By Randolph Ramsay on Dec 15, 2017 10:38 pm
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is finally out in theatres, with the majority of critics hailing the new film as one of the best Star Wars films ever made. And while the movie packs in its fair share of excitement, surprises, crowd-pleasing hero moments, and outstanding visuals, it's still a film that doesn't quite answer all of the plot threads and mysteries that it revealed. There were plenty of moments within the film that left us puzzled, scratching our heads as to what they meant (or what they could signify for future Star Wars films). What exactly, for example, was the significance of those dice? Who was Snoke, and why did those guards kick so much ass? Why did Kylo never realise the truth behind Luke's appearance? We're here to try and answer some of The Last Jedi's biggest unanswered questions with some of our own research and educated guesswork. But if you think you know the answer better than we do, tell us what we got wrong (or right) in the comments.
So what were those dice?
In The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker takes a pair of golden dice from the Millennium Falcon, before giving them to his sister Leia near the climax of the film. As you've probably guessed, those dice belonged to Han Solo, and can originally be seen hanging from the same place in the Falcon cockpit in A New Hope (as seen in the image above). While the official story behind the significance of the dice to Han is still to be confirmed, the rumor is that those were the dice Han used in the game of chance that won him the Millennium Falcon from its previous owner, none other than Lando Calrissian. Perhaps this incident will be touched upon in the upcoming Solo standalone film? But knowing that those dice belonged to Han sets up another big question: it they were so important, why didn't Leia herself take the dice from the Falcon after the end of The Force Awakens?
How did Leia survive in the coldness of space?
In one of The Last Jedi's most pivotal scenes, Leia is sucked into space when the bridge of her ship is split open by some attacking TIE fighters. And while that would normally mean certain death for most other characters, somehow Leia manages to make her way back to the rest of the ship. While it's never actually specifically mentioned by any character as to how Leia was able to do this, it's pretty clear that the Princess used her latent Force abilities to somehow move herself out of the vacuum of space. As a Skywalker, Leia is obviously imbued with some Force ability, as has previously been demonstrated through her psychic connections with other key characters in the franchise (mostly her brother Luke).
Who exactly is Snoke?
Snoke, the puppet master behind both the First Order and Kylo Ren, was first introduced in The Force Awakens, but little was actually disclosed about his origins. We had hoped more would be revealed about the enigmatic baddie in The Last Jedi, but sadly, Kylo Ren's treachery means Snoke is no more, with the film divulging no further details about his former master. So who exactly was Snoke? Very little is known about him, with the films themselves simply presenting Snoke as the leader of the First Order who also was extremely strong in the dark side of the Force (witness the lightning power he uses to dispel Rey in The Last Jedi). Snoke is similarly a mysterious figure in other non-film Star Wars media, so all fans are left with is speculation. By far the most popular prevailing theory is that Snoke is actually the mysterious Darth Plagueis, the never-seen Sith master of Emperor Palpatine himself.
Why did Luke die? Will he become a Force ghost now?
Luke Skywalker, one of the galaxy's greatest Jedi masters, seemingly meets his end in The Last Jedi, fading away on a mountainside in Ahch To after the film's climactic battle. But what actually caused him to expire? It seems clear that the enormous effort that was required for Luke to project his image across the galaxy to appear on Crait to confront Kylo Ren took its toll, making the old Jedi go the way of Ben Kenobi and become one with the Force. It seemed to be a willing gesture, in much the same way both Kenobi and Yoda accepted their end and lose their corporeal forms. Both those characters--as well as other Force-wielding folks like Anakin/Darth Vader--subsequently appeared as Force ghosts, so there's a good chance that this won't be the last we'll see of Master Luke.
Why did Kylo never realise Luke wasn't actually there?
In previous Star Wars films, Force users always seemed to have the ability to recognise when other Force-sensitive people were amongst them. Vader sensed Kenobi's presence on the original Death Star, for example, while Luke knew his father was on the Death Star II all the way from the Endor moon. So why did Ben Skywalker/Kylo Ren--apparently one of the most powerful Force-wielders ever--not realise that he was only facing a projection of Luke Skywalker on Crait, and not the real person himself? The answer seems based on who Kylo Ren is. As a petulant, unstable villain who can barely keep his emotions in check, it seems that Ren became blinded to his rage and passion when he finally saw his uncle--the man he'd been chasing across the galaxy--standing right in front of him. It's this rage that could have blinded him to what his Force senses were possibly telling him--that all he was looking at was an illusion.
How were the First Order tracking the Resistance fleet?
The entire middle section of The Last Jedi saw the huge First Order fleet chasing down a small number of Resistance ships. While jumping into hyperspace would normally be enough to lose pursuers in Star Wars, the Resistance ships were unwilling to do so, as the First Order had the uncanny ability to track them even through hyperspace. But how? In the film, General Hux proudly proclaims that he had the Resistance "on a string", with that string being some new technology developed by the First Order to allow them to track the opposing fleet no matter when they travel in space. While the nature of that technology was never actually explained in The Last Jedi, it's extremely reminiscent to the opening episodes of the Battlestar Galactica reboot show, where the human fleet were somehow being tracked through their faster-than-light jumps by the evil Cyclon forces. In that Galactica episode, it turned out that one of the ships in the Galactica fleet had been bugged by the Cylons to deliver the fleet's location, and had to be destroyed in order for the humans to escape.
What was Luke hiding on Ahch To?
