10 Trivia Facts About The Conjuring 2 (2016) – We Bet You Don’t Know Them All!

20 September 2016

James Wan’s The Conjuring 2 did well in theaters and with critics, and it’s finally available for rental! There are no major spoilers here, just some fun trivia that we would be surprised if you had heard all about before now.

Javier Botet played “The Crooked Man”. Search “Javier Botet” in the content for this site and you’ll come up with a hell of a lot a pieces he’s tagged in. Mr. Botet has portrayed many of the most frightening, nightmarish characters in the last ten years of cinema, including “the Medeiros Girl” in the fucking terrifying climax of [REC] (2007) and two other movies in the same franchise, the titular character of Mama (2013), who can kill you just by showing up, and the horrifying ghostly female apparitions featured in the only scary scenes in Crimson Peak (2015), among others. He is 6 ft 7 and weighs about 110 lbs, and he is also double-jointed. If you didn’t know Mr. Botet’s work well, you would think that the Crooked Man apparition in The Conjuring 2 was created by using CGI animation …but you would be wrong.

Guess who?

2/3. See that featured image up at the top of this piece? Notice the letters on the bookshelves? V-A-L-A-K. Also, check out the colorful letters on the window below…

4. Lily Taylor blew her voice out from screaming during filming of the first Conjuring. Vera Farmiga did her one better and blew out a damned lymph node from screaming (multiple takes were needed, which made it worse) filming her role as Elizabeth Warren during The Conjuring 2. Jesus! Ouch! [source: IMDB]

5. Did you know that to promote the DVD/Blu-ray release, the studio put out a trailer that consists of the original trailer backwards, and it is somehow even creepier that way? You can watch it right here (EW.com made it an exclusive, so no insert)… and (hint) listen.

6. Speaking of very scary voices, the actual recording of the possessed Janet Hodgson is played over the end credits. The dialogue in the movie follows the recording closely. If you are feeling brave and the lights are on, you can listen to it below (this recording goes for a full twelve minutes, unlike the condensed version played in The Conjuring 2). Regardless of your level of skepticism, does THIS sound like an 11-year old girl to you? The working class Hodgson family did not exactly have access to sophisticated voice-altering technology. Today it could be easily be faked …but not back in 1977. Listeners beware, however; this made the hair on our bodies stand on end.

7. You probably spotted Annabelle (you don’t forget that thing’s face) in her glass cabinet, along with the music box from The Conjuring in the Warren’s museum, but did you see the black and white painting hanging in the Warren’s office?

It’s the house from The Conjuring, along with that very distinctive tree. Minus Bathsheba’s shadow hanging from the tree, it looks very close to the image on the theatrical poster.

8. Here’s an extremely creepy one. During the Amityville séance cold-open, Elizabeth Warren is terrorized by (among other things) a demonic-looking little boy whose eyes glow a white-silver. Director James Wan was inspired by the following notorious photo claiming to show the youngest victim of the DeFeo massacre (copyright: Paranormal Guide), AKA the “Amityville Ghost Boy”.

Click here to learn more about this photo from Paranormal Guide.

9. There is yet another image where you can pick out the demon Valak’s name. This one, you need to be looking for (thank you, IMDB trivia section, for telling us the time mark in the movie). You can see the “V” in the “love” plaque, and the rest…

How did THAT get there?

10. Finally, we are pretty sure this is just PR from the movie studio to promote the home video release of The Conjuring 2, though warning potential viewers of possible unexplained, dangerous paranormal activity directly caused by watching a copy might not be the best media strategy. Here are alleged scary incidents pointing to some kind of “visual curse” that is the result of watching…

Oh, GIMME A FREAKIN’ BREAK! Stupidest thing we ever heard, pffffft! We rented the movie on VOD and watched it Saturday night, and we’re fine! Calling bullshit on this one, because… because… what was that noise?

