From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: The Remaining (2014)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and to another “From Horror Movie, To Horror Comic” update. This time around we will be taking a look at a religious horror flick that would end up getting the graphic novel treatment from Kingstone Comics! this is a sub genre of horror that I think is often over looked by fans as most just think that they will be preachy and lack the scares of your normal horror feature, but that’s not true. While yes, they all tend to have a very faith based message, some of them truly bring some scares as who doesn’t find the end of the world scary? And the fright flick we will be looking at today is The Remaining, a film about the end of days. So if you are ready, let’s dive into this film as well as the graphic novel based around it.

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Before we get too deep into our look at The Remaining, let’s take a look at the Demons who are our killers and death bringers in this film. When the Rapture happens and the second trumpet echoes out into the air, The Fallen, who are winged demons, come upon the Earth and attack the remaining people left behind. The demonic Fallen fly around in the darkness and stormy sky and swoop down to attack their prey. The Fallen truly love to torture their victims as they feed on people’s fear and misery. Their appearance is very ghastly, and this puts fear into the hearts of those who see them. They are very strong and can lift a person into the sky to either kill them or injure them before dropping them back down to the ground. They also make horrible noises and at times you can hear them in the air above you before they come down to snatch you up. They hunt humans mostly during the night and are drawn to people who pray or find faith in God as they want to wipe his teaching and word from this world. Their main tool to deal death are their tails that are much like a scorpions as they can impale a person as well as sting them that inflicts as very nasty wound that has poison inside it and also gets infected very easily. The Fallen Demons will kill individually but also will kill in a horde, and they truly are very dangerous. The Fallen Demons do not have any known weakness, and once they are called to Earth, there is no way to defeat them. So as you can see, these demonic Fallen truly are very dangerous and could even be unstoppable.

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Now that we have seen what the Demons can do to those humans that are left behind, we should take a look at the film they are from! Like always, I will be taking the film’s write up from our friends at IMDB and then I will write about the film’s production as well as my thoughts about it. So if you are ready, let’s see what would happen to those who would remain.

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The Remaining (2014)

“A supernatural thriller that addresses questions of life, love and belief against an apocalyptic backdrop. A group of close friends gather for a wedding, but the celebration is shattered by a series of cataclysmic events and enemies foretold by biblical end-times prophecies. The survivors face a horrifying, uncertain future as they scramble for safety, but as their world collapses around them in chaos and terror will they choose real life through faith, or just try to survive?”

The Remaining was a film that was created by Casey La Scala, who was the producer behind such films as Donnie Darko and Amityville: The Awakening and was inspired to write and direct his own horror film after visiting the set of Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. He wanted his film to be on a bigger scale for the scares and that’s when he decided to base it around The Book of Revelations and the rapture that is said to take place when believers all over the world will be called to Heaven and those left behind will face the end of days. The film was picked up by Triumph Films for release and then such names as Johnny Pacar, Shaun Sipos, Alexa Vega, Italia Ricci, Liz E, Morgan and Bryan Dechart was brought in for lead roles, and Nathan Whitehead was brought in to score the film. The film was released on September 5, 2014 in limited theaters and would end up grossing $1,169,603.00 on a unknown budget and come out alongside other horror films as Tusk, The Pyramid, The Quiet Ones, Devil’s Due, As Above So Below and Dracula Untold, to name a few. The film would also be shown around the world and was well reviewed by fans and critics to very mixed reviews with many praising the terror but hating the dialogue. While it’s not a popular nor cult film, it does have its fans and has left its mark on the horror genre and is one of the biggest film in the faith-based horror subgenre in the last few decades.

