Alam Nyo Ba?

Julius Avery (Overlord, The Pope’s Exorcist) has signed on to direct Crush, the snake-themed survival thriller that 20th Century Studios acquired after an intense bidding war last year.

The project generated a lot buzz when it was revealed that the screenplay had been written by John Fischer, Executive Vice President of Development and Production at Temple Hill Entertainment. Fischer originally wrote the script under the pseudonym J.W. Archer, posting it anonymously to the Black List before the screenplay attracted attention from representatives and multiple studios.

What is Crush about?

According to Deadline, Crush follows:

A woman hiking alone in the Everglades who wakes to find herself trapped inside the crushing coils of a massive python, fighting to stay alive as every breath brings her closer to death.

The thriller is said to be inspired by true events and unfolds primarily in real time.

While the specifics are under wraps, the premise is straightforward:

• A lone woman becomes trapped inside the coils of a gigantic python.
• The story takes place in the Florida Everglades.
• Every passing minute makes breathing more difficult.
• The film unfolds primarily in real time.
• The screenplay is inspired by true events.

The survival-focused setup is expected to place nearly all of its emphasis on a single protagonist battling impossible odds.

Julius Avery adds more thrills to his filmography

Avery first gained attention with the crime thriller Son of a Gun before directing the World War II action-horror film Overlord for Paramount and Bad Robot. Since then, he has directed Samaritan, starring Sylvester Stallone, and Sony’s supernatural horror hit The Pope’s Exorcist, starring Russell Crowe.

His focus on suspense, action, and horror makes him a natural choice for a project like Crush, which appears to rely on sustained tension rather than large-scale spectacle.

The screenplay sparked a Hollywood bidding war

When Fischer posted the screenplay anonymously on the Black List, he reportedly wasn’t sure anyone would ever read it. Instead, the script quickly attracted attention from agents and producers before becoming the subject of a competitive bidding war among multiple studios.

20th Century Studios ultimately landed the project in a deal reportedly worth the mid-to-high six figures, with Temple Hill Entertainment producing alongside Scott Glassgold’s 12:01 Films.

The studio has already been moving the film quickly toward production, and Avery’s hiring marks the biggest creative step forward since the screenplay was acquired.

Everything we know about Crush

Director

• Julius Avery

Writer

• John Fischer (writing as J.W. Archer)

Studio

• 20th Century Studios

Producers

• Temple Hill Entertainment
• 12:01 Films

Genre

• Survival thriller
• Creature thriller

Setting

• Florida Everglades

Status

• In development

Casting has not yet been announced.

What do you think?

Does Crush sound like the kind of survival thriller you’d want to see? Are you glad to hear that Julius Avery will be directing? Let us know in the comments.

The post Julius Avery to direct Crush, the real-time survival thriller about a woman trapped by a giant python appeared first on JoBlo.

Rob Zombie has said that for every one film project of his that moves forward, there are five potential projects that fall by the wayside. We haven’t heard of quite that many unmade Rob Zombie movies and projects, but we have heard of several over the years that never got off the ground… and unfortunately, most of them sounded pretty interesting.

Over the course of his career, Zombie has been attached to abandoned original films, unrealized franchise entries, horror remakes, comic book adaptations, and even projects outside the horror genre. Some made it deep into development before stalling while others never progressed beyond the concept stage, but all of them leave us wondering what might have been. While we wait to see what Rob Zombie’s next movie will be, we’re taking a look back at the unmade movies and projects we still wish had reached the screen.

Projects Covered

• Tyrannosaurus Rex
• Broad Street Bullies
• Raised Eyebrows
• The Punisher
• The Crow: 2037
• The Blob
• Dr. Satan
• Werewolf Women of the SS
• The Nail
• Bigfoot
• Manson Murders Project
• C.H.U.D.

Abandoned Original Rob Zombie Films

These are original feature films Rob Zombie actively developed that never made it into production.

TYRANNOSAURUS REX

Zombie had no intention of making Halloween II. He was going to hand that sequel over to Inside directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury while he made a different project for Dimension: Tyrannosaurus Rex, which was even given a 2009 release date. He started promoting the project with posters and concept art… but then Bustillo and Maury left Halloween II and Dimension roped Zombie into doing that movie for 2009 instead of Tyrannosaurus Rex. There was some hope that he would make the original film after Halloween II, but by the time he was done with his second Michael Myers movie his working relationship with Dimension had been damaged beyond repair.

Zombie revealed very little about what Tyrannosaurus Rex would have been, but he did say it wasn’t a horror movie. Comparing it to Straight Time, Raging Bull, and a serious version of Every Which Way But Loose, he said the movie would be “about this washed-up prizefighter who’s got this self-destructive tendency, and he comes out of prison and the only way he knows how to survive is by fighting. But his boxing career is over so he gets caught up in this sort of underground fight ring.” Concept art revealed that, like Clint Eastwood in Every Which Way But Loose, this prizefighter would also end up running into trouble with a biker gang.

