By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 34 seconds ago

The Hulu reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, directed by Chloe Zhao, has been cancelled. The announcement was made on March 14, 2026, by a post from star Sarah Michelle Gellar on Instagram.

A Failure To Launch

There were mixed hopes for the new series, which was announced last year as a pilot was developed. Zhao has won an Oscar already for Nomadland and was up for several this season for Hamnet (she didn’t win, but Jessie Buckley did win Best Actress for the movie), but she also directed the Marvel flop Eternals. Although she proclaims herself to be a life-long fan of the original series, there were a lot of less famous fans who were skeptical she could fill the shoes of show creator Joss Whedon.

Whedon initially created the character for a 1992 movie of the same name starring Kristy Swanson, but reinvented her for the show that dominated young adult television, which started in 1997. He was not included among the creatives working on the reboot, which opted instead for an all-female development team. Whedon’s other best-known television property, Firefly, announced the same weekend that it was also being rebooted as an animated series. Similarly, Whedon will not involved in the animated series.

There’s Still Hope

Gellar was to be among the cast of the reboot, with Buffy serving in a mentor role for a new character and a new support cast. This would have put Buffy in the role of Giles for the new slayer, and there were numerous rumors that other previous cast members would be coming home to Sunnyvale to provide their own aid.

Disney and Hulu are not done with ideas for the Buffy franchise. There have been new ideas in development since 2018, and the idea of a new Buffy show is still appealing to the House of Mouse, but the pilot for this one apparently didn’t coincide with their vision. They turned it down on Friday the 13^th, which Buffy could appreciate, right after Gellar praised the reboot at the SXSW film festival, where she was promoting her new movie, Ready or Not 2.

Fans are disappointed that the series has been cancelled, and so is Sarah Michelle Gellar. However, reboots and spin-off shows have been inconsistent: while the resurgence of Scrubs has been enjoyed by many, Starfleet Academy has failed to interest a lot of Star Trek fans, and Paramount’s endless parade of rebooted shows like Matlock, Hawaii Five-O, and The Equalizer are merely filler, counting on the nostalgia bait. We’ll never know which category the new Buffy show would have fallen into, but hopefully something better is coming from the Buffyverse soon.

On 90 Day Fiance, Daniel Tito Herrera can’t accept Lisa‘s lies and her past with women and straight up calls her evil to her face. Annalyn Fox sheds some light on her past. Forrest and Sheena seek legal counsel but the news isn’t good. And Rick Van Vactor gets grilled by Trish‘s family. Let’s break it all down in this recap of Season 8, Episode 14 Prepare For Immediate Descent.

90 Day Fiance: Daniel Can’t Take Lisa’s Lies

On 90 Day Fiancé, Daniel is outraged when Lisa reveals her whole truth. In her quest to become an Igbo woman, Daniel instead declares her an evil woman. Daniel calls her same sex affairs an abomination. Lisa defends her past relationships as just being in love. Daniel clearly can’t accept this. And rails at production that Lisa is not only evil, but vomiting lies. Lisa stands her ground and retires to her room to give him some space.

Daniel isn’t able or willing to see past his culture and rules. Lisa admits she’s not giving up hope that Daniel will want to move forward. She’s let it all out at this point. But Daniel insists he needs to get his uncle involved. Lisa demands to know why the uncle is involved at all. Lisa is scared of losing Daniel. And knows that her past with her fellow women as Daniel calls it will not go over well with uncle. Not to mention the lion king.

Annalyn Fox Admits Her Triggers on Before the 90 Days

A relaxing day at the nail salon was anything but when Jovan Fox accused Annalyn Fox of being too comfortable. The 90 Day Fiancé couple who are already husband and wife, struggle to get along in person. Annalyn bolts after Jovan makes the callous comment. He gives her space while they wait for a pedicab. Back at her place Annalyn seeks the comfort of her mom. Who advises her not to throw away her relationship.

