Julian Beck | Nightmare Nostalgia

It’s a tragedy that we NEVER got a villainous prequel to one of the greatest horror films of all time, Poltergeist, giving us an origin story of what is equally, the goddamn scariest horror villain ever. Don’t even try to fight me on this very right opinion: I will die on the hill that Henry Kane is the definitive underrated and most terrifying horror movie antagonist of the last 50 years. I know I’m not the only one that thinks this to be true. So why haven’t studios who are so keen to reboot and churn out 12 sequels to every damn property on the planet to make a quick buck, picked up on this note that a Poltergeist prequel film featuring the malevolent Kane, would not only be a pre-determined hit with fans but could potentially be the perfect way to reignite a masterful franchise that left us on a lowly note with the third installment and a not so great remake of the 1982 movie.

Well, let me in… Let’s talk about it.

On public record straight from the official Poltergeist III website, an industry insider by the name of Macklin Crux stated a script of Kane’s backstory was being developed in the early ‘90s. According to Crux, the story would have explained Kane’s descent into madness and his direct connection to the Freeling family putting all the missing pieces of the puzzle together that sort of left us hanging and only lightly touched on with Poltergeist II. Had the project gone through, we would have seen descendants of the Freeling family escape the clutches of a 19th-century cult leader with the help of an Indian Medicine Man, marking the future Freelings’ as a target for revenge.

Which makes perfect sense in regard to the sequel where Kane first appeared, showing his 10,000 teeth and scaring the ever-loving shit out of a generation and Taylor coming into the mix, as a present-day medicine man would know how to defeat the entity like his ancestors before him.

Seems like the perfect idea to reinvent the franchise but the project was killed off before anything solid scripts were written. Given the tragedy of the previous films and the untimely death of Heather O’ Rourke before even finishing the third movie, it was probably doomed from the start of even uttering the word, “another Poltergeist film” to studio execs. However, in today’s climate, I still feel like it would work and if MGM ever sprouts a pair of balls to move forward with it, I got the perfect actor to take on the daunting role of his “Holy Temple-ness”. We need someone that not only can pass as a younger Henry Kane, but has the acting chops to pull off a believable performance.

My friends, I do believe Walton Goggins is our man.

Goggins has proven himself to be an ever-changing chameleon- and a HIGHLY underrated one at that. The man has some serious range. From his award-worthy performance on Sons of Anarchy as a southern belle trans, a salty employee in Vice Principals, to a fantastic jerk-off in Django Unchained, and most recently his over-the-top character as Uncle Billy in The Righteous Gemstones. Goggins has the resume to take on such a pivotal role that could very well bring this franchise back to life again the way it rightfully should be. The man already has that important southern preacher-like accent and as seen in the photo above, wears those large hats quite nicely. Physically, he would just need to wear color-changing contacts, as Julian Beck’s eyes were that of a baby blue. Other than that, he’s a grand choice to fill those mighty big shoes.

Just in case it ever WERE to happen, I hope the right people reading this take at least take this into consideration. Seriously, hire the man and make all our dreams of a Kane prequel come true. Also, as a Poltergeist mega-fan through and through, I’m also up for hire as a consultant.

Thanks for your time.

Nightmare Nostalgia Presents Creature Feature: An ongoing tip of the hat to some of horror’s greatest monsters throughout the genre that don’t seem to get the recognition they wholeheartedly deserve.

On the heels of a recent Poltergeist II movie anniversary and what would have been the 98th birthday of one Julian Beck, we won’t just tip any hat, but our oversized black felt-wool head-huggers and sing the gospel of all the “Holy Temples” to the man who gave everything, including his failing health, to a character that will forever be burned into our brains as one of the downright scariest in horror history.

Born on May 31, 1925, Julian Beck wore many hats in the entertainment business, not just the creepy pastor topper we’ve all come to associate him with via Poltergeist II. The on-screen preacher began his love affair with the arts and dabbled in painting abstract expressionist pieces in the early 1940’s until meeting his future wife, Judith Malina who had a tremendously immense passion for the theatre. The love-connection turned into theater history and the pair later founded the prestigious, and often controversial, Living Theater which focused on giving the audience an immersive and shocking experience to take home, reflect, and learn from. Beck, a self-proclaimed anarchist who on several occasions had plenty of trouble with the law, lived by the saying, “If one can experiment in theater, one can experiment in life.” With close to 40 years of embracing these types of convictions inside and out of the theater, Beck’s finest hour came (kind of ironically), in the on-screen role as a passed-on pastor from another time who beat to his own drum as well. I’d say in a way more terrifying and psychotic manner, but you catch my drift here.

Keeping in horror franchise tradition, (although usually via accident-you never know if a sequel will follow) we normally don’t get a whole lot of backstory on the main antagonist. As a matter of fact, the name of Henry Kane was never mentioned once during the first film. Good ole’ Tangina warned of a malevolent presence in the home that she referred to as only, “the beast”. The Other Side, the follow-up four years after the original Cuesta Verde neighborhood nightmare gives us all the answers and a face to said beast with, of course, Julian Beck. And because of his creepy ass performance, I briskly walk a little bit faster past any senior living communities.

His soft-spoken demeanor could go from 0-100 real quick during his little temper tantrums, giving way to a visual about 8,000 teeth in the man’s mouth. Of course, I’m exaggerating a tad but I’d call you a liar if you didn’t think he had an extra set of chompers in there when his face twisted with anger. Besides angry dentures and walking around softly singing culty hymns, Kane’s dagger of a stare was enough on its own to make you avoid this dude walking down the street. Proving that an over-abundant amount of gore and make-up aren’t needed to give someone the skeevies. Not to take anything away from Kane’s other forms in the film including that incredibly EPIC H.R. Giger Tequila-Worm vomit monster (played by Noble Craig). But as Carol Anne said herself in Poltergeist III, “remember, less is more.”

Unfortunately, however, Beck’s look of a resurrected corpse throughout the film wasn’t movie magic but due to a 1983 diagnosis of the often fatal pancreatic cancer. Beck knew his days on Earth were coming to an end and gave everything he had to the role that launched his name into horror infamy. Often in pain on set, and if you look closely into his eyes via the clip above it’s painfully obvious, Beck used his unfortunate circumstances and threw himself into the role of the nefarious cult leader. Little Heather O’Rourke herself was so frightened by his unfiltered skeletal appearance, she burst into tears upon the pair’s first meeting.

I would have run like a bitch too sweetheart.

Today on the anniversary of the life of one Julian Beck, we appreciate his dedication to a role that was to be his last, and sadly never lived to see on screen. I can also appreciate that due to the Kane character, I’ve never wanted to open my door on a rainy day; especially to an elderly gentleman on the other end. Thanks for the eternal nightmares Reverend.