(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary y solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)

From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:

“A single mother moves her daughters into her late grandmother's farmhouse, hoping for a fresh start. After finding an old Ouija board, strange events begin to escalate, and a presence emerges that won't let them leave.”

From the world of ultra-ultra-ultra-low budget productions today comes Ouija Hell House, a surprisingly tame Horror indie that, sadly, never quite knows what it wants to be.  The vast majority of the effort is one of those often-derided ‘found footage’ flicks – of which I’m still a pretty big fan – while that tapestry is stitched together with conventional film storytelling of a mother and her two daughters.  Theirs is a family in the midst of a crisis – one from which they’ll not recover – and writer/director Calvin Morie McCarthy does them no favors in introducing a plethora of spectral shenanigans that just might have been little more than flights of fancy brought upon by toxic gases.

Or was it?

A struggling single mother, Danielle (played by Laura Hunter) is doing what she can to raise her two daughters.  Michelle (Hailey Saintfield) has been kicked out of school over her possible involvement with her roommate’s drug overdose; and Sierra (Victoria Hunter) remains a bit of a mute, a recluse who’d rather spend her time recording life as she sees it behind the lens of a video camera.  But when they relocate to the old family homestead out on the farm, the trio inadvertent open a spectral can of worms when they summon an evil demon who’ll upend their focus on reality.  Before the week is through, these three women will find themselves tasked to their psychological limits and even turning on one another in the process.

Now, it isn’t as if Ouija Hell House has a bad foundation.  The number of Horrors and Thrillers that have started from the point of the broken nuclear family is without measure, and there are even smaller elements of these fractured relationships which play into a great many plots in surprising effective ways.  Furthermore, McCarthy’s script does make great use of its trinity-style dynamic – mother versus oldest daughter versus youngest daughter – in such a manner that there was some authentic steps taken to get this chiller into a shape that audiences could accept as real.  Still, it grows increasingly difficult for viewers to bond with the ladies as the director spends an inordinate amount of time with long, protracted takes rendered in found footage as Sierra explores both the house and property to ridiculous lengths.

Additionally, it might be worth noting that – clocking in at roughly 70-minutes run-time – Ouija Hell House isn’t long enough to be considered alongside a traditional film feature.  If Sierra’s investigations were trimmed to accessible sequences, I suspect one would lose about twenty-to-thirty minutes of footage; and this House would go from a full domicile to something more akin a narrative apartment.  As a short film, what little substance there is in here might work more efficiently – maybe even as one chapter in a broader anthology-style picture – but as it is there just isn’t enough to maintain focus on these three ladies.  None of them are strong enough as characters to hoist this dark and gloomy tale to appreciable heights; and I would up feeling bad for the actresses as they truly weren’t given much to do and even less to react to.

This doesn’t mean that the work is a complete waste of time.  Yes, it’s overlong; and, stylistically, it’s a bit overwrought.  McCarthy could’ve given them a bit more – it isn’t as if the women appear incapable of handling more story – but there’s still a late-breaking twist which pushes the whole shebang into that ‘did it or did it not happen’ category, an insult given how little suspension of disbelief is required here.  I’m not opposed to a twist: I’m only against twists that appear too damned convenient – which this one does – so chalk this one up as perhaps a learning exercise for those involved, audience included.

Ouija Hell House (2026) was produced by 7^th Street Productions.  The film is presently available for digital rental or purchase.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert, I can assure readers that the provided sights and sounds are adequate, at best: there’s an odd variance between some of the digital footage – some is extraordinarily high definition while other sequences seem awfully grainy and occasionally out-of-focus.  It isn’t a terrible job, but it does leave a lot to the imagination.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  As I viewed this one entirely via streaming, there were no special features to consider.

Alas … this one is Hard To Recommended.

