A full Free Movie of the Day is posted on the JoBlo Horror Movies YouTube channel every other day during the week – but on Fridays things get even freakier and a little more fun. Get your weekend started the right way by indulging in Friday Fright Nights! Every Friday, we’ll be taking a look at another genre movie you can watch in its entirety, free of charge, either on the YouTube channel linked above or in the video embed here.

This week’s Friday Fright Nights feature is basically a slasher movie, since it’s about someone knocking people off one-by-one in a place called Oldtown – which is also known as Hell Town. But directors Elizabeth Spear and Steve Balderson (who also wrote the screenplay with Michael Page and Chris Pudlo) took a very unique approach to making this slasher. Hell Town is presented as if it originated as three episodes of a TV series where most of the episodes were lost in a studio fire. What has been unearthed and assembled for this movie are episodes 7, 8, and 9 of season 2. And these episodes make it clear that Hell Town was one hell of a goofy show, an over-the-top soap opera.

Spear, Balderson, and their collaborators had a lot of fun playing with the tone and clichés of soap operas for this satire, complete with melodrama, mid-season recasting, ridiculous dialogue, and exaggerated performances. They also put these “lost episodes” together in an interesting way, having incredibly prolific genre actress Debbie Rochon (who is closing in on 300 screen credits as of this writing) host the episodes – with the trailer for another Rochon project and a fake coffee commercial showing up between episodes in a way that’s reminiscent of the faux trailers showing up between movies in the Grindhouse double feature.

Hell Town has the following synopsis, which just reiterates information I’ve already given here: Scream Queen Debbie Rochon presents the melodramatic whodunnit horror romp Hell Town for a special feature-length presentation of Twisted Classic Television.

In addition to Rochon, the film stars Jennifer Grace, Pleasant Gehman, Amanda Deibert, Matt Weight, Casey Chapman, Chris Pudlo, Dané Shobe, Owen Lawless, Cara Hillstock, Krysten Day, Blake Cordell, BeckiJo Neill, Ben Windholz, Betti O, Kyle Eno, and Sarah Napier.

This is the only movie Spear and Balderson have directed together, but they both have multiple directing credits on their own. Balderson directed eight features and several documentaries before working on Hell Town, and this was the sixth feature for Spear. Hell Town marked Spear’s horror genre debut, but Balderson had made two horror movies before this one: Pep Squad and Watch Out.

If you’re a slasher fan with a taste for camp and a familiarity with soap operas, you’ll probably get some enjoyment out of watching this movie. So take a look at Hell Town – it’s free! – then let us know what you thought of it by leaving a comment below or on the YouTube page.

The movies that have previously been featured as the Free Movies of the Day can be found at THIS LINK, and also on the JoBlo Movies YouTube channel.

A Vampire Survivors animated series based on the mega-popular “reverse bullet hell” video game is in the works.

The video game community’s latest time-suck and bathroom companion, Vampire Survivors, is getting an animated series adaptation. Story Kitchen is teaming up with the game’s developer, Luca Galante, to adapt the gothic horror game into a top-tier episodic adventure! Sharpen your stakes, put on your garlic necklace, and get ready to run from Death for a new way to enjoy the “reverse bullet hell” experience.

Anyone can play Vampire Survivors. The game revolves around simple mechanics where the player controls a hero character while avoiding armies of enemies. You don’t have to press any buttons (except what controls your character’s movement), as all your attacks are auto-triggered. As enemies close in, your character uses projectiles, spells, familiars, and power-ups to survive the oncoming hordes. I’ve lost countless hours to Vampire Survivors since its Steam release last year before moving onto the mobile and Xbox Series X versions.

The game takes place in rural Italy. “There lived an evil person named Bisconte Draculó, whose many evil magics created a bad world filled with famine and suffering. It’s now up to the members of the Belpaese Family to end his reign of terror and return good food to the table,” reads the official description.

“There’s no place to hide -all you can do is try to survive a cursed night and get as much gold as possible for the next survivor- before Death inevitably puts an end to your struggles. Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! This is a gothic horror action game, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters thrown at you.” 

The search for a writer is ongoing, with plans to sell the animated series project to TV network buyers.

“The most important thing in Vampire Survivors is the story, so it’s a dream come true to see what started as a little indie game I made on my weekends come to life as an animated TV show!,” says Galante, founder of the video game company poncle. “It’s also great to be partnering up with such experienced and talented people to make the show. I do wonder if they’ve realized that there isn’t a single vampire in Vampire Survivors, though.“

Story Kitchen co-founder Dmitri M. Johnson said: “When our Head of Creative, Dan Jevons, flagged Vampire Survivors for us last year upon its initial release, we were prepared to dismiss it as just another vampire game. Hundreds of hours played later, we were all hooked, and we just could not get enough!! Needless to say, we’re truly honored to partner with this incredible team and to continue the Vampire Survivors story!”

