This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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“Every line will be crossed,” promises the poster for “Scary Movie,” the sixth entry in the horror-spoof franchise and the first proper Wayans-family installment in more than two decades. What passes for edgy comedy in 2026 was, not very long ago, simply called comedy. “Scary Movie 4,” released in 2006, featured fake Japanese dialogue consisting of lines such as “Karate judo sumo samurai?” and “Mitsubishi Subaru” — the sort of flippant gag we used to chuckle at collectively.
That is the odd tension running through the new “Scary Movie.” The film arrives in a culture that pushes ideological puritanism alongside libertinism in almost every other direction. We have already seen every variation of the genitalia gag, but a mere preferred-pronoun joke in the trailer inspired the usual online indignation, even as some<a href="https://x.com/drlisastein/status/2061879809572217059"> commenters complained</a> that the film did not instead make fun of Charlie Kirk’s murder. For many such critics, comedy is not so much an art form as a political tool to wield against perceived adversaries.
To their credit, Shawn and Marlon Wayans try to poke that landscape. The film features jokes about transgenderism, pronouns, Black Lives Matter, ICE raids, streamers, OnlyFans, and modern race relations. Nothing is technically off the table. The problem is that putting something on the table is not the same as properly cooking it.
In one scene, a police officer argues with his daughter, who presents as a transgender boy. After asking him to treat her as “one of the boys,” she smacks him across the face. The scene abruptly ends, cutting to the father nodding in baffled acceptance. I am no Hollywood comedy writer, but surely the joke lands better if the film follows its own premise to the obvious absurd conclusion: if she wants to be treated like one of the boys, then Dad should at least be allowed to react as though she is one and throw a punch back. Instead, the film flinches precisely where the gag should escalate.
The narrative is your usual “Scary Movie” premise. Ghostface is back, this time targeting the teenage daughter of Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris). The legacy cast now has children, and the killer is after them. That is the plot, stretched across a 90-minute montage of sketches, callbacks, and horror references. The film swings from “Scream” to “Smile,” “Get Out,” “Sinners,” “Longlegs,” and even “John Wick” for an entertaining final act, cutting from one gag to another with the attention span of a TikTok addict.
In this “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” approach to comedy, some material works well. In one skit, a grim conversation about a stabbing unfolds against the backdrop of a “Final Destination” theme park, branded as the place “where everyone dies.” As characters discuss the attack, roller coasters fly off their rails behind them, killing hundreds. There is another great gag in which Ghostface calls a teenager asking whether anyone else is home. The teen replies that his father is out, but the plumber, gardener, and pool boy are all around. Ghostface suggests he look out the window, where ICE agents are arresting them all. It is crass and sharply constructed, and the sort of thing I wish the film did more often.
The racial humor is occasionally overdone, but it also produces memorable highlights. In the opening skit, a cameo from Teyana Taylor has her standing in a ritzy bar, bellowing “I’m black” in an exaggerated Harlem accent, prompting the camera to cut to a white woman frantically trying to swallow her pearl necklace. The gag works because the film is, at its best, an equal-opportunity offender, skewering both the performance of racial identity and the vacuity of polite white liberalism.
However, some references feel forced, as if the writers wanted to include them but had no idea what to do once they got there. The film’s riff on Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” recreates the hypnosis scene with Ghostface twirling the china teacup, but it does little beyond dangle the reference in front of the audience as a cinematic “’member this movie?” 
Still, there is pleasure in seeing Cindy, Brenda, Shorty, Ray, and Doofy again. Faris remains wonderfully committed to Cindy’s vacant sincerity, and the cast’s broad comic affectations transport you back to the 2000s.
The Wayanses have not made a cowardly movie. That alone distinguishes “Scary Movie” from much of modern comedy. Fearlessness, however, is not the same as excellence. The film crosses contemporary taboos, only to arrive on the other side with no sharper insight than “remember this?” before scurrying on to the next thing. Every line may be crossed, as the poster promised, but too few are crossed with any real purpose.
***
Harry Khachatrian (<a href="https://x.com/harry1t6">@Harry1T6</a>) is a film critic for the Washington Examiner. He is a software engineer, holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto, and writes about wine at <a href="https://www.betweenbottles.com/">BetweenBottles.com</a>.

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How ‘Scary Movie’ Got Stuck Between Funny And Safe

