack scene in the 1989 Timothy Dalton outing Licence to Kill. In fact, is it so iconic that it clearly made a lifelong impression on the casino dealer who wrote this guide to blackjack for uk-casinos.uk.

Bond enters the casino belonging to the villain of the piece, Franz Sanchez, and immediately catches the eye of the beautiful dealer, played by Talisa Soto, who also happens to be Sanchez’s girlfriend. Of course, ultimately Bond gets the money and the girl, but not before we are taken through one of the most electric card playing scenes you could ever hope to see.

Rain Man (1988)

It might have expert blackjack players gnashing their teeth at its misrepresentation of the principles of card counting, but there’s no denying that Barry Levinson’s 80s classic has one of the most memorable blackjack scenes in film history.

The unlikely pairing of brothers Cruise and Hoffman taking Caesar’s Palace for a fortune makes for great entertainment, and the puzzlement of the security staff as they try to work out how they are doing it is worth watching again and again.

21 (2008)

Perhaps the blackjack movie, and all the more astonishing because it is based on the true events surrounding the MIT blackjack team, who used a variety of techniques to take Vegas casinos for millions in the early 1980s.

Kevin Spacey plays the outwardly easy going and charismatic professor with a hidden streak of ruthlessness as well as you would expect, and the movie provides a thrilling glimpse into the real world of card counting.

Jinxed! (1982)

A professional gambler and his lounge singer girlfriend have put a jinx on an unfortunate blackjack dealer, and follow him across the western United States. All goes to plan until the wife falls in love with the dealer and decides to turn the tables on her husband.

At the time, the film was panned by critics, but today it is worth a look, if only to see Bette Midler steal the show with her acerbic one-liners and some great musical numbers.

For decades, movie, TV and book characters, comic book heroes, celebrities, musicians and bands have adorned all manner of objects, articles and items, including slot machines. And while branded or themed slot games are no stranger to land casinos, they are a relatively new – and very welcome – addition to the global online and mobile casino scene.

It wasn’t until the mid-2000s that branded online slot games started to take off around the world, especially when everyone’s favourite comic book heroes started appearing across spinning reels. The firm responsible is online casino game vendor Cryptologic, which signed a ground-breaking licensing deal with Marvel Comics to create a host of branded slots.

The result of that agreement saw Cryptologic make many action-packed, high-paying slots that stayed true to their comic / movie roots. They include Captain America, The Punisher, Daredevil, Blade, Spider-Man Revelations, The Hulk, Silver Surfer, X-Men, Wolverine and Sub Mariner, each with big and bold features, plus engaging graphics and sound effects.

Not to be left out, many top Hollywood studios and TV, music and book companies were also hard at work licensing their most famous offerings to star in their own video slots. For instance, top titles from pioneering software firm Microgaming include Game of Thrones, Jurassic Park, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Scrooge and Lara Croft Secret of the Sword.

Rival casino software developer Playtech has also impressed with Pink Panther, Rocky, The Sopranos, Kong, The Three Musketeers, Gladiator and Monty Python Spamalot. Swedish gaming powerhouse NetEnt has also come to the party with Scarface, Dracula, Motorhead, Guns N’ Roses, The Invisible Man, Jimi Hendrix and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

While hundreds of new movies are released each year, few become slots games, and even fewer used to entice players in the form of ‘no deposit free spin offers.’ This is why we have come up with a couple of suggested movie slots below. After you’ve finished perusing these suggestions, get the spins here if you’d like to play the best movie-themed video slots.

Movies Made to Be Made Into Slots

The list of movies big and small, mediocre and Oscar-winning, revered and long-forgotten is long and varied. And while very few are chosen to make the leap onto slot reels, we have two examples of movies we think would fit into the world of online slots like a glove:

The Silence of the Lambs Slots

Directed by Ted Demme and starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, this 1991 thriller scared pretty much everyone who watched it then, as it still does today. Indeed, who can forget the chilling interactions between FBI cadet Agent Clarice Starling and psychopathic psychiatrist Dr Hannibal Lecter (who put me off boiled fava beans and Chianti for life).

Imagine Silence of the Lambs slots, a 5 reel, 5 level and 25 pay line extravaganza that will scare the pants off you if it doesn’t make you rich first. The game’s background would be of Dr Lector’s underground, dark and dank glass and stone-walled prison (insane asylum) cell, over which the video slot’s reels would spin to deliver their respective symbols and pays.

The game symbols would include the Masked Dr Lector (the Wild symbol), Agent Starling (the Scatter symbol), Buffalo Bill (the Bonus game symbol), Dr Chilton, Agent Crawford, Butterflies, a Deep Well, Night Vision Goggles and Dress Patterns.