All these years later we’re still hoping to see Tyrannosaurus Rex somehow, because Zombie making a “incredibly violent ’70s action movie” about a washed-up prizefighter sounds like a whole lot of fun.

BROAD STREET BULLIES

In 2012, we heard that Zombie would be branching out of the horror genre with Broad Street Bullies, which would tell the story of “the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team that evolved from a cellar-dwelling expansion team into a team that racked up victories and penalty minutes in equal measure during the 1970s.” Zombie initially said he had secured the rights to the team’s story, had the full support of the Flyers organization, and was ready to make a movie that was like “Rocky meets Boogie Nights on ice.” But Broad Street Bullies never made it into production, and Zombie would later say that it was a nightmare trying to get all the necessary rights together.

Aside from comedies like Goon, it seems to be very difficult to get a hockey movie into production, as Kevin Smith also ran into trouble when he tried to make his own hockey movie, called Hit Somebody. So we’re left wishing that we had both Hit Somebody and Broad Street Bullies to watch right now. It would have been very interesting to see Zombie make a hockey movie set in the 1970s.

RAISED EYEBROWS

Zombie made it clear in House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects that he had an appreciation for the Marx brothers, so when Broad Street Bullies started looking troublesome in 2015 it wasn’t too surprising that he shifted over to trying to make a film based on the memoir Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho’s House by Steve Stoliar. This would have been “the bizarre story of the last years in the life of Groucho Marx, told by a young Marx Brothers fan who spent those years as his personal secretary and archivist. In addition to getting to know his hero, the author found himself in the orbit of Groucho’s brothers Zeppo and Gummo, Mae West, George Burns, Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, S.J. Perelman, Steve Allen, and scores of other luminaries of stage, screen, TV and literature. The downside of this dream-come-true was getting close to his idol as the curtain was coming down, and dealing with Erin Fleming – the mercurial woman in charge of Groucho’s personal and professional life.“

For the first time, Zombie hired someone else – Oren Moverman – to write the screenplay for one of his films. He said he saw this story as “Groucho’s Sunset Boulevard,” “a sad, funny and very dark tale of a one of Hollywood’s greatest stars final years.” But once again, he found it too difficult to get a non-horror project into production. It’s a shame, because he chooses terrific material for his attempts to step out of the genre. At least he got to do his version of The Munsters, even if it wasn’t well received.

Studio Projects and Franchise Films That Never Happened

Over the years, Zombie was attached to several high-profile studio and franchise projects that ultimately moved forward without him, or didn’t move forward at all.

THE PUNISHER

A while back, Thomas Jane mentioned that Rob Zombie was in the running to direct The Punisher 2 when the project was set up at Lionsgate and Jane was still attached to star in the follow-up to the 2004 Punisher film. Our minds have been swimming with the possibilities ever since. Jane’s time as the Punisher may be over (although you never know these days, with so many multiverse projects being made), but it could be very interesting to see how Zombie would handle a Punisher story.

We know he can deliver the level of violence the audience wants to see from the heavily armed vigilante, but what sort of style would he bring to the film around the character and the violence? Would it be dark and gritty? Neon-soaked madness? Did Lexi Alexander already give us something along the lines of a Zombie Punisher with her Punisher: War Zone? We’ll probably never find out, but it’s fun to daydream about.

THE CROW: 2037

In 1997, it was announced that musician Rob Zombie would be making his feature writing and directing debut with an addition to the Crow franchise that would have been called The Crow: 2037. The story would begin in “2010, when a young boy and his mother are murdered on Halloween night by a Satanic priest. A year later, the boy is resurrected as the Crow. Twenty-seven years later, and unaware of his past, he has become a bounty hunter on a collision course with his now all-powerful killer.” What that synopsis doesn’t mention is that a plague has knocked the planet back into the Dark Ages by the time 2037 rolls around, so our hero wields a sword and gets around on horseback.

An unexpected mixture of medieval times and influences from the Universal Monsters movies, The Crow: 2037 would have been a very unique entry in the franchise… so unique that the producers seemed to get cold feet and decided to make a more typical Crow movie instead. For a while, Zombie considered turning his script into an original film called Black Rider X, but then moved ahead with House of 1000 Corpses instead. So all we can do now is read the The Crow: 2037 script (which is readily available online) and try to imagine what could have been.

THE BLOB

The week Halloween II was released in 2009, it was announced that Zombie would be writing and directing another remake, this one of the 1958 sci-fi horror classic The Blob, which already received an awesome remake in 1988 and was about a gelatinous creature falling from the sky and consuming everything it came in contact with, growing larger with every meal. Zombie immediately made it sound like he was the wrong choice for the job when he said his movie wouldn’t be about “a red blobby thing,” so not many people minded when he decided to walk away from the project… But years later, concept art from Zombie’s abandoned version of The Blob showed up online and made it look like he had been plotting something fascinating.

