Check out the first 3 minutes of Kuso, the ‘weird’ ‘gross’ movie that reportedly had audience members walking out of the theater, when it premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
Broadcasting through a makeshift network of discarded televisions, KUSO depicts the aftermath of Los Angeles’s worst earthquake nightmare. Viewers travel between screens and aftershocks into the twisted lives of the survived, experiencing a hallucination that is half-Cronenberg, half-Ren & Stimpy.
The debut film from acclaimed producer and rapper Flying Lotus, KUSO is a blistering, fever dream of filmmaking that uses music, special effects and animation to take a unique look at the dark history of America.
KUSO marks the feature directorial debut from Steve, the filmmaking alter-ego of Steve Ellison, better known as music producer, DJ and rapper Flying Lotus. Ellison’s name has become synonymous with creative innovation, having released five seminal studio albums, a slew of audio-visual marvels and, in the process, gaining two Grammy nominations including one for his work on Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly”.
Produced by Eddie Alcazar, and featuring Hannibal Buress (NEIGHBORS, Broad City), Anders Holm (Workaholics, The Mindy Project), Tim Heidecker (Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Eastbound and Down), and iconic Funk musician George Clinton, the film also includes an original score and musical collaborations with Aphex Twin and Akira Yamaoka.
The film is now playing in theaters in Los Angeles and on SHUDDER.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yodbDPX0DO0Horror + Scifi
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VIDEO: Watch The First 3 Minutes of Flying Lotus’ ‘Weird’ ‘Gross’ KUSO
Check out the first 3 minutes of Kuso, the ‘weird’ ‘gross’ movie that reportedly had audience members walking out of the theater, when it premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
Broadcasting through a makeshift network of discarded televisions, KUSO depicts the aftermath of Los Angeles’s worst earthquake nightmare. Viewers travel between screens and aftershocks into the twisted lives of the survived, experiencing a hallucination that is half-Cronenberg, half-Ren & Stimpy.
The debut film from acclaimed producer and rapper Flying Lotus, KUSO is a blistering, fever dream of filmmaking that uses music, special effects and animation to take a unique look at the dark history of America.
KUSO marks the feature directorial debut from Steve, the filmmaking alter-ego of Steve Ellison, better known as music producer, DJ and rapper Flying Lotus. Ellison’s name has become synonymous with creative innovation, having released five seminal studio albums, a slew of audio-visual marvels and, in the process, gaining two Grammy nominations including one for his work on Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly”.
Produced by Eddie Alcazar, and featuring Hannibal Buress (NEIGHBORS, Broad City), Anders Holm (Workaholics, The Mindy Project), Tim Heidecker (Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Eastbound and Down), and iconic Funk musician George Clinton, the film also includes an original score and musical collaborations with Aphex Twin and Akira Yamaoka.
The film is now playing in theaters in Los Angeles and on SHUDDER.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yodbDPX0DO0
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Flying Lotus’ Psychedelic Nightmare KUSO from 2017 Sundance to Open in Theaters on July 21 | Trailer
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A film still from Kuso by Steven Ellison.[/caption]
Flying Lotus’ psych-out nightmare Kuso which made a buzzy debut at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, will open theatrically in New York and Los Angeles from July 21, and be available on Shudder.
Kuso marks the feature directorial debut from Steve, the filmmaking alter-ego of Steve Ellison, better known as music producer, DJ and rapper Flying Lotus. Ellison’s name has become synonymous with creative innovation, having released five seminal studio albums, a slew of audio-visual marvels and, in the process, gaining two Grammy nominations including one for his work on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly.
Broadcasting through a makeshift network of discarded televisions, Kuso depicts the aftermath of Los Angeles’s worst earthquake nightmare. Viewers travel between screens and aftershocks into the twisted lives of the survived, experiencing a hallucination that is Cronenberg meets Ren & Stimpy .
