Haunting Art, VHS Hallucinations, Hi-Tech Burial Shrouds

The Shining (1980), a 1977 Stephen King story adapted into a movie of all things, is about a man, wife and a psychic son sequestered for the winter in a severely haunted hotel way up in the mountains. Spoiler: one of ’em won’t make it to spring. And since The Shining is ranked as one of the best horror movies of all time and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, then you’ll want to purchase (or “buy”) this seriously cool Shining-inspired “July 4th, 1921” 18”x24” illustration by artist Steven Luros Holliday. The signed and numbered print is limited to 1,000, costs $40 and the exact same image is offered on a T-shirt for $30. I plan on buying both. Click here to do the same.

To accessorize with your print, Rucking Fotten™ is offering an array of The Shining T-shirts/sweatshirts (long sleeves/$33, sweatshirts/$43, all-over print tees/$60), and even a throw blanket (50”x60”/$60). They ship in 6-8 weeks, so plan any mountain hotel visits/4th of July Balls accordingly. And click this to see if they’re sold out yet or not.

So while you buy this stuff because it’ll make you…shine…in public, here are a few upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not go good with a nice tall glass of Redrum (you got that reference, yes?)…

FLESH OF THE UNFORGIVEN / Release pending 2024 (VOD)

“A novelist with writer’s block, Jack Russo, travels to a secluded cabin in the mountains of Quebec with his estranged wife Sienna. His aggressive and impatient agent gives him a 72-hour deadline to complete a treatment for his next best seller. As he lacks inspiration, his agent seemingly sends him a VHS tape to view, thinking this will catapult his imagination. Jack becomes obsessed with this sick and disturbing tape, so much so that he soon gets pulled deeper and deeper into a state of phobia and hallucination until he can no longer identify reality. Sienna tries desperately to pull him back to the real world and focus on his book and their fragile marriage. But her secrets are even more life-altering than the VHS tape as she traverses the boundaries between the mortal realm and the supernatural fray amidst the twisted games played by the Death Dealer and his manipulating legion of demons.”

So what was the sick and disturbing thing on the VHS tape? A commercial for non-alcoholic beer. [insert shudder here] 

THE DEVIL’S TRAP / Release pending 2024 (VOD)

In the silent night corridors of a city hospital, Abigail comforts her traumatized brother Billy, who is now paralyzed. Billy suffers from terrible nightmares in which he relives his childhood and sees his alcoholic and violent father again. Billy’s hospital room is shared by a dying man, Mr. Cohen, who seems to know everything about Billy and Abigail. Around Mr Cohen, strange and gruesome events take place that culminate in deaths. By the time Billy and Abigail can put together the pieces behind the nightmares and discover who Mr Cohen is, it may already be too late for them.”

If Mr. Cohen knew everything about me, then a hospital is the right place for him. Best to keep a bedpan close by.

FINAL GIRL: HALLOWEEN / Release pending 2024 (VOD)

In the harrowing aftermath of a savage massacre that claimed the lives of her closest friends, Erin Severson finds herself thrust into a relentless struggle for survival. Haunted by the echoes of the brutality she witnessed, she now walks a solitary path, grappling with the weight of her grief and the chilling uncertainty of an unknown assailant lurking in the shadows. Determined to unravel the twisted web of secrets surrounding the tragedy, Erin embarks on a perilous journey to unmask the merciless killer who shattered her world, her every step a battle against fear and despair.”

So a feel-good movie? I’m in!

THE SHROUDS / Release pending 2024/2025 (VOD)

Karsh, an innovative businessman and grieving widower, builds a novel device to connect with the dead inside a burial shroud. This burial tool installed at his own state-of-the-art, though controversial cemetery, allows him and his clients to watch their specific departed loved one decompose in real time. Karsh’s revolutionary business is on the verge of breaking into the international mainstream when several graves within his cemetery are vandalized and nearly destroyed, including that of his wife. While he struggles to uncover a clear motive for the attack, the mystery of who wrought this havoc, and why, drive him to reevaluate his business, marriage and fidelity to his late wife’s memory, as well as push him to new beginnings.”

Why would anyone want to watch their departed loved ones decompose in real time? Any fast forward/fast reverse options? How about a way to add funny captions to post on social media?