Annalyn Fox does her makeup in spite of being sick of Jovan Fox’s sarcasm. He wishes to talk it out and she agrees. Annalyn admits her father was abusive. And she saw the hurt it inflicted on her mother. So when Jovan is rude or wants control, she lashes out. Determined not to suffer like her mom did. This gives some clarity to Jovan. Who understands her reactions a little better. And promises to keep his snark in check.

90 Day Fiance: Forrest and Sheena Lawyer Up

It’s been a wild ride for Forrest since he landed in the Philippines on 90 Day Fiancé. Between Sheena admitting she lied, his mom’s meddling and a jeepney ride, he’s feeling uneasy. He proposed and she said yes, but not everybody is happy about it. Mainly Forrest’s mom Molly who threatens not to be in their life. Forrest and Sheena seek out an immigration lawyer in Manila to consider next steps of her moving to America.

But the bad news just won’t stop on Before The 90 Days. Forrest reveals his only income in the U.S. is his disability checks. The lawyer gently lets him know that doesn’t qualify as income for a K-1 visa. But it would be pretty easy for them if they married and stayed in the Philippines. Sheena proposes this idea to Forrest. But he clearly isn’t ready to give up his family back home. Even if Molly has disappointed him. Sheena weeps and Forrest has to make a decision or lose her.

Rick Van Vactor in the Hot Seat on 90 Day Fiance

Rick Van Vactor pouts over Trish’s reference to her ex on 90 Day Fiancé. Keep in mind Trish only mentioned her ex. She didn’t hop a plane to another country for a hook up after a few days of no contact. Nevertheless, she apologizes and he does too. The pair will head to Trish’s village to meet her family. And Rick has plenty to be nervous about. If her dad doesn’t get on board with the fifty something wig master, things could be over for good.

Rick certainly doesn’t make a stellar first impression. He freaks out over the outdoor shower. And lets out a “ahh hell no” when he sees the outhouse and a piece of note paper subbing for toilet paper. But things really heat up when Trish’s dad has questions. First off how old he is. Dad’s not keen on the fact they are about the same age. Not to mention he already has two marriages under his belt and five kids. But his admission he’s unsure about having kids with Trish is definitely a dealbreaker for her dad.

90 Day Fiance: Elise and Josh Heat up Down Under

After being whisked to a bar after a 27 hour flight, Elise Benson just wanted to sleep. But a sinus issue kept her up most of the night on 90 Day Fiancé. But Josh Lawson proves himself a great caretaker. Providing water through the night. He fails at breakfast in bed serving up vegemite toast. But Elise rises to the occasion when he suggests the beach. And seizes the opportunity to change into a teeny bikini on the beach while Josh shields her with a towel.

The beach day provided an opportunity for a shower together. Followed by Josh oiling up a topless Elise for a massage. The moment is interrupted by third wheel roomie Chris. And the guys yuk it up like frat boys. It didn’t kill the mood enough to stop them from consummating their relationship. But Josh finally admits he really was living with his gal pal Nat before this and not his folks. Later everyone meets up and the tension is thick when Elise accuses Nat of having a financial hold over Josh. Till next time!

Kristin Davis has a glow that simply refuses to quit. The beloved Sex and the City actress keeps showing up looking absolutely radiant, and fans can’t stop asking what her secret is. Turns out, one of her go-to products isn’t some $300 luxury cream from a boutique in the south of France. It’s an ultra-hydrating, anti-aging powerhouse you can grab at Walmart.

In a TikTok video, Davis named the L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Triple Power Face Moisturizer as one of her favorites for looking younger. Pro retinol, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C, work together to smooth fine lines and wrinkles while keeping the skin barrier soft and supple. It’s no wonder Davis reaches for it — and now you should, too, while it’s on sale for just $20 at Walmart!

Get the L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Triple Power Anti-Aging Face Moisturizer for $20 (was $29) at Walmart!