Comedy

Horror Movies

Movies

Upstream

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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Much has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hollywoods-worst-nightmare-is-already-here">written</a> about how great the new independent horror movie &#8220;Obsession&#8221; is. With a budget of just $750,000, <a href="https://deadline.com/2026/06/box-office-obsession-record-1236949178/">it’s already earned</a> $224 million. The success is entirely deserved; it’s a phenomenal film. Yet, the most important thing about it is not what it shows, but what it says.
&#8220;Obsession&#8221; resonates because it combines two deeply human tropes. The first is this: A character gets the thing he&#8217;s been striving after for so long, and it doesn’t satisfy him the way he thought it would. Be careful what you wish for, the grass is always greener on the other side, and all that. The second is unrequited love. The pain of falling for someone who doesn’t like you back is something that most people experience. There’s a reason why it’s been fodder for so many stories and so much art.
If there’s a moral to &#8220;Obsession,&#8221; it’s this: When you have feelings for someone who isn’t willing to give you a shot, the best place for them isn’t with you.
The film follows “Bear” (Michael Johnston), a 20-something man who’s shy and deeply in love with his coworker and friend, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Unable to admit his feelings for her and ask her on a date, he goes to a crystal shop and buys a “One Wish Willow,” which advertises that it will grant one wish upon being broken. When Bear does so and wishes that Nikki would love him more than anything in the world, her demeanor immediately changes. The love of Bear’s life finally loves him back, and everything is great — until what’s actually happened becomes apparent: This Nikki isn’t quite who Bear thinks she is.
Many have suggested that Bear is the villain of the story. That goes too far. Bear did what so many of us do: He inadvertently meddled with another person’s feelings without regard for how it would affect her and was completely unprepared for the consequences. Yet he did so by doing what so many of us have also done: by hoping against hope that our special someone really does like us back.
He reacted to Nikki’s seeming about-face how you’d expect a shy guy who had the girl of his dreams throwing herself into his arms would act: shock, confusion, and stopping her advances to see if she’s okay. Only when she seems to indicate that she really does want him does he relent. While we, the audience, know that there’s this magic spell that’s been put on her, the characters of &#8220;Obsession&#8221; seem to inhabit the same sort of world as ours and treat magic the same way we would. So it’s understandable, at least at first, that Bear doesn’t quite comprehend or accept that what he’s dealing with is something other than sudden-onset true love.
If Bear has moral fault, it’s not so much for the willow itself but for the reasoning he displays. There is a deliberate shot of him looking at the toy immediately after Nikki’s behavior changes. It’s clear that he has a growing suspicion that something is very wrong, but he’s so taken by the situation that he doesn’t examine it too closely until it becomes unignorable. This is somewhat defensible at first, but Bear eventually does become fully culpable for his choices.
<div id="attachment_1108483" style="width: 417px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1108483" class=" wp-image-1108483" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/obsession-OBS_FP_00039_R_rgb-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="407" height="229" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/obsession-OBS_FP_00039_R_rgb-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/obsession-OBS_FP_00039_R_rgb-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/obsession-OBS_FP_00039_R_rgb-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/obsession-OBS_FP_00039_R_rgb.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px" />Courtesy of Focus Features</div>
This is exemplified when Bear asks pseudo-Nikki if her dad really does have cancer. This was the story she told to get him to stay with her the night he made the wish and is therefore foundational to their entire relationship. After her “no, no, no, I thought we were having a nice date” reaction <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWVznyWUS-E">that’s gone viral on social media</a>, pseudo-Nikki says, “What does it matter?” Tellingly, Bear agrees. That’s the question that’s at the heart of &#8220;Obsession.&#8221; It matters because it’s the truth. The truth about whether Nikki really does like Bear matters, but Bear seems not to want to question his seeming good fortune.
If there’s one point where Bear slides into the wrong, it’s when he has a conversation with the “real” Nikki, who’s briefly able to slip out. She begs him to kill her, and it’s apparent she’s suffering a lot.
Bear doesn’t kill her, and there are good reasons for that. There still might be a way to break the spell, and also because, as far as the world would see, he would just be murdering his devoted, if slightly odd, girlfriend while she slept. No, what’s bad is not what Bear does, but what he says. Specifically, he asks, “What&#8217;s so bad about being with me?” 
It’s at this moment that many might wonder why Bear is making this about himself. Nikki is the one suffering here, and Bear caused it. At the same time, it’s a very human thing to wonder. I wish I could say I had never uttered any variation of Bear’s question before. Nikki’s response, the real Nikki’s response, is the perfect counter: “I’ve never been with you.”
It’s not that loving Bear would have been bad, it’s that Nikki didn’t love him. Loving Bear was simply not compatible with Nikki, so what’s happened instead is that Nikki has been possessed by this demon who is obsessed with Bear.
What makes the tragedy worse is that Bear had other options: He seemed to have real chemistry with another character, Sarah. But by pursuing Nikki, he foreclosed what would have probably been a good relationship.
When pseudo-Nikki tells Bear that everything is all his fault, she’s not wrong. His fundamental moral flaw is passivity. Had he just told her how he felt early on, he would have gotten the “no” he didn’t want but definitely needed, and none of this would have happened. But he was scared. That’s a very human feeling: There’s a reason why <a href="https://www.mystateline.com/news/national/almost-half-of-young-men-have-never-approached-a-woman-romantically-study/">45% of young men have never</a> asked out a woman in person before. Candidly, I saw a lot of my younger self in Bear.
Funny enough, the film taught me something in real time. As I was sitting down in the theater, I noticed that just about everyone else was sitting in twos. Even in the pitch darkness, I felt very conspicuous. Great, I thought. Everyone here has their person, and I don’t. Why didn’t I have someone who loved me who was by my side?
But I, too, was indulging in the misunderstanding that I would see enacted on screen. When pseudo-Nikki breaks the willow to make Bear obsessed with her in the finale, she knows very well what she’s doing. It shows that while she’s obsessed with him, she doesn’t actually love him. Or rather, she has the same superficial understanding of what love means that many of us do, in a more intentional, malicious way.
Love isn’t just wanting affection from someone. It’s wanting the best for them. And pseudo-Nikki doesn’t want what’s best for Bear. In fact, when she realizes that he doesn’t feel about her the same way she feels about him, she’s perfectly willing to use the willow on him. She’s fine with making him suffer in order to get the validation that she thinks she needs from him. You could call that a lot of things, but it’s not love.
While Bear did the same thing earlier, he did it with the same sort of misunderstanding that a lot of us do. It came from loneliness and wishful thinking and from not really understanding the consequences of what he was asking. As a sort of vague yearning, wanting somebody to love you is human and earnest and largely harmless. However, what the film shows us is that if you’ve ever wanted your unreciprocated crush to love you back, no you don’t — because this is what it would look like.
Love is not something you can manufacture, and if it were, the consequences would be horrifying. Bear would have really benefited from hearing the old saying, &#8220;if you love something, set it free.&#8221;
***
Stephan Kapustka is a writer at the American Spectator. Follow him on X <a href="https://x.com/SteveKapustka" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@SteveKapustka</a>.

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The Dating Advice Hidden Inside The Year’s Biggest Horror Surprise

