News

The Popcorn Frights Film Festival is back this year, both in-person and virtually, from August 8-18. They’ve unleashed the first wave of programming, indicating that the fest is going big for its tenth anniversary celebration with new premieres, virtual screenings, and exciting retro showings including the “Lost First Cut” of Brian Yuzna‘s Return of the Living Dead 3.

To add to the pure mayhem of its anniversary celebration, Popcorn Frights 2024’s in-theater experience will be offered free and open to the public, as a gift back to the community for ten years of their dedicated support and moviegoing love. Popcorn Frights’ free festival is made possible by the generous support of Nightmare Weekend Miami.

Highlights include the 35th anniversary presentation of Brian Yuzna’s spectacularly insane masterpiece Society, one of the ickiest, sweatiest, gloopiest, horniest, and most original body horror shockers of all time. The master of horror will...

In 2016, Liam Gavin’s heartbreaking and keenly intelligent A Dark Song set the bar for films about grieving mothers of stolen sons turning to the occult in search of a solution, and set it high. Nevertheless, hopes were high for From Black, whose take on the difficult business of what happens in the aftermath of loss was said to be informed by director Thomas Marchese’s experiences in his former career as a police officer. Marchese previously made the documentary Fallen, which attempted to dive into the psychology of officers who have lost colleagues in the line of duty yet continue to serve. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to have made much effort to look beneath the surface when it comes to the people whom officers often find themselves working with.

This film begins and ends with police sergeant Bray (Jennifer Lafleur) exploring the scene of a crime. Nobody knows precisely what.

A young mother, crushed by guilt after the disappearance of her young son 5 years previously, is presented with a bizarre offer to learn the truth and set things right. But how far is she willing to go, and is she willing to pay the terrifying price for a chance to hold her boy again?   Thomas Marchese's horror thriller From Black is now streaming on Shudder. I case you have not already caught it we have an exclusive clip from the flick. Check it and the trailer down below.    From Black stars Anna Camp with Jennifer Lafleur (Big Little Lies), John Ales (Euphoria), Travis Hammer (Godless), and Richie Montgomery (Ozark).   ...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Thomas Marchese’s supernatural thriller From Black is a story about loss, grief, and the decision to go through the hardest of trials to get somebody’s loved one back. Starring Anna Camp, Jennifer Lafleur, John Ales, and Travis Hammer, From Black is about Cora Loewen, who agrees to undergo a dangerous ritual to get her dead son back. Although the premise sounds interesting, poor direction and bad storytelling techniques make the movie rather unsatisfactory to watch.

Spoilers Ahead

Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘From Black’?

This supernatural thriller brings us the tragic story of recovering addict Cora Loewen, who lost her son Noah, and what happens when she learns there’s a process by which she can bring him back. The support group leader, Abel, befriends Cora and gets her to agree to a ritual by which she can get Noah back. However, things invariably go wrong in the end,...

Horror fans will be thrilled to learn that a new Shudder original film debuts on Friday. If you’re looking for a perfectly frightening film to stream this weekend, look no further than “From Black,” starring Anna Camp. The supernatural film follows a mom desperate to get her lost son back, and she’ll go to great lengths at any slight opportunity to make it happen. It premieres on Shudder and AMC+ on Friday, April 28. You can watch Shudder with a subscription to YouTube TV.

How to Watch 'From Black' Starring Anna Camp When: Friday, April 28, 2023 TV: Shudder Stream: Watch with a subscription to YouTube TV. Sign Up$72.99 / month tv.youtube.com About 'From Black' Starring Anna Camp

“From Black” follows Cora, who is grieving the loss of her son. Five years earlier, he disappeared, leaving her filled with guilt and sadness. The mother is faced with many trials,...

Ahead of its April 28th streaming release on Shudder, we have a look at an exclusive clip from Thomas Marchese's new horror film From Black, starring Anna Camp!

Below, you can see something malevolent awaken in our exclusive From Black clip. Directed by Thomas Marchese, From Black stars Anna Camp, Jennifer Lafleur, John Ales, Travis Hammer, and Richie Montgomery.

Synopsis: A young mother, crushed by guilt after the disappearance of her young son 5 years previously, is presented with a bizarre offer to learn the truth and set things right. But how far is she willing to go, and is she willing to pay the terrifying price for a chance to hold her boy again?

About the Director

Thomas Marchese is a multi-award-winning writer/director who has directed, shot, edited and produced music videos, short form narrative and documentary films. Thomas’ first feature film “Fallen "took home the jury prize...

Exclusive: Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect triology) has joined the cast of Peacock’s coming-of-age thriller Hysteria ! as a series regular.

As Deadline previously confirmed exclusively, the series will additionally be led by Julie Bowen, Emjay Anthony, Chiara Aurelia, Kezii Curtis and Nikki Hahn.

