Steve Pond's Blog, page 181

Jacob Elordi Canceled an Acting Hiatus When Emerald Fennell Asked Him to Be in ‘Wuthering Heights’

Jacob Elordi was planning on taking a break from acting — that is until “Saltburn” director Emerald Fennell asked him to play brooding hero Heathcliff in her upcoming adaptation of “Wuthering Heights.”

“I was really lucky. I was going to take a break for a while, and then Emerald just very simply texted me, and you can’t run from that text,” he told IndieWire in an interview published on Friday.

Elordi also praised co-star Margot Robbie’s performance in the literary production. “She’s incredible in the film, she’s a live wire. I’m so, so excited for people to see it. She’s a beautiful actor and she gave so, so much.”

The Australian actor, who’s current in production on the long awaited Season 3 of “Euphoria,” previously worked with Fennell on 2023’s “Saltburn.”

He recently wrapped on “Guillermo del Toro’s re-imagining of “Frankenstein,” which will be out in November.

“I think I’ve seen every creature film ever made. Strangely enough, Guillermo gave me a baby book — a baby development book — at the start of filming,” said the actor. He’ll play the title monster, who’s put together from corpses assembled by Dr. Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac). Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth and Ralph Ineson co-star in the horror remake.

His latest project, the Australian World War II series, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” premiered on Prime Video on Friday. It’s based on the novel by Richard Flanagan.

Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” will be released theatrically released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on February 13, 2026.

The post Jacob Elordi Canceled an Acting Hiatus When Emerald Fennell Asked Him to Be in ‘Wuthering Heights’ appeared first on TheWrap.

Where to Watch ‘The Ugly Stepsister’: Is the Cinderella Body Horror Movie Streaming?

Who doesn’t love a new twist on an old tale? Well, if you’ve got a soft stomach, prepare yourself for “The Ugly Stepsister,” a twisted tale indeed, that reimagines the Cinderella story as a body-horror costume drama. From filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt, the film follows Elvira (Lea Myren), a young woman determined to make herself beautiful enough to win the prince’s hand, no matter the bloody, bone-crunching cost, after the death of her step-father’s sudden death puts her family’s life of luxury at risk. There’s just one problem: she has to compete with her gorgeous stepsister, Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss, the Cinderella figure of this reimagining).

Revisionist fairy tales are a proud tradition and always an exciting opportunity to examine the old yarns that have become touchpoints in our social constructs, and “The Ugly Stepsister” promises to take a scalpel to beauty standards in its cheeky re-telling. The film is finally available for audiences to watch after scooping up festival acclaim, from its Sundance debut to taking home the Audience Award at the Overlook Film Festival earlier this month.

If you’re reading for a gruesome journey into what it takes to be the belle of the ball, here’s how you can watch “The Ugly Stepsister” right now and where to expect it on streaming.

When does “The Ugly Stepsiter” come out?

The film arrives in theaters on Friday, April 18.

Is “The Ugly Stepsister” playing in theaters near me?

There’s a good chance it is! “The Ugly Stepsister” is rolling out into 501 theaters nationwide. To see if it’s playing near you, check out the showtimes in the links below.

FandangoAtom TicketsMovieTickets.comIs “The Ugly Stepsister” streaming?

Not yet, but it definitely will be! “The Ugly Stepsister” is a Shudder and IFC Films release, so when the time comes you’ll be able to watch it streaming on Shudder or via the AMC+ bundle.

IFC Films also has a streaming deal with Hulu (In fact, three 2024 Shudder highlights — “Oddity,” “Azrael” and “In a Violent Nature — are hitting the service this month), so there’sa good chance you’ll be able to catch it there down the line, but you’ll have to wait quite a while.

Watch the trailer

The post Where to Watch ‘The Ugly Stepsister’: Is the Cinderella Body Horror Movie Streaming? appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Sinners’ Post-Credits Scenes Explained: There’s Much More

“Sinners” is a lot of movie.

It’s a period crime movie, of sorts, following the exploits of twins (played by Michael B. Jordan), who return from bootlegging with Al Capone to their small Mississippi town, determined to create something of their own. It’s also, chiefly, a horror movie, about a group of vampires who are looking for trouble. And, thanks to the thoughtfulness of writer/director Ryan Coogler, it’s a movie about community and how the safe spaces we create are still vulnerable to outside forces – supernatural and otherwise.

In fact, “Sinners” is so much of a movie that it spills past the credits, with a pair of scenes after the movie is over.

These sequences are fascinating expansions of the main narrative and are very much worth discussing. But before we do, we have to issue a very stern spoiler warning. If you haven’t seen the movie, turn back, the article will still be here when you return.

What’s the mid-credits scene all about?

As the movie proper ends, we flash forward to 1992, and see an elderly Sammie (now played by legendary blues guitarist Buddy Guy), playing in a blues club. It’s just for a moment, before the credits start to roll – and we see Guy perform over said credits. We fade to black and then back up. Sammie is at the bar of the club (which, if you didn’t catch it, is named Pearline’s, after  his long-lost love) when a bouncer comes in – he says that a fan has offered him a couple hundred dollars for a sit-down with the guitarist. Sammie waves them in. And a couple of familiar faces waltz in.