Just going by what’s shown in the artwork, it appears that an alien monolith would have shown up in a small town, and this mysterious object would become the centerpiece of an annual rock festival. After five years, some kind of energy starts emanating from the monolith that makes people melt down into hideous, disgusting “blob people.” Some of the imagery is a bit too much like Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse movie Planet Terror, but it still looks like Zombie’s take on The Blob would have been entertaining and delightfully strange. However, we are still supposed to be getting another remake of The Blob, which will be coming from the Hellraiser reboot director David Bruckner.

Spin-Offs and Franchise Expansions We’d Love to See

These aren’t necessarily abandoned productions, but they’re concepts connected to Zombie’s existing work that we’d still love to see him bring to the screen.

DR. SATAN PREQUEL/SEQUEL

Okay, so this flies right in the face of what Zombie has said about not making any more movies in the Firefly franchise. But while we agree that there’s nowhere for the story to go after the events of 3 from Hell, there could be an interesting story that focuses on the bizarre character of Dr. Satan. A prequel set before House of 1000 Corpses could show how Dr. Satan got involved with the Firefly clan and set up his underground lair full of experiment subjects. A sequel could dig into what happened to Dr. Satan after he was taken out of his lair at the start of The Devil’s Rejects. Maybe the best approach would be a sequel that provides some flashbacks to the pre-Corpses days.

Zombie did shoot some Dr. Satan material for The Devil’s Rejects, a scene where the mad doctor attacks a nurse played by Rosario Dawson, but it ended up on the cutting room floor.

WEREWOLF WOMEN OF THE SS

Werewolf Women of the SS is a faux trailer Zombie made for Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s brilliant Grindhouse project, and while all of the faux trailers are a lot of fun in their short form, it would also have been amazing to see them all get expanded into actual features, like Rodriguez’s faux trailer Machete was. Eli Roth made a Thanksgiving feature, Edgar Wright has pondered a Don’t feature, and in the past Zombie has asked fans if they would be interested in seeing a Werewolf Women of the SS feature. We would be!

An homage to movies like Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, Fraulein Devil, and Love Camp 7, Werewolf Women of the SS is set during World War II and involves Nazi mad scientists, the She-Devils of Belzac, and Fu Manchu working together in an attempt to create an army of werewolves.

Comic Book Adaptations That Deserve the Big Screen

Zombie has written comics with stories that seem perfectly suited for feature-film adaptations.

THE NAIL

Some of the concept art for Tyrannosaurus Rex brought to mind The Nail, a comic book Zombie wrote with Steve Niles in 2004 that happened to center on a character named Rex. So it was erroneously reported that Tyrannosaurus Rex was an adaptation of The Nail and that really caught on, despite Zombie and Niles both saying Tyrannosaurus Rex was a different story. So if they are different stories, that means we need to see both Tyrannosaurus Rex and a cinematic adaptation of The Nail, because The Nail was really cool.

Basically a souped-up version of the 1975 classic horror film Race with the Devil, The Nail had the following synopsis: “Small-time pro-wrestler Rex Hauser (a.k.a. The Nail) makes a living touring the small-town wrestling circuit with his family. It’s business as usual for this close-knit bunch until they unwittingly cross paths with a murderous gang of Satanic bikers. But these aren’t your run-of-the-mill devil worshipers. In fact, Hauser and his family just might be up against the most un-Godly evil ever known to man.” The comic was a fun read, and it would be a blast to see it brought to life on the screen.

BIGFOOT

Speaking of Rob Zombie / Steve Niles comic books that desperately need to be brought to the screen, the pair also made an awesome “cryptid run amok” comic book appropriately called Bigfoot in 2005. The synopsis is simple: “A monstrous ape-man is stomping around the woods of the Pacific Northwest, and he’s not happy with mankind.”

If Bigfoot were ever brought to the screen, it would easily be one of the best Bigfoot movies we’ve ever gotten. The Bigfoot in this story is a terrifying beast that makes a bloody mess of the people who are unlucky enough to cross paths with it, and we’re dying to see this creature splatter blood and guts across the screen in a live-action movie.

Projects Beyond Feature Films

Not every fascinating Rob Zombie project was intended to be a theatrical movie.

MANSON MURDERS PROJECT

This wasn’t going to be a movie and the Manson Family story has gotten too much coverage over the decades, but Zombie has been fascinated by the story since he was a kid and when he started developing a limited series that would “revisit the people and events connected to the Manson Family murder spree in August 1969,” he had an intriguing collaborator: the script was going to be written by American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis. Their aim was to “tell converging stories of people and events leading up to and after the murders, from shifting points of view.“

In general, it would be just fine if we’ve already seen the end of Manson Family stories, but we are left quite curious to find out how Zombie and Ellis would have handled the material. The Manson Murders Project was set up at Fox in 2014, and was scrapped when NBC started airing their own Manson-related series Aquarius in 2015.

