The SAW series – one of the highest grossing horror film franchises of all time – makes its return to “Halloween Horror Nights,” bringing the blockbuster’s most terrifying traps to life in an all-new original maze opening at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort, beginning September 15, 2017.
Based on the Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures hit horror film franchise, “SAW: The Games of Jigsaw” will bring to life the scariest game yet. In this all-new maze guests will come face-to-face with the work of master craftsman “Jigsaw” and a collection of his most infamous traps from the SAW film series and upcoming eighth installment JIGSAW.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering again with Universal Studios on an immersive experience that celebrates everything that our SAW fans love,” said Lionsgate Senior Vice President of Global Live and Location Based Entertainment Jenefer Brown. “The maze features the most terrifying traps that made the SAW franchise such a Halloween tradition, including some of the best from our upcoming filmJIGSAW. What better way to complement the film’s release this Halloween than taking audiences into the over-the-top action at ‘Halloween Horror Nights.'”
“SAW is one of the top grossing horror film franchises, and we’re thrilled that the fan-favorite is making its return to ‘Halloween Horror Nights,'” said John Murdy, Creative Director at Universal Studios Hollywood and Executive Producer of “Halloween Horror Nights.” “‘SAW: The Games of Jigsaw’ will encompass the greatest collection of traps featured in all eight SAW movies to bring to life the most twisted SAW maze ever produced, and we can’t wait for our fans to relive moments from the films.”
“We’re excited to bring SAW back to ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ and to take fans even deeper into the mind of ‘Jigsaw,'” said Charles Gray, Show Director for Creative Development, “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Orlando Resort. “Filled with unimaginable horrors from the hit saga and the upcoming film JIGSAW, this maze is truly a trap in itself.”
Created by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the SAW film series has ratcheted up tension and invention with each successive film, while rattling millions of nerves worldwide. The eighth film of the powerhouse franchise is scheduled to hit theatres on October 27, 2017 – in its traditional opening weekend slot leading into Halloween. JIGSAW is written by Josh Stolberg & Peter Goldfinger and directed by The Spierig Brothers
Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” is the ultimate Halloween event. For more than 20 years, guests from around the world have visited “Halloween Horror Nights” in Hollywood and Orlando to become victims inside their own horror film. The streets of each coast’s event are transformed into highly-themed scare zones where menacing “scare-actors” lunge from every darkened corner. Multiple movie-quality haunted houses are erected throughout the event, based on everything from iconic slasher films to hit horror television series to haunting original stories.
Additional details about Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” will be revealed soon. For more information about “Halloween Horror Nights” at either Universal Studios Hollywood or Universal Orlando Resort, visit www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com.
Streaming
His Three Daughters (Netflix) – A Heartfelt Family Drama
His Three Daughters, Netflix’s emotional family drama, explores the strained relationships between three estranged sisters who are reunited by their father’s terminal illness. Set in a small, intimate family home, the film follows Katie, the eldest daughter and caretaker, Christina, the rebellious middle child, and Laura, the youngest, who carries the weight of family expectations. As they come together to care for their ailing father, old wounds resurface, leading to intense confrontations, moments of reconciliation, and ultimately, the rediscovery of familial bonds.
The narrative is a slow burn, focusing on the sisters’ personal journeys as they grapple with their father’s decline, unresolved issues from the past, and the impending loss of their patriarch. Director Azazel Jacobs captures these emotionally charged moments with precision, delivering a raw, honest portrayal of sibling dynamics, grief, and love. The performances are gripping, with each actress bringing depth and vulnerability to their roles, making the audience feel the weight of their complicated relationship.
The house, almost a character itself, is filled with memories, secrets, and tension. As the sisters sort through their father’s belongings, they also untangle their own emotional baggage, confronting their fears, regrets, and hopes for the future.
His Three Daughters is a powerful character-driven story that captures the complexities of family ties and the inevitability of loss. The film shines with its strong performances, subtle direction, and poignant dialogue. While its pacing may feel slow for some viewers, those who appreciate emotional depth and character development will find this drama deeply moving. The film’s realistic portrayal of sibling rivalry, grief, and reconciliation makes it relatable and impactful.
Rating: 4/5 – A deeply affecting family drama that hits all the right emotional notes.
TV
Top 5 Korean TV Horror
Kingdom
What could be better than a beautifully realized Joseon-period K-Drama, starring the excellent actor Doona Bae, fresh off her grand success in Netflix’s ‘Sense8’? All of that, but with zombies!