Luke Skywalker's self-imposed exile is on the planet of Ahch To, a mainly ocean covered globe with only the occasional inhospitable island to be seen. But why exactly did Luke choose this planet to hide on? Ahch To was actually the location of the very first Jedi temple, the ruins of which can be seen all around the island Luke lives on. Ahch To is also where the Jedi Order's most sacred texts--the Journal of the Whills--are kept, and were stored inside the husk of a once gigantic tree. This very same tree is later burnt to the ground by ghost Yoda, after Luke initially attempts to do it to finally end the Jedi order.
Wait, did the Journal of Whills survive that fire?
Yes. We only see it for the briefest of moments, but it seemed that Rey had stored the texts on the Millennium Falcon to preserve them for future Jedi generations.
Who were those red guards protecting Snoke, and why were they so badass?
After Kylo Ren successfully assassinates Snoke, the red-clad guards standing around the edges of his throne room suddenly spring into action. And while Kylo and Rey are the two most powerful Force users in the galaxy, it still took an enormous effort for both of them to defeat their foes. What gives? Those guards have an official name--they're the Elite Praetorian Guard, and they're a small band of eight warriors who were hand chosen to protect Supreme Leader Snoke (although they did a horrible job of it). They're the best of the best, and would be more than a match for most fighters in the galaxy. The Praetorian Guard look and function similarly to Emperor Palpatine's Royal Guard, who we last saw doing a similarly awful job of protecting their master in The Return of the Jedi. Do you have any other burning questions of theories now that you've seen The Last Jedi? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below.
By Reid McCarter on Dec 15, 2017 09:30 pm
Climb on in
Star Wars appeals to audiences for many reasons. There's the spaceship dogfights, laser sword duels between Jedi and Sith warriors, memorable main characters, and scenes set on strange fantasy planets. Most important, though, may be the wide range of non-human creatures that populate the galaxy far, far away. With the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, there's no better time to look back on the aliens who fill the series. The Last Jedi introduces even more new aliens to the series--including more than just Porgs and crystal foxes. From turtle nuns and scaly fry crooks to keyboard-playing elephants and three-eyed goats, these are the greatest Star Wars aliens to appear in the long-running film series so far. Check out our Star Wars: The Last Jedi review too, while you're at it.
50. Wampa
Watch The Empire Strikes Back at a tender enough age and the hulking, cave-dwelling Wampa becomes the stuff of nightmares. It's huge and furry, strings its victims up by their ankles, and saves them in a natural refrigerator while it chows down on other remains. A frightening creature, it's still at least a little sad that it had to lose an arm to learn the valuable lesson that Jedi are not to be eaten.
49. Porg
The latest mascot character to arrive in the Star Wars universe, the Porgs already seem to have won the hearts of viewers everywhere. Regardless of anything else (like, say, its existence solely as marketing material), the otter-meets-penguin design of the Porg is a masterclass in laser-focused cuteness.
48. Dexter "Dex" Jettster the Besalisk
Though his appearance lacks in imagination--basically a sci-fi/fantasy version of a stereotypical greasy spoon diner chef--this character compensates with sheer audacity of design. If you're going to make an alien species out of a mustachioed fry cook in a stained t-shirt, make it look like this. And name it Dexter Jettster while you're at it.
47. Darth Maul the Zabrak
Darth Maul is hard to separate from images of overeager early 2000s Star Wars merchandising, but take a step back, pretend to see him for the first time, and he's not actually a bad creation. Silent and menacing in red and black, Maul may look a lot like a guy trying to scare you in face paint, but he's also imposing enough to serve as a central villain for The Phantom Menace's heroes. And his race, the Zabrak, are a near-human species with vestigial horns.
46. Devaronian
While the Devaronian isn't great design per se, there's something admirable about A New Hope's costume department simply dressing someone up in a Halloween devil costume and calling it a day. Hail space Satan.
45. Moroff
Criminally underused, Rogue One's shaggy Gigoran mercenary is still great creature design. Shuffling around like a well-armed, upright polar bear, Moroff recalls the outsized design of Yeti-like characters like Chewbacca or The Empire Strikes Back's monstrous Wampa.
44. The Caretakers
It's hard to take the Caretakers seriously at a first glance--they are, after all, just turtle monsters wearing nun habits--but the decision to have The Last Jedi's weirdest new aliens performed by real people in costume lends them a believability they by all rights shouldn't possess.
43. Tusken Raiders
The Tusken Raiders, yelping and bashing Luke Skywalker about with their massive clubs, look like fever dream interpretations of First World War soldiers. Their strange language and mask-covered faces are one of the viewer's introductions to Star Wars' creature design early on in A New Hope. They serve as a good indication of the visual imagination that would go on to make the series what it is.
42. Jar Jar the Gungan
Sure, Jar Jar Binks sucks, but the design of his species, the Gungans, isn't bad. Their floppy ears and duck mouths are expressive and suitably alien even if their faux-Jamaican accents distill a veritable Curb Your Enthusiasm season's worth of second-hand embarrassment into single sentences.
41. Rancor
Just below Jabba's palace is a nightmare monster waiting to devour anyone unlucky enough to cross the slug gangster. Defeated by Luke with a well-timed gate to the brain, the Rancor is terrifying--until it wheezes its last breaths like a sick dog and it becomes impossible to feel anything but sympathy for the unfortunate hellbeast.
40. Greedo the Rodian
His puckered mouth may make Greedo the Rodian look like he's always on the verge of asking for a kiss, but the rest of him is classic space grotesquery. With an extra pair of antennae-style ears atop his bright green head, Greedo is a throwback to the pulp sci-fi Martians that pre-empted the series.