Dating

Relationships

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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Last weekend marked a historic turning point at the box office that should give every normal American a reason to cheer. Two lower-budget horror films rooted in YouTube and online culture, &#8220;Obsession&#8221; and &#8220;Backrooms,&#8221; dominated the charts and delivered a powerful rebuke to Hollywood&#8217;s tired establishment. And just months before, independent movie &#8220;Iron Lung&#8221; did the same.
&#8220;Obsession,&#8221; directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, is a supernatural psychological thriller about a hopeless romantic who makes a Faustian bargain to win his crush&#8217;s heart, only for the wish to spiral into a terrifying nightmare. Shot in just 20 days on a shoestring budget under $1 million, the film opened to $17.2 million and then grew an impressive 39% in its second weekend to $23.9 million. As of early June 2026, it has crossed $105 million domestically and $150 million worldwide. Barker previously honed his skills on YouTube via &#8220;That&#8217;s a Bad Idea,&#8221; teaming up on a successful horror short called &#8220;The Chair.&#8221;
&#8220;Backrooms,&#8221; helmed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, adapts his viral internet creepypasta into a mind-bending found-footage horror experience where people fall through reality into endless, unsettling yellow rooms filled with existential dread and lurking horrors. Built from Parsons&#8217; massively popular YouTube series, the film cost around $10 million and opened to a staggering $81 million domestically and $118 million globally, setting records for A24 and making Parsons the youngest director ever to land a number one movie.
&#8220;Iron Lung,&#8221; written, directed, starred in, and self-financed by popular YouTuber Markiplier (Mark Fischbach), is a claustrophobic sci-fi horror thriller based on the indie video game. It follows a convict piloting a rickety submarine through an ocean of blood on a distant moon in a desperate search for survival. Made for roughly $3 million, the film opened to $17.8 million domestically and has grossed over $51 million worldwide, proving a massive success for a self-distributed indie project.
Together, these YouTube-bred films crushed bigger studio fare and proved that fresh, unfiltered storytelling can capture audiences sick of being preached to. This success came from normal dudes focused on craft, hard work, and actual storytelling over identity politics. All three tested material directly with real viewers and improved based on honest feedback and hard data. They wisely skipped the conformity enforcers and built loyal audiences from the ground up through merit and persistence.
YouTube success forced Hollywood to pay attention. &#8220;Obsession&#8221; triggered a fierce bidding war and landed with Focus Features and Blumhouse. &#8220;Backrooms&#8221; earned A24&#8217;s full theatrical backing and the support of iconic horror producer James Wan. &#8220;Iron Lung&#8221; succeeded largely through grassroots fan power and self-distribution, in which Markiplier’s audience sent letters directly to theaters demanding that they play the movie and promising to show up in big numbers.
The gatekeeper problem
Sundance and the rest of the festival circuit have long been elitist echo chambers pushing progressive orthodoxies, identity dramas, climate hysteria, and attacks on masculinity and traditional values. The result? Taxpayer-subsidized flops that alienated everyday Americans and accelerated Hollywood&#8217;s theatrical decline.
Barker, Parsons, and Markiplier wisely skipped that entire rigged game. YouTube democratizes storytelling through algorithms that reward watch time, talent, and effort, not politics or DEI checklists. Creators can experiment cheaply using phones, free software, and online tutorials while testing ideas in public. Viewers respond instantly, and the analytics are brutally honest. What emerges is a system that rewards material people want to watch, not whatever happens to satisfy an ideological trend or leftist activism. By the time creators arrive at studios, they often already own their IP and bring a loyal audience with them.
Anticipating the critiques
Of course, the gender goblins will dismiss all this as &#8220;privilege&#8221; or &#8220;regression.&#8221; The goofs over at SlashFilm whined that the pipeline only works for &#8220;cishet white guys&#8221; due to algorithmic biases and other excuses. A Defector review sneered at these &#8220;YouTubers-turned-feature-horror-directors&#8221; as &#8220;barrel-scraping trend-chasing&#8221; with derivative work lacking depth.
That attitude only exposes how disconnected they are from normal people. Audiences want escapism, tension, and fun. YouTube&#8217;s transparent metrics prove anyone can compete if he has the drive. Entry barriers have never been lower, rewarding persistence over a victimhood mindset. The &#8220;anti-intellectual&#8221; smear collapses when their theory-obsessed approach keeps producing expensive flops that ignore what real Americans want.
Virality proved massive demand before any studio help arrived. This is authentic public validation, not insider favoritism.
A call to action for conservative filmmakers
This moment is bigger than three horror movies. It is a blueprint for taking back cultural ground that has been surrendered for far too long. Conservatives have complained about Hollywood&#8217;s leftward bias for decades. Now the path to change is clear and open.
Start simple: buy tickets for movies like &#8220;Obsession,&#8221; &#8220;Backrooms,&#8221; and &#8220;Iron Lung,&#8221; bring friends, and talk about them afterward. Markets notice momentum. Every dollar spent on entertainment that respects the audience starves the propaganda machine and rewards creators who prioritize story over sermons. These young directors bring raw ingenuity and a sharp instinct for what resonates with Gen Z, without the propaganda.
But passive support is not enough. It is time for conservatives to create. Young men and women with talent, faith, traditional values, and a strong work ethic should pick up cameras, write scripts, and launch YouTube channels. Experiment fearlessly. Test ideas with real audiences instead of seeking approval from leftist gatekeepers. The tools have never been cheaper or more accessible.
Barker, Parsons, and Markiplier did not wait for institutional permission; they built audiences first and forced the industry to notice. Conservatives who care about culture should think the same way. Start channels that celebrate Western values. Make short films that promote individual responsibility. Find collaborators who care about craftsmanship and conviction. Over time, real creative networks form — and eventually, so do lasting institutions.
Pursue excellence relentlessly. Reject victimhood and mediocrity. The cultural battlefield belongs to those willing to show up and compete. If conservatives commit to creating compelling art at scale, we can reclaim the stories that shape the next generation.
The opportunity is here already; in many ways, the rebellion has already begun.
***
Albert Hanover is the pseudonym of a film executive who requested anonymity for this article.  He has worked in Hollywood for nearly three decades.

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Hollywood’s Worst Nightmare Is Already Here

Hollywood

Movie fans are going completely wild over two low-budget horror films, “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” which took an unusual path to surpass the latest “Star Wars” release at the box office over the weekend.
The new A24 release “Backrooms” brought in a record-breaking $81 million from 3,442 North American theaters during its opening weekend, as Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/backrooms-box-office-record-opening-weekend-obsession-jumps-star-wars-crumbles-1236763355/">reported</a>. “Obsession,” which premiered May 15, is still going strong in its third weekend and collected $26.4 million from 2,781 screens. Overall, the film made more than $100 million on what was effectively a shoestring budget.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu,” meanwhile, dropped 70% during its second weekend in theaters. So far, it has earned just over $246 million worldwide and finished third place last weekend behind both “Obsession” and “Backrooms.”
This is notable not only because of the massive brand recognition and budget behind “Star Wars,” but also because both horror films were created by young filmmakers who built audiences on YouTube. Some industry experts predict this will mark a shift towards more indie, creator-driven projects in the future.
Kane Parsons, now 20, directed “Backrooms.” It was inspired by a 2019 4chan post that became an active subculture and, eventually, a series of popular YouTube videos. Per <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/media/gen-z-filmmakers-box-office-d05813d9?st=cvvaPZ&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink">The Wall Street Journal</a>, about 86% of ticket buyers were under 35.
“Obsession” has a similar backstory. It was written, directed, and edited by 26-year-old film school dropout Curry Baker, who also boasts a huge social presence. It cost $750,000 to make and has earned more than $104 million while drawing an audience that’s almost 75% between 18 and 35.
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“We’re really seeing the tide shift from these more conventional Hollywood narratives to something that feels more organic,” Kori Adelson, lead executive for “Backrooms” financial backing company Chernin Entertainment, said of the change.
Another industry insider had a similar take.
“Whether or not this is ushering in a new era or a paradigm shift for the business remains to be seen, but this YouTube creator-to-big screen pathway should be viewed as complementary,” Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian, told Variety of the surprising box office numbers. “It’s a production pipeline that has not existed until now.”
Social media users also chimed in, saying it’s all proof that making original content for a younger demographic is the key to success. 
“From ‘Paranormal Activity’ to ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession,’ horror keeps proving that unconventional creators can become Hollywood’s next big filmmakers. Earlier it was indie outsiders, now it’s YouTubers &amp; internet creators bringing fresh storytelling and massive box office returns,” one commenter <a href="https://x.com/vishalchatkara/status/2061120874548523082">observed</a>. 
“When you make movies that young people&#8211;the demographic who most often frequent the movies&#8211;actually want to see, they show up to see it! What a phenomenon,” another X user <a href="https://x.com/JohnFriscia/status/2061162649275003217">agreed</a>.
“Omg who would have thought people wanna see movies that are original and creative without any identity politics vs the soulless cash grab slop from IPs,” a third person <a href="https://x.com/BigB__9332/status/2061288819983339594">wrote</a>. “&#8230;These companies have milked dry all the goodwill the fans once had for something like Star Wars.”