Oh this is a great one ya’ll. Adapted from a webcomic known as The Kingdom of the Gods, the show addresses the huge gap between the high and low classes plaguing (sorry) our Kingdom and of course has several engaging mysteries running throughout, but also happens to be a monster mash in the fantastic new zombie way reminiscent of Train to Busan! The show got not one but two well deserved seasons and even spawned (very sorry) a Netflix special, Kingdom: Ashin of the North, that yes, spoilers, features a zombie tiger. And it is absolutely amazingly rendered too.
Kingdom on Netflix gives us a breathtakingly possible story from long ago, both lovely and terrifying in equal measure, that should get a view from everyone!
Goblin: The Lonely and Great God
Whatever other great supernatural romance KDrama you think is awesome, Goblin did it first. Also known as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, the show graces us with outstanding performances from Gong Yoo as our Lead and Lee Dong-wook as the Grim Reaper, and is a romance with a supernatural twist for the ages. Like, literal ages. So Ji Eun-tak (Kim Go-eun), a bubbly high school student despite her tragic family history and her ability to see ghosts, who knows diddly about fate and the machinations of destiny, is skeptical in the beginning. But as the supernatural of the Goblin and the Grim Reapers and the search for a destined bride across space and time catches everyone in its clutches, love in all its messy, gloriously alive splendor may just save the souls of everyone involved!
Catch Goblin or Guardian whatever you want to call it, on Amazon Prime now!
Squid Game
This choice is obvious, though honestly it’s kind of sad at the same time. The main reason most of us enjoyed Squid Game quite that much, was because it was entirely possible, for pretty much all of it, to happen tomorrow. The show was so engaging in its many different portrayals of the lowest, pettiest, and darkest parts of humanity that were given to us by these actors like it was pulled out of their very souls and offered up to us the audience on a platter, and we ate, we consumed, with relish. Hell, we demanded a sequel series, which should be coming out soonish.
It says a fair bit about us as a species as we watch these poor, both literally and figuratively if you think about it, people participate in what are actual Games of Death. The show launched another wave of interest in large-stakes games, Korean culinary culture (ask me about the dalgona crack!), and became iconic with the jumpsuit and the blank mask with a shape on it. Have you seen the tinies who wear the jumpsuit and shape-mask to go trick-or-treating? They’re five years old. Did you let them watch the show?! Wow.
We all know Squid Game is a Netflix show, right? Right.
Tale of the 9 Tailed
Plenty has been said about the kitsune, the magical Japanese 9-tailed fox, while the Korean version is known as a gumiho, and is similar-ish in nature and magical powers. Like their other Asian counterparts, the gumiho is known to be otherworldly and long-lived, snarky and arrogant when it comes to humans, unless the prospective human love interest happens to come entangled in the threads of fate and destiny. … Well, guess what!
Celebrated lead Lee Dong-wook is our Korean fox main character Lee Yeon, former mountain spirit and guardian who now spends his earthly time carrying out missions from the Afterlife Immigrations Office while looking for the reincarnation of his former love, the exiled 7th daughter of the former King of Joseon, she who carries the fox bead, Yi Ah-eum, or Nam Ji-ah (Jo Bo-ah) as she’s known here in the modern era.
We’ve got Spirits of Darkness, shamans and Dragon Kings, shapeshifters and turning-humans-into-trees type curses, long-standing grudges and the binding if not choking ties of fate and destiny, all bound together with great love that spans lifetimes! Chase those nine tails of the gumiho on Netflix!
Bulgasal Immortal Souls
This is a hard one ya’ll – featuring pretty constant violent death-and-rebirth, a craptastic ton of guilt everywhere, actual physical and emotional abuse from trusted authority figures and family, no sexual abuse but it sure is strongly threatened and implied, and the equivalent of a vampire crossed with a demon for the supernatural element to tie it all together, Bulgasal Immortal Souls is not for the faint of heart, or stomach.
However, the show is a gorgeous read and wonderfully shot, finding beauty in the (eventual) redemption of its characters, but boy do they take awhile to get there. And the constant, if unintentional, betrayal can start to get on your nerves. And they do, the characters do manage to find their way across fate and lifetimes to be together for a few precious moments, which is great. Be warned though, Bulgasal believes in playing things out to the final, often very bitter but in theory deserved, very end. Treasure those few precious moments, the show says, they will be gone before you know it. Not only a great horror, the show also works as an anti-valentine’s day Bulgasal Immortal Souls on Netflix now!