So what’s actually in this jar? The formula packs three heavy-hitting ingredients into one product: Pro Retinol, Hyaluronic Acid, and Vitamin C. Each one pulls its own weight. Pro Retinol targets wrinkles and fine lines. Hyaluronic Acid is the hydrating powerhouse that plumps skin and keeps it feeling dewy instead of tight and dry. Vitamin C brightens and helps even out your complexion. Together, the trio works to reduce wrinkles and deliver serious moisture, which is exactly the combination most women over 50 are hunting for in a daily moisturizer.

Related: Gwyneth Paltrow Calls This Micellar Water the ‘Best Makeup Remover‘

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Removing makeup shouldn’t feel like a full-on workout. Between stubborn mascara, long-wear foundation and sunscreen, taking everything off at night can easily turn into a multi-step ordeal. Luckily, Gwyneth Paltrow has a surprisingly simple solution — and it’s hiding in the drugstore aisle. The actress and wellness founder recently revealed the single product she uses […]

Safe to use morning and evening, simply apply the moisturizer as the last step in your skincare routine after any serums or eye creams. Smooth it all over your face and neck for best results — the brand notes it takes just one week of consistent use to start seeing results!

Over 11,000 Walmart shoppers give this anti-aging cream glowing reviews, so don’t just take Davis’ word for it!

One shopper raved, “I love the ingredients and it’s perfect under makeup for my mature yet combo/oily skin! I’ve tried so many day creams at various price points and this one is it!”

Another reviewer wrote, “My eczema was awful on my face. Skin was itching and rashy with skin flakes. This completely cleared it up and without making my skin breakout. Lesson learned and will continue to use this as a I fell in love with how my skin felt after using it.”

If you’ve been spending hours scrolling through skincare forums trying to decode ingredient lists and compare serums, take a page from Davis. Sometimes the answer is simpler (and way more affordable) than you think. Grab the L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Triple Power Anti-Aging Face Moisturizer for just $20 while it’s still on sale!

Get the L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Triple Power Anti-Aging Face Moisturizer for $20 (was $29) at Walmart!

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Related: Rare Sale Alert! Kate Middleton‘s French-Girl Shampoo Is Marked Down

If there’s one person whose hair we’re always paying attention to, it’s Kate Middleton. The Princess of Wales is famous for her impossibly glossy blowouts — the kind of shiny, satin-like hair that somehow looks perfect at every royal appearance. Naturally, we had to know the secret. Turns out, her go-to shampoo isn’t some impossible-to-find luxury […]

By Jennifer Asencio
| Updated 10 seconds ago

The Culpeppers are a couple who have had a big presence on the reality competition Survivor. Monica appeared on Survivor: One World with the infamous Colton Cumbie, and was then brought back for a Blood vs Water season alongside husband Brad. Brad made such a big impression that he, too, made a second appearance in Game Changers. Neither of them won, but both made it to the final three.

One thing the couple was always remembered for, especially Monica, was their devotion to being parents. They had three children, Rex, Judge, and Honor. Their only son Rex played a little football in college, but he went on to become a lawyer. Unfortunately, he was killed this past weekend in a motorcycle accident. He was only 28.

The Culpepper family demonstrated their fierce loyalty to one another when Brad and Monica appeared together on Survivor: Blood vs Water. That family loyalty included close bonds with all of their children. In 2018, the Culpeppers came out about Rex’s battle with testicular cancer, which required both chemotherapy and surgery, frightening prospects for a 20-year-old man. However, Rex came through it okay and went on to become the backup quarterback for Syracuse University before earning his degree.

During One World, Monica was extremely proud of being a good mom, but she also had a fierce drive to pave her own way in the game, separate from her famous husband. Nevertheless, she made her second appearance in Blood vs Water, where both she and Brad played on opposite teams. She maneuvered her gameplay to align with Tyson Apostle and Gervase Peterson, which took her to the final three, where she lost to Tyson.

