Deadly Legacy: Re-opening the 4-Decade-Old Gacy Murder Case

Serial Killers have been the fascination of many people around the world, inspiring countless cinematic characters that haunt our nightmares and in a way have become pop culture icons. One of America’s most notorious serial killers may have committed his crimes four decades ago, but there is still work to be done in the case of John Wayne Gacy.

The bustling city of Chicago is no stranger to crime, but from January 3, 1972 to December 11, 1978 it experienced one of its most terrifying, gruesome crimes it would ever be home to. Father of two and part time clown, John Wayne Gacy  murdered 33 young men (25 of them have been positively identified) in a span of just six years. After the discovery of his crimes and his arrest on December 21, 1978, he would be labeled the Killer Clown. 

Gacy would be found guilty of 1 count of sodomy, 33 counts of murder, 1 count of sexual assault and 1 count of indecent liberties with a child on March 12, 1980. The following day on March 13, 1980 he would be sentenced to 21 consecutive life sentences and death. 

He was put to death by means of lethal injection at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Illinois on May 10, 1994 at the age of 52.

Now, 40 years after the grizzly discovery, the case will be re-opened in an attempt to put a face and a name to the 8 unidentified victims. The case was originally re-energized in 2011 when the Cook County Police Department decided to reopen the case in the hopes that new DNA technology would help identify the 8 remaining victims. 

A new three-part series titled Deadly Legacy will follow Detective Sergeant Jason Moran, a one-man cold case unit out of Cook County, Illinois, as he revisits the case. 

In the series, Detective Sergeant Moran will look at missing persons cases from the area and time frame of the Gacy murders as well as revisit old evidence and interview family and friends of the missing young men as well as investigators that were originally tasked with the investigation. 

Will the eight John Does be identified, find out when Deadly Legacy premiers Sundays beginning December 9th at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.

 

At least 4 New Character Additions & a Possible Bad Guy Return for ‘Stranger Things’ Season 3

At the close of the second season of the wildly popular Netflix original series, Stranger Things, all appeared to be right in Hawkins with Eleven/Jane slamming the door to the Upside Down closed. The group were seen having the time of their lives at the school dance without a care in the world, but nothing can be too safe in Hawkins for very long, especially with the Mind Flayer still loose in the Upside Down and very aware of the presents of the group, particularly Eleven and her powers.

There have been countless rumors and theories surrounding the upcoming season 3 (including the return of the vile Dr. Brenner), but the addition of at least four new characters have been confirmed. Fans will meet Hawkins’ Mayor Larry Kline described as your sleazy typical 80’s politician who will be played by Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride). The introduction of a new journalist with questionable morals and a sick sense of humor named Bruce will also be making an appearance and will be played by Jake Busey (The Stoned Age). A new possible love interest for a member of the group (or just another girl for them to fight over or maybe another gifted teen like Eleven) named Robin described as an alternative girl filled with angst will be played by Maya Thurman-Hawke (daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke). A neighborhood elder named Patricia Brown who enjoys spending time in her garden and giving advice to the children of the neighborhood has not yet been cast, but the studio is on the hunt for a woman in her 70s to fill the role.

It has been confirmed that the third season will be set during the summer of 1985 and the internal friendships of the group will be tested and will run for eight or nine episodes. Sadly, fans will have to wait until the end of 2018 or even possibly the beginning of 2019 for the new season.

Attention Indie Filmmakers: Terror Films Wants Your Short Films

The hardest part of being an indie filmmaker is getting your finished product to an audience, but Terror Films wants to help make that process a bit easier for you. They are looking for completed, never-before-seen indie short films to include in their upcoming television series coming this October, Terror Films Presents: Terrifying Tuesdays.

The series will be comprised of six short films presented in a weekly episodic format. Each short film will be released as a stand-alone episode once a week leading up to Halloween. On Wednesday, October 31st, viewers will be able to binge watch all six of the previous episodes. Each episode will open with a pre-produced prologue created by the label specifically for the series.