Who is it?

Stack (Jordan), the surviving twin, and Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), his girlfriend, both the same age that they were in 1932, when the bulk of the story takes place. He’s wearing an era-appropriate Cosby sweater and she has her high-rise denim on. They look amazing. Sammie is, appropriately, shocked and scared.

What happens then?

Stack tells Sammie that his brother just didn’t have the heart to kill him. He made Stack promise that he’d stay away from Sammie. And he kept that promise. Until now. Stack tells Sammie that he and Mary have all of Sammie’s records and that he knows he’ll be dead soon. He offers to turn him into a vampire, which Sammie declines. Sammie tells him that he often wakes up in a cold sweat, transported back to that blood-splattered night. And as Stack and Mary are leaving, he tells him that until the vampires showed up, it was the happiest day of his life.

Stack said it was for him too. “It was the last time I saw my brother,” Stack says, wistfully. “It was the last time I saw the sun. It was the only time I ever felt free.”

As he’s saying this, we get glimpses of the people and the place that made it so special. If you hadn’t already been choking back tears, well, now is as good a time as any. As they are about to leave, Mary looks back and says, “Goodbye little Sammie.”

Back to credits.

But it’s not over yet!

No, it’s not.

What about the post-credits scene? The post-credits scene has young Sammie, back in the church, playing on the guitar that the twins gave him. He’s singing “This Little Light of Mine.” When he gets done with the song he looks up. This look could actually be interpreted a number of ways; we’ve seen that Sammie is such a gifted singer and guitar player that his music can open up a space between time and space. Is he looking at someone he’s conjured?

The post ‘Sinners’ Post-Credits Scenes Explained: There’s Much More appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Sneaks’ Review: Anthony Mackie and Martin Lawrence Are Shoes – Yes, Really

The animated anthropomorphic shoe movie “Sneaks” reminds me a lot of Werner Herzog, and not just because one time he ate a freakin’ shoe.

The director of “Fitzcarraldo” and “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” also claimed that humanity was “starving for new images,” a challenge many filmmakers have taken to heart. I cannot say with absolute certainty that Herzog will think highly of a film in which a phalanx of living footwear marches through Central Park in the middle of the night as giant murder rats dart at them from the shadows, slaughtering each shoe one by one. But I’m pretty sure he’d have to concede that yes, this really is a new image. Well played, “Sneaks.”

“Sneaks” is the latest in a long line of films that wonder whether the little things we take for granted in life have feelings. “The Brave Little Toaster” argued that we should feel bad for every outdated piece of technology we left behind or threw away when we moved. The “Toy Story” movies said the same thing about toys. “Food Fight!” tried, unconvincingly, to convince us that every food mascot is living out the plot of “Casablanca” in our grocery stores every night. So heck, why not shoes?

Anthony Mackie and Chloe Bailey star as Ty and Maxine, a pair of extremely fancy sneakers called “Alchemy 24s.” Maxine dreams of being a shoe, by which I mean to say she wants to be worn by a human being who actually needs shoes. Ty dreams of being placed on a literal pedestal by a shoe collector. A metaphor for the inner conflict within us all, I suppose. Who doesn’t wonder if their purpose in life is to be worshipped or to smell like feet?

These expensive Alchemy 24s get raffled off at a shoe convention, and although the mysterious Collector (Laurence Fishburne) bought so many tickets the game was practically rigged, a teenager named Edson (Swae Lee) wins them anyway. The Collector attempts to buy them off of Edson, and offers preposterous recompense like the naming rights to a major stadium of Edson’s choice, but Edson only wants the shoes. So The Collector steals them. Maxine tries to jump off The Collector’s speeding motorcycle but Ty gets thrown away instead.

While Maxine tries to escape The Collector’s impenetrable shoe fortress, Ty embarks on an epic quest throughout New York City. His guide is an Artful Dodger-type shoe named J.B. (Martin Lawrence), who says he’ll help Ty find Maxine but really just wants the gems encrusted in Ty’s shoe … stuff. It’s hard to figure out exactly how to describe anthropomorphic shoes sometimes. Even the obvious visual metaphors get muddled in “Sneaks,” since these shoes have tongues that sticks out of the front toe, and we all know that’s not where the tongue actually is on a shoe.

As a concept, “Sneaks” sounds like a fake trailer for a Pixar knockoff. The premise is so thin it’s practically invisible, the rules of this universe are impenetrable, and the underlying allegory is confusing at best. If our shoes are also people, what does that mean? No seriously, what does that mean? “Sneaks” has some thoughts about collector’s culture, and comes down firmly on the side of actually opening all the products you own and using them, instead of letting them stagnate untouched on a shelf for all eternity. Kudos for that, I suppose. Unless you own the original “Rocket Firing Boba Fett” action figure, in which case maybe leave it in the package and get thee to a Sotheby’s.