39. Unkar Plutt the Crolute
The flat-faced alien who trades Rey food for scrap technology near the beginning of The Force Awakens is one of the best new creatures to appear in the film. Ugly and miserly, he doles out tiny bits of instant rising bread and sells Rey out at the first possible opportunity.
38. Admiral Ackbar the Mon Calamari
His octopus head and enormous wet eyes give the impression that Admiral Ackbar shouldn't be spending too long on dry land. Forget the dumb "calamari" pun that gives his species its name and it's easier to appreciate the sheer gusto that must have gone into the decision to make one of the series' main alien characters a sea animal in a spacesuit.
37. Twi'lek
From Jedi Knight Aayla Secura to Jabba's right hand man Bib Fortuna, Twi'leks are fascinating creatures of many talents. Known for the thick, long tentacles jutting from their skulls, Twi'lek skin spans a wide variety of colors.
36. Max Rebo the Ortolan
Another classic from the substantially smaller budget days of the first Star Wars, Max Rebo is really just a keyboard playing blue elephant. That's an idea weird enough to justify itself right there.
35. Sarkan
The Sarkan in A New Hope is basically just a dinosaur, but his brief appearance, enjoying a pull on what looks like a vape rig while wearing a floppy hat, gives him a distinctly bohemian vibe that's definitely unique.
34. Fodesinbeed Annodue
There are a lot of bad alien designs in the prequel trilogy, but the two-headed podcast race announcers, better known as Fode and Beed, are ridiculous enough not to be counted among them. Their uncomfortably long necks and separate faces look absolutely stupid. It just so happens that it's the kind of stupid that works within the context of The Phantom Menace.
33. Gamorrean
The piggish bodyguards who patrol Jabba's palace stick out among of the series' most physically imposing monsters, especially since there doesn't seem to be much going on behind their dull little eyes.
32. Nien Nunb the Sullustan
A Rebel who serves as Lando's copilot in the Return of the Jedi's climatic fight, his leather cap, glassy eyes, and uncomfortably wet mouth make him hard to forget. Also, he has a distinctive, hilarious laugh.
31. Weeteef Cyu-Bee the Talpini
A nasty little imp with the mutton chops of an 18th century British aristocrat, Weeteef is a notable member of Saw Gerrera's band of partisans. He represents just one example of the excellent practical effects that went into portraying Rogue One's cast of aliens.
30. Chagrian
This sad-looking blue demon is maybe a bit too obviously a human in makeup, but his horns and tentacles combination is just gnarly enough to make him a memorable alien. The most notable Chagrian is Mas Amedda, who served as the Vice Chair of the Galactic Senate.
29. Varactyl
By far the worst movie for cool aliens, Revenge of the Sith at least features one scene in which poor Ewan McGregor's time in front of the green screen pays off when he's paired with a weird beast that resembles a mixture of horse and oversized iguana.
28. Ewok
Like Porgs, Ewoks are thinly-veiled merchandising opportunities masquerading as fun new characters. Put that aside temporarily, though, and they're also adorable miniature bears who walk around with hoods, spears, and no pants. Cut the Ewoks a break. Plus, they had at least two of their own (terrible) live-action movies.
27. Maz Kanata
Owner of The Force Awakens' millennia-old castle with its bustling jungle world bar, Maz Kanata ends up being an important figure when she helps Rey discover her natural affinity for the Force. It's just too bad the turtle-like orange alien is shown only as CGI, as her design is sure to look as dated as the prequel series' creatures in years to come.
26. Grummgar the Dowutin
Massive and largely silent, The Force Awakens' mercenary Grummgar, with its wrinkly bald head and two chin tusks, is a minor but well-designed villain.
25. Pao the Drabata
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes Rogue One's Pao so entertaining, but it may have something to do with the fact that it alternates between looking like a constipated toad in some scenes and an amphibious howler monkey when it opens its mouth almost as wide as its head during an attack on enemy forces.
24. Maz's House Musicians
These reggae-loving aliens are an obvious attempt to recapture the Mos Eisley players from the original trilogy, and luckily, they succeed. With names like Sudswater Dillifay Glon and Infrablue Zedbeddy Coggins, you know these weirdos are among the avant-garde of the galaxy.
23. Utapaun
Looking like reused costumes from a lost Marilyn Manson music video shoot, the Utapaun (aka Pau'ans) are one of the best designs from the otherwise lackluster prequel trilogy. They add a bit of creepy otherworldliness to the series, which is a welcome change of pace from cuter aliens.
22. Gran
Goats are one of the most adorable animals on our boring old Earth. Give them human bodies and three eyes jutting out from a trio of flesh-stalks and a real-world favorite gets even more interesting. Grans forever.
21. Ubdurian
The Ubdurian may not look especially novel, but the infectious smiles on the twin alien's faces (which call to mind a pair of old men enjoying a game of chess in Central Park) makes them one of The Force Awakens' best new creatures.
20. Bistan the Lakaru
Some unlikely combination of whiskered cat and gun-wielding monkey, Bistan, like his ally Pao, steals the show every time he makes a cameo in one of Rogue One's scenes.
19. Tauntaun
More than just a sleeping bag in waiting, the furry Tauntauns ridden by Rebel soldiers in The Empire Strikes Back's opening scenes are a great example of the practical effects work that makes the original trilogy's aliens so memorable.
18. Exogorth
An absolutely enormous slug monster, the Exogorth is responsible for one of The Empire Strikes Back's most unexpectedly exciting scenes. Watching Han and crew narrowly escape its gullet and the stop-motion animation that shows it gnashing away at its lost prey recalls lost footage from a Harryhausen film.