The Remaining is a film that I have overlooked for years and did not really pay attention to it until 2022 when I found that the film also had a comic book based around it. So I knew I had to see it and cover the graphic novel here, and it would be 2023 before I would both watch the film and read the graphic novel. On a lazy summer Sunday I put the DVD of The Remaining in the player and sat back and watched it, and I have to say that over all I enjoyed it as I feel that the film had some great visuals and used darkness and shadows really well in many of the scenes. The first picture in this update is one of my favorite shots in the film as it has a very dark and spooky mood that truly says horror. Those who are looking for The Fallen Demons to be a big part of the film as far as being seen will be a little disappointed as they are not seen hardly at all and when you do it’s seconds. I really do wish that we would have seen more of them as they are truly the main villains of the film as they stalk our heroes across the city. The film’s writer and director Casey La Scala was raised religious, and it was clear that he wanted to make a horror film that could be faith based but yet not be so forceful in pushing a message, and for the most part he pulls it off. But with that said, much of the meaning of put your trust and faith in God is very present and only slightly in the end truly pushes that message home. While I do also agree that some of the dialogue is a little bland, I did find that I liked the bond the actors seemed to have making this film as it showed up on screen. I also liked actress Italia Ricci who I think could have made a go at becoming a horror actress, she did play Silver Banshee in the TV Show Supergirl for five episodes and she is one of my favorite Superman villains next to Parasite and Doomsday. Also for those who are wondering actress Alexa Vega who plays Skylar is best known for playing Carmen Cortez in the Sky Kids movies and has been in other horror films like “Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)”, “Mother’s Day (2010)”, “The Devil’s Carnival (2012)” and “Machete Kills (2013)” to name a few. And let’s be honest, I feel that one sub genre that gets over looked is faith based horror and I would like to see Kingstone Comics along with artist Kyle Holtz to team up and make more comics like this based off these type of films. Over all this is not a groundbreaking film but was a creepy end of days film that brought some scares as well as makes you wonder what would happen to you if the end of days happened in your lifetime.

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So as you can see, The Remaining have their hands full with The Demonic Fallen that want to bring them death and a part of the destruction of the world as we know it. But now we are at the part of this update that we take a look at the graphic novel adaptation of the film that was released by Kingstone Comics, you remember them the Christian comic publisher that we covered when we did an update on Samson that you can read here. I would like to thank Amazon for having this graphic novel in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind you that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s take a look at The Remaining and see how well this graphic novel stays true to the film it’s based on.

The Remaining GN 1

The Remaining GN  ***
Released in 2014     Cover Price $9.99     Kingstone     # 1 of 1

It’s Dan and Skylar’s wedding day, and Tommy Covington is filming it walking around the venue and getting video of their friends and family wishing them good luck and this includes Jack, Ally and Lauren. The ceremony goes smooth but Dan needs to tell Skylar something but all the guests keep interrupting. The reception is filled with joy and prayer, but Ally seems to be down and Jack notices as they are dating, and they break up that very night as she does not think he truly loves her. And just like that the air gets cold and people at the wedding just drop over dead, and Tommy is able to find a few of the living that include Skylar, Dan and Jack, and they are scared and shocked as outside planes are falling from the sky and crashing to Earth and the earthquakes start happening as the group of friends flee the venue in order to try and find Ally, but to their horror they find a massive storm is in the air and the streets are littered with death and destruction and all the while Tommy keeps on filming. The group also find that others are still alive and people are trying to help one another, and what is on everyone’s mind is why this happened and why are they left alive. Skylar tells the others that she thinks this is the End Of The World as told in the Bible and that the dead are the good people called to heaven, and she wants them all to find shelter as what is coming next will be very bad. Just then the sky turns weird and massive hail falls from the sky and causes them to hide in a library where they meet a teenager name Sam who ends up joining them as they continue their quest to find Ally, and now there is loud noises coming from the sky and so do demonic creatures that try at attack them, but they once more find shelter this time in a church as Skylar is injured by the creatures and needs medical help. And at the church they also find Ally who is happy to see them but also upset about the death of her friends and Skylar being injured. The priest is still at the church and fills in the friends about the Rapture and Tommy shows them his video that shows the demons in the sky that hurt Skylar as Jack and Ally make up and confuse their love for one another. Skylar’s wounds are getting infected and Dan goes out to the parking lot to get more medicine from the nurses van to help her, and they are able to get it and escape the sky demons that are all around. Tommy gets talking to Sam and they two bond over food and Tommy telling her about his love for Ally, and then all the friends start telling each other their dirty secrets like Dan had an affair, Tommy tells Ally his feelings for her and Jack is filled with anger. The Demons break into the church and kill the priest and the nurse, leaving everyone afraid in the basement. In the morning Dan, Jack, Tommy, Ally, Sam and the injured Skylar make their way to the hospital to get treatment for her as she is dying and while Tommy and Jack search the hospital for medicine, Skylar dies in Dan’s arms as Ally and Sam are with them in this moment of grief. Dan goes outside and curses the name of God and is killed by a demon, as Tommy and Jack return to the body of Skylar they find Ally has been killed as well by a demon. Now its only Tommy, Jack and Sam left, and they make their way to the bridge were many people have gathered. And Tommy makes the connection that everyone of his friends that have just died got attacked once they found a link with God, and Jack right then is at the prayer tent and gets ripped apart by demons. In the end Tommy and Sam are running for their lives as the demons are all around and have to make a choice.