“Sneaks” also opens a big ol’ can of worms in the pun department. I’m particularly fond of the Greek chorus of shoes hanging from a power line, who can no longer offer arch support, and instead provide much-needed “narrative support.” Wokka-wokka. “Sneaks don’t talk around here, we converse” deserves a small round of applause. At some point the writers just give up and start listing shoe-centric William Shakespeare parodies like “The Taming of the Shoe,” “The Twelfth Nike” and “Much Adidas About Nothing,” and honestly, who can blame them?

It would be easy to write off “Sneaks” as a hack job, a sole-less riff on a tired premise, but there’s more afoot here. The script may be odd and confusing — and the existence and true identity of the unnecessarily intimidating Doctor Octopus-like supervillain The Forger (Roddy Ricch) is a total mystery — but screenplays aren’t everything. Motion pictures are a living medium, swirling images on a giant silver screen, or at least on an adequate digital one.

“Sneaks” isn’t a great story but it’s visually alive. Directors Rob Edwards and Christopher Jenkins imagine a New York City with all the odd angles and exaggerated caricatures of an PlayStation 2 video game, and that’s a good thing. There are fluid and thrilling motions and dynamic character designs. You didn’t have to go this hard, makers of “Sneaks,” but in so doing you effectively saved your film.

I suspect that “Sneaks” is in no real danger of becoming a classic. I also suspect that there will be those who watch this inscrutable kids flick and appreciate the unexpected amount of effort that went into telling a story this unconvincing. You can pick up on the film’s unlikely energy right off the bat, and that energy never fades for long before it gets pumped back up again. It’s surprising that a film with such a half-hearted premise would turn out mostly OK. And yes, “mostly OK” isn’t a gigantic compliment, but if the shoe fits … wear it.

The post ‘Sneaks’ Review: Anthony Mackie and Martin Lawrence Are Shoes – Yes, Really appeared first on TheWrap.

Here Are All the Songs in Netflix’s ‘Ransom Canyon’

Any good Western needs a good playlist, if only just for the line dances. Well, don’t worry, “Ransom Canyon” definitely has one.

Now streaming on Netflix, the series centers on the residents of a small town called Ransom Canyon, as they face a corporate takeover of their land that divides the ranching families who have controlled the town for decades. Meanwhile, secrets swirl and romances flare, as they all try to figure it out.

Naturally, there are songs backing the poignant moments too, and a lot you may recognize. So, we rounded them all up.

You can find an episodic breakdown of the playlist below.

Episode 1“I Got You (feat. Josh Johnson)” by Brophy“Greatest of All Time” by Gavin DeGraw “Holy Cowbell” by The Blue Devils “Espresso” by Ryan Oakes “Radio” by Graffiti Royale “Color You In” by Yam Haus “Bad Blood” Tumbleweed Wanderers “The Road Back To You” by Ethan Okamura “Hold Me Steady (Alt Version)” by Valerie Broussard and Ronen Episode 2“Only Wanna Be with You” by Hootie & the Blowfish“Who Are You” by Mehro Episode 3“Texas Sun” by Khruangbin & Leon Bridges “Feels Good” by O.N.E The Duo “Second One To Know” by Chris Stapleton “Wildfire” by Savvy & Mandy “High Time” by Ethan Tucker “Dreams on Fire” by Livingmore “Spade” Charley Crockett “I Need Your Love” by Charley Crockett “Your Daddy Gave Me a Motorcycle” by Bombay Beach RevivalEpisode 4“One Million Dollars” by King Green “Orange” by Delilah Montagu “Hola” Sir Augie “Fox Hunt” by Sierra Ferrell “We Made It” by Cedric Burnside “Here We Go” by Josh Logan “Devil in My Ear” by The Red Clay Strays “Cold Revenge (feat. Ty Taylor)” by Wayne Murray & Andrew Britton Episode 5“All the Ways (feat. Ray Lamontagne)” by The Secret Sisters “Bleach Blonde Bottle Blues” by Larkin Poe “Bad Bad Man” by Kari Kimmel “I’m Back” by Sherilyn “Rodeo” by Black River Delta “Keep Burning (Epic Remix)” by Grand Am“Always Been You” Katie Hargrove“Home” by Aron Wright “Show Me What You Got” by Beacon Light x Club Danger “With Fire” by Katie Sevigny Episode 6“Betting It All On You” by Brother Thunder “Queen of Spades” by Lew Apollo “Teardrop” by José González Episode 7“Satisfies My Soul” by Gin Soaked Boy “Big House” by Little Fevers “Black Cat Smile” by Nicholas Joseph Nolan “Tonight, Tonight” by Smashing Pumpkins Episode 8“Hard Times” by Brother Thunder “Got My Eye on You” by The Regulators “West of Lonesome” by Charles Wesley Godwin “Boomerang” by EJ Sarà “Wild World” by Anna Schulze “Stay” by Cat Power Episode 9“Lean In” by Patrick Martin “Let Me Take You” by Tony Lucca “Pay One Devil (To Save Me From Another)” by Elijah Honey “Big Red Love” by Nat Osborn Band “Thinking About You” by Beck “Crawl Back In” by Half Moon Run “When the Beat Drops” by Ariana and the Rose “Tom-Tom” by Amanda Stone “Into Dust” by Mazzy Star Episode 10“Faith in Me” by Katie Garfield “Remember Me” by The Hanseroth Twins “Fancy Like” by Walker Hayes“The Kinda Woman I Like” by Zach Top “White Trash Weekend” by Jason Bertrand “Wood for the Trees” by Moontricks “Fall In” by Humbear

“Ransom Canyon” is now streaming on Netflix.