Using music, special effects and animation to take a unique look at the dark history of America, KUSO brings different characters and stories to the screen, and features a predominantly black cast. As an artist, renaissance man and auteur in the making, Steve’s work has been compared to the work of David Lynch and Matthew Barney.
The film features Hannibal Buress (NEIGHBORS, Broad City ), Anders Holm (Workaholics, The Mindy Project), Tim Heidecker (Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Eastbound and Down), and iconic Funk musician George Clinton, the film also includes an original score and musical collaborations with Aphex Twin and Akira Yamaoka.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDRYASntddo
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Chilling Sci-fi/Horror THE ENDLESS from Tribeca 2017 Eyes a 2018 Release Date
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Justin Benson as Justin and Aaron Moorhead as Aaron in THE ENDLESS. Photographer: William Tanner Sampson.[/caption]
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson’s The Endless, a chilling sci-fi/horror hybrid which premiered to rave reviews in the Narrative Feature competition section of the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival will be released in the US by Well Go USA Entertainment. The film will receive a traditional platform theatrical release in early 2018, with a digital and home video release afterwards.
Following their acclaimed debut Resolution and their follow-up, the Lovecraftian modern cult classic Spring, writer/directors Moorhead and Benson star as two brothers who return to the death cult from which they fled a decade ago, only to find that there might be some truth to the group’s otherworldly beliefs.
“The Endless is a film made hand-over-fist with an incredible crew, and ourselves wearing many hats, out of a conviction that audiences truly do want left-of-center, meaningful independent films,” said directors Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson. “Well Go throwing their theatrical support behind us shows a shared belief that the box office is more than just superheroes. Audiences will be able to see The Endless at its best: sound cranked up in a dark theater, sharing the experience with movie lovers like ourselves.”
“Justin and Aaron are known for making smart, atmospheric films that challenge audiences while scaring the hell out of them,” said Dylan Marchetti, SVP of Acquisitions and Theatrical Distribution for Well Go USA Entertainment. “The Endless is their most accomplished work yet, and here at Well Go we can’t stop talking about it. We can’t wait to unleash it on everyone else.”
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Steven Shainberg ‘s New Sci-fi + Horror Film, RUPTURE Opens in Theaters on Friday April 28 | Trailer
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RUPTURE[/caption]
Award-winning writer/director Steven Shainberg builds upon the S&M roots of his indie film sensation, 2002’s extraordinary kink masterpiece Secretary with the disturbing sci-fi and horror storytelling of his new film, RUPTURE, opening in theaters and VOD on Friday, April 28.
Single mother Renee Morgan (Noomi Rapace, channeling both her Lisbeth Salander from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Elizabeth Shaw from Prometheus) finds herself kidnapped by a mysterious organization and held in a sinister facility. She must fight for her independence from a terrifying, paternalistic system where she is now the subject of an underground experiment. Co-starring Peter Stomare, Michael Chiklis, Lesley Manville and Kerry Bishé in a transfigured underworld of nightmares. Scripted by Shainberg and Brian Nelson (Hard Candy), produced by Andrew Lazar (American Sniper) and featuring heart-pounding cinematography by Karim Hussain (Antiviral, We Are Still Here).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyapGzUetnw
2017 marks the 15th anniversary of the release of Steven Shainberg’s critically acclaimed “Secretary” starring James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal in the bold and darkly humorous love story. The film won the Special Jury Price for Originality at the Sundance Film Festival and garnered several other prestigious awards from the National Board of Review and the Independent Spirit Awards, in addition to being nominated for a Golden Globe. Additional directorial highlights include: “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus,” a fantastical love story about legendary photographer Diane Arbus. Set in New York City in 1958, the film stars Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. and was released by Picturehouse. Shainberg’s first feature, “Hit Me”, based upon a novel by Jim Thompson was released to strong critical raves for Elias Koteas’ performance as a high strung loser who gets drawn into a hotel robbery gone awry. “Hit Me”, which also starred William H. Macy and Cesar Award winning actress Laure Marsac, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and screened at many international festivals.
