What brave new world is this where genetically engineered military work dogs are not the stuff of science fiction but, soon, the stuff of science fact? That is one of the upshots from news that Forbes first broke Thursday evening about American billionaires Ben Lamm and Palmer Luckey collaborating on a new startup titled Warhound, and already it has in stealth raised $200 million in seed funding. The stated goal is to use some of the same technology of Lamm’s Colossal Biosciences to clone military work dogs that can be genetically altered to serve the U.S. military, a client Luckey’s…

Matthew Lillard is deeply proud of his children. Obviously aware of the irony that he was once most famous for playing young people discovering their identities or beginning their lives in high school and college, and is now the “elder statesman” on sets like Mike Flanagan’s Carrie, Lillard remains acutely observant of the growing-up experience—especially in his own home with three children between the ages of 18 and 24. It’s why he suspects so many parents and adults are deluding themselves these days if they think the kids are as happy and as assured in the world around them as…

Too many of today’s filmgoers may not appreciate the breadth of work that Tom Skerritt left when he passed away this week at the age of 93. Skerritt got his start in war movies and TV shows like 12 O’Clock High and Gunsmoke in the early ’60s, but became a regular in the New Hollywood movement, appearing in M.A.S.H., Harold and Maude, and Fuzz. In the ’80s and ’90s, he started playing authority figures, police and military officers in The Dead Zone, Top Gun, and the Emmy-winning TV drama Picket Fences. Ironically, it may be one of Skerritt’s best-known roles…

This article contains spoilers for all of Peacock and A24’s Crystal Lake. There’s a bare bum but no boobs as far as the eye can see. For kids of the ‘70s and ‘80s, a slasher movie without tits is like a sky without stars. What’s going on? Crystal Lake, the Friday the 13th prequel series produced by A24 and streaming now on Peacock is horror that reflects its time, much in the same way that the 1980 original film did. The show is gory as all hell but fairly prudish when it comes to nudity. But that’s not necessarily a…

Imagine walking into a store and realizing that everything inside is purple. Not just the decorations, but the actual merchandise. Now imagine another shop selling pillows shaped like raw meat, or one with hundreds of rubber ducks staring back at you. These places really exist, and somehow, they’ve found enough customers to keep their very specific ideas alive. Some have been around for decades, while others are the kind of businesses you might stumble upon during a vacation and immediately tell your friends about. We’ve gathered 15 shops that have taken their love for one particular thing a little further…

This article contains spoilers for Carrie season 1. Carrie White does not, it turns out, burn in Hell. Whatever we were told by Sue Snell’s dream sequence at the end of the 1976 Brian De Palma movie, Amazon has different plans for its take on the poor bullied telekinetic. A second season of the Prime Video series has been greenlit, continuing creator Mike Flanagan‘s plans for a three-season series based on the 1974 Stephen King novel. “For 50 years, audiences have known and gravitated to Carrie White’s story. From the beginning, we imagined a story that goes far beyond the…

Robert Eggers is in the midst of transformation. When we catch up with the 21st-century maestro of the macabre, he is in a pitch-black room (of course) at his London studio, supervising the final mix of sound and effects for Werwulf. Like other Eggers films that are now staples of modern horror, from The Witch to Nosferatu, Werwulf is a meticulously researched, borderline fanatical period piece, this one set in a 1300s England so authentic every character speaks in Middle English. Stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Lily-Rose Depp even practiced each line with a phoneticist. Yet like Taylor-Johnson’s cursed hero, Eggers…

Nobody enjoys finding out what other people really think about their appearance, especially when the feedback arrives without anyone asking for it. Unfortunately, Reddit users have plenty of stories about awkward compliments, disastrous dates, and strangers who apparently never learned when to keep quiet. Some experiences are genuinely hurtful, while others are so ridiculous that laughing might be the only reasonable response. Of course, beauty is subjective, and one rude comment doesn’t determine how attractive someone is. Still, these encounters have clearly stuck with the people who experienced them. Here are 15 Reddit users sharing the moments that made them…

Halloween is fundamentally a kid’s holiday, a day for youngsters to dress up as their favorite characters and gather candy from their neighbors. But for those older kids and preteens, Halloween can be frustrating too. They’re edging out of the age for trick-or-treating, and want to indulge in some of the more grown-up stuff, even if they aren’t quite ready for the terror and disturbing content of a horror movie. Those kids may relate the plight of one Dipper Pines, a preteen who wants to spend Summerween—his town’s extra Halloween celebration, made to go trick-or-treating while on vacation—at a party…

The White House has hosted its share of formal dinners, diplomatic receptions, and carefully planned celebrations, but not every president stuck to the official program. Some enjoyed late-night poker games, while others preferred live music, crowded parties, or a good excuse to invite half of Washington over. Bill Clinton famously brought his saxophone into the spotlight, and Andrew Jackson’s inauguration attracted a crowd that practically took over the White House. Even presidents remembered for their serious public images occasionally knew how to entertain. History offers plenty of stories about what happened after the speeches ended. Here are 10 American presidents…