The post Here Are All the Songs in Netflix’s ‘Ransom Canyon’ appeared first on TheWrap.

The Best Vampire Movies of All Time

The vampire subgenre has been at the forefront of horror for over 100 years, and the myths of undead creatures living off of human blood go back countless years further. The best vampire movies ever made are, mostly, incredibly varied. There’s a whole lot of great “Dracula” movies out there, sure, but also art-house nightmares, mainstream action movies, silly comedies, Neo-westerns, heartwarming romances and more. And if you ask us, these are the very, very best.

(Film Arts Guild)“Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” (1922)

F.W. Murnau’s eerie silent classic is 100 years old, and it still has the power to shock and horrify. Telling an extremely plagiarized version of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” – Stoker’s estate successfully sued, and nearly had every single copy of “Nosferatu” destroyed – the film stars Max Schreck as the verminous Count Orlok, who moves from his haunted castle to Germany, and brings a supernatural plague along with him. Almost every vampire film that followed lives in “Nosferatu’s” shadow. And the two remakes, by Werner Herzog (1979) and Robert Eggers (2024), are both worthy, eerie updates that capture the essence of the original while adding intriguing new spins on the story and its themes.

(Universal Pictures)“Dracula” and “Drácula” (1931)

Tod Browning’s official adaptation of “Dracula” stars Bela Lugosi in one of the most iconic performances in cinema history, lithe and alluring and predatory, with a sensual voice that lures young women to their willing deaths. The rest of Browning’s movie is a little stodgy, but George Melford’s Spanish-language version – filmed on the same sets, after Browning’s crew went home – flows elegantly. Carlos Villarías’s Dracula doesn’t have the same magnetism as Bela Lugosi’s. If he did, Melford’s “Drácula” would surely be considered the superior version.

“Vampyr” (1932)

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s dreamy vampire classic tells the story of sensitive young Allan Gray (Nicolas De Gunzburg), whose academic obsession with the occult leads him astray in a far-off village, with evil around every corner. “Vampyr” has masterfully languid pacing that lulls its audience into an impressionable state, just like the film’s protagonist, where the bizarre imagery can have the maximum impact. The film’s centerpiece – a funeral procession from the point of view of the corpse – is as morbidly fascinating as cinema gets.

Christopher Lee in “Horror of Dracula” (Hammer Films)“Horror of Dracula” (1958)

Christopher Lee makes his debut as Count Dracula, and the character would never be the same. The actor’s towering frame and confrontational sexuality give Terence Fisher’s “Horror of Dracula” a larger-than-life quality perhaps more akin to modern comic book movies than old-fashioned horror films. It only makes sense that “Horror of Dracula” spawned a sprawling franchise where Lee fought his arch-nemesis Dr. Van Helsing, played by the equally unforgettable Peter Cushing, multiple times, and always found a way to come back from the dead.

(American International Pictures)“The Vampire Lovers” (1970)

The jewel of Hammer Horror’s vampiric output is, still, one of the most sensuously queer horror movies ever produced. Based on Sheridan le Fans’s classic novel “Carmilla,” Ingrid Pitt stars as an impossibly beautiful vampire, forever inhabiting the body of a young lady, who ingratiates herself with innocent virgins and seduces them to their deaths. Naturally, the menfolk will have none of this. “The Vampire Lovers” was the first film in Hammer’s loosely connected “Karnstein Trilogy,” and easily the best.

“Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter” (1974)

You’d be forgiven for not knowing much about “Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter,” the last great vampire movie from Hammer, and an early precursor to action-packed supernatural horror classics like “Vampire Hunter D” and “Blade.” Horst Jansen (dubbed by Julian Holloway) stars as the title superhero, a dashing British soldier wielding a samurai sword, who hunts vampires for a living. In this sexy swashbuckling adventure he runs afoul of a rare breed of nosferatu which devours its victims youth, not their blood, culminating in a spectacular duel with famous fight choreographer William Hobbs (“The Three Musketeers”). “Captain Kronos” should have launched a legendary franchise, but instead it fell quickly into obscurity, even though – to use high-falutin film critics jargon – it totally frickin’ rules.

(Libra Films)“Martin” (1978)

George A. Romero’s rarely-discussed vampire thriller doesn’t actually have a vampire in it. Or then again, maybe it does. All that really matters is that Martin Matthias (John Amplas) thinks he’s a vampire, and if he has to resort to using narcotics instead of hypnotism, and razor blades instead of pointy teeth, so be it. Refreshingly modern and thematically complex, “Martin” is the “Night of the Living Dead” filmmaker’s unsung masterpiece, a vampire story for people who don’t believe in vampires but do believe in tragic, deadly obsession.