Inde Navarrette

Two Indie Horror Flicks Take Unconventional Path To Topple ‘Star Wars’ At The Box Office

Box Office

Entertainment

Star Wars

The horror genre and comedian Rodney Dangerfield have something in common. Neither gets much respect.
Sure, audiences flock to horror movies as much as any genre over the decades. We turn cinematic serial killers like Art the Clown, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Voorhees into pop culture icons.
The films rarely get a once-over when it’s time for awards season. This time it’s different. And it’s not just about golden statuettes. Horror kept this year’s box office afloat in 2025, a year that saw a shocking number of commercial duds litter movie houses.
Think Robert De Niro’s “The Alto Knights,” Disney’s “Snow White” and Robert Pattinson’s “Mickey 17” as prime offenders.
Multiple horror movies will be vying for the year’s biggest prize – the Best Picture Oscar. They may come up short to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/is-the-best-picture-race-already-over">“One Battle After Another,”</a> a prestige film that sends the exact message progressive Hollywood craves in President Donald Trump’s second term.
Stop ICE at all costs.
Still, these horror entries matter, and they may scoop up a golden trophy or two before the dust settles.
It starts with director Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” an unconventional vampire movie that doubled as an exposé of early 20th century racism. The film hit theaters in April, with forecasters wondering if its large budget <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ryan-coogler-sinners-box-office-opening-1236193272/">($90 million</a>) might preclude it from making a profit.
Most horror movies are made for a fraction of that amount.
<div id="attachment_1015643" style="width: 399px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1015643" class="size-large wp-image-1015643" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sinners-II-389x576.jpg" alt="Credit: Warner Bros. Domain Entertainment. Proximity Media. All rights reserved. IMDB." width="389" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sinners-II-389x576.jpg 389w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sinners-II-202x300.jpg 202w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sinners-II-768x1138.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sinners-II-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sinners-II.jpg 1382w" sizes=" (max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px" />Credit: Warner Bros.</div>
The film opened big and expanded its audience week after week, wrapping its run with a gaudy $279 million stateside haul. Critics and crowds alike rallied behind it – witness the film’s <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sinners_2025">dueling Rotten Tomatoes’ scores</a> – 97% &#8220;fresh&#8221; from critics, 96% &#8220;fresh&#8221; from general audiences.
Now, it’s <a href="https://www.awardsdaily.com/2025/08/08/2026-oscar-predictions-what-makes-sinners-a-strong-contender/#:~:text=The%20big%20threats%20in%20the,Good%20luck%20attacking%20Sinners%20%E2%80%A6">front and center</a> in the current Oscar race, with experts predicting nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and maybe Best Actor for Michael B Jordan in a dual role.
Coming in a close second is director Craig Zegger’s “Weapons,” a deliriously original film about a town where an entire class of children disappeared overnight, save one.
What happened? Is the class’s teacher (Julia Garner) to blame? The film’s core mystery is told via multiple perspectives, adding layers to the eventual shocks. 
<div id="attachment_1015637" style="width: 471px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1015637" class="size-large wp-image-1015637" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/MV5BNTBhNWJjZWItYzY3NS00M2NkLThmOWYtYTlmNzBmN2UxZWFjXkEyXkFqcGc%40._V1_-461x576.jpg" alt="Credit: New Line Cinema. Domain Entertainment. Subconscious. All rights reserved. IMDB." width="461" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/MV5BNTBhNWJjZWItYzY3NS00M2NkLThmOWYtYTlmNzBmN2UxZWFjXkEyXkFqcGc%40._V1_-461x576.jpg 461w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/MV5BNTBhNWJjZWItYzY3NS00M2NkLThmOWYtYTlmNzBmN2UxZWFjXkEyXkFqcGc%40._V1_-240x300.jpg 240w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/MV5BNTBhNWJjZWItYzY3NS00M2NkLThmOWYtYTlmNzBmN2UxZWFjXkEyXkFqcGc%40._V1_-768x960.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/MV5BNTBhNWJjZWItYzY3NS00M2NkLThmOWYtYTlmNzBmN2UxZWFjXkEyXkFqcGc%40._V1_-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/MV5BNTBhNWJjZWItYzY3NS00M2NkLThmOWYtYTlmNzBmN2UxZWFjXkEyXkFqcGc%40._V1_.jpg 1638w" sizes=" (max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px" />Credit: New Line Cinema.</div>
Once again, critics and customers hailed the film (<a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/weapons">Rotten Tomatoes – 93/85</a>) and the box office sales soared ($151 million). The price tag? <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/weapons-box-office-freakier-friday-opening-1236341131/">A modest $38 million</a>.
The film’s Best Picture chances are less secure than “Sinners,” but creepy co-star Amy Madigan is a lock for a Best Supporting Actress turn for her memorable turn as Aunt Gladys, and Best Screenplay honors are also likely.
And then there’s “Frankenstein.” Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro brought the classic monster story back from the grave via Netflix. His take on the property earned him a Best Picture nomination from the Golden Globes, and Oscar love may shortly follow.
Del Toro’s brand matters to Academy voters, and he treated the pulpy material with a keen idea for the humanity within the reconstructed monster.
Imagine not one or two but three horror films gracing this year’s Best Picture nomination list? The last time horror had such a prestigious close-up was when 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs” swept that year’s Oscars ceremony, netting five statues (including Best Picture).
The year’s box office picture is another, murkier matter. Yes, the numbers are up from 2024, but that’s hardly something to crow about. This year’s domestic box office is <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/12/box-office-u-s-ticket-sales-2025-1236640883/">up 1%</a>, but the industry battle cry “<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/global-summer-box-office-overseas-2025-domestic-1236357631/">survive until 2025</a>” when more populist films were lining up for release didn’t quite transpire.
Don’t blame horror movies.
Not only did “Sinners” and “Weapons” pull their weight (“Frankenstein” barely played in theaters before jumping to Netflix), but other horror hits stunned Hollywood.
The fourth film in the “Conjuring” series, “Last Rites,” made $177 million and a total of $494 million globally. That made it the most profitable film in the saga.
“Final Destination: Bloodlines,” the first film in that lo-fi saga since 2011’s “Final Destination 5,” made $138 million in the U.S. alone and revived the franchise. That film also included an emotional farewell to horror favorite Tony Todd, who knew he was gravely ill when he shot his final scene for the series.
Recent horror hits include “Black Phone 2” (a respectable $77 million US to date), “28 Years Later” ($70 million US) and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” (a $64 million opening weekend).
<iframe loading="lazy" title="How Hollywood Can Bridge Its Disconnect With the American Public w/ Christian Toto" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yNIV7dmOYFI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Why is horror having a moment? Start with a new crop of directors who know the genre well, from Coogler and Cregger to Osgood Perkins (“Keeper,” “The Monkey”) and Jordan Peele (“Get Out”).
Horror films don’t require starry casts and can be made on a shoestring budget. Plus, when they insert the obligatory left-leaning messages, it’s embedded in the scares, not force fed to us in lectures.
Audiences crave the unfettered escapism the genre offers. We’re living in a divided age, but political ideology mostly gets left behind when settling in for a horror film. Jump scares don’t ask audiences how they vote.
And while video games and social media keep cutting into the theatrical pull, there’s nothing like being scared silly in the dark with a group of like-minded strangers. It helps to savor some A-plus films that respect that reality.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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MBJ Sinners poster