Terror Films President Joe Dain had this to say about the new series:

“This is our take on ‘Tales From The Crypt,’ if you will. There are so many incredibly talented filmmakers out there. The level of originality and quality we have seen over the years with shorts has often surpassed what we see in full-length features. We not only want to give these filmmakers a real opportunity to have their short films showcased but wrapping them into a limited series format will allow us to elevate the marketing angle. We’re incredibly excited about the possibilities.”

Amazon Prime is currently the selected platform for Terror Films Presents: Terrifying Tuesdays, but the company has not ruled out pitching the finished product to other platforms such as Shudder, Starz, Netflix and Hulu.

Selected filmmakers will share in the revenue generated either through a licensing deal secured by the label or from the Amazon Prime Revenue Share program.

If you are interested in submitting a short film for consideration, it must meet the guidelines below.

Submission Guidelines:

• Inclusive of credits, shorts should be no less than 25 minutes but no more than 40 minutes maximum.

• Films must be 100% completed.

• Absolutely no scenes of violence towards women, excessive nudity, extreme graphic violence or overt visual gore.

• Shorts must not have had any online exposure at all! (YouTube, Vimeo, iTunes, Amazon, Festival or Filmmaker’s Website, Social Media etc.). Festival participation is okay but they must not have appeared online in any way.

• No science fiction shorts! We are looking for traditional horror. (hauntings, possessions, witches, deranged killers, etc.).

• You must own all rights to images, actors and music/score. “Festival Rights Only” will not be accepted.

• Only seeking English Speaking shorts. No foreign language films with/or without subtitles will be considered for this particular project.

• If you shot your film under the SAG New Media Agreement, filmmakers will be responsible for contacting SAG and paying any residuals from revenue received.

Copies of all executed SAG contracts must be available for review if requested.

• A 5.1 sound mix preferred but not required.

• All films subject to approval and acceptance based on all of the above along with a QC (Quality Control) report that shows that the film is technically ready to be delivered onto the Amazon platform.

If your short film meets these guidelines, feel free to submit them to submissions@terrorfilms.net. Submission deadline is June 1, 2018. Terror Films Executive and Head of Acquisitions Jim Klock will be overseeing the submission and selection process. If your film is selected, someone from Terror Films will contact you.

If you would like to learn more about Terror Films, their other projects or are looking to get your full-length film out to the public, visit terrorfilms.net.

 

 

‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ Season 3 Trailer & Parenting Advice From Ash Williams

Fans of Ash Williams and the Evil Dead franchise have patiently waited for season 3 of the Starz hit Ash vs Evil Dead, it is coming. Ash has fought deadites, he had to kill his sister and a few friends, teamed up with a half demon named Ruby, but this time he’s a small business owner and the most surprising of all, a father.

Season 3 will continue in Ash’s hometown of Elk Grove, Michigan; two new settings will come into play, as previously mentioned, Ash is now a business owner selling discounted items to his fellow citizens, and of course, the introduction of Elk Grove High School where Ash will encounter a new kind of deadite…a cougar mascot.  The cougar mascot is not the only new addition to the deadite family; images surfaced a few days ago showing Ash taking on the largest deadite yet.

One big question fans have had, what exactly is season 3 going to be about?

Synopsis:

The third season finds Ash’s status in Elk Grove, Michigan has changed from murderous urban legend to humanity-saving hometown hero. When Kelly witnesses a televised massacre with Ruby’s fingerprints all over it, she returns with a new friend to warn Ash and Pablo that evil isn’t done with them yet. Blood is thicker than water in the battle of good vs Evil Dead!

Being a parent is hard, so in addition to the new imagery and trailer released for season 3, Ash himself has offered up a little bit of parenting advice via @AshvsEvilDead on twitter.

What qualifies Ash to give parental advice? He’s the hero of Elk Grove! We pretty much just let him do whatever he wants. #AshvsEvilDead pic.twitter.com/dxleoKrG7u

— Ash vs Evil Dead (@AshvsEvilDead) January 5, 2018

Trailer:

 

Season 3 of Ash vs Evil Dead premiers Sunday, February 25th at 9 pm on Starz.