(Universal Pictures)“Dracula” (1979)

John Badham’s sumptuous adaptation of “Dracula” is one of the finest, set amidst gloriously gothic architecture and boasting an otherworldly and ferociously sexy lead performance by Frank Langella, who wages battle against Laurence Olivier’s stalwart Van Helsing. This version of “Dracula” makes some odd and arbitrary changes to the original story, but the legendary vampire’s tale never felt more genuinely romantic than this.

(MGM)“The Hunger” (1983)

Smoky and lurid, Tony Scott’s entrancing vampire tale stars Susan Sarandon as a doctor who gets swept up in a love triangle with two seductive vampires, played by Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie. The tragic twist in “The Hunger” is that vampires can’t stop themselves from aging forever, and Deneuve’s attic is full of mummified but still terrifyingly conscious former lovers. A film obsessed with beauty and the ethereal, “The Hunger” put the future “Top Gun” and “True Romance” director on the map.

“Fright Night” (20th Century Fox)“Fright Night” (1985)

A fiendishly clever rendition of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” with a supernatural twist: Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) doesn’t just think his hunky new neighbor Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon) is a killer… he’s pretty sure Jerry’s a vampire! When nobody else will listen to him, Charley turns to a washed-up horror actor, Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell), who gradually begins to believe his seemingly delirious young fan is onto something. Tom Holland (no, not that one, the other one) directed one of the first great meta-humor horror movies, with terrors and gags that really bite. (The remake is pretty good too.)

(Toho)“Vampire Hunter D” (1985)

Toyoo Ashida’s influential anime masterwork “Vampire Hunter D” takes place over 10,000 years in the future, after the planet has been ruined by nuclear fallout, and supernatural creatures have reclaimed the land. In a plot right out of “Shane,” a young woman is bitten by a powerful vampire and hires a mysterious hunter named D to kill her tormentor and prevent her from turning into a monster. Excitingly produced in every way, with surreal story elements, gruesome monsters and weird sensuality. (Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s 2000 sequel, “Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust” is also slick and satisfying, but the original still has the real power.)

“The Lost Boys” (Warner Bros.)“The Lost Boys” (1987)

Joel Schumacher’s riff on juvenile delinquent movies turns all those bad biker kids (allegedly) trying to corrupt your teens with drugs and alcohol into studly murder vampires, and the metaphor works great. Jason Patric gets all the tragic downfall drama, while Corey Haim, Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander play the young kids who try to save the day using everything they learned about vampires from comic books. Stylish and funny, with an all-timer soundtrack and wicked monster effects. “The Lost Boys” is one of the cult phenomenons from the 1980s that still plays great, if more than a little retro, today.

(De Laurentiis Entertainment Group)“Near Dark” (1987)

Famously overshadowed by “The Lost Boys,” which came out only a few months earlier, Kathryn Bigelow’s vampire neo-western stars Adrian Pasdar as a hapless lovelorn cowboy who falls in with the wrong crowd, a gang of bloodsuckers who’ve been wreaking havoc in the American west since the Civil War (at least). Bill Paxton and Joshua John Miller steal the film as Severen, a homicidal maniac with fangs, and Homer, an old man torturously trapped inside a little kid’s body. Smart, vicious horror filmmaking at its finest.

Nicolas Cage in “Vampire’s Kiss” (MGM)“Vampire’s Kiss” (1989)

In case you were wondering, yes, this is the movie where Nicolas Cage actually ate a live cockroach. “Vampire’s Kiss” stars the Oscar-winner as a yuppie literary agent who’s losing his grasp on reality and becomes convinced that he’s turning into a vampire, wearing sunglasses wherever he goes, walking around with plastic novelty fangs, and eventually resorting to violence. But perhaps the most horrifying part of “Vampire’s Kiss” is the way Cage’s character psychologically tortures his assistant, played by Maria Conchita Alonso, in a surreal twist on despicable 1980s workplace dynamics. The whole film is bizarre and wicked, and Cage’s performance may very well be his greatest. Ever.

(Columbia Pictures)“Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992)

Francis Ford Coppola pulled out all the stops for his spectacular “Dracula” adaptation, which ambitiously transforms Stoker’s classic novel into a big-budget Hollywood phantasmagoria. Gary Oldman smolders as the title monster, the rest of the cast is an all-star cavalcade that includes Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Richard E. Grant and even Tom Waits. “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” tries, and arguably succeeds, at being the sexiest version of this story so far. It’s certainly the most elaborate and outlandish.

October Films“Cronos” (1993)

Guillermo Del Toro’s first feature film is an eerie low-budget fairy tale about a kindly antique dealer, played by the marvelous Federico Luppi, who accidentally unlocks a mysterious golden scarab that transforms him into a creature of the night. A dying millionaire wants the scarab, but the plot isn’t nearly as important or as poignant as watching Luppi, fully aware that he’s turning into a monster, desperately trying to do right by his granddaughter while he still can. To this day “Cronos” is one of Del Toro’s most heartfelt and beautiful works, and that’s saying something.