It isn’t as if the ideas behind Ouija Hell House are flawed.  Horror pictures have always had interesting takes on broken family relationship, and I suspect that will always be the case.  Chiefly, the problems start when writer/director McCarthy can’t seem to find a narrative center much less one style to spin this mildly-creepy web: is it a conventional story about a family gone bad, or is it a shaky-cam found footage flick left behind after they’re all dead and gone?  The blend and the dire laconic pacing kill almost even the traditional jump scares – what few there are – making this House one not quite worth the mortgage.

In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Breaking Glass Pictures provided me with complimentary streaming access to Ouija: Hell House by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review.  Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ

Dark Sky Films Proudly Presents The Release Of

THE VILE

When A Man Decides To Bring Home A Second Wife, The New Bride Is Not The Only Thing That Enters The Family Home

In Select Theaters and Digital Platforms Starting November 20th

Dark Sky Films today announced the November 20th release of THE VILE, the award-winning Arabic-language psychological horror thriller from acclaimed Emirati filmmaker Majid Al Ansari (Zinzana, Paranormal). The film will be available in select theater and on digital platforms starting November 20th.

Produced by Spooky Pictures and Image Nation Studios, the film made its world premiere at Fantastic Fest, where it won Best Horror Feature, before continuing its international festival run with screenings at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival.

The first Arabic-language feature produced under the partnership between Spooky Pictures and Image Nation Studios, THE VILE stars Bdoor Mohammad (Blood Wedding), Sarah Taibah (Jameel Jeddan), Iman Tarik, Jasem Alkharraz and Samira Al Wahaibi. Al Ansari directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Johnnie Alward.

At the center of the film is Amani (Mohammad), a devoted wife and mother whose seemingly stable family life is shattered when her husband returns home with a second wife, Zahra (Taibah), who is pregnant with his first son. Determined to remain in the home and protect her daughter Noor, Amani fights to preserve her place within the family as increasingly disturbing events begin to take hold. As the line between psychological torment and supernatural threat starts to blur, Amani becomes convinced that Zahra is hiding something sinister — and her search for the truth threatens to consume her.

Blending intimate family drama with supernatural horror, THE VILE explores betrayal, trauma, motherhood and the shifting balance of power inside the home through a distinctly Gulf perspective. The film marks Al Ansari’s return to feature directing following his internationally acclaimed debut Zinzana and his work on the Netflix series Paranormal.

THE VILE is produced by horror veterans Roy Lee (Weapons, Barbarian), Steven Schneider (Strange Darling, Paranormal Activity), Derek Dauchy (Late Night with the Devil) and Rami Yasin (Hokum, Watcher). Mohamed Hefzy (Voy! Voy! Voy!) and Yasir Al Yasiri (Hwjn) serve as executive producers.

Official Synopsis:

Amani’s world is knocked off its axis when her husband, Khalid, comes home with a second wife.Shocked and heartbroken by the deception and betrayal, she feels utterly powerless to change the circumstances. Fearing shame from her community and believing it is best for her daughter, Noor. Amani decides to stand her ground and remain in the house. Khalid insists it is his house too and refuses to leave with his pregnant bride, Zahra. Instead, he expects Amani to accept the situation and cooperate while he goes on a business trip, leaving the three women alone together.As Amani grieves the loss of her marriage, she begins to suspect sinister events are unfolding in the household but struggles to determine whether they are real or imagined. Zahra quickly makes herself comfortable in the family home and sets her sights on befriending her new teenage stepdaughter, Noor. Emotionally traumatized and confused by her parents’ fractured relationship, Noor becomes the target of school bullies as rumors spread about the mysterious woman living in her house. It is the relentless taunting from classmates, and Amani’s increasingly erratic and distant behavior, that ultimately drives Noor into Zahra’s open arms.Fueled by the terrifying and inexplicable paranormal phenomena overtaking her life, Amani descends into an obsessive and frantic investigation into Zahra’s past. Barely clinging to her sanity,what Amani uncovers will force her to reject everything she once thought was worth fighting for,and Khalid will seal his fate by ignoring the malice harbored within his second wife.