17. Bossk the Trandoshan
Aside from fan favorite Boba Fett, the scaly Trandoshan hired by Darth Vader is the most intriguing bounty hunter to show up in The Empire Strikes Back. Nobody forgets an upright lizard in a sci-fi jumpsuit.
16. Sebulba the Dug
This podracing, knuckle-walking jerk from The Phantom Menace is a great bit of creature design. Wonderful to watch scoot around with its stubby little legs kicking free in the air, the Dug is only let down by some unfortunately dated computer animation.
15. Watto the Toydarian
A flying insect with the face of a rubbery anteater, Watto the Toydarian is an early villain in The Phantom Menace. He looks like he smells pretty awful, which says something positive about his visual design.
14. Vulptex
While their name may be one of the sillier to ever grace Star Wars, the crystalline Vulptex foxes are solid creature design. They look as fearsome as they do brittle, which can't be an easy look to pull off.
13. Yoda
One of the famous denizens of the Star Wars universe, Yoda is remembered as much for his wild eyes, wrinkly green face, and sparse old man hair as he is for his unique understanding of English grammar. It's too bad that he became roughly fifty percent less cool as soon as the prequel trilogy decided to show him flip-flopping around in energetic lightsaber fights.
12. Tognath
The gas mask-wearing species called Tognath are a highlight of Rogue One. Where their flesh ends and the mechanical parts covering most of their bodies begins is anyone's guess.
11. Neimoidian
These nefarious alien bureaucrats ran the Trade Federation during the Galactic Republic, playing a crucial role in the prequel trilogy's events. Luckily, the decision to create their perpetually aggrieved faces and blank red eyes with largely practical instead of computer-generated effects makes the scenes they appear in at least somewhat interesting.
10. Happabore
The Happabore only appears in a single scene from The Force Awakens, but watching the truck-sized pig/elephant hybrid slurping up water from the same trough as a desperately thirsty Finn makes it stand out.
9. Jawas
Showing up early in A New Hope, the Jawas--tiny humanoid figures with glowing eyes and surprisingly rodent-like hands poking out from their robes--are instantly intriguing. They're made even more fascinating when viewers try to imagine what they get up to when hanging around in their desert-crossing landship, which looks like a giant slab of concrete on wheels.
8. Bantha
A mix between horse and wooly mammoth, the Bantha is even stranger looking than the Tusken Raiders that ride them through the deserts of Tatooine.
7. Bith
The bulbous-headed Bith playing the music underscoring A New Hope's introduction to Han Solo are one of the most striking creatures in Mos Eisley, which is saying something given the number of bizarre aliens that surround it.
6. Talz
Talz, a four-eyed, furry creature, is only glimpsed for a moment, but even a quick glance makes the bug-like alien stick out among the rest of the cantina.
5. Jabba the Hutt
A repulsive creature that resembles an overgrown slug with stunted arms and a giant flappy mouth, the hookah-loving Jabba makes Return of the Jedi's early scenes good enough to excuse the muddled rest of the original trilogy's worst entry.
4. Space Gary
An alien twist on Carrie Fisher's beloved French bulldog Gary, Space Gary (as the creature's named for now) is a small but lovely tribute to the late actor. It doesn't hurt that regular bulldogs look close enough to aliens that adding even a slightly mutated version of one to The Last Jedi doesn't seem out of place.
3. Salacious Crumb
Jabba's constant companion, a nasty little rat-monkey, is one of the most irritatingly sinister (and therefore best) creatures to appear in the Hutt's palace. Listen to the stinker cackling away at every misfortune that befalls Jabba's guests to appreciate the true charm of this Muppet from hell.
2. Kabe the Chadra-Fan
The thirstiest little fella from A New Hope's cantina scene, watching this tiny walking bat gratefully receive his drink with the two-handed grip of a toddler is one of the first Star Wars' small highlights.
1. Chewbacca the Wookiee
The best there ever was, Chewbacca managed to turn the frightening prospect of an enormously strong and markedly intelligent sasquatch into the sort of friendly giant every kid who watches Star Wars dreams of having as a best friend. Despite communicating entirely in warbled growls, Chewbacca is still one of the most expressive cast members of the entire series.
By Dan Auty on Dec 15, 2017 03:42 am
Christmas is a time for friends, family, food, and gift-giving. But for us horror fans, it's also a time for monsters, mayhem, gore, and psychotic Santas armed with axes. The last few decades have a produced a number of delightfully twisted holiday horror flicks, all of which provide some much needed darkness in the festive season. Here's some of the best.
13. Jack Frost (1996)
Not to be confused with the sentimental Hollywood family fantasy of the same name from the following year, this Jack Frost is the tale of a killer snowman who terrorises the town of, er, Snowmonton. The movie features some of the least convincing fake snow ever committed to film, a scene where a victim is crucified on a Christmas tree, and an early appearance from American Pie star Shannon Elizabeth (who gets killed with a carrot). Jack Frost boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 7%, and it's a deliciously awful load of festive nonsense best enjoyed after a few eggnogs.
12. Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)
None of the Silent Night Deadly Night sequels are very good, but the second entry is worthy of a place on the list simply because it is so, so bad. The tiny budget didn't even provide director Lee Harry with enough to shoot a full movie, so much of the running time is given over to extensive "flashbacks". Nearly 50% of the entire movie is simply a repeat of scenes from the first film, to the extent that the end of credits includes the full casts of both. The new material is so incompetent that it's utterly fascinating to watch. And of course, the movie also provided the internet with one of the all-time great memes: "GARBAGE DAY!"
