Behind The Scenes of John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’

A story of psychological horror and isolation, featuring scares like you’d never seen before with its ground-breaking practical effects, it’s fair to say, John Carpenter’s renowned cult classic The Thing truly is “The Ultimate in alien terror”.

However, just how much went on behind the camera for this revolutionary masterpiece? From explosions on set to alternate endings being shot and even a crew member being hospitalized, we’ll be looking at what went on behind the scenes for one of the most influential horror movies of all time. Continue reading “Behind The Scenes of John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’”

Jacked In Recommends ‘Thir13en Ghosts’ (2001)

After losing his wife in a tragic house fire, Arthur Kriticos (Tony Shalhoub) struggles to make ends meet for him and his two children. After a visit from an attorney who informs Arthur that his estranged Uncle Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham) – a wealthy collector who recently passed away – has left him a uniquely designed mansion, it seems their luck is finally about to change. Continue reading “Jacked In Recommends ‘Thir13en Ghosts’ (2001)”

Jacked In Recommends ‘The Descent’ (2005)

A year after the tragic loss of her husband and daughter, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) goes on a hiking trip with her friends in a bid to return to some sort of normality. After exploring some nearby caves, the group eventually get lost and with a lack of supplies, it’s a race against time.

Unfortunately for Sarah and her group, it seems they’re not alone in this underground maze. Continue reading “Jacked In Recommends ‘The Descent’ (2005)”

Most Memorable Stephen King Adaptations

When it comes to chilling someone to the very core, no one is more synonymous in the world of horror than Stephen King. Since his first book ‘Carrie’ was published in 1973, King has been responsible for entertaining, unsettling and making the hairs on one’s neck stand up for generations. Killer clowns, corrupt prisons, evil cars, rabid dogs, telekinetic, blood-soaked prom queens, there is no limit to which this writer can terrify.

The same can be said for the numerous amounts of King’s books that have made it to the screen (and not just his horror stories either!). However, some movies are more highly regarded or talked about than others. Perhaps a director truly did the novel justice, a writer took it in a new fresh direction or maybe an actor made one of King’s horrifying characters leap right off the page.

Either way, whether it’s a tale of solitude, suspense or pure terror, we’ll be looking at the most memorable movies (that’s right, specifically just movies for this list!) which were either inspired, written or (in some cases) directed, by the master of horror himself.

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Jacked In Recommends ‘Evil Dead’ (2013)

Evil Dead follows a bunch of youths staying in a cabin whilst attempting to help their drug-addicted friend, Mia (Jane Levy) kick her habit. As the movie progresses, strange happenings begin to arise, is it a paranormal entity or simply the ramblings of someone going cold turkey? Continue reading “Jacked In Recommends ‘Evil Dead’ (2013)”

Jacked In Recommends ‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007)

We find ourselves at the turn of the 20th century following the life of miner turned oilman, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). From the get-go, it’s clear Daniel is quite the driven individual who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. His latest venture sees him and his son purchase a family farm (at a bargain price) in order to acquire the vast sum of oil beneath the land. Continue reading “Jacked In Recommends ‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007)”

Behind The Scenes of Sam Raimi’s ‘Army of Darkness’

Travelling back in time, far away from the intimate cabin in the woods setting, we have Army of Darkness AKA Evil Dead III. Now in a much more open (and medieval) world, this film took things to the next level. Giving us deadites by the hundreds, effects that completely trumped its predecessors, not to mention, going completely slapstick with the franchise in the best way possible.

Given the stories from the goings-on behind the camera for the previous two Evil Dead movies, it’s no surprise that this larger production had its own fair share of difficulties as well as interesting tales to tell. From a main cast member losing eleven pounds in one day to studio interference which led to the movie’s ending having to be completely reshot, we’ll be taking a look at behind the scenes for the third instalment to the Evil Dead franchise. . . Groovy.

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Jacked In Reviews ‘The Suicide Squad’ (2021)

With the same premise as the previous movie (and obviously its literary inspiration) The Suicide Squad follows a bunch of villains on a (pretty much, suicidal) mission in order to deduct years from their prison sentences. From the first five minutes, you have hilarious new characters, brutal fatalities and a weasel-human hybrid that eats children, and with that, you’re immediately sold on this movie. As the new squad (and some returning members of this soft reboot) begin jumping into the sea on their latest assignment, the dirt from 2016’s Suicide Squad begins to wash off them and audience members alike.

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Jacked In Recommends ‘Color Out of Space’ (2019)

Color Out of Space, absurd, horrendous and f*cking wonderful all in one! This intimate, trippy, sci-fi, horror predominantly follows the life of a farmer (Nicolas Cage) and his family after a strange meteorite lands on their property. . . and it’s not long before things begin to go south for the household.

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Jacked In Recommends ‘The Monster Squad’ (1987)

Horror’s answer to The Goonies, The Monster Squad follows a bunch of kids in a club based around, you guessed it, Monsters.

Unfortunately for the gang, whilst going about their daily, monster-obsessed, business, Dracula (Duncan Regehr) shows up for the 100th anniversary in which he can use an amulet, read an incantation and cast a shadow of darkness over the world. Continue reading “Jacked In Recommends ‘The Monster Squad’ (1987)”

Behind The Scenes of Sam Raimi’s ‘Evil Dead II’

For a lot of Evil Dead fans, Evil Dead II is perhaps regarded as their favourite instalment to the franchise. Doing something that wasn’t common practice at the time with horror movies, this sequel managed to keep its horror aspect and simultaneously add humour, going from slapstick comedy to something insanely dark and twisted in a matter of seconds. This new style and some other iconic elements would carry on in future movies and even the series, Ash vs Evil Dead, which was released decades later.

However, what was it like working on set for a movie that would change the horror game and go down in cult classic infamy? From a third of the crew being fired over the course of a weekend to one of the cast members almost biting it during a take, we’ll be looking at behind the scene stories from Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II . . . Groovy.

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Jacked In Reviews ‘Akira’ (1988)

Last year Akira was rereleased in 4K IMAX, reminding audiences why this visually stunning, mind-melting, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi anime will always be relevant in the world of cinema. Based on director and writer, Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga series of the same name, Akira was initially released in 1988. This philosophical masterpiece uses the medium of the sci-fi genre and superhuman sub-genre to narrate nuclear war and how incredibly dangerous power can be in the wrong hands. So buckle up as we revisit a feature that changed the game, influential not just for anime, but for movies in general.

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