Directed by: Majid Al Ansari

Written by: Majid Al Ansari & Johnnie Alward

Produced by: Roy Lee, Steven Schneider, Derek Dauchy, Rami Yasin

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Sarah Taibah, Iman Tarik, Jasem Alkharraz, and Samira Al Wahaibi

Genre: Horror/Psychological Thriller

Distributor: Dark Sky Films 

Run Time: 97 minutes 

Cauldron Films is proud to announce the worldwide UHD debut of Jack the Ripper on Dec 15, featuring a new 4K restoration in a Limited Slipbox 4k UHD/Blu-Ray Combo.

Klaus Kinski stars as history's most infamous unidentified murderer in Jesús Franco's lurid 1976 interpretation of Jack the Ripper. In late-19th-century London's Whitechapel district, a succession of brutal murders targeting prostitutes has left the neighborhood terrified. Inspector Selby (Andreas Mannkopff) becomes consumed with stopping the killer, while the investigation takes on an increasingly personal dimension as his girlfriend Cynthia (Josephine Chaplin) is drawn into danger.

Made during Franco's prolific collaboration with Swiss producer Erwin C. Dietrich, Jack the Ripper combines the fog-shrouded streets, period settings and Gothic atmosphere of classic European horror with the director's characteristic appetite for sex and violence. Kinski brings an unsettling intensity to the central role, while Herbert Fux and longtime Franco collaborator Lina Romay appear in supporting roles. The result is a distinctive Euro-horror variation on the Ripper legend, balancing traditional Gothic imagery with the more explicit sensibilities of 1970s exploitation cinema.

Cauldron Films presents the film's worldwide 4K UHD debut in this Limited Edition two-disc 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo, restored from a 4K scan of the negative and the best available materials. The 2160p UHD presentation features Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10 compatibility, with English audio offered in 5.1 surround, 2.0 stereo and 2.0 mono, accompanied by optional English SDH subtitles. An audio commentary by Ryan Verrill and Dr. Will Dodson provides additional historical and critical context.

Supplemental features include He Caught Jack the Ripper, an interview with actor Andreas Mannkopff; Erwin C. Dietrich's Tribute to Jess Franco's Jack the Ripper; Klaus the Ripper, a video essay by Troy Howarth; Whitechapel Shadows, a video essay by Eugenio Ercolani; a deleted scene; and the theatrical trailer. 

The Limited Edition packaging includes a rigid slipcase featuring artwork by Adam Perocchi of Readful Things, a folded poster and a full-color booklet with liner notes by Dr. Stella Marie Gaynor and Troy Howarth.

CHEER BLOODY MURDER

Available on Digital December 15, 2026 

Genre:                     Horror
 
Rating:                     R for violence/bloody images, sexual content, nudity and language.        
 
U.S. Release Date:  December 15, 2026 (Digital)
 
Running Time:        93 minutes       
 
Cast:
Scout Taylor-Compton, Robert LaSardo, Lauren Francesca, Caleb Thomas, Kelly Lynn Reiter, Sean Whalen, Vernon Wells, Shawn C. Phillips, Julie Anne Prescott, with Tom Sizemore, James Duval, and Todd Bridges 

Directed by:            Shawn C. Phillips
                      
Written by:              William Collazo Jr. 

Re-written by:         Julie Anne Prescott
                
 
SYNOPSIS
There is something horrifying lurking in the halls of the world’s most prestigious cheerleading camp. As a masked killer with a lust for blood stalks the beautiful, young campers and their coaches, a sinister pattern of revenge emerges until the mystery of the knife-wielding slasher is ultimately revealed.
 
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Year of Production: 2024
Title Copyright: Cheer Bloody Murder © 2024 Safier Entertainment, LLC. Artwork & Supplementary Materials ®, ™ & © 2026 Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. and related companies. All Rights Reserved.
Closed-Captioned: Yes
Feature Run Time: 93 Minutes  
Subtitles: French, Spanish
Format: 16x9 (1.78:1) Presentation
Audio: English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Audio, French 5.1 and 2.0, English Descriptive Audio

Cleopatra Entertainment announces the Dec 15 release of Soul Snatchers on DVD and digital video. 