(Warner Bros.)“Interview with the Vampire” (1994)

Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s best-selling vampire tome takes the vampire’s side for a change, portraying the creatures most films demonized as tragically romantic figures capable of meaningful family relationships, and unexpected depths. Neil Jordan’s adaptation drops Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in sets straight out of a pulpy romance novel, generous ladles on the queer subtext, and introduces Kirsten Dunst as a vampire struggling to come to terms with the fact that she’s trapped in the body of a young girl for eternity. A handsome and sometimes playful melodrama, “Interview with the Vampire” is the old-fashioned Hollywood epic about bloodsuckers that we never knew we always wanted.

(October Films)“The Addiction” (1995)

Lili Taylor plays a young philosophy student who is attacked by a vampire, but her transformation isn’t purely physical. The descent into vampirism challenges every facet of her belief system, her identity, her self-control, and forms a powerful and mean-spirited metaphor for intellectually coming of age. Nobody ever knew how to film the streets of New York City better than Abel Ferrara, who gives this black-and-white horror story an unmistakable air of authenticity, and Lili Taylor and – in a brief but fantastic role – Christopher Walken give incredible performances.

(New Line Cinema)“Blade” (1998)

Wesley Snipes plays a badass vampire hunter who, ironically enough, is himself half vampire. That’s the premise of “Blade,” the Marvel superhero movie that was such an unexpected success that it’s credited with jumpstarting the modern superhero craze, which has been breaking box office records for over two decades. And it’s easy to see why: Stephen Norrington’s action-packed adaptation is full of memorable set pieces, larger than life villains, and ahead of its time gimmicks. (If you loved it when “The Matrix” did Bullet Time, you may be surprised to learn that “Blade” did it almost a year earlier.) And then of course there’s Snipes, who wisely plays the hero with a whole lot of machismo, and just a hint of camp.

“Shadow of the Vampire” (2000)

The legend of “Nosferatu,” not just the title creature but also the film itself, inspired this modern meta-horror classic from director E. Elias Merhige (“Begotten”). John Malkovich stars as German expressionist filmmaker F.W. Murnau, who enlists an actual, monstrous vampire to star in his latest production. Willem Dafoe earned an Oscar-nomination for playing Count Orlock, whose tragic, alien nature makes him an immediate cinematic icon whose co-stars confuse him for an ahead of his time, method performer. As the cast and crew members die off one-by-one, the morally-compromised Murnau has to figure out a way to finish his movie and deal with this creature of the night once and for all. Fantastic historical horror fiction, and an extra special treat for anyone who loves movies about movies.

(Magnet Films)“Let the Right One In” (2008)

Tomas Alfredson’s insidious and disturbing vampire drama tells the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy named Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), who finally makes a friend out of his mysterious young named Eli (Lina Leandersson). But she only comes out at night, and she’s got a very disturbing relationship with an older man, and before you know it, Oskar is closer to evil than anyone ever should be. “Let the Right One In” is a film about loneliness and manipulation, and it’s a chiller if ever there was one. (Matt Reeves’s 2010 American remake, “Let Me In,” tackles the same story a little differently, and it’s excellent too.)

(Anchor Bay Films)“Vamps” (2012)

Amy Heckerling reteamed with her “Clueless” co-stars Alicia Silverstone and Wallace Shawn for one of the best vampire comedies ever filmed. “Vamps” was barely released, but it’s the endlessly endearing story of two young vampires, played by Silverstone and Krysten Ritter, who struggle to help their ancient brethren adapt to the rapidly changing world of the 21st century. Meanwhile, Ritter falls in love with a hunky young man played by Dan Stevens, who just happens to be the son of Van Helsing (Shawn). A sparkling screenplay and an impeccable cast make “Vamps” one of the better underseen vampire films around.

“A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night” (Kino Lorber)“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” (2014)

On the streets of a nearly empty Iranian town called Bad City, a vampire stalks the streets at night… when she’s not listening to awesome records in her hip apartment. Ana Lily Amirpour’s first feature is a stark but unexpectedly inviting vampire drama about a creature of the night who accidentally falls in love with a hapless young man, just because he seems nice. At turns terrifying, eccentric and sweet, “A Girl Walks Home at Night” is an exquisitely odd concoction.

(Unison/Paladin)“What We Do in the Shadows” (2014)

Before the hit TV series, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi co-directed and co-starred in the original charming vamp-com, about a group of dorky bloodsuckers who can’t quite figure out how modern society works. Incredibly well thought out and impeccably timed, with a large cast of lovable characters, including quirky vampires, dweeby werewolves and their oddball victims. It’s not just a great vampire movie, it’s also one of the best mockumentaries around.

(Netflix)“Vampires vs. The Bronx” (2020)

A group of nerdy kids in the Bronx is already worried about gentrification ruining their neighborhood, but it turns out that gentrification is literally a scheme designed by vampires, who devour whole lower-income neighborhoods while nobody is looking. Emmy-winning TV director and Oz Rodriguez fills the film with an absolutely delightful ensemble of young characters, a group to rival the Goonies or those Lost Boys everyone always talks about. And the clever screenplay keeps the surprises, the scares, and the subtext alive. It’s not quite a cult classic… yet… but just give it time.