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Australian Horror Film RED CHRISTMAS to Be Released in The US | Trailer
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Red Christmas[/caption]
The Australian horror film Red Christmas directed by veteran television director/producer Craig Anderson has been acquired by Artsploitation Films for release in the US.
The dark, violent and sickly twisted tale had its World Premiere at the Sydney Film Festival, its North American Premiere at Fantasia Festival and its European Premiere at London’s Frightfest.
The film stars (and was co-produced by) horror film acting legend, Dee Wallace (The Hills Have Eyes, The Howling, E.T., Cujo, Critters, Halloween,The Lords of Salem) as the mother of a squabbling family, gathered together in a remote Outback estate on Christmas Eve. When a mysterious, deformed young man named Cletus appears at their door, things soon go from petty insults to bloody, imaginatively orchestrated violence as Wallace attempts to protect her family from the vengeful intruder. The film deliriously infuses comedy, dark family secrets with outlandish gore and adds the always controversial subject of abortion in its blood-stained mix.
The US premiere of the film and the initial festival run will be announced in the coming weeks while the limited theatrical run is scheduled for August and DVD/Blu-ray and VOD scheduled for October.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzgvI_mrH-M
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Watch at your own risk!! Justine Experiences Side Effects of Eating Raw Meat in New Clip from RAW | Video
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RAW (Julia Ducournau)[/caption]
Watch at your own risk. Focus World has released a brand new clip from Raw in which Justine (Garance Miller) begins to experience the side effects of a hazing ritual in which she was forced to eat raw meat. What started out as harmless fun begins to affect her in ways she couldn’t have possibly imagined, both mentally and…physically.
Raw, from first-time director Julia Ducournau – named one of Variety’s ‘10 Directors to Watch for 2017’ – and starring newcomers Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, and Rabah Nait Oufella, hits select theaters March 10, 2017 and expands worldwide this Spring.
Everyone in Justine’s family is a vet. And a vegetarian. At sixteen she’s a brilliant student starting out at veterinary school where she experiences a decadent, merciless and dangerously seductive world. Desperate to fit in, she strays from her family principles and eats RAW meat for the first time. Justine will soon face the terrible and unexpected consequences as her true self begins to emerge…
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Jamie Patterson’s Alien Home Invasion Thriller, CAUGHT, to World Premiere at Fantasporto – Oporto International Film Festival
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Caught[/caption]
Jamie Patterson’s (Fractured, City of Dreamers) alien home invasion thriller, Caught, will world premiere as an official selection in the Fantasy Films program at the Fantasporto – Oporto International Film Festival.
Caught stars Mickey Sumner (Frances Ha, End of the Tour, The Mend), April Pearson (Skins. Tormented, Age of Kill) Cian Barry (Dr. Foster, Nina Forever), Ruben Crow (Doctors, Austenland), David Mounfield (This is Jinsy), and newcomers Aaron Davis and baby Regan Brown.
While on an afternoon walk with their children, two small town reporters notice the military camped on a hilltop. Debating the possible significance of this activity, they answer their door when two unusual strangers come knocking and find themselves held hostage in their own home.
“Very excited to have our world premiere of Caught at Fantasporto. This is a different kind of horror film. Inspired by films of the 70’s, I wanted a gritty, raw feel to the story because there’s nothing glossy about horror. This is my idea of alien art house,” said Director Jamie Patterson.
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VIDEO: Things Get Colorful in New Clip from Horror Film RAW
Things get real colorful in a new clip from by first-time director Julia Ducournau. In this brand new clip, veterinary school student Justine plays a game of ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven’ with a bit of a twist. The one rule is that the participants – one covered in yellow paint, the other in blue – can only emerge from the closet when they are both entirely green, but green isn’t the only color on Justine’s mind.