Written and executive produced by Matthew Scott Kane, Hysteria! explores America’s dark history of mass hysteria through the shocking story of the teenage Satanic Panic. The series follows a group of 1980s high school misfits as they exploit the growing hysteria around teen occult activity.

Per the logline, When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the “Satanic Panic” of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported “supernatural activity” triggers...

Shudder’s annual “Halfway to Halloween” celebration, marking the halfway point to horror’s favorite holiday, features a killer lineup of original films and series this month. The premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural will debut a new season of the popular horror anthology Slasher: Ripper, starring Eric McCormack, a new season of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs, a The Boulet Brothers’ Halfway to Halloween Special, the Shudder Original film From Black, starring Anna Camp, the streaming debut of Kids vs. Aliens and new additions to Shudder’s library of the best in horror.

Shudder Original films, series and library highlights are detailed below in premiere order:

Slasher: Ripper

Two-Episode Season Premiere Thursday, April 6

Slasher: Ripper takes the Slasher franchise back in time to the late 19th century and stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as Basil Garvey, a charismatic tycoon whose success is only rivaled by his ruthlessness,...

Shudder’s annual “Halfway to Halloween” celebration is back for April 2023, Bd has learned, and this year’s celebration features a killer lineup of original films and series.

The premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural will debut a new season of the popular horror anthology Slasher: Ripper, starring Eric McCormack, a new season of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs, The Boulet Brothers’ Halfway to Halloween Special, the Shudder Original film From Black, starring Anna Camp, the streaming debut of Kids vs. Aliens and new additions to Shudder’s library of the best in horror.

Here’s everything you can expect from “Halfway to Halloween” 2023…

Slasher: Ripper

Two-Episode Season Premiere Thursday, April 6

Slasher: Ripper takes the Slasher franchise back in time to the late 19th century and stars Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) as Basil Garvey, a charismatic tycoon whose success is only rivaled by his ruthlessness,...

What’s the price you would pay to bring back the person you love? Directed by Thomas Marchese, one of the next original horror movies from Shudder is titled From Black, and it will stream exclusively on Shudder beginning on April 28, 2023. Watch the trailer below.

Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect franchise, True Blood) stars alongside Jennifer Lafleur (Big Little Lies), John Ales (Euphoria), Travis Hammer (Godless), and Richie Montgomery (Ozark).

In the film, “A young mother, crushed by guilt after the disappearance of her young son 5 years previously, is presented with a bizarre offer to learn the truth and set things right.

“But how far is she willing to go, and is she willing to pay the terrifying price for a chance to hold her boy again?”

Jessub Flower & Thomas Marchese wrote the script.

Thomas Marchese is a multi-award-winning writer/director who has directed, shot, edited and produced music videos, short form narrative and documentary films.

We’ve been following the progress of the supernatural horror movie From Black, starring Anna Camp of the Pitch Perfect films, the HBO television series True Blood, and A Creepshow Holiday Special, for a while – and now we’re just one month away from the film’s April 28th release date. With just five weeks to go until From Black is available to watch on the Shudder streaming service, a trailer for the film has arrived online and can be seen in the embed above.

The narrative feature debut of Thomas Marchese, who previously directed the documentary Fallen, From Black will tell the story of what happens when a young mother, crushed by guilt and shame after the disappearance of her young son five years previously, is offered a bizarre opportunity to learn the truth and set things right. The movie asks whether she is she willing to pay the...

Phoenix Film Festival & International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival: "The Phoenix Film Festival started in 2000 by 3 local filmmakers as a way to get their films some exposure in their home town. Twenty-two years and thousands of movies later, the Phoenix Film Foundation has grown from a 3-day exhibition to an 11 day celebration of film with over 250 films, filmmaking seminars, parties and student workshops for over 20,000 attendees all at the Harkins Scottsdale 101.

The Phoenix Film Festival has been named one of The 25 Coolest Film Festivals and a Top 50 Worth the Entry Fee by MovieMaker Magazine and has been called the most filmmaker-friendly festival out there. Most recently, we've also earned a spot on MovieMaker's 20 Great Film Festivals for First-Time Moviemakers."

This year's event takes place from March 23-April 2, 2023 at Harkins Theatres Scottsdale 101 and you can learn more at: https://www.phoenixfilmfestival.com/

International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival

Showcase Films...

Last month, we heard that a supernatural horror movie called From Black, starring Anna Camp of the Pitch Perfect films, the HBO television series True Blood, and A Creepshow Holiday Special, would be available to watch on the Shudder streaming service on April 13th. Now it’s being reported that Shudder has pushed the release of From Black back a couple weeks to April 28th – and along with the new release date news, a batch of images from the film have also arrived online! Our friends at Bloody Disgusting got their hands on several From Black images, and a select few of them can be seen at the bottom of this article.