There are not even 40 confirmed, sufficiently complete moa eggs known about on this planet. Those that survive are a glimpse, a keyhole really, into a past and time when these great, enormous birds dominated the islands of New Zealand (or Aotearoa, as it is known in Māori). Of those less than 40 surviving eggs, only eight are believed to have 90 percent or more of their shells still intact. That number is about to go up to nine. Indeed, the Giant Moa egg that Peter Jackson and Colossal Biosciences just acquired for Jackson’s native home of New Zealand is…

It’s been a wild year for the movie industry and the world, which might explain why so many folks were nervous about whether DC Studios’ highly-anticipated, big swing of an R-Rated Clayface would be able to deliver the goods. Walking out of director James Watkins’ shockingly extreme, and enjoyable, entry in the Gunnverse, it felt silly any of us ever doubted Watkins or the incredible team both behind the camera or in front of it, caked in appropriately muddy, runny clay. Watkins previously burst onto the scene with the hauntingly brutal “Broken Britain” horror entry, Eden Lake, and almost 20…

Horror movie fans are a unique breed. We will turn on Shudder and watch anything that happens to hit the screen. We’ll sit through a critically-panned, utterly reviled slog if it even has potential to include one good scare. We’ll watch Exorcist sequels. But Halloween is for everyone, not just the weirdos. That means we need to make space for those who don’t have strong feelings about the best Texas Chainsaw prequel and are just getting started in the genre. That’s where PG-13 horror comes in. Fortunately, some of the greatest horror movies ever made are rated PG-13, 10 of…

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Tomb Raider, the seminal action-adventure platformer that debuted on the Sega Saturn, PC, and PlayStation in 1996. Protagonist Lara Croft quickly became an industry icon, receiving a whole line of sequels, revivals, and reboots, with games gracing virtually every major platform in the decades following. The franchise has spread to all kinds of merchandising and multimedia, including three theatrical films, two animated series, and an upcoming live-action show for Prime Video. Simply put, even if you’re not a gamer, there’s a good chance that you know who Lara Croft is. Aside from the…

This article contains spoilers for VisionQuest season 1 episodes 3 and 4. The third episode of VisionQuest ends with the titular synthazoid possessed. On a literal level, some aggressive program has hacked into his system and taken control of him, overwriting his code. Figuratively, however, the attack is depicted through classical horror movie tropes, with Vision floating in the air and wearing a look of shock, as if a demon has taken hold of his body. The next episode takes it even further, with F.R.I.D.A.Y. grabbing a Bible-like book off the shelf and reciting something that might be a ritual,…

With abilities that include flight, strength, intangibility, and laser beams, the Vision is one of the most formidable heroes in the Marvel bullpen. He’s gone against the galaxy’s greatest villains, including his own maker, the genocidal robot Ultron. But with Ultron off the board in the new show VisionQuest—or, at least, relegated to the Vision’s Mindspace—a new bad guy needs to arise to challenge our hero, someone strong and resourceful and powerful. And yet, VisionQuest‘s creators chose the Paladin. If you’ve never heard of the Paladin, then you’re not alone. Since debuting in 1977’s Daredevil #150 (that fabled low-point of…

This article contains spoilers for VisionQuest season 1 episode 4. Now halfway through VisionQuest’s eight-episode season, we’ve seen E.D.I.T.H. don all sorts of costumes. But it’s not really until she puts on a duster, chews a toothpick, and explains the photos and strings on an evidence board that we realize what’s going on: they’re in a crime procedural show. It’s not the only genre jump that happens in this episode, which begins as an Exorcist riff (complete with E.D.I.T.H. in a priest’s vestments), shifts to a procedural, and then becomes an espionage story. The changes in tone are all motivated…

This article contains spoilers for VisionQuest season 1 episode 3. We watchers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe know that Robert Downey Jr. is coming back in mere months, this time as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. But the MCU still isn’t over Tony Stark, a point that VisionQuest makes when F.R.I.D.A.Y. tearfully recalls to E.D.I.T.H. her last final moments with her maker. Despite the talents of Orla Brady and Emily Hampshire, the scene rings false. We still love Tony Stark, but the MCU’s substandard output over the past few years and its constant nods back to Avengers: Endgame means that…

Everyone loves horror movies in October. Every year when spooky season comes around, even your timid grandma likes to put on something that makes her skin crawl at least a little. But for the weirdos who watch horror movies 12 months out of the year, October is a chance to kick it up a notch. This is the time to indulge one’s self in real stomach-churning, gross-out glory. Fortunately, there are lots to choose from, and we’ve sorted out the 10 best of the tasteless worst. Well, sort of tasteless. Because we may be a bunch of sick freaks here,…

Sitcoms have a very particular formula, one that can fill us with comfort once we get used to its familiarity. There’s a setup, a punchline, and the loud roar of a studio audience telling us exactly when to chuckle. It’s a comforting rhythm that has been the backbone of television comedy for decades. Strip away that canned laughter, though, and things get weird fast. That slight silence can make a light hearted joke become a huge red flag, turning endearing characters into borderline psychopaths. Join us to see the ones that seem odd without that laughtrack. IMDb Friends Taking away…