Variety Review of ‘[REC] 4: Apocalypse’ Says The [REC] Franchise Has “Largely Bounced Back”

1 November 2014

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Well, after we just spent over an hour combing the net, trying to find out if Javier Botet is back to appear as The Medieros Girl (AKA the ‘attic monster’) in this “final” installment, we only succeeded in scaring the shit out of ourselves, especially with some of the horrifying galleries that Tumbler has put together. So we’ll let you know when we know. By the way, if you’re wondering why the word ‘final’ is in quotes when we use it referring to [REC] 4: Apocalypse, that’s because this review from Variety.com states that the door is more or less left wide open for a sequel. That’s just fine with us!

Click “View Original” is the lower left to read the entire review.

New Trailer For [REC]4 APOCALYPSE Finally Has Actual Footage From The Movie!

25 May 2014

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Bad news or good news first? How about getting that bad news out of the way…

So far, I can find no evidence of the equally amazing and nightmarish actor Javier Botet (as the Medieros Girl, AKA Nina Medieros, AKA the “Attic Monster”. Yes, we know that the monster was, um, how should I put this to avoid spoilers, sort of “written out” at the end of [REC]2. Interesting trivia: Botet originally (and reluctantly) told the film-makers he would have to take a pass and not participate in [REC] 2 due to health issues in connection with the location of the shoot, but the film-makers basically worked around that, and even moved the shooting location to one more comfortable for him …because let’s face it, no-one can replace Javier Botet in this role. Anyway, though, he had a cameo in [REC]3, where it was revealed that anyone who is possessed by the virus appears as the Medieros girl in any reflective surface. This was with the lights on and it still made my hair stand on end. I’d even settle for a cameo like that. However, this final installment in the series is still in production, so it still could happen (or they could be saving it for a reveal).

Ya THINK?

Good news: it looks like R4A will be released before the end of the year! Also, it will consist of a standard filming style rather than “found footage”. Not that [REC] doesn’t do found footage perfectly*, but it was interesting to see an ordinary narrative used it most of [REC]3 (and it worked, though it was hard to get used to initially). Here’s the trailer, and from what you’ll see, this film has very little danger of being boring… or bloodless.

Description:

The young reporter Ángela is rescued from the building and taken to an oil tanker to be examined. However, it is unbeknown to the soldiers that she carries the seed of the mysterious demonic virus.

Release Date: 2014
Director: Jaume Balagueró
Cast: Manuela Velasco, Héctor Colomé, María Alfonsa Rosso
Genre: Horror, Drama
Country: Spain

Oh, and if you’re a fan of the series, or see found-footage horror on a regular basis, don’t miss Horror Boom’s new Found-Footage Drinking Game right here! {REC} gets brought up quite a few times as found-footage done right.

*to this day {REC} remains on our Top Ten Scariest Movies of All Time list, and that ain’t no easy task.

Happy Mother’s Day From Horror Boom! Watch This Tribute Which Will Of Course Not Scare You At All!

12 May 2013

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Really, such a touching tribute to ~~mama~~ mothers all over the planet. What’s that you asked? Oh, of COURSE, it’s perfectly safe to watch with the sound cranked up all the way and the lights off! Maybe you should watch it, though, just to be safe, before you send a link to any of the people you usually send Mother’s Day cards to. Never hurts to double-check.

On second thought, your mom might not appreciate it. Happy Mama‘s Day!

From the Thai horror anthology “Die A Violent Death” (hint: this story does not end well for anyone involved)

Terrifying Mothers in Horror films (cocafilms.com)
Not your typical Mother’s Day tribute (kandynolesstevens.com)
Who Has The Remote? Recommends Movies for Mother’s Day (prweb.com)
Mother’s Day : What It Should Truly Mean (logicalizard.wordpress.com)

See Best Mama DVD Extra- Javier Botet, The Actor Behind Mama! Behind-The-Scenes Interviews, Creepy As Hell All-New Footage, More (Wired.com) SPOILERS!

6 May 2013

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SPOILER ALERT-if you plan on seeing Mama (2013) on DVD but have not done so yet, it’s probably best to save watching this BTS footage till after the movie. More than one commenter on the Wired post said it sort of, well, spoiled the illusion.
Many of us who have been terrified by the movie for months, on the other hand, are more than happy to see that it was an illusion…

Well, we WISH we could take credit for any part of this, or just post it directly, but it’s a Wired.com Exclusive clip from the Javier Botet featurette on the Mama DVD/Blu-Ray. Click the big red link below for the never-before-seen footage!