The Remaining is a creepy look at the end of days and follows a group of friends who are at a wedding when the rapture happens and they stick together looking for safety and to get answers and along their way they see lots of death of destruction, pick up a new friend name Sam and even encounter demons in the sky that want to make humans dead who try and find faith now. And in the end many of the friends do not make it and the ones that do have to make a choice find God and be ripped apart or stay neutral and watch as Earth turns into Hell. For a faith based horror comic based on a horror film, this is a pretty great read as all the spooky elements come from The Sky Demons (The Fallen) as well as just the atmosphere of the world coming to an end and the fear of those left behind. Our main focus of the film is Tommy Covington, a man who was hired to film his two friends’ wedding and who by the end of this graphic novel confesses his love for a woman dating his best friend, becomes friends with a young woman he meets that a fellow survivor and lastly tries to be the peacemaker in the high tension environment that his friends find themselves in. Jack and Ally are a couple that have been dating for seven years, and while she wants to get married, he seems to just be happy with the way things are, and right before The Rapture, the two break up and he spends his time trying to find her as he truly does love her. Sadly they both meet their end at the hands of The Demons as both end up finding faith and guidance in God. Sam is a younger lady who has found herself alone and hiding in the library before she ends up joining up with Tommy and his friends, and she truly becomes part of their group and goes along the quest to find and save others. The newly married couple are Dan and Skylar who are deeply in love and things get bad when she is attacked by The Demons that cause terrible wounds that get infected and as well filled with poison, and she dies of her wounds and Dan turns on God and faith all together and gets killed. And that is the thing, all of these friends have their own secrets and these could be what has kept them from being brought to Heaven during The Rapture as many are not close or have to faith. The Demons are truly evil as they attack anyone who mentions God as their goal is truly to bring on the end of times, and all those who are sinners or faithless will be the target for their deadly attacks. The graphic novel does have some blood and violence, but is by no means a bloodbath. The cover for this graphic novel is pretty cool ,and the interior artwork done by Kyle Hotz is top notch as Kyle’s style is perfect for this style of faith based horror comics…in fact I wish Kingstone Comics and Kyle Hotz would team up more often and make more comics and graphic novels based on faith-based horror films! While many readers might be turned away from the religious tones and messages in this graphic novel, I for one was not as I found it to be a entertaining read that was filled with some spooky moments and did its job of making a group of friends come together under extreme stress in order to try and watch after each other. And I want to also say that I feel that this graphic novel did a great job of staying true to the film its based on with the major change being they show The Fallen more and I am ok with that change! Checkout the artwork below to see the style of Kyle Hotz used in this graphic novel.

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The Remaining is one of those horror films that is not known but has its share of fans, and I am sure this graphic novel helped bring attention to the film as that is what comic books based on the fright films of the cinema and home media are good for, and I really do wish that more filmmakers and studios would work with comic publishers to make these types of comics for readers. I really do give Kingstone Comics respect for doing this comic series as this is totally out of the norm for them, and I hope that they do more comics like this as I would like to see them do a comic based on the 2023 film Nefarious as I think it could have made a great spooky read, make this happen Kingstone and Kyle Hotz! But our time with The Remaining has come to an end, but our time with horror comics based on horror films has not as our next update will take us to the Motel Hello or I mean Motel Hell as I will be revisiting that film as well as the IDW Comic series based on it. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local horror host. I hope we get in time to the Motel to get some fresh Farmer Vincent jerky!

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From Horror Movie To Horror Comic: Revealer (2022)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink for another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. For this one we will be talking about the 2022 end of the world horror film Revealer that was released as a Shudder streaming original film, and of course this film also got a comic released by Vault Comics as the film’s screenplay was co-written by comic veteran Tim Seeley so it was a perfect fit. So if you are ready, let’s avoid the religious protesters and head to the peep booth as I heard Angie Pitarelli is dancing tonight and you know you’re in for a rock n roll good time when she moves to the grooves. Let’s just hope that the end of days doesn’t happen before we get there.