The narrative feature debut of Thomas Marchese, who previously directed the documentary Fallen, From Black will tell the story of what happens when a young mother, crushed by guilt and shame after the disappearance of her young son five years previously,...

Shudder announced on Monday that its horror film From Black starring the Pitch Perfect franchise’s Anna Camp will begin streaming exclusively on the platform on April 28.

Related Story ‘M3GAN’ Sets Peacock Premiere Date Related Story 'Legions': AMC's Shudder In Spain Among Buyers Of Fabian Forte Horror – EFM Related Story Shudder Acquires Horror Film 'The Unheard' From Director Jeffrey A. Brown

The film is the first in the narrative space from Thomas Marchese, who unveiled the award-winning documentary Fallen on police deaths in the line of duty in 2017. Pic watches as a young mother, crushed by guilt after the disappearance of her young son five years previously, is presented with a bizarre offer to learn the truth and set things right. But how far is she willing to go, and is she willing to pay the terrifying price for a chance to hold her boy again?

Also...

A young mother, crushed by guilt after the disappearance of her young son 5 years previously, is presented with a bizarre offer to learn the truth and set things right. But how far is she willing to go, and is she willing to pay the terrifying price for a chance to hold her boy again?   Thomas Marchese's sophomore feature film, the horror flick From Black, is coming to Shudder on April 28th. Apart from announcing the streaming date Shudder also sent along a small batch of stills, which you will find in the gallery below.    From Black stars Anna Camp with Jennifer Lafleur, John Ales, Travis Hammer, and Richie Montgomery.     ...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Directed by Thomas Marchese, one of the next original horror movies from Shudder this year is titled From Black, and Shudder has provided us with several first-look images today.

From Black will stream exclusively on Shudder beginning on April 28, 2023.

Anna Camp stars alongside Jennifer Lafleur (Big Little Lies), John Ales (Euphoria), Travis Hammer (Godless), and Richie Montgomery (Ozark).

In the film, “A young mother, crushed by guilt after the disappearance of her young son 5 years previously, is presented with a bizarre offer to learn the truth and set things right.

“But how far is she willing to go, and is she willing to pay the terrifying price for a chance to hold her boy again?”

Jessub Flower & Thomas Marchese wrote the script.

Thomas Marchese is a multi-award-winning writer/director who has directed, shot, edited and produced music videos, short form narrative and documentary films.

The post ‘From Black’ – First Look...

Anna Konkle and Jermaine Fowler in The Drop Photo: Hulu Aside from the sudden baby-dropping incident that gives the movie its title, nothing happens in The Drop, a film not to be confused with the 2014 Dennis Lehane adaptation of the same name. To be more precise, The Drop is filled...

About eleven months ago, we heard that filming had begun on a supernatural horror movie called From Black, starring Anna Camp of the Pitch Perfect films, the HBO television series True Blood, and A Creepshow Holiday Special. The filmmakers did not have a distribution deal in place when they went into production on From Black, but they quickly secured one – and now it has been announced that From Black will be available to watch on the Shudder and AMC+ streaming services as of April 13th!

The narrative feature debut of Thomas Marchese, who previously directed the documentary Fallen, From Black will tell the story of what happens when a young mother, crushed by guilt and shame after the disappearance of her young son five years previously, is offered a bizarre opportunity to learn the truth and set things right. The movie asks whether she is she willing to pay the...

“The Drop” announces itself with promise and a fine note of unease, thanks to a surprisingly contrapuntal score that signals the darker intentions of director Sarah Adina Smith’s comedy, which is set in motion by an accident that reveals young marrieds Lex and Mani’s anxieties about parenthood — and, perhaps, each other.

Far below an aerial shot, jade-green waves crest and unfurl to the swelling and swirling notes of an orchestra. The patterns are mesmerizing, shape-shifting from recognizable into what might resemble a spider’s web or a membrane (the sort you might see in a sci-fi movie with a fetus floating in uterine tissue). From this beautiful, extended image, cut to Lex (“Pen15” star Anna Konkle) and Mani (Jermaine Fowler) making love and, fingers crossed and sperm willing, a baby.

It’s a bold and amusing veer in tone, intended to signal both the weight and wit to come.

"The Drop" is a title that could lend itself to any number of things. We've already seen one Tom Hardy movie, for instance, where "The Drop" referred to a money drop by the Chechen mafia at a Brooklyn bar. That movie was a crime drama, whereas Sarah Adina Smith's new Hulu cringe comedy, "The Drop," features a much more "unthinkable, unspeakable" premise.