11. A Christmas Horror Story (2015)
Anthology movies are a big part of horror, so it's no surprise that we eventually got a Christmas one. Set on Christmas Eve and with a wraparound that features a hilarious William Shatner as an increasingly drunken DJ, it presents a trio of ghoulish seasonal stories. Unlike many anthologies, this one intercuts the stories throughout. There's the teenage trio who discover a nasty surprise when they visit the scene of an unsolved high school murder, a cop whose kid starts acting very strange on a Christmas Tree shopping trip, and a family who are hunted by something terrifying in the snow after their car breaks down. The mix of stories and the fact that three directors are involved means that A Christmas Horror Story is tonally pretty inconsistent, but it's also nicely gory with some good twists along the way.
10. Silent Night Bloody Night (1972)
The eerie Silent Night Bloody Night played briefly in drive-in theatres 1972, before disappearing into obscurity and falling into the public domain. In the early '80s it was resurrected for the cable TV horror marathon Movie Macabare and began to play annually as an antidote to traditional festival programming. It's a tale of small-town murder on Christmas Eve, with variable acting and a sometimes bafflingly complicated whodunnit plot, but plenty of chilly atmosphere.
9. Saint Nick (2010)
Originally titled Sint but released as Saint Nick in the US, this Dutch shocker comes from the twisted mind of Dick Maas, director of such cult gems as The Lift and Amsterdamned. It is based on the legend of Sinterklaas, who, like Santa, was adapted from the historical figure of Saint Nicholas. In Maas's darkly funny shocker, Sinterklaas is a ghostly figure who turns to murder whenever his annual celebration coincides with a full moon. Like Silent Night Deadly Night many years earlier, Saint Nick caused some controversy with concerned parents in the Netherlands, forcing Maas to go to court to defend the movie's poster campaign.
8. Home for The Holidays (1972)
This creepy made-for-TV movie from the early '70s combines an Agatha Christie-style mystery with a proto-slasher movie involving a pitchfork-wielding killer. Four sisters (including a young Sally Field and Arrested Development's Jessica Walters) gather in their estranged father's house over Christmas after he tells them he believes their stepmom is trying to poison him. Home for the Holidays was written by Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stefano and produced by '80s TV soap king Aaron Spelling. Surprisingly, considering it was an ABC Movie of the Week, it doesn't hold back on the unwholesome festive murder.
7. Christmas Evil (1980)
Despite the punny title and similar storyline, Christmas Evil predated Silent Night Deadly Night by four years. It's also a weirder, creepier movie that is less interested in gory shocks and focuses more on the fragile mental state of its main character, Harry. Poor Harry had an early Christmas ruined when he saw his dad, dressed as Santa, having some illicit fun with his mom. As an adult he works in a toy factory, and inevitably becomes convinced he is the real Father Christmas, who must "punish" the bad adults in his neighbourhood. An underrated movie, Christmas Evil has a compelling, sympathetic lead performance from Brandon Maggart (who is also the father of '90s singer-songwriter Fiona Apple!).
6. Better Watch Out (2016)
The most recent movie on this list, this smart, subversive shocker can be found on the horror streaming service Shudder. The movie starts as a fairly standard home invasion horror, as a teenage babysitter and the 12-year-old boy she is looking after over the Christmas period are forced to deal with terrifying, masked, shotgun-carrying intruders. But a clever twist a third of the way in turns the movie on its head, and leads to a far more original, but equally tense next hour. Better Watch Out is marked by dark humour, strong performances, and a couple of satisfyingly gruesome kills. The holiday setting is more a backdrop than a major plot point, but it's a strong entry into the canon of Christmas horror movies.
5. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)
While there have been many cinematic depictions of Santa over the years, there are none like the Father Christmas of this wacky Finnish fable. When a British drilling team blast a hole a mountain, Santa's icy home is uncovered, leading to a series of encounters with his "elves", and finally the big man himself. Rare Exports is an uproarious, fast-moving horror comedy that gets crazier as it continues, but still finds time for a happy ending.
4. Krampus (2014)
The Krampus is a demonic horned creature from Austrian folklore who punishes naughty kids at Christmas. He's also the perfect holiday horror villain. The aforementioned anthology film A Christmas Horror Story features a Krampus in one of its stories, but for the true Krampus experience, this recent seasonal gem is a must-see. Written and directed by Michael Dougherty, who will next helm the upcoming Godzilla sequel, it focuses on a young boy called Max who isn't experiencing the best Christmas. With his house full of unbearable relatives and a freak storm cutting off power to his town, Max is forced to do battle with a visiting Krampus. Dougherty takes a similar approach to his festive horror as Joe Dante did with Gremlins, delivering a movie that is gruesome and scary, but also funny and heartwarming.
3.Silent Night Deadly Night (1984)
While it's not the first Christmas slasher movie, Silent Night Deadly Night is the most notorious. It's the twisted tale of a troubled young man whose parents were murdered on Christmas Eve, and who suffered subsequent abuse in a Catholic orphanage. Donning a Santa suit, he picks up an axe and gets busy. The film opened to big box office but also countrywide protests from the Planet Teacher Association, who were dismayed at the depiction of Santa as a crazed killer. It was pulled from theatres after only six days, but this gruesomely entertaining classic has subsequently found an appreciative audience at home. It was followed by four sequels and a 2012 remake.