Watch Jessica Chastain Kiss Mama in This Exclusive Clip/Underwire/Wired.com

SEE! Proof the CGI was mainly limited to the hair/clothes floating effect!

SEE! The only actor who could portray Mama in the feature film and give you the worst nightmares!

SEE! Javier Botet out of make-up, being interviewed, to possibly help you sleep a little better by reminding you it’s just a movie.*

Not to mention some very creepy concept art (it must be a co-incidence that one of the drawings looks like a relative of the Attic Monster/Medieros Girl from REC and REC2), Botet wandering around the set semi-casually in full makeup and costume (other than the CGI sensors/trackers wrapped around his bald head, making him look like the world’s scariest Christmas decoration), and we start to see him being swooped around on wires before the clip fades out. We do get to see over two minutes of amazing, never-before-seen footage, though. He does that horrifying, speedy crawl backwards, then they (apparently) reversed it to make it look extra creepy and unnatural.

You can watch the entire Javier Botet ‘bringing Mama to life’ (or death, as it were) featurette when the Mama DVD/Blu-Ray releases on May 7th… just in time for Mother’s Day.

*This will help, until the next time it’s the middle of the night, you can’t sleep, and you hear a strange noise.

Yo “Mama” (2013) DVD/Blu-ray Release Date is May 7th – PACKED With Bonus Features! We’ve Got The Details Here (horrorboom.com)
Mama (geekingcool.wordpress.com)
DVDs coming out May 7 (newsobserver.com)
Mama (2013) (canadiancinephile.com)

Yo “Mama” (2013) DVD/Blu-ray Release Date is May 7th – PACKED With Bonus Features! We’ve Got The Details Here

5 May 2013

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The scariest goddamned movie we’ve seen so far this year, Mama, is coming out this upcoming May 7th, and we’ll be watching it in the daytime instead of a dark theater with the sound cranked to the max – don’t want the neighbors hearing so much terrified screaming they call 911! Oooo, and look at all these goodies…

MATRIARCHAL SECRETS BD EXCLUSIVE: An in-depth exploration of the digital and practical effects employed to shape the film’s phantom presence.

DELETED SCENES with Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Andy Muschietti and Producer/Co-Writer Barbara Muschietti (more from us later on shots from the trailer not in the theatrical release).

ORIGINAL SHORT WITH INTRODUCTION BY GUILLERMO DEL TORO with Commentary by Director/Co-Writer Andy Muschietti and Producer/Co-Writer Barbara Muschietti

THE BIRTH OF MAMA: MAMA began as a chilling short that announced a new voice in the horror genre. Exclusive interviews with Executive Producer Guillermo del Toro and the filmmakers track the bloodline of the feature and explore changes needed to make the transition to a film.

Will they include the original ending to the short (extended, alternate, and even scarier), or they one cut by about 20 seconds that was released as a promo (introduced by Del Toro) closer to the movies release? We hope they have both, because they cut out a BIG twist. Don’t worry, we’ll re-post the original, longer version either way. Any takers?

You know, maybe coming in here with a broken flashlight wasn’t such a great idea… OOOOOOHHHH SHHHIIIIIIII– (kill)

FEATURE COMMENTARY with Director/Co-Writer Andy Muschietti and Producer/Co-Writer Barbara Muschietti

We can’t WAIT, and just hope they include Javier Botet in all the making-of footage (and a better copy of the now-viral, nightmarish, ‘Mama Motion/Movement Test” featuring Javier Botet – click here if you haven’t seen it yet) and the bonus “in-depth exploration of the digital and practical effects employed to shape the film’s phantom presence” the press release mentions. Surprise surprise, Netflix isn’t even bothering posting a release date, just “Unknown”. Oh, how helpful. This one, though, might actually be worth the extra features to cough up the $ to purchase the Blu-ray.

