Horror Documentary | Nightmare Nostalgia

We’re less than a month away from another Scream movie heading to theaters and the folks over at Discovery+ with their “Shock Docs” series are bringing us a taste of the grisly murders that inspired the Wes Craven film in an all-new documentary of serial killer Danny Rolling, aka The Gainesville Ripper.

“Scream: The True Story” dives into the real-life horror of a murderer who believed he was possessed by a demon named “Gemini”. Beginning in 1989, Danny Rolling stalked and murdered eight victims in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Gainesville, Florida, including five college students. Rolling was eventually convicted and executed in 2006. Now, paranormal investigator Steve Shippy and renowned psychic medium Cindy Kaza join forces to uncover the truth behind Rolling’s claims that a demon made him kill.

Ya’ll. Geminis’ get a bad enough rap already.

how our clocks are black — Incidentally, here are MORE Exorcist III gifs. :D

Per the press release:

“We all know the ‘Scream’ films, but the inspiration behind them is a terrifying true story that many don’t know,” said Shippy. “As we began to peel back the layers, the investigation became more and more disturbing. There was malicious, devious energy coming at us from every angle. It felt like pure evil.”

“This was one of the most intense and challenging experiences I’ve ever had,” said Kaza. “We made contact with a sinister presence, and it was definitely the most manipulative spirit that I have ever worked with. I felt like I was being messed with during the entire investigation. It shook me to my core.”

Shippy and Kaza are the first to ever conduct a paranormal investigation at the campsite near the University of Florida campus from which Rolling stalked his victims, as well as inside his childhood home in Louisiana, where aggressive poltergeist activity plagues the current homeowners. Interviews with experts and those connected to the case, including Rolling’s ex-fiancée, reveal that evil has run in his family for generations. Shippy and Kaza are confronted by powerful malevolent energy during their intense investigation – could it be the demonic force that possessed Rolling, or is it the spirit of Rolling himself? Fearing for everyone’s safety, they call in a demonologist to conduct an exorcism and help battle off the evil forces.

Launching Friday, January 14 on discovery+, SCREAM: THE TRUE STORY is produced by Campfire Studios for discovery+. For Campfire, the executive producers are Ross Girard, Mark McCune, Ross M. Dinerstein, and Rebecca Evans. For discovery+, the executive producer is Cecile Bouchardeau Weiland.

Check out @discoveryplus on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and #ScreamTheTrueStory for additional content and updates. Follow @TravelChannel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Follow Steve Shippy on Instagram. Follow Cindy Kaza on Twitter and Instagram.

Terror In The Aisles : Cinema Quad Poster

Many moons ago, I recollect curled up in front of our family Magnavox floor TV model and watching a collection of snippets from horror films with my Dad on a VHS rental. I couldn’t have been more than five or six at the time, however, this film of sorts we were watching stuck with me until today. As from what I can remember from said viewing was that this horror film special turned my curiosity on to a LOT of horror movies of which I may have never heard of prior; or at least not a few years down the line anyway. Movies like, The Thing, Carrie, and what I most visually remember Nighthawks– yeah I said it! And for YEARS, I (and apparently my father as well), couldn’t goddamn remember what the hell it was we watched! It was one of things that drove me crazy for about 25 years until I began blogging and journalism within the horror community and someone could answer the million dollar fuckin’ question. The film was of course, and correct me if wrong but also the FIRST of it’s kind horror complication documentary, TERROR IN THE AISLES.

Not even slightly joking. This shit drove me bat-shit crazy for half my life.

Released on October 26th, 1984, Terror in the Aisles broke the horror rules diving deep into what makes a great horror film in a mock documentary style way narrated by genre giants Donald Pleasance and Nancy Allen with snippets from landmark films. It was truly a one-of-its-own-kind experience as the setting is in a packed movie theater with the two legends seated amongst the crowd; which served as a set-up as certain members of the audience would ask questions here and there and one of the two would look dead straight into the camera and give us those answers.

The “doc” focuses on great moments in the genre history as well as leaning into sub-genres. It’s really a great commentary piece for both horror seasoned vets and newcomers to the community- even if all the horror clips date back to 1984 and prior. The films featured are pretty much the standard go-to’s; Halloween, Alien, The Exorcist and so forth with a few line-drives thrown; again, fuckin’ NIGHTHAWKS. Also, that’s totally ok because it’s a badass movie. As a young kid watching this, I DO remember asking about the films mentioned at the beginning of this article, and yes Nighthawks was number one because Sly was/is a hero of mine and I adored Rocky and Rambo as little kid. So yeah, Sly in a horror movie (kind of?), YES PLEASE.

Also, one of the scenes highlighted where Stallone is dressed in drag in order to trap the terrorist, wasn’t a sell to me but a total bonus.

TERROR IN THE AISLES is a fascinating time capsule from our generation. And certainly a fun revisit from time to time. Even if you think it’s corny or perhaps a cash grab milking the 80s’ horror money train from its’ time, you have to respect it was the FIRST. And set the bar for many of the horror docs and specials we have at pretty much, a forever disposal thanks to multiple streaming services and how huge the film community has gotten over the past 30 years.

The film was forever trapped on VHS for years up until recently SHOUT! Factory finally buckled for a glorious Blu-Ray release. However, if you want to revisit, and umm yeah I think you should, I would highly suggest purchasing the HALLOWEEN II Anniversary Blu-Ray, as TERROR IN THE AISLES is right there in the special features. May as well get a bang for your buck at a lower price am I right?

Sound off here in the comments Nostalgic Nuggets: What horror snippet from the film peaked your interests so that you had to watch that particular horror movie immediately?