Honorable Mention: C.H.U.D.

Some projects Zombie has been said to be involved with over the years were never actually happening. For example: there was a rumor that he was working on an animated adaptation of the comic book The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning. Not true, and we’ve already seen him do the homicidal family thing multiple times. In 2007, a rumor emerged online saying that Zombie would be following his remake of Halloween with a remake of the 1984 film C.H.U.D. It was just a joke… but not such a bad idea. There is something appealing about the thought of Zombie making a movie about creatures called Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, crawling out of the sewer to consume flesh.

The post The Unmade Rob Zombie Movies and Projects We Still Want to See appeared first on JoBlo.

Netflix is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Stranger Things by launching a VHS-inspired version of Season 1 and releasing a new retrospective featuring the cast. The celebration marks 10 years since the series premiered in July 2016, introducing audiences to Hawkins, Indiana, Eleven, the Upside Down, and a cast of young actors who would become stars. Since then, Stranger Things has grown into one of Netflix’s biggest original franchises, spanning five seasons, stage productions, immersive attractions, and a massive merchandising empire.

The Duffer Brothers thank fans after a decade

A love letter to the ‘80s classic genre films that captivated a generation, Stranger Things is a thrilling drama set in the seemingly normal Midwestern town of Hawkins, Indiana. After a boy vanishes into thin air, his close-knit group of friends and family search for answers and are pulled into a high-stakes and deadly series of events. Beneath the surface of their ordinary town lurks an extraordinary supernatural mystery, along with top-secret government experiments and a dangerous gateway that connects our world to a powerful yet sinister realm. Friendships will be tested and lives will be altered as what they discover will change Hawkins and possibly the world — forever.

Series creators Matt and Ross Duffer reflected on the show’s journey in a message celebrating the anniversary.

“We’re feeling so many emotions today. Nostalgic, proud, and, yeah, a little sad too, that the decade-long journey of making Stranger Things has come to an end. But above all, we feel grateful — for our amazing cast, who we watched grow into wonderful human beings; for the hundreds of brilliant artists who devoted so much of themselves bringing the story to life; and for you, the fans, whose dedication, patience, and passion fueled all of us throughout the years.”

The brothers encouraged fans to revisit the beginning of the series through Netflix’s new VHS Special Edition of Season 1.

“If you want to celebrate, we humbly suggest opening up the curiosity door one more time, grabbing a 3 Musketeers (maybe some chocolate pudding too!), and watching the Season 1 VHS Special Edition. If Stranger Things existed in Hawkins — sitting on a shelf at Family Video — it would look just like this (complete with pan-and-scan)! Is it possible your head will explode from nostalgia overload? Yes. But it’s worth the gamble!”

Shawn Levy reflects on Stranger Things’ legacy

Executive producer and director Shawn Levy also shared his thoughts on the milestone.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since Stranger Things first turned our world upside down.”

Levy reflected on how the series exceeded everyone’s expectations.

“What began as a brilliant script by the Duffer Brothers… became something far bigger than any of us ever imagined. We didn’t know if anyone would watch our strange little show—we just knew it could be great.”

He concluded by thanking fans who helped turn Hawkins into a worldwide phenomenon.

“None of this phenomenal ride would have been possible without the fans who have been with us from the very beginning… Hawkins forever.”

Netflix launches Stranger Things VHS Special Edition

The centerpiece of the anniversary celebration is the new VHS-themed presentation of Season 1. Designed to recreate the experience of watching a rented videotape in the early 1980s, the special version includes vintage-style video effects, tracking glitches, grain, and pan-and-scan formatting that mimic classic home video releases.

The Duffers said that if the VHS-themed version of Season 1 gets enough views, the following seasons might get the same treatment.

New cast retrospective revisits a decade in Hawkins

Netflix has also released Strange Memories, a retrospective video featuring members of the cast sharing stories from throughout the production. The feature includes:

• Millie Bobby Brown recalling celebrating her birthday while filming Season 1.
• Natalia Dyer and Joe Keery remembering their earliest scenes together.
• Sadie Sink reflecting on filming Season 3 during what she described as the “peak pre-teen awkwardness” of adolescence.

Stranger Things‘ impact on pop culture

Over the past decade, Stranger Things has become one of Netflix’s defining franchises. According to Netflix, the series has generated 1.5 billion views through March 2026, while Seasons 4 and 5 rank among the service’s most-watched television seasons.

The show’s influence has extended well beyond television. Among its biggest cultural effects:

• Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” returned to worldwide charts after Season 4.
• Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” reached a new generation of listeners.
• Dungeons & Dragons experienced a major resurgence in mainstream popularity.
• Eggo waffles became permanently associated with Eleven after the show’s debut.

Netflix also says the production created more than 8,000 jobs across the United States and contributed more than $1.4 billion to the U.S. economy during its five-season run.

