Mali Elfman’s Haunting Next Exit is Ready to Be Found

Mali Elfman’s film Next Exit is headed to theatres after Halloween than during, and that’s okay for those who are not in a hurry to die.

Next Exit PosterOpening Nov 4, 2022 in theatres and VOD

“Do you believe in ghosts?”

Mali Elfman‘s search an afterlife gets answered in her haunting movie, Next Exit. It’s headed to select theatres and VOD after Halloween, and the timing is perhaps on purpose so that those people wanting scares can get just that in October, and more thoughtful discourses on the month following. After a successful run at Fantasia (review here), it’s been picked up by Magnet Releasing.

This filmmaker said, “My grandmother would ask me this before she passed away. She wanted to understand what would happen next. I used to tell her, ‘I don’t know what ghosts are, but I do know that there is more to life than what I know – and yes, I do believe that they are real in a way. I believe we make them real.’

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It’s Not Just A Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo, But A Who’s Who of Where Are You?

The big thing to like about Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo are all those easter egg references!

Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo
Availiable to Stream and coming to DVD Oct 18th.

Spoiler Alert

The big talk from last week about Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo is that Velma is a lesbian. The fuss is crazy! Most long-time fans saw the clues a mile away, and they’ve been laid down more than a decade ago. But the fact that this reveal is finally confirmed because of the action (nothing explicit) has the media abuzz.

Even when the 2002 live-action movies were in production, James Gunn knew the backstory. But the studio heads feared backlash over a cartoon that was developed from the 60s/70s. And each character represented a particular ethos.

What’s missing in all the coverage is in how well this latest entry honours the original toon that started it all. The supernatural encounters met in the past all connect. The gang discovers the miscreants bought their costume at the same place. And in Coolsville, the fact there’s a ring-leader suggests there’s much more afoot than what a trail of Scooby Snacks can lead to.

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The Munsters in 2022 vs The World

The next stage of The Munsters journey has to answer the question of how does an unlikely pairing beget a child?

The Munsters 2022One possible reason why Rob Zombie‘s The Munsters didn’t make it to movie theatres is probably because the story isn’t too different from the first animated The Addams Family movie. We get an origin story on how Herman (Jeff Daniel Phillips) and Lily (Sheri Moon Zombie) fell in love. It strangely ignores a lot of pathos from the television series where they are seen interacting with the normal world.

It’s not to say this director’s love letter to this sit-com is doomed. To say which horror comedy has the biggest following must be with the Addameses. The reason is because they made more spinoff appearances and I can see Fred Munster pouting. He’s more of a comic character than the fun loving hispanic with potential aristocratic upbringing. Although Fred Gwynne was well respected with his humourous roles on television and Yvonne De Carlo is known for The Ten Commandments, it’s tough to beat John Astin and Jackie Coogan. Together, those two are television and film industry legends.

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NAQT VANE’s “Break Free” is Now in English!

There are doubtless many out there who can relate to a group like NAQT VANE, and this feels like the start of a whole new movement – keep your expectations high as they embark on a truly special career.

Break FreeThe English version of NAQT VANE’s debut song ‘Break Free’ was released on September 30. This English version was produced in tandem with the original Japanese version released earlier in September, so that music fans around the world could enjoy the message of hope behind the song’s lyrics.

NAQT VANE launched in September as a fresh new team project breathing a wind of change. Their debut single ‘Break Free’ carries an encouraging message of “a new self” and “liberation” and is dedicated to everyone living in the era of the wind – a flexible world of freedom and diversity with a lifestyle unbound by material things or status. The project combines the unmistakable music of producer Hiroyuki Sawano, whose compositions for anime, movies and TV shows are beloved by fans in Japan and around the world; and Harukaze, a highly skilled musician with a unique singing voice whose worldview was shaped by her school days spent in the United States.

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The Iké Boys and Saving the Day, Namely the Hell that was Y2K

Not every question raised here needs to be answered here in The Iké Boys. The concept behind this film is a fond look at how anyone can be heroes for more than just one day.

The Iké BoysShout! Factory
Coming to Digital and VOD Oct 11th

The Iké Boys is more than just a hero’s journey about two guys from Oklahoma who want to escape from the ho-hum. It also takes a peek back in time, when Japanese pop culture became part of the western media fixture in the 90s, and recognises what is great. We’re allowed to believe in miracles, and get to be a power ranger! The best part of this movie is that it includes vintage style anime and sentai action in its presentation.

In the case of Shawn Gunderson (Quinn Lord) and Vikram ‘Vik’ Kapoor (Ronak Gandhi), they’re not so ordinary in the sense that they’ve been branded losers in high school. That is, all they have is their anime fantasies to keep them happy. The latter dislikes the label and wants to be part of the crowd. He’s trying to do more with his life, but when Miki (Christina Higa) arrives, that one step forward (he’s crushing hard on her) ends up being two steps back as things go terribly wrong for them.

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About The House of the Lost on the Cape, Japanese Folklore and More in this Home Video Review

The House of the Lost on the Cape is not an impressive film title, but it gets to the point.

The House of the Lost on the CapeEleven Arts and Shout! Factory
Available to purchase on Amazon USA

The animated adaptation of Sachiko Kashiwaba’s novel The House of the Lost on the Cape is sweet. Not only does it carefully touch upon recent events in a thoughtful manner, but also brings folklore to life, by revealing what its relationship is to the environment. The themes explored isn’t too different from what Studio Ghibli’s Pon Poko paraded in a town facing ecological devestation. Instead, the harmony is more reminescent from My Neighbour Totoro, and that’s why I took notice.

In this film’s case, the opening act recalls the devestation from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The people who chose to stay in the Kitsunezaki region are just doing what they can to go on. But from the terror comes a chance for Yui (Mana Ashida) to leave home. She wasn’t happy because of constant family squabbles, and what we learn about this past is not always neatly explained. Sometime afterwards in her wanderings, she befriends another child, Hiyori (Sari Awano)–who lost her parents–and what they discover may well be a chance to learn how to live life to its fullest.

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