2. Black Christmas (1974)
Black Christmas is not only a classic of seasonal horror, it's also one of the key movies in setting the template for the slasher genre that was so popular in the following decade. A group of students are menaced at Christmas by a campus killer who torments them over a phone line. It's tense and scary, and features one of the earliest uses of the now-clichéd killer's POV shot. Director Bob Clark later made another holiday classic, the perennial family favorite A Christmas Story, which features a lot less hacking and slashing.
1. Gremlins (1984)
Commercially the most successful movie on this list, Gremlins is the perfect meeting of two different filmmaking sensibilities. On one hand we have producer Steven Spielberg's vision of a classic Christmas in an all-American small town, and on the other, director Joe Dante's anarchic, satirical demolition of the festive period and all its cloying conventions. The movie doesn't hold back on the murderous monster mayhem, but still packs plenty of heart. And Phoebe Cate's Santa Claus monologue remains one of the darkest, yet most hilarious scenes of the whole decade.
By Chris Pereira on Dec 15, 2017 02:39 am
We're well into December and the holiday season, and Blizzard has marked the occasion by kicking off Overwatch's latest seasonal event. Winter Wonderland has made a return from last year, but it includes a bunch of new content--including new skins. When Blizzard first teased Winter Wonderland 2017, it only shared three characters who would be getting Legendary skins: Junkrat, Roadhog, and Hanzo, the latter of whom would be getting a "long-awaited skin from the comics." None of these were actually revealed, leaving us to wait for the event to begin to get a look. Now, with Wonder Wonderland live, we've gotten to see each and every one of the new skins. In the gallery above, you can check out all of the new looks (starting with the Legendary skins), as well as other new cosmetics and event content in this update. In addition to the aforementioned characters, there are new skins for Bastion, Ana, Sombra, and Soldier 76. There is also a new winterized version of the Black Forest map and a 5 vs. 1 Brawl mode called Yeti Hunt, as well as returning holiday-themed content from last year. Winter Wonderland is available for free on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. As is typical for these events, a seasonal loot box containing these items has replaced the standard one. You'll get a free loot box just for logging in during the event, which runs from now until January 1.
Ana - Snow Owl (Legendary)
Ana - Snow Owl (Legendary)
Bastion - Avalanche (Legendary)
Bastion - Avalanche (Legendary)
Hanzo - Casual (Legendary)
Hanzo - Casual (Legendary)
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By GameSpot Staff on Dec 15, 2017 01:21 am
Battlegrounds Ready
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds can be an intense multiplayer experience, but the only way to really learn how to play it is to actually jump in. The battle royale-style game pits up to 100 players against each other, with the single goal of being the last player standing. Now that it's on Xbox One in addition to PC, it's a good time to jump in (literally) and try to get the coveted chicken dinner. With no tutorial, single-player mode, or other traditional ways to pick up how the game works, most players just have to spend lots of time getting killed in PUBG in order to learn the ropes. But with a little information about the essentials, you can cut the learning curve significantly. Here are 12 essential tips to get you started in PUBG that'll help you hit the island running.
Speed And Smarts
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds starts with up to 100 players parachuting onto a giant island. The goal is to fight and survive to be the only person left, and in practice, that means you'll need to mix stealth, combat, and situational awareness to take out other players and avoid getting dropped yourself. Right from the beginning of the match, you'll have control in the air as you descend onto the game world. During this time, you can see other players and move your character to avoid them. Part of what makes Battlegrounds so interesting is its scope. The island is huge, allowing you to explore a big chunk of it for weapons, and features varied environments from power plants to houses to forests make for a lot of surprising encounters. But to win, you'll need to be both quick and intelligent. When moving around, sometimes it's best to holster your weapon to pick up speed. Though you will be more vulnerable, sometimes it's more important to move quickly. Pay attention to your surroundings, both indoors and out, and try to anticipate where other players might be waiting for you, especially when you check buildings--even the bathtubs, as they're a common hiding spot. Stay out of the open as much as possible and outsmart players by being patient and, to some degree, cautious. Your only goal is to stay alive, so sometimes, avoiding a fight is better than picking one. You can often get further in a match by letting other players do your dirty work for you and then picking them off when they're vulnerable. Just know that players who do more killing often end up with better gear, which can stack the deck against you as you get into Battlegrounds' later moments.
Learn (And Adjust) The Controls
The first thing you should do out of the gate is spend some time familiarizing yourself with the game's controls, and making any adjustments you desire. There are a lot of inputs to remember, and you'll need all your skills to play effectively. Among the most important is the ability to turn your head by holding down the Alt key (on PC) or the left stick (Xbox One). In third-person view mode, holding Alt or RB allows you to swivel the camera so you can see all the way around you without moving. This is essential, since the island is a huge place, and you constantly need to be on the lookout for other players. Everyone is gunning for you, and only by being more aware of your surroundings than your opponents will you emerge victorious. You'll also want to familiarize yourself with crouching and going prone, which minimize how visible you are and dictate how much sound your character makes while moving. Also, holding the Alt key can reduce the speed of your character, making them more quiet. Other handy controls include the B key or left on the D-pad, which lets you switch your weapons' firing modes, and Tab or Option, which opens your inventory screen and lets you quickly loot nearby bodies within a short distance. Managing your inventory quickly and efficiently is a key part of PUBG, so more on that later. For Xbox users, keep in mind that tapping, not holding, the left trigger will aim down sights. The back button opens the map, and LB boosts when you're driving. To switch from third- to first-person perspective, hit RB.