Stranger Things: The First Shadow continues celebration

The anniversary also highlights the success of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the stage prequel currently running on Broadway and previously in London’s West End. The production became the most Tony Award-winning play of 2025 and has sold nearly 1.6 million tickets across more than 1,500 performances.

To commemorate the anniversary, Broadway is offering 11 pairs of tickets for $11 to the evening performance on the anniversary date.

Merchandise, experiences, and Halloween Horror Nights

Netflix’s anniversary celebration also includes new limited-edition collectibles and continued expansion of the franchise’s live experiences. Fans can visit Stranger Things attractions at Netflix House locations, attend Stranger Things: The Experience in select cities, and look forward to a new Season 5-inspired haunted house at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights later this summer.

The franchise continues to partner with brands including LEGO, Funko, Nike, Converse, Doritos, Eggo, Gatorade, Wrangler, GAP, and others as part of its anniversary merchandise campaign.

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Directed by Adam Wingard and said to be in the vein of his cult classics The Guest and You’re Next, the “gonzo action horror thriller” Onslaught is set to reach theatres on September 4th. The trailer (you can watch it in the embed above) dropped online a few weeks ago, and now the Motion Picture Association ratings board has had the chance to watch the film. The result: Onslaught has been given a rating that makes it sound like it’s going to be a really good time.

Onslaught is officially rated R for strong bloody violence, some gore, sexual material/nudity, and language.

Who stars in Onslaught?

Adria Arjona (Hit Man); Dan Stevens, who worked with Wingard on The Guest and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire; Drew Starkey (Outer Banks), Michael Biehn (The Terminator), Reginald VelJohnson (Die Hard), comedian Eric Wareheim (Tim & Eric), and Rebecca Hall (who previously worked with Wingard on Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) star in the film alongside UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex “Poatan” Pereira.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pereira will be able to “bring his set of skills to the role — including anaconda chokes and roundhouse kicks.” They also note that “Pereira is a former kickboxer and Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is one of a handful of fighters to become a champion in two different weight divisions.”

What is Onslaught about?

Speaking of skillsets, sources say that Arjona’s character is “a mother living in a trailer who falls back on a particular set of skills in order to protect her loved ones after she runs afoul of a threat that has escaped a secret military base.” 

Here’s the official synopsis: When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers break loose in the desert, a badass Army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.

Stevens plays a German scientist who is working on the experiments that escape, and Hall’s character works with him. Biehn plays the leader of an elite group of mercenaries who try to reign in the threat. VelJohnson’s character is a member of the mother’s trailer park community, and so is Wareheim’s character.

The screenplay for Onslaught was written by Simon Barrett, who collaborated with Wingard on The Guest, You’re Next, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, A Horrible Way to Die, and Blair Witch, among other projects.

Lyrical Media and A24 are co-financing Onslaught and A24 will handle worldwide distribution. Aaron Ryder and Andrew Swett are producing the film under their Ryder Picture Company banner, alongside A24. Alexander Black is producing for Lyrical Media. Wingard and his manager Jeremy Platt are also producing, through their new shingle Breakaway Civilization, along with Barrett. Lyrical’s Jon Rosenberg and Natalie Sellers serve as executive producers.

What do you think of the reasons given for Onslaught‘s R rating? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post MPA rating for Adam Wingard’s Onslaught promises strong bloody violence, gore, and more appeared first on JoBlo.

Warner Bros. has shuffled several upcoming releases, with the biggest non-Batman change seeing J.J. Abrams’ original sci-fi adventure The Great Beyond move into an earlier fall release date. The studio announced that The Great Beyond will now open on October 1, 2027, after previously being scheduled for November 13, 2027. The move puts the film in an early October slot that has previously launched Warner Bros. hits like Gravity, Joker, Dune, and A Star Is Born.

The movie stars Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega, alongside Emma Mackey, Samuel L. Jackson, Sophie Okonedo, and Merritt Wever. Abrams wrote the screenplay and directs the project, marking his first original feature film in more than a decade, following his franchise contributions Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker. According to Deadline, Warner Bros. recently held a test screening and is planning a 70mm IMAX release. The move also gives The Great Beyond a relatively open release frame, with no other major wide studio releases currently scheduled to open on October 1, 2027.

The project generated considerable attention when CinemaCon attendees got a tease earlier this year, and the combination of Abrams, Powell, and Ortega has made it one of the studio’s most closely watched original releases.

Warner Bros. also adjusted release dates for two other upcoming films.

Sam Esmail‘s cyber-thriller Panic Carefully, starring Julia Roberts, Eddie Redmayne, Elizabeth Olsen, and Brian Tyree Henry, has moved from February 26, 2027 to April 9, 2027. The film reunites Esmail with Roberts following their collaboration on Leave the World Behind. The date change gives Panic Carefully an IMAX release, allowing Esmail’s latest to debut on premium large-format screens.