From left to right: Melissa Berrara and Alisha Weir in Universal Pictures’ “Abigail” (Universal)“Abigail” (2024)

Holy moly, what a cast: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand and Giancarlo Esposito kidnap the daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur, only to discover that they’ve run afoul of a brutally violent vampire. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (“Ready or Not”) combine the crime, vampire and slasher genres for a thrilling, whimsical, and shockingly violent film with memorable characters and gruesome gags. “Abigail” doesn’t have anything special to say about vampires, it just has more fun with them than the vast majority of horror movies. The trailers gave away the biggest twists, and that’s a crime, but the movie shouldn’t be punished for the marketing department’s failures.

Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)“Sinners” (2025)

Ryan Coogler’s sprawling, epic, powerful “Sinners” defies easy categorization. It’s a gangster picture. It’s a blues musical. It’s an old-fashioned parable. It’s a complex allegory for Black artists struggling to hang onto their culture and individuality. It’s a completely badass vampire siege picture. Michael B. Jordan stars as identical twins whose plan to start their own blues joint draws the attention of a vampire horde, which sounds simple enough, but there’s nothing simple about “Sinners.” It’s as ambitious as vampire movies get, and while it’s undeniably indulgent, it’s still powerful, challenging, and exciting filmmaking on every level.

The post The Best Vampire Movies of All Time appeared first on TheWrap.

Jimmy Kimmel Says It’s Weird How ‘Anti-DEI’ Trump Has ‘the Same Taste as Liberace’ After White House Gold Makeover | Video

Jimmy Kimmel was taken somewhat aback by Donald Trump’s garish makeover of the White House during his monologue on Thursday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” But it also left him perplexed.

Considering how “anti-DEI” Trump is, “ou wouldn’t think he’d have the same taste as Liberace. But he does,” Kimmel joked.

“President Trump has been doing an Extreme Makeover of the White House. Everything’s gold now,” Kimmel explained as a photo of the White House — which, yes, has been redecorated just as the ABC host described — appeared onscreen. “Look at this room. It’s all gold.”

“The press secretary called it, ‘The Golden Office for the Golden Age,’ which is quite a spin. And for such an anti-DEI kind of guy, you wouldn’t think he’d have the same taste as Liberace? But he does,” Kimmel continued. “He’s reportedly been redecorating with help from his, quote, ‘gold guy.’ Which, I don’t know what kind of a person has a ‘gold guy.’ I don’t know who, maybe we elected Adam Sandler from ‘Uncut Gems?'”

If you’re not sure who Liberace was, he was a brilliant, extremely flamboyant pianist, known for his extremely extravagant fashion sense and lifestyle, and as a gay icon. Here’s a great example.

Kimmel explained just who said “gold guy” is, noting that the guy, a south Florida cabinet maker who has also worked on other projects. “He’s the one who child-proofed the outlets at Mar-a-Lago when Eric wouldn’t stop sticking forks into them,” Kimmel joked.

After a bit where Kimmel jokingly speculated on various other projects the guy could be involved with, he asked, “You think, this is a good question, you think Donald Trump understands that the story of King Midas is a cautionary tale?”

“He’s like, ‘Everything turned into gold? This sounds fantastic!’ ‘Well, no but then he touched his wife and kids, and they turned into gold also.’ He’s like, ‘even better!'”

You can watch the full monologue below:

The post Jimmy Kimmel Says It’s Weird How ‘Anti-DEI’ Trump Has ‘the Same Taste as Liberace’ After White House Gold Makeover | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Stephen Colbert Is Delighted Easter Falls on 4/20 This Year: ‘He Is Risen and You Is High’ | Video

Well known observant Catholic Stephen Colbert will be celebrating Easter this year as he always does, and on Thursday’s “The Late Show,” he was positively delighted that the holiday falls on 4/20 this year.

“I’d like to begin by wishing you all a Happy Easter, because this year, especially this year, Easter is on 420,” Colbert said at the top of his monologue. “This Sunday, He is risen, and you is high.”

Just to remind people who might not know, 4/20 is pop culture slang for smoking weed and as such April 20th is an unofficial holiday for people who enjoy cannabis. And, back to Colbert.

“So how did these two sacred holidays fall on the same day? Well, the long answer is, Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the vernal equinox,” Colbert continued, grinning. “You can remember it with this simple rhyme, full moon before Equinox, don’t move Jesus’s rocks. Equinox before moon, he will rise soon.”

“Thank you. And also with you,” the host punned when the audience applauded the joke.

“Easter on 420 seemed like a natural pairing, because whoever came up with our Easter traditions was definitely stoned,” Colbert added, at which point he adopted a fake stoner accent. “Okay, okay, listen how we’re gonna celebrate Jesus being alive again. You know Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. And then there’s gonna be a rabbit and he is, okay, he wears a bow tie. I don’t know why he’s got a bow tie. And he lays eggs, and they’re not normal eggs, not they’re not they’re not the normal eggs. They’re not the normal eggs you expect to come out of a rabbit. They’re like all kinds of colors, and they’re filled with chocolate. Also, everything is candied, even the ham.”

