‘Saw X’ is set between ‘Saw’ and ‘Saw II’ where John Kramer a.k.a. The Jigsaw Killer (Tobin Bell) travels to Mexico City in a desperate attempt to cure his cancer. But, upon learning that the experimental operation is a scam to target the vulnerable, he sets up a new gruesome game.
Not only is ‘Saw’ the highest earning horror film franchise ever, it’s also my favourite film franchise. After enjoying ‘Spiral: From The Book of Saw’, I was disappointed to learn that the latest entry wouldn’t follow this film and, instead, go backwards in the timeline with some returning cast members. But, despite my scepticism, the franchise always finds a way to pull me back in.
My main worry with ‘Saw X’ was whether there was actually a story to be told. And, while I still have the same concern, there are a few details that are worth noting that makes this entry stand out from the others.
The first one is, of course, the traps. And these ones look the most gruesome out of the entire franchise! The two notable ones being a trap involving tubes connected to someone’s eyes and another victim being strapped into a chair, where they’ll have to perform brain surgery on themselves! But they all carry a theme of imitating surgery and that’s because the victims here are the scam doctors that tricked John Kramer.
So, this also looks like it’ll be more of a personal story. Because of the concept, the victims involved here are personal to John Kramer so the film might be from his perspective, which is a first in the franchise. Plus, Shawnee Smith returns as apprentice Amanda Young! Due to ‘Saw X’ being set in between the first and second films, it’s assumed that this entry will finally focus on her journey into becoming Jigsaw’s apprentice.
While I am sceptical due to the entry’s place in the timeline, I am also a huge fan of the ‘Saw’ franchise, so I’m excited for it. It seems like a more personal story as the film might come from the perspective of John Kramer himself. The traps all look unique and gruesome, and this will see the return of Amanda Young. While I would’ve liked a sequel to ‘Spiral’, it looks like the latest entry is returning to its gritty, grimy roots that the franchise is known for.
Just like the never-ending list of remakes and sequels, origin stories of figures in pop culture are also never-ending. And the latest character to get this treatment is chocolate maker Willy Wonka, from ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.
‘Wonka’ stars Timothée Chalamet (Dune) as the titular character as he moves into a new town and creates his world-famous chocolate factory.
The original film never held any nostalgia, so I have no interest in the film personally. However, it does look appealing and a lot of fun. With this being a Christmas release, it looks to recapture the magic that the source material has, and I hope it does.
The cast and crew involved is also something to be excited about: Chalamat is a fantastic actor with a lot of acting range, so he’ll hopefully fit comfortably into the role as a young Willy Wonka. Plus, Hugh Grant (Paddington 2, About A Boy) will be playing an Oompa-Loompa, utilizing the same design as the original film! And with Paul King directing (Paddington, Paddington 2), it’s sure to be a hit.
While the source material isn’t something I have personal nostalgia with, I hope ‘Wonka’ does well. It looks to recapture the magic of the original film and has a great cast and crew behind it. It, overall, has a lot of the hallmarks of being a fantastic Christmas release.
Just in time for the cinematic release of ‘Insidious: The Red Door’, the first trailer for ‘The Nun II’ has been released.
‘The Nun II’ continues the story of ‘The Conjuring 2’ villain as she haunts a nun throughout her life.
Despite its cheap jumpscares and predictable plot, the 2018 film ‘The Nun’ became the highest grossing film in ‘The Conjuring’ film universe, grossing a worldwide earning of $365million from a $22million budget. And, in the film industry, a financially successful film inevitably means that a sequel will happen.
While this looks pretty similar to its predecessor in terms of its scares, themes and plot, I really hope this film is better written and include better scare sequences. It also has the potential to go more in depth with the villain’s backstory and how she came to be, as well as contain more scares than just cheap jumpscares.
While ‘The Nun II’ looks similar to its predecessor, I have hope that this entry is more than cheap scares and a predictable plot. I also hope this entry goes more in-depth with the Nun’s origins but only time will tell.
In 2017, Wan discussed the possibility of a Nun sequel and by 2019, Safran revealed that the film was in early development. Cooper was initially hired as the sole writer for the film, before Goldberg and Naing contributed as screenwriters to the final version of the script. Chaves, who had directed two previous films in The Conjuring Universe, The Curse of La Llorona (2019) and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It(2021), was announced to direct the film. Principal photography began in October 2022 in France.