Meanwhile, New Line’s horror sequel Revenge of La Llorona shifts in the opposite direction, moving from April 9, 2027 to February 26, 2027. Directed by Santiago Menghini, the sequel follows a fractured family forced to confront the return of the Weeping Woman alongside their estranged curandero grandfather. The original The Curse of La Llorona opened in 2019 and earned more than $120 million worldwide on a modest budget.

What do you think of Warner Bros.’ updated release schedule? Are you more excited for The Great Beyond, Panic Carefully, and/or Revenge of La Llorona?

The post J.J. Abrams’ The Great Beyond gets new release date as Warner Bros. shifts 2027 slate appeared first on JoBlo.

Over seven years in the making and said to be packed with “incredible, never-before-seen archival footage,” the documentary Rubberhead: The Life & Monsters of Steve Johnson will have its world premiere screening at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 23rd – and with that date right around the corner, a trailer for the film has dropped online! You can watch it in the embed above.

What is Rubberhead about?

Here’s the synopsis for Rubberhead, which was directed by Nick Taylor:

Known for his intense work ethic, perfectionism, and obsession with breaking new ground, Steve Johnson created iconic creatures and effects for some of the most beloved horror and sci-fi movies in cinema history. Rubberhead is a humorous and heartfelt portrait of the life and times of one of Hollywood’s most prolific monster makers, as well as a historical journey through the golden age of special effects makeup.

Steve shares endless, outrageous anecdotes about his freewheeling adventures in Hollywood, while also telling the inspirational but tragic story of his meteoric rise and subsequent fall. His drive and ambition led to some of cinema’s most groundbreaking effects and techniques, but also to heartbreaking acts of self-sabotage, divorce, and serious struggles with addiction.

Rubberhead is a captivating reflection on the game-changing practical FX glory days and a fascinating, entertaining, and moving story of an FX master whose greatest monster may have been himself.

In addition to Steve Johnson himself, interviewees include John Landis, Linnea Quigley, Tom Holland, and Bill Corso. The documentary has a running time of 105 minutes.

What has Steve Johnson worked on?

Johnson has a long list of credits in the “creatures and special makeup effects” department. Some of the movies he has worked on are The Fog, Humanoids from the Deep, An American Werewolf in London, Videodrome, Big Trouble in Little China, Night of the Demons, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Highway to Hell, Pet Sematary II, Innocent Blood, Return of the Living Dead III, Brainscan, The Stand, Species, Species II, Blade II, Men in Black, Ghost Story, Spider-Man 2, Leviathan, Bad Moon, Lord of Illusions, and several of the Howling sequels.

Are you a fan of Steve Johnson’s work, and are you looking forward to Rubberhead? Take a look at the trailer, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Rubberhead trailer: documentary looks at the life and monsters of FX artist Steve Johnson appeared first on JoBlo.

Few filmmakers have developed a style as unmistakable as Rob Zombie. Since making his feature directorial debut with House of 1000 Corpses in 2003, Zombie has built a filmography that blends grindhouse horror, heavy metal attitude, shocking violence, dark humor, and an appreciation for classic monsters. Whether he’s introducing audiences to the murderous Firefly family, reimagining Michael Myers, exploring surreal supernatural horror, or putting his own spin on The Munsters, each film has delivered moments that have stuck with audiences after the credits rolled.

Rather than ranking Rob Zombie’s movies against one another, we’re taking a chronological journey through his career, highlighting the single scene from each feature that best captures what makes that film memorable. Some are frightening, some are emotional, some are outrageous, and one film even earns a second spotlight for the sequence that stands as the defining moment of Zombie’s filmmaking career. From House of 1000 Corpses to The Munsters, these are the Rob Zombie movie scenes we keep coming back to.

Rob Zombie Movie Scenes Covered:

• House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
• The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
• Halloween (2007)
• Halloween II (2009)
• The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)
• The Lords of Salem (2012)
• 31 (2016)
• 3 from Hell (2019)
• The Munsters (2022)

HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (2003): HOME VISIT

The feature directorial debut from Rob Zombie (who was born Robert Bartleh Cummings), the horror film House of 1000 Corpses had to overcome production issues, distribution problems, and lost footage on the way to reaching theatres two years later than expected, and the result is one wacky, choppy flick with some incredible performances. The best scene from the first Rob Zombie movie comes when police officers (Tom Towles and Walton Goggins) go to the home of the homicidal Firefly clan in search of a group of missing youths. If things went well, this could have been the happy ending – but instead, it’s a total disaster. As things fall apart and corpses are discovered, Slim Whitman kicks in on the soundtrack and Mother Firefly (Karen Black) and Otis B. Driftwood (Bill Moseley) bring out their guns. It ends with a long, silent crane shot as we wait… and wait… for the last bullet to be fired.