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Let’s first start off by looking at the film’s main villain and King Of The Demons, who’s also called the Creature Of Judgment, Asmodeus, the dealer of death. Asmodeus is a very powerful demon who takes part in the end of the world helping cast judgment and punishment on those left behind to face the wraith and destruction of Satan’s rule over the Earth. He is all-powerful and cannot be hurt or killed with typical weapons and is super strong and can kill humans with his bare hands or with his mystical biblical powers. Just the sight of this demon can cause panic, fear and death as he is a horned being and is massive in size with a booming demonic voice. He is also very tricky and can mimic the voices of your loved ones to lure you into his trap, and will force you to judge those around you in order to save their soul or damn them. He also is joined by demonic snakes that have wide opening mouths and will force themselves down your throat to cause madness and violent tendencies to come out making them a very deadly part of Asmodeus’ power. Just him being on Earth will cause panic, death and destruction making Asmodeus one of the most powerful demons we have ever covered here. While Asmodeus cannot be killed or truly stopped, he can be slowed down if you can remove his head and then bash the skull to bits, you can also avoid him if you are being called home to Heaven or be true to who you really are. So as you can see, Asmodeus could be one of the most powerful monster we have ever covered here on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic updates, and that’s saying something as we have covered the likes of Godzilla, Tall Man and Michael Myers to name a few.

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So now that we have chatted about the demon Asmodeus, I think we should now take a look at the film he is from, and that is of course the Shudder original Revealer that hit the streaming service in 2022 and later would release on DVD. So like always, we will be taking the film’s plot from IMDB and after that I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts. So if you are ready, let’s head to the tunnels as I hear the trumpets playing and that means Asmodeus is on the prowl looking for souls to judge.

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Revealer (2022)

“Tensions rise when a stripper and religious protester are trapped together in a peep show booth and must come together to survive the apocalypse in 1980’s Chicago.”

Revealer is an indie horror film that is based on the story by Luke Boyce with the screenplay being done by Tim Seeley and Michael Moreci. The plot is about the end of the world and how a stripper and protestor have to come together to survive. Luke Boyce would also step in to direct the film and cast such names as Caito Aase, Shaina Schrooten, Bishop Stevens and Buzz Leer with Caito and Shaina snagging the lead roles. Production and filming were your normal indie fare and the use of bright colored lights helped add to the dread feeling of the film, as did the conflict between the two leads over religion and judgment. The film would be scored by Alex Cuervo who had already done the music for such films as The Pale Door, Scare Package and Modern Society. The film was released as a Shudder Original on the streaming site and would be met with very mixed reviews from both critics and viewers as many of them thought the film was too preachy while others found it to be a fun end of the world horror fright flick. Over time, the film gain a cult following and when released on home media it found even more of a fan base. The film would be released alongside such other films in 2002 as Halloween Ends, The Black Phone, Smile, Terrifier 2, Thrust, The Barn 2, Dark Shade Creek 4 and The Menu to name a very small few. The film’s screenplay was co-done by Tim Seeley who many of you comic book readers know as the creator behind Hack/Slash among other comic series.

I first saw this film of course on Shudder and watched it right after the comic book was released, and I have to say while it is a horror film that is not everyone’s tastes, I really enjoyed the idea of two polar opposites being stuck together in a tiny sleazy peep show adult store while madness and death is raging outside and they must find a way to work together in order to survive and avoid damnation. The film was laced with messages about don’t judge people for what they do for a living, don’t let religion make you ashamed of yourself if you are gay and that women are just as strong as men and can face the odds and win…and I have seen some of the reviews that dislike it because of these reasons, and I say that is a silly reason to dislike a film. The film’s sets are pretty much the peepshow booths and then the underground tunnels, and the way the sets are lit make them work really well and add to the film’s spooky end of the world atmosphere. Actress Caito Aase is fantastic as stripper Angie Pitarelli and actress Shania Schrooten is great as protester Sally Mewbourne as the two have really good on screen chemistry together and make the limited sets and low budget work. The film also makes great use of sound as you can hear screams, sirens, trumpets and all sorts of odd noises in the background showing that the outside world is truly in chaos. The effects for the demon snakes and Asmodeus are well done for the lower budget, and for some reason the head of Asmodeus reminds me of a head of cauliflower with horns, no joke but I liked the design of the demon for what it was. Over all I have seen better and worse horror films about the End Of Times, and Revealer is a good quick watch film that works with the limitations it was given and makes it work to entertain for under an hour and half runtime.

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Now that we have taken a look at Asmodeus and the film he is from, Revealer, I think it’s time that we take a look at the comic based on it that was released by Vault Comics to go along with the film to promote it. And again I have to give indie comic publishers as well as Shudder much respect as they have done a couple of these horror comics based on films with the other being Spare Parts, and I hope that this is a trend that stays around for awhile as it would be great to keep getting these one shot issues based on their original films, and I am looking at you Vault & Behemoth Comics to keep this going. I would like to thank Game Swap Kettering for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind all you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see what this Revealer comic has in store for us.