Be Aware Of The Circle
In PUBG, you can't just wander the island for as long as you want, wherever you want. Eventually, the play area constricts; if you check the in-game map with the M key, you'll see a white circle designating the new play field, with a timer in the bottom-right corner of your display. When the timer runs out, a larger blue circle will begin to close in around the white one. If you're caught outside the white circle when the blue one arrives, you'll start to take damage--and the longer the game goes on, the more quickly the blue forcefield will kill you. So in addition to hunting down and fighting other players (or avoiding them), you need to continually make your way into the white circle to avoid dying. And each smaller circle means there's a better and better chance you'll run into other players. In fact, a big part of every PUBG match is knowing where the circle is and how it'll affect you. Smart players use the circle as part of their strategy, using it to predict other players' movements and to ambush them as they flee its deadly contractions. You'll often see people waiting on bridges and at other choke points where they know other players are forced to pass to keep inside the circle. Thinking about where the circle will force players to go, and anticipating bad situations when you're forced to move, will help you survive.
What To Know About Your Gear
When you first drop onto the island in PUBG, you'll have only the clothes on your back. If you happen to encounter a player immediately, you can punch them, but every drop is a race for the nearest buildings, and with them, guns. You'll find guns and other equipment almost exclusively inside buildings, so most of the time, you'll want to move from structure to structure. Your primary concern at the outset of the game is to get armed, but you also will need more than guns. Gear in PUBG includes body armor, backpacks to lug your stuff, and health items. In every game, you immediately want to seek out a vest and helmet for protection. However, higher tiered gear can protect against the more vulnerable areas of your body, such as tier 3 helmet offering a facemask to protect against head damage. These won't make you invincible, but they allow you to take a lot more damage and use up fewer healing items before dying. Armor items and backpacks come in three tiers, with the third being the rarest and most effective. Most of the game is about checking buildings for better stuff, and you can expect other players to be doing the same. By the later stages of any match, expect your opponents to be pretty well decked out. Always keep an eye out for better gear, whether it's in the buildings you stop by or on the players you kill.
Manage Your Inventory
Even with the biggest backpacks and best gear in Battlegrounds, your ability to carry equipment is limited. You can only cram so many first aid kits, energy drinks, and ammo boxes into your pockets. A lot of PUBG is about knowing what to take and what to leave behind, and setting up your weapons with useful attachments as quickly as possible. You can open your character's inventory screen with the Tab key or Option button, but know that you're vulnerable while you're messing with the menus. On the Inventory screen, you'll see three weapon slots for two rifles or SMGs, a pistol, a melee weapon, and grenades, along with spaces for equippable armor. When you stand near gear you want to pick up, you'll see it arrayed in the top-left corner of the screen, and you can pick items up from there instead of looking at them individually and hitting F or X. From there, you can drag items directly to where they go on your character, which cancels the "pick-up" animation that leaves your character vulnerable for a second or two. Once you get familiar with what gear goes where, this seemingly small consideration might save your life as you grab a gun or ammo in a clutch moment. Knowing how to prioritize stuff in your inventory is extremely important. For instance, you only want to carry ammo for the guns you've got with you. While it's tempting to pick up tons of bandages, they can only heal up to 75% health, and you may be better off keeping only a few on hand and saving space for boosts (which we'll get to later) and medkits or first aid kits. Grenades can be effective, but their uses are pretty limited. As for attachments for weapons you don't have, unless they're very rare and potentially useful if you find the right gun (like suppressors), they're just just dead weight and will clog up inventory space--especially for lower tiered backpacks that hold fewer items. If you do have a Tier 2 or 3 backpack, taking ammo or attachments for coveted weapons, space providing, can help prevent the opposition from getting ahold of important resources. While you want to find as much good gear as quickly as possible in PUBG, you also want to throw away anything you're not getting much use out of. Ammo for your assault rifle is much more important than ammo for your pistol, for instance. And even though your Tier 3 body armor might be damaged, it's still more effective at stopping bullets than a Tier 1 vest.
It's All About Sound
Situational awareness is essential in PUBG. The island is so big that it's possible to go for long periods without seeing any other players, but catching sight of people before they see you is essential to making it all the way to the end. Even more important than sight, though, is sound. Sound carries quite a long way in PUBG. Fire a gun and you'll be heard for a huge distance around you, often drawing more players to your location. Driving a vehicle creates even more sound, announcing your position to everyone in the area. But even at a local level, footsteps make a good amount of noise. You'll often hear players before you see them, and being able to gauge the locations of noisy players and ambush them is an important skill--as is knowing where players might be waiting to do the same to you. It's highly recommended that you play Battlegrounds with a solid pair of headphones, preferably the wrap-around kind that support stereo sound. Your best assets in the game aren't your guns but your ears. Most of the times you'll encounter other players, you'll hear them long before you see them.
Loot And Scoot
In PUBG, it's important to keep moving and to constantly seek out better equipment. Hiding out in a good spot in the middle of the circle might seem like a great idea, but often you'll handicap yourself--you might make it to the Top 10 in a game where you hide out in an attic for 20 minutes, but you'll often be underpowered compared to the players who have been battling it out for the entire match. It's important to balance caution with taking risks, and to learn which situations call for which approach. In general, though, you'll want to check a building as quickly as you can, get everything you need from it, and move on. But be aware of your surroundings. For players just starting out, a good thing to watch for are open doors. All the doors in PUBG are closed by default, so doors standing open were definitely opened by players. But you can also close doors behind you, which is a great way to throw someone off your trail or set up an ambush by making a building look untouched when you're actually hiding inside. If you suspect an enemy might be nearby but the exterior doors on a building are closed, one good strategy is to check the windows. Interior doors are also closed by default, so if you can look into a building from the outside to see open doors on the inside, you might avoid walking into a trap. It's also worth noting that the biggest, most interesting buildings--apartments, the power plant, the military base, the school, and so on--often house the best gear. However, they also attract the most players who have the same idea to trek into large spaces for more valuable gear.