Soul Snatchers

Arriving on DVD and digital video, Soul Snatchers features faith-based film star Cameron Arnett, who carries this supernatural thriller about a man of strong convictions and passion and the unseen forces that threaten everything he stands for. 

Emmanuel relocates his family to the remote island where he grew up, with a bold mission to build a music school for the orphans living on the streets. But the island is no longer the place he once knew. It has become a breeding ground for darkness and evil. The film is driven by an exceptional score that heightens suspense and amplifies its emotional impact.

Cleopatra Entertainment announces the Dec 15 release of A Mother's Recall on digital video. 

A Mother's Recall

Directed and co-written by Mauro Iván Ojeda, the film blends psychological dread with supernatural menace, building an atmospheric and immersive horror experience. The digital-only release is being released in both English- and Spanish-language editions. 

Following the international reception of Ojeda's previous feature La Funeraria (2020) - available on Amazon Prime and widely celebrated for its unique tone - this project pushes the genre further, combining character-driven storytelling with a chilling, slow-burn aesthetic. The film draws strength from its deeply unsettling narrative structure and richly realized characters. Its commercial appeal lies in its resonance with fans of elevated horror - a genre that balances emotional depth with potent scares - while its distinctive voice and original thematic focus make it stand out in the current horror landscape. 

A married couple adopts Genaro, and when the boy arrives at his new home he meets his siblings Nuria and Samuel. As the days go by, Genaro suspects that his new family is suffering from a paranormal siege that keeps them in a state of anguish and gloom. Nuria is a teenager who learns the strange and terrifying secrets of her family and manages to forge a special bond with Genaro. Both are united by an evil presence that brings with it a series of sinister events.

Press Quotes

"A Mother's Recall is by far an easy watch ... Not only is this film not to be missed, but it is also not to be underestimated."

     —DEAD NORTHERN

"Where the film stands out from being eerie to completely nightmarish is his unique take on staging the scares."

     —Dead Northern

On this day in 1991 (in the United Kingdom), home audiences were treated to the small screen launch of Dark Season, a single-season adventure involving the young-at-heart.  The series starred Ben Chandler, Brigit Forsyth, Victoria Lambert, Kate Winslet, Grant Parsons, and others.  According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the series' premise:

"Three children investigate strange goings-on in their school and protect it from such threats as a computer scientist with dreams of world domination and a mysterious group of archaeologists hoping to bring about the end of the century."

-- EZ

From Google.com:

Dark Season is a 1991 British children's science-fiction television serial broadcast on BBC One.

Key Details

• Creator & Writer: Russell T Davies (in his first original television commission)
• Director: Colin Cant
• Original Run: November 14 to December 19, 1991 (6 episodes, 25 minutes each)
• Main Cast:
• Victoria Lambert as Marcie
• Ben Chandler as Thomas
• Kate Winslet as Reet (in her first major screen role)
• Jacqueline Pearce as the villain Miss Pendragon
• Brigit Forsyth and Grant Parsons

Plot Structure

The 6-episode serial is divided into two linked three-part stories:

1. The Computer Threat (Episodes 1–3): A philanthropist named Mr. Eldritch (Grant Parsons) donates free computers from his company, Abyss Modems, to a local school. Marcie, Thomas, and Reet discover the computers contain a malignant program designed to hypnotize and enslave the students and community.
2. The Behemoth & Neo-Nazi Plot (Episodes 4–6): A mysterious archaeological dig on school grounds is led by Miss Pendragon (Jacqueline Pearce) and a group attempting to unearth and revive the "Behemoth," an ancient sentient war computer/artificial intelligence to establish a new order.