Brad, a former NFL defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Chicago Bears, was willing to throw challenges to help Monica. He was especially known for ruthless gameplay that involved getting revenge on members of the opposing team by voting off their loved ones from his team. This forced returning contestant, Candice Cody, to face off against her husband, John, and sparked a brutal rivalry between the two. He took a more patient and pragmatic approach to Game Changers, which got him to the Final Tribal Council, where he came in second to Cops-R-Us alum Sarah Lacina.

With three seasons to get to know Brad and Monica Culpepper, audiences recognize them as part of the Survivor family, so it was with heavy hearts that reports of Rex’s death were shared in the Survivor community. Although we never saw Rex on Survivor, he felt like someone who might someday join his famous parents as a second generation to compete on the show.

Rex is survived by two sisters and a large, loving family.

Over the last few years, The Chosen has become one of the most popular shows on TV. The series was written and directed by Dallas Jenkins, and it serves as a historical and dramatic retelling of the life of Jesus Christ through those who knew him. It’s set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Israel. The show features a talented ensemble cast, including Shahar Isaac as Simon Peter, George H. Xanthis as John, Jonathan Roumie as Jesus, Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene, Paras Patel as Matthew, Noah James as Andrew, Shaan Sharma as Shmuel, Jordan Walker Ross as Little James, Giavani Cairo as Thaddeus, Nick Shakoour as Zebedee, and more. The Chosen has become so popular that its episodes are released in theaters to gross millions before they begin streaming on Prime Video.

The Chosen has kicked off a renaissance on streaming that has increased the demand for more faith-based content. Even popular stars like Chris Pratt have publicly praised the show, going as far as to call it “incredible pop culture canon.” Fox has found its alternative to The Chosen in a new religious series, The Faithful: Women of the Bible, which will air this Sunday, March 22. The first two episodes of the show will air on Fox this Sunday and begin streaming on Hulu the following day, with new episodes following this trend weekly until the final two episodes of Season 1 air on April 5. The series is billed as a faithful dramatization of the Book of Genesis, told through the eyes of courageous yet flawed women whose descendants would shape the future of faith. It was written and created for TV by René Echevarria.

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Yes, Chef! An All-You-Can-Eat Buffet About The Bear — The Collider TV Quiz

Pi Day was Saturday (3/14), but instead of testing your pie knowledge, we’re going to go a different culinary route. How much of a Bear Buff are you?

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Who Stars in ‘The Faithful: Women of the Bible’?

The Faithful: Women of the Bible stars Alexa Davalos as Rebekah, Minnie Driver as Sarah, Jeffrey Donovan as Abraham, Natacha Karam as Hagar, and Blu Hunt as Rachel. The series is showrun by Julie Weitz, with Carol Mendelsohn and Franco Della Posta serving as producers. The fate of the series beyond Season 1 has yet to be decided, but if it performs well in the viewership department, it’s a no-brainer that Fox will look for more stories to tell. It could yet be the perfect competitor to The Chosen.

Stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of The Faithful: Women of the Bible, and watch all seasons of The Chosen on Prime Video.

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Release Date

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April 21, 2019

Network

Prime Video, VidAngel, Angel Studios, TheChosen.tv

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Directors

Dallas Jenkins

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• 
• 

  Elizabeth Tabish

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  Mary Magdalene / Lillith

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Kim Kardashian debuted a new look at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty.

Kardashian, 45, stunned on the Sunday, March 15, red carpet in a skin-hugging gold ball gown by Gucci, styling her tousled hair in a shoulder-length cut and deep side part.

She paired the look with Ofira Jewels and gold Pleaser pumps. For her glam, Kardashian wore a nude lip and rocked a smokey eye with blue colored contacts.

Kardashian went on to share her appreciation for Gucci and creative director Demna for the look, writing via Instagram on Monday, March 16, “DEMNA 4 EVER @GUCCI.”