Learn The Good Weapons
There are a ton of guns in PUBG, and they're not all equal. Some are good for different situations--a shotgun can be devastating in close-quarters interior combat but next to useless out in the field. Most guns can also support a number of attachments, from suppressors to better stocks, that change how they handle and can make middling weapons into powerhouses. Your general approach should be to try to find assault rifles like the M16A and the AKM. These guns are reliable in a variety of situations and are great up close or at range, especially when you find scopes for them. Sniper rifles are rare and also worth snagging when you can find them, especially if you have a 4x or 8x scope. As you get better at PUBG, you'll find getting the right guns and the optics to go with them is a big part of outfitting yourself to make it to the late stages of the game. But if you can spend time messing with each gun, preferably in combat, figuring out what weapons you personally like and do well with is better than any generalized advice. Learning the weapons of the game and getting comfortable with them will also make you more adaptive. Know where your strengths lie and play to them, while increasing your skills in areas they don't. A big part of the Battlegrounds experience is learning the ins and outs of the guns so that you can do well, whether you have your favorite weapons or something you found in an emergency.
Healing And Boosting Are Essential
Other key items you'll find in Battlegrounds are first-aid kits, medkits, bandages, painkillers, and energy drinks. These are all healing items, but they don't all work in the same way. Bandages, for instance, will restore 10 percent of your health, but only up to 75 percent of your maximum. First aid kits are the same way; they'll heal you any amount up to the 75 percent threshold. Only rarer medkits and boosting items--painkillers and energy drinks--can fully restore you to 100 percent health. Boosters work differently from straight-up health items. Using an energy drink or a painkiller fills a small bar located above your health bar, which indicates your boost level. At the first level, your character will gradually heal, which means you can use boosters to restore yourself to 100 percent from 75 percent health, but gradually, over several seconds. Using more boosters will give you other benefits, like a slightly increased run speed and quicker gun handling, that can be essential in the late game. But it's important to note that all healing items don't work immediately. You'll have to stay still for several seconds as you deploy them. That means in order to use a first aid kit or drink an energy drink, you'll be vulnerable. Plan accordingly.
Watch Out For The Red Zone
Occasionally, you'll see a bright red circle appear on the map, combined with an on-screen announcement that a Red Zone has started. This is a warning to get to cover if you're in the affected area. After a few seconds, bombs will start to fall and explode randomly across the area for a short period, adding another way you can meet your death in PUBG. Red zones are by no means an instant death sentence, however. If you're running through a red zone and you've got no shelter, you should keep running and hope for the best. If you're in a car, you can often successfully drive through. If you can, get in a house, and stay away from doors and windows to be safe--since bombs can break glass and damage you if you're too close. If you're traveling and see a red zone pop up, avoid it, as it can be deadly at worst and noisy and distracting at best.
Use Cover
When you do eventually get into a fight with another player, knowing where to stand and how to protect yourself is extremely helpful. Bullets never penetrate through trees, making them great cover, but bushes only make you hard to see, not hard to kill. Doors won't stop incoming fire, but walls will. You can also use the Q and E keys to lean left and right, allowing you to peek out from behind cover or around a corner to take shots without exposing your entire body. When you get killed in a fight, try to pay attention to where you were and what you did wrong. Were you standing right in front of a door when an enemy decided to blow it out with their shotgun? Did you strafe the wrong way around a tree? Learn where you're safe and where you aren't, and then use that knowledge to limit the situations in which you're less safe than the enemy.
Play Smarter Than The Competition
All the best guns and gear in PUBG don't hold a candle to your most important weapon: Your brain. PUBG is a game about assessing situations quickly and dealing with them accordingly. That means that just because you hear gunfire in the distance doesn't mean you go charging toward it, and just because you see an enemy 100 yards off doesn't mean you start unloading in their direction in the hope you might rack up a kill. Discretion is the name of the game in PUBG. Knowing when you are an effective fighter and when you're not, and turning the situation to your advantage, is what the game is really about. In practice, that means you usually should avoid firing your gun. Unless you're confident you can take out the other player, opening fire is like unfurling a giant "come kill me" sign above your head. Shooting at someone and failing to kill them risks providing them with the knowledge of your location, giving them a better chance to kill you. And that's to say nothing of the other curious players who might come to investigate the noise. Being smart doesn't necessarily mean being meek, though. For a lot of new players, it's easy to give into the tension of Battlegrounds and to find a place to hole up to wait for the end of the match. Not only is that boring, but it won't teach you anything. It can be useful to drop into some of the busiest locations in PUBG, like the centers of towns or the military bases, and get into some fights. The game currently doesn't include a killcam or any other way of seeing who kills you and from where--so if you hide in an attic all game before being forced to make a run for the circle as it contracts, only to get sniped by some player you never see, you won't learn anything. And learning is how you become better. So don't be afraid to try and fail. The odds are 99 to one that you'll die in a PUBG match. Don't fear death or get frustrated by it; embrace it and let those experiences make you better. PUBG is a game about outsmarting other players, and it takes a lot of losing to learn how best to do that.
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