When you spin the reels, the film’s theme song would play, and ramp up when you land a winning combination or activate a Bonus feature. As the Wild symbol, Dr Lector would substitute for all other symbols (except the Scatter) to help make winning combinations. Land 3, 4 or 5 Agent Starling symbols, and you’d be awarded 15, 20 or 25 Free Spins.

Land three Buffalo Bill symbols, and you’d trigger the slot’s Bonus feature. This would reveal Buffalo Bill’s underground lair where you’d be met with butterflies of varying shapes, sizes and colours clinging to the walls. You could pick three butterflies, which would either reveal a random value, a random multiplier (x3, x6 or x 9), or say “Leave Room” or “Change Room.”

Pick a Change Room butterfly, and you’d move to a different room in Bill’s lair with even more butterflies to choose from. The value of the butterflies would be increased with every new room you progress to. Now, if our proposed The Silence of the Lambs video slot game doesn’t send shivers racing up and down your spine, nothing in this world can scare you.

Any man who claims that he has never been afraid of women in one way or another is a liar; their alluring beauty, inscrutable minds and unpredictable behaviour have baffled men since time immemorial. Pushing this idea to the extreme is the starting point of British comedy horror Double Date.

The brainchild of writer Danny Morgan, the story originated from channelling his own anxiety and fear of talking to the “terrifying creatures” that are womankind. Having always found the general concept of dating to be a particularly horrifying prospect, he became intrigued by the idea of a man so overcome with crippling shyness he is still a virgin despite being about to turn 30, and the night when he finally conquers his fears turns out to be the night when he really should have just stayed home. The plot of Double Date follows Jim – the unsullied in question – and his cocky best friend Alex as they encounter beautiful sisters Kitty and Lulu, who zero in on the former for initially unclear reasons that are nevertheless established will not end well, and before the night is through there will be murder, lust, laughs and romance.

Having never written a feature before Morgan kept the story simple, deciding that a script focusing on four characters – two guys and two girls – taking place over a short period of time was a scope he could handle. Although pre-emptively limiting himself on the timescale and character count, his imagination for visuals took some time to be reined in, the script at one point having Jim form the insect body between the mirrored butterfly wing tattoo each sister has on her shoulder before the image burst into flame, while at another shot called for a huge explosion. After realising the several million pounds such a vision would cost was way out of any realistic price range, Morgan spent “about fifty years” developing the script with producer Matt Wilkinson, bringing it down to a more manageable level. Morgan found this self-limitation improved his writing talent, forcing him to focus on dialogue instead of acceding to his instinct of proclaiming “And then someone dies! Everything catches on fire!” to keep the audience’s interest.

This reduction in scale made the director choice of Benjamin Barfoot a more viable one (“Everyone else said no; they were scraping the bottom of the barrel”), who was a veteran of numerous shorts (of which Morgan wrote several and starred in most) but yet to make a full feature. His DIY method of filmmaking utilised a creative and practical approach that overcame challenges in ways vastly less expensive than if numerous people had been working on them. Barfoot felt the fundamental principles of filming a feature remained the same as a short, he simply had more people surrounding him around to perform tasks, to the extent he occasionally felt he was standing around doing nothing, but this also afforded him “more stress left in the tank” to deal with any larger problems that might arise.

To raise the funding they shot a three-minute trailer showing a couple of scenes from the film that Wilkinson shopped around, the strength of the showcased material eventually getting two independent financers excited about the vision, who stumped up the necessary funding to go into production. Along the way, the script underwent numerous tweaks as everyone threw in ideas of how to improve and trim any unnecessary excesses, and by the time shooting was about to begin and “every third page you were laughing out loud,” they were convinced they were on to a winner.

It was never up for debate that Morgan was going to keep the lead role of hapless ginger Jim for himself (“Rupert Grint, piss off!”). Fully aware of what he looks like, he knew he was unlikely to be cast in any lead role, never mind a romantic one, and would more often be the lead’s whacky friend (“Gingers make good sidekicks”), so the script was partly designed to generate an opportunity for himself he would likely be otherwise denied, while also creating a character to whom he could personally relate. Additionally, it being his first lead role in a feature, he reasoned that any anxiety he felt would translate to the nervousness of his character, and thus enhance his apparent acting skills.

Kelly Wenham, who plays the elder and more aggressive sister Kitty, was involved from the beginning, being featured in the trailer used to promote the film to investors. She was cast almost immediately after first meeting Morgan when she “grabbed me by their hair, pinned me against the wall, and scared the shit out of me!” and was involved for a couple of years in the film’s development. The other two central roles, Alex and Lulu, weren’t cast until a few weeks before shooting began, but after casting director Anna Kennedy pulled Michael Socha and Georgia Groome seemingly from nowhere, the quartet was soon complete and quickly melded as a team, Morgan even acknowledging they each brought depth to the characters he himself had not put in the script.