Related: Stars Shine as Red Carpet Glam Takes Over the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

Hollywood’s biggest night doesn’t end when the final Academy Awards trophy is handed out. A-listers dressed to impress while keeping the party going at the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Sunday, March 15, held at this year’s brand-new venue: the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to […]

Kardashian was not the only member of her famous family in attendance at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty. Sister Kendall Jenner was all smiles while wearing a light blue gown with a square neckline and floral embellishments. She styled her brown hair down and added diamond earrings to the look.

Matriarch Kris Jenner attended the afterparty in a dramatic black dress while walking the red carpet with Corey Gamble. Her hair was swept into an updo.

Kardashian’s youngest sister, Kylie Jenner, stunned in a plunging black McQueen gown with a waist cutout and feathered skirt while walking the carpet with boyfriend Timothée Chalamet.

Chalamet, 30, donned a white suit and matching high-top sneakers at the afterparty after he was photographed heading into the awards show ceremony solo. (The actor was nominated for Best Actor in Leading Role for his turn in Marty Supreme, but he lost to Sinners’ Michael B. Jordan.)

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Related: Hottest Vanity Fair Oscar Party Couples: Timothee and Kylie, More

As the curtain closed on the 2026 Oscars, celebrities turned their sights on the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, led by Best Leading Actor nominee Timothée Chalamet and his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner. Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow were among the first of many A-list couples who hit the red carpet at the Los Angeles County […]

Kylie’s look at the afterparty was a departure from her cherry red Schiaparelli dress at the star-studded awards ceremony. The gown featured a plunging halter neckline, snatched waist, crystals and a keyhole over her chest. She styled her outfit with Lorraine Schwartz jewelry, including a diamond necklace and matching earrings.

Kylie previously wore the same design in 2023 while attending the designer’s show at Paris Fashion Week. Her gown then, however, was a sand-toned color.

“This is my favorite look of all time,” she said during an October 2025 episode of Vogue’s “Life in Looks” YouTube series. “This was a couture dress. It was just perfect. I definitely felt the most beautiful I’ve ever felt in my life this night.”

While hinting that she may rock the look again, Kylie continued, “Any time I’m trying to figure out what to wear to an event, I’m like, ‘Should I just wear this keyhole dress again?’ I think I need another moment in this dress. Or maybe another color.”

“Torture porn” is a subgenre of splatter horror that was big in the 2000s, delighting in violence, gore, and sadism. However, the best of these horrors don’t just stick to brutal physical violence but instead delve deeper. Not content to simply maim their characters physically, psychological torture movies force them to confront unbearable moral dilemmas, manipulation, and emotional breakdown.

These psychologically intense and often scarring films are the focus of this list. Whether through sadistic games, cruel experiments, or elaborate revenge schemes, the titles below represent some of the most harrowing examples of horror cinema that go for the jugular and the cerebellum.

10

‘Antichrist’ (2009)

Image via IFC Films

“Chaos reigns.” Antichrist is less a conventional horror movie than a descent into emotional and psychological extremity. In it, a grieving couple (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) retreat to a remote cabin in the woods after the accidental death of their child. But their isolation amplifies their anguish, and the natural world around them begins to feel hostile and uncanny. Director Lars von Trier uses dreamlike imagery to blur the line between mental breakdown and supernatural menace. Along the way, the film inflicts truly terrible ordeals on the characters. Their suffering isn’t just violent but spiritually devastating.

Most of all, Antichrist weaponizes grief, portraying it as something that corrodes the mind from the inside. Gainsbourg’s character, in particular, becomes consumed by guilt and self-hatred, believing that she herself is somehow responsible for the death of her child. Her psychological breakdown slowly infects the entire atmosphere of the film. That fusion of emotional trauma, philosophical dread, and visceral horror is what makes Antichrist a grim classic.