While Hollywood’s Big Bets Fail, Horror Just Keeps Delivering

Film

Michael B Jordan

The actress who played the villain in the mystery horror thriller “Weapons” said that the gay and drag communities have really connected with her character.
Amy Madigan, who plays the child-snatching witch Aunt Gladys in the film, made the comments during a newly published <a href="https://variety.com/lists/ariana-grande-michael-b-jordan-react-golden-globe-nominations/chase-infiniti/">interview</a> with Variety.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Weapons | Marcus Meets Gladys | Movie Clip | Warner Bros. Entertainment" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FbLRYXXTz0A?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“People actually like Aunt Gladys,” the actress said of the character. “They kind of want to hang out with her. I’m very, very happy and grateful that the gay community and the drag community have really accepted Gladys. The people that I’ve talked to have said, ‘We’re the other. We’re the outsider, and we’re not supposed to fit in, and Gladys does in a weird way.’ And now they have really helped her spread her magic around.”
The Golden Globes just nominated Madigan for best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in any motion picture. In the film, her character uses witchcraft to possess both children and adults, using their life force to keep herself young.
“Weapons” director Zach Cregger discussed some of his motivations for the film, including the character of Aunt Gladys with her bright red hair and garish makeup. 
&#8220;I had written another script many years ago that was kind of the Gladys story,&#8221; Cregger <a href="https://ew.com/weapons-aunt-gladys-origins-revealed-shelved-script-voodoo-book-song-11821481">told</a> Entertainment Weekly in an interview published in October. &#8220;It was told from a child&#8217;s perspective, and this crazy woman picks him up at school and takes him home and has subsumed his parents. It&#8217;s about him trying to figure out how to get out from under her oppression.&#8221; 
He said the character was inspired by a non-fiction book by Wade Davis called &#8220;The Serpent and the Rainbow&#8221; and a song called &#8220;Dancing in the Head&#8221; by the British punk band The Mekons.
There were many reactions on social media about Aunt Gladys being embraced by the LGBT crowd. 
“Uhhh, she&#8217;s a hideous, murderous monster who tortured children,” one reply <a href="https://x.com/shoveitjack/status/1998171762643947526">said</a>. “Come to think of it, yes, it makes sense that the alphabet cult would embrace her.”
“Extraordinary. Once again siding with an unsympathetic and irredeemable villain who preys on children,” another person <a href="https://x.com/lord_of_paradox/status/1998480103337005517">said</a>. 
“The gay and drag community loves a witch who kidnapped and enslaved children, lol, I can’t believe she just straight up said it,” <a href="https://x.com/GPIngersoll/status/1998434480869236820">echoed</a> a third.

Aunt Gladys

‘Weapons’ Actress Brags That Drag Community Loves Her Child Snatching, Witch Character

'Weapons' Actress Brags That Drag Community Loves Her Child Snatching, Spell Casting Character

Drag Queens

LGBT

The movie business has just suffered the worst Halloween box office in over 30 years, causing many people who think seriously about Hollywood to laugh uproariously while baring their buttocks in the direction of Los Angeles and singing made-up song lyrics that rhyme with “Pharma is a glitch, you sleazy brother duckers!”
The box office tally showed that after releasing around 11 Halloween-themed movies for the October holiday at an overall production cost of about $300 million, industry leaders drew in enough money to buy a jumbo popcorn at the candy counter if the nice old man standing in line behind them gave them an extra nickel out of the goodness of his heart.
But while Hollywood zillionaires have been openly dripping scorn on the values, lifestyles, religion, and patriotism of the American public for the last 30 years, that doesn’t mean Americans are celebrating the industry’s hilariously humiliating fall down a bottomless well of hilarious humiliation. Sure, there have been one-or two-or five-hundred nationwide fortnight-long parties at which burning effigies of Bob Iger are hung from trees while adults and children alike dance in circles beneath them singing made-up lyrics that rhyme with, “Burn, you supercilious niece of split!” But that’s only because they wanted to melt chocolate and marshmallows for their s&#8217;mores, and a burning effigy of Bob Iger strung from a tree happened to be near at hand, as always.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, studio executives are trying to solve the mysteriously puzzling conundrum-like enigma of why their latest films are not causing what used to be the movie-going public to leave their homes, where they’re busy playing darts with the headshots of loudmouth actors.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974735 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
One studio executive, Chazer Shmendrik of Crapola Pictures, took time out to talk to a reporter while coming home to his third wife from his 14-year-old mistress’s house before stopping off at his dealer on his way to a fundraiser for the Shout Your Abortion Foundation. Shmendrik said, “I just can’t figure out why the folks aren’t showing up for our movies. We’ve given them homosexual propaganda for children, turned all their favorite franchises into socialist rants, denigrated masculinity, banned femininity, barred the depiction of white men as heroes, and cast the president of the United States as everything from a black lesbian to a saintly Islamist. We even made a movie about a 58-year-old girl-boss who laps milk out of a saucer in order to debase herself in front of a 25-year-old man. I mean, we’ve tried everything. What the hell else does this audience want anyway?”
Other executives said the poor Halloween box office was either due to competition from the World Series or the government shutdown, or the fact that Halloween fell on a Friday this year, or maybe just that Americans are sick of giving money to tawdry jerkwads who hate them. 
But even as Hollywood tried to determine where they might have gone wrong, the industry was rocked by another scandal when bombshell actress Lefty Vavoom showed up at an elite gala wearing a shocking full-sleeved blouse and ankle-length skirt that revealed every inch of her modesty and restrained sexual behavior. As paparazzi snaps of the starlet’s outfit appeared on front pages under red-ink shock headlines, feminist critics reacted in rage.
At the New York Times, a former newspaper, feminist columnist Banshee McScreamyface wrote, “At a time when women in the workplace are facing disrespect for simply exercising their right to descend to the lowest levels of self-hating sexual degradation, how can we proclaim our feminist principles if our Hollywood role models strut around in non-see-through blouses that don’t even expose their nipples? I don’t want to seem old-fashioned but we need a return to the good old days when Kanye West’s girlfriends came to parties wearing nothing but a dog collar, proudly proclaiming the legacy of feminism, namely obsessive self-abuse and soulless immiseration.”
Trembling before the feminist blast no one else read, Hollywood moguls immediately signed a pledge to cast more black actors in roles that make no earthly sense, and release another movie in which Nicole Kidman humiliates herself in the nude in time for her sixtieth birthday.
If that doesn’t win back the audience, nothing will. And let’s hope nothing will.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fifth installment, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-That-Cameron-Winter-Mysteries/dp/1613166869/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGZUC370LG46&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y_NI0mDOKeowShheDQTVx5NH-fAeimJoCD56_T0Acpl8C0mup7uJf-nGGSRLEItaaekoDnvS2vWLMa4Zd2UBXQ8Y-g-P502jOWz-Y8IX3ZQsdlO7WMLrg1xIhNoKmjCorSWUR4C2l_RbiZ7apJ1MfPzGOrrEf7AdAXX6xwnJRVP_XqUfWuMuVthTWscaU3P4vgmS86-96n-721enHfX12CFQWTajqFbVnrsDkexfUf4.6_gTH6h1Bb9Pn375QdF_VAVZSayDvjQBBKGXE-MTiFo&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=klavan&amp;qid=1754049918&amp;sprefix=%2Caps%2C80&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After That, The Dark,</a> is NOW AVAILABLE. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>
The views expressed in this satirical piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Friends watching scary movie at movie theater