THE DEVIL’S REJECTS (2005): BANJO & SULLIVAN

House of 1000 Corpses did well enough for distributor Lionsgate that they asked Zombie for a sequel, and the result was the film that I still consider to be his masterpiece, The Devil’s Rejects. Otis B. Driftwood, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), and Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie) hit the road with a vengeful lawman (William Forsythe) on their trail, but while on the run they still take the time to torment innocent victims. This includes Otis leading country duo Banjo & Sullivan (Lew Temple and Geoffrey Lewis) out into the desert to execute them in one of the most disturbing of the film’s many disturbing scenes. The intended victims fight and pray, but don’t stand a chance against Otis, who taunts them the whole way.

GRINDHOUSE (2007): WEREWOLF WOMEN OF THE SS

This is a bit of a cheat, because Rob Zombie’s contribution to the 2007 Robert Rodriguez / Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse wasn’t a scene, it was one of the faux trailers that was sandwiched between the two films. But given that it was one of his coolest filmmaking endeavors, it has to be acknowledged. Tasked with creating a trailer for a non-existent grindhouse movie, Zombie came up with Werewolf Women of the SS, revealing the truth about Project Pure Wolf, Hitler’s plan to create an army of werewolf soldiers. A lot of insanity was packed into only a few minutes of footage, and Zombie didn’t just drop werewolves into a torture-filled, Ilsa-style Nazisploitation set-up, he also gave Nicolas Cage a cameo as Fu Manchu. I kind of want to see Zombie turn Werewolf Women of the SS into a feature, yet at the same time I fear such a thing would melt our brains.

HALLOWEEN (2007): MYERS HOUSE CLIMAX

Rob Zombie’s remake of the 1978 John Carpenter classic Halloween is sort of an awkward mash-up; an attempt to give Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) a more “real world” serial killer background then makes way for a sped-up rehash of the Carpenter film. Still, there are some great, brutal slasher moments throughout, and it builds up to a lengthy climactic sequence set in the crumbling, long-abandoned house Myers lived in as a child. The killer takes his teen sister Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton) – who has no idea she’s his sister – back to their home, then proceeds to scare and beat the hell out of her while pursuing her throughout the place. A standout moment involves Laurie hiding in a ceiling while Myers, on the floor below, uses a board to bust the plaster out from under her.

HALLOWEEN II (2009): BRACKETT FINDS ANNIE

The trippiest, most unusual entry in the Halloween franchise finds a raggedy, bearded Michael Myers, who doesn’t have much of a mask left to put on his face, seeing visions of his mother and a white horse while continuing to pursue his younger sister Laurie, who now has serious issues of her own. Zombie really wanted to focus on the emotional and psychological damage the Myers mayhem inflicted on his characters – and beyond the screaming and crying, the most effective moment comes when Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif) finds that his daughter Annie has been attacked by Myers for a second time, and this time hasn’t survived. Brackett breaks down and cries out, then the audio is replaced by somber music as the father has flashbacks of his murdered daughter when she was a smiling, happy child. This is made all the more effective by the fact that Annie is played by Danielle Harris, who the viewer also remembers as a child, from Halloween 4 and 5. Zombie has done the “flashback to better times” thing multiple times, but this was my favorite example of it.

THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO (2009): GENRE ICON CAMEOS

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto doesn’t often get mentioned as part of Zombie’s filmography. It seems like it has either been forgotten, or people don’t realize he was so involved with the making of it that he received the sole directing credit on this animated feature about a monster-smashing luchador (voiced by Tom Papa). If it has been forgotten, it’s easy to understand why: there’s not much to it other than an onslaught of juvenile humor and a lot of cartoon nudity. The most fun thing about the movie is the amount of genre icons that make cameo appearances, and I’ll leave it up to the individual viewer to pick their favorite. Michael Myers being hit by a car? Leatherface, The Fly, Jack Torrance, and The Bride in a bar? Jason Voorhees and a xenomorph waiting in a line? Otis B. Driftwood hitting on Tura Satana? Captain Spaulding hitting on El Superbeasto’s sister Suzi X? Suzi busting up the Werewolf Women of the SS? My favorite icon is Jason, so I’m going with that one.

THE LORDS OF SALEM (2012): AUTHOR MEETS THE WITCHES

The Lords of Salem may be Zombie’s most underrated film, an attempt to do something very different from his previous work. The trippy visions in Halloween II were just a warm-up for the insanity on display in this one, where a curse placed on a bloodline during the Salem witch trials comes to fruition in modern Salem. The key to it all is the music on a vinyl record delivered to troubled DJ Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie) – and when author Francis (Bruce Davison) figures out what the music is, he goes to talk to Heidi about it. Unfortunately for him, Heidi’s landlady (Judy Geeson) and her pals (Patricia Quinn and Dee Wallace) happen to be a coven of witches, and this meeting doesn’t go well for him. But it is quite fun to watch these actors interact with each other for a few minutes.