9

‘Saw’ (2004)

Image via Lions Gate Films

“I want to play a game.” While much of the torture in Saw is very literal and physical, the first movie ultimately stands above most of its torture porn imitators in that the scenarios and dilemmas typically have a powerful moral or psychological component as well. The movie starts with two strangers, Adam (Leigh Whannell) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes), who awaken chained in a filthy bathroom with no memory of how they arrived. They soon discover they are pawns in a sadistic game orchestrated by the elusive Jigsaw Killer, who forces his victims into elaborate tests designed to make them appreciate their lives.

Indeed, Jigsaw’s targets are forced into impossible choices: maim themselves, sacrifice others, or confront truths about their moral failures. While the franchise later became synonymous with escalating spectacle, in this movie at least, the scenes are relatively restrained, and the focus is psychological. This approach resonated: Saw was a runaway success, grossing over $100m against a budget of just $1m.

8

‘Martyrs’ (2008)

Image via Wild Bunch

“Keep doubting.” Martyrs is generally considered one of the key films in the New French Extremity movement, a wave of films in the 2000s that embraced transgressive elements like hardcore violence and explicit sexual imagery (though director Pascal Laugier himself rejected that label). The film begins with Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï), a young woman who escapes captivity and later tracks down the family she believes tortured her. Her quest for revenge draws her friend Anna (Morjana Alaoui) into a hidden world governed by a secret organization obsessed with discovering what lies beyond death.

While the premise is pretty pulpy, Martyrs is a lot more philosophically ambitious than one might expect. It asks terrifying questions about the nature of suffering, faith, and the human desire to understand mortality. The aesthetics reflect this tone: the violence is not presented with style or thrills. Instead, it’s shot with stark realism and long, uncomfortable takes, forcing the audience to sit with the suffering rather than look away from it.

7

‘Audition’ (1999)

Image via Omega Project

“Words create lies. Pain can be trusted.” Takashi Miike’s Audition begins like a gentle romantic drama before revealing its true nature in the last act. Shigeharu Aoyama (Roy Ishibashi), a widower encouraged by his son to remarry, stages a fake film audition to meet potential partners. He becomes enamored with Asami (Eihi Shiina), a quiet and enigmatic young woman. As their relationship develops, subtle warning signs accumulate, hinting at a darkness beneath her composed exterior.

It all finally breaks out at the end, leading to several wincingly brutal scenes of torture, both physical and mental. Retribution is delivered through needles and piano wire. The shift is truly shocking and the single biggest reason why this movie is a cult classic. Audition is a brilliant example of a slow-burn structure being used to chilling effect. These scenes hammer home the themes around loneliness, misogyny, and emotional deception, and they exerted a massive influence over the whole “torture porn” boom.

6

‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’ (2017)

Image via A24

“If you dig a hole and it’s in the wrong place, digging it deeper isn’t going to help.” This absurdist horror from Yorgos Lanthimos stars Colin Farrell as Steven Murphy, a successful cardiac surgeon who befriends Martin (Barry Keoghan), a teenage boy connected to a patient who died under Steven’s care. Martin insinuates himself into Steven’s family life, and an inexplicable illness begins to afflict the surgeon’s children. Eventually, Martin reveals that Steven must make an unthinkable choice to restore balance.

The movie’s title refers to the Greek myth of Iphigenia, in which a king must sacrifice his daughter to appease the gods. Lanthimos reimagines that myth in a modern setting. Here, the true torture is not physical pain but the unbearable responsibility of choosing who must die. Lanthimos makes this approach all the more unsettling through a clinical tone, where the dialogue is delivered in a flat, almost emotionless style. Conversations about horrific events are spoken with the calm detachment of everyday small talk.

5

‘Misery’ (1990)

Image via Columbia Pictures

“I’m your number one fan.” Misery is a masterclass in claustrophobic terror. Writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan) survives a car crash only to be rescued by Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a former nurse and his self-proclaimed biggest fan. Annie takes Paul to her isolated home to nurse him back to health, but when she discovers he has killed off her favorite fictional character, her devotion curdles into something far more dangerous. Trapped and injured, Paul is forced to write under Annie’s watchful eye.

