Last week the Charlie Charlie Challenge (#CharlieCharlieChallenge) swept the Internet. The second I saw it on the Today Show, I knew it’d make a great Forum and Facebook post. (Á la the question: Have you tried summoning Charlie the Mexican demon?)
On Saturday afternoon, rain forced us home from the pool. While Wayne slept I browsed upcoming movie trailers on Hulu Plus.
THE GALLOWS
That’s how a trailer for a movie called The Gallows caught my eye.
20 years after a horrific accident during a small town school play, students at the school resurrect the failed show in a misguided attempt to honor the anniversary of the tragedy – but soon discover that some things are better left alone.
During the trailer, a ghost (a seemingly vengeful –one might almost say demonic presence?) named Charlie shows up. One who is a dark, menacing figure intent on harming the kids in the movie.
Hmmm….what are the odds of a never-before-heard-of Charlie Charlie Challenge ghost game becoming a viral sensation shortly before the release of a movie with a ghost named Charlie in it?
That went into the “Must Research Monday” stack.
SUSPICIONS CONFIRMED
That’s how I found the post on iHorror.com: Charlie Charlie Challenge Was Horror Movie Viral Marketing?
Um…yep. Apparently so.
I knew there’d be more to this Charlie Charlie Challenge thing!
I’m kicking myself that I didn’t suspect horror movie, but the “Mexican Demon” part threw me. (Where the “Mexican Demon” part came from I’m still not sure. That’s how the Huffington Post referred to the game. Again, like I’ve done everywhere I’ve posted about this challenge, I allege that the thing that clued me in that we could expect to hear this was all some kind of prank was “Charlie” the “Mexican” demon didn’t go hand in hand. If it had been named Carlos, maybe I’d have been less suspicious but Charlie? Uh uh. Nope. That smelled fishy.)
However, I expected it to be some group of Big Bang-like pranksters having a laugh over a simple physics experiment masquerading as a demon-summoning game.
BRAVO
Whoever dreamed up this Challenge, kudos! Great pre-marketing. But will the movie be as entertaining as the selfie reaction vids to playing the Charlie Charlie Challenge?
I’m not sure. The synopsis sounded promising but I felt a little mislead after watching the trailer. (I thought the kids were involved in a school play. It looks more like they’re trespassing and just acting out the play for themselves, without the intention of doing it for an audience. That seems less fun to me. Let’s see something unique, like Charlie show up and kill all the kids in front of a packed house, including their parents. Now that’d be horrific!)
THE GALLOWS TRAILER
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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