Starring newcomers Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, and Rabah Nait Oufella, RAW hits select theaters March 10, 2017 and expands worldwide this Spring.
Everyone in Justine’s family is a vet. And a vegetarian. At sixteen she’s a brilliant student starting out at veterinary school where she experiences a decadent, merciless and dangerously seductive world. Desperate to fit in, she strays from her family principles and eats RAW meat for the first time. Justine will soon face the terrible and unexpected consequences as her true self begins to emerge…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTaHkCPaEk8
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Alice Lowe’s Pregnancy Horror Comedy PREVENGE to be Released in The U.S. | TRAILER
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Prevenge by Alice Lowe[/caption]
Alice Lowe’s pregnancy horror comedy PREVENGE will be released in the U.S. by Shudder, and will open theatrically in New York and Los Angeles from March 24th, shortly after screening at the South By Southwest Film Festival.
PREVENGE marks the directorial debut from Lowe (star and writer of Ben Wheatley’s “Sightseers”), who is a true triple threat, writing, directing, and acting in the film during her own real-life pregnancy. The film received praise from critics and audiences alike at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals, as well as a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Directorial Debut.
A pitch black, wryly British horror comedy from the mind of Alice Lowe (“Sightseers,” “Hot Fuzz,” “Paddington”), PREVENGE follows Ruth, a pregnant woman on a killing spree, that’s as funny as it is vicious. It’s her misanthropic unborn baby dictating Ruth’s actions, holding society responsible for the absence of a father. The child speaks to Ruth from the womb, coaching her to lure and ultimately kill her unsuspecting victims. Struggling with her conscience, loneliness, and a strange strain of prepartum madness, Ruth must ultimately choose between redemption and destruction at the moment of motherhood.
Also featuring a remarkable ‘70s-throwback synth score by Toydrum and starring Gemma Whelan (“Game of Thrones”), Kate Dickie (“The Witch”) and Jo Hartley (“Eddie the Eagle”), PREVENGE was called “Uniquely frightening and funny” by Variety , adding “Lowe’s performance is a marvel.”The Guardian praised it as “gruesomely successful,” saying it “provides a nightmarish satirical twist on post- and antenatal depression.” The Hollywood Reporter said Lowe evokes “a kind of deadpan, British kitchen-sink Dario Argento” and praised the film’s “exhilarating disregard for conventional morality.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bEPU_58akI
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Watch the First Trailer for Horror Film IT COMES AT NIGHT Starring Joel Edgerton
The horror film IT COMES AT NIGHT, starring Joel Edgerton has released its terrifying first trailer and poster. A24 will release IT COMES AT NIGHT, Trey Edward Shults’ follow-up to the critically acclaimed KRISHA on August 25th.
Imagine the end of the world— Now imagine something worse.
Award-winning filmmaker Trey Edward Shults follows his incredible debut feature Krisha with It Comes At Night, a horror film following a man (Joel Edgerton) as he is learns that the evil stalking his family home may be only a prelude to horrors that come from within.
Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, the tenuous domestic order he has established with his wife and son is put to the ultimate test with the arrival of a desperate young family seeking refuge.
Despite the best intentions of both families, paranoia and mistrust boil over as the horrors outside creep ever-closer, awakening something hidden and monstrous within him as he learns that the protection of his family comes at the cost of his soul.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKnigN8OiNc
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Film Review: Lorcan Finnegan’s WITHOUT NAME
The woods are scary. This isn’t a concept that’s too difficult to grasp. Nature scares people. The uncontrollable elements scare people. Bears scare people. Witches scare people. All these things are in the woods and, unless I’m with at least three other people who run slower than me, I won’t be. However, if your inclination is to tell me that I’m more afraid of myself than I am the forest, not only would you be correct, you’d be the perfect audience for Lorcan Finnegan’s debut feature, Without Name.