What if you dropped a friend's baby? It's a horrific idea as a thought and an absolute tragedy in real life, but in "The Drop," it happens. Fortunately, though, the baby is unharmed. Less intact, however, is the reputation of the happy young couple responsible for the titular drop while on an island trip with friends. For them, the repercussions seem to be almost as serious as those in the 2015 NBC miniseries "The Slap," which leveraged a ridiculously star-studded cast to tell a more melodramatic story of...

"Some things you can’t take back… like dropping your friend's baby." Hulu has revealed the official trailer for a romantic comedy mishap movie titled The Drop, which originally premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. The film will land on Hulu for streaming in January after playing at festivals this year. In this cringe comedy, a married couple face a marriage test when one of them drops a baby during a tropical island wedding. "Paradise becomes purgatory for our couple as recriminations, passive-aggression and old wounds begin to permeate the island reunion and throw Mani & Lex's future into deep uncertainty." Anna Konkle & Jermaine Fowler star as Lex & Mani, with Jillian Bell, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Robin Thede, Aparna Nancherla, Joshua Leonard, Jennifer Lafleur, and Elisha Henig. Exec produced by the Duplass Brothers. This looks remarkably unfunny and forced, an awkward cringe fest because the writing and performances are so bad.

Anyone who has held a newborn baby can likely recall a horrifying, intrusive thought entering their head at the worst possible moment: “What if I drop it?”

It’s a valid concern, considering how small and delicate newborn babies are. Fortunately, it’s not a problem that many people actually have to face at any point in their lives. Whether it’s because humans have evolved to protect their offspring at all costs or because we just focus really hard on not dropping them, there just aren’t that many babies getting dropped on any given day.

But that’s exactly what happens in “The Drop,” Sarah Adina Smith’s new Hulu comedy that hails from executive producers Jay and Mark Duplass. The film, which debuts on the streaming service January 13, follows a young couple who think they have their careers figured out and begin making plans to start a family of their own.

Exclusive: Hulu has announced that the R-rated dark comedy The Drop from executive producers Mark and Jay Duplass will bow on the streamer on January 13. New stills from the Hulu Original, starring Anna Konkle (PEN15) and Jermaine Fowler (Coming 2 America), can be found above and below.

Directed by Sarah Adina Smith, The Drop follows Lex (Konkle) and Mani (Fowler), a happily married young couple, running their dream artisanal bakery in Los Angeles and excited about starting a family together. A trip to a tropical island resort for a friend’s destination wedding, coinciding with Lex’s ovulation cycle, feels like the perfect opportunity to conceive. But good vibes and high hopes are cut short when, shortly after their arrival to paradise, Lex accidentally drops her friend’s baby in front of all their friends. Paradise becomes purgatory for our couple as recriminations,...

Jordan Peele’s highly anticipated third feature film, “Nope,” has finally arrived.

The film follows Peele’s first two horror films as a writer/director, 2017’s “Get Out” and 2019’s “Us.” Known for his comedy and leading role in “Key and Peele,” Peele has quickly become a draw for fans as a filmmaker and “Nope,” unlike Peele’s first two films, leans heavily into the sci-fi genre with a blockbuster-sized budget. Peele reteamed with Daniel Kaluuya on the film, which finds a brother and sister duo trying to catch UFOs on camera.

With “Nope” being one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, many are no doubt wondering where and how to watch it. All your questions answered below.

Also Read:

‘Nope’ Writer/Director Jordan Peele on the Personal Nature of Steven Yeun’s Character: ‘They’re All Very Much Me’ When Is “Nope” Streaming?

After opening exclusively...

They Want Me Gone Trailer — Drew Britton‘s They Want Me Gone (2022) movie trailer has been released by Gravitas Veritas. The They Want Me Gone trailer stars Alexia Rasmussen, Jennifer Lafleur, Stephen Plunkett, Frank Mosley, and Delaney Wilk. Crew Drew Britton and Jessica Farrell wrote the screenplay for They Want Me Gone. Poster They Want Me [...]

Continue reading: They Want Me Gone (2022) Movie Trailer: Alexia Rasmussen Seeks to Escape Poverty for Herself & Her Daughter...

"I think she wants us to have a new home." Gravitas Ventures has released an official traler for an indie film titled They Want Me Gone, which is another very literal and unoriginal title that is describing the plot of the film. This will be available to watch next week on VOD for those curious to see what it's all about. As she struggles to escape rural poverty with her young daughter, a loving mother suspects those closest to them in the community are starting to turn on her. "This slow-burn thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat, turning its suspenseful screws as it builds to a shocking climax." The film stars Alexia Rasmussen as Monica, with Jennifer Lafleur, Stephen Plunkett, Frank Mosley, and Delaney Wilk. This is quite an unsettling trailer, with almost a supernatural or cult vibe to it. Check it out. ›››

View the Post:...