“Today that was my character, ‘stoned guy,'” Colbert deadpanned.

Colbert also commented on a wide range of current events topics, including Donald Trump’s meeting with the Italian Prime Minister, and all the needless government budget cuts. And as we said, you can watch the whole thing above.

The post Stephen Colbert Is Delighted Easter Falls on 4/20 This Year: ‘He Is Risen and You Is High’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Emilio Estevez Says He Wrote a ‘Mighty Ducks 4’ Script to Make Up for TV Show’s ‘Disasters’ – but Disney Iced It Out | Video

Emilio Estevez famously wasn’t a fan of how “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” turned out. The actor left the Disney+ show, which continued the story of “The Mighty Ducks” film series, after the first season. But it turns out he wasn’t finished with franchise itself.

During a recent appearance on Josh Horowitz’s podcast, Estevez revealed that he went so far as to write a script for “The Mighty Ducks 4” to “make up for all of the disasters” of the TV series. But alas, Disney iced him out.

“I also wrote ‘Mighty Ducks 4,’ because I wanted to make up for all of the disasters that happened on the ‘Game Changers’ series,” Estevez said, explained that the feature “had coach Bombay coming back, being pulled back in by by Joshua Jackson’s character and Kenan Thompson’s character, to coach a new team, an expansion team for the professional women’s hockey league.”

Confirming it would be an all girl team, Estevez said his pitch would pick up with his character Gordon Bombay coaching a roller derby team and when recruited for the team, insisting on taking those girls with him.

“And it was charming and contemporary and cool and again, organically of the moment where we’re at,” he continued. “And Disney was like, we don’t want to pursue that.”

After Horowitz called the idea a “no brainer,” Estevez joked, “can you look at the camera and say that?”

Watch the clip below:

The post Emilio Estevez Says He Wrote a ‘Mighty Ducks 4’ Script to Make Up for TV Show’s ‘Disasters’ – but Disney Iced It Out | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ Star Christopher Meloni Scripted That Season 5 Opener: ‘I Think I Write the Benson/Stabler Dynamic Well’

This article contains spoilers Season 5 Episodes 1 and 2 of “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”

Christopher Meloni returned as Elliot Stabler in a two-part “Law & Order: Organized Crime” episode that he wrote himself, one that included a visit from his former “SVU” partner Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay).

“I wanted to write it, because I think I write the Benson/Stabler dynamic well,” the actor told TheWrap before Thursday night’s Season 5 premiere. “Maybe that’s hubris, but that’s how I feel,” he said with a grin.

The two characters, who were first introduced in 1999, have been dancing around each other in one of the longest “will they or won’t they” for would-be TV couples.

(Olivia Benson) Mariska Hargitay at Stabler’s (Christopher Meloni) bedside in Season 5 of “Law & Order: Organized Crime” (CREDIT: NBC)

The two-parter finds Stabler in the hospital with a concussion after trying to save a young girl from a sex trafficking ring. The set-up lets his family and loved ones, including Benson, pour their hearts out to him while he’s in a coma.

“It was a way to potentially skirt the same old, same old, which is when they get together: Will they? Won’t they?” said Meloni. “We’re separated by me being infirm, a little bit damaged and in a coma for a while, and her on the other side. So there is a barrier between us.”

Meloni included a cheeky nod to viewers who ship the former police partners: When he regains consciousness and wants to get back on the case, Benson reluctantly agrees to accompany him. He asks for a bit of privacy as he changes from his hospital gown to his street clothes, telling her, “Or you can just stand there and watch me get naked.”

“I’ll give you that one,” he conceded. “I wrote [that line] and was like, ‘Oh, that’s classic Stabler,’ but I also understood the other purpose it served.”

In one of the coma dream sequences in the episode, he’s following a uniformed policeman from another era. In another, Benson walks away from Stabler while he’s still in his hospital bed. When he comes to, he tells his mother he was dreaming about “things he’d lost.”

Now that the show has moved from NBC to Peacock+, Meloni said that streaming gives the series a little more leeway for more graphic language and violence. “Yes, all of the above,” he laughed about what’s now permitted on the show when asked if he can now drop the odd F-bomb. Stabler’s always been quick with his fists, but in the two-parter, he also swings a mean baseball bat on a suspected trafficker.

“I felt that everyone was trying to find their cinematic rhythm with what’s allowed,” said Meloni. “I wouldn’t say we’re reinventing the show, but it’s a slightly different animal.”

The actor also teased the rest of the season as “the evolution of Stabler.” He explained, “There’s a nice two- or three-parter that is very challenging for Stabler’s moral compass, like, how far is he willing to go in order to get what he needs or exact revenge?”

New episodes of “Law & Order: Organized Crime” premiere on Peacock+ on Thursdays.

The post ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ Star Christopher Meloni Scripted That Season 5 Opener: ‘I Think I Write the Benson/Stabler Dynamic Well’ appeared first on TheWrap.