Story Kitchen’s Dan Jevons says, “Despite being responsible for countless hours of lost productivity at Story Kitchen, we are both thrilled, and honored to partner with poncle to bring the bombastic gothic world of Vampire Survivors to life in linear media.”

Are you a Vampire Survivors fan? What do you think about the game getting an animated series adaptation? Let us know in the comments.

A teaser trailer for the Twisted Metal TV series, coming to Peacock this summer, features Anthony Mackie and Sweet Tooth

Based on the popular video game franchise, the live-action Twisted Metal series is set to premiere on the Peacock streaming service on July 27th – and with just a few months to go until we reach that date, a teaser trailer for the show has arrived online! You can check it out in the embed above.

There’s not much to see in this short teaser, but we do get introduced to the lead character played by Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), and there’s a quick appearance by the most famous character from the video games, the maniacal clown known as Sweet Tooth.

Based on an original take by Deadpool and Zombieland screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, this adaptation of the Twisted Metal video game franchise will center on a motor-mouthed outsider who is offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a trigger-happy car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.

Anthony Mackie stars in the series as John Doe, “a smart-ass milkman who talks as fast as he drives. With no memory of his past, John gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make his wish of finding community come true, but only if he can survive an onslaught of savage vehicular combat.” Also in the cast are Neve Campbell (Scream) as a character named Raven; Thomas Haden Church (Wings) as Agent Stone, “a cold and unyielding post-apocalyptic highway patrolman who rules the roads with a silver tongue and a twisted iron fist, prosecuting even the smallest crimes with the harshest of judgements. Agent Stone will stop at nothing to bring law and order back to the Divided States of America, and will kill anyone in his path who defies his power”; Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as Quiet, “a ferocious, badass car thief who acts purely on instinct – you couldn’t stop her any more than a manhole could stop a volcano. Coming from a community that oppressed her into silence, Quiet’s wish is to find her place in this dark, chaotic world. But when she becomes clouded by her need for revenge, Quiet forms an unlikely, antagonistic bond with John Doe”; Mike Mitchell (The Tomorrow War) and Tahj Vaughans (P-Valley) as buddies Stu and Mike, “the Rosencrantz & Guildenstern of this world, and together often find themselves to be more followers than fighters”; Lou Beatty Jr. (A Million Little Things) as Tommy, “a grizzled and weathered cartographer who knows the dangers of the Wild Midwest”; and Richard Cabral (Mayans M.C.) as Quiet’s overprotective brother Loud.

AEW wrestler Joe Seanoa, a.k.a Samoa Joe, is playing iconic video game character Sweet Tooth, with Will Arnett (Arrested Development) providing the character’s voice.

Cobra Kai writer Michael Jonathan Smith is the showrunner. Reese and Wernick executive produce the Twisted Metal series alongside director Kitao Sakurai, Smith, Mackie, Arnett, and Marc Forman of Electric Avenue, Jason Spire of Inspire Entertainment, Peter Principato of Artists First, Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan from PlayStation Productions, and Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios. The series is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television, Playstation Productions, and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

What did you think of the Twisted Metal teaser trailer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Here’s a poster for the show, courtesy of IGN:

We talk about Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. with Rachel McAdams, Abby Ryder Fortson, Kelly Fremon Craig, and James L. Brooks.

I had no idea what I was walking into when I caught Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. While I was certainly aware of Judy Blume‘s popular book, it was not one that I’d read. And then there is writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig that caught my interest. The film stars Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret, and it’s incredibly sweet, smart, and surprisingly engaging for more than its seeming niche target audience. It’s a delight, and it certainly helps to have such charming folk at Rachel McAdams and Benny Safdie as Margaret’s parents.

We recently took the time to chat with the fine talent involved with this film. And I was thrilled to chat with Kelly Fremon Craig for the first time. I’ve been a massive fan of the filmmaker since I saw her fantastic feature, The Edge of Seventeen. Kelly discussed taking on the source material. Considering Judy Blume was essential reading for many, seeing the author’s work treated with care was lovely.

Next up, I had the incredible opportunity to speak with the legendary writer/producer James L. Brooks. James excitedly talked about working with Kelly. And his experience within the television and film industry says a lot about the kinds of talent he brings to light. Mr. Brooks was friendly and appeared to be quite down to earth as he discussed his latest project.

And finally, we sat down with Rachel McAdams and Abby Ryder Fortson. And yes, both with fantastic. Rachel discussed getting involved late in the project. And yet, she was made very comfortable by all involved. As for Abby, the young actress talked about taking on this iconic role and working with both Kelly and Rachel.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret opens this today!