This Halloween weekend, you have a lot of entertainment choices. You could watch the return of Michael Myers. And of course streaming services have about 75 million different options, including a new Paranormal Activity film. But one that might be off your radar, and that we highly recommend, is The Spine of Night.
Written and directed by Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King, The Spine of Night feels like Frank Frazetta and Ralph Bakshi made a film that was ripped from the pages of Heavy Metal magazine. It’s about a witch named Tzod (voiced by Xena herself, Lucy Lawless) who travels a great distance to find a magical flower, one guarded for ages by, well, an Ancient Guardian ( Richard E. Grant, star of Loki, The Rise of Skywalker, and about a zillion other things). Through their conversation and conflict, we learn about the way the flower has impacted history and what it means to Tzod and her people. It’s a hugely epic story and Gizmodo is excited to debut this exclusive clip, which features Phae-Agura (Get Out’s Betty Gabriel) having a creepy chat with the Prophet of Doom (cult filmmaker Larry Fessenden). You won’t understand a word they’re saying but you will completely love it nevertheless.
This story is just a sliver of the overall film, which also features characters voiced by the likes of Patton Oswalt and Joe Manganiello. It’s really a special piece of work that fans of genre fare like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones will eat up. Plus, it’s only 90 minutes, so you can sneak it pretty easily into your rotation of horror flicks over the weekend, and maybe find a new favourite along the way.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.