When Eric (Alan McKenna) is contracted to survey a land known as gun ainm (literal translation being, you guessed it, “without name”), he finds himself spending more time investigating the area’s history than the land itself. Leaving behind a wife (Olga Wehrly) and teenaged son (Brandon Maher) but accompanied by his colleague and occasional mistress, Olivia (Niamh Algar), Eric becomes obsessed with the land’s previous owner, William Devoy (Brendan Conroy), who left behind a field guide to the surrounding forests, its plants, and potentially supernatural properties before succumbing to its powers, where he was found catatonic and nearly dead with no concrete explanation.
Undisturbed but morbidly curious, Eric’s grasp on reality grows thin as the mysteries surrounding Devoy’s current mental state and explorations in the forest pose more questions than they answer. Meanwhile, Eric and Olivia become close with a traveling local, Gus (James Browne), who tries to open their minds to the possibilities of nature as sentient beings that communicate with each other in a complicated ecosystem beyond human comprehension.
Bursting with an energy rarely seen outside of a debut feature, Without Name is a challenging, unnerving, and ultimately rewarding film about the relationship between man and the surroundings which he cannot control through distinctly human concepts like infrastructure and property lines. Finnegan, with cinematographer Piers McGrall, uses the camera to breathe a life into these woods that’s rarely seen in the movies. The film’s most visceral moments have a tendency to erase the barrier between viewer and screen, leaving you as disoriented as the characters you’re watching.
While we’re on the topic of character, it took watching this movie to realize how long it’s been since I’ve seen a horror movie with three-dimensional human beings to root for. I can’t emphasize enough how refreshing it was to hear people talking on-screen without desperately wanting one of them to be murdered mid-sentence. By avoiding the “creepy local” trope entirely and allowing the horror to come from within Eric and as a result of his surroundings, Finnegan is able to foster these distinct relationships amongst the characters that imbue his film with a sense of purpose with which the worst horror films don’t even bother.
However, that same energy and attention to detail that characterize the best debut features are occasionally offset by a narrative structure commonly associated with first films on the negative end of that spectrum. For all of its risks, Without Name‘s screenplay sometimes slips into more telegraphed territory, which actively works against the mystery that makes this film a lot of what it is. All the more disappointing because the film’s highs are high. It’s a confident debut that sometimes doesn’t trust itself to go the distance and shed any semblance of the reference points and visual cues that most first-time directors rely on to find an audience.
Similarly, Without Name has a tendency to bare its micro-budget teeth that no amount of editing can hide, including a third act that, while visually stunning and genuinely breathtaking to behold, utilizes overly simplistic (read: cheap) setups to get its point across, including an altercation between two nude men in a forest that’s probably a lot goofier than it was intended to be.
These are all minor gripes, though. The bottom line of Without Name is that it’s daring, it’s unnerving, it’s gorgeously shot, impeccably scored, masterfully edited, and only occasionally clunky. I predict nothing but good things for director Lorcan Finnegan and his writing partner, Garret Shanley, who are well on their way to being the next Adam Wingard/Simon Barrett one-two punch of a writer who understands the genre with a bold vision, and a director who’s able to manifest that vision into something that’s not only watchable, but potentially transcendent. In its closing shot, Finnegan confirms that he already knows the one thing most horror directors tend to avoid: killing your characters isn’t the best or only way to scare your audience, as there are many, many fates worse than death.
Grade: B+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd4K6qICqC8
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Five Indie Horror Films, Halloween Releases You May Have Missed or Never Heard Of
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Gehenna[/caption]
At this point, it’s almost treason to not watch a horror movie on Halloween. Most people go straight for the classics, dusting off that Friday the 13th DVD while pre-gaming for that unmissable party happening later in the night. But for those us, like myself, who’d rather spend Halloween far away from the killer clowns and tedious prosthetics that take a week to wash off, here are five independent horror releases that may have flown under your radar.