Legacy & Connection to Doctor Who

• Whoniverse Precursor: Fans and critics view Dark Season as a direct thematic precursor to Russell T Davies' later work on Doctor Who (which he revived in 2005) as well as The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Audio Revival:

In 2023, Big Finish Productions released a 4-part audio sequel titled Dark Season: Legacy Rising, which successfully reunited the original surviving cast members, including Kate Winslet.

While I’m admit it’s rare, there are times I find myself asking “Just who was this picture made for?”

See, the point of storytelling has been – and should always be – to craft a meaningful yarn built to embrace the widest audience possible.  Certainly, there’s always room to stray a bit of that path – if the film is meant to be more educational in nature – and there should still always be just enough space for folks both in front of and beyond the camera to inject the effort with a little something extra, a little chutzpah, an air of freshness.  Ultimately, if a team has assembled a work of art that’s essentially intended just for their little group, then it runs the risk of being ignored or completely misunderstood outside on one’s personal or professional circle.  This doesn’t mean releasing it to the public-at-large is a bad idea; but those involved should be prepared for the disappointment if the critical consensus winds down to a confusing sense of “Well, what was that all about?”

Now, I’m not saying – definitively – that this is the kind of picture Bunker Heights (2026) is.  Written by, directed by, and starring Drew Fortier, I’ll conclude that most definitely it was a loose vanity project – you can’t have that measure of involvement and not have some personal investment in there – and the film surprisingly meanders along at a reasonable pace (there’s some bloat) to what might be best described as … well … acceptable entertainment.  Though it suggests in spots that it might be trying to say something about a specific time and/or place, the story still gets a bit bogged down in nothingness to the point wherein I just didn’t quite care for how it all tied up and/or what it all meant.

Mind you: I think it was made for a certain audience.  I just don’t think that audience was you or me.

(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the kind of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …”

From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:

“A savage collision of crime, comedy, and creature horror unfolds when corruption, violence, and something monstrous emerging beneath the city streets plunge Bunker Heights into chaos.”

Growing up in a small town has advantages.

For instance, a classmate of mine had a huge desire to go into filmmaking; and his parents at one point gifted him what I believe was an 8MM camera.  Instead of just documenting little-to-nothing and experimenting with the thing, he chose to gather some friends together every now and then and actually produce a zero budget epic, something loosely strung around a few story points that his makeshift cast would then pick up and run with.  These weren’t any heavy hitters by any estimation; and yet we could still get together as a group some weekday eve and laugh at these finished ‘motion pictures’ entirely because that’s why and how they were made.  It was all good fun.

2026’s Bunker Heights from Drew Fortier feels like it could’ve been the same thing but on a much grander scale.  Arguably, there’s much more story than our humble group would ever have attempted – small town politics, broadcast news shenanigans, some secret government monster-making facility, and a tired police veteran who has grown tired of trying to fit the pieces together with a sense of justice – but the overall milieu remains the same.  Throwing the monster business into the mix is, most likely, the only element here that has a significant chance at hooking an audience wider than those involved; and yet in the end there’s so little of that goodness that those who do find this are probably still going to be disappointed.

As for the story: an unfortunate labor strike of the police force has the already overworked Derek Tucker (played by Fortier) quickly moving up the ladder (whether he likes it or not, much less being qualified or not) when some gruesome murders look to involve a murderer something more than human.  Hotshot reporter Julia Stevenson (Hannah Fierman) will stop at nothing to get the inside scoop if for no other reason than it’ll be her ticket out of the dead end Bunker Heights has turned out to be.  Eventually, circumstances require the two to work together; and alongside the somewhat wacky Doctor Young (Paul T. Taylor) they’ll make a stand against an emerging threat of undead mutants who are hungry for human flesh in just the way undead mutants always are.

Now, if you can’t tell, then let me assure you that this is all intended to be more than a little tongue-in-cheek.  While a few of the players muster a bit of seriousness, their candor likely is only being used to build to a punchline that’s forthcoming; and – if you’re patient – then you’ll reach each of the modestly telegraphed jokes as they unfold in perfunctory fashion.  Because this is an obviously micro-budgeted affair, it’s important to just sit back, munch some popcorn, and go with the flow: it isn’t so plain that you feel like you’re a hostage being forced to watch the comedy and drama unfold, but there’s still an ample bit of bloat that could’ve been trimmed to make Bunker Heights a leaner machine than what’s chucked in between the opening and closing credits.

However, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that I’d somehow stumbled into one of those informal screenings of my youth.  Because I wasn’t there to participate in the glorious process of throwing it together, I didn’t quite get all of the punchlines, nor did I understand why all of these misbegotten souls could be jammed into a single space at a single time.  Sure, I’ll give credit where credit is due and say that Fortier understood the assignment well enough to delineate every narrative beat in his script.  But when the film closes on a moment which appears to have been an outtake, it destroyed the experience so criminally that I felt more like an unwelcome voyeur than I did a welcome member of the audience.

Bunker Heights (2026) was produced by Bellini Industries.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at MVD Entertainment Group.  As for the technical specifications?  While I’m no trained video expert, I can still assure readers that this independent production still boasts some very, very, very solid sights and sounds: a few sequences could’ve used better sound support – some garbled words, some obvious dips in volume – but none of that is all that distracting.  Lastly, if you’re looking for special features?  This two-disc set contains two cuts of the film along with a ‘making-of’ documentary that definitely proves that this was a group effort, one wherein a good time was likely had by all involved.

Alas … only Mildly Recommended.

There are times when it becomes difficult to have something significant to say about a picture; and, sadly, that’s the bottom line with Bunker Heights (2026).  On the surface, it certainly appears to be a labor of love from those who both dreamed it up and brought it to life; and yet it’s hard to dismiss that nagging question at the back of the brain that kept asking, “Was any of this necessary, though?”  Performances are adequate, and the practical effects – what little there are – are convincing enough in an old school style of presentation.  But when you choose to end your motion picture with what seems to be an outtake – with what’s best suggested to be an inside joke that we, the audience, aren’t privy to – then it kinda/sorta leaves an impression that this was all done for us and not for you, meaning no one cared whether we showed up or not.  A strange brew, indeed.

In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at MVD Entertainment Group provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Bunker Heights (2026) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review.  Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ

Folks, I'm at the age where I'm apt to remind readers that exploring content outside one's favorites is always good for the brain.

In other words, I firmly believe that it's important for one's general wellbeing to search for programs outside of simply Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.  As a reader, I've long been a huge fan of vintage crime mysteries; and that's what led me to the world of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer.  Certainly, the books aren't for everyone -- they're deliciously predicated on accepting that 'toxic masculinity' is undeniable vital to the species of man -- but they're an incredible diversion from whatever plagues the mind ... the perfect bit of escapism into an utterly sometimes diabolical world.

In any event ...

Spillane's seminal private investigator found broadcast television life in the 1980's and beyond with the face of tough guy Stacy Keach.  This old-fashioned gumshoe was brought into that era wherein we were culturally evolving a bit, making him sometimes a bit of an odd duck for characters to figure out.  He was the dinosaur who couldn't change his ways even though he tried on occasion; and it made for some compelling TV-grade storytelling that deserves a bit of rediscovery today.  Good writing -- and great characters -- never go out-of-style, nor should our collective realization that sometimes you need an old school tough guy to handle even the most modern age villain.  Keach did a masterful job.

Alas, none of us lasts forever; and I saw overnight that word had reached the Information Superhighway on the man's passing.

With well over two hundred different screen credits to his name, I can assure you that there's something in there for everyone.  Keach also turned his talents to voice acting on occasions; and I know that he was also contracted to do audio adaptations of a Mike Hammer novel here and there.  I also know that he served as the host (I believe it was) for a generation of radio adaptations to installments of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone, and I'll always encourage folks to give those a listen.  Lastly, I know fans of the Batman: The Animated Universe might also recognize the actor as the voice of Phantasm in the wildly popular Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993) ... one of the single greatest Batman adventures ever brough to cinemas.

