Almost exactly two years have gone by since it was announced that the Incredible Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno, had signed on to star in the horror film The Hermit, a project that will see him taking on the role of a cannibalistic pig farmer who makes and sells jerky made of human flesh. Now, thanks to Variety, a couple images of Ferrigno’s character have made their way online, and you can check them out in this article!

Scatena & Rosner Films has acquired the worldwide rights to The Hermit, which is currently in post-production, and will be launching distribution sales at the Cannes Film Market.

Described as a “horror film with an undercurrent of quirky irony,” The Hermit was directed and produced by Salvatore Sclafani, who previously directed the 2019 Italian drama A Gifted Man (Il talento) and this year’s Dutch II: Angel’s Revenge, which is a sequel to the 2020 crime thriller Dutch. The Hermit tells the following story: Dragged on a vacation to the woods, two self-absorbed teens named Lisa and Eric, venture off trail, stumble across a farm, go in, see animal heads hanging from the wall and fight for their lives against an unstoppable cannibal pig farmer.

Lisa and Eric are played by Malina Weissman (A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Anthony Turpel (Bloody Bridget). We’ve seen something along these lines play out in classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Motel Hell, but we’ve never seen it with Lou Ferrigno as the cannibal.

When his association with the project was first announced, Ferrigno provided this statement: “Most people are surprised that I’ve never really entered the horror space before now. When I was a kid I was fascinated with the monsters of the time like Dracula and Frankenstein. So I am really excited and honored to be working with such a great team on something that will for sure excite fans. The character I am playing is unique and will give an updated twist to those monsters I grew up with.“

Scatena & Rosner co-founder Jordan Rosner told Variety, “I’ve been a fan of Lou’s since childhood, and seeing him bring such a compelling performance to the horror genre is very exciting.“

Sclafani is producing The Hermit through his company First Child Productions, alongside Gerry Pass of Chrome Entertainment. Pass explained to Variety that “The Hermit’s story is that he’s been a loner. His mother protected him; kept him in the forest. He doesn’t speak well, because they are kind of feral people. Once, after being attacked, the Hermit kills his attacker. Since the family business is making jerky, the mother ends up cooking this person into the jerky with the pigs. Then, after the mother dies, trapping people, killing them and making them into jerky becomes a recurrent act on the Hermit’s part.“

Does The Hermit sound interesting to you? Check out the images, then share your thoughts on this project by leaving a comment below.

The post The Hermit images show Lou Ferrigno as a cannibalistic pig farmer appeared first on JoBlo.

The latest offerings available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers include a slew of underrated titles that many gamers probably missed when they first released. But if you have to choose one game in the lineup to play, it should be Chants of Sennaar. The endearing art style and enthralling puzzle design made it one of…

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The latest offerings available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers include a slew of underrated titles that many gamers probably missed when they first released. But if you have to choose one game in the lineup to play, it should be Chants of Sennaar. The endearing art style and enthralling puzzle design made it one of…

Read more…

A new fan-developed tool will soon let users easily port nearly any Nintendo 64 video game to PC, helping preserve the console’s library for future generations and allowing players to graphically improve even the most obscure N64 games. And you can already get a taste of what this new tool can do via a recently…

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A new fan-developed tool will soon let users easily port nearly any Nintendo 64 video game to PC, helping preserve the console’s library for future generations and allowing players to graphically improve even the most obscure N64 games. And you can already get a taste of what this new tool can do via a recently…

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Hold onto your butts because the billion-dollar John Wick franchise is expanding with another feature film focusing on Donnie Yen’s Caine from John Wick: Chapter 4. Yen is reprising his role from the action-packed sequel, with production kicking off in Hong Kong next year. Plot details remain a mystery. However, Lionsgate says Caine will continue the character’s story following the events of John Wick: Chapter 4, as Caine has been freed from his obligations to the High Table. 

Robert Askins, a Tony nominee for his play Hand to God and a veteran of The Umbrella Academy and AMC’s The Son, will pen the screenplay.

The Caine spin-off comes to Lionsgate as part of Chad Stahelski’s deal with the studio to oversee and expand the John Wick universe beyond the core films, the upcoming spin-off, Ballerina, starring Ana De Armas, and The Continental TV miniseries.

“From the moment Donnie Yen appeared on screen in John Wick: Chapter 4, he captivated audiences and created an authentic, emotional connection that left an inedible mark and had fans asking for more,” said Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair. “The John Wick universe that Chad, Basil, Erica and Keanu have built offers a tapestry of fascinating characters brought to life by the most extraordinary performers, and we’re excited to have one of the world’s biggest superstars on board to continue this journey.”