Hollywood’s Halloween Horror: Woke Films So Bad They’re Scaring Audiences Away

Andrew Klavan

Humor

Satire

When Hollywood sends a message, chances are it’s from the Left. Or, in the case of Leonardo DiCaprio’s open borders screed “One Battle After Another,” the far, far Left.
The same applies to horror movies.
We’ve seen a wave of “socially conscious” horror in recent years, often with depressing results. Think the 2021 “Candyman” reboot, 2020’s “Antebellum,” and 2022’s “They/Them.” 
Horror has always let storytellers send a message or two between the scares, often doing so without exclamation points. And, given the industry’s leanings, that rarely aligns with conservative world views.
That doesn’t mean the films in question aren’t worth watching. Some message-minded movies remain essential Halloween fare. A few have themes that aren’t as neatly progressive as one expects.
And, as faith-based movies continue to improve and expand their focus, we’re seeing thrillers that touch on heartland values. Really.
<h2>“Nefarious” (2023)</h2>
<div id="attachment_992777" style="width: 380px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/nefarious?row=0&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-992777" class="size-large wp-image-992777" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Nefarious-film-370x576.jpg" alt="Soli Deo Gloria Releasing. Believe Entertainment." width="370" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Nefarious-film-370x576.jpg 370w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Nefarious-film-193x300.jpg 193w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Nefarious-film-768x1194.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Nefarious-film-988x1536.jpg 988w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Nefarious-film.jpg 1317w" sizes=" (max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px" /></a>Soli Deo Gloria Releasing. Believe Entertainment.</div>
This spicy two-hander follows a psychiatrist (Jordan Belfie) trying to gauge a death-row inmate’s state of mind. Sean Patrick Flanery chews up the scenery in the very best ways as a prisoner who claims he didn’t commit the crimes in question.
The Devil made him do it. Literally.
“Nefarious” is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/nefarious?row=0&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel">now streaming on The Daily Wire</a>.
Based on the book “A Nefarious Plot,” by Steve Deace and backed by Glenn Beck, this indie Christian film eschews blood and gore tactics for spiritual scares. This smart, faith-based shocker shows the power of performance and dialogue over FX. 
Produced by Soli Deo Gloria and Believe Entertainment, this is a Heartland friendly film, but still not suitable for younger audiences.
<h2>“The Hunt” (2020)</h2>
<div id="attachment_992787" style="width: 374px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8244784/"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-992787" class="size-large wp-image-992787" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-Hunt-movie-364x576.jpg" alt="Blumhouse Productions.Universal Pictures. " width="364" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-Hunt-movie-364x576.jpg 364w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-Hunt-movie-189x300.jpg 189w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-Hunt-movie-768x1216.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-Hunt-movie-970x1536.jpg 970w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/The-Hunt-movie.jpg 1293w" sizes=" (max-width: 364px) 100vw, 364px" /></a>Blumhouse Productions. Universal Pictures.</div>
It’s the ultimate Culture War movie, but one where the shouting barely reflects what’s seen on screen. A group of privileged liberals kidnap and hunt conservatives for sport. Sound awful? It is, no doubt, and it&#8217;s remarkably bloody.
Enter Betty Gilpin as Crystal, a feisty Republican who leads a rebellion after being kidnapped by the Hunt’s handlers. She’s the ultimate Final Girl, a resourceful gal who can’t help but gain the audience’s admiration.
The third act turns silly, but its political message is surprisingly balanced. Let’s lower the temperature on the cultural conversation before it’s too late. Just five years after its controversial release, it seems we need that lesson even more. And, chances are, today’s media would likely skewer the film for that reason.
<h2>“Get Out” (2017)</h2>
<div id="attachment_992789" style="width: 399px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052448/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-992789" class="size-large wp-image-992789" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Get-Out-movie-389x576.jpg" alt="Monkeypaw Productions. Blumhouse Productions. Universal Pictures." width="389" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Get-Out-movie-389x576.jpg 389w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Get-Out-movie-203x300.jpg 203w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Get-Out-movie-768x1137.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Get-Out-movie-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Get-Out-movie.jpg 1383w" sizes=" (max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px" /></a>Monkeypaw Productions. Blumhouse Productions. Universal Pictures.</div>
Jordan Peele went from half of a goofy Comedy Central pairing to horror auteur with this gem. An interracial couple (Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams) pays her family a visit, hoping to avoid any awkward exchanges. They get just the opposite as the clan endlessly kisses up to Kaluuya’s character.
“I would have voted for Obama for a third term if I could,” brags Bradley Whitford, cast as the young man’s potential father-in-law. Then, slowly, we realize how this progressive family is using black people for nefarious purposes.
The themes are unabashedly progressive, with whites exploiting blacks anew. Peele’s craftsmanship and affinity for horror shine through from the opening sequence. It’s as good as advertised.
The biggest surprise? The film’s ending sets up a tired, evil white cop trope that never happens. Shocking. Truly.
<h2>“Night Of The Living Dead” (1968)</h2>
<div id="attachment_992803" style="width: 385px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063350/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-992803" class="size-full wp-image-992803" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/nld-film.jpg" alt="Image Ten Productions. Continental Distributing." width="375" height="500" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/nld-film.jpg 375w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/nld-film-225x300.jpg 225w" sizes=" (max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px" /></a>Image Ten Productions. Continental Distributing.</div>
Director George A. Romero’s zombie classic still has bite, but casting a black actor as its heroic lead (Duane Jones) proved shocking in the turbulent ‘60s. That wasn’t the only reason Jones’ performance left a mark.
The film caps with a group of white hunters, disposing of random zombies stalking the land, accidentally shoot Jones’ character in the head. Romero never hid his progressive bona fides, but he suggested in interviews that the ending’s racial connection was unintentional.
Subconscious or not, the film’s cultural potency is undeniable. So is its fright factor. The black and white original, shot on a tiny budget with no recognizable stars, remains an essential watch each October.
<h2>“Dawn Of The Dead” (1978) </h2>
<div id="attachment_992805" style="width: 380px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077402/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_2"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-992805" class="size-large wp-image-992805" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Dawn-of-the-dead-film-370x576.jpg" alt="Laurel Group Productions. Dawn Associates. United Film Distribution Company." width="370" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Dawn-of-the-dead-film-370x576.jpg 370w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Dawn-of-the-dead-film-193x300.jpg 193w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Dawn-of-the-dead-film.jpg 478w" sizes=" (max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px" /></a>Laurel Group Productions. Dawn Associates. United Film Distribution Company.</div>
Romero, again, uses zombies for more than just brain-munching kills. This time, the undead have swarmed a Pittsburgh-area mall, forcing a small band of humans to scramble for safety.
The horror guru’s visual masterstroke – stumbling, shuffling zombies roaming through an all-American mall, just as they did in their living years. The commentary on consumerism couldn’t be missed this time around, and it didn’t take a lecture or signpost to share it. He said as much <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-george-romeros-progressive-politics-gave-way-to-the-walking-deads-nihilism/">via a 2010 interview</a>:
<blockquote>“If there’s something I’d like to criticize, I can bring the zombies out … I get the financing that way. So I’ve been able to express my political views through those films.” </blockquote>
<h2>“Invasion Of The Body Snatchers” (1956), (1978)</h2>
<div id="attachment_992817" style="width: 381px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077745/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_6_nm_1_in_0_q_Invasion%2520of%2520the%2520body%2520"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-992817" class="size-large wp-image-992817" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Invasion-film-371x576.jpg" alt="SoloFilm Productions. United Artists." width="371" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Invasion-film-371x576.jpg 371w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Invasion-film-193x300.jpg 193w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Invasion-film-768x1193.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Invasion-film.jpg 800w" sizes=" (max-width: 371px) 100vw, 371px" /></a>SoloFilm Productions. United Artists.</div>
The 1956 original introduced us to “pod people,” replicated humans who looked like our friends and neighbors but without their humor, personality and heart. And they spread so fast across the culture. Social commentators connected the film to the McCarthy-era anxiety infecting the country at the time. They’re all around us! Beware! You could be one, too!
Others suggested the pod people captured the Communist ethos – worker drones who cast humanity aside for the betterment of The State. Some of the best movies allow for any number of interpretations. Either way, the film endures as a horror classic.
The 1978 remake is even better – chilling, creepy, and capped by an ending that’s both bleak and perfect. Once again, the story spoke to the paranoia of the times – post-Watergate, post-Vietnam – but could address big city fears and other societal ills.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Man silhouette against background of night foggy city