31 (2016): IN HELL, EVERYBODY LOVES POPCORN

I guess it’s appropriate that a musician / filmmaker would put out a movie that feels like the cinematic equivalent of a greatest hits album, but 31 still isn’t very satisfying. Memorable elements from Rob Zombie’s previous films get mixed together and dropped into a very simple, Running Man knock-off story where people are hunted through a warehouse by hired killers while a group of weirdos make bets. The killer called Doom Head (Richard Brake) managed to become a fan favorite, and while I feel that he comes off as being more ridiculous than interesting, I do have to admit that his opening monologue is a great way to get things started.

3 FROM HELL (2019): THE BLACK SATANS

Speaking of greatest hits movies… 14 years after appearing to kill off the Firefly clan in a big final scene, Rob Zombie resurrected Baby, Otis, and Captain Spaulding for 3 from Hell – a movie that mirrors The Devil’s Rejects in a lot of ways, but replaces Spaulding with long-lost family member Foxy (Richard Brake) along the way. The movie doesn’t fully prove its worth until late in the running time, when the titular three hole up in a small Mexican town and find themselves on the bad side of a crime lord called Aquarius (Emilio Rivera). Some Iron Butterfly leads us into a sequence where the three have to use blades, bullets, and arrows to battle machine gun-wielding luchadors called the Black Satans.

THE MUNSTERS (2022): HERMAN AND LILY FALL IN LOVE

Zombie shifted over to comedy with his update of the classic sitcom The Munsters, which originally ran on CBS from 1964 to 1966, for a total of 70 episodes. The filmmaker is a massive fan of the show (he has said that he has watched every episode at least 17 times), which puts a kid-friendly spin on monsters, focusing on a family that consists of the Frankenstein’s Monster-esque Herman Munster, his wife Lily, who is the daughter of the vampire The Count (usually referred to as Grandpa), Herman and Lily’s wolfish son Eddie, and their normal niece Marilyn. Zombie turned a large section of his Halloween into a prequel, and he made his The Munsters movie a prequel as well, taking us back to a time before the Transylvanian family moved into their suburban American home at 1313 Mockingbird Lane and before Eddie existed – in fact, Herman doesn’t even exist yet when the film begins. But he gets created soon enough and goes on to meet the love of his life, Lily. The best sequence of the film focuses on the development of Herman and Lily’s love story, with Lily bringing Herman home to meet her dad before the pair gets a love montage with their own cover of “I Got You Babe” playing on the soundtrack.

THE DEVIL’S REJECTS (2005): FREE BIRD

Looking back over Rob Zombie’s filmmaking career, one scene from a movie of his stands high above all others as the most memorable scene he has ever brought to the screen – and when his career is over, this scene will probably still be at the top. It’s the climax of The Devil’s Rejects, a five and half minute sequence set to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic “Free Bird”. Battered and bloody, the last three members of the Firefly clan take their final ride through the countryside, heading toward a police roadblock. This should have been the end for these characters, but their resurrection in 3 from Hell still doesn’t ruin the ending of The Devil’s Rejects.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Rob Zombie’s best movie?

While opinions vary, The Devil’s Rejects (2005) is widely considered Rob Zombie’s strongest film. Its memorable characters, intense performances, and unforgettable “Free Bird” finale have made it a favorite among horror fans and critics alike.

How many movies has Rob Zombie directed?

As of The Munsters (2022), Rob Zombie has directed eight live-action feature films and one animated feature:

• House of 1000 Corpses (2003)
• The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
• Halloween (2007)
• Halloween II (2009)
• The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009)
• The Lords of Salem (2012)
• 31 (2016)
• 3 from Hell (2019)
• The Munsters (2022)

What is the Firefly trilogy?

The Firefly trilogy consists of House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, and 3 from Hell. The films follow members of the murderous Firefly family (Otis B. Driftwood, Baby Firefly, Captain Spaulding, and later Foxy) as they leave a trail of chaos and violence across the American Southwest.

Which Rob Zombie movie features Michael Myers?

Rob Zombie directed two films in the Halloween franchise: Halloween (2007), a reimagining of John Carpenter’s 1978 classic, and Halloween II (2009), an original sequel that leans heavily into psychological horror and surreal imagery. Myers also has a cameo in the animated movie The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2009).

Is The Munsters connected to Rob Zombie’s horror movies?

No. The Munsters is a family-friendly comedy based on the classic 1960s television sitcom. While it reflects Zombie’s lifelong love of classic monster movies and features his signature visual style, it is completely separate from the violent horror films that make up the rest of his filmography.

What is Rob Zombie’s most memorable movie scene?

For many fans, the “Free Bird” finale of The Devil’s Rejects remains the defining scene of Rob Zombie’s directing career. Set to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s iconic song, it serves as an unforgettable ending to the Firefly family’s story, even after the characters returned years later in 3 from Hell.

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