“Working on John Wick: Chapter 4 was an extraordinary experience,” said Yen. “The reason these films resonate so deeply is because, like myself, Chad, Basil, and Erica push themselves to create action, fights, and stunts that are not only thrilling, inventive and artistic, but also expressive of character, story, and emotion. Caine is an incredible character with a haunted past, and I am excited to return to the role.”

Meanwhile, the upcoming John Wick spin-off Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as a young woman with killer skills who sets out to get revenge when hitmen kill her family. As the film takes place in the John Wick universe, it will feature appearances from several franchise characters, including Ian McShane as Winston, the owner of the Continental Hotel, the late Lance Reddick as Charon, the Continental’s concierge, and Anjelica Huston as the Director, the head of the Ruska Roma. The film will also include Catalina Sandino Moreno, Gabriel Bryne, and Norman Reedus in unknown roles.

Are you excited about Donnie Yen reprising his role as Caine for another John Wick spin-off? Is there another character from the John Wick universe you think should get a solo project? Let us know in the comments below.

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Last year, New Line Cinema went all-in on a partnership with Barbarian (watch it HERE) writer/director Zach Cregger and the film’s producers at BoulderLight Pictures. New Line came out the winner in a bidding war over Cregger’s next film, a mysterious horror project called Weapons… which was, at one point, set to star Pedro Pascal of The Last of Us and Renate Reinsve of The Worst Person in the World. Pascal had to leave the project so he could star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of Fantastic Four instead – and even though that much larger production hasn’t started filming yet, as of right now it looks like Fantastic Four is going to beat Weapons to the screen by about six months! While that superhero movie is set to reach theatres on July 25, 2025, New Line has announced (via Deadline) that Weapons has been given a theatrical release date of January 16, 2026!

We’ve never heard why Reinsve followed Pascal off the project, but we do know that the cast currently consists of Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men), Julia Garner (Ozark), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), Amy Madigan (Antlers), Austin Abrams (Euphoria), and Cary Christopher (Days of Our Lives).

Details on the characters the cast members will be playing are being kept under wraps. In fact, most details about Weapons are shrouded in mystery. It has been said that it’s “an interrelated, multistory horror epic” that’s tonally in the vein of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, and The Hollywood Reporter adds that the story revolves around the disappearance of high schoolers in a small town.

Cregger wrote the Weapons screenplay and will be directing the film. He’s also producing it with Roy Lee and Miri Yoon of Vertigo and J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of BoulderLight Pictures.

New Line Cinema is paying Cregger a sum in the eight figure range to make this movie. When they won the bidding war over the rights, New Line’s president and CCO Richard Brener released the following statement: “Zach proved with Barbarian that he can create a visceral theatrical experience for audiences and that he commands every tool in the filmmaker toolbelt. We couldn’t be happier that he, Roy [Lee] and Miri [Yoon], and J.D. [Lifshitz]and Rafi [Margules] chose New Line to be the home of his next film, and hope it is the first of many to come.“

In addition to working with them on Weapons, New Line signed a first look deal with BoulderLight Pictures, tasking the company with developing high concept genre projects for them, and they gave a greenlight to the sci-fi thriller Companion, produced by BoulderLight and Cregger. That film will be reaching theatres a full year ahead of Weapons.

Are you looking forward to Weapons? What do you think of the film being given a January 2026 release date? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

The post Weapons: Barbarian director’s next horror film gets 2026 theatrical release date appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: The life of singer Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela), including her troubled relationship with her ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell) and father (Eddie Marsan) and her struggles with addiction.

REVIEW: When making a biopic about a famously troubled yet brilliant artist, there’s a fine line to walk when it comes to juggling the story of their art with the depiction of their addictions. Movies like Rocket Man or Walk the Line did it well, but they told ultimately triumphant stories about people overcoming those addictions. When the person succumbs, it can be dicier. I remember the Whitney Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, tried to do both but spent way too much time with its star miming along to Houston songs. Bohemian Rhapsody turned Freddie Mercury’s life into a PG-13 cartoon. 

Back to Black, Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Amy Winehouse movie struggles to find a solid middle ground, but it can’t get over the fact that the story was told much more effectively in Asif Kapadia’s Amy, which remains definitive. 

Part of the reason Back to Black feels half-baked is due to a common issue plaguing these movies. When the rights to a musician’s work are controlled by an estate of their former family members, a narrative must be followed. In this case, the frayed relationship between Amy and her father, Mitch (played by Eddie Marsan), is depicted as much more sympathetic than the documentary ever did. It’s not for me, a viewer, to say what happened or not, but I couldn’t help but feel Amy Winehouse wound up somewhat shafted by her own film, which expertly conveys how troubled she was but falls short of illustrating her brilliance as an artist.