Scary For The Right Reasons. Six Political Horror Movies.

Film Reviews

Glenn Beck

Horror

Politics

Gone are the days of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">It’s a Wonderful Life</a>” wholesomeness for Christmas Day in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hollywood">Hollywood</a> community. 
This year’s theatrical releases for December 25 include a film being touted for its explicit sexual content and a gothic horror <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies">film</a> remake about a vampire who becomes obsessed with a young woman and takes over her sleep, giving her graphic nightmares.
First up, “Babygirl” starring Nicole Kidman has been generating buzz ever since it was first released following the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The movie’s <a href="https://www.babygirlfilm.com/synopsis/">description</a> says, “A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern.”
Kidman, 57, has talked at length about filming the erotic movie. She said the sheer number of sex scenes became overwhelming. “There was an enormous amount of sharing and trust and then frustration. It’s like, ‘Don’t touch me,’” she said, per <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/nicole-kidman-babygirl-interview-harris-dickinson-antonio-banderas-b2634689.html">The Independent</a>. 
“There were times when we were shooting where I was like, ‘I don’t want to orgasm any more. Don’t come near me. I hate doing this. I don’t care if I am never touched again in my life! I’m over it.’ It was so present all the time for me that it was almost like a burnout,” Kidman added.
The actress <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/festivals/nicole-kidman-erotic-thriller-babygirl-freeing-didnt-feel-exploited-1236124981/">said</a> “Babygirl” is &#8220;obviously about sex, it’s about desire, it’s about your inner thoughts, it’s about secrets, it’s about marriage, it’s about truth, power, consent&#8221; while speaking at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
“This is one woman’s story and this is, I hope, a very liberating story. It’s told by a woman, through her gaze — Halina [Reijn] wrote it and she directed it — and that’s to me what made it so unique because suddenly I was going to be in the hands of a woman with this material. It was very dear to our shared instincts and very freeing.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Babygirl | Official Trailer 2 HD | A24" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9XXoNB0lVGo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another movie having a Christmas Day release is “Nosferatu,” a horror film starring Johnny Depp’s 25-year-old daughter Lily-Rose Depp. 
The movie, written and directed by Robert Eggers, is a remake of the 1922 silent film by the same name and both are based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” novel from 1897.
The description calls it, “A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.”
Depp described how she prepared for the leading female role, telling <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/lily-rose-depp-nosferatu-demonic-sexual-awakening-bible-1235075698/">IndieWire</a> that Eggers encouraged her to read the short story “Péhor” by French author Remy de Gourmont to understand the character.
The actress said de Gourmont’s occult writing was like a “Bible” for her.
“Rob is incredibly well-researched, famously, and so he sent me a lot of references, a lot of movies that had inspired him for the role. He also gave me this text to read, which is called ‘Péhor’, and it’s kind of like a story about a young religious girl who has a sexual awakening love story with a demon,” Depp told the outlet. 
“So, of course, that was quite pertinent for me. I used that kind of like a Bible and found myself reading it again and again as we were shooting.”
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There are other, less provocative offerings at the movie theater during the Christmas holiday for families hoping for some leisure time, including Disney’s newly released “Mufasa” and Paramount&#8217;s action-adventure comedy “Sonic 3.” 
But it’s all too telling that sex and horror movies are being released on one of the most important Christian holidays of the year.

Nosferatu

Hollywood’s Christmas Day Releases: Glorified Porn And A ‘Sexy Vampire’ Horror Film

Hollywood's Christmas Day Releases: Glorified Porn And A 'Sexy Vampire' Horror Film