If you haven't noticed, then let me make it plain: this death hurts.  I loved Keach as a talent, and I shudder to think of a world where his unmistakable voice and general tough guy presence has slipped into the void.

Our warmest prayers are extended to the family, friends, and fans of Stacy Keach.

May he rest in peace.

-- EZ

Good morning, happy readers, and welcome to the latest controversy within fandom ... and if you know anything about fandom's many controversies then you full well know this won't be the last one.

While I've said over and over and over again that my site is unlike a lot of the others -- I rarely wander into the fray of online cultural arguing -- I'm occasionally pushed into the light.  My point in refraining from such hubbub is that, fundamentally, what I have to say really isn't going to change anything anywhere, so why should I expend any time, thought, and effort on it?  I know, I know: that sounds a bit defeatist, but I do like to think of it as me being a realist.  When something happens, it generally happens for a reason; and I'm willing to let things play out to see where they lead.  Regardless, there are instances wherein an event or two have folks asking me what I think, and today's another one of those days.

Now ...

As I've often said, I'm no fan of James Gunn. 

I don't harbor any ill will against the man -- his Tweets are stuff of vile legends, and in his defense he's insisted that they were just jokes, though I fail to his anything humorous in there -- and even though he's lost his job as Grand Poobah over DC Studios I suspect he'll continue to be gainfully employed in Hollywood (of all places).  He and his buddy Safran have arguably damaged the DC Studios brand, and I really don't think that can be effectively disputed: box office returns being what they are, any affiliated merchandise attached to his projects seems to be equally dead.  When that happens, bosses have to do something and quickly if they want to retain some prospect for intellectual properties to interest here and abroad.  That's simple reality.

Still, the controversy seems to be 'did he quit' or 'was he fired,' and -- once more -- I have to say that I really don't care one way or the other.  Based on his statement, it would appear that quit once he realized that the nature of being a studio head was somewhat beyond his grasp, he learned that lesson, and wanted out.  If that's the case, then good on him.  Since then, a great deal of reportage has surfaced strongly indicating he was, in fact, removed from the post; and, frankly, it isn't hard to see how that couldn't be the true means with which he and Peter were somewhat cast aside.

The point I'm trying to illustrate here thinly is that financial metrics underscore that a change was N-E-C-E-S-S-A-R-Y.  The state of DC Studios rose to a point wherein someone -- some adult in the room -- recognized that fiscally things weren't worked; and regardless of whether Gunn's movies and shows are liked you can't woo investors into the breach on the promise of little to know profit.  Hollywood math being what it is, Gunn's efforts simply weren't working at the scale required; so his vacating the job -- however it happened -- was a necessary first step.  That essentially is where all of these issues start and stop for me: it might make me a bit callous, but as I've already said I think it makes me a realist.

Those who would celebrate the change in management are perfectly justified in doing so, especially given the fact that all of Gunn's internet fans spent the better part of the last few years trouncing anyone who had a kind or even supportive word to say about Zack Snyder's handling of the DC properties.  In the ultimate battleground demonstrating better than ever that you reap what you sow, there were very few voices -- like mine -- trying to stay focused on simply celebrating entertainment that worked to unite us as opposed to divide us.  While I'm an admitted fan of what Zack did, I'll concede that his take on superheroes wasn't for everyone.  While I've been no fan of Gunn's work, I equally don't go around christening his supporters as rejects.  Each of us gets to like what we like ... so long as we're being honest with one another ... but I prefer fandom when we're not at each others' throats.

But, again, the change in leadership was N-E-C-E-S-S-A-R-Y.  For better or for worse, this conclusion has come to pass; and we'll have to wait and see where it takes us.  Naturally, if 2027's Man Of Tomorrow comes out and is a box office hit, I would suspect that there might be another layer to this that could have Skydance suits doubting their decision ... and, yet, for now all we can do is let the chips fall where they may.

Try to do it respectfully.

-- EZ