The late great Rob Reiner and his stars keep the tension perfectly coiled throughout. What makes Misery so effective is its focus on the shifting power dynamic between captor and captive. Paul is bedridden with shattered legs, completely dependent on Annie for food, medicine, and basic survival. Annie, meanwhile, swings unpredictably between kindness and terrifying violence. That emotional volatility creates a constant state of dread, because Paul never knows whether Annie will comfort him or destroy him.

4

‘Funny Games’ (1997)

“Why don’t we make a bet?” Funny Games is a chilling deconstruction of violence and spectatorship. The story centers on a middle-class family vacationing at their lakeside home when two polite young men (Arno Frisch and Frank Giering) arrive and gradually subject them to a series of cruel “games.” The intruders maintain an eerie calm throughout, treating their actions as casual entertainment. In the process, director Michael Haneke uses the home invasion framework to implicate the audience in the act of watching.

The style complements this message. The film frequently breaks conventional storytelling rules, disrupting expectations and denying catharsis. For instance, the tormentor Paul repeatedly breaks the fourth wall, addressing the audience directly. At one point, when a character seems about to fight back, Paul literally rewinds the film with a remote control to erase the moment. This shocking meta moment removes any illusion that justice or escape might occur.

3

‘Se7en’ (1995)

Image via New Line Cinema

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“Wanting people to listen, you can’t just tap them on the shoulder anymore.” David Fincher‘s grimmest masterpiece follows detectives Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Mills (Brad Pitt) as they hunt a serial killer (Kevin Spacey) who stages murders inspired by the seven deadly sins. The investigation drags them through a rain-soaked city steeped in decay, where each crime scene is a grim moral tableau. As the case unfolds, the killer’s meticulous planning reveals a philosophy that is as disturbing as his methods.

Indeed, rather than being cartoonishly evil and doing bad for bad’s sake, John Doe believes he is carrying out a moral crusade against human vice. Each crime is painstakingly designed to represent one of the deadly sins, and the targets are carefully chosen. The grotesque detail of these scenes forces the detectives (and the audience) to confront the darker aspects of human nature and the uncertainty of justice, culminating in the harrowing fate Doe inflicts on Mills.

2

‘A Clockwork Orange’ (1971)

Image via Warner Bros.

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“There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs.” With this one, Stanley Kubrick adapts Anthony Burgess’ novel into a stylized vision dystopian masterpiece. The story centers on Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a charismatic delinquent who revels in nightly acts of brutality with his gang. After being imprisoned, he volunteers for an experimental treatment designed to condition him against aggression. Alex is strapped into a chair and forced to watch graphic videos of violence and suffering. Drugs are administered to induce extreme nausea, conditioning him to associate aggression with unbearable physical sickness.

The procedure leaves him physically incapable of violence, but it also strips away his agency. Through this setup, Kubrick asks tough questions around criminality, authority, and free will. Chief among them: is a person still human if their choices are engineered? Ultimately, A Clockwork Orange uses satire and striking imagery to examine the ethics of behavioral control, arguing that the suppression of evil can come at the cost of individuality itself.

1

‘Oldboy’ (2003)

Image via Show East

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“Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone.” When it comes to psychological torture, no movie can top the sheer existential nightmare of Oldboy. In this legendary revenge thriller, protagonist Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is inexplicably abducted and imprisoned for fifteen years. Without explanation or human contact, he obsessively trains his body and mind, preparing for the day he might escape. When he is suddenly released, he embarks on a desperate search for the identity and motives of his captor.

However, this set-up is only the start of his torment. His enemy, Lee Woo-jin (Yoo Ji-tae), reveals that the entire ordeal was part of a meticulously planned revenge scheme based on a seemingly minor event from their past. The movie then hits us with one of the most devastating twists in modern cinema, revealing that Dae-su has unknowingly been manipulated into committing an act that destroys him psychologically. The revelation reframes the entire narrative. At that point, only forgetting offers Dae-su a chance of survival.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 35 seconds ago

The X-Files was never really known for its crossovers, although it had a few: “X-Cops” was a collaboration with the popular Cops TV show, and a fun crossover with Millennium helped this canceled show finish out its doomsday plot. Oh, and a memorable appearance by Detective John Munch means that this show technically crossed over with Homicide: Life on the Street. These episodes were generally a success, though the show nearly had an early crossover that would have been a disaster.