The Nun II is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on September 8, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Despite being cancelled and revived then cancelled again, it seems that ‘Futurama’ will never go, because streaming service Hulu have announced a new revival of the beloved show.
‘Futurama’ was an animated show created by Matt Groening and follows the delivery boy Fry as he accidently cryogenically freezes himself, sending him to the year 3000. There, he meets a group of various interspecies characters and learns to live in the future.
Even though I watched ‘The Simpsons’ more, ‘Futurama’ was still a fantastic show that was always charming, funny and, at times, emotional. And, while the last revival was ok, I am looking forward to what new stories the show will tell. Just like ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Futurama’ also liked to comment on current news stories and bases its humour around that occasionally, and this series looks to be no exception.
References seen in the trailer include the movie adaptation of ‘Dune’, lockdowns and home testing (with a futuristic twist!) and COVID and what the other characters think of it. It echoes themes the ‘Animaniacs’ revival did, which also commented on celebrity and political news, but it works. These shows executed these themes really well, so I hope the upcoming series of ‘Futurama’ continues the good quality of writing.
I am once again looking forward to the 2023 revival of ‘Futurama’. As well as hoping for a good writing quality, the animation and even original voice cast are exactly the same; it’s as if the show never left our screens at all. It’s something that I am happy about and welcome with open arms.
‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’ Film Trailers: Easter Eggs and References
Nearly nine years after the release of the original ‘Five Nights At Freddys’ game, the live action film has finally released its teaser and full trailers, and it looks fantastic. Using both costumes and real animatronics, Blumhouse have done an incredible job at recreating the source material for the big screen.
But, within both trailers, there were a lot of easter eggs and references towards the franchise. And, being a huge fan, I was quick to spot them. So, I decided to compile a list of these very references and expand upon them, whether that be through theories that I have revolving around the film or just something specifically that Blumhouse did well.
‘Where Fantasy and Fun Come To Life’
The teaser trailer opened to a VHS style training video, introducing new security guards to their job at Freddy Fazbears Pizzeria, where the company’s motto is spoken: Where fantasy and fun come to life. While it’s only ever said in the first game, it’s a nice nod to the source material.
Welcome To Freddy Fazbear Pizza!
Fans then got a glimpse at the main restaurant and front of the building. Because the film is set in modern day, the restaurant that was once popular in the 80’s is now run down and overgrown with vines. But the inside is a time capsule; nothing’s been touched since then, so everything is undamaged but decorated with a layer of dust. The attention to detail both inside, and outside, of the pizzeria is incredible. Even though a lot of the game’s have a dark environment, certain patterns are consistent throughout: the black and white checkered borders that decorate the walls, the childrens’ drawings on the tables and walls. These have all been captured perfectly and, according to British Youtuber Dawko (who visited the set), the inside of the location was a working pizzeria, e.g.: the kitchen area was an actual working kitchen. Because it wasn’t just a film set, it adds so much to the restaurant’s authenticity; you’d feel like it had once been a working restaurant that’s been forgotten.
Hello Mike Schmidt
The name Mike Schmidt came from ‘Five Nights At Freddys 1’ and was used as an alias for the character you played as. But it is great to see this name actually being used for the film as the main character’s official name, with Josh Hutcherson taking this role. Even though I only know him from films of my childhood (Zathura, Bridge to Terebithia), I think he’ll be great. Just from the trailers, it looks like he fits comfortably into the role and I’m looking forward to seeing his performance.
Keep An Eye On The Monitors
With the exception of the latest game ‘Security Breach’, ‘Five Nights At Freddys 4’ ‘Sister Location’, the main concept of the franchise is the player is playing a night guard that has to check the restaurant’s security cameras to make sure the animatronic characters don’t get to the security office that you’re in.
While it’s featured only for a short amount of time in the trailers, it’s amazing to see how accurate the office monitors are, and the angles the cameras are using to display various parts of the restaurant. Specific locations that are featured here, that are in the game, are the main stage camera and Pirate’s Cove, where the fox character Foxy lives. It’s a short moment in the trailers, but it looks like it’s been lifted directly from the games.