Christmas

Movie Theaters

Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss was on-hand for a special screening of his 1975 movie &#8220;Jaws&#8221; at the Cabot Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts — but when he appeared onstage to participate in a Q &amp; A session with the audience, things apparently went sideways.
Dreyfuss, according to audience members and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXQni965-uc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> circulating on social media, made his grand entrance wearing a dress over his clothes, shuffling and shaking his hips to Taylor Swift&#8217;s &#8220;Love Story.&#8221; After a minute, two staffers rushed onto the stage and helped him to remove the dress — but he continued to play up the dance moves until he had replaced the dress with a blazer.
According to <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/richard-dreyfuss-jaws-offensive-rant.html?utm_medium=s1&amp;utm_source=tw&amp;utm_campaign=vulture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several reports</a>, Dreyfuss then made a series of &#8220;misogynistic&#8221; and &#8220;transphobic&#8221; comments, allegedly complaining about the #MeToo movement and taking a swing at singer Barbra Streisand, suggesting that women &#8220;shouldn&#8217;t have that much power.&#8221;
He went on to criticize the transgender movement, saying that parents who allowed their children to self-determine their genders were not good parents. Attendee Diane Wolfe told The Boston Globe that Dreyfuss said &#8220;the parents of trans youth, allowing them to transition, was bad parenting and that someday those kids might change their minds.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Richard Dreyfuss generates scandal by saying something sensible and correct that all sane people know to be true but that everyone has been propagandized into regarding as wrongthink <a href="https://t.co/ju5zauEEhM">https://t.co/ju5zauEEhM</a>
— Wesley Yang (@wesyang) <a href="https://twitter.com/wesyang/status/1795253585825136806?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2024</a></blockquote>
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At the end of the session, Dreyfuss referenced the book he published last year on the lack of civics education in schools.
&#8220;It’s about the fact that 50 years ago, without telling anybody, they took civics out of the curriculum of all public schools in America, which means we have no knowledge of who the hell we are,&#8221; Dreyfuss said. &#8220;And if we don’t get it back soon, we’re all going to die. Make sure your kids are not the last generation of Americans. And you know exactly what I’m talking about.&#8221;
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WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Richard Dreyfuss - End of Q&amp;A Cabot Theater Beverly Mass" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cfV0U1bb8fg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Cabot executive director J. Casey Soward issued a statement amid the backlash:
<blockquote>We are aware of, and share serious concerns, following the recent event with Richard Dreyfuss prior to a screening of the film Jaws at The Cabot. The views expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold as an organization.
We deeply regret the distress that this has caused to many of our patrons. We regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic movie instead became a platform for political views. We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused to many patrons.
We are in active dialogue with our patrons about their experience and are committed to learning from this event how to better enact our mission of entertaining, educating and inspiring our community</blockquote>

FAN EXPO Denver

‘Jaws’ Actor Says Kids Shouldn’t Change Genders, Theater Issues Apology

'Jaws' Actor Says Kids Shouldn't Change Genders, Theater Issues Apology

Transgender

Woke Culture

One of the stars from the 1999 horror film “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/horror-movies">The Blair Witch Project</a>” is speaking out against Lionsgate after the studio announced a forthcoming <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hollywood">reboot</a>.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">Actor</a> Joshua Leonard said he felt “frustration” upon hearing the news because of how he felt the studio treated him after the original film’s release. Leonard detailed some of his complaints in a lengthy Instagram post.
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&#8220;The WEIRD PART is that I didn&#8217;t know anything about it until a friend sent me a &#8216;congrats&#8217; screenshot yesterday,&#8221; he wrote of the reboot announcement, which was shared at CinemaCon on April 10. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been thinking a lot about this time, after seeing my BWP collaborators recently and sharing memories… sweet AND f***ed-up ones.&#8221;
Leonard also alleged in the post that he and his co-stars were paid much less than $4 million, which is what an anonymous &#8220;Hollywood insider&#8221; said they received. &#8220;We made [$300,000]… and NEVER saw another dime,&#8221; the actor insisted.
“The Blair Witch Project” is a fictional story about three student filmmakers who hike into the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland, to make a documentary about a local figure known as “The Blair Witch.” The students all disappear, but their footage is found a year later.
The movie was shot in Maryland over eight days and cost around $60,000 to make, per <a href="https://ew.com/original-blair-witch-star-blasts-25-years-of-disrespect-reboot-8633963">Entertainment Weekly</a>.
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1999 and was purchased for $1.1 million by Artisan Entertainment, which was acquired by Lionsgate in 2003. “BWP” earned close to $250 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful independent films of all time. 
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Leonard also claimed that because the actors used their real names in the movie, &#8220;the studio claimed copyright. We had to take them to federal court to win OUR NAMES back.&#8221;
He said, &#8220;There were many factors that made BWP a success: timing, marketing, etc. But there was also the FACT that us weirdos got together, with virtually no resources, AND MADE A FILM THAT WORKED! Can we just go on record and say that the film itself is a huge part of why we&#8217;re still talking about it 25 years later?”
Leonard concluded, “I&#8217;m so proud of our little punk-rock movie, and I LOVE the fans who keep the flames burning. But at this point, it&#8217;s 25 years of disrespect from the folks who&#8217;ve pocketed the lion&#8217;s share (pun intended) of the profits from OUR work, and that feels both icky and classless.&#8221;

Blair Witch Project

Original ‘Blair Witch Project’ Actor Blasts Lionsgate Amid Remake Announcement: ’25 Years Of Disrespect’

Original 'Blair Witch Project' Actor Blasts Lionsgate Amid Remake Announcement: '25 Years Of Disrespect'

U.S.

Director <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tim-burton">Tim Burton</a> will team up with best-selling “Gone Girl” author Gillian Flynn to remake the 1958 sci-fi horror <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies">film</a> “Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman.”
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">project</a> will be released with Warner Bros. Studios, according to a report from <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/tim-burton-gillian-flynn-remake-attack-fifty-foot-woman-1235894570/">Variety</a>. The outlet noted how Burton will serve as the film’s director while Flynn is responsible for crafting the script. 
In the original movie, a woman grows to gigantic proportions after an encounter with an alien, and she uses her new size to get revenge on her unfaithful husband.
The original 1958 “Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman” featured Allison Hayes, William Hudson, and Yvette Vickers in leading roles. It had a production of $88,000, the outlet noted. The original film currently has a 71% critic score and 21% audience rating on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1001323-attack_of_the_50_foot_woman">Rotten Tomatoes</a>.
It’s also not immediately apparent what changes will be incorporated into the remake. The movie was remade in 1993 by HBO with Christopher Guest serving as director. There were also several failed or abandoned remakes prior to that, and a few spinoffs, including a parody called “Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfold” (1995) and a 3D film called “Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader” in 2012.
Flynn is no stranger to Hollywood. The 52-year-old author wrote and produced the HBO limited series adaptation of another one of her books, “Sharp Objects,” which earned her an Emmy nomination and the Writers Guild of America Award. Flynn was also co-writer on the screenplay for “Widows” (2018) and wrote the screenplay for David Fincher’s 2014 thriller “Gone Girl,” which was based on her book.
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Burton, 65, is a Hollywood mainstay known for his gothic horror and fantasy films. He rose to fame with projects such as “Beetlejuice” (1988) and “Edward Scissorhands” (1990). He has directed a host of other films, including “Batman” (1989), “Batman Returns” (1992), “Corpse Bride” (2005), “Frankenweenie” (2012), “Mars Attacks!” (1996), “Planet of the Apes” (2001), “Sleepy Hollow” (1999), “Big Fish” (2003), “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), “Dark Shadows” (2012), “Dumbo” (2019), plus the musicals “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005) and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007).
The director is currently working on the “Beetlejuice” sequel.

Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman

Tim Burton Will Team Up With ‘Gone Girl’ Author For Remake Of Classic ’50s Sci-Fi Movie

Tim Burton Will Team Up With 'Gone Girl' Author For Remake Of Classic '50s Sci-Fi Movie

Tim Burton

Warner Bros

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