That said, Taylor-Johnson likely made the best film she could under the circumstances. The biggest problem is that Winehouse feels like a supporting character in her own film. That’s not to say Marisa Abela, who does a solid job in the lead, doesn’t get enough screen time. She’s in almost every frame. It’s just that it feels like we’re never seeing events through her eyes but rather those of the people around her.

While Abela is getting good reviews, this is a challenging role for anyone to pull off. She doesn’t look like Winehouse and is more convincing during the musical moments (where she does her own singing) than in some of the more personal bits, where she struggles to pull off the singer’s combative, troubled side without it seeming like a caricature. It’s a tough assignment, to be sure. Jack O’Connell’s performance as Blake Fielder-Civil succeeds mainly on the merits of his own innate charisma. The movie only really comes to life when he’s on screen, such as his charged first meeting with Winehouse, when he pretends not to know who she is and dazzles her with a mimed performance of The Shangr-La’s. Still, the relationship between the two feels hollow, given how potent an effect it had on the singer. Eddie Marsan plays Amy’s father, Mitch, as ultimately well-meaning, if naive to the extent of the singer’s troubles, which seems to be the company line. The movie has us sympathize with his decision not to force her trip to rehab, as documented in her most famous song. 

Perhaps, if Kapadia’s documentary didn’t exist, Back to Black would be seen as a more insightful journey into Winehouse’s life, but as it is, the film can’t help but feel like just another biopic. Maybe part of it is that Winehouse’s death in 2011 is still fresh in the minds of many, with many of her fans having definite opinions on who’s to blame. The movie doesn’t take a stand in that regard, which is commendable. As outsiders, we don’t know what the truth of the matter is. But it can’t be denied that the biopic ultimately feels forgettable and doesn’t really do a good job of paying tribute to Winehouse’s lasting legacy. The movie is eminently fair to the people around her, but the singer feels a bit shortchanged in the end. 

Back to Black

BELOW AVERAGE

5

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The sci-fi thriller Companion is coming our way from writer/director Drew Hancock and the team behind the 2022 horror hit Barbarian (which is pictured above, since we haven’t seen any images from this movie yet)… but even though nearly a year has passed since the project assembled its cast and went into production, we still know very little about it. It has managed to stay shrouded in secrecy all this time. Which is a good thing, since its release date is still several months away. Deadline broke the news that Companion won’t be reaching theatres (including IMAX screens) until January 10, 2025.

That release date gives Companion a one week head-start on Blumhouse Productions and director Leigh Whannell’s reboot of the classic Universal Monsters property Wolf Man.

New Line Cinema went all-in on a partnership with Barbarian (watch it HERE) writer/director Zach Cregger and the film’s producers at BoulderLight Pictures. New Line came out the winner in a bidding war over Cregger’s next film, a mysterious horror project called Weapons. They signed a first look deal with BoulderLight Pictures, tasking the company with developing high concept genre projects for them. And they gave the greenlight to Companion, which is being produced by BoulderLight and Cregger.

Hancock wrote the screenplay for Companion, and Cregger was so impressed by it that he considered making the film his directorial follow-up to Barbarian. Instead, Hancock makes his feature directorial debut with Companion while Cregger focuses on Weapons. The cast of Companion includes Jack Quaid (Scream 2022), Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), Lukas Gage (You), Megan Suri (Never Have I Ever), Rupert Friend (Asteroid City), and Sophie Thatcher (The Boogeyman).

Details on the plot are being kept completely under wraps, but The Hollywood Reporter heard that the makers of Companion are describing it as being “self-contained”. Hancock’s previous writing credits include episodes of Supah Ninjas, Blue Mountain State, Fred: The Show, Suburgatory, Faking It, Mr. Pickles, and My Dead Ex (which he co-created), as well as the movie Fred 3: Camp Fred. While he has never directed a movie before, he has directed episodes of Acceptable TV and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as well as a Tenacious D music video.

Cregger is producing Companion with Raphael Margules and J.D. Lifshitz of BoulderLight Pictures, as well as Roy Lee of Vertigo. BoulderLight’s Tracy Rosenblum and Vertigo’s Andrew Childs serve as executive producers.

Even though the project is shrouded in secrecy, The Hollywood Reporter was able to dig up the fact that Thatcher’s character is “more than meets the eye”. They’ve also heard that Friend’s character doesn’t live up to the actor’s last name.

The Motion Picture Association ratings board has already given Companion an R rating for strong violence, sexual content, and language throughout.

Are you interested in Companion? What do you think of the film getting a January 2025 release date? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Companion: January 2025 release date set for sci-fi thriller from the Barbarian team appeared first on JoBlo.

Today, Airship Syndicate announced the return of its online action-RPG Wayfinder, albeit with a few key differences. Though the game was pulled from Steam while its previous publisher, Digital Extremes (Warframe), was transferring the rights to developer Airship, it is set to land on the storefront again on June 11…

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