1. Recovery
Release Date: October 28th
Runtime: 82 Minutes
Darrell Wheat’s debut feature (one of two he has coming this year) concerns a group of beautiful young teenagers who use the Find My iPhone app to locate their friend, whose been kidnapped by a masked psychopath outside of a Los Angeles nightclub. In a continued trend of using new technology to breathe life into old plots, Recovery‘s trailer – from its “Based on Actual Events” title card to the trailer itself, which is comprised almost entirely of corny dialogue and jump scares – confirms suspicions that viewers probably won’t be getting themselves into anything they haven’t seen before. With that said, it does look like it has the potential to be pretty fun, and friends looking to throw back a couple drinks and laugh at stupid teenagers should look no further.
Recovery will be screened in a limited engagement on October 27th before a VOD release on October 28th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wV-JP0XvUY
2. The Windmill
Release Date: October 28th
Runtime: 85 Minutes
A young Australian woman, Jennifer (Charlotte Beaumont), is running from the past, doing her best to stay incognito with a group of tourists who are scheduled to visit Holland’s most famous windmills. However, when they start getting picked off one by one, secrets come to light, pasts are revealed, and blood is shed. The trailer for this one seems to be running with a “you can never escape the past” thesis that’s always a great starting point for clever writing and gruesome kills. Whether or not the film actually follows through with either remains to be seen, but the trailer shows some promise, offering quick glimpses into what could be a bloody fun mind-boggler.
The Windmill hits VOD on October 25th, with a limited release starting October 28th. The morbidly curious can check out director Nick Jongerius’ original concept teaser here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIHpfivxayY
3. The Unspoken
Release Date: October 28th
Runtime: 90 Minutes
Creepy kids, creepy houses, unspoken secrets, murders, trauma, and violence. You’ve seen this before and you’re definitely going to see it again, but The Unspoken, director Sheldon Wilson’s latest, insists on existing anyway. The only real reason to check this one out is as a comparison piece with star Jodelle Ferland’s other notable horror performance as Patience in Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods. A more dedicated person than me might even want to make a game out of seeing all the cliches present in Wilson’s film that Goddard’s had ruthlessly mocked.
The Unspoken is currently available for rent on Amazon, and hits theaters on October 28th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgxHjZsbaeo
4. Gehenna
Release Date: October 30th
Runtime: 105 Minutes
The directorial debut of creature effects sculptor Hiroshi Katagiri seems to be a study in contrast. While watching the trailer, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Why does this movie look so good but feel so wrong?” I got my answer as soon as I scanned Katagiri’s IMDb page. With sculpting and effects work dating back to the mid-90s, and credits on some pretty major productions (Spielberg’s War of the Worlds and del Toro’s Pacific Rim are just two of many), Katagiri is a tried and true professional. His directorial skills are still up for debate, however, and – if nothing else – Gehenna will surely have some genuinely unnerving practical effects to drool over.
Gehenna will start making the rounds at festivals on October 30th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc4Q2qbhCbY
5. Hostage to the Devil
Release Date: October 31st
Runtime: 90 Minutes
If any of you want to know what I’ll be watching on Halloween, look no further than Hostage to the Devil, a documentary about the life of Father Malachi Martin, one of the world’s most renowned exorcists. Through interviews, dramatic recreations, and archival footage, director Martin Stalker paints a thoroughly unnerving and complete portrait of a controversial man working in an even more controversial profession. Judging by the trailer, the film doesn’t seem to be imposing one truth or another, and with its gorgeously staged recreations, there are echoes of 2012’s The Imposter, which was one of my favorite documentaries of that year. Only watch this trailer if you’re prepared to cancel your Halloween plans and see the movie instead.
Hostage to the Devil‘s release schedule has been a little bit wonky, with releases in the UK/Ireland but no confirmed dates for the US. From what I gathered, an October 31st US release seems likely, but it might be time to break out that Hola Unblocker for those of us who are too impatient.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i17wAIXbgs0