Being an unrepentant sleaze, Alex is the kind of person many people would despise on principle; indeed Socha himself initially stated that although he liked the script, he was unsure of the character. However, he came to realise Alex’s apparent arrogance is down to his lack of self-criticism that masks an occasional vulnerability and is first and foremost a loyal friend to Jim, and throughout the film, his emerging likeability is in part down to the charisma of Socha’s performance.

The treatment of female characters in horror movies is an issue heavily discussed and a long way from being resolved, but fortunately, Double Date goes some way towards addressing it. Coming from a matriarchal family and having two elder sisters, Morgan was determined to not portray the girls as the one-dimensional horror vixens they could so easily have become, wanting the film to be more than just “two idiots and psycho girls.” To remedy this, an effort was put in to give the ladies necessary depth and provide an understanding of why they’re doing what they do. In addition, the film was originally shot with the girls’ backstory told near the films’ beginning, but it was soon realised it would work better if their motivations were unclear for the first half of the film, allowing the audience to uncover details at the same rate Jim does. This initial lack of explanation also amps up the initial tension since the audience remains aware of the danger Jim and Alex are blundering into. The girls seem scarier since it’s made clear what they’re capable of, but unclear of their ultimate goal, and as you come to understand them, you begin to empathise with what they’re trying to do, if not exactly that manner in which they’re going about it. This also allows for greater value to be placed on the genuine affection that gradually grows between Jim and Lulu, wanting them to end up together while knowing how unlikely it is that they will. Similarly, just as the unfettered emotion of Jim and Lulu become a duality of sorts, so the assertive confidence possessed by both Alex and Kitty allows each to become a perfect foil for the other.

One of the film’s most complex scenes features what may well be the most ridiculously and comically protracted fight sequence ever committed to film. With Morgan freely admitting he can’t write action, Barfoot took the direction of “A big fight happens” and ran with it. After he choreographed the sequence with a couple of martial artists, the fight was translated into around a hundred panels of a storyboard, whereupon the stunt people acted out the shots as Barfoot filmed them, essentially creating a live-action animatic from which the makeup artists and cinematographer could work. Due to time constraints, the scene was shot in linear order in a day and a half, beginning in a room beautifully designed and made up and becoming slowly trashed as the battle refuses to relent, the crew manoeuvring themselves around and over the mounting chaos and strewn debris cluttering the space by its end, with only seconds to spare as the final shot was complete. For future reference, Morgan now knows he can simply write “Ben, something amazing happens here” into the script, knowing the scene will be in safe hands.

Comedy horrors can be a tricky thing, and one need only look at any one of a litany of failed attempts that this (or any other) country has produced to appreciate just how rare it is to get the equilibrium right. However, in this case the trend has been defied. Each page of Double Date’s script made it clear how much horror and how much humour was required from each scene, allowing the necessary balance to come through in the quartet’s performances. As well as the tightly written script, the film manages its equilibrium through its four central characters acting as the ingredients of a carefully maintained alchemical concoction, with Kitty’s aggression bringing necessary levels of violence, Alex’s misplaced confidence the humour and Jim and Lulu’s burgeoning relationship the heart. The aforementioned backstory of the sisters brought with it some of the story’s darkest moments, and it throwing off the necessary early levity was another reason it was cut.

The film also seeks to subvert the traditional gender roles of horror movies, by having a sweet and naive guy be the helpless victim rather than the standard innocent girl, while the most ‘monstrous’ character is a sexually confident woman who would most often be the type of person films such as these would portray as being preyed upon. It also acknowledges the concept of male virginity, which while not being as highly prized as that of young women, is just as viable a state in which to exist, despite often being conveniently overlooked.

Beyond Double Date itself, the power trio of Barfoot, Morgan and Wilkinson are already working on another project they plan to be just as energetic and violent, featuring all the hallmarks of their feature debut but on a larger scale. It might, Morgan suggests, have something to do with ginger hair, and who knows, could even have an explosion.

Double Date is released in cinemas on October 13th

ISSUE 441 – OUT NOW!

This month, we celebrate the return of Marvel’s God of Thunder (and the Green Goliath) in THOR: RAGNAROK.

We also preview the next instalment in the SAW series, JIGSAW, and look back at the franchise’s history. Everyone’s favourite Peruvian bear returns in PADDINGTON 2 and we look forward to Season Eight of THE WALKING DEAD. Elsewhere, we celebrate Fifty years of the enigmatic British TV show THE PRISONER as well as say goodbye to director TOBE HOOPER.

In our regular features, we look at the fabulous shocker STARRY EYES as it heads to HORROR CHANNEL and Independents Day profiles the director of WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD.

Plus all your favourite COLUMNS, NEWS, REVIEWS and much MORE from the worlds of SCI-FI, HORROR and FANTASY!

 

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