DVD releases for the week of May 2, 2013 (independentmail.com)
Mama has the perfect setup for suspense (guardianlv.com)
This week’s new DVD & Blu-ray (guardian.co.uk)
Get ‘Mama’ On DVD (102jamzorlando.cbslocal.com)

New Image Gallery Of Gorgeous Jessica Chastain As Annabel In “Mama” (DVD/Blu-ray Release May 7th)

4 May 2013

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You should see our stats when it comes to “Jessica Chastain + Mama + Images” under the search terms that led readers here. Apparently there’s quite a bit of interest out there (understandably) for stills featuring her in Mama and we even got requests back in January when the movie opened. So, here’s a nice gallery of the stunning actress who plays rocker Annabel… and I hope she sings in that band her character plays in, because she has one HELL of a pair of lungs to scream with (see ‘featured’ photo above).

At at least one point in the movie– I think the scene involving Javier Botet as the soil-yourself-scary Mama showing up when quite possibly the biggest idiot in the movie decides to investigate the spooky, deserted, haunted cabin not only without electricity BUT CONTINUING WHEN HIS FLASHLIGHT DIES and all he can do to see what’s in the room is hit the flash — this here writer is pretty sure she screamed as loudly as Ms. Chastain did in the “what’s under the bed?” scene.*

If you want to see any of the images larger, just click on the shot to enlarge it. Enjoy!

look behind you…

We included a couple of behind-the-scenes shots, even a few from the deleted scenes that will be on the disc as extras. This is a bad week to have an entertainment budget of about $1.25…

Interested in what Annabelle’s main tattoo shows, and why the director picked it? We have a cool interview with Ms. Chastain about playing the role here. Here’s another one from Fangoria!

OK, she's kind of small in this shot. Wait, is that her or that family friend? Sorry.

OK, she’s kind of small in this shot. Wait, is that her or Dr. Dreyfuss? Sorry.

*come to think of it, I screamed pretty fucking loud at least twice during that bedroom scene. Poor Mr. Horror Boom.

Yo “Mama” (2013) DVD/Blu-ray Release Date is May 7th – PACKED With Bonus Features! We’ve Got The Details Here (horrorboom.com)
Jessica Chastain Boards del Toro’s ‘Crimson Peak’ (variety.com)
Jessica Chastain Joins Guillermo del Toro’s Gothic Ghost Story CRIMSON PEAK (collider.com)
Get ‘Mama’ On DVD (102jamzorlando.cbslocal.com)

Yo MAMA! Making Monsters with Mama Visual Effects Supervisor Aaron Weintraub (The Credits)

12 February 2013

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“Even for CG-heavy shots—like a crablike Mama walking up a wall and bending over backwards to reverse course and make a beeline at star Jessica Chastain—Weintraub and his team relied on Botet’s performance, shooting his upper and lower bodies separately and stitching together a composite image to make Mama’s ghostly spine bend at a right angle.”

Oh yes, I remember that shot! That’s right, it was in the last act of the movie! I wasn’t really aware of whether or not it looked CG or practical, as I was too busy screaming at the time. I admit a couple of shots in the last ten minutes or so looked a little too CG-ish, though it wasn’t the hair floating as if Mama was underwater (loved the back story explaining why) but a couple too-clear shots of her eyes. No matter, the other scenes and scares were so visceral and terrifying I’ll let a couple shots that appeared a little digital-heavy slide. Plus, anything that made me scream like a tweener in the front row during a Justin Bieber concert didn’t look phony at the time, that’s for damn sure.

We found a great piece written by Mike Olson (that’s his quote above, as well as the one right after the jump) from Thecredits.org that goes into a little more detail on what it took (other than Javier Botet’s frame and movements) to bring the title character in Mama to ghostly life-you can read it below by clicking on the big red link below.

Mommy Issues: Making Monsters with Mama Visual Effects Supervisor Aaron Weintraub | The Credits.

“He’s very frail and can get his body into all these weird positions,” says Weintraub of Botet, and it is those contortions that serve as a physical manifestation of Mama’s tortured past, as well as the present-day horrors she’ll visit upon anyone who gets close to the “daughters” she’s adopted.