Revealer Comic 1

Revealer # 1  ***
Released in 2022     Cover Price $4.99      Vault Comics     # 1 of 1

“Creature Of Judgment” The demon Asmodeus is running around Hell very cocky and even takes on fallen angels who have given up their wings, and after the battle Asmodeus returns to his demoness lover Sarah and she stabs him in the back and Asmodeus clearly has lost his rule of his Kingdom in Hell when is own minions attack him, and after being bound, tortured and his eyes removed his new job of being the Creature Of Judgment is about to start of the End Of Days on Earth is among us. “The Righteous Judgment Of Sally Mewbourne” we join Sally and Angie who are in the tunnels under the Peep Show Adult shop and are being confronted by Asmodeus who is ready to pass judgment on Angie and this causes Sally to find herself in a red room and being asked to say what is wrong with Angie and her life, and Sally takes a stand and refuses to judge her friend and this cause Asmodeus to be pissed off and he makes Sally face her own flaws…but she finds her inner power and Angie helps bring her out of it only after that is they attack and take down Asmodeus as Sally swings a mean axe. “Baby David” Angie is in her apartment practicing her stripper dance when she is shocked to find her nephew David home and asking if she is a sinner and if her dancing will lead her to Hell as he says his friends parents tell him these things, Angie calms him only for David to disappear and a demon baby version of him to appear in the apartment and attack her with his snake tongue…Angie then wakes up to find a leak in the ceiling and is forced to take extra shifts at her job of stripping to pay for the repair. “A Freaky Thing Happened On The Way To Revealers” Ray who works the front end of the adult peep show club is on his way to work and is kind to everyone he comes across as he lets the store clerk keep the change, buys a neighborhood kid a comic book, brings and older woman a rose and even tries to give a homeless man a dollar…but this backfires as the homeless man rips up the dollar and warns him that the end is near and this his hero complex of wanting to be the protector of women will be his downfall…and Rey mad heads to work with those words in his mind.

This is a very cool horror comic that fills in some of the gaps of the film and makes it a must read for fans of it. This comic has four stories that are based on the four top characters of the film and that of course are Asmodeus, Sally Mewbourne, Angie Pitarelli and Rey, and each part is very interesting and helps add more levels to their personalities and also showcases what they were doing right before the events of the movie so we see why Angie took an extra shift, what Rey was doing before work that day and the anger and torture of Asmodeus before he was sent to judge those left behind. We also get a look at what Sally had to see when she was dragged down one of the tunnels and seen a twisted version of Mary Magdalene. My favorite story of the four I would say is “Creature Of Judgment” just because I found it to be a fun mean spirited and twisted tale, but to be fair the other three segments are also very well done and help build the world of Revealer. The comic does a great good of building the set up for End Of Times and shows all the warnings that Angie and Rey face before the big event takes place. While the comic has some spooky moments and some tension of what is coming or in some cases is already here, the comic is bloodless and does not have any gore or death in it, but don’t let that scare you away as this is still a solid horror comic for fans of the film. But that is the thing I do feel that if readers have not seen the film or did and didn’t like it this comic would not be for them as it’s very heavily tied into the events of it making it a great promo item for the film. The cover I have for this comic is very cool and showcases both Sally and Angie and is eye catching with the use of the more neon style colors. The comic has a team of artists behind it as each of the four has a different one doing the art and these artists are in order of their story Ken Landgraf, Chris Anderson, Caroline Leigh Layne and Dean Kotz, and all do great work with Landgraf and Layne being my two favorite styles but not to downplay Anderson and Kotz as their work is also top notch. Over all this is a good read and is for fans of the film or even those interested in maybe reading to see if they would like to see the film. Checkout the artwork below to see the styles used for this comic.

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Revealer is an indie Horror Film that has built is building cult following thanks to Shudder, and it was very cool that Vault Comics made a comic to help promote the film as to be honest buying the comic is what made me watch the film as I really am a big fan of comic books that are based on films of the horror genre. And while Revealer the film and comic are not for everyone, I do think you should give them both a chance and check them out. So with that I think that I should let you know that the next update will continue out look into comic books based on horror movies as we will be talking about Blacula and the graphic novel released about him. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local horror host! And now that I think about it, Revealer here was the first update in our countdown to Halloween 2024!

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