The Youtubers Who Made The Game What It Is
The end of the full trailer gives fans a scene involving the Youtuber CoryxKenshin. It’s a silly and fun moment, but it highlights that the film recognizes how the franchise was boosted into popularity: youtube lets play videos. If it wasn’t for Youtubers like him, Markiplier, Dawko and Jacksepticeye amongst others, then the franchise probably wouldn’t be as popular as it is now and it’s delightful to see these people be given recognition. The other cameos are via an ‘Employees of the Month’ board that’s hung up in the hallway outside the restaurant’s security office. The board features photos of Dawko, 8-Bit Ryan, FusionZGamer and Razzbowski and many more; it’s delightful to see, but it’s also a cameo style that I am glad to have happened. They not only get recognized, but it perfectly blends in with the setting and doesn’t draw attention to itself. Personally, I think this is the best form of cameo that could’ve been utilized.
The Missing Children
One sequence in the teaser trailer stuck out to me: Mike is seen in a woodland location, with children behind him. Each child appears to be wearing clothing/accessories that represent the animatronic characters: one child has Foxy’s hook, another is wearing a top hat like the bear Freddy Fazbear, a girl is wearing a yellow and white shirt like Chica the Chicken, and another is wearing bunny ears like Bonnie the Rabbit. Not only do they seem to represent the children that went missing in the 80’s (leading to the restaurants closure), but this scene echoes that of the third novel ‘The Fourth Closet’ where one of the characters ends up seeing the missing children and ends up helping them. Could this mean that the film isborrowing some story elements from the novel trilogy?
Introducing William Afton (and Springtrap?!)
The teaser introduced him, but the full trailer shows more of Matthew Lillard’s (Scream, Scooby Doo) portrayal of main villain and Pizzeria creator William Afton. After the casting announcement, I immediately knew it was the right choice, especially after his performance as Stu in the original ‘Scream’. And he looks fantastic here. Disguising himself as a career counsellor, William is the one who gives Mike the job of night guard. However, he gives himself the name of ‘Steve Raglan’, something that is done in the first novel ‘The Silver Eyes’. In that novel, William disguises himself as a night guard, giving himself the name ‘Dave Miller’; he is possibly doing the same here.
But the full trailer’s biggest surprise came at the end when William’s rabbit suit was revealed, looking very damaged. One of my favourite characters in the entire franchise is Springtrap, a character that appears in ‘Five Nights At Freddys 3’ and is essentially William Afton’s undead body trapped in his favourite rabbit mascot suit. Time hasn’t been kind to it, leading the character to look withered, rotting and downright creepy. And a quick glimpse of the Springtrap design was revealed at the end of the full trailer. Whether or not the suit is the result of William dying then coming back to life, or if it’s just a damaged suit remains to be seen. But it’s still exciting to see the suit come to the big screen in live action form.
Is That A Saw Trap?!
Just before the title comes up in the full trailer, a scene that’s featured in both the teaser and trailer involves Mike strapped into a chair as a Freddy Fazbear mask comes towards his face, rotating saw blades whirling inside. This was the most striking part of the teaser and is still quite shocking to see! My theory is that this scene is either a nightmare sequence after Mike falls asleep during his night shift, or this is an invention by William Afton after Mike is chased down. But it sure is an interesting way to represent its same release date rival, Saw X!
Golden Freddy
The end of the full trailer involves a scene with Cory, Mike’s sister Abby (Piper Rubio) and a Golden Freddy animatronic. While I thought this scene was silly and humorous, it’s also a little strange: assuming this scene takes place after the events of the film, where a serial killer and possessed animatronics have chased her and Mike down, why does Abby seem content to be with Golden Freddy? My theory is that Golden Freddy is Mike by the end of the film, meaning he doesn’t survive the film’s events. It’s a loose theory, but this scene is a little weird upon a rewatch if this does take place near the end of the movie.
The ‘Five Nights At Freddys’ Movie looks fantastic, creepy and a lot of fun. After waiting years for it, and as a huge fan of the games, I cannot wait. Blumhouse have done an amazing job in capturing the aesthetic of the source material, and even sprinkled a few surprises in, which was unexpected. Plus, it will make for a great Halloween cinema trip!