In a separate interview with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, by Meredith Woerner (click here for the complete article), he also talked some about the practical effects:

What did the Mama character look like on set? Was a lot of her CG?

No, no, most of it wasn’t CG. We had this amazing Spanish actor performer who was Mama. His name is Javier Botet. He has this insane body — he’s like the skinniest guy I’ve ever seen, and very long-limbed. Then they had the special FX team from Pan’s Labyrinth who did his head, so he had four or five hours everyday in make-up, so he came out every day looking more or less like Mama. But without the flowing hair, they added that after. But he was there to shoot. He had those crazy movements. It was weird the first time we saw him on set because he has a crazy look… He had these latex fingers and he would touch me like this [wraps fingers around his neck] — it was disgusting. And Jessica, she has these fights with him. It was all him.

Perhaps that’s why, in most of the reaction shots, none of the acting talent didn’t have to dig unusually deep to look terrified. In fact, if I were one of them, I’d put in my contract that I had to meet Botet before the shoot, and peek in on him a couple times while he was in the make-up chair. Either that, or tell the costume department I’d need room in my wardrobe for a pair of Depends.

This is one of the moments in the movie “Mama” that has led me to advise anyone seeing it in the theater to use the restroom BEFORE the movie begins.

The Man Behind Nina Medieros And Mama- Javier Botet Interview (Shock Till You Drop Exclusive, 2009-[REC] and [REC]2 Spoilers)

10 February 2013

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On the second [REC 2], I had just a few scratches. I didn’t have a real hammer. When I have a real hammer, no one comes near me.

-Javier Botet, on swinging a hammer around in the dark on a movie set

We’re still having trouble digging up a more recent interview with the man behind the monster mother in “Mama” and the [REC] series, so until then, Shock Till You Drop put up a great one you can check out, written by Ryan Turek.

HOWEVER! If you haven’t seen [REC] and [REC 2], you really, really should see them and then read this. There’s not a ton of spoilers for REC 2, but… oh, just see them, unless you don’t like extremely frightening movies. Either way, just avoid Quarantine like, pardon the phrasing, the plague. We love Botet’s comments on the U.S. remake and agree 100% with everything he says– the same reasons Quarantine pissed us off. OK, you get the idea. To read the interview, click on the big red link below…

Exclusive Interview: Rec & Rec 2’s Javier Botet – Shock Till You Drop.

According to the interview, he was offered to reprise his role in the U.S. remake, though it would be “The Thin Infected Man” instead of “La Niña De Medieros”. The timing didn’t work out and the part went to Doug Jones instead. Talented as Jones is, no-one else could be as effective in the role …not even close. We saw Quarantine in the theater and watched [REC] at home on TV, in the daytime, and STILL had to open the curtains and turn the lights on halfway through. It’s not just Botet (though the movie would not be as memorable and nightmarish without him, and he’s a great, perfect show-stopper), the entire movie [REC] is fucking terrifying; by the time it roars to the end credits, you’ll probably be hugging your knees.

Enjoy the interview! The below is one of two BTS set photos we like to look at to lighten us up when we start to think about [REC] too close to bedtime…

Heh!

Very Creepy “Mama” Movie FX Test Footage – Javier Botet as Mama Not Haunting Your Dreams Anymore? Watching This Should Do The Trick! (horrorboom.com)
“Mama” Rumor Control: Is This Really The Face Of Javier Botet In Make-Up As The Ghastly “Mama”? No! Wanna See The Real Thing? Read On! (horrorboom.com)
Scary-Ass “Mama” Opens Friday- Check Out These FOUR, Count ‘Em, FOUR Clips at Dread Central! (horrorboom.com)
EFM 2013: New Sales Art for REC 4: Apocalypse (dreadcentral.com)

Very Creepy “Mama” Movie FX Test Footage – Javier Botet as Mama Not Haunting Your Dreams Anymore? Watching This Should Do The Trick!