Gravitas Ventures will be giving the horror thriller They Want Me Gone a theatrical and VOD release on September 9th, and today we’re proud to share the Exclusive first look at the film’s trailer! You can check it out in the embed above.

Directed by Drew Britton, who also wrote the screenplay with Jessica Farrell, They Want Me Gone stars Alexia Rasmussen (Proxy). The film has the following logline:

As she struggles to escape rural poverty with her daughter, a loving mother suspects those closest to them of turning on her.

And here’s the synopsis:

Working hard to support her daughter, Monica’s a single mother trying to make ends meet while trapped in rural poverty. From years of struggling and feeling confined, she becomes anxious that she still has a chance to leave. But the surroundings begin to take hold as she gets caught in threatening circumstances.

[Editor’s note: The following story contains spoilers for “Nope.”]

Writer-director Jordan Peele just peeled back one more layer of his alien blockbuster “Nope.” Over the weekend, the Oscar winner took to Twitter to share the full scrapped intro to the fictional “Gordy’s Home!” sitcom that starred Ricky “Jupe” Park, portrayed by Jacob Kim and later Steven Yuen in the film, alongside a key chimpanzee star.

The clip is styled to look as if it’s straight off a VHS recording, and it uses the opening credits for “Gordy’s Home!” to a pivotal plot point for Peele’s film, showing a fist bump between Jupe and Gordy. In the film, the chimp in question went on a maniacal killing spree during an on-set live taping in the 1990s, an event that stays with Jupe throughout the rest of his life.

“Get ready for lift off,” the opening credits starts, while Gordy’s astronaut family is introduced. The show stars Tom Bogan,...

Spoiler Alert: This piece contains spoilers for Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” which is now playing in theaters.

Jordan Peele is flexing his world-building for “Nope.” On Sunday morning, the writer-director’s social media accounts shared the opening credits to “Gordy’s Home!,” the fictional chimpanzee-centric ’90s sitcom that starred a younger version of Steven Yeun’s “Nope” character.

Within the world of “Nope,” “Gordy’s Home!” stars Ricky “Jupe” Park, portrayed by Jacob Kim in flashbacks in the thriller. Yeun plays Jupe in the film’s main narrative, portraying the former child actor as a traumatized man who sees the world through a sense of showbiz gloss. At the start of “Nope,” Jupe heads a Western-themed amusement park located in the countryside outside of Los Angeles, mounting a sinister plot to put on a spectacle that will draw an audience to the outpost.

But back in the ’90s, Jupe was...

Nope Review — Nope (2022) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Jordan Peele and starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Steven Yeun, Wrenn Schmidt, Keith David, Devon Graye, Terry Notary, Barbie Ferreira, Donna Mills, Oz Perkins, Eddie Jemison, Jacob Kim, Sophia Coto, Jennifer Lafleur, Andrew Patrick Ralston and Lincoln [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Nope (2022): Keke Palmer Steals the Show in Jordan Peele’s Intense Science Fiction Thriller...

Cattleya acquires rights to ‘El Italiano’

ITV Studios-owned Spanish drama house Cattleya Producciones has acquired rights to Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s bestselling novel El Italiano and will adapt it as a miniseries. Inspired by real events, El Italiano is a story of love, spies, and the sea set at the height of World War II in the Bay of Algeciras, where Italian combat divers are causing chaos among the Allied forces. Arturo Díaz, Managing Director and Executive Producer of Cattleya Producciones, and Ricardo Tozzi, founder and President of Cattleya, are leafing the project. Cattleya Producciones is searching for an international cast to bring El Italiano‘s Spanish, Italian and English characters to life. Screenwriter Beto Marini, co-creator of Movistar+ series La Unidad and feature films such as Retribution and Extinction is adapting the story. Pérez-Reverte was trained in underwater activities at Spain’s Centro de Buceo de la Armada (Navy...

Considering comedy is entirely subjective and in the eye of the beholder, I suspect fans of the comedians in Sarah Adina Smith’s The Drop––allowed free reign to improv for scenes that felt too long and lacking in their humanity––may be more along for the ride. Outside this qualification, the latest from the writer-director of Buster’s Mal Heart falls quite flat.

Lex (PEN15’s Anna Konkle) and Mani (Jermaine Fowler) are two LA-based hipsters in their mid-30s. Lex is the founder of an ironically named bakery called Carbs; Mani aspires to have a family, even if Lex is still a bit on the fence. They’re of a certain age where one has to start making those decisions and they set out to a remote Mexican island for the destination wedding of Lex’s ex-girlfriend Mia (Aparna Nancherla) and Peggy (Jennifer Lafleur), joined by other couples...