Even though The X-Files was a Fox TV show, there was very nearly a crossover with the quirky CBS show Picket Fences. The networks wouldn’t play nice, so this collaboration quietly died, with the X-Files episode “Red Museum” scrubbing all references to the shared storyline. However, the Picket Fences episode “Away in the Manger” secretly kept some of the references in there, and some fans consider these references enough to place these shows in the same universe.

The Meeting Of The Minds

Where the heck did the idea to crossover The X-Files and Picket Fences come from in the first place? As it turns out, from the showrunners! Chris Carter and David E. Kelley worked for two different networks, but they both produced their shows at 20th Century Fox. They ran into each other in the studio parking lot, and soon enough, they began excitedly plotting an ambitious crossover between the two shows. Soon, Carter had written a script, and Kelley liked it enough to agree to a crossover.

How would this have worked, though? It would have started with an X-Files episode where our erstwhile FBI agents are investigating cows in a tiny Wisconsin town who may or may not have been injected with alien DNA. Next, Mulder would have popped up in a Picket Fences episode where similar things were happening in the show’s familiar town of Rome, Wisconsin. 

Why Did The Crossover Fall Apart?

Plans for this crossover died for the exact reason you’d suspect: money. Back in December 1994, an unnamed Fox source told Entertainment Weekly that the Picket Fences network, CBS, was “unwilling to help another show on another network.” The result is that both TV shows shot their intended episodes, but the X-Files episode “Red Museum” removed all references to Picket Fences, including changing the setting of the episode from Rome, Wisconsin, to the nearby town of Delta Glen. Otherwise, the bizarre, cow-injecting plot remained the same.

However, in an interesting bit of quiet rebellion against CBS, David E. Kelley kept several references to the crossover in his Picket Fences episode. The episode “Away In a Manger” refers to the events that happened in Delta Glen, and someone specifically mentions how the drama over there involved cows, alien DNAs, and a man named Dr. Larsen, who died in the X-Files episode “Red Museum.” The same character saying all of this even mentions that the FBI was investigating what happened, though he never mentions Mulder and Scully directly by name.

The Crossover Died (And That’s A Good Thing)

While I love the idea of Kelley giving CBS the middle finger and keeping these references in, I’m personally glad that the official X-Files/Picket Fences crossover was killed. For one thing, “Red Museum” was part of X-Files’ second season, when the show was still trying to discover its true identity. If the producers opened the door to silly crossovers early on, this could arguably have ruined the show because episodes would start focusing more on gimmicky marketing and less on lore and world-building.

Additionally, a crossover with Picket Fences would likely have contributed to continuity problems while making it difficult to stream this story in the future. As of this writing, Picket Fences is unavailable to stream without buying individual episodes. That means that if this crossover went through and you got invested in it as a fan, you would not have an easy way to stream the complete story and would have to resort to individual episode purchases or tracking down physical media (always good to have).

The Crossover Died So Two Shows Could Live

Finally, while Picket Fences was quirky in its own way, it was also a more comedic show, and one that reveled in offering social commentary. Generally, X-Files was more serious, both in terms of its characters and its conspiracy-loving subject matter. Long story short, I can’t help but think a crossover would have been bad for both shows, hurting Chris Carter’s show in its infancy and possibly killing David E. Kelly’s Emmy-winning show that much quicker.

Now, the crossover that could have been is nothing more than a weird bit of trivia. It might have happened and delighted ‘90s audiences back in the day, but on the subject of internetwork collaboration, CBS executives adopted the wisdom of Fox Mulder. Namely, to trust no one!