2 February 2013

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Ooookay, yeah, this is creepy as hell. Here’s the skinny on the early test footage from Mama. Also, since we’re still ~~digging up~~ searching for a more recent interview to include in postings on actor/featured creature performer Javier Botet, here’s a little more background to hold you till we get it all organized.

Seen the 2008 short film? Then this shot/pose should look familiar…

According to Slashfilm.com‘s Germain Lussier, (in this piece about an on-set visit, back in October of 2012), Mama was being created by blending on-set practical performance by Javier Botet, and the digital effects of two companies: DDT and Mr. X. To prove they could pull it off, the filmmakers and DDT shot a test in June 2011 to show the executives what they had in mind.

Here’s that test, which has popped up (or lunged out) online in a couple of places. We discovered it thanks to a piece by Jessica Wakeman of BlackBookMag.com (where she also was cool enough to mention Horror Boom and point readers our way to see a photo of Mama, the finished product, in full makeup; she meant this “Rumor Control” post here). It’s just shot in black and white, with no sound, and still scares the fuck out of everybody; on the page with the You Tube video (which eerily has no description) the top-rated post says ….I immediately regret this decision.*

So, how was this waking nightmare created? From the same article on the set visit, ©Slashfilm.com’s Germain Lussier explains:

On set, [director] Muschietti literally operates Botet like a marionette to really get him moving in weird ways. “Javier has a bunch of cables coming out of his body, so he’s pulled into directions that are not normal and he has to counter the wire pull. Then we remove the wires and what it looks like is like literally a marionette coming to life,” [Guillermo] Del Toro said. “It looks almost digital, but it’s all caught on camera. He moves really disjointed, because they are trying to trip him essentially. It’s really, really cool.”

Probably not very comfortable for him at the time, but it sure as hell worked. We also have been sort of concerned with Mr. Botet’s health, and have wondered for years if he just has a fast metabolism and then diets down, or what’s going on with his very slender, 6 foot-7 inch frame. He gives very few interviews, and we’re trying to get up the nerve to drop him an email (also, seriously doubt he’d be able take the time for an interview with Horror Boom when it could get much more exposure elsewhere, which we totally understand), but it’s not the sort of question you can just blurt out (even if our French wasn’t terrible). Apparently, Botet has Marfan syndrome, a connective tissue disorder which causes an elongation of the body and the fingers (personally, we were positive he wears finger extensions for his creature acting, and will have to get back to you after we re-watch the [REC] behind-the-scenes make-up/effects DVD feature). He confirmed in an interview while doing some press for [REC 2] that while he can get tired easily –especially if the prosthetics are heavy and he’s had to sit for a six-plus hour session in the make-up chair– he’s content, healthy, and loves his job. Plus, the actor is always a gentleman to the press and to his fans.

Image owned by/copyright Javier Botet, 2010-present.
See? Don’t be scared at night that “Mama” is hiding under your bed or in lurking in your closet! It’s all a performance by this friendly actor! Heh-heh… heh… just a movie, just a movie, just a movie…

So, if we chicken out on contacting him (like I said, we have to work up to it), we’ll give out all the links we can, and definitely “re-blog” all the interviews we can locate.

Curious about Marfan syndrome? Here’s a good link with a ton of information. It does not sound comfortable.

Meanwhile, did you scroll down here because you were a little unsure if you wanted to watch that test footage? Here’s a (small) gallery, slide-slow style, of some screen-grabs from it, if you want to dip your toe in first…

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More on Mr. Botet will show up, so watch this space! And yes, Mama the movie was scary as hell. Uneven at times, yes. Also, there were two very memorable and distinct moments/jumps that were in nearly every trailer, that I wanted to know the story behind, totally missing from the movie which sort of personally threw me off when I realized the credits were rolling Maybe a dangling plot thread or two, but you know what, I was way too busy screaming to notice at the time. Also, it knocked Texas Chainsaw 3D right out of the top box office sales, so I’m going to give any flaws a pass for now. A longer review of Mama is still to come– along with all the coverage on the Mama creature/makeup/FX we can get our ~~claws~~ hands on!