Exclusive: Glee star Dianna Agron and Reacher actress Maria Sten have been set to lead sci-fi podcast series Narcissa.

The eight-episode QCode series, created, directed and written by Alex O Eaton (Mountain Rest), is set to be released in July.

The drama will follow Sid and her family who have spent years fighting to protect her true identity as a mind-reader, but her life quickly starts to unravel when a string of gruesome murders are suspected to have been committed by a fellow ‘reader’.

Agron will star as Sid and Maria Sten as Andie alongside Angus Imrie (Star Trek: Prodigy), Jennifer Lafleur (Roar), Timothy V. Murphy (S.W.A.T.), Erik Passoja (The Flight Attendant), and Angel Olsen (Angel Olsen: Whole New Mess). Executive producers are Agron, Eaton, and QCode’s Rob Herting, Michele Zarate and Sandra Yee Ling.

“I am thrilled to be working with QCode, a company whose...

Stars: Emma Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Lafleur, Angela Gulner, Sibongile Mlambo, Corina Kinnear, Kati Sharp, Natalie D’Amico, Jess Varley, Mecca Morgan White, Richard McDowell, Kwanza Gooden, Tony Sgro | Written by Gia Elliot, Emma Fitzpatrick | Directed by Gia Elliot

Right from the title director Gia Elliot and co-writer Emma Fitzpatrick make it clear that Take Back the Night isn’t just another monster movie. By using the slogan of many marches and movements protesting violence against women as their title they signal their intention to make this about more than simple scares.

The challenge with that is not letting the message overwhelm the actual plot and the film’s entertainment value. Or worse become heavy-handed and preachy. The Hunting, which I recently reviewed, is an example, its message about veterans and Ptsd taking over what was supposed to be a werewolf film. Can the makers of Take Back the Night succeed where many have failed before?...

Exclusive: Production has begun this week in Natchez, Ms, on supernatural horror From Black, starring Pitch Perfect and True Blood actress Anna Camp.

In the film, a young mother, crushed by guilt and shame after the disappearance of her young son five years previously, is offered a bizarre opportunity to learn the truth and set things right. The movie asks whether she is she willing to pay the terrifying price for a chance to hold her boy again.

Camp stars with Jennifer Lafleur (Big Little Lies), John Ales (Euphoria), Travis Hammer (Godless) and Ritchie Montgomery (Ozark).

Thomas Marchese (Fallen) directs from a script written by Marchese and Jessub Flower. Producers are Marchese for Dark Room Films, Kelly Frazier (Murder at Yellowstone City) for K7 Entertainment and Vincent Cardinale (The Fallout).

Executive producers are Camp, Cesar Mercado, Humberto Carillo, and James Norrie, Bob Portal and Inderpal Singh for Amp, which is handling world sales.

Nope Trailer — Jordan Peele‘s Nope (2022) movie trailer has been released by Universal Pictures. The Nope trailer stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, Brandon Perea, Barbie Ferreira, Donna Mills, Jennifer Lafleur, and Ryan W. Garcia. Crew Jordan Peele wrote the screenplay for Nope. Michael Abels created the [...]

Continue reading: Nope (2022) Movie Trailer: Jordan Peele’s New Pop Nightmare: The Expansive Horror Epic starring Daniel Kaluuya & Keke Palmer...

"I'm not making this up!" Dark Sky Films has revealed a new trailer for Take Back The Night, an intense vigilante horror-thriller made by filmmaker Gia Elliot. This premiered at a bunch of genre film festivals last year, including the Telluride Horror Fest, and is arriving on VOD in March this year. Finding herself the victim of a violent monster attack, Jane launches a vigilante campaign to hunt the beast that tried to kill her. Her troubling history of drug use & mental illness causes her family, community, and authorities to question the authenticity of her account. Suddenly alone in her fight, Jane starts to doubt if this Monster exists at all. Emma Fitzpatrick stars as Jane, with Angela Gulner, Jennifer Lafleur, Sibongile Mlambo, Corina Kinnear, Kati Sharp, Natalie D'Amico, and Jess Varley. This looks stylish & terrifying, but also looks like an extremely obvious metaphor about sexual assault "monsters" ...

Stars: Lindsay Burdge, Jennifer Lafleur, Aleksa Palladino, Beth Grant, Ross Partridge | Written and Directed by Sarah Adina Smith

Originally premièring at the Fantasia International Film festival in 2014 and going on to win the Breakthrough Audience Award at AFI Fest, as well as Best Feature Film at the Denver International Film Festival, The Midnight Swim is now being digitally re-released alongside a special edition Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome/Yellow Veil Pictures. As a fan of found footage movies, I was excited to see this little known film.

We immediately meet three sisters who are returning to their childhood home after their mother has disappeared (presumed dead) after deep-sea diving into a mysterious lake near the home. Spirit Lake is apparently so deep that no one has ever managed to find the bottom. As the three sisters decide what to do with the house, the lake and its surroundings are the location...

The Academy announced Kelley Kali and Waad al-Kateeb as domestic and international recipients, respectively, of the 2021 Academy Fellowship for Women — with Kali receiving $35,000 and al-Kateeb receiving the equivalent of £20,000.

Part of the Academy Gold global talent development and inclusion initiative, the fellowship for women is a one-year program that provides direct financial support, mentorship and access to filmmakers. Additionally, fellows will also receive career achievement support through the Alumni Gold Program — which provides professional development and education for alumni of Academy Gold Programs, including Gold Rising, Student Academy Awards and the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting.

Both Kali and al-Kateeb were selected from a group of 11 finalists, including Kimberlee Bassford, Vigil Chime, Shaina Ghuraya, Amy Tofte, Gordon West, Farah Abushwesha, Rienkje Attoh-Wood, Prano Bailey-Bond and Dionne Edwards.

Kali is a graduate of Howard University and USC School of Cinematic Arts. Credits include being selected to work with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer...

Exclusive: Singer Sam Nelson Harris of rock band X Ambassadors is teaming with Schitt’s Creek’s star Emily Hampshire on superhero origin story podcast The Beautiful Liar.

The audio drama, which is being produced by LA-based podcast outfit QCode in partnership with Interscope Records, will serve as a companion piece to X Ambassadors’ third studio album, The Beautiful Liar, which will be released September 24.

Harris will star in and produce while Hampshire will voice the role of Shadow and serve as an executive producer. Minnie Schedeen is co-creator.

The drama will follow Clementine (Dahl), a young teenage girl — who has been blind from birth — whose world is suddenly upended when she loses her father and gains powers she didn’t know she had, which take the form of her secret friend, Shadow (Hampshire). As she moves to a new school, Clementine has to juggle hiding her newfound abilities from...

Sony Pictures Classics’ sci-fi drama Nine Days starring Winston Duke opens in four theaters in a specialty market buoyed by recent releases like Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain and Pig. New York’s arthouse scene, outpaced by LA of late, is perking up, distributors say (Ailey numbers were super there) and moviegoers are rewarding unique films and strong stories.

(The slow reviving specialty scene is keeping its head down as day-and-date tensions in wide release blockbuster-land explode.)

Nine Days hits NYC and LA today before rolling out nationwide August 6 in 250-275 theaters, said Jason Michael Berman, a producer, and president of Mandalay Pictures — of course depending on how it does. He’s upbeat after 800 people turned out for LA screening this week at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel with EP Spike Jonze introducing the film, written and directed by Edson Oda,...

Talk about shooting under the gun. When long-time collaborators and friends Joshua Leonard and Jess Weixler teamed up to make their latest film together, “Fully Realized Humans,” there was one major concern to build their scrappy seven-day shoot around: Weixler was eight months pregnant at the time. Fortunately, the duo wrapped in time and Weixler welcomed her first child just a few weeks later.

Weixler’s pregnancy, of course, plays a major role in the duo’s latest feature, which follows the pair as a pair of well-meaning parents-to-be who suddenly realize they might not be totally ready to welcome a bouncing bundle of joy into their lives, at least not as they currently stand.

Intent on shaking off any of their own neuroses, the pair decide to spend the next month before their baby girl’s birth turning into “fully realized humans.” That involves everything from the mundane (can...

Gravitas Ventures has picked up North American distribution rights to Fully Realized Humans, an indie comedy from director Joshua Leonard. The film, which screened at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, will get a day-and-date release on July 30.

Leonard co-wrote and co-stars alongside Jess Weixler in what is described as an honest and hilarious portrait of a married couple on the precipice of parenthood. The pic follows Jackie (Weixler) and Elliot (Leonard) who, with less than a month until the birth of their first child, embark on a madcap odyssey of self-discovery in an attempt to rid themselves of the inherited dysfunction of their own upbringings.

Ross Partridge, Janicza Bravo, Jennifer Lafleur, Beth Grant, Tom Bower, and Michael Chieffo co-star. Leonard also produced the pic with Chelsea Bo and Sean Drummond. Gravitas Ventures Vice President of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal with Ben Schwartz and Josh Braun of Submarine.

***

Gravitas has...

Search Party Season 4 Trailer — HBO Max‘s Search Party: Season 4 TV show trailer has been released and stars Alia Shawkat, John Early, John Reynolds, Meredith Hagner, Cole Escola, and Jennifer Lafleur. Crew Sarah-Violet Bliss, Charles Rogers, and Michael Showalter created Search Party. Daniel Wohl created the music for TV series. Jonathan Furmanski crafted [...]

Continue reading: Search Party: Season 4 TV Show Trailer: Kidnapped Alia Shawkat’s Hapless Friends Search for Her [HBO Max]...

Gravitas Ventures has released the first trailer for Light Years, the coming-of-age comedy with Andrew Lauren and DJ Gugenheim at Andrew Lauren Productions and Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin’s Free Association producing and Colin Thompson directing.

The film follows a thirtysomething man as he embarks on a cosmic vision quest. Thompson stars in the pic alongside Christopher Gray, Jennifer Lafleur, Makenzie Leigh, Russell Posner and Libby Winters.

The story of how the film came together has its own, overcoming-the-odds feel to it as Thompson did everything from overcoming hurdles in post-production due to the Covid-19 pandemic, to having to play a number of characters to cover the actors not able to partake in filming, and to the script eventually finding its way into the hands of Free Association.

In these trying times when even the most sure-thing tentpoles are up in the air of where and when they end...

In today’s film news roundup, “A Hidden Life” is shown at the Vatican, “Limerence” finds a home, Dave Baustista’s “My Spy” moves, and the DGA honors two veteran members.

Vatican Screening

Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life” received a rare private screening at the Vatican Film Library this week.

The movie centers on Austrian farmer and conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II due to his religious beliefs. He was executed for treason in 1943 and beatified in 2007 in Linz, Austria by Pope Benedict XVI.

“A Hidden Life” stars August Diehl and Valerie Pachner with Maria Simon, Bruno Ganz, Karin Neuhäuser, Tobias Moretti, Matthias Schoenaerts and Ulrich Matthes rounding out the cast.

Fox Searchlight opens “A Hidden Life” in select theaters in North America on Friday. It was recently nominated as best feature contender at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Acquisition

Gravitas Ventures...

Aaron Paul is an Idaho boy at heart. The three-time Emmy winning star of “Breaking Bad” and producer and actor on Nickelodeon’s bawdy, subversive animated series “Bojack Horseman” currently makes his home in Los Angeles, but Paul was born in Emmett, a sleepy city about 30 miles outside of Boise, and escapes to the spud state to unwind and visit with family every chance he gets.

“I’ve lived in California for most of my life,” Paul told a packed crowd gathered at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum, Idaho on March 15. “I love California. But Hollywood can be crazy. Coming back to Idaho is like a sanctuary for me.”

Paul’s Coffee Talk was one several standout events at the eighth annual Sun Valley Film Festival, which ran March 13-17 in the snowy playground for skiers and snowboarding aficionados. Paul, whom Variety honored at the fest with the Svff 2019 Pioneer Award,...

The saying goes that best laid plans often go awry, at the simple idea goes to unexpected places in “Back At The Staircase.” The film from co-writer and director Drew Britton will make its World Premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival, where its knife edge tension will surely turn some heads.

Starring Jennifer Lafleur, Stephen Plunkett, Leonora Pitts, Mickey O’Hagan, Logan Lark, and Heather Lavine, the film brings together five unique individuals for a party, but their true selves emerge when one of them gets into an accident.

Continue reading ‘Back At The Staircase’ Trailer: Tensions Rise After An Accident [Slamdance Exclusive] at The Playlist.

Slamdance’s Beyond category — for emerging filmmakers working beyond their first features — was announced yesterday along with its two shorts competitions, with five world premieres gracing the first category. The 2018 Slamdance Film Festival runs January 19-25 in Park City, Utah. Check out the announcement below. Beyond Program Back at the Staircase (USA) World Premiere Director: Drew Britton Distant siblings are unexpectedly tasked with planning for the future after their elderly mother suffers a life-threatening accident on the eve of her milestone birthday party. Cast: Jennifer Lafleur, Stephen Plunkett, Leonora Pitts, Mickey O’Hagan, Logan Lark, Heather Lavine Funny Story […]...

Chicago – The 2017 Tribeca Film Festival was not all about film. Besides showcasing Immersive and Virtual Reality programming, this edition of the festival opened up submissions from independent television pilot creators for the first time. One of the four finalists that were accepted to the “Tribeca: TV” portion of the festival was “Lost & Found,” created and directed by Haroula Rose, who is from the nearby Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood, Ill.

“Lost & Found” follows a group of friends as they try to navigate the absurdity of modern-day Los Angeles, which is anchored by a ceremony where a couple gets “unwed” after their divorce, and the complications that evolve from that ritual. The show is witty and in-depth, with a large ensemble cast that delivers both hilarity and emotion. “Lost & Found” features Melonie Diaz, Terence Nance, Will Janowitz, Jennifer Lafleur, Abby Wathen, Avi Rothman, Peter Thomson, Nick Thurston and Laura Lee Bostacos.

